Top to Bottom Program

The organization of a program that has success is an assembly line from the elementary level to the high school level. Here we see the tactics used to help organize our program from the lower levels all the way to the Varsity.

The Head Coach: the steward of our program. I anticipate being involved at all levels, all the time. Whether working with our staff or our players, I want to be present as a person, guide, and teacher to all, from the youngest participant in any program activity to the coaches at every stage. Whatever the program needs, the Head Coach must provide. The Head Coach is always at the service of their staff, players, the parents, the administration, the student body, and the community. I will take great pride in taking care of my coaches and players as my top priority. And just like at Chick-Fil-A, it is my pleasure to carry out any act no matter how big or small for those I am  responsible.

The Development Operations Director: This position is largely responsible for organizing our multiple efforts to ingratiate our middle school programs with our high school programs. This position extends our organization through grade levels 7-12. I will start in this role but is one that will be passed on to the Varsity Assistant once they have mastered our system and player curriculum. It is certainly possible if not ideal that this be the Middle School Head Coach however. It is also critical to me that this responsibility grows this person into a future Head Coach of their own where they will go into any new program able to cultivate a fundamentals-forward program from the ground up.

The Varsity Assistant: Historically, the term “standard-bearer” is defined as is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colors, which is used (and often honored) as a formal, visual symbol of the state. More specifically while the standard-bearer “had an important role on the battlefield. The standard-bearer acted as an indicator of where the position of a military unit was, with the bright, colorful standard or flag acting as a strong visual beacon to surrounding soldiers. Soldiers were typically ordered to follow and stay close to the standard or flag in order to maintain unit cohesion, and for a single commander to easily position his troops by only positioning his standard-bearer.” The Varsity Assistant is not only an extension of the head coach, but is their right hand, an ambassador for the assistant coaches, a liaison for the players, all while trying to perform their own job duties. A difficult balancing act, and, done well, is quite often the most challenging position to be in. As well, it is vital that the Varsity Assistant be able to step into the Head Coach role at any moment and run things as the figurehead on their own.

The Junior Varsity Coach: The last stop before players play at the highest level and biggest stage. It is critical that our JV prepares our players for a seamless transition to the varsity. In nearly every way, our JV team will mimic what the Varsity does, just against other JV teams. The JV Coach has the responsibility of developing and finely tuning players to the point that they can play for the Varsity team. Because the JV Coach has this responsibility, it is an excellent and intended time and role working with our fundamentals-forward approach to eventually ready this Coach for the Varsity Assistant role when our Varsity Assistant inevitably takes on a Head Coaching position elsewhere.

The Freshman Coach: Being most players’ introduction to the high school program, the Freshman Coach has the vital role of on-boarding our youngest at the high school to our culture, expectations, system, and responsibilities. Molding and conditioning our new student-athletes into the way is one of the hardest duties because so much of this coach’s role is holding players accountable, enacting discipline, and instilling self-discipline in ninth graders who are wanting nothing more than to do the opposite in trying to forge an identity in a social setting predicated on rebelling and standing out for the wrong reasons. This position is not for the faint of heart and is one that prepares this Coach for the next levels where mastering accountability, order, discipline, and structure are the building blocks for the base of the program and matriculating to higher levels in the program.

The 8^th Grade Coaches: Given that these coaches are the last stop at the middle school, the obligation they carry is primarily a balancing act. These coaches get to introduce more of our system, more skills, more opportunities for growth, and prepare as much as possible our athletes for the high school level to come. It is often in the 8^th grade where athletes begin to invest more, care more, compete more, and want more and all with varying skill levels. So too, these coaches must maintain our standards of behavior and decorum while also being equitable despite gaps in talent becoming more apparent. As well, the high school program entrusts them with player evaluation for team selection at the middle school level which engenders much of athlete experience one way or another and the high school program invests in their feedback on the 9^th Grade tryout process.

The 7^th Grade Coaches: The very first experience that our players will have will come from these coaches. An incredible privilege and commitment, these coaches may have the biggest role in the entire program. Whether or not players want to continue into the next step of the program, if players learn our player curriculum, if players know our system, if players understand and live by our culture, if players represent our program well, it all falls on these coaches. There are not enough words. Simply put, the 7^th grade Coaches can determine our outlook and situation at every level.

Varsity Captains: These are the faces of the program. Selected by their peers and coaches, Captains will be required to be the leaders and representatives of our team and will even be a part of the decision-making process with the coaching staff. Varsity Captains are liaisons between the coaching staff and the players where Captains serve in ambassador role for both parties. Captains are expected to be the culture drivers of our program instilling and holding their teammates accountable and demonstrating the high standards and ideals we pursue. Without player-driven leadership and strong culture, we will not succeed.

JV and 9^th Captains: Sub-Varsity Captains are chosen by the Junior Varsity and Freshman Coaches for their fidelity to our cultural values and maintenance of discipline.

Practice Planning: In general, this is a way to get all the coaches on the same page about what we want to work on and how practice time should be allocated. A closer look at this, this is also a time for different observations our coaches are making, ideas or issues they feel passionate about, but also it allows for the empowerment of coaching abilities and growth in that area. What is most important however, is our approach to practice as a result of our practice planning where the practice plan is absolutely sacred. For our practices, every second counts, the flow is deeply significant, as much as possible needs to be worked on. How we practice plan and what we practice plan will set us apart. Each sub-varsity team’s Coach will plan their own team’s individual practice plan. We will not task the sub-varsity coaches with too much of a load for the Varsity practice nor the planning of the practice but their input and participation is valued and necessary. The most successful teams have buy-in from every single Coach, not just the Head and Varsity Assistant.

Scouting: We must and will be elite at scouting our opponents. We will compile as much information as possible to gain as many advantages against our opponents as possible. We must know them inside and out and be able to duplicate their system in a matter of days. It’s so fun! Collectively, nobody will watch more film than us. We will take great pride and care to make sure that we are the best scouting staff in the State. It is an absolute imperative to winning and sustained long term success. The majority of our time during the season is preparing for our games. We have to love it. We will love it. Nothing a team does will surprise us. If there is, we did not scout effectively enough.

Weekly Grade Checks: Done by the Varsity Assistant, not only do we want to be in good standing per UIL, but it is imperative our students know on a repetitive weekly basis that we take the classroom seriously and with urgency. Any issues with classes, grades, or teachers will be rectified through mandatory tutorials and possible loss of playing and/or practice time.

Weekly HS Coaches Staff Meeting: For checking in, assigning duties, progress updates, scouting, scheming for opponents, troubleshooting problems, and the like. It bears repeating, “when there is a gap in communication, negativity will fill it.”

Monthly MS Coaches Staff Meeting: For checking in, progress updates, assessing necessities, providing oversight or guidance, and helping any way I can.

Program Wide Personal Data Sheets: A simple way to track players from elementary school age to the high school program. As soon as possible—we start with 1^st graders in camp—and must normalize long term relations and growth.

The Curriculum Vitae (Development Tracking): With the player curriculum as the foundation and guide to player development, we must continually revert back to our fundamental skillsets as the thesis that drives our program. Each player will have a file detailing the skills and fundamentals specific to their grade context as well as extracurricular work. These will be invaluable toward deciding teams but more importantly toward keeping the main thing the main thing for players and coaches alike.

Prospect Sheets: One of many formal meetings with all of the players, at the start of the season we will go over the players’ own evaluation of themselves, what role they think they deserve, what is the minimum role they would be comfortable with, and things that need to occur for those desires to become reality. It also gives the coaches a chance to give players an idea of where they stand. In general, these meetings go a long way toward transparency. Again, “if there is a gap in communication, negativity will fill it.”

Mid Season Player Interviews: As we round into district, we want to give feedback to each player on what they are doing well, where they can improve, and how to make those improvements. It also lets us know where they stand and how they feel the season is going. Again, “if there is a gap in communication, negativity will fill it.”

Second Round of District Bi-Weekly Varsity Player Meetings: Each Varsity player will be assigned to a different coach where that coach will go over that player’s most recent game footage together to discuss things that are being done well and things that could be improved. This goes a long way in keeping players engaged, especially if their playing time is not as expansive as they would like.

Exit Interviews: Each player in the program is required to have an exit interview to wrap up the season. All coaches in the program and the next level up will attend the interview. Coaches can give feedback on the season and direction on where a player should be looking to improve. We want to create an open environment where players feel free to voice any concerns they may have. These interviews go a long way in helping us gauge if our culture is in the right place.

Coaches Exit Interviews: Coaches care just as much about how they are doing, if they are improving, what their value to the team is, and in their own growth. Assistant coaches need to feel comfortable voicing their needs, concerns, desires. Each year, we should have a goal and plan for coaches to get to the next stage of their coaching they wish to achieve.

Summer Camp: Many coaches and programs dread summer camp. The days are long, loud, and hot and right after the school year ends when teachers are ready to disappear and recharge. We recognize that camp is absolutely vital and critical to our long term success. For young potential players in elementary school, summer camp is the first and primary time that they interact with our program and it must be a good one. It allows us to begin recruiting our feeders, evaluating, and developing relationships with players and parents all to be sustained. Summer camp should serve as a pipeline to our strength and skills summer sessions in June and July.

Summer Skills, Strength, & Conditioning: Not only do we want to maintain shape but we want to grow in our skill development and aerobic capacity. Overall, we want to stay in shape, and not have to get in shape. The summer skills and conditioning is also major for us in normalizing the elementary to high school pipeline while also developing relationships between the coaches and players and the relationships between the players at all levels. Beyond this, and more obviously, this is a wonderful time for our coaches to grow in THEIR abilities as coaches while familiarizing themselves with the player curriculum more and more. The summer is full of opportunities for all. We will get what we continuously work for.

Tryout and Practice Clinics: Led by the Varsity Captains and high school players, incoming 7^th and 8^th graders will be taught our drills we use during practices as well as the drills that the players will go through for the tryout process. Not only is this an easy fundraising opportunity, but we allow players to interact with the high school program while also creating and establishing the culture of constant preparation of opportunity.

Assistant Coach On-Boarding: Throughout the year, we want to walk through and guide assistant coaches through the player curriculum. These may be a several years long process to get them to mastery. These on-boarding clinics will be led by the High School coaches who will learn the curriculum all the more by teaching it. Over a long enough timeline, every single coach on our staff will have mastered the player curriculum to the point that these clinics are not necessary. However, over a long enough timeline, our assistant coaches will matriculate up the ranks, go elsewhere, and we will have to on-board new coaches. So too, over a long enough timeline, players who have reached the varsity level will reach mastery around their senior year and they will also be helpful toward our fundamentals-forward approach to all that we do.