Coach -

I like to share a lot of trending ideas on X&O’s but after two solid weeks of clinics with the D3 Top 25 Clinic and Lauren’s First and Goal, even I can use a quick break, so today the focus is on our teams and the leadership we develop within them.  Having sound strategies and detailed schemes only go so far if you have a team without strong leadership.  Today, Coach Kauffman breaks down ideas from some of our past clinics which he has curated into this article on leadership.

-Coach Grabowski

Leadership Lab: Building Champions On and Off the Field

Leadership comes in a variety of forms, shapes and sizes. It looks different and it is the secret sauce to every program. It’s the one element that every successful organization has but no one can quite tell you that recipe. 

Personality and one's self defines the characteristics that embodies leadership, a combination of that personality, your personnel, and a variety of cultural factors all have an influence on the success of the leadership that you are attempting to invoke. 

Sparking thoughts and ideological change in the off season can be a great practice if nothing more than making you think about how you operate. With this here are a few clinic presentations to guide you through this in regards to your program.

Know You, Be You

Challenge is nothing Glenn Caruso shies away from. As the Head Coach of Saint Thomas he oversaw a program that jumped from D3 to D1, and has posted just short of a .800 winning percentage since that change. Hear his thoughts on being the leader here. 

Video: The Leader - Know You, Be You

Relating for Results

Confidence is a driver of the world and something you have to have to gain the following of others. Many times confidence comes from either belief or preparation, and even a combination of the two. 

Knowing and believing in yourself and having the awareness to recognize the areas you need work in and where you excel is much like game planning and being prepared for different situations. In my eyes this is a process that can be conducted regularly, it is almost like a gauge for you to track yourself and what you are doing like you would when grading your players.

Improve your weaknesses and build on your strengths. Then allow this to aid you in your work with your athletes.

Coach Victor Santa Cruz talks about that translation in his clinic below.

Video:  Relating for Results

Take those strong identifiers you have and relate them to your players. Being human and having a relationship with your players beyond simply being a figurehead or tyrant of the program allows you to reach them with greater success. 

10-80-10

Leading through relationships isn't about barking orders. While there is a time and a place for that and is a large piece of some coaches' repertoire, at the end of the day this profession is about building connections and contributing to our athletes' lives and growth. 

This can range from listening to team members, fostering varying relationships or roles in their lives, creating an environment of open communication with your athletes among many other things.

Through this you can really gain a grasp on the various roles of your team members and their true personalities. Knowing these concepts can really give you a sense of the makeup of your team and can allow you to utilize the Gallup Study that Matt Rhule entertains in his coaching strategy.

Video: Gallup Study Pt. 1

Every team by nature is going to have athletes that are all in some that are bought in but only do the required amount and more than likely you are also going to have those that oppose. The idea of leading in a nature that you have relationships with the players allows you to understand how to attack this situation better. This applies to both the high school and college level anymore; those bottom ten can affect the entire range in more ways than 1 they can lead to transfers and other items. 

Coach Rhule provides various ways to counteract the issue and I think combining the two previous videos information in a relative way allows you to conceptualize a way that you can really counteract this problem that in many ways has been elevated by transfer rules and regulations at all levels.

Watch the free clips in these clinics or dig into the entire presentations and evaluate yourself and your program against the information presented.  True reflection can be the difference in your win total come the season but, even more so the influence you have on your athletes. This is a council of leadership in these clinics with success to prove it. You can get all three together HERE today for 50% off and elevate your program to the next level.

As always,

Compete!

Coach Kauffman

P.S. 

We have another clinic coming up, the Virtual HS Clinic of Champions.  This clinic has been put together by coaches looking to share their knowledge.  The coaches are the driving force behind the clinic from organization to execution. Be sure to check it our here:

coc.coachesclinic.com. The list of speakers and topics is there.