Say ‘Good’ Often (Bot9 #362)
I feel exceedingly blessed to have lived in the time and space in which I have. I’ve always had a passion and interest in coaching, and, in some ways, I worked in the perfect location to have that fanned into flames. Landing my first head coaching position in Highlands Ranch, Colorado in the early 2000’s was no accident. It put me in the right place at the right time to meet the right person. The person was Rod Olson. Rod introduced me to 3-Dimensional Coaching early in my coaching walk and I’ve never been able to unsee those three most important angles of coaching.
3-D Coaching would articulate coaching like a pyramid. The base layer is being able to teach the fundamentals of the sport. The middle is accessing the motivation of your team and each athlete. The top layer is all about the individual relationships you have with each player. When you coach in all three dimensions, you succeed. Since my initial introduction to 3-D, I’ve continued to see the depth of each component of coaching, and have both articulated and seen it articulated in three dimensions over and over again. At Valor Christian, we talk about coaching excellence as those who Serve, Inspire, and Connect. FCA has taken the 3-D model and equated it into their 360 Coach model. Ecsell Sports has a survey for athletes where they break coaching down into Order, Complexity, and Relationships. Even I took a stab at a fresh articulation through my books, ending up with three similar levels - Relationships, Atmosphere, and Habits.
For this week’s encouragement, I want to talk about a pair of football coaches. Pete Carroll is probably the most obvious example of a coach at a high level who operates in all three dimensions of coaching. It seems that he has tremendous relationships with his players and coaches, and maintains those relationships for a long period of time. He speaks life into players who may have lost faith in themselves. There’s an energy about him that leads to an atmosphere. He’ll be the source of excitement for everyone on the sidelines from week to week, but it’s not just a show on Sundays. He’ll return punts during practice, even at over 60 years of age. He’s come in at halftime of games where his team his down brimming with excitement and turn the momentum around. But it’s his understanding of the game and the habits he needs his players and team to create that has allowed him to be one of the most successful coaches in history. He’s a teacher of the finest details. He communicates what is necessary for each player to succeed and for the team to win. People might consider him just a “rah-rah” guy, but if they’re talking about Relationships, Atmosphere, and Habits, they’d be wise to follow his lead.
The second coach is Brent Vieselmeyer. Brent is currently an assistant for the Washington Commanders, but I had the privilege of coaching with him as we were both a part of the inaugural staff at Valor Christian High School. He was the Head Football Coach and called the defense, but it was his ability to develop relationships, an incredible atmosphere, and winning habits that still stands out in my mind. I remember running into our Head of School on the mezzanine of the football stadium during a football practice and saying to him, “Just listen to the number of times Brent says ‘good.’” It was extraordinary. Coach Vies would say ‘good’ rep after rep after rep. What this created was a deep bank of reserves so he could instruct at the necessary and appropriate times. Because he had pointed to the positive, the atmosphere was so positive that the relationships strong. The team practiced the most important habits, position by position, scheme by scheme, in order to succeed. Again, I’m not sure I would call Brent a “rah-rah” guy, but his work was driven by Relationships, Atmosphere, and Habits.
I had a colleague send me a tweet that read, “Studies have shown that it takes an Olympic athlete 30 seconds to re-enter flow state once their focus is interrupted. For any athlete that isn’t world class, it can take 2-3 minutes.” Think about that for a second. If the goal is to get our athletes in the optimum state during practice and competition, do we need to give constant feedback or is ‘good’ good enough? What if, after a mistake of any proportion, you remained steady and confident? If you’re calm, they’ll be calm. If you say ‘good’ constantly, they’ll do the same to one another.
If we look back at Genesis 1, remember that God said creation was ‘good’ again and again. What if saying ‘good’ is the root of creating great relationships, the atmosphere you desire for your team, and the habits your team needs to succeed? As His created beings, we have the opportunity to create with Him and in His creation. Don’t be stingy with calling things ‘good’. Find all of the little things that are ‘good’ and make a habit of using the word over and over again. If you do, I believe your relationships will improve, the atmosphere will be one everyone will enjoy, and the habits of the team will be positive. Let’s say ‘good’ often!