Coach and Coordinator Podcast

Win More Games by Creating Strong Special Teams Culture with Awards and Recognition

07.12.2021 - By Keith GrabowskiPlay

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On today’s coach and coordinator podcast

We share ideas on how to build a strong special teams culture along starting with the bile and mindset that must be the foundation for special teams excellence then some tangible specific examples of how you can strengthen buy-in, create excitement, and recognize your elite performers.

The coaches on today’s podcast joined Keith for the Lauren’s First & Goal Clinic or the Virtual Football Summit and shared their ideas on creating player ownership on special teams.

Let’s start with the head coach at Blue Valley State, Tony Coaxum. In his segment he emphasizes the importance of understanding and performing your role on special teams as a player.

South Florida special teams coordinator Dan DaPrato feels that the “magic potion” is creating belief. He points to belief as one of the biggest factors that has allowed his units to be successful wherever he has been.

Collegiate and high school coach Christian Vital cements his players belief and attention to detail by a recognition and awards system which he discusses in his segment.

Princeton University is about excellence on and off the field and that certainly applies to special teams. STC Mike Mendehall shares their philosophy which build their culture, the award system that recognizes their excellence in performance from identifying what he calls a “crafty vet” to their “give em three” action any time they have a performance worth noting.

Justin Lustig’s special teams room is a prime example of player buy-in and fun. He gets creative in the different ways the recognize their special teams plays and create ownership.

Setting weekly goals and awarding daily, weekly and yearly performance is a big part of the special teams culture that Justin Lustig creates.  Now the Associate HC and STC at Vanderbilt, Coach Lustig shares the goals they track as well as how they recognize their top performers through social media and other ways.

Hopefully you picked up some ideas to help you start camp off right in creating a strong culture and buy-in from your players for special teams.

As you head into camp, preparing how you will create buy-in and recognize performance can go a long way in helping you win more games this fall.  The ideas shared here provide a great foundation for you to build upon.

All five of these courses are available in a bundle for just $24 - a big savings at 77% off here:

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The coaches give the visual along with video examples of what their culture looks like performing on the field. The link is in the show notes.

Be sure to follow all we are doing at coachandcoordinator.com and follow me on twitter @coachkgrabowski

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