Leadership 101
by Rocky Noe

Lessons on leadership from the Mt Washington Colts
 (8-9 year old pee wee football team)


 
I have been involved in sports since I was 9 years old. I played football through high school and then played in college for kentucky Wesleyan, a small division 3 school. Afterward, I joined the corporate world. I started working soon out of college for the Department of Juvenile Justice and have been there almost 17 years. During this time I took a number of college courses and many professional trainings. I have received numerous certifications in my field of work. I have met some truly wonderful people in my career. Needless to say, I have learned a great deal about business and people through my pursuits. One thing that I am passionate about is leadership. I am consumed by the idea of leadership and love to learn about the nuances of it. I have met some truly great leaders in my studies.

History has recorded many great leaders. Brian Ward, a founding member of rattle-the-cage.com wrote an article on leaders. He says there are three kinds of leaders. 1. The accidental leader 2. The visionary leader and 3. The balanced leader.(see rattle-the-cage.com forum, leadership section) I say there is a 4th kind of leader. The leader with the innocence of a child. I learned this lesson last summer (2003) while coaching the Mt. Washington Colts Pee Wee football team.

Our season started out early in July. We didn't have much of turnout as far players go. We were concerned that we were not going to have enough to fill the roster. Besides, we were really small, even for 8-9 year olds. About half that number of kids had never played tackle football before. We were really concerned for the safety of the kids and for our ability to compete with other teams.
 
We did not have a shortage of coaches. it seemed that everybody and their brother was on the coaching staff. Needless to say, this caused a great deal of friction. Coaches and parents all had their well thought out ideas of what the team should be, what kid should do what, and what the kids wanted to gain from their involvement with the team. We eventually got enough kids (18) to feel comfortable fielding a team.

There were numerous arguments and disagreements about the philosophy of what we were trying to accomplish. Some wanted to teach values and life lessons, some wanted to win at all cost, most wanted their child to be the focal point of the team. It was arduous to settle on what we would work on each day, much less the season. Tempers flared and words were said among coaches and parents. We started the season with a 2-2 record. Not bad considering everything we were up against. However, the tension among coaches and parents was really high. We were on the verge of having some real problems. Friendships were being ruined and it was really going in a direction counter to what you would like youth league sports to be. We were frantically trying to salvage our sanity. We had atleast 8 more weeks to go and it didn't look like we were going to make it through the day.

It was not fun to be involved at this point.We decided it was time to do something different.  We couldn't scrap the season, although I think we all felt like it. So, what could we do? All of the sudden, somebody had a brain storm, "Why not ask the kids what they want?" Rocket science to say the least. Some did not like the idea. Why are you going to ask 8 year olds how to run a team? Never the less, we had a meeting with all the team members, parents, and coaches. The kids were asked what they wanted from their involvement with the team. Adults were not allowed to say to anything. The kids came up with these 3 points:

1. Have fun
2. Work harder than every other team in the league
3. Win the championship.

The kids came up with their "Focus" Statement for the year. Pretty simple. Now our jobs as coaches was to make sure we stuck to this "Focus". We did and the kids did too. The magic of it came as we got up from the meeting and started to practice. The kids immediately bought into their "Focus." They did exactly what they said they would they do. when one of the team members would slack off, others would encourage him to do his best. It was truly something special. These kids rallied around their "Focus" and never backed off of it. it carried as a theme for the rest of the year. At the end of practices we would have team discussions. The kids would usually lead the discussions. Almost every discussion centered around the 3 points they set for themselves. They would ask to run extra, practice longer, and practice on days off. We started doing things as a team and really started enjoying ourselves. It became a really tight nit group of kids. We went the rest of the season and only lost 1 more game. The kids won the championship. They beat teams that were much bigger, stronger, faster, and quite frankly, more talented. They did it by following their "Focus."

It turned out to be the most enjoyable season I ever experienced in my sports career. I often use the example of these kids in business meetings and trainings. When we have a united front and a common goal we can achieve a great deal. I learned my greatest lesson in leadership from a group of 8-9 year olds that had an unselfish approach to leadership. You want to know something? it worked better than anything I've learned in my career.

I will always be thankful to the Mt. washington Pee Wee Colts for the lessons in sacrafice, unselfish committment, and leadership that they taught me.     





About the Author
Rocky Noe is a founding member of rattle-the-cage.com