We all would like to have big time budgets… to be able to get the best equipment, uniforms, stadiums, travel expenses, etc.  Most of us do not have that luxury.   Great coaches do not use that as an excuse, or let it get in the way of having a quality program.  They realize that quality has little to do with budget.

Marketing/ Business leader Seth Godin had this to say about businesses and budgets last week in his post, “Sometimes you don’t need a budget”

Here are some things you can do that don’t cost any money (but they certainly require effort):

• Treat your employees with care and respect
• Be consistent in your actions
• Keep your promises
• Grant others their dignity
• Give credit
• Take responsibility
• When wrong, offer a heartfelt apology
• Don’t be a jerk
• Take the time to actually listen to people
• Volunteer to handle the issue
• Care

Many of these very same things apply to having a quality athletic program, with a less than optimal budget.   Some really basic, yet important things that you can do to improve your program don’t cost a thing… other than effort.

Coach James Vint of Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas echoed these sentiments in his excellent post, “Winning is a Process” that ran last week.

“If you look at the most consistent programs at every level of football, you will find they share something in common. They all have a detailed process to develop their players.

A big part of the process is building relationships with players. Great coaches care about developing their student-athletes on and off the field. Because they care about their players, they are willing to set high standards for them on and off the field. They then hold them accountable to the standards.

You see, great coaches understand the correlation between character off the field and winning on the field. If you allow your players to be undisciplined off the field, it will result in mistakes on the field. One coach once told me, “never let discipline get in the way of winning.” What he meant was, let your best players do whatever they want. This is precisely the reason some talented teams do not consistently win. If your best athletes are above the law, you will lose the rest of the team. What this coach should have said was, “don’t let a lack of discipline get in the way of winning.” When players are not held accountable for their actions, they are not going to help your team be successful. They are going to fold up the tent when things get tough. If you hold them accountable early, you will not have big problems later.”

You don’t need to spend money… you can invest your time and energy into many things that don’t cost a cent, but will pay huge benefits to your program.

More posts along these lines:

• Chain of Accountability – Chain of Praise – Coach Floyd
• Turning a Program Around – Coach Floyd
• Building a Championship Culture – Coach Vint
• Leadership – Coach Floyd
• Leadership and Team Building – Coach Grabowski

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1