GOOD ORGANIZATION—A BIG FACTOR IN BUILDING WINNERS
Without good organization our thoughts or plans of any kind would be absolutely useless. Good organization is a must if a team is to operate at maximum efficiency. There are many plans of organization that are good, and I am not saying mine is the best, but I believe my plan is sound and this is what really counts.
It always has been my practice to observe people who are successful in a particular field, and try to determine what makes their operation successful. There is little originality remaining in the field of coaching. Consequently we have gotten many of our ideas from other people. As Frank Howard of Clemson College put it, “If we get something from one team, it’s called stealing; but if we get ideas from several different teams, it’s called research.”
Use the Ant Plan
I borrowed my plan of organization from some ants in Africa. I realize this sounds ridiculous and far fetched; nevertheless, it’s the truth. It is interesting how it all came about.
While I was in the Navy in Africa, one hot, humid afternoon I was sitting under a tree feeling sorry for myself. I started to watch some ants building an ant hill. At first I was amused, but as I watched I became very interested. What at first appeared to be confusion was actually a carefully organized plan as the ants all worked toward their objective of building a home. The longer I watched the more obvious it became that all of the ants were working, many in small groups here and there. There was no inactivity, no wasted motion. There was unity and there was a plan. It appeared the ants had planned their work and they worked their plan.
With the ant plan in mind, we try to organize our practice sessions so that we have everyone working and no one standing around idle. We work in small groups and this eliminates inactivity. As a result we feel that we can get more work done in a shorter period of time. Consequently we believe the less time a player spends on the practice field, the higher will be his morale.
I did not have to watch the ants to learn the value of teamwork and cooperation, although this was evident in their activity. The main lesson I learned from them was the value of small group work in order to keep everyone busy.
There are many other factors that must be taken into consideration when organizing the program, and I shall discuss the subject more fully in Chapters [3] and [10]. Planning and organization are the backbone of a successful team. Planning a practice so that you get maximum results from the players and the assistant coaches requires a great deal of time. The importance of this cannot be emphasized too greatly.