Coaching is not about being liked every day. It’s about helping young people become the best version of themselves. The standards that challenge them today are often the lessons they appreciate years from now.
#ChampionshipMentality
Every successful HS coach needs a strong right hand man that will be loyal to him & never undermine him. If you look at some of the best programs, they have loyal, smart Number 2 guys. WHO DONT WANT TO BETRAY THE HC. Too many assistant coaches with personal agendas
10 Inconvenient Truths of Coaching
1. Not every kid wants to be great.
2. You will often be misunderstood.
3. Some parents care more about playing time than team success.
4. Your best players aren’t always your best leaders.
5. No system works without buy-in.
6. Success brings criticism, too.
7. Culture isn’t built in a week; it’s built daily.
8. You can’t coach every player the same way.
9. Wins don’t always reflect your impact.
10. The job takes more from you than it gives… until years later.
Still worth every second.
Still a great profession.
A player called me 15 years after he graduated.
I wasn't ready for what he said.
1/5
He wasn't one of my stars. He was the kid I was hardest on. The one I benched on several occasions. The one who never quite got there on the field, but always seemed to find a way to keep fighting and to win.
2/5
He called to tell me he'd survived numerous battlefield wounds serving our country in the war with Iraq. He said: "You were the one person in my life who told me I was capable of more and
that I could never quit because I hadn’t scratched the surface of what I was capable of…and that I couldn’t lose if I never quit. Your belief in me helped me to survive when it was hopeless in war.”
3/5
I had to sit down. Because in those moments (15 years earlier) as a coach, I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing. I was just holding the standard.
4/5
Fifteen years later he was calling to tell me the standard saved his life.
5/5
Love people enough to hold the standard. Even when they hate you for it. Especially then.
That call is why I keep doing this work…Our job isn’t to be liked. Our mission is to create resilient humans who make a difference. Uphold the standard.
In life, you’re always going to have people who put labels on you or your organization. They’ll give you reasons why it can’t happen. Too much of this. Not enough of that.
Most of the time, they’re only masking their own shortcomings. Their words aren’t facts — they’re fuel.
Prove them wrong and watch them fade into irrelevancy.