Unfortunately, I forgot where on the internet that I read this last week but it has reallllllllllllly stuck in my head! The person writing it was talking about Leadership and the components of effective leadership.
I’ve read a lot of books and listened to a lot of speakers discussing leadership. What this man wrote was, I thought, profound! The gist of his message was: Mattering matters!
There are people in our programs that we consider essential to making our organization successful. And they are essential! However, there are people in our programs who, at best, we’d call marginal. If you’re talking about a high school football team, it’s those guys who are on the team but aren’t likely to play much. You keep them around cuz they’re good kids and, maybe, you hate to cut players who have a good attitude and work hard. It’s these marginal players that we have a responsibility to make feel like they have a contribution to make. You never know! I recall a Freshman running back we had back in the 90’s whom our JV coach deemed too small and he wanted to cut him. The guy stuck around and — long story short — by his senior year, he had a dozen D1 offers!
From a business standpoint, one could ask the owner: “Do you know the name of your custodian?” Or, “do you speak to the Security Guard when you check in each morning?” These people need to feel like they matter. Because… here’s the KEY: when people feel like they matter to the boss/head coach, their performance improves! When someone is made to feel like they are essential to the success of a team, they are going to be motivated to perform at a level that produces success.
Take the time to get to know that back-up offensive lineman. Spend some time with the kid who you consider to be “last on the depth chart.” It’s all about making your weakest link as strong as you can.
This is why I’ve always advocated meeting individually with all Varsity veterans during the off-season. Give them a goal-planning sheet to fill out and bring back to you. Use what they wrote to promote discussion. And… don’t make all of the questions about football. Ask them about their life goals. Ask them where they see themselves 10 years from now. Ask about their family. All of this is showing your players that they matter to you. You’re very likely to see an increase in performance/motivation because you took to heart that mattering matters!
