Lessons learned from Coach Leon "Butch" Britton

During my career, I learned leadership from some of the most inspiring Americans. I wanted to share these lessons and shine a light on some of the most humble leaders and coaches that I admire.

After a quick visit to my old high school for a career day talk, I reflected on some of the most important lessons I learned during my four years. These lessons set me up for success early on in my military career and still drive me today, in my corporate career.  The credit for these coaching lessons goes exclusively to the wonderful teachers and coaches of Matawan Regional High School, especially track coach,  Leon Britton.  Coach Leon “Butch” Britton was a beloved football and track coach who influenced not only my life but arguably thousands of other students whom he trained. He is a highly decorated coach and is honored in the New Jersey Shore Conference Football Coaches Hall of Fame.  

1. The race isn’t necessarily against other people, it can just be against yourself

Coach Britton waited for the last runner and cheered for them like they were the first runner. Well after the sunset, he would be clapping and offering endless encouragement. The confidence to know that someone, cared well after the race had already been won, made all the difference in pushing to the finish line. He respected every runner of every ability. I don’t remember him ever cutting anyone from the team.  He didn’t compare the slowest to the fastest but set individual goals for each person in which he measured them by. This was an important lesson that the race isn’t necessarily against other people, it can just be against yourself. I think, in retrospect, he might have even had more respect for the kids who were running slower.  It might have been harder for them to get out on the track, never expecting any glory of a win. However, he didn’t play favorites, he challenged everyone and cheered for everyone.

2. People who care about you will tell you when you need to do better

Coach Britton was not afraid to give tough, real-time feedback. It was with compassion and he never was demeaning or disrespectful. He was a competent coach having trained countless athletes in football and track who were then scouted by some of the best schools in the country. He also had an impeccable character. His athletes, like himself, were respectful, polite, and considerate of opposing teams even after crushing defeats. He wouldn’t accept anything less. He wasn’t easy to anger except if an athlete let their ego drive their behavior. The combination of competency and character equaled unrivaled trust. You could trust that when Coach Britton gave feedback, it was driven by his desire for you to be better.

3. Learn to be confident by putting yourself in situations where you are surrounded by others who are better than you.

I wanted to run with the men’s cross country and track team rather than the women’s team. I felt they often did harder workouts and the pace was much faster. I asked Coach Britton, the men’s coach if the two teams could train together. Without much deliberation, he agreed if the slowest woman ran faster than the slowest man. In reflection, he was an incredibly progressive man recognizing that the men on his team would work harder to ensure they ran faster than the women. As a result of his agreement, I went from being one of the fastest on the women’s team to being merely in the pack, and often, at the back on the men’s team. This jolt of perspective was invaluable for when I arrived at West Point. We often did formation runs and I was very comfortable feeling like I was barely holding on because I had so much experience running with others who were clearly superior. I was cognitively comfortable and rarely discouraged because of the opportunity Coach Britton manufactured by being willing to accept out of the box thinking.  

4. Resiliency is a muscle that is developed by losing.

I lost a lot of races, many more than I won. If we won, or if we lost, the workouts were predetermined. They were all prepared as if we had lost. Coach Britton’s mindset was that you don’t take it easy just because things went your way. You train like you lost every race. He never let us enjoy the glory of success for too long because he wanted us to remain humble and hardworking. He didn’t believe in feeling sorry for yourself, making excuses, or blaming a loss on the weather or the other runners. Losing was a necessary part of the process. The expectation was that you analyzed why you lost, watched videos of your performance when possible, calibrated, and started over. Attitude was just as important as winning. I learned resiliency on the track in high school because Coach Britton taught that losing was merely a part of the process and didn’t affect the training. The training needed to be disciplined, deliberate, and predictable and losing, like winning, just was a feedback mechanism on how you could improve.  

5. Never question someone’s dream by asking them “why” but rather ask them “how” they are going to achieve it.

When I declared I wanted to go to West Point, almost everyone asked me, “Why?” Why do you want to go there? Why do you think you will make it? Why do you think you would fit in the Army? Why would someone your size want to go to the Army? The questions, even if unintentional, cast doubt that I was making the decision that was correct. However, Coach Britton said, “Great, I wished I had gone there. How are you going to prepare?” He immediately started adding more pushups to every practice. He saw West Point as a huge opportunity, one that would change the course of my life and open access to an unrivaled education. He wanted all of his kids to use athletics as a vehicle to have a chance for more education and potentially better life. He never focused on the reasons why I wouldn’t succeed there or why it didn’t make sense, he just focused on how much harder I would have to work if I wanted to make it. His agenda was always obvious that successful athletes could earn college scholarships and access to education was the goal.

Tribes of kids from all kinds of families and backgrounds stood on Coach Britton’s track with the hope of being a part of something bigger than themselves. Kids trained day and night wanting to represent him and our school. He made every athlete feel like they had a chance to be great no matter what kind of skill or natural talent they had. When I think of the word “coach”, an image of him forms in my mind. He taught us how to be tough, to have confidence, to dream big, and never underestimate the value of hard work. I honestly don’t remember a single race from high school, but with little effort can recall all the lessons I learned from Coach Britton.

I told him in person a few years ago the difference he made in my life and so many others, but he just patted me on the back and encouraged me to continue to work hard. It was never about him and I think that is why he was such a successful, amazing coach.