Coaching Philosophy

Matt Rosdahl

Vision Statement and Coaching Philosophy

Introduction

Whether in the classroom or on the football field I view myself as an educator. Many of the lessons that our student-athletes will learn on the gridiron will serve them for the rest of their lives. Success, failure, teamwork, sacrifice, and discipline are all experiences that will be encountered both on the field and in life. My job as a coach is to prepare my student-athletes for those experiences so that they will have the tools to properly grow and learn from them.

I love the game of football. Beyond my family there is nothing that I am more passionate about. It, more than anything else helped prepare me for life. It built the foundations for my greatest successes and taught me to persevere when faced with challenges and failures. I want to give my student-athletes that same experience. I want to equip them with the tools that they will need to meet all of life's trials and tribulations.

Vision Statement

I am committed to developing a positive and productive program with a culture of winning. This will be achieved by building a dedicated, aggressive, strong, and determined team that is a positive representation of our school and community while consistently competing for championships.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES AND KEY COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM

Preparation

I believe that when you fail to prepare you will undoubtedly fail in your pursuits. This is very true when it comes to the game of football. Preparation is a constant effort. In the off-season we are preparing for the upcoming season. We prepare our athletes by putting in place training programs to reach our team goals and their individual goals. We prepare as a staff by evaluating the previous season while developing plans for the next. We prepare during the season by properly evaluating ourselves, our players, and our opponents on a regular basis. We develop weekly and daily practice plans based on our evaluations. We are prepared for every game situation so that when the "unexpected" comes up we are ready. Simply put we prepare by making sure that every effort is taken to ensure that our players are ready and that we have a game plan in place that gives us the best chance to win.

Communication

Communication is an incredibly important part of running a successful program. However I believe it is more than just what you communicate. It is also how, when, and where. As a football coach you must be able to communicate not only to your players and assistant coaches, but also to administrators, parents, media, and the community. When communicating with your coaching staff it is important to make sure that all coaches feel that their opinions and ideas are heard and validated. However as the head coach it is always my final call in all decisions. "The buck stops here" is not just a presidential mantra. It is also true as a head coach. When and where coaching staffs communicate is also important. Any time there are disagreements (and there will undoubtedly be some) those conversations need to take place behind closed doors and with the utmost respect. When communicating with players proper care must be taken to get the appropriate point across but to do so in a way that builds up the player and doesn't tear them down. Communication with parents can make or break a program. Parents need to have a voice in the program, however there needs to be ground rules as to when, where, and about what those conversations revolve around. I feel it is vital to have regular and positive communication with parents in an effort to build strong working relationships. Communicating with the media is part of a head coach's job. It is important to be a positive voice for your program and represent your school and community with pride. When it comes to the community I truly believe that the football program has the power to bring people together. It is important to foster positive relationships within the community.

Goals

It is vital to the success of a football program to not only have goals, but to also set out a plan of how to achieve them. As head coach I have personal goals for myself and the team but I will never decide our shared team goals alone. My staff and players will always assist in setting those shared team goals. I believe goals should be challenging but not unattainable. I also believe in having players set their own individual goals that they want to achieve. We generally break these goals into four categories: off-season, in-season, academic, and post-high school. Players off-season goals will center around gains they hope to make in the weight room and through off-season training. In-season goals focus on playing time, statistics, leadership, etc. Academic goals are important not only in terms of making sure players stay eligible but also in helping them grow as students and in their pursuit of future scholastic or job related plans. Post-high school goals are what they want to do after high school. If that involves playing collegiate football that allows me to sit down with that athlete and help prepare a plan for helping them realize that goal. If it does not then we can still use the lessons learned on the football field to help them achieve their dreams.

Leadership

The best way to achieve success in any leadership position is to lead by example. As head coach it is imperative that I set a positive example and and live what I teach. I truly believe that no player or assistant coach should ever out work me when it comes to football. I need to be the first one in and the last one out. Whatever I expect from them, I have to give that much more. My players and my assistant coaches have to trust that I will put maximum effort into every aspect of my role as head coach. As head coach I am the face of the program. I need to be a positive example to all that I come into contact with so that I can represent my players, team, school, and community with pride.

Fundamentals

The basics of football are blocking, tackling, running, throwing, and catching. It is imperative to teach and reteach these fundamentals over and over again. If players cannot perform those tasks it doesn't matter what your game plan or scheme is. It is my philosophy that we must spend time everyday teaching and coaching our players to excel at the fundamentals.

Continuous Growth

I truly believe that coaching is a continuous growing experience. I always want to improve myself as a person, husband, father, teacher, and coach. I believe that there is always something that can be learned from every situation and person that I come into contact with. I make a concentrated effort to seek out those that have more experience than I do. I attend multiple coaching clinics every year. I attend local collegiate practices and use every opportunity that comes my way to pick their brains. I want to learn from my successes and failures. I believe that the ability to change, being open to new techniques, and always striving to improve is paramount to any coaches long term success.

Organization

Being organized is a huge key to being successful. Every aspect of my program will be run in an organized manner. Coaches will meet to organize the weeks practice plans, film will be broken down in a timely manner, game plans will be in place with enough time to fully implement them each week, and coaches will constantly be evaluating with an eye towards making needed adjustments. Each days practice plan will be organized down to the minute in an effort to have the most efficient practice possible. Off-season workouts will be planned and implemented with both team and individual goals in mind. Fundraising events, parents meetings, film sessions, player and coaches meetings, and anything else that takes place will be planned in advance so that they can be effective and successful.

Building Character

I want young men in my program that do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. I want them to not only be great football players but great students, great leaders, and great ambassadors of our program, school, and community. it is important that I am guiding my football players in that pursuit. Building character is one of, if not the most important parts of my job. I want to instill in these young men the values that will last them a lifetime.

Dedication

Dedication is a must if you want to run a successful football program. It starts with the head coach, down to the assistant coaches, and onto the players. We must love the game of football and be dedicated not only to it but to each other. Dedication to being a great student-athlete leads to pride in ones self, the team, the school, and the community. That pride then translates to hard work and success on the field and in life.

Positivity

I believe that players will work harder and give more effort for coaches that they respect and admire. No one likes constant negativity. It is important to be upbeat and have a positive attitude. Football should at its core be fun. We want our players and our coaches to look forward to practice, even when they know they are going to have to work hard. That can only be achieved if the head coach has a positive and upbeat attitude. Part of the job of being a football coach is motivating our players to achieve and I believe that can be done by focusing on the positives. When a player makes a good play we want to celebrate that. Make a point of praising them in front of their teammates. When we see tremendous hustle and effort it is important to call notice to that. On the flip side though as coaches we must also coach players through their mistakes. I believe it is important to point out what they did wrong and then give them the chance to correct their mistake on the field as soon as possible. I also want my players to remain upbeat and positive as much as possible. Bad attitudes won't be tolerated. They bring the whole team down.

Hard Work

Hard work is not only expected, it is mandatory. Players who dedicate themselves to working hard, doing things the right way, and who invest their energy into the team will be rewarded. For example if I have two players who are even remotely close in performance but one of whom is naturally gifted but doesn't work hard and the other is less gifted but works his butt off day in and day out I am going to play the hard worker first every time. That is the kind of player I trust out on the field because his hard work has shown me that he has the ability to persevere through adversity. It also sends the message to the other players that they will be rewarded for their efforts. I expect my players to work hard on the field, in the weight room, and in the classroom.

INSPIRATION