20 motivational tips on building a commitment to excellence. (Football).

PART OF A COACH'S problem in dealing with motivation lies in the confusion over short-term and long-term motivational goals.

Short-term motivation involves what you are doing right now in preparation for your next game.

Long-term motivation involves the kind of continuous commitment to success that is found in every successful program.

While both short-and long-term motivation are unquestionably vital to a team's preparation, some coaches tend to overlook long-term motivation in their haste to get players "up" for today's practice or game.

Pep talks and inspirational speeches can carry you just so far before your players begin feeling that they've heard it all before. You're then likely to find your words falling on deaf ears.

Long-term motivational goals include building pride, loyalty, and a commitment to excellence, both individually and as a team.

You can motivate dedicated players and those who believe in you, your program, and their teammates.

You cannot motivate players who feel no sense of responsibility or commitment to anything.

Listed below are 20 motivational tips on building pride, loyalty, and a commitment to excellence.

1. Always be positive. Don't ever let your players think that they cannot be successful.

2. Always be firm, but quick to praise. Let them know when they have done something correct. You must develop a mutual respect for one another.

3. Always be organized in your meetings. Your players will reflect your efficiency.

4. Always be precise with assignments and techniques. You'll never be a sound team if you do not look like one when you line up.

5. Always coach on the run and correct or praise on every play. It has to be one or the other.

6. Always coach the little things: stance, alignment, landmarks, footwork, etc. When all is said and done, it will be the fundamentals that provide the winning edge.

7. Whether the athlete is a position player or not, never let him get away with saying anything negative on the field.

8. Always be thorough in grading your players' game performances. Be fair, show them their grades, and show them why they got a minus. They may not agree with you, but they will respect you as long as they believe you are trying to make them better players.

9. Don't ever tell a player that you re going to play him in a game and then fail to do so. If you're going to use him, you must prepare him fully. If you fail to use him, he may wind up disappointed but still accept it a whole lot better than if you lied to him.

10. Always be enthused in your coaching of the kicking game. Remember, the kicking game doesn't require a lot of ability. It takes coaching.

11. Instill pride in your players' ability to play goal-line and short-yardage situations, offensively and defensively.

12. Motivate your players to practice and play with pain, but never question injury. For every time you're right, there may be another time you are wrong, and you can wind up hurting the boy and impairing your relationship with the team.

13. Don't ever say we can't win or that we lost because of injuries. Injuries are part of the game and you simply have to overcome them.

14. Always have your players pulling for one another on offense, defense, and special teams. You cannot win without all three of them working together.

15. Work with every young man who comes on the field. You never know how much you may have to depend on him some day.

16. Whenever you have "jumped all over a young man," be sure to talk to him, after the practice or game.

17. Do not accept anything less than perfection. Simulate game conditions in your drills whenever possible.

18. You cannot hype up the players if you cannot hype up yourself. Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm.

19. Strive to make your group the best one on the field. Develop their pride in self and group.

20. Never lose your poise or confidence out on the field or anywhere else. If you want your players to be poised and confident under pressure, you must set that example yourself.