MACK BROWN, THE head football coach at the University of Texas, has been successful wherever he’s coached. He attributes this success to consistently emphasizing the importance of several key player-relations philosophies into his football programs.
- Treat your players the way you would like your son to be treated. How many times have you seen your son or another coach’s son cussed at, embarrassed or belittled on the football field? If you didn’t like seeing it, then don’t do it to someone else’s son. It’s OK to be aggressive, strict and demanding with your players, but always be positive.
- Don’t ever let a player leave the field or locker room upset. Make sure that if you’ve been hard on a player at practice or during a game, that you sit him down immediately and tell him why. If you don’t, you can be sure that he’ll go home that night and tell his parents how badly you’ve treated him. Make sure you explain that you’re trying to help him and the team improve.
After every practice, have your assistants walk around the locker room and talk with players, making sure that no one leaves with any misconceptions about the goals and demands of the coaching staff. During two-a-day practices, instruct the assistants to sit at a table with the players and have them eat lunch together.
- Form a players’ committee. You want your players to know that it’s their team and that you care about what they think. The players’ committee serves as a communication bridge between the players and coaches. The committee should have input on things like dress code, hair policy, disciplinary actions, etc. The committee doesn’t make any final decisions — that’s the responsibility of the head coach — but they’ll have input into the decision-making process.
If your players have a little input into the day-to-day rules of your team, it’s a lot harder for them to gripe about things they don’t like.