Bus Rides

Being on a bus for hours on end can be exhausting and even more so with 20 teenagers!  The ride was long, but not overly stressful and extremely informative.  I found myself sitting in the front with my mentor and the staff.  Movies like Pistol Pete, 300, and others were shown to motivate, but also movies to bring a lighter mood and more comedy were shown as well. 

I found the best part of this ride was the camaraderie that develops.  With any industry it is important for there to be some empowerment within the staff, but more importantly some camaraderie and a feeling of vertical compression within the organization.  That vertical compression offers confidence to all on staff and increases the emotional investment of subordinates.  We drove straight from Ft. Wayne to a place in Ohio to change drivers then straight through the night to Atlanta, where we are now. 

An interesting conversation broke out about LeBron James and the pressure he is under due to the media and I brought up the measurement of success and a performance evaluation.  Thinking about LeBron James, before this most recent championship he lost 2 NBA Finals and won 1.  Before Michael Jordan’s stellar 6-0 in championship series came along, Jerry West, the man dubbed Mr. Clutch and whose silhouette is the NBA Logo, was 1-8 in NBA finals series.  With that said, Michael Jordan changed the measurement of success in the NBA.  To be viewed as the best or to be viewed as “clutch” or a success, the media must adjust their performance evaluation of NBA players.  W. Edward Deming once wrote that constant performance evaluation limits long-term growth and potential.  He talked a lot about short sighted American business evaluating performance in quarters to honor investments, but that it crippled long-term business performance and can demoralize employees.  In the same way that Deming believed, the constant evaluation by the media, which like it or not has an impact on perception of the athlete (employee), creates a high stress environment for the athlete and limits the long-term success.

Other than that long conversation, a lot of time was spent discussing the colleges we’ve been in contact with for each player and what the player needs to do to improve before their season starts.  Much of “Money Month” is over at this point and July will start high school camps and the kids will now shift their focus to the TEAM, but their function within that team has undoubtedly been improved throughout the spring and early summer.  We will arrive a little before the start of the Cam Newton Skills Challenge.  We are not going to have any players participate because of the long drive, missing some players, and the grind that will be a two day tournament which we expect to play to the championship.

A lot of the preparation leading up to this IMG national championship tournament is mental for our players.  We obviously have a lot of training to do, but with an array of backgrounds, a busy schedule in June just complete by the players, and a lack of structure during the summer without school it is important to ensure the players have laser focus and intent of purpose when they arrive in Florida. 

One thing I have been reading a great deal about in my classes is the constancy of purpose.  Leaders need to have constancy of purpose so subordinates can follow effectively and for strategy to be executed accordingly.  Dealing with young athletes who are subjected to so many outside influences and emotions it is even more important to model appropriate behavior, but also talk about growth potential and what can really be accomplished by having a successful tournament. 

Although I was not present for the development of the character development session held by Geoff King and Michael Ledo, I did sit in on the actual session and the message was clear: Partake.  What does it mean to be invited to something? They want you to partake in the event not just show up.  The example given was if someone invites you to a party do they expect you to sit in the corner and not talk to anyone? No, they expect you to partake: to join in.  So for the trip to Florida we received an invitiation to compete for a national championship.  Do not go down there looking to spend time on the beach and enjoy the weather, accept the invitiation and partake in the tournament by being successful.  It was clear by the reaction of the players that the message was received.  A brief discussion on outside influences and recap of the journey that brought us to June 20th, that day, was also mentioned and players provided their own perspective on what growth has occurred throughout the summer both individually, but more importantly as a whole and how their individual participation has played a role in that.

During the character development session, the local news media was there and Michael Ledo and a select few players did interviews on live television to promote the company and our journey to the event.  We then loaded the bus and began our journey to Florida. 

A lot has been going on outside of the facility as "money month" continues.  I dubbed June "Money Month" because it is the biggest opportunity for players to earn scholarship offers by jumping on the camp circuit.  Schools will have numerous camps throughout June and a player could find a camp nearly every day to go to in June if he had the resources to do so.  Because there is a camp almost every day it is important to make sure there is legitimate interest or potential for a player to play at the school he goes to camp with because otherwise it would be a waste of money.

I have been doing a lot of research into colleges in our area which include: all MAC schools, Sun Belt schools, Missouri Valley Football Conference schools, and every FBS and FCS Division I school in the midwest to determine the best spots for some of my players.  After determining the current state of the roster I will call coaches that I know at those schools to confirm their situation at each position for players I'm looking to get them in contact with.  In those conversations either through phone call or e-mail I am going back to my calendar which has each player I'm dealing with and making sure they are getting to as many one-day camps as they can in the month of June.  It is important that those camps are schools that have some actual interest in the player and not just trying to get more people at their camp to boost revenues.  It is a lot of leg work, but definitely worth it in the end of the student athlete can get some money to pay for their school. 

Another element to this intense recruiting process is informing the parents and players themselves of realistic expectations and understand the process a little better.  A lot of schools send numerous general letters to a player, but it does not mean they are being recruited and that's hard for some parents to understand.  I have learned a lot more about this process as I have been a part of the AWP staff.  Not only has it helped solidify relationships with coaches, it has really provided me with perspective on how to evaluate talent objectively.  Using one of my players for an example, he has attended 3 camps since our June 1 visit to Toledo and I have been in contact with 6 other coaches from different schools about him going to different camps through July 12th. 

Additionally, relationships with media members can help create a buzz about players and get the players name out.  Local media is great, but 247sports.com, Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN recruiting are all more important to spreading the word about the players.  To share a quick story, we had one player who is ranked as one of the top players at his position in our state.  Because of that media ranking a school from far away was looking for the "top player" at that particular position in each state and by simply Googling "top player in Indiana at ___" the coach found a few names, watched the film and decided to offer a scholarship to our player.  The power of the media is intense and getting exposure is the job of each player's coach to put them in the best position to do so.  This type of attention is also important to control because it can lead to the aforementioned problems with parents and players thinking they are better than they actually are so it is definitely a fine

Previously I mentioned a conflict with some players who were going to attend the Notre Dame one day camp and 7v7, well we now have a good idea of what's going on with them and a plan of action for the trip.  We have five players on the roster who are attending the University of Notre Dame elite camp on the 21st and two of those players will not be with us for the entire tournament becuase their high school is participating in the Notre Dame 7v7 tournament on the 22nd.  The easiest way to accomodate everyone is to book flights, but flights are very expensive and the donation that was given to us through Parkview Hospital will cover the tournament fees and the costs of the condos, but we want to stretch that money as far as possible and booking 27 flights is difficult and very expensive.  After some research we found that chartering a bus that would leave Thursday night the 20th and return home by Noon on the 24th would be the most cost effective way to go about it.  The three players would fly down and ride the bus on the return trip.  In taking the charter bus, each player's fee for lodging and travel went down significantly which is good for everyone.  With the logistics of travel figured out the biggest issue with what we do at AWP is how are we going to keep these kids motivated? How can we keep them focused on the "mission" and not on going to Florida to have fun?  With the summer comes a lack of structure for the kids because they do not have school to guide their day.  Leading up to the trip we decided players report Thursday two hours early and we will have a character development session to get the kids focused on the mission of returning with a national championship.  Personally, I have an additional hurdle to clear because I am teaching summer school and I cannot miss any days so I will be flying separately which is not a big deal, but an added stressor leading up to the trip. 

Since the majority of the staff will be gone with the 7v7 team for this trip, the Fooball Academy will take a break for the Friday of June 21 and a make-up session will be scheduled for those clients on June 26th.  I did not attend this week's academy due to low academy numbers and it didn't make sense for two WR coaches to be present for this week's academy especially since the other coach lives in Ft. Wayne and to compensate my gas mileage wouldn't be smart business on the part of AWP which is understandable so to compensate I have had teleconferences with staff members to determine a plan of action for the coming weeks. It was an interesting conversation because some future plans were spelled out that were exciting to hear and will definitely keep me busy in the coming weeks bey

Arriving at Bowling Green the players were ready to compete and anxious to get going.  There was a delay in starting the camp as the staff was kind of waiting around for it to get darker and adhere strongly to the "under the lights" promotion they gave to the camp.  During that time me and another staff member walked around and toured the indoor facility and athletic center seen above.  They have done a great job of updating the coaching offices and displaying the successes of the program.  There is a large area where they treat recruits and talk about the program.  I have an established relationship with the wide receivers coach from working with him in the recruitment of one of my wide receivers I coached for four years of high school so it was nice to see him and talk with him.  Athletes began by getting measured and doing a few tests in the weight room connected to the field and at that time my mentor and I went to meet up with the head coach, Dave Clawson.  This was a great opportunity to meet and discuss some of our guys and get a feel for where they are recruiting wise for the 2014 class. 

Our kids performed well and the long drive home was spent discussing the schedules we have upcoming for our other kids.  On the dockett is a trip to Michigan State on June 16th for a 7v7, Sound Mind Sound Body Camp in Michigan put on by Adidas where Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer and staff, along with University of Michigan's staff and numerous other coaches will be in attendance.  I wil not be attending either of those events due to my responsibilities in summer school teaching, but I will be in contact with players and staff members throughout to get a recap of the events.

As you can see from the above photo, we won the Toledo 7v7 Tournament.  This was quite an experience.  Going into the tournament we were without three of our defensive starters, two of which have more than 10 offers from major Division I Programs.  I also called plays for this tournament so it was exciting to get back in control of an offense.  We usually charter a bus for trips, but since this was only a few hours away we carpooled to this event.  The same day we also had some guys who wanted to attend Bowling Green's one day camp that evening so with Bowling Green being relatively close, some of our guys played in the 7v7 then we all traveled down to Bowling Green after and some kids participated in that event as well.  Our top wide receiver did not participate in the 7v7 because he wanted to save his legs for the Bowling Green camp since he would be participating in that and he was getting serious attention from Bowling Green for a scholarship offer.

This trip to Toledo was an eye opener to the power of the AWP brand.  As I walk into the indoor facility Toledo coaches come up to me, greet me, introduce themselves and exchange information.  Comparing this to my experience last year at Bowling Green's 7v7 with my high school squad, we didn't talk to coaches until we reached the championship and it was about one player on our team (who is now playing at Bowling Green) and it was a very formal discussion.  With this experience, I found myself talking to the coaches on a more personal level and having a great opportunity to meet and network with coaches.  From the beginning the coaches said we were the favorite to win the event because we had won it last year and we had about 5 players that Toledo was interested in recruiting heavily. The tournament had a period of pool play where each team gets 3 games and then a single elimination tournament. 

Pool play began and we won our first two games big, then we were in for a surprise...The offensive and defensive coordinator gave us a bye in pool play so they could work directly with our entire team, which was a really cool experience for the kids and a great opportunity to get one on one work with the coaches and help in that recruiting process.  We spent about 30 mintues and the Toledo coaches put our kids through individual work and taught them some of the things they do at Toledo to determine if the player would be a fit.  The session went well and the coaches were seriously interested in two of our players and one other was "really skilled" but coaches felt he was a little too small to play at Toledo, but perhaps somewhere else in the MAC would be a good fit for him.  So although that is bad news, it is good to know an objective evaluation of our guys and it helps in planning out the rest of what we refer to as "Money Month" which is a whirlwind of one-day camps throughout the month of June that often result in great players getting scholarship offers when they play well on campus.

From my perspective calling plays on offense and controlling substitutes I had a lot of work to do in saving player's legs that were attending the Bowling Green camp later that day and we expected to play 7 games and win the championship so that management was on my mind a lot throughout the day.  We rolled through the single elimination tournament and throughout the very hot day we had to manage the bodies and recovery of each athlete to ensure their top performance in competition.  When we made the championship a lot was on my shoulders in terms of winning the championship, but also making sure players who are attending BG will be fresh.  We had a slight scare as the game went back and forth for about 20 minutes, but we pulled away and won by two scores.  We then had to eat some fruit, hydrate, and get the players on the road and find a cool restaurant to rest before heading to Bowling Green.  We chose Chick-Fil-A and the kids were able to recover nicely in a cool environment.  The most interesting part of the trip, non-football related, was our experience at Chick-Fil-A.  As you may or may not know, Chick-Fil-A has tremendous customer service and their manners and etiquitte is second to none.  A coach commented on how amazing the service was and we spoke with some of the employees who have completely bought in to the culture at Chick-Fil-A and the way to service people.  We had employees refill our drinks, take our trash away, bring out samples of shakes for all 25 of us and it was really nice, but the biggest thing was it was a reinforcement that customer service is vital for an organization in creating a competitive advantage and retaining customers, but how does that apply to us?  Our organization has to find things that set us apart from the competition. In our industry knowledge is very important, but so is having the ability to transfer knowledge to a large spectrum of clients and the attitude, tone and demeanor of our trainers and staff is vital to get clients to return and to bring about new clients.  Now off to Bowling Green.

  

The midwest regional was a fun experience which really helped bring the team together and more importantly the coaching staff.  Throughout the two day experience a lot was learned and even more questions about management, organizational structure, and business planning and preparation.  As fun as the tournament was and the excitement subsides as the business element to this begins.  How are we going to get 20 players and 7 coaches to Bradenton, Florida and how can we do it as cheap as possible?  Flights are difficult to coordinate for that many people with so many working parts.  We need to be in Bradenton, Florida on June 21st for the Cam Newton Skills Competition at 5:00 pm. 

A big hurdle will be to customize each individual player schedule for their June Camp schedules and get them to the schools that have interest in them without conflicting with the National Championship.  It's interesting because last year's national tournament was actually a week into July, but because of Nike's: The Opening which airs on ESPN and is at the University of Oregon, some players chose to attend The Opening instead and to avoid that conflict IMG moved the tournament to June 21-23.  So we have a lot of work ahead to get kids to as many camps as possible.  There is a conflict because have some players that attend Catholic schools and they attend the Notre Dame one day camp and 7v7 annually as a team on June 21 and June 22 so we will have to get that figured out quickly!

Another element to the preparation for this trip is the exposure and recognition.  The local media in Fort Wayne, Indiana will receive text message updates and IMG will also send a news feed to them with highlights of our games to keep everyone back home posted on the progress.  In the next week or so CEO Mike Ledo will be on the local sports news to discuss the trip and our journey thus far which will be a great opportunity to continue to mold the brand and more than that, provide life experiences for the kids involved and hopefully make a powerful impact on these kids who will eventually become key figures in our society.

As we sat and discussed all of these issues, it became evident that we are at the mercy of responses via phone or e-mail from college coaches before determining our plan of action to get down there (bus or plane) and what players we need to bring on the trip in case the ND campers/7v7 attendees cannot secure transportation separate from us down to Florida. 

Until next time...

From a business standpoint, outside of the competition, this tournament offered an opportunity to spend driving time and down time discussing strategy and implementation of policies across the company with my mentor and other members of the staff. 

The competition was fierce and our "Black" team pictured above qualified for nationals while our other team was one game away from qualifying after losing an overtime heart-breaker in the quarterfinals.  The benefits for the organization would have been tremendous if both teams would have been representing AWP at the national tournament.  The organization has received an outpouring of support in the product we produce on the field and in the community and the organization is legitimized by the quality of athlete (mentally and physically) that is produced.  This recognition has come from college coaches who have some of our former players, coaches we talk to at tournaments and on the phone throughout the week, the community, the high schools the kids come from, and the parents involved who have seen growth in these young men.  Another element to the competition is interaction with the media.  Following championship games we are often approached by members of the media.  This is an opportunity for us to promote our organization and most importantly our players.  We exchange information, business cards, social media handles and begin the relationship building process.  Media outlets rely on us for scouting purposes and providing significant content to their websites and magazines.  Media outlets like ESPN.com, Rivals.com, 247sports.com, Scout.com, and smaller regional networks are all present at these events and their relationship is vital in brand building.  In our industry media impressions (social networking mentions, facebook likes, google search rankings) can improve our client base and the recognition of our organization in the sports realm.

Again from a business standpoint all of the training that is done at the facility is provided immense credibility from these tournaments and relationships we build with colleges and parents and communities.  As time goes on, evolution of the market and our competitors takes place and in order to sustain a competitive advantage we must get together and discuss growth opportunities and evaluate things like key success factors, core competencies, and strengths and weaknesses.  The next post will be from our tournament at the University of Toledo and a one-day camp at Bowling Green State University

Yesterday, May 25th, was our first day of a two-day tournament in Southfield, Michigan.  This is an IMG Regional Qualifier so the top four teams qualify for nationals, but winning this tournament will make us repeat champions in the Midwest IMG Regional (AWP won in 2012 as well).  Throughout pool play our Black team lost one game, which was the first loss of the season, to a team from North Carolina with a Quarterback headed to NC State.  That 3-1 record put us in a good position for the single elimination tournament tomorrow.  Our Grey team had some ups and downs but ended up with a 2-2 record after a slow start, we began to play much better.   From a brand building stand point if our Grey team can also qualify it will even further emphasize the type of service AWP offers for training.  The 25th was a day full of pool play that finished up at 1:00.  We had to then get lunch, rest at the hotel, and come back at 5:00pm for the skills challenge. 

The skills competition pits players from each of the teams at the tournament (which include other training programs and all-star teams) against each other.  This is where product credibility can truly be measured.  It is also used as a measuring stick to determine our strengths and weaknesses in the services we provide.  As it turned out, in the Quarterback challenge our quarterbacks finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in a competition with over 20 quarterbacks and we also finished 1st in the fastest man and wide receiver challenge and finished in the top 5 in the defensive back challenge.  Following the competition it was obvious our preparation, training, and strategy are strengths of what we do.  Tonight will be spent preparing with the staff for the single-elimination tournament, managing bumps and bruises, and getting the players mentally prepared for their responsibilities and expectations tomorrow.  

As the coaches met at Applebee’s to eat dinner, we ran across the tournament directors and found out our teams would be on opposite sides of the bracket which is a great opportunity to continue to showcase our company as the best by having both teams in the championship.  Day starts early at 7:00 AM for breakfast so until then…

As I stated in a previous post, I would make another entry to this blog once we completed our regional qualifying tournament in Chicago, IL.  Well, we decided not to attend the tournament for a number of reasons that I will leave private, but what I can say is it was a decision made because our attendance at the tournament was not in line with the current state of the organization.  Sometimes difficult decisions are made in management, but in the end they work out to be effective in the long-term for the organization.  We have another qualifying tournament this weekend, May 25-26th, so we still have an opportunity to make the national championship tournament and it allows the organization to better re-align itself with the mission statement and strategic vision laid forth.  As of right now the company is experiencing some growth and with that comes the potential for a lack of communication or the need for more effective communication.  To commit an entire weekend to a tournament, organize funding, secure transportation, and on top of that effectively motivate and strategize the football side of things would be difficult.  Personnel cannot be expected to unite behind all of the different services being provided until they thoroughly understand why the strategic course has been chosen and how, as the company grows, strategy evolves making communication more important.  I am being very vague in this post, but it is important to know that all good organizations make calculated decisions and while it may come off as disorganization at the time, it is actually a continual effort to be more efficient as a COMPLETE organization. 

This week was a lesson in execution for me.  Leaders sometimes are overwhelmed with duties and when they begin to delegate it is important that those who are empowered are capable of execution.  The core values of AWP are never in question, but as previously mentioned, any growth will encounter a necessary strategic alteration or evolution so it is imperative that those in the position to execute the strategy refer back to the core values of the organization and effectively execute while communicating at all levels of the organization. 

When making decisions like not going to this tournament, which is the major brand builder for the company on a regional and national level, for some it would have been a major disappointment, failure, or unsatisfactory decision in the minds of the clients and all the stakeholders to AWP or to other organizations, but with AWP it is not.  The sustainable competitive advantage AWP has is the character development
aspect of the training and the fact that clients are not treated as cash cows for the organization that need to be kept coming back to sustain market presence.  The character development and growth oriented nature of the clients and stakeholders to AWP trust in the process and see each decision as not a change in path or direction, but rather an acceptance of a separate opportunity to grow and develop.

This weekend coming up is a major growth opportunity for the organization and also the 7v7 team.  This weekend is another 1 day camp event for players to get exposed to the AWP brand and top performers will receive a free session.  It will also kick off the last round of Academy sessions which are 4 week sessions for players to get intense instruction and evaluation.  You can see a flier for the upcoming camp at the bottom of the page.  The previous 1 day camp brought in some players that signed up for the 4 week Academy session and saw great growth as players and people and most are expected to return to the next one day camp as well as the final Academy session.  To me, the next step in the development process is to get all those involved in the Academy and 1 day camp to sign up for other services offered by AWP such as speed classes, strength classes, and continue to cultivate working relationships with them year round.

I will be back next weekend after the IMG Regional Qualifier in Southfield, Michigan with another post.  Until then, enjoy the Holidays weekend and be safe!