First I identified a few absolutely critical skills to teach. Rather than having players be mediocre at many skills, we focused on being great at a few key skills. After I decided what to teach, we practiced those skills relentlessly. My goal was for these skills to become habits that my players performed almost automatically. I then developed a system to measure, provide feedback and hold the players accountable for using the skills. The final piece of the strategy was to develop a culture where our players took great pride in how they performed the skills we focused on.
Each spring as I begin planning staff training for the summer I revisit my offensive line coaching experience. I think about how I can apply the same strategy that led to success on the football field to camp. I ask myself and our leadership staff...
- What are the most critical skills our staff must excel at performing?
- How can we practice those skills so they become a habit?
- How can we measure the use of the skills, provide feedback and hold staff accountable?
- How do we create a cultures that encourages, values and celebrates using the skills?
