MOST PEOPLE IN coaching circles are becoming aware of the extraordinary events that are unfolding with Bob Ladouceur’s football program in Concord, Calif. But you really know that something special is taking place when you begin to see captains of industry using Ladouceur’s coaching blueprint as a shining example of the type of leadership needed for success in today’s business world.
This is exactly what’s happening, as the head coach at De La Salle High School was featured in an in-depth article by Don Wallace in the Oct., 2003, issue of Fast Company magazine.
Fast Company, a publication focused primarily on the interests of business leaders, examined Ladouceur and his incredible 11-year, 146-games-in-a-row-and-counting unbeaten streak, as well as the key ingredients for his winning coaching philosophy and innovative team-building strategies.
Strategies For Success
While there aren’t too many coaches out there who can say that they haven’t lost a game since Dec. 7, 1991, many would say that they coach in a program that is undermanned and underfunded, with players who are undersized and undertalented. Ladouceur would say his situation at De La Salle is no different.
To combat these obstacles, as chronicled by Wallace in the Fast Company article, Ladouceur addresses critical factors that can be used as a blueprint for building a team that can compete game-in and game-out.
- Start With A Process. When Ladouceur took the head coaching job at De La Salle High School in 1979, the returning players had never experienced a winning season. In fact, neither had the school.
“My approach was all about process,” Ladouceur says. “I didn’t have any long-term goals. I just said to myself,
‘Let’s teach these guys how to win and what it takes to win, and then let’s make it a day-to-day process.’”
- Create Small Victories. To help his players see tangible results quickly, Ladouceur sets small challenges for his players and encourages them to accomplish those goals.
“All I’d ask of my players is this: ‘By the time each practice ends, I’d like for you to be a better player than you were two or three hours ago,’” he says. “Whether it was in the weight room or on the practice field, I asked my players to walk off at the end of the day a little bit stronger, or understand the game a little bit more. Or at least know the plays a little bit better.”
- Share The Pains (And Gains). Early in his coaching tenure, Ladouceur instituted a tough, year-round strength and conditioning regimen. This mandatory program was a way to distance his players from the aura of losing that surrounded the team and helped weed out the players who weren’t ready to give the kind of effort that it takes win.
But Ladouceur wasn’t going to ask his players to do anything that he wasn’t willing to do. In fact, he resolved himself to lifting with the team every day. While he no longer lifts or runs with his players after 25 years of coaching, he remains actively involved in all aspects of the program.
- Be Yourself. To gain the respect of players and to get the kind of effort from them that is needed to win, Ladouceur says the coach needs to develop his own coaching style, carry himself with dignity and always be honest with the team.
“I never tried to pattern myself after a particular coach or after any one person,” he says. “You have to be yourself. If you’re not who you say you are, your players will find out quickly.”
- Be A Teacher Who Creates Teachers. Ladouceur spends a lot of time teaching his players proper technique and stressing the fundamentals, such as stance and first steps. Attention to detail and a demand for flawless execution creates a powerful mindset of self-confidence that carries over into games.
After the players do a few repetitions of something, he’ll often step back and observe. “I expect my players to lead themselves,” he says.
This approach has created another pleasant side effect. It’s not uncommon for De La Salle players to supervise one another — and they think nothing of stopping a teammate who is using poor form or incorrect technique.
“My players self-correct,” he says.
- Love Your Mistakes. Although Ladouceur demands effort, intensity and precision in his practices, they are also surprisingly loose, with plenty of laughter, water breaks — and mistakes. Ladouceur loves the mistakes — they give him an open opportunity to teach.
“It’s all about the teachable moments,” he says. “And about being aware of the teachable moments when they occur.”
- Be About Something Bigger Than Football. The teachable moments that Ladouceur holds dear aren’t restricted to football. These also pertain to influence and impact you can have on a player’s life. “Your players have to see that you’re about more than just football,” Ladouceur says. “I don’t think they’re going to respect you otherwise.
“It’s not just about getting better physically,” he says. “It’s about how our players are getting better as people: in terms of courtesy, respect, how they treat their bodies, how they treat their teammates and how they respect themselves.”
- Build A Team With Soul. This is perhaps the most important element in the success that Ladouceur has built at De La Salle High School. His team’s culture is one of commitment and responsibility. Over the years, he has established protocols for building bonds among his players — this is the X-factor that makes each year’s team a worthy successor to the previous year’s unbeaten squad.
“If a team has no soul, you’re just wasting your time,” he says.
When Ladouceur’s team shows up in the weight room in January, a mere four weeks after the season has ended, the main goal isn’t for the players to improve strength, speed and stamina — that’s just a positive by-product of the program. The primary objective is to strengthen the bonds between teammates.
During the off season, De La Salle players go camping or river rafting or volunteer for community service together.
During the season, each player fills out a commitment card that lists specific expectations for the next game. After every practice, there’s a team dinner at one of the player’s homes.
When times get stressful and when tension mounts among players, the players will freely speak their minds and give an honest opinion on what the team needs to do to become stronger. Ladouceur will then have each player stand up and read aloud what he had written on that week’s commitment card and whether or not he feels he has met his goal.