Commitment & Accountability
Success of a team is dependent on many factors, with commitment and accountability being two of the most important!
I hope that Spring is finding you all well. As the calendar moves into April, the next football season becomes more and more real with each passing week. I am excited to be beginning year 2 of the Monthly Playbook and continuing to write about core beliefs and practices that helped me during my 35 years as a high school coach. This month’s Playbook includes:
* The importance of fostering commitment and accountability in your program
* A reflection on appreciating those around you
* Creating a formula for pulling an upset
* Breaking the Huddle with a Subscriber Spotlight
Finally, I am very proud that the distribution list is now over 260 coaches! I would like to continue to include anyone interested, so if there are others you know who may enjoy reading it, they can email me (jmannionfootball@gmail.com) or simply subscribe directly on the site. While many of you are paid subscribers, I would encourage those who are free subscribers to consider the $5/month subscription as we begin year 2. All the previous editions are archived for paid subscribers and you will have access to all articles, drills, and interviews that have been published since I began this process over a year ago. There is a subscription bar located a little further down in this edition…..I thank those of you who have become paid subscribers and look forward to providing useful content each month as we move toward next season!
JM
Building Accountability & Trust in Your Program
One of the critical elements to any successful team or organization is the level of commitment and accountability members display towards one another. I have found that this is a key piece of any successful team and such a difference maker in determining which team will be victorious. I have often told my players, “if it was easy, then everyone would be good” but as we all know, this is not the case. I would like to share some of my experiences in trying to get my teams to exhibit these two concepts.
I believe one important first step is setting clear expectations and a vision for why their commitment level is so critical. If the players understand what they are “committing” to, you have a better chance at getting the buy-in you need. When I first got to Silverton HS in 2010, they were coming off a tough season in which they only had one league victory. One of my first goals was to establish a four day a week strength and conditioning program for 6 weeks in the summer, which was a bit more rigorous than they had in previous seasons. A parent called me early that summer, not liking the frequency of the workouts and asked, “Are they mandatory ?“ to which I replied, “they are mandatory if we want to be good.” I followed up by explaining that the workouts were structured, organized, and efficient, and that the 60 minutes would make a big difference for us that Fall. While I spent a fair amount of time that first Summer acclimating our players/parents to our training schedule and its importance, the buy-in came quickly and was a huge foundation to our future success as a program.
Like so many aspects of a successful program, coaches must lead by example when it comes to commitment. The team will reflect the example that you set, so it cannot be a “do as I say not as I do situation.” Having an off-campus coach urgently hustling out to practice while wearing their work clothes, or the varsity coaching staff on the sidelines of a Thursday sub-varsity game encouraging the younger players, are just a couple of simple things that can model commitment. Seeing coaches that are clearly committed to the program and its success will provide a great model for your players.
Another message that has really resonated with our teams is the idea that if you want to beat a team on a Friday, you have to beat them every day leading up to the game by having greater effort and commitment. I will sometimes tell teams before an off-season strength training session, “if there was a camera filming us for the next 60 minutes and a camera filming our opponent during their workout today, who would have greater effort, hustle, and urgency?” These types of reminders and messages can make all the difference. The idea that a rousing pregame speech is the key to victory is something that works in the movies but is not the true difference maker in high school football. Rather it is the day-to-day effort and urgency that is a direct reflection of your team’s commitment level.
Commitment is something that needs to be fostered and one effective way to do this is by constantly highlighting examples of commitment within your team and program. Point out a player that hustles straight from a summer league baseball game to make it to a passing league game, praise an injured player who attends practice each day despite their injury in order to film for you, highlight the players that have perfect attendance to Summer weights….these are all opportunities to show your team what commitment looks like. I believe that subtle, daily highlights of great commitment by an individual will lead to greater commitment by all.
Accountability is something that goes hand in hand with commitment on a good team. It is important that if we are all agreeing to be committed to the mission of our team, then we need to hold each other accountable to that. Most teams start by players being accountable to their coaches, and they are most concerned about their coaches evaluation of them. This can manifest itself with things like players who go 100% in a drill or practice period when the head coach is standing there, but take their foot off the gas when the head coach is with a different position group. While this can be a bit frustrating, I have at times used it to my advantage. One such instance occurred when I arrived at Silverton High School in 2010 and attended and led every single weight session that Summer. While many staffs will divide up coverage for different days/weeks of the summer, I wanted the players to know that if they were not there, that I would be there. I felt it might increase attendance and also better position me to have conversations with players that were not being accountable.
However, I have found the most successful teams focus on the players being accountable to one another. This can’t happen unless there is a high level of trust and respect within the group. As I have said in the past, I believe that football requires tremendous unselfishness and dependence on the players around you. At times, I have pulled a player aside who maybe wasn’t being a good teammate or being unaccountable and told him, “who cares what I think, what do you think the other 35 guys on this team think about what you are doing?” Commitment to one another can be such a powerful dynamic on a team, and I encourage you to reflect on your own team’s accountability!
Appreciate Those Around You
On Sunday morning April 7th, I received a phone call with terrible news that one of my closest friends, longtime Foothill High School teacher and basketball coach Randy Isaacs had unexpectedly passed away the night before from a heart attack. This news hit me like a ton of bricks as he has been one of my closest friends since I started at Foothill in 1995. At the time, Randy was going into his third year as head basketball coach at Foothill and from the moment I met him, he was a person that always made me feel welcome and at ease. He took me under his wing, welcoming me into the school and coaching community at Foothill and quickly became one of my best friends. In Randy’s 15 years as head coach at Foothill he won numerous championships and took his 2000 team to the CA State Championship game. I was fortunate to be part of his staff in 2004 - 2006 when he asked me to serve as his head JV coach. I learned so much from Randy over those seasons; one of the most important being that it is possible to be highly competitive yet universally like by those you are competing against.
Randy’s tragic passing also made me realize how lucky I have been to work in a career with so many great people. I am truly grateful when I reflect on all the teachers and coaches I have crossed paths with and how much so many of them have influenced me and made me a better person. So often in the heat of the battle or the day-to-day grind of a season, I forget to take a moment to appreciate and be thankful that I get to work and coach with and against the quality people that I do.
More importantly than being a great teacher and coach, Randy was a great husband to his wife Karen and father to daughters Haley and Alyson as well as a beloved friend of so many. He was a person that was loyal and there for you, in fact he was the first friend from Pleasanton to make the 10 hour drive to Silverton, OR in 2010 about 4 weeks after our family had moved there. His positivity was infectious and he had the ability to instill confidence in you no matter the situation. I can’t tell you how many times over the years he looked at me and delivered one of his favorite phrases, “you got this”. His passing will leave a huge void for so many of his friends. I am terribly saddened that I won’t be able to talk to my good friend again. It is a tragic reminder to not take a single day for granted and take the time to be thankful for all the positive people in your life. Rest in peace Randy and thank for all you did for me and the Pleasanton community. Please know the impact you had on all of us will live on.