The first step that you must take to accomplish any goal is to really believe that you can do it. Very rarely do people accomplish something they thought was unattainable. I myself have gone through this experience while I played football in college. We had some hard years and now looking back I can say that we as a team had no real belief that we were going to have a great season and it all started from the top.
In my first year, our head coach Rick Neuheisel was fired for NCAA violations and the school just replaced him with our offensive coordinator. Keith Gilbertson was great at coaching offensive line and at his job as an offensive coordinator but as a head coach he was not able to execute all the functions that are required out of a head coach. Then the school fired him they brought in Tyrone Willingham. He was fired from Notre Dame and I did not know why we had a coach that was let go by another school.
I played for two coaches and in both of those situations, all of the teams that I played on did not believe in the coach that was leading us. It was the strangest situation that I have ever been in. My teammates and I were confident and talented but we as a team never functioned at a high level throughout an entire season. The main cause of that from my perspective is our belief in our head coach was never strong or positive, especially in my last two seasons. We never talked about the head coach much in the locker room but there was no one who ever expressed confidence in him privately or publicly. When belief in your leader doesn’t exist, there is no way a team can perform to their full potential. This is true for sports, business or for any other leadership role.
It is not easy for a coach to gain the belief and confidence of a team but it is the reason they have their job and get paid the way that they do. Looking back at it, there are many things that I can point out that was wrong but the biggest lesson is that you must take your time and find a coach you can believe in. When the belief is not there then you can work as hard as you want, the result you seek will not come to past.
Let’s look at Jim Harbaugh and how he took the San Francisco 49ers from not having a winning season for several years to three straight NFC championships and one Super Bowl. He did it with the same players. Now, he currently is helping the University of Michigan football team to a great season when they were so bad for so long under the last two coaches. The part that is hard for people to understand is that he is doing it with the exact same players. NFL scouts are surprised by the level the current players are performing and are ranking them as solid prospects for the NFL. The players themselves can’t put their finger on why they are playing so much better this season. Harbaugh already proven he can get great results in the collegiate and professional level so there was a belief in his ability prior to him starting weather the players acknowledge it or not. I know that Harbaugh is not well liked in Seattle but what he has done with that team is amazing. I argue that a similar caliber coach would have done the same for my team while I was in college.
At DM Athletics we take all the necessary steps to first build the trust in us from our athletes and then continue to produce results that continue to build their belief and confidence in us as coaches. We know that we need to not only produce results but more importantly build the belief in us and in the people we work with themselves. Only when you believe 100% in your coach, yourself and the outcome will you be able to achieve the goal that you are after. Contact us now and let us put help you gain the belief that you need so you can be at your best!
Sincerely,
Donny Mateaki
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