Eric Swanson 1. Cast and Communicate Vision

BEING AN EFFECTIVE TEAM COACH ERIC SWANSON

Effective coaching is about changing the future. Every Every effective coach assumes at least two major coach is a coach because at some point in time he responsibilities. First a coach must develop the determined that he could make a difference for the individual talents and potential of each player destiny of a team and in the lives of individuals. He on the team. Secondly the coach must mold the has decided that through his influence, mentoring, individuals into a team so they can maximize their love and leadership, he can help people and groups of chances of winning. Everything that a coach does people be what they never thought they could become. revolves around these two responsibilities. As a Coaches believe that people and the future will be Local Leader, your job is much like that of a coach. better because of them. Your coaching revolves around developing others to be something and do something. You also must help them work together to maximize their effectiveness. What principles can we learn from the profession of coaching, which if applied to what we do, could make us more effective? What do effective coaches do?

1. CAST AND COMMUNICATE VISION Every successful coach is able to paint a picture that taps into the aspirations of those on the team--to As leaders of a campus ministry, we operate in four win the conference championship...a bowl game... roles--As a 1) Direction Setter, 2) Spokesperson, 3) the national championship. Coaches use every Change-Agent and 4) Coach. As a Direction Setter opportunity to communicate the vision to those 1 and Change Agent you are responsible for shaping around them--meetings, letters, slogans painted on the future of the movement. As a Coach you are the walls, pre-game talks, etc. After a while, if vision responsible for preparing, equipping and motivating is backed up with consistent action, players begin to those on your team to step into that future. believe it. When Gary Barnett took the head football coaching job at hapless (no winning seasons between One element common to all effective coaches is 1971 and 1994) Northwestern, he stood up and this: They realize that their success is tied to their promised he would “Take the Purple to Pasadena.” EFFECTIVE COACHING ability to make others successful. Their joy is in the Three seasons later, he delivered by winning the Big development and victories of those on their team. Ten championship. One player expressed the vision As a ministry leader, you are a player-coach--a like this--”Coach Barnett set the goals for us, and we player who coaches and a coach who plays. The believed in them. He talked about ‘Belief Without measure of your effectiveness is the development and Evidence’—faith in what we were doing and where accomplishment of those on your team--motivating all our hard work would take us. We really could see and preparing others to play and win. Have you come it coming.” The vision must include, not only what to that point? the team can achieve but also what each individual can become. What is your vision? How well are you

© 2010, CruPress, All Rights Reserved. CruPress.com communicating it? An effective coach doesn’t need to be a cheerleader but he must be a master at motivating others to accomplish objectives. He or she is able to stimulate 2. ALIGN THE TEAM others to action. Effective coaches know their Alignment has to do with getting the team on board personnel and what motivates each person on the with the vision and goals and then aligning them with team the means of reaching those goals. A team is aligned when everything it does is consistent with what accomplishes the vision. Most players would like to 4. HAVE A GAME PLAN win conference championships but they also must be Every coach knows his team, studies his situation willing to “pay the price” of accomplishing that goal. and competition and forms a plan that will help them Effective campus leaders work at getting and keeping win. The basic plays don’t change. A game plan is their teams aligned toward fulfilling the goals and the the sequencing of plays and the readiness for every vision. Everything from the mission to the daily tasks potential game situation. During the pre-season must be pointing toward the fulfillment of the same games, football teams run every play but during the vision. Are those on your team completely aligned to season, coaches make a game plan built around the the vision? How can you tell? frequency and sequence of those same plays. How does your plan help you realize the vision? Practice prepares a team to play. Planning prepares a team to 3. MOTIVATE win. Former Dallas Cowboy coach, Tom Landry often described his coaching philosophy in a one-sentence job description--“To get a group of men to do 5. SELECT AND DEVELOP PERSONNEL something they don’t want to do in order to achieve The three major personnel issues deal with recruiting what they have wanted all of their lives.” Doesn’t the right players, developing the players and placing that sound a lot like your job as a ministry leader? the right players in the right positions. We recruit Good coaches know that whining, grumbling and the right players by going after the Freshman class. complaining are simply the expressions of the pain This gives us four years to develop new leaders. We that it takes to accomplish something worthwhile. develop our leaders by giving them confidence, skills You too need to understand that your leadership team and experience. Third, we place our leaders in the and students are involved in this movement because right positions. Most quarterbacks would make poor they really want their lives to matter. They are tackles. Most tackles would make poor quarterbacks. counting on you to motivate them to keep on keeping Is everyone on your team in a place to make his or her on, to develop ministry excellence and determined maximum contribution to the vision and goals of the faith. How do we motivate them? Some coaches like team? Lombardi relied on fear. Other men like Steinbrenner

2 of the Yankees have tried to buy success through high salaries. Maybe there’s a better way. 6. COMMIT TO EXCELLENCE Tom Landry had a sign in the Cowboy’s locker room-- Often we assume that pursuing our vision and our “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to goals automatically will motivate those who work his commitment to excellence.” Notre Dame’s Lou with us. We are like the sales manager who took his Holtz lists four things needed to be # 1. The first new salesman to the bluff overlooking town and said, is “Making a commitment to excellence.” Vince “Do you see that knoll down there? Now picture a Lombardi’s saying, “Winning isn’t everything...It’s EFFECTIVE COACHING beautiful home with a couple of new cars parked in the only thing,” simply means this—if you are going the driveway. Can you see it? On one side of the house to take the time to show up and play, why not commit is a tennis court. On the other side is a swimming yourself to winning? An effective coach keeps “raising pool. Can you see it? Well, if you work hard enough the bar” and helps people become someone and do and long enough, one day that can all be mine!” More something they could not or would not apart from than any other factor, working together to accomplish him. Ineffective is the leader who allows those under a shared vision and specific goals is what transforms a him or her to settle for mediocrity. A commitment to group of individual players into a team. excellence brings out the best in people. Tolerating mediocrity sends the message that what we’re about

© 2010, CruPress, All Rights Reserved. CruPress.com really isn’t all that important. The path to excellence scanning for data that will make my decision more begins with “working with a critical few things that intelligent.” Although planning is important, we must really make a difference.” Once we get these down be willing to “call audibles” to take advantage of an we work on the next critical few things. Don’t try to unforeseen opportunity or to avert an unforeseen master too much too soon. Commit yourselves to crisis. The critical path towards our goal resembles constant learning and continual improvement. Do the course of a sailboat more than the tracks of a train. what you do with excellence. Excellence is attractive. Our commitment to the planning process rather Do you ask for excellence from those you lead? than a cast-in-bronze plan will be reflected in our adaptability and half-time adjustments.

7. MASTER THE BASIC SKILLS Every play is simply a variation of basic athletic skills. 10. MASTER THEIR JOB John Wooden never allowed his players to stand Tom Landry writes, “A leader doesn’t have to be the around. If they were not in a scrimmage or drill, they smartest member of a group, but he does need to would be shooting free throws. Little wonder that demonstrate a mastery of his field. Mastery means Wooden’s UCLA Bruins captured the NCAA crown more than just knowing information and facts; it a record ten times. Football innovator, Paul Brown, requires an understanding of the information and the started his lectures in training camp each year by ability to apply that information.” Are you a master holding up a ball and saying, “Gentlemen, this is a of your craft? What are you currently doing that football!” How about you? Are those on your team will make you more knowledgeable and skillful as a “experts in the basics?” Every person on your team leader? should work at becoming an expert in evangelism, basic follow-up, personal Bible study, leading a small group and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 11. LOVE THEIR PLAYERS Effectiveness in ministry over a lifetime will be an Earlier in this century, football coach, Amos Alonzo extension of these basic skills. Stagg said this, “You must love your boys to get the most out of them and do the most for them. I have worked with boys whom I haven’t admired, but I 8. MONITOR RESULTS have loved them just the same. Love has dominated The most effective way to continually improve is to my coaching career as I am sure it has and always monitor results. Don Shula, who hold the all-time will that of many other coaches and teachers.” More win record for NFL coaches says that the game is not recently, UCLA legend, John Wooden, put it this over until the films are reviewed. “The essence of way, “I often told my players that, next to my own coaching is the attention to details and the monitoring flesh and blood, they were the closest to me. They of results--these are what help leaders realize visions were my children. I got wrapped up in them, their and accomplish goals.” Unless we are measuring lives and their problems...I feel that my love for young

3 progress, as individuals and as a team, we will remain people is the main reason I have stayed in coaching ignorant as to where we need to improve. “The and have refused positions that would have been far game films don’t lie.” Former Colorado coach, Bill more lucrative.” Coaches, who are successful over the McCartney called each player into his office every distance, no matter how gruff their demeanor, have week to review the previous week’s performance and a great love for their players. The players and their ask what each player was going to do to help the team development, not only as players but as people has win. To coach good performance we need to 1) Define dominated the attention of successful coaches. what good performance looks like, 2) Reward good All of us leave a wake in the lives of those we touch. Is EFFECTIVE COACHING performance and 3) Correct bad performance. It is your wake one of carnage and bitterness or love and as simple as that. Through constant feedback and worth? You cannot lead who you do not deeply value. positive encouragement, God can use us to help others maximize their potential. 12. SEE PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY CAN BECOME A. A. Stagg used to remark that he would tell you in 9. PRACTICE FLEXIBILITY twenty years what kind of team he had--“...when I find Shula writes, “I see no point in sticking with a game out how many doctors and lawyers and good husbands plan that’s not working...I’m continually out there and good citizens have come off of my team.” Good

© 2010, CruPress, All Rights Reserved. CruPress.com coaches, who are good because they are good people, ministry is never done. Don’t wait to celebrate and look beyond the years of contribution a player may have fun until the job is over. make to the team to what being on this team can do for the player. The test of our leadership is this--”Are they better people than when you found them?” Lou 14. DEVELOP AND PLAY AS A TEAM Holtz of Notre Dame recruits young players by telling Synergy comes from playing as a team—that the them. “You don’t come to Notre Dame to learn to do impact of the whole is greater than the sum of the something. You come to Notre Dame to learn to be parts. Tom Landry writes, “The very best football someone.” Joe Paterno writes, “Molding players--the players have to depend more on their team mates. character of players, every bit as much as their skills- All eleven men on a team have specific roles on every -occupies the mind, the vigilance, the best moments play. Unless each successfully does his part, the play of the waking hours of a concerned coach. What flour won’t work. It’s a coordinated effort. Ninety percent is to bread, the patient molding of character is to performance can mean 100% failure.” coaching.” John Wooden fashioned himself more as a teacher than a coach. One of his favorite poems was written by Glennice L. Harmon, entitled They Ask Me 15. LEAD BY EXAMPLE Why I Teach. Don Shula says, “As long as you have credibility, you have leadership to me. Credibility is your people They ask me why I teach, believing that what you say is something they can And I reply, immediately believe and accept. The minute your Where could I find more splendid company? credibility is questioned in any way, it affects your There sits a statesman...and there a doctor... leadership capacity.” John Wooden writes, “We who A minister...farmers, merchants, teachers, laborers. coach have great influence on the lives of those we And later I may say, lead, and the lives we lead will play an important role “I knew the lad...but then he was a boy.” in their future. It is essential that we regard this as They ask me why I teach, and I reply, a sacred trust and set the example that we know is “Where could I find more splendid company?” right.”

How about you? Do you see those on your team as they are or what they can become? Former Cowboy’s coach, Jimmy Johnson would often say, “Treat a person as he is and he will remain that way. Treat a person as he can become and he will become that person.” When veteran Campus Director, Roger Hershey calls Freshman to be involved in the ministry he does so on the basis of the “4/40 Principle”--”What you do in the next four years will influence the next 4 forty.” The true test of your coaching is not what they do under your watchful eye but the contribution to the kingdom that they make over a lifetime. Eric Swanson is a former Campus Crusade staff member who now serves as a Leadership Community Director for Externally Focused Churches. He received 13. HAVE FUN his Doctor of Ministry degree from Bakke Graduate John Wooden said “My goal every year was to make University. EFFECTIVE COACHING basketball a pleasure, not a poison.” Enjoying the game and success in the game are not mutually exclusive. Rick Neuheisel, football coach of the Colorado Buffaloes surprised his team during two-a-day practices by leading his team into a tubing expedition down Boulder Creek adjacent to the practice field. Taking time to relax and play communicates that there are more important things in life besides playing a game or ministry. The job of