Motivating Young Men David Cottrill

Who am I? 26 Years Coaching Youth Football 17 Years as Head Coach 112-52 record as Head Coach Single A team in a Conference with 6 AAA teams and 2 AA teams 5 Championship game appearances with 3 Championships

The Objective It ain’t the X’s and O’s, it’s the Jimmys and the Joes. If you’re going to motivate someone, you must understand what is important to that person. What is in their heart? Since we want to motivate young men, we have an advantage. We were once young and we are men.

What’s in his heart? This is the heart of the warrior. He wants to be a hero. It’s our job to give him a cape and teach him to fly. It’s not our job to tell him he can’t. We need to give him the tools to be heroic. We need to give him the arena to be heroic in. This is the heart of the warrior.

To earn a t-shirt, I have to witness their warrior heart in action. I teach them that God has placed a Warrior Heart in each and every one of them. It is my job through the sport of football to strengthen, test and develop their Warrior Heart. To earn a t-shirt, I have to witness their warrior heart in action.

We need to start with what I believe are the stages of man’s life We need to start with what I believe are the stages of man’s life. Understand that these stages overlap and we can be in multiple ones at any time. Beloved Son – Birth to 12 yrs old. -needs to be loved, know he’s the apple of his daddy’s eye and live in a world of safety knowing that he need not fear the outside world. Cowboy (Pre-Warrior) – 8-22 yrs old – testing out his future warrior abilities. In need of hard work and a King to lead him. Warrior/Lover – 18-40 – Living as a warrior and a lover at the same time. Is important to have both as one only can send you down a wrong path. King – 25-60 – You are in charge of something, it can be as small as yourself, your family or as large as the USA. It can also be a football team. Sage – 50-100 – you are counted upon to share wisdom with younger men.

We’ll Concentrate on the first 2 stages with a little reference to the other stages.

Beloved Son Beloved Son needs: Love Discipline A Battle to fight – they like to think of themselves as powerful. In a battle much larger than their immediate surroundings. A Hug – You are here for them, not them for you.

Cowboy The cowboy needs: Adventure Hard work Confidence building experiences Initiation

Beloved Son - Theory Unconditional Love Speech – day 1- I teach that I will love them no matter what. Hebrews12:5-6, My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child that he embraces, he also corrects. So we see that if I truly love you, I will correct you. I will make you get it right. Love and discipline go hand in hand. Discipline, structure and order are what you give these kids to prove you love them.

Cowboy - Theory Frame their football season as a big adventure that you and they are going on together. Tell them that it is a story and they’re responsible for writing it. The way the story/adventure goes and ends is up to them. You are their guide on this adventure as you have lived it before and know where the pitfalls are. You can keep them on course.

Talks Have 2-3 minute speeches worked up for water breaks. Kids love stories. Talk about different virtues, i.e. Responsibility, Integrity, Courage, Commitment, Teamwork, Respect, etc. Tell stories that emphasize at least one of these virtues. I like Bible stories. Show how the character in the story used his warrior heart to overcome the obstacle. Use personal stories. They love to connect to their coach.

Beloved Son - Practical Respect – Use titles, coach, sir. Structure - Younger kids like practice to look the same every day. It gives them a feeling of mastery. They know what’s coming next. Know what you’re teaching and know it well. Correct often, aim for perfection. Be in charge. Don’t leave a power vacuum. They want a strong secure man leading them not an insecure petulant prick. Make it Fun. These kids don’t even know what football is let alone whether or not they love it. Don’t run them off before they understand it.

Cowboy - Practical The hard work part is conditioning. Start at a reasonable level and increase a little each day. After a few weeks, remind them of what they did on day one and what they’re doing now. Conditioning and ALL drills should be adjusted to the age level. Make it challenging but not so hard that a grown man would cry and not so easy that they don’t feel strained to finish it. Split them into size/experience appropriate groups. Closer to their own size creates best chance for growth.

Ways to make it fun Fun Drill – Deerhunter, Sumo, Joust, Tug of War, Run thru the Jungle, Tee Time. 10-15 minutes each night. King of the Boards. Metallica Boards is more like it. I play metal music while we do Board drills. Life is better with a soundtrack. Name your drills with names the boys will think is cool. Cage Fight, Super Tuff, etc. Mix learning drills with conditioning such as Team defense Pursuit drill, rep plays fast with 10 yd (or more) spacing.

Ways to make it fun Make drills competitive, declare a winner and a loser. Punish the loser or reward the winner, your call. Make drills just a little more wicked than designed. Play Deerhunter with footballs instead of playground balls.

Focus and Intensity During games, teams lose focus and are on a rollercoaster ride with intensity. Try to keep as high a level of focus and intensity as possible. You play like you practice. Every drill, demand their best. Competition Power hour is a must.

Teamwork You must give them a purpose. That is what drives a man. Our purpose is our team. 22 players, one football. I reward with playing time. Every position is important. Just like the different parts of the body.

Don’ts Don’t embarrass them, EVER! (Remember Exercise) Don’t play favorites. Don’t play your kid at QB if he is not the best candidate. Really, any position he doesn’t fit. Don’t allow players/asst. coaches to poison the team.

Do’s Reward Praise effort Praise execution Expect perfection, shoot for 100%. Be on them constantly. Positively. Coach with passion and confidence. Love what you do.

Gameday Now that you’ve built this foundation, your gameday speech will matter. You built the engine. Now you get to start it. Make it short, no more than 5 minutes. Our pregame

Recommended Reading Way of the Wild Heart – John Eldredge Season of Life – Jeffrey Marx Wild at Heart – John Eldredge The Winning Attitude – John C. Maxwell

Contact Info David Cottrill rdcottrill61@frontier.com 304-745-5378