It’s that time of the year…time for family and friends and eating and eating and eating! I enjoy the holidays because my family is all over the country and this is our time to reconnect with one another. I was sitting here thinking about that and then I got to thinking about how planning a large family gathering is like planning a season. Here are a few of the correlations…see what you think!
**3 ways that planning for a season is like getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner**
1. Map it out: If you’ve ever had to plan a big meal like Thanksgiving dinner, you know that you can’t just start cooking. You’ve got to begin with the end in mind, like Franklin Covey says. You sit down and create a menu, a corresponding grocery list, and divvy up jobs in order to make it all come together. It’s the same for planning out a season. You and your assistants sit down and figure out where you’d like the program to be at the end of the next season, then you figure out what the program needs in terms of equipment, personnel, and training. Finally, you get the right people involved to make it happen.
2. People: We all look forward to dinner at mom’s house where we gather together after a long time apart…and also meeting any new additions. Usually a cousin or an aunt or uncle will bring along a special someone that has “the regulars” slyly checking them out in order to render the verdict of approval or disapproval. That’s sounds a lot like the first day of practice, right? All of the returners are happy to see each other, doling out hugs and smiles to teammates that they haven’t seen in a while. The upperclassmen are happy to be older and wiser, the sophomores are happy that they aren’t freshmen, and the freshmen? They have no idea who anyone is or what exactly is going on…they’re a tad bit uncomfortable to say the least.
3. Nothing goes as planned: With a big project like Thanksgiving dinner, something’s going to go wrong…that’s pretty much guaranteed. It’s just a matter of whether it’s a big something or a little something. It’s the same thing with our seasons. We pray that whatever goes wrong is small and easily fixed, and not something gigantic…like a season-ending injury to a starter (who you wrote down in your season plan was essential to any success your program would have that year) or major budget cuts to the department or your program. Ideally, you and your coaching staff are on top of the small stuff to nip it in the bud before it becomes a major problem.
I pray that everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving and that you’re able to get to your destinations on time and enjoy your families. While you’re sitting with them, take a bit of time to be thankful for your athletic family (your team!) and the opportunity we have to coach amazing young people.
