Rules for a Football program and why?

1. All ways keep an open line of communications: This includes your athletes, their parents, coaches, faculty members, administrations, the school board, and  community members.  We are now living in an information age where you can facebook, twitter, text, email, most school districts have web pages and the ability to send out mass phone messages.  Use these as tools to help not only promote your program but also ensure there is not an irritate parent because a time, date, or location of a game has changed. What day picture day is on and other special events. 
2. There should be no hierarchy in your program.  From the day the athlete steps into your doors until the day you part ways they should be treated with respect.  No hazing, beating up the sophomore in the varsity locker room.  Once they become a part of your organization they are family.  The San Francisco 49ers of the Bill Walsh era did not haze rookies it was not allowed.  And they went from the worst football team in the NFL to winning the Superbowl in 3 years.  
3. Demand from or hire coaches that will not only work hard for you but will also continually improve themselves with relentless effort. This might involve having to invest in your human capital but it will pay off for them and you.  
4. Even the best of people sometimes will be like water and settle in the lowest places that they can continually demand excellence from them.  
5. Set expectations for every aspect of your program.  I have had the displeasure of going through a 1-9 season when we took over a program.  Several of my fellow coaches did not like riding on the bus after away games because the athletes did not know how to act after a loss.  Well did those coaches tell our kids that you should be somber and self-reflective after a loss? No!  I mean some kids have a Low GSF (See for Definition of GSF) but we did end up changing the culture eventually. 

Important but uncommon lessons from The Score Takes Care of Itself

Like most books on leadership they are basically the same in The Score Takes Care of Itself.  You don't read books on leadership and expect to have this magical shift in your style of leadership most of the time it just validates that you are doing things right.  I have spent a total of eight years working for three of the best football programs in the state of Texas where they did the little things right most of the time which led to on and off the field success.  Their Head Coaches and Assistants exhibited between seventy to ninety percent of what is outlined in this book.  Which is not surprising considering the impact that Bill Walsh had on the coaching profession.  I several ideas worth mentioning from this book:

No Hierarchy 

I have heard this from several people who were around the 49ers organization.  They do not haze rookies My old DC from Southwest Minnesota State went to preseason camp with both the 49ers and the Oilers and he said the 49ers were professional and the rookies and free agents were not made to get hair cuts or buy veterans meals.  

  This also included respecting everybody from the office staff, secretaries, and custodial employees.  Bullying and its behavior is not to be tolerated.  

Veterans Train your Replacements!

Bill Walsh used this idea to increase his coaching staff.  If a veteran was in the twighlight of his career or a even a serious battle for starting position players were expected to help out with rookies and first year players not only on the field stuff but learning the expectations and procedures of the organization.  This would work great for the starting varsity quarterback's interactions with the second stringer, junior varsity and freshman quarterbacks.  

Enemies 

He talks about this in several ways first that you need to go along to get along.  Enemies take up too much precious time and energy you can use for productive activities instead.  You know you don't like that staff he big timed you at a clinic,  The kid he put up for all district beat out yours even though they didn't win a district game.

Then the second way is Bill Walsh does not believe in the continual use of demonizing your opponent as a motivational tool. He thought this tactic was overused and had diminishing returns. His belief was you opponent was nameless and faceless it did not matter who they are just what your players did to prepare for that meeting of the field that mattered.

http://www.thecoughlincompany.com/conversation_the-score-takes-care-of-itself.php

http://coachingtoolbox.net/blog/the-score-takes-care-of-itself/

          

Lessons of the Bill Walsh Offense from his book "The Score Takes Care of Itself"

I am reading this book now it is even better than his "Finding the Winning Edge".  It is less technical about running an NFL team and more about how to run an organization.   I am listening to it on my Ipod and have gotten through roughly one third of the book. Here is an excerpt of some of his leadership practices.  

Lessons of the Bill Walsh Offense 

1. Success doesn't care which road you take to get to its door step.
2. Be bold remove fear of the unknown from your mind.
3. Desperation should not drive  innovation ""What assets do we have that we are not taking advantage of?"
4. Be obsessed looking for the upside of the down side. 

Bill Walsh