Molding the young football player's commitment to the team effort.

Every successful football team from middle school to the NFL must have a workable synergy among administration, coach, and athlete

Youthful athletes, barely in their teens, often require the kind of coaching that extends beyond the X's and O's. They may have the desire to play football, but not the toughness or the physical and/or emotional readiness for the game. And when that happens, the coach's first job could well be to establish a readiness for the game.

Coaches must understand that every young athlete needs three things to become emotionally involved with their team:

1. The need to be treated as an individual.

2. The need to earn respect.

3. The need to share in the "ownership" of the team.

As the coach goes to work on these things, he must also assure the parents of his faith in the ability and worth of their child, and he must also make sure that he himself practices all the idealism that he will be constantly preaching to everyone.

The concept of team development must be kept very simple within the structure of a supportive administration and a loyal coaching staff.

Though the coach is an authority figure who formulates the discipline of the team and is accountable for its actions, he must also make the players feel part of the management team.

We expect our young players to be proud of being on the football team and to carry themselves like football players.

We define character through testimonials of great men and women and we demonstrate proper football behavior through videos of the football players we want them to emulate.

The behavior of the players helps form the foundation of our team culture. We lead discussions on character, including the necessity of self-discipline and teamwork through individual responsibility and accountability.

We encourage sharing or "team ownership" by giving the players leadership responsibility in pre-practice, award presentations, and other team activities.

Each player is given the opportunity to lead. Note: This strategy is effective only in an environment in which the players understand behavior and attitude expectations. We do not believe in electing leaders, as such elections invariably wind up as popularity contests.

Instead of elections, we use a series of timed 30 to 60 second situational drills that create an immediate need for leadership. Those who have the confidence may step forth and help the team complete the drill.

On occasion our regular practices go fiat. Flat practices can be a coaching nightmare, but we view them as an opportunity to develop leadership. We will halt the practice and explain the reason for our disappointment and tell the players to go home.

This is the signal that stirs the natural leaders into action - to take over the practice and force the players to sustain the intensity necessary for an effective workout. If the leaders can accomplish this task, we will continue practice.

The natural leaders set the emotional tempo and create the structure for our pre-practice and post-practice workouts under the coaches' supervision.

It is always a thrill to watch the leaders organize and run our sled and base play drills. It gives them the chance to practice their skills and witness their teammates following their lead.

It also involves peer tutoring - giving the leaders an opportunity to verbalize their knowledge in the pre-practice period.

The players like to stretch after practice, to take off their pads, form a circle and, as they leisurely stretch, talk about practice and joke with one another. It is a fun time, hang around time, within the football environment.

I believe the rituals help reinforce the feeling of belonging to a closely knit football team.

What makes these sessions significant is that they are inspired by the players and set the stage for "player ownership" and player accountability, as well as giving the coaches a great opportunity to earn the players' trust.

Whenever a player wins a position, he enhances his image among his teammates and becomes emotionally involved with the team. He wants his teammates to view him as a contributor to the team mission, and to feel that he has the mental and physical qualities that can influence the coach.

He must, in short, feel that his teammates believe he has fought for his position and that he has earned the right to be on the team.

I once coached a boy who desperately wanted to score touchdowns. His self-image stemmed from being the fullback, and he might have become an excellent one, if his plans had meshed with ours.

They didn't, and when I switched him to offensive tackle, he told me he'd rather quit than play that position. I was stunned, but I understood. He was emotionally wounded. He felt that the new position did not enhance the image he had of himself.

Rather than fight him, I appealed to his desire to be recognized. I told him that our best players were blockers. Runners were ineffective without great blockers and unlike typical football programs, our game MVP was always a lineman.

He was now in a technique position that would allow him to earn the greatest recognition possible. I asked him to give it a chance.

As time went on, he realized I was sincere. He won many awards and he eventually realized that I had told him the truth.

This approach was successful because his self-image remained intact. He was appreciated and he had control of his situation.

Earning Respect: Maximizing a player's competitive nature.

The major issue in team development deals with the reason kids play football. Players have told me that they play because they love the game and that it is fun! These feelings may be valid initially, but they do not hold up as the player starts competing.

It is doubtful whether a player will undertake all the toughness and brutality of football simply because it is fun or because he loves it. There has to be another reason. I believe it is a matter of respect.

While football is a team sport, respect is an individual thing directly impacting the player's self-image. He is responsible for his image and it is the coach's responsibility to help the player enhance it.

I believe that athletes become more competitive and more emotionally involved whenever they find themselves protecting their self-image. One of the primary purposes of coaching is to help the player stay disciplined and responsive to challenges that involve self-image and respect.

Before a playoff game one year, I asked my receivers at William Jewel College how they were feeling. I could tell they were apprehensive. The opponents were a dominating team and would be out to intimidate.

I took them aside and told them to look up at the crowd. There were a lot of people out there whom they wanted to impress, and I told them that the opponents would love embarrassing them before all those people.

In short, I shifted their attention from the fear of losing toward the protection of their pride. I made them think of themselves as competitors rather than victims. Their apprehension vanished as they began concentrating on something they had control over.

This kind of approach may be basic, but I believe it puts the focus on the real issue, which is to protect the image and the ego by acting like football players. It becomes a matter of earning self-respect.

I deeply believe that each athlete's self-respect is a building block in our team's foundation. The greater the commitment of each player to his image, the stronger his block becomes. We discover that each player, through selfish desire to earn respect, consistently strives for higher levels of performance in order to stay competitive and protect his image. His improvement helps the entire team.

Summary

I believe the primary function of the coach is to create team synergy by helping every player understand that he competes to earn respect.

The coach makes the player understand that he has control over his behavior and his image. This is beneficial for the coach, since control equates to ownership and ownership equates to accountability.

I believe that a person who belongs to an organization that enhances his image will work harder and emotionally bond with the group.

He will feel responsible for the group's performance and do all in his power to improve the chances of team victory.

Before taking over as head coach at Leawood (KS) Middle School, Joe LaCicero put in 11 years of assistant coaching at Bishop Miege High School, Washburn University, Benedictine College and William Jewel College. At Leawood, he and his assistants took over a moribund program, reshaped its whole philosophy, and produced a respected, competitive and winning football program practically overnight.