Leadership Lessons from World Champion Coach Tony Dungy

1. Direction.

2. Perseverence - Staying the Course

Tony talked about how people told him his laid
back style of coaching would never work as a head
coach in the NFL, but he wasn't going to change
his philosophy based on other peoples' opinions.

As coaches, it's important that we stay the course
once we have decided on the direction we want to
go.

It's not about stubbornly refusing to make changes
when things aren't working, we see the results of
that on the world scene right now.

Instead, it's about showing consistency in the
application of the plan of action we believe in.

I can promise you that even the best prepared, best
written training plans are going to give you
moments of doubt.

Athletes aren't improving like you expected, they're
sucking wind at the end of the game, they're
getting beat to the ball and off the line.

You'll start second guessing yourself, your program,
your ability.

And your athletes will be able to see the doubt
and frustration in your body language. I'm a firm
believer in the idea that your team, your group, etc.
takes on the personality of the coach.

It's why I always (ok, almost always) try to
stay positive. I try to act like everything that
happens is part of the plan.

Did we get our butts kicked this week? No problem
guys, we're training through it.

Even during times I had no idea how to steer what
I thought was a flaming train wreck, I always
stayed the course.

Again, because my plan was researched, based on
science and physiologically sound, I had every
reason to believe that things would come together
when it mattered.

And the vast majority of time it did.

Because I knew that if I wanted my athletes to
naturally trust and follow me (not out of fear or
because I'm the adult in charge) I could not
flip flop in ideology or change course mid season.

Athletes will take on the underlying belief and
expectations of the person/people coaching them.

And if I'm all over the place because I don't have
utmost confidence in the preparation I put into
planning the season, then my athletes won't
either and we'll all fail to reach our goals.

<$firstname$>, if you're operating with a solid
base of knowledge and designing your athletes'
training with a proven system, stay the course
and things will come together.

If you have any doubts about the effectiveness of
your training program, here is the program that
will give you the Direction to Persevere:

Complete Speed Training

In speed,

Latif Thomas


PS. To hear directly from World Class Coaches and
discuss training questions with other peers in
similar situations to yours, join us in the
Speed Training Report community:

The Speed Training Report

Lessons from World Champion Tony Dungy

A few weeks ago I attended a Get Motivated Business
Seminar in Indianapolis.

I got to see several successful and inspiring speakers
including Steve Forbes, Robert Schuler, Zig Ziglar and
General Colin Powell.

But being in Indianapolis, it was headlined by two
local heroes: Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning.

As a diehard New England Patriots fan (I used to teach
and coach right in Foxboro, the home of Gillette
Stadium and the New England Patriots) it was tough
to sit in the RCA dome and listen to all the diehards
go overboard everytime the Colts were mentioned.

Nevertheless, as part of my ongoing quest to evolve
as both a coach and a human being, I took advantage
of the opportunity to learn from both of these men.

So I thought I would share with you some of the key
points I learned from them and put them in the context
of how we can apply these pieces of wisdom to our
coaching.

I'll start with Tony Dungy, who is just as much of
a class act as people say he is.

Tony talked about leadership and as coaches, trainers
and parents, we simply can not expect our athletes
to follow us and meet their potential if we do not
display the following five characteristics.

Of course, what I'm talking about is dependent almost
entirely on the fact that you consistently apply
training strategies that will get results.

So let's look at the first of the 5 points Tony
Dungy discussed:


1. Direction.

You have to know where you are going and how you plan
to get there.

Great leadership is not leadership at all if you don't
know exactly how to get your athletes from Point A
to Point Z.

They depend on you to accomplish this task.

Just because you're the adult and you're in charge
does not mean you have the full attention and respect
of your team, group or clients.

I've had enough athletes (and parents) approach me in
various situations and ask for help or ask my advice
because they (parent and athlete) have lost faith in
the coaching they are getting.

The fact that you are reading this tells me that you
know there are holes in your system.

None of us (myself included) should be so arrogant as
to believe that just because athletes are doing what
we say, that it also means they believe in what we
say.

Young people are incredibly perceptive. They pick up
on your mistakes. They know when you have no idea how
to fix technique, teach a drill or come up with workouts
that work. They dream of mutiny when their teammates
keep getting overuse injuries (shin splints, strains,
hamstring pulls, etc) year after year.

Tony said that the best leaders have the ability to
listen and get the opinions of others, not claim to
know it all.

This is critical. It's the foundation of any success
you hope to have in any position of authority and all
other traits hinge on it.

It goes back to my recent articles on identifying the
'World's Greatest' speed coach.

A few years ago, a particular team (and on paper a
successful one) had a disproportionate
number of athletes and parents coming to me for help.

In fact, several of them offered to match, out of
pocket, my coaching salary if I would jump ship and
come to this town to coach.

It was tempting because this town was overflowing with
underdeveloped talent and I always wanted to coach
there.

I knew those coaches would never allow such a thing
to take place and I was happy with the progress of
my current program.

But I sent a 'feeler' email out to the Head Coach.

He told me, in no uncertain terms, that the way they
did things there wasn't going to change and that they
were not interested in change.

His exact quote was 'The (name of town) way is the
only way'.

And that's why his athletes and their parents came to
me in droves.

He didn't have the hearts and minds of his athletes
or their parents. And that is not the way to get the
most out of everyone.

Or anyone, for that matter.

If you want athletes to *want* to work hard for you,
it starts with clearly knowing where you want to go
and how you're going to get there.

It's why you need to be using Complete Speed Training
as the foundation of your speed and athletic
development program.

If not, you're already lacking a strong sense of
direction.

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/cmd.php?ad=315107

And if you don't have one, your athletes are already
going elsewhere to find someone who does.

Give Your Athletes a 'Criticism Sandwich'

There are a lot of tell-tale signs of a crappy
program.

One of the most obvious is when coaches stand around
and chat in a group while their athletes are doing
their speed work.

No intsruction or feedback other than the occasional
'Nice Job', 'Swing your arms', 'Lift your knees' or
other generic sayings.

You and I know this happens for two reasons:

1. They are lazy.
2. They don't know how to teach or correct speed to
begin with.

Coaching speed correctly is a skill and it takes
some trial and error to put in place a good system
depending on your situation.

If you have a large group it can get tiring trying
to watch several athletes run, save the
file of their run in your head and then give
feedback while simultaneously doing the same thing
for the next group.

And then the group after that.

On top of that, let's be honest, most kids are a
complete mess. It's going to take some time to get
their technique under control.

And that means you have to keep breaking them down
over and over and over.

If you're not careful, they'll start to get frustrated
and believe they won't be able to pull it together.

And we all have those extra sensitive athletes (high
school girls??) who need to be tip-toed around.

To avoid drama and maintain motivation, I like to give
all of my athletes a 'criticism sandwich'.

(I'd like to take credit for this term, but I can't.)

A criticism sandwich is when you first *praise* your
athlete for something, then deliver the criticism
and then close with praise that also sends them
back to the starting line before they can begin a
long round of over analysis.

It goes a little something like this:

YOU: Hey Courtney, great effort on that one. I could
tell you were really focusing on (weakness you have
been trying to correct) there and it looks like it's
really starting to come together. It's like night
and day compared to how it was at the beginning of
the season.

COURTNEY: Thanks!

YOU: Here's the thing. You popped straight up again
and didn't drive your lead arm. Remember, if you want
to run (goal time discussed in goal setting meeting)
you have to be more patient at the start. If you
rush because you're trying to keep up with (team
superstar) then you're never going to get to full
speed. Remember, it's OK to spend a little more
time on the ground at the start, but you have to
drive the lead arm all the way up over your head
so you can get into good position. If you keep
rushing through the first 5 steps, your times aren't
going to drop.

(Remember, only focus on 1 thing at a time. In this
instance, everything stems from driving the lead
arm.)

COURTNEY: Umm...OK I thought I drove my lead arm.

(This is where we have to neutralize the self doubt
that is coming in hard and fast.)

YOU: Listen, you're doing great. Once we can fix
that one issue, everything else will fall into place
immediately. As long as you keep trying as hard
as you are and focus on that one thing, I'm 100%
confident that you'll get it. You're more than
half way there, so just keep focusing like you have
been and all of a sudden you'll drop a bomb and
never look back.

COURTNEY: Really, do you think so?

YOU: Most definately. Now I want you to go get ready
for the next one and just visualize the perfect
start, with your lead arm coming all the way up. No
chicken wing arms.

COURTNEY: OK!


With that interaction, you've neutralized the
possibility of a self confidence crash, given
constructive feedback and likely even boosted the
athlete's confidence.

As long as you maintain that procedure with your
athletes, you'll be amazed at how quickly they
develop.

The art of coaching is, in large part, a mental game.

Of course, to serve a really great criticism sandwich,
you have to actually know what problems to look for
and how to fix them.

Otherwise, kids will start to see that
you're BS'ing them. I hired an assistant once who
tried to drop the sandwich on some kids who knew
better. He lost all credibility trying to make up
a technical analysis on the spot that made no sense.

And getting credibility back is tough.

If you're not 100% confident that you can serve up
quality criticism sandwiches every time, I'll tell
you exactly what to look for and how to fix all
the problems that I see in athletes.

It's all on Disc 5 of the Complete Speed Training
Program: Pure Speed Training.

Click here to get your copy.



In speed,

Latif Thomas

P.S. Think you can't do it?:

"Wonderful, enlightening information. Recently, I
went to a speed and agility class offered by my
son's local sports club. I had just completed
studying your Complete Speed Training program and
reading several articles in the newsletter. Well,
I was speaking with the coach who was so impressed
with my knowledge that mid way through the class,
I was instructing the kids on mechanics and
exercises. I was invited back to lead the class by
myself and now I've been requested to set up
programs for the entire program. Also, several
parents have approached me about working with
their kids this summer. I guess I now need
information on getting certified and how to run a
summer camp. Thanks!"

Allen Williams
New Milford, CT

Complete Speed Training

Lift Strong

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In fact, this disease even affects us here within the Athletes' Acceleration family.

So when a good friend and colleague of mine, Alwyn Cosgrove, told me about a cause that he was committed to that would help fight this disease, I knew I wanted to help.

You see, Alwyn had faced cancer in the past, twice, and he beat it both times.

You really should listen to this interview Alwyn gave where hetalks about his ordeal and the project that came from it.

You can listen to that interview here:
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Alwyn has put together a CD that you can purchase at:
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This program, had it been a book, would have weighed inat over 800 pages and contains information from a laundry list of the biggest names in the industry.

*All* proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

We hope you'll listen to the interview and donate to thisworthwhile cause.

Here is the link again:
http://www.liftstrong.com

Regards,
Patrick BeithLatif Thomas