[Orange Blaze]

I’m curious what are the top five things that have been done to build culture and take programs to the next level; aside from recruiting or just riding one extra loaded class before slumping back to mediocre?

1. Have a coach who is a leader first & coach second.  What I mean by this is the coach must be someone who commands respect and knows how to get the most out of people.  If you can do that the X’s and O’s will take care of themselves.

2. Win the parents and the community.   This comes back to point #1.

3.  Have a clean environment and demand organization. This means make keep your weight room organized and don’t allow a trashy locker room.  This might sound like it isn’t important but it may be the most important part of building a strong culture because it is a building block for establishing high standards and expectations.

4.  Coaches need to take continuing coaching education seriously.  This means attending seminars in the offseason and always being a student of the game and not thinking you know it all.

5.  Keep it fun.  A lot of times coaches forget that this is supposed to be a fun game.  If kids don’t enjoy their time there then they won’t buy in and you won’t get their best.  This doesn’t mean trying to be best friends with your players but find ways not to always be serious and create a place that kids want to bring their friends to join.