Making Your Program Better!

If you are a leader of a fall athletic program and your season is over now, you are probably looking for a way to improve your program. This idea works- A I R. I used this myself and also with the programs that I consulted with this season. Each of the programs had Best Day Ever level seasons. Right Now is the perfect time to begin using it!

A- Acknowledge –sit down with everyone involved in your program, from a staff point of view, that you can get together. Let them know a day or 2 ahead that you are going to do this exercise and that the meeting is going to take place in an open area that is not anyone’s in particulars office. Moderator (obviously BDE consultants are best for this but if not available do your best)asks what did we (team)do well? What were positives of this season? So many times coaches can rattle off 15 areas that were weak or not positives. That is why it is best to start with the good stuff. Many times this part helps you realize there is more right than you thought and allows everyone to speak up about good stuff. One idea often leads to another and everyone feels like they are contributing. For a change, even with it not being the best season, it is important to Acknowledge the good stuff even before moving on to the areas needing improvement. What do we need to do better? This is very important to get all of these put forward to the group, as one of the advantages of having a less than successful season is that these are the times when people are most likely to change and are open to a new and different path. “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of Insanity”. The Acknowledgment part of this requires honesty, open communication and frankness (not just the BDE guy). This portion of AIR must explore every part of the program that has gotten you to this stage this season.

These steps can be done in one meeting which is probably good when using AIR for a match, game or training but for a season or program review it is best to separate the sessions so there is some time for reflection between each part of AIR.

I or E- Interrupt or Encourage- After you have Acknowledged the good and bad, you must figure out how to Interrupt areas that need changing and Encourage those areas that are important to keep as part of the program. The group has to think of all the ways to change and remove the habits and culture that is considered counter productive to the program’s success. Part of this examination to interrupt or encourage is to find the root or basis to the good and bad the group has acknowledged. How can you change the areas that need changing? How do you promote those positives you want to continue to be in the program?

R-Reframe- Together the staff now has to come up with a plan going forward to implement the how to Interrupt and Encourage. This is where you figure out the changes you are going to make in your staff, your players, your culture and everything you do with your program. Full ownership with no excuses to move the program in a positive direction. At BDE we have helped programs to do this, it can be done.

Make your program better! GET SOME AIR! Still be playing this time next year!