redefining​​CHAMPION

Our goal is create a healthy family environment. Every player regardless of position or skill-level must feel loved, valued and appreciated. Time, effort, communication, and trust are the key elements to creating such an environment. Developing personal relationships with student-athletes is a high priority, as is consistently maintaining a professional boundary. I expect my staff to eagerly get acquainted with student-athletes and their families. Members of the coaching staff should know both the goals and the struggles of the student-athlete; moreover, they should be willing to share aspects of their own lives for the betterment of the individual student-athlete and the team. Student-athletes must know that their lives and interests outside of football are very important to us as a staff. Our desire is that student-athletes experience this genuine caring in a way that creates a home away from home for them. In addition to the staff, it is imperative that student-athletes learn to rely on one another. To that end we will initiate opportunities for them to learn about and develop relationships with each other. Additionally, it is imperative that student-athletes and coaches spend time with their own families, as they are a critical component of success too. As team members must feel valued to create a family environment, family must be valued to create a successful team.

 

redefining CHAMPION via Family

Although many want to be champions, they view it as an individual pursuit and refuse to acknowledge that success is rarely achieved singularly. The redefined champion recognizes the importance of teamwork as a necessity for championship performances on and off the field.

 

Pre-season Development Camp

With the exception of the fact that it is for student-athletes and football coaches, this camp will have nothing to do with football. It will focus completely on team building and leadership development. The culmination of this pre-season camp will introduce the following programs:

 

Accountability Partners

Upper classmen will be matched up with underclassmen to build relationships and provide an opportunity for underclassmen to buy into program quickly.

 

Minimum Requirements for partners

• eat one meal together each week

• cooperatively complete weekly assignment

  • team building

  • leadership development

  • relationship promoting

Benefits of the program and for the program

• Provides upperclassmen leadership opportunities

• Makes both accountable to one another

• Gives coaches another level of intervention

 

Class-level Leadership Courses

Coaches will teach courses focused on overcoming the specific challenges faced by student-athletes as they progress through their collegiate experiences.

 

Components of Class

Learning outcomes are flexible and based on needs of student-athletes and expertise of coaches

• Academic Lessons

• Field Trips

• Community service

Benefits for the Program

• Develops curriculum based on needs of students

• Builds camaraderie within classes

• Strengthens relationship between student-athletes and coaches

 

Empowering

Another component of creating a family environment is empowering student-athletes. Empowering student-athletes allows them to become more involved and they ultimately take more ownership and responsibility for the overall success of the program. The key to empowering these young men is to develop in them the attitude that they “want to” over the idea that they “have to.”   The more student-athletes are empowered, the more they invest; the more they invest, the more they want success and are willing to do what it takes to redefine champion.

 

Motivating

Another key component of creating a family environment is motivating student-athletes. Training student-athletes to motivate themselves and each other is one of the goals of the program. Student-athletes will learn to use encouragement to motivate. Furthermore, they will be exposed to the importance of internal motivation for overall success. As love is among the greatest motivators, creating a healthy family environment and a team that loves each other, will result in a successful team that has indeed redefined champion.

 

Including Alumni

They say, we can only move forward if we understand where we have come from; therefore, intentionally including alumni who exemplify the redefined champion is invaluable. To that end, alumni could participate in a variety of ways. Additionally, we will communicate with them through emails, newsletters, blogs, facebook and twitter, or other relevant social media.

 

Family: the Conclusion

As we build a program intentionally around the concept of redefining champion, we must consistently strive to create a family atmosphere among team members based upon personal accountability, mutual respect and trust. In doing so, we acknowledge that each of us brings his own history to the program. As student-athletes get to know one another through accountability partners and class-level leadership courses, we hope that they would realize they have more similarities than differences. As student-athletes and coaches build relationships, we hope student-athletes recognize we have been there too and can relate to what they are going through. We want student-athletes to be able to count on staff and each other for support and guidance. Student-athletes do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Therefore the cornerstone of these relationships must be discipline followed by respect. Relationship without discipline creates chaos. Relationship with discipline redefines champion.