A CHANGE OF APPROACH

When I first started coaching I tried to motivate kids by showing them the personal benefits of their actions. "If you'll lift you may get a scholarship" or "If you'll come to the summer practices you will be able to play more" were common phrases for me.

My staff and I have discussed a different approach and I'll be introducing it this season. We want to encourage our athletes to play for something bigger than themselves. It's not a new concept but it's been underemphasized. We'll encourage our players to play for their teammates, community and school.

Playing for your teammates isn't an earthshattering idea. We just want to emphasize it. We hope that our athletes will be motivated by each other. It's easier to get up in the morning to lift weights if you know your teammates are expecting you to be there.

Playing for tradition is a lost art. Snowflake's tradition includes a great alumni and community base. I think our kids are very community minded. They are constantly doing service projects and other work in the community. However, I don't know if they understand that the Snowflake tradition was built by members of the Snowflake community and alumni. There's a disconnect from our past. I'd like to have our kids play in such a way that the community members and alumni can be proud of their team. I'd like to include our alumni and community in our program in any way I can. First however, we want our athletes to be taught where the Lobo tradition comes from.

That leads into the next point. School pride. Snowflake has a long, proud tradition of excellence. Our student body is made up of great students. Not all of them are athletes, musically minded or even academically gifted. However, they are all an important part of our school. Every student, past and present, deserves a team they can cheer for and be proud to call their own. Our football team is a representative of the school and it's students. I'd like our athletes to understand that. To help build that connection we'll sing the Fight Song or Alma Mater before every game we play. We'll do it in front of our stands and invite the fans to sing and the band to play. We're all on the same team and we all want the same thing, Snowflake success!

With this new focus will come change and that change will lead to great seasons to come.