Building a successful high school football program

Many other tasks need to be addressed after a coach is hired. Fundraising, youth programs in your feeder systems, parent booster groups, budgetary decisions, equipment inventory and needs, and many other administrative tasks need to be addressed.

It can seem overwhelming at first especially for a first-time head coach or a coach who will be moving his family from another city or state for his new job. Hopefully, the coach was hired in the winter or spring, or even early summer before the next season starts. In these cases, time exists to begin building the foundation of your program, and fulfilling all administrative tasks relating to your program. Working hard and budgeting time wisely, along with soliciting help from those people who are already part of your program can help get things done.

All coaches define success in different ways. However, it is important to focus on the work habits and principles that lead to winning games. In other words, focus on the process and the results take care of themselves. Creating quality work habits, using practice and conditioning time productively, and using meeting time wisely will help plant the seeds of success when the season rolls around.

Rather than focusing on the number of wins the first season, focusing on playing hard, practicing hard, having fun, and celebrating small victories can be building blocks to success. Maybe the first opponent of the season has shut out your program the previous four years and your first season, when you play them, you lose but score two touchdowns in the game. That could be a building block and a success to celebrate with your team. It will take time and building on small successes can be important confidence boosters for a program.

Building a program that excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community is paramount. Athletics is only one part of the whole high school experience. Students must focus on academics first because they will have to make a living some day after their playing days are over.

Education and athletics are synonymous. If a player lacks good work habits in the classroom, they will lack the same habits in football. Academics has to be priority one in any program. Fostering a positive relationship in the school community and the community in general is important, as well. Having a team volunteer to do community service work or volunteer their time for a good cause is worthwhile for all involved.

We want to leave a community or school in better shape than we found it; community service is an excellent way to accomplish that. Team-building activities are a great way to create a bond within a team and develop good team chemistry. Team chemistry can make all the difference.

If team members like spending time together, that is always a positive attribute. Teams that get along tend to play better together and that is ultimately what the coach is trying to achieve.

You will play the way you practice. Structuring fast-moving, high intensity, challenging, and fun practices are at the core of every successful program. The best teams on game day are the best teams throughout the week in practice.

Practices should be organized, structured, and should have a focus and objective each and every day. Those players then tell friends or younger siblings about the virtues of the place, and voila. Maltese, who took over a Lakeland program in that had just one playoff appearance but now has three straight to its credit, said another critical component to creating a good feeder system is getting youth players to realize that competitive football is being played in their town.

Moore used an analogy of car ownership to illustrate this point. The same sort of rings true for starting spots on a football team. There are constant meetings with players on the subject of character year round in hopes of enhancing the educational experience. I challenge our kids to be men, and the way you be men is by being caring and honest and looking out for each other. But one thing most coaches do agree on is that kids should be in some sort of competitive environment year-round.

Some schools also have powerlifting teams on which football players participate during the winter and spring, getting them stronger for football season and keeping them competing. Rather than wins and losses right away, coaches want to establish the base of producing kids who learn the right virtues necessary to succeed on the field and then go on to become upstanding citizens.

Thanks for saying that I have made an impact. If feels so good that all the work and time has has been validated and is helping our players grow up as young Men and have a great football experience. I have been very fortunate over the years to work with many good coaches and people.

I am very fortunate to work and coach here in Coldwater where the support and striving for excellence is important. Being involved in athletics for really my entire life has been so rewarding and satisfying. It has created so many memories and most importantly so many lasting relationships over the years. What is more important than having positive and rewarding relationships with others?

Chip Otten Cavalier Coaching Record — courtesy cavfootball. Football 19 : , 15, 12, 08, 06, 05, 04, 02, 01, , 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 80, 77, 76, But much like John Reed and Chip Otten he has developed a program that has won, but also is based on building relationships with student-athletes, fans and parents.

Both communities need to be applauded on how they have accepted the coaches and their ways of running these program. Relationships, also have discipline in place, which has been the downfall in many programs, not at Marion Local or Coldwater. This includes disgruntled parents, win at all cost, recruiting by schools on a national level eg: IMG Academy in Florida , transfers to play on a winning team.

Players have a lot of say in how the team will be run. They can determine if practice is too difficult or not rigorous enough. They have a say in playing time and suspensions. If a player has violated the code, and he is not ready to play because he has not changed his ways, they can extend his suspension.

No one besides the unity council and the head coach can be a part of the direct conversation. When we vote on team issues, the coach gets a vote as well. Whatever is decided, the team must follow, even if the coaching staff does not agree. The Unity Council has an obligation to police the team. This means socially, during strength and conditioning, and negative comments and acts off the field.

This basic philosophy is what makes a team great. Everything else requires flexibility, but what do we hold true to our program philosophy. Lower level coaches need to be there when absolutely necessary. Coaches who do more should have the ability to make more decisions and have more responsibility. You cannot be anyone else, and no one can ever be you. Other than that, players have to earn everything they get, regardless of what they have done in the past.

The players sort it out. However, if we have two players that are playing at about the same level, they both play until one rises above the other.

Players play on offense and defense if they are obviously head-and-shoulders better that the next man.