I just had an awesome 7-Minute Clinic interview with Kevin Grimes, coach of the Cal Men’s Soccer team.   The first words out of Kevin’s mouth were, “Every team leaves a clue”.  I’d never heard this line before.  I was instantly intrigued.

I caught Kevin coming off a very UP and then a very DOWN season.  He and his staff are right in the middle of completing their post-season evaluation.  This is not some chit chat over a beer.  The coaching staff conducts a top to bottom review of the previous season – what worked, what didn’t and what was missing.

Kevin’s theory is that every team leaves a clue behind during the season and a thoughtful post-season assessment can uncover such clues.

Coach Grimes’ enthusiasm for the meticulous hunt of the tiniest clue is remarkable given the recent roller coaster season.  The Bears started out on fire – taking Maryland, the defending national champs down to the wire and winning seven out of their first nine matches.  Kevin was pumped.  He had his best team ever off to their best start ever.

Then the injury bug hit.  The Bears lost player after player to injury.  They won only two of their last nine games.

At a time when many coaches would be feeling sorry for themselves, Coach Grimes is sifting through the ashes.  He’s in search of that one gem that will make his program stronger and more resilient next season.

Successful coaches are passionate about mastering their craft – not just the Xʼs and Oʼs of their sport. Sport specific knowledge is important, yet it doesnʼt separate average coaches from great coaches. There are a lot of brilliant people in every sport who canʼt coach a lick.

Great coaches realize that there is so much more to their craft. They study and understand group dynamics, motivation, personal growth, goals, communication and so forth.  They love the game, they love learning about the game and this feeds how they teach the game.

Check out this excerpt from a recent article about Jim Caldwell, first year head coach of the Super Bowl bound Indianapolis Colts.

A book-strewn table in Caldwell’s office is testimony to his intellectual energy and insatiable curiosity.

“The Drunkard’s Walk” is one of the titles. It’s physicist Leonard Mlodinow’s plain-speaking examination of probability theory and random events and their impact on human existence, from physics to football.

Another is the Bible. This is the one for which Caldwell reaches first after arriving at the Colts’ Northwestside complex, usually between 5 and 6 a.m. What he reads is grist for meditation during the pre-dawn run that comes next, weather be darned.

“Exalt thyself and be humbled, or humble thyself and be exalted,” he might say in a team meeting a few hours later. Or perhaps, “Talent beats hard work only if talent works hard.”

Said safety Jamie Silva, “I bring a pen and pad into our team meetings and write down the things he says. Somebody could write a book if they followed him around for a while.”

Caldwell’s curiosity didn’t arise with his appointment as an NFL head coach. It was evident throughout the 32-year apprenticeship that brought him to that position.

As an obscure young assistant coach at Southern Illinois, he began writing letters to college head coaches, anyone who did something unusual, especially if they did it unusually well. Caldwell typed his question at the top of a sheet, left space for a scrawled answer and included a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Bear Bryant answered. So did Tom Osborne, and a legion of others.

Caldwell sought, studied, sorted, absorbed. He came to believe that speed is crucial, particularly at this time of year, when fatigue is prevalent and a step or two can be decisive.

For nearly a third of a century, he took notes on every meeting conducted or talk given by the half-dozen head coaches under whom he worked. The notebooks, about 50 of them, fill a shelf in his office and box on box in a storage facility in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he maintains a home.

No wonder then, Colts defensive Robert Mathis would say: “A first-year head coach just coming in, he’s about the most prepared a guy could ever be. He’s on top of everything.”

That’s a good thing, because his players were watching.

“When you’re dealing with a guy like Tony Dungy, which is the highest of the highs, and then you have a new coach come in, you’ve almost got to have a drop-off,” linebacker Clint Session said. “We did not have a drop-off.”

Source: Phil Richards, IndyStar.com, 1-22-10

I’ve found this same theme in each of the interviews I’ve conducted for Inside World Class Coaching.  The five coaches who combined have won over 35 National Titles – time to hit the books!

National Signing Day for football is right around the corner.  The airwaves are a buzz with top recruiting class lists and school rankings.

Teams, businesses and organizations are only as good as the folks they have “on the bus.”  Effective recruiting is critical to coaching success.

Talent is a given in the recruiting equation.  It’s the easiest factor to assess – so most recruiting methods focus on it.  But don’t stop there.  Your recruiting plan needs to go beyond talent assessment.

Some things to consider:

• Remember that your coaching relationship begins with your first interaction.Clearly articulate your story as a coach and the story of your program.
• Highlight what you have to offer that differentiates you from other programs.
• Be ruthless in finding out what the athlete really wants.  Listen carefully – everything they say has value.Let the recruit know up front what it takes to succeed in your program.
• Treat each prospect as an individual and create your own unique relationship with them.
• Recruit the whole family not just the individual athlete.  Remember, the apple doesn’t often fall far from the tree.
• Be prepared to answer all the recruit’s questions.  For sample questions, check out my earlier post Recruiting – A Sweet Dream or Your biggest Nightmare? Part 2 (JULY 28, 2009)

I am working on a detailed report for coaches to take their recruiting to the next level.  Stay tuned!  (Pun intended).

Good Luck!