By Mike Kuchar
Senior Research Manager
X&O Labs
Twitter: @MikekKuchar
The game of football is changing—and so is the rest of the world.
Pick up a newspaper—or check Facebook—and you’ll see all the latest reports about how participation in football is in decline. Outsiders cite concussions and injuries as the main driver of this trend, while coaches point to sport specialization as the real cause. As football researchers, we set out to better understand the real “why” behind the decline—and bring solutions back to the industry that could grow the game.
That was 18 months ago—and what we actually found during our research was far greater than what we had hoped to discover.
Just like any problem in football, there are thousands of coaches who face the same issue. And within those thousands of coaches, there are true innovators who see these problems as opportunities—opportunities to absolutely crush the ‘roadblock’ and build something bigger and better.
Yes—we found solutions to these problems. Real solutions that can grow the game of football. That was not surprising being we have a network of over 60,000 football coaches—most of which are at the high school level.
The truly exciting development we discovered through our research was a small group of coaches who are re-building their programs to achieve higher levels of success in an ever-changing culture, society and world—and, here’s the fun part, they’re winning more games!
In this book, you’ll learn how these programs are growing participation numbers, building strong partnerships with administrations, parents, the community—and inning more games!
How are they doing it?
Simple. It’s a new shift in thinking. These coaches are spending more time developing their programs to win in the 21 hours before and after practice. Don’t get us wrong—practice is a very critical part of building a successful program, but these high school coaches have found to truly reach the peak levels of success, you have to win in the hallways, administration offices, parents’ living rooms, and down on main street.
Is it easy? No, but neither is winning.
It doesn’t matter how well your program is functioning right now. It doesn’t matter if you’re barely holding on or you’ve just won consecutive state championships—use the ideas in this book to re-build your program into one that can face all the headwinds that our ever-changing world will throw at it—and, here’s the fun part, win more games!
Here is what you are going to find in this exclusive Special Report. (Note: Links for each case are provided at the end of this page.)
Case 1: Creating a Culture of Participation Growth
Case 2: The Movement to Make the Game Safer
Case 3: Developing Staff & Community Buy-In
Case 4: Who Are You? The First Step to Building a Program
Case 5: Build Accountability by “Vesting” Players
Case 6: 3-Step Plan to Develop an “Uncommon” Program Identity
Senior Research Manager
X&O Labs
Twitter: @MikekKuchar
Introduction: Defining the 21-Hour High School Football Program
The game of football is changing—and so is the rest of the world.
Pick up a newspaper—or check Facebook—and you’ll see all the latest reports about how participation in football is in decline. Outsiders cite concussions and injuries as the main driver of this trend, while coaches point to sport specialization as the real cause. As football researchers, we set out to better understand the real “why” behind the decline—and bring solutions back to the industry that could grow the game.
That was 18 months ago—and what we actually found during our research was far greater than what we had hoped to discover.
Just like any problem in football, there are thousands of coaches who face the same issue. And within those thousands of coaches, there are true innovators who see these problems as opportunities—opportunities to absolutely crush the ‘roadblock’ and build something bigger and better.
Yes—we found solutions to these problems. Real solutions that can grow the game of football. That was not surprising being we have a network of over 60,000 football coaches—most of which are at the high school level.
The truly exciting development we discovered through our research was a small group of coaches who are re-building their programs to achieve higher levels of success in an ever-changing culture, society and world—and, here’s the fun part, they’re winning more games!
In this book, you’ll learn how these programs are growing participation numbers, building strong partnerships with administrations, parents, the community—and inning more games!
How are they doing it?
Simple. It’s a new shift in thinking. These coaches are spending more time developing their programs to win in the 21 hours before and after practice. Don’t get us wrong—practice is a very critical part of building a successful program, but these high school coaches have found to truly reach the peak levels of success, you have to win in the hallways, administration offices, parents’ living rooms, and down on main street.
Is it easy? No, but neither is winning.
It doesn’t matter how well your program is functioning right now. It doesn’t matter if you’re barely holding on or you’ve just won consecutive state championships—use the ideas in this book to re-build your program into one that can face all the headwinds that our ever-changing world will throw at it—and, here’s the fun part, win more games!
Here is what you are going to find in this exclusive Special Report. (Note: Links for each case are provided at the end of this page.)
Case 1: Creating a Culture of Participation Growth
- Chapter 1: “Having an Anticipatory, Not Reactionary Mindset”
- Chapter 2: Retaining Freshmen Football Players
- Chapter 3: Combating Sports Specialization
- Chapter 4: Winning Over the Moms
- Chapter 5: Team Building: Developing the “Family Dynamic” of a Football Program
Case 2: The Movement to Make the Game Safer
- Chapter 1: The Reality Behind the Perceived Concussion Problem in High School Football
- Chapter 2: Educating Parents on Current Safety Advancements
- Chapter 3: New Practice Methodologies That Are Less Taxing on Players
- Chapter 4: Products That Promote Safety
Case 3: Developing Staff & Community Buy-In
- Chapter 1: Protocols of Staff Development
- Chapter 2: Protocols for Coaches That Work Out of District
- Chapter 3: Community Outreach
- Chapter 4: Reflections on Football in the Community
Case 4: Who Are You? The First Step to Building a Program
Case 5: Build Accountability by “Vesting” Players
Case 6: 3-Step Plan to Develop an “Uncommon” Program Identity
Chapter 1: Stilmulating Participation and Program Growth
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