Factor 4: True Player Development – Physically, Mentally, and Emotionally
To some fans, the football program’s final placement in the annual recruiting war is as important as the team’s final position in the old BCS rankings. To the optimistic fan, recruiting placement and the accumulation of as many 5 Star recruits as possible is a crystal ball view into the future.
But the sad irony is: If you start out with six 5 Star high school recruits for the season? And at the end of a four or five year period, these same kids are still 5 Star HIGH SCHOOL athletes. Your program has a problem with player development – physical, mental, and emotional development.
Schools with a truly outstanding player development program:
· First, maintain a coaching staff which knows how to evaluate talent – and more importantly evaluate potential in the athlete. The outstanding talent evaluators may have actually passed on your six talented high school recruits. Of course, they would have given the appearance that they were interested in your group. But in reality, they may have noted flaws in the player’s character, work ethic, mental attitude, or emotional state which popped up as a red flag against the kid progressing beyond his current abilities.
· Secondly, these schools are serious about player development. If a player believe that he is greatest player to ever set foot on the gridiron, and that he is so good that there is no way that he could possibly get better. The fact is – that player will NEVER get better. And unfortunately, a huge number of 5 Star (and a few 4 Star) players have that mindset. These kids will never survive at a program which instills true player development. Most likely, they avoided these schools in the recruiting process. In their mind, those schools didn’t realize just how great the kid envisioned himself on the field. Didn’t they see that he was a nature, and you couldn’t improve upon God given talent,
· Thirdly, player development is much more that physical and strength conditioning. Kids have to grow mentally and emotionally. The player has to have the mental capability and disciple to recognize and adjust to changing situation both on and off the field. The player has to not only know his responsibilities, but those of his teammates. He has to know the tendencies of his opponent in a given situation. And he has to know how to properly react to the situation. A long those lines a player must be on-track to graduate from school with his degree when his playing days are over. Emotional development keeps a player out of trouble – on and off the field. He doesn’t get flagged for retaliating again his opponent after he’s taken a cheap shot. He doesn’t have to draw attention to himself (and away from the team) after making a great play or score. He doesn’t allow himself to be drawn into questionable situation which would bring embarrassment to themselves, family, or school. Head coaches and player development coaches must incorporate and stimulate an individual’s mental and emotional growth, if their player development programs are to be viewed as successful.
In reality, a school’s true standing in annual recruiting war isn’t determined at the end of the recruiting season. But rather, four or five years down the road when those 3 and 4 Star High Schoolers have matured into 5 Star College Football Players. And many 5 Star High Schoolers are still 5 Star HIGH SCHOOLERS.