From the Academy for Sport Leadership–Dr. Cory Dobbs
A Note to the Student-Athlete

THE LITTLE BIG THINGS: Excellence Begins by Sweating the Small Stuff

“HEY STUDENT-ATHLETE!”
It’s All About the Locker Room

I recently visited a neighborhood Denny’s. Prior to ordering my meal I visited the restroom. Upon entering I noticed scraps of paper towel all over the floor. The sink basin revealed soap drippings that had probably been there since the day before. No, I’m not a neat freak. It’s just that in a world addicted to mediocrity little things are really big things. I left the restaurant. My experience with the filthy restroom sapped me of any confidence in the restaurant’s ability to deliver a quality meal.

The small stuff matters.

To me, a clean and attractive restaurant is the best indicator that the people running the show—at the restaurant, school, hotel, you fill in the blank, care about the people that use the facilities (and this includes the workers!). Make no mistake, the restroom screams commitment to excellence. It takes great leadership to ensure clean restrooms. If you want to be different—successful—a great place to start is your locker room (And here’s the kicker…each and every one of you will be running a show somewhere and sometime in the future.).

How do you and your teammates care for your locker room? Do you use it and wait for others (coaches, janitors, etc) to pick up the mess? To me, a clean and attractive locker room tells me the people running the program care. Come to think of it, the way you take care of your playing field, court, etc. tells a lot about your commitment to excellence.

The small stuff matters. What little things might you do today to make a big difference in your team?

Humility matters. Every small action reflects not only on you personally but also on your teammates. Act in a manner that honors yourself and your teammates. Act in a manner that will reflect well on you and the others in your life.
Today’s headlines and daily news stories are filled with accounts of self-centered and irresponsible professional athletes. The world of sports often breeds excess—it is noble and ignoble, beautiful and ugly. Sports reveals the best and the worst of human nature in a highly visible action-packed arena dominated by intense emotion.

Humility is the quality of being respectful. It is displayed in conduct that dignifies others. Humility is found in the small stuff. How you talk to your teammates reveals your care and concern. How you listen to others reveals your commitment to them and your team. Model humility: serve and honor your teammates.

Sometimes one minute (a very small thing) makes all the difference.

How long does it take for you to care for your locker room? Your playing field? Your teammate? My guess is you can do a lot in one minute…and when all those small one-minute actions accumulate…

The small stuff matters. What little things might you do today to make a big difference in your team? Select at least one thing. And do it.

You can make excuses for not doing that one thing. If so, then excuses are probably small stuff to you. But remember the small stuff matters.

In the final analysis, it is the small stuff that determines what we draw out of the sports experience. The little things make all the difference.

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will care.” -Your Student-Athlete The world of coaching is changing. In Coaching for Leadership you’ll discover the foundations for designing, building, and sustaining a leadership focused culture for building a high-performance team. To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including Coaching for Leadership, click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

Dr. Dobbs recently joined Jamy Bechler on the “Success is a Choice” Podcast – hear his thoughts on team leadership and developing a leader in every locker here.

An Academy for Sport Leadership Case Study–Dr. Cory Dobbs

Instructions: give a copy to every team member.  Read alone.  Answer discussion questions.  Come together as a team and engage in a spirited conversation.  When you’re done, identify two action items for your team.

Big “We,” little “me”
Thinking and Acting Like a Committed Teammate

Introduction
Erin arrived late to her first class of the day.   She was still brooding about not playing in last night’s game.  Consumed with disappointment  in her coaches, teammates, and herself, Erin was contemplating quitting the team.  She reflected on the hours upon hours invested over the past two years simply to eke out a few minutes of playing time each game.  She’d set high goals for herself, and she met most of them.  She improved in the weight room and on the playing field.  She always gave all she had in practice and the coaches were usually pleased with her as a member of the team.  However, she seemed to be stuck on starting.  Playing time.  Seemed little else mattered to her.  She wasn’t quite sure why she felt this way, she’d always thought of herself as a very good teammate.  She enjoyed working alongside everyone, had not grudges and couldn’t muster a bad word about her teammates.  She just wanted to play.  And she’d just realized after last night’s game she really wouldn’t get much playing time this year—her senior season.

Questions for Discussion

• Why might a team member become discouraged about a lack of playing time?
• How can you encourage teammates to balance “Me” with “We?”
• How might you unknowingly discourage a teammate from accepting “we?”
• How might Erin’s thoughts determine her behavior?
• What happens when one team member goes in his or her own direction?
• What might happen when a team member places too much emphasis on themselves?
• What are the benefits of being a member of a team? (physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially)
• What “rewards” might a player receive that doesn’t get much playing time?

 

What’s at Stake?
While we all have to take responsibility for ourselves and our success in life, we need to do so in a way that honors the various wholes of which we are a part.  Thinking and acting “BIG We, little me” is not about denying yourself, your needs, or your individuality.  It is about realizing that you are part of a whole that is greater than you.

Point to Ponder
A famous proverb states, “The best potential in ‘me’ is ‘we.’”

*This case is a part of a portfolio of cases created by The Academy for Sport Leadership.  Case studies legitimize a range of issues by giving the student-athlete an opportunity to explore the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social dimensions of existing or potential problems.

To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including Coaching for Leadership, click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

This article and other helpful coaching tools can be found at Coach Dawn Writes

By Dawn Redd-Kelly.

“The most effective form of leadership is supportive. It is collaborative. It is never assigning a task, role or function to another that we ourselves would not be willing to perform. For all practical purposes, leading well is as simple as remembering to remain others-centered instead of self-centered.”—Great Leadership Isn’t About You

Teaching our athletes to lead is a big job.  Failing to set the ground rules for what you want leadership to look like can lead to hazing, “mean girl” tactics, cliques, and ultimately ineffective performances. We can’t expect our athletes to know what we want if we haven’t explicitly laid it out for them.  In the absence of a coach’s direction, the athletes are going to fill in the gap and I’m sure we can all agree that that probably won’t go well!

I believe our team leaders want to be taught and I know our teams want to be led by captains who make it easy to follow them.  What leaders are easy to follow? The author listed some characteristics in the quotation at the beginning…those are a good start:

• I rely on my captains to be a go-between. They work closely with the team as well as the coaching staff.  Ideally, they understand that they perform an important role in the team’s success.  They should be close enough to their teammates that they know when things are going a bit sideways and they need to tell the coaches.  But they should also know when not to tell the coaching staff.  My most effective team captains squashed issues before I even knew what was going on!
• Our teams are faced with the conundrum of needing to be both collaborative and competitive.  If you’ve got two players who play the same position, they will both benefit from in-practice competition, but surely they know that once the whistle blows at game time, they’re expected to support the team…whether or not they’re on the court.  Collaboration should be built into our team cultures, our captains should always be looking to take advantage of opportunities to collaborate.  Asking the younger players questions and not creating a “captain clique” will help create those collaborative feelings on the team.
• In the trenches. I don’t want captains who say, “Freshmen always do ________ (insert task here).” Freshmen (or newbies) shouldn’t always carry stuff, be expected to defer to upperclassmen, or be treated in a second-rate manner.  That kind of behavior signals insecurity in the leader.  It’s hard for players to follow a captain that lacks confidence and tries to raise themselves up by pushing their teammates down.  Everyone pitching in helps to create good feelings among the players, regardless of how long they’ve been with the team.
• Other-centered. I’ve had captains who would stay after practice with a lesser skilled teammate and help them with skill work…that’s great.  I’ve had captains who’ve told me about a teammate who beyond-the-norm homesick…that type of concern is necessary.  And we’ve had captains who, after I’ve announced that perhaps an extended conditioning session would be more productive than working on skills, gather the team together to figuratively whip them into shape.

Of course I’ve had ineffective captains as well, but that’s not what this post is about!  It’s about giving our team leaders the necessary skills that make them easy for their teammates to follow.  If we set the standards high for our captains, they will rise to the challenge.

 

The information presented here was provided to me by another coach and I know how important it is to develop our young athletes into leaders not only for the present but also for the future wanted to share this with you because it says so much that can help assist in developing a leadership academy in anyone’s athletic program.

Editor’s Note from Brian: The purpose of this post is not to say that you should copy this program as is.  It has some aspects that are sport specific, but I feel there are many ideas that can be applied to any sport. You should take the ideas that you like and adapt them to fit what you think is best.  It also can be scheduled when you are able to do it.  The post is to give you ideas, not necessarily a blueprint.

Leadership Academy Purpose:

1. Raise awareness of the importance of quality leadership
2. Increase Leadership skills of athletes
3. Share the leadership workload
4. Develop the character of athletes

Value

Coaches often pin success on superb leadership; therefore, teams should not wait for leadership to cycle in on it’s own. Instead, like developing technique, strength, or speed, coaches should implement a plan for teaching and developing leadership skills in their players. Since captains and leaders spend much more time interacting with teammates than coaches, they can significantly impact the performance of a team. Thus, strong leadership will increase team production. Moreover, many competitions will create stressful situations for athletes. Building emotional and mental resiliency in athletes will help them to perform at their best despite high pressure situations. Finally, developing character and leadership in the school and in the community will improve the quality of life for all. Students, recognizing the virtue of high character, will be more apt to make ethical choices. Teachers will be better able to focus on teaching rather than behavior management, and coaches can worry less about losing players for conduct violations.

Meeting Schedules

The Leadership Academy will meet every two weeks for dinner, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, at various players and coaches’ houses. The meeting day will vary in order to work around basketball, hokcey and track practices / competitions. Meetings will begin the second week of January and last until the last week in May. At these meetings, participants will discuss readings from Jeff Janssen’s Team Captain’s Leadership Manual, and also identify leadership and character weaknesses that the team should improve. From May to August, the Leadership group will meet once a month to discuss team issues or progress toward goals. During the season, they will meet once a week to discuss team moral, personnel issues, and logistical matters.

Curriculum

Week 1
The group will explore the concepts of leadership. By defining leadership, discussing the risks and
rewards of leadership positions, and reflecting on effective and ineffective leaders in the past, the group will establish a context from which to build new skills. In addition, players will self-evaluate their leadership as indicated by their commitment, confidence, composure, and character, as well as their ability to function as a servant, confidence builder, refocuser, team-builder and enforcer.

Week 2
The group will examine ways to motivate themselves. Participants will evaluate their own commitment level based on Janssen’s “Commitment Continuum” (Janssen, 29), as well as asses every team mate’s commitment level. The group will discuss why they placed each player at that place on the continuum and brainstorm ways to motivate players at the “resistant-reluctant-existent” (Janssen, 29) level.

Week 3
The group will explore the concept of confidence. Participants will look at confidence’s relationship with sense of self and the want to perform under pressure. We will discuss the four sources of confidence: preparation, strengths, past success, and praise, and also discuss ways to be resilient to events that threaten confidence.

Week 4
The group will learn to how maintain composure in pressure situations. Using a “traffic light analogy” (Janssen, 52), players will learn to recognize emotional states. In addition, we will discuss refocusing strategies like slowing the pace of play, controlling the controllable, and focusing on the present, the positive, and the process.

Week 5
The group will explore the concept of character. By discussing the importance of exhibiting character in the sport, in the classroom, in social life, and in the community, participants will raise their awareness of how their character establishes their credibility as leaders.

Week 6
The group will examine ways to function as servant leaders. In order to prevent leaders from becoming overbearing, we will discuss how helping younger players, preventing hazing, and completing day to day work creates a healthier team dynamic.

Week 7
The group will explore ways in which they can build the confidence of their team mates. Each squad leader will complete a “mental game assessment” (Janssen, 91) form on the players in their squad. As a group, we will discuss strategies for increasing the confidence and mental resilience of players. For example, leaders can let them know what to expect, remind them of their strengths, remind them of past successes, establish perspective, and encourage their teammates (Janssen, 93-94).

Week 8
The group will learn ways to refocus their teammates when faces with adversity. In essence, we will revisit the concepts from week 4, and discuss ways to teach others how to refocus.

Week 9
This week will focus in strategies for team building. We will revisit the team’s vision and mission statement, “clarify the commitments and standards” (Janssen, 112) necessary to achieve this vision, and discuss ways to help teammates accept their roles. In addition, we will brainstorm and create a teambuilding calendar to schedule events like an intersquad basketball tournament, a softball game, whitewater rafting trips, and team BBQ’s.

Week 10
This week will cover strategies for serving as the enforcer. We will address the reality that conflict is inevitable and that leaders must be prepared to handle it effectively. We will discuss approaches like encouraging first, then reminding and refocusing, then drawing the line, and, finally, involving the coach (Jansses, 126-127).

Squads

Purpose for squads:
1. Shared leadership amongst several instead of few. Share the load.
2. Provide more efficient methods of communication
3. Build stronger team relationships
4. Create healthy competition
5. Establish accountability for each other

Ways to earn points:
1. Successfully completing task (earning passing grades on quizzes, selling gold-cards, achieving set and measurable goals)
2. Winning competitions (Relay race, newspaper article, etc)
3. Citizenship (Community service…approved by one of the coaches)
4. Work ethic (Strength gain, measurable speed increase)

Ways to lose points: (and $1’s!)
1. Not completing required tasks (Team assignments, locker room cleanup) -1
2. Tardy -1
3. Unexcused absence -2
4. Violation of code of conduct -10

At the end of the season, the winning squad will finance a meal of their choice. The last place team will serve it to them!!

About the Author of this post:

Jerry Campbell has over 30 years of high school and college coaching experience. He has experience as a head coach, offensive coordinator, and various position coaches. He has written numerous football coaching articles in various publications, is the author of over 30 books on coaching football, and has produced 12 coaching video series. Additionally, he is a nationally sought after speaker on the coaching clinic circuit.

John McCarthy
Author / Speaker
Former College Head Coach, Former College Athletic Director, and NAIA administrator

This presentation provides excellent insight on the characteristics of successful coaches from around the country. This presentation provides motivation and insight for what successful coaches have in common with each other. John McCarthy also shares his thoughts and insight on the inter-self and the reasons we coach and the why’s for integrating life experiences in coaching. John McCarty also shares how values become an integral part in a coaches Character and how our athletes gauge what our character is really like to them. Mr. McCarthy also gives a detailed and defined meaning of success which he measures by the content of our character, leadership and contribution to the betterment of our families, communities, and the world. This is an excellent presentation on the insight for developing character and leadership both for coaches and athletes.

This video is provided by Head Coach Academy Clinics.

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