Player Driven Culture - Mike Kuchar, X&O Labs

For the past 10 years, we’ve heard and seen the word “culture” being thrown about arbitrarily. In conversations with coaches, in reports we’ve published, in clinic talks we’ve attended, in the posters and t-shirts we see in programs and in sports “culture” books we’ve read…

Athletes and coaches praise it when things go well and cite it as the primary catalyst for things going wrong. It is the most hackneyed phrase in sports, yet no one doubts that it is the most powerful factor when it comes to building a football program.

There were things we already knew about building culture. We knew it was the bloodline of any program and it had to be all-inclusive in order to be effective. We also knew that it had to continually be re-evaluated and re-aligned based on changing dynamics like environment and personnel. Coaches can never allow a culture to grow stagnant. 

Most importantly, we knew that the healthiest form of culture is one that is completely player-driven, where players are empowered with ownership in creating and defending a program’s core values. The generated ownership and accountability that comes as result is invaluable to a program’s success, often producing achievements significantly above talent level.

But how do you get to player-driven culture? How do you make the transition from being coach-led to being player-led? And how will it take?

Today's guest Mike Kuchar of X&O Labs shares what he found in doing an extensive study of over 40 programs and how they build culture, and then building his findings into a system that is built around 7 behaviors:

1. Messaging

2. Collaboration

3. Connectivity

4. Self Advocacy

5. Emotional Awareness

6. Responsibility

7. Resiliency

Get Mike's study (over 3 hours)here:

https://bit.ly/3EOKWh4

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