What football has taught me.

1. We will not have a championship team until we have coaches who realize building character in young men is the ultimate goal, NOT WINNING AT ALL COST.
2. We will not have a championship team until coaches teach respect and dignity to our players by the way they coach and treat people.
3. Coaching is NOT cussing the players.
4. Coaching is NOT yanking players out of the game and blasting them.
5. Coaching is about fairness not favorites.
6. Coaching is NOT about losing control.
7. Allowing coaches to use degrading language to players teaches disrespect.
8. Coaches who lose control emotionally teach a lack of maturity to players.
9. Effective discipline is reflective in coaches knowing their players emotionally and mentally. It is never across the board. Life changing discipline requires WISDOM and FLEXIBILITY.
10. Effective coaching is evidenced in an open-door policy. Players or parents do not need to feel threatened with passive-aggressive treatment if they have a problem and address it verbally with a coach. Threats of players being punished for parental complaints destroys trust and WILL NOT promote team unity.
11. Championship teams have NO TOLERANCE for hazing, disrespect of fellow team mates, intimidation issues, bullying. Young men should be taught equal, fair treatment, regardless of skill, strength, ability, social status. Gifted players should NEVER be given special treatment. ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.
12. Parents need to stand up and demand coaches to clean-up their language, teach with positive, uplifting words, downplay mistakes, encourage better play with belief in player's ability to do his job, stop all forms of abuse whether mentally, verbally, physically, and NEVER be afraid to speak up for the welfare of their child.
13. Coaches who cannot handle the emotional toil of coaching need to be replaced. Teach our young men how to handle stress correctly. Stop the demeaning, poor gentleman behaviour and make no exceptions. We want gentlemen in the press box, on the sidelines, on the field, contributing to life, and dating our young women one day.
14. IN THE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY OF WORKING WITH OUR YOUNG MEN, WE SHOULD BE BUILDING LIVES. WE WILL WIN BALLGAMES BOTH ON THE FIELD AND OFF WHEN OUR COACHES GET IN THE REAL GAME AND LOSE THE ARROGANCE OF THEMSELVES.