Old School Coaching Skills

I consider myself very fortunate to have been around two all-time great football coaches in my life. My parents raised me in the small industrial town of Berwick in northeastern Pennsylvania. Our longtime football coach was George Curry who is #6 all-time in high school football wins. After high school I was hired as a student manager by the Penn State football team during my undergraduate years. Without this lucky bounce landing my way I would have been unable to attend Penn State. During this time, I was able to witness the leadership of Joe Paterno and how he managed the organization, good times, and bad times.

As a teenager I really did not appreciate many of the life lessons learned during this time. Now many years later I'm the CEO of my own team. I find myself thinking about the leadership skills learned over those years and how I look to win in business just like my coaches wanted to win on the field. Excellent coaching values transcend sports, generations, or industries.  As the years keep advancing, I find these values learned more relevant every day so I hope you enjoy some of these pointers.

It's Your Fault If the Players Are Out of Position

I remember it like it was yesterday. Penn State was playing USC and one of our linebackers was out of position on a key play. The coach starts chewing out the player as coaches do. Joe Paterno walks over to the coach and says calmly "if he doesn't know where to be it is your fault." Players want to play well and so do the members of your team. Ever since then I look at mistakes on my team as areas where I can improve as much as them. It's easy to blame the player and shuffle them around but as leaders it is important to look introspectively on where the breakdown was--beginning with yourself.

Season Is Over Before It Begins

Many years after I graduated high school, I asked Coach Curry "What made us better than the teams we played?" His answer was surprisingly simple and unexpected---preparation. When our season was over, we started working out and preparing for next season the following Monday. Great teams and organizations do not just happen. They plan it out with a vision to be the very best and strive to deliver the best results to all stakeholders. Markets change, businesses have good times and bad, and sometimes the ball does not bounce your way but when the coaches and players give all they can during the offseason it is a lot easier to bounce back from adversity.

Confidence Matters

Coach Curry had us believe at Berwick that every time we walked on the field we could win. We were just playing other high school players who were no different than us. Those around Penn State could tell you there is no better pep talk in leadership history than Joe Paterno's story about playing Notre Dame the first time. This is all building the confidence of your team. As a coach your language should either teach new skills, build the confidence of your players, or help bring your team together. Derogatory comments to your players or teammates do not bring people together and just bring down everyone. A coach that has confidence in the team and builds a positive atmosphere will have a team that believes in itself.

Teams Matter In Team Games

Every team I've been associated with has been filled with many more hard-working individuals than spots available for those same people to contribute in a meaningful manner. All the winning coaches I've been around make sure everyone from top to bottom know how they can contribute to the team. Joe Paterno would tell us every year "you can't have a great team without great managers" (Ok-I knew at the time that wasn't true, but I appreciated the sentiment anyway) Sometimes you must make changes and difficult decisions. Leaders need to understand your players are heavily emotionally invested in your team and changes can impact team morale and dynamics. Have those tough conversations off the field and in private where you can deliver the good news and bad news in person and the players can digest the news. It is doubly important to talk to the team about the changes you are making so everyone understands you are playing to win and has confidence in your leadership ability.

Whether you are coaching football, volleyball, lacrosse, or leading your team to victory in the office the values are the same. Should we say and act exactly like the old school coaches of yesterday? Absolutely not. My language is much cleaner these days and if I grabbed anyone by the facemask, I feel confident I would be escorted out of the office by Human Resources. However, much can be learned from the values of winning old school coaches on how to lead your team to victory today.

(Note: My apologies to anyone who has bad memories return after reading this after since you lost to Berwick Area High School back in high school.)