Bob Stoops is an outstanding football coach that has a team that consistently competes for championships both on the conference and national level. I had the opportunity to hear him speak many years ago and came away with an understanding of why he wins. It was not long after he took the job at Oklahoma and one of things he spoke about was his own attitude towards his players."I believe in being positive, and I believe in being confident. I believe the more you talk to your players that way, the more it becomes a part of their nature. A confident and positive player on the field is better than one that isn't."
Another area he spoke about was seven elements important to building a successful program:
#1 ESTABLISH TRUST
Players have to trust and believe in one another. You have to find different ways to get the players close. When I first went to Oklahoma, if we had eight players in the dinning hall, we should have them sitting at seven different tables. Now, you walk in our training table and you will see eight players at a table that only seats six people. you have to find ways to get the players to care about one another.
#2 ESTABLISH DISCIPLINE
All players want to be disciplined. The coach has to be strong enough to give it to them. I do not believe that all players should be treated the same. You treat them the way they deserve to be treated.
#3 ESTABLISH A WORK ETHIC
You must have a good effort. To me the best compliment you can receive is when someone tells you "Coach, it is fun to watch your team because of how hard they play." I value that comment more than any other. We grade effort. We watch the tape of the game. After we critique the film for assignment and fundamentals, we will go back and go through it quickly to see who is playing hard and who is not playing hard.
#4 BE CONSISTENT IN HOW YOU TEACH YOUR SYSTEM
We want to let players hear the same terms over and over.
#5 CREATE A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Make sure players have fun while they work. Talk confidently and positively to players. Eventually they will believe you. You want the guy that isn't so good to think he is great.
#6 ACKNOWLEDGE PERFORMANCE AND NOT POTENTIAL
We are going to play players that play hard and make plays. Don't play potential -- play players!
#7 BE SURE THAT PLAYERS TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF WINNING AND LOSING WITH THE COACHES
As coaches, we always take the blame for our players. "If is my fault." I am not talking about the media. I am talking about in the meeting room and one-on-one.
