Coaches Corner: Leading Others to Football

I’ve found leadership to be the most exhausting and rewarding job I’ve ever had. I’ve had the privilege to coach and play in multiple states and settings and regardless of the location, rural or suburban, large school or small school, attracting high quality individuals who share your vision can be an arduous task. There surely is not a one-size-fits-all approach when selling your brand and our sport, but I felt compelled to share the things I’ve found to be most successful in hopes you’re able to attract others to your program. It is an interesting time to be advocating for football, but an exciting time for change.

You

The most important person in a football program is the head coach. Regardless of leadership style, coaching style, age, teaching subject or professional occupation, he has the power to profoundly shape the landscape of his program. In a professional development experience this off-season I was asked the following question: “Coach, if my son were on your team, what is it that he will learn from you, gain from you, experience with you, and what is it that he will take from you that will make him and his life better?” While I felt I had a fairly strong answer, I wondered what my assistant coaches would say? What about my players? This experience allowed me the opportunity to reevaluate our program’s core values and make sure they were at the forefront of everything we were doing. The game of football doesn’t teach young people values. The people who have used the game of football to teach life lessons do. A program with well-defined values, a clear and compelling vision, and consistently positive coaches attracts people it would otherwise not. In many cases, in my experience, the game of football itself is not the primary reason for which a student-athlete chooses to play. A student-athlete chooses to play for the person who leads the program because, consciously or unconsciously, they believe in this person and want to share in his cause.

History and Tradition

Making a connection with the people in your community that care about football begins with understanding the history of your program. Some of you coach in the community that you grew up in and are well aware of the victories, defeats, and stories that make your program unique. For those of you like me, who are transplants in the community, learning about the program’s history takes time – but it matters. We are all attracted to college football because of its rich history and unique tradition. What we may not realize is that the traditions, history, and unique stories exist in our communities as well and it is up to us to perpetuate them.

New Richmond Football began in 1897 when the Orange and Black played their first game. Their opponent was the River Falls Teacher’s College, known as the State Normal School. The game was played on Normal’s campus. Interscholastic football had not been played before then by any team in the northwest part of Wisconsin except for practice games between Normal and the high school at River Falls. New Richmond had only practiced signals and two formations but had never lined up against any player or scrimmage. The team left New Richmond for the away game at 4:30 a.m. in a side-seater drawn by four horses. Most of the team walked in front of the horses and took turns at baiting them with whisps of grass. They arrived at River Falls at 12:30 p.m. where they had lunch at the Gladstone Hotel before the game.

This month, on Friday, August 19, 119 years later, New Richmond will travel (by bus) to River Falls to play the season opener against River Falls High School. That is a story worthy of any Lee Corso special on College GameDay.

While it is unlikely any of the 1897 team is still around, their descendants are. And maybe they remember Packers great Johnny “Blood” McNally, a 1918 graduate, when he played for New Richmond. Maybe they remember the 1930s when the first artificial lights in our area were put up. It was said to have increased fan attendance by “500%”. In the 1960s Butch Boettcher led the team to a 7-1 record before heading to play quarterback for the Badgers. And many people remember the trip to Madison in the 1990s lead by Head Coach Joe Jamieson.

Wherever they may be, I bet they would like to know their stories are alive and the kids playing on Friday night have heard their name a time or two.

Expect Their Best

When I became the head coach, I set the expectations for my players and coaches absurdly high. What I failed to realize was that the standards of behavior I had set in my program were higher than the standards I was living by! It is evident that just as leaders’ high expectations can have a Pygmalion effect (the phenomenon whereby higher expectations lead to an increase in performance) on their players and staff, so the expectations of the players and staff can influence the behavior of the leader. I found this to be true as I tried tirelessly to live up to the expectations I had set. I had to adjust my self-concept and self-expectations to match what I had said and my player’s and staff’s expectations. I surely failed, and still fail, in some regards, but found that as I tried to demonstrate my commitment to my program, others followed. My players and staff expected me to live by my words – which I appreciate. But I’ve also found that if I’m not going to follow through on something I’ve said, it’s better for me not to say it at all. High standards attract great people, in my opinion.

I know that despite their angst and disdain, our players still want to be held to a high standard. I know that when they follow an energetic, passionate coaching staff, they too become energized. I know that when they have the history and tradition of over 100 years of football to become a part of, they are inspired. And I know that, despite the current state of football as perceived through the national lens, we need it – maybe more now than ever.

“Really believe in your heart of hearts that your fundamental purpose, the reason for being, is to enlarge the lives of others. Your life will be enlarged also. And all of the other things we have been taught to concentrate on will take care of themselves.” - Pete Thigpen, Executive Reserves

Written by New Richmond football coach Keith Badger, who enters his fourth year as the Tigers' head coach.