Melting Pots and Scatter Plots
I got a great question the other day in the comments. I mentioned that I would tackle topics that people wanted me to discuss in my next couple articles. One question I received is how do we, as coaches, bring in guys from all over the country, unite them as a team, embrace habits they have built from old coaches, and rebuild habits to mold them into your team? I thought it was a great question, and one of which I was excited to answer, or at least attempt to.
Though I am a coach, I don’t claim to be an expert on team building or corporate culture, etc. I think I have learned things in my journey and will continue to learn about leadership and team culture. It has always been an area that I have often neglected in my younger coaching days. I just wanted to coach lacrosse. I just wanted to recruit and focus on x’s and o’s. I often was very critical of our leadership on the team. I’ll delve into this a bit. So, when I was a young head coach around 10 years ago, all full of piss and vinegar, I was harsh on our leadership. I was very demanding of my captains, as I thought I should be. I stripped guys of their duties if I felt like they weren’t living up to the roll. I had no problem criticizing our labeled leaders in front of the team. I tried solo captainship, and one year, I even went so far as having no captains, as I felt no one had earned the title. Now I can go on and defend my position as head coach, as the foremost authority on my own team. And my ultimate contention is that there is nothing inherently wrong with some of the leadership decisions that I made, however harsh. But there was one area where I was consistently failing at. I had absolutely no problem criticizing the leadership of my team. But year after year I realized that I, as head coach, was doing nothing to help develop, nurture, and cultivate good leadership. Leadership is just like any talent or skill. Some people are born leaders and have natural leadership characteristics, while at the same time, it can be developed, practiced, and improved upon. Over the last 4ish years or so, I have been on a quest to gain more knowledge in this area. Like anything else, if there is problem in my program, it is ultimately my job to try and fix it, no one else’s. So I am much more interested in learning all I can about leadership training than I am about X’s and O’s. I enjoy reading books and articles on the subject, talking to other coaches, listening to podcasts and Ted talks, whatever I can get my hands on, because I know this is an area that I can stand to improve and learn a great deal more about. And I think once I started trying to help my leaders along and support them more, as opposed to strictly chastising them, we as a program have been exponentially more successful.
So why do I mention all of this? The first part of the question refers to the idea of uniting a team. I think recruiting often times is the easiest part (in a sense). Getting guys to come to your program, though challenging, is just the beginning. To get them to buy in, achieve their ultimate potential, push themselves past where they thought they could go, that all has to happen under the cloak of great leadership. And I know it is an ongoing process, but I believe one class can change the trajectory of a program. For me is was the HS senior class of 2018. This recruiting class played for me for 4 years and all graduated in 2022. This group of guys were responsible for changing the culture and the way others saw the men’s lacrosse team at my school. When you have one class that can really chart the course of where the program should be headed, and define the standards being set, everyone (all 3 classes underneath them) that learned from them will be able to carry on what they started. From there, it is (hopefully) like a very long game of dominos, rippling year after year with each senior class continuing to hold true to the standards that were set for them, while at the same time, continuing to grow and improve in their own unique way. It is fun to watch play out over the course of time, as each team yields its own special group of leaders that have learned from those before them. So if there are coaches out there that are frustrated by where their team is at culturally; one, don’t be afraid to make harsh but necessary changes for the betterment of the program, two, remember to help and support your leaders grow and find their own leadership style by allowing them to make decisions and listening to their thoughts and input, and three, all it takes is one special class of recruits that align with your core values and principles that can turn it all around.
I hope this helps a little bit. As much as I love to read and learn more about ways to help develop leadership within your team, I have always felt that the best culture is always player driven. If they are passionate, enthusiastic, committed to the journey, and inclusive, they will instinctively develop a sense of team unity and culture. It’s as simple as that. If you have upperclassmen that don’t care and are too cool for school, then culture will reflect their values and priorities. I was lucky to have really great leaders when I played in college. They were guys that I had a great level of respect for, not just as players but as people, workers, and competitors. So I was pretty confident when I got into coaching that I had a good idea of what a good captain should look like. It is important not to compromise in this position. Coaches often times find themselves appointing a “leadership council” as opposed to labeled captains, because it can be difficult selecting a leader that commands that level of reverence and respect. Having the team vote is good, but might not always be a perfect metric of leadership measuring. One has to be unanimously respected among the team, or else it can go off the rails quickly. It is a hard role to be in. It is a very unapologetic role to play and sometimes, you won’t be in everyone’s favor if you are doing it right. But if your team has strong culture, it is because they are led by someone with conviction, that is a true servant to their peers, not a dictator, nor a people pleaser.
I really enjoy a diverse roster. I think having differing backgrounds, ideas, skill sets, and perspectives are important on any team. And I think I am lucky being in the Midwest, because our geography caters to this belief of mine. I think on the current roster we have men representing 16 states, with both coasts represented. Since I have been here, we have had half of the nation’s states represented at one time or another, as well as Canada. I am both proud and amazed by how far we have been able to reach. And I wouldn’t change that for anything. At the end of the day, they are kids that are of the same generation. They speak the same language, have the same values, and above all else, love the sport of lacrosse. I find getting along here has been easy, if not effortless, at times. But it is still awesome to see guys that will ultimately become lifelong friends, that would have probably never met under normal circumstances. That’s what I enjoy seeing the most. And it’s not the same everywhere. When I was coaching back east as an assistant, our team was mainly comprised by players from the state of NY. There were a couple New Englanders scattered in, but that was it. By the time I had left, we had guys on the team from OR, CA, WI, MN, CO, and VA. And I don’t want to make it sound that it was all me, because it wasn’t. We all had a hand in the recruiting process as a staff. But it was just awesome to see the growth of the program, from what was strictly regional recruitment before.
But I really enjoy that part, I always have. And I don’t want people to think that you need to have a ton of different states represented to have diversity on your roster. Shoot, you could have a diverse roster at a local HS. That’s not what I mean necessarily. I mean to say, that everyone has their value system, and what they choose to represent. Like I said, I feel good about living in the Midwest because it helps cater to my core beliefs. There isn’t much lacrosse in Iowa, so I have no choice but to fill my roster with young men from near and far. You have to play to your strengths. I know plenty of great lacrosse teams that do it differently. There is a Division III team in Michigan that has almost 100% of its roster comprised of instate talent alone, and they are a very good team. It’s all about what you want to achieve at the end of the day. But I like embracing different walks of life, different styles of lacrosse, different decision making abilities, etc. At the end of the day, we have our system, and no matter what you did in HS, the college game will always require much improvement and adjusting. But it is fun to take a player and his skills and try to find a way to insert it onto the field/into your system. Some players will have to completely change the way they play. Other players might be able to stay more or less the same. But at the end of the day it will still require the following: coach-ability, open-mindedness, discipline, and trust. I really enjoy getting these guys on the field playing together. You can come from 3,000 miles away, but once you put on the same jersey, you are a part of a new family that will support your efforts, and have your back. To see guys playing for one another and cheering each other on, is one of my favorite parts of this job. And yes, I choose to believe that you can be successful this way. I enjoy a diverse group, sure. But even at the highest levels, that’s what you see and that’s what you get. Not everyone that plays on a pro team, or an Olympic team is all from one high school, one college, or even one state. They are the best, most coachable, most fundamental, and of the highest character players from all over the country. Seeing that work together is sublime. It is one of the reasons that sports, unlike other things in life, not only rewards those who perform at the highest level, but also those who work together with people that might not share a common background, upbringing, or way of thinking. This is why I choose to try and bring as many different groups of people to my team as possible. I like the melting pot style of team. The salt, fat, acid, and heat are all unique and distinct on their own, but only when combined do you get the satisfaction of a flavorful dish. That’s probably why a frittata is my all-time favorite breakfast food.
KASEY BURST
The HC at the University of Dubuque, Kasey brings all things college lacrosse to your inbox.