Leadership programs

Carl Agnew
Establishing a leadership program during the off-season, gives coaches the most time to really work with the team. During the season we have very little time for anything else. This also allows coaches to build the new team and team chemistry. As we are coaching and helping to build the future, a leadership program will help in molding our young athletes into men.



Pros - There are almost an infinite number of good reasons to implement a Leadership program. I am choosing to focus on what I believe the most important one, and that is turning our athletes from boys into men. Many of the athletes I coach don't have a father figure at home or around. My coaches and myself are the closest thing that they will ever have to a father. So I believe that is is my responsibility as a coach to teach them how to become men. There is nothing negative that can come out from building men.



Cons - There is a lot of set up the first time, but after you have gone through it once you can refine it. Needs the cooperation of the administration. Asks assistant coaches to spend more time with the team. (But I believe that leaders should look at a leadership academy as a way to continue to build school spirit)



What I have chosen to do is to take specific characteristics of leadership and take each month and focus on that characteristic. We will teach it and then work at it both with the team and in our community. We will do this weekly on the day that we don't lift, which is typically Wednesday. We will take the hour we would normally use to lift and use it for our Leadership Academy. We will ask our team at times (well in advance) to come in and work at our Leadership Academy outside of the normal meeting hour.



Our goal is not to just get our team ready for football games, but also for the game of life and the Leadership Academy is one way to help us with that.

Manuel Diaz

I think there are more Pro's than there is cons. The few cons I can think of are the time and effort it takes to implement in the limited amount of time some schools have in a day in the off-season. There are some small schools that the players will go right into a Winter and Spring sport, or they may not be in the football class during the day. It makes it hard to implement anything when you do not get to see the kids. This is the major con I see in trying to implement a leadership program.



A pro is when you have a young team that isn't used to monitoring themselves and speaking up, they need to be taught the expectations of a leader and then also given the tools. Way too many times I have seen coaches tell players they need to be a leader, but they don't show them the way or give them any foundation. I think implementing a program would help develop some leadership in your team. I think when players understand leadership they don't always expect the coaches to have to say something, rather they can speak up to the team or peers when they see something is wrong. Teammates can see a lot more that the coach can, and they will know when something is wrong quicker than a coach would because they see their peers more often.



I would like to focus on the start of the week Monday to give some good front loading and give a focus for the week. Friday would be a great day to meet again and reflect on the week and then talk about how they can use those same skills or lesson for the week going into the weekend. There are two ways that we could see the players. The first is in the football class that meets during the school day. The other option would be to meet with the next class of seniors and meet every 2 weeks with them at lunch. This would allow you to make sure you see them even if they are in another sport. It will also give the next years team seniors a chance to be given the foundation of leadership.

Kyle

There is a huge importance of establishing a leadership program during the off-season. Not only should we be getting bigger, faster and stronger in the off-season, but we should be building character and qualities that will make us better teammates and a better team overall. Although it does take a lot of time and effort to organize and establish a leadership program, it pays dividends the following season and is a catalyst for being a unselfish and the utmost importance of the TEAM. Most importantly, we are developing life skills for our athletes to use as they go throughout life and are contributing members of society. It is our hope that we are developing leaders that will help make the world a better place, not for their own admiration or success, but for the betterment of others.



In my football program, we begin our leadership program after winter break in early January and it runs all the way up until the end of the school year in June. We meet on Mondays before school from 6:30-7:30AM. Implementing a leadership program first starts with having a plan and vision for what aspects should be covered and what you want your players to gain from it. In the past, we have created power points and lesson plans based on certain topics that relate to leadership such as the definition of a leader, benefits of being a leader, characteristics of leaders, fears of leaders, actions of leaders, duties of leaders and typical team problems such as bullying/hazing, disgruntled teammates, etc. These topics are treated like it is a class with lecture and class discussion that can help solve even current problems within the team or better understanding of others. In addition, we have also in the past read a book as a group on leadership. One book we read as a group was Urban Meyer's "Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life" which allowed us to learn from examples of a successful coach like Urban Meyer and relate it to our own team. Most importantly, we put leadership into action by volunteering at food banks and homeless shelters around the area.



Below are the pros and cons of establishing a leadership program:



PROS



Development of leaders within the team-You cannot have enough leaders, whether they are vocal or lead by example. If players feel that they have the power to make a difference and make a positive impact on the team, and do it in an unselfish way, the team will be strong through the good times and bad of a long season. Leaders will give direction to a team and help dictate how a team starts and finishes.

Development of leaders for life- Football is important, but how the players turn out in life itself is essential to the true "success" of the program. We want players leaving the program to not only be successful in life, but leaders in life as well. In addition, having more leaders walking the hallways in school is never a bad thing either, which will help with the overall culture of the school.

Allows for the Team to work out problems in house-Through lessons and discussion, players will learn skills to divulge problems within and how to handle them during the season if they should arise. It is our goal that the players develop problem solving and communication skills, and how to handle differences, arguments or overall issues within the team. Again, these skills and tools will not only help them with their team, but in life as communication and problem solving are important in any walk of life.

Sets the off-season off right- We want the players to develop physically, but if we do not develop them mentally and emotionally, what are we really doing? By focusing on leadership and the development of those skills, it shows the players the importance of these traits and how it is crucial to master these by the season. It gives a sense of urgency to everything we do in the program.

It's all about the TEAM- This program will help players see things beyond themselves and the importance of each other. Being a leader is a selfless act, and humbling our players is probably the greatest gift they can receive at this age. Showing them their actions speak louder than their words or any big play they may make in a football game. As football players, they have the power to make a difference and help others. It is our goal that they are able to look beyond themselves and want to serve others rather than just them selves. This is why preaching about the TEAM over the individual is so important. If we can establish a TEAM first mentality, nothing can stop us.

CONS



Time & Effort- Holding these meetings every Monday early in the morning is no easy task for the coaches involved. It takes time away from family, late nights putting things together and lasts for weeks on end. If the coach is willing to put in the time and effort, it is worth it. But if a coach is going to commit to it, it must be done the right way or the players will not buy in. Thus, you have wasted your time.

Attendance- Sometimes players cannot make the meetings for whatever reason. This can become frustrating as players miss over time and miss crucial lessons that are beneficial to them and the team. Also, how do you hold someone accountable for a voluntary meeting?

Finding meaningful messages- Sometimes it can be hard to see if the message was meaningful or interesting to the players. This is why a coach must create lessons or discussions that the players are interested in or want to talk about. Although important, it does take time and might be stressful as a coach tries to create lessons to develop leadership.

As you can see, there are way more pros than cons when it comes to developing a leadership academy. Although it takes time, effort, and patience, these lessons will benefit the player on and off the field. Remember: more positive and humble leaders will make the world a better place!