By Dan Cardone

Dan Cardone is the Athletic Director at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. He is a frequent contributor to Athletic Management.

Difference makers are people who follow through on their desires to take an athletic program in a forward direction. So who are an athletic program’s difference makers? They can be players, coaches, parents, secretaries, or administrators. They can also be maintenance and custodial staff, booster organizations—any person or group who helps the athletic department accomplish goals that make a positive environment for those participating in interscholastic athletics. These individuals or groups are team players who, as we say here at North Hills, “row in the same direction.”

As an athletic director, I feel that it is my job to recognize, empower, and learn from these difference makers. One group of difference makers that immediately comes to mind is our coaches.

Coaches are not only great teachers, they also have a high level of care and concern for the young people under their tutelage. Student athletes learn valuable life lessons while in our coach’s classroom—the fields and courts of the district. I have also found that coaches can learn many valuable lessons from each other. Recently, I decided to try a new approach to help facilitate the lesson-sharing process.

During a preseason coaches' meeting we had several years ago, I noticed a handful of newly hired coaches mingling with veteran coaches. I joined the conversation and asked some of the more experienced coaches to share what they’ve learned with those coaches who were just beginning their journey. I posed one general question: What is your greatest strength as a coach? Their responses were varied and invaluable.

Each coach explained the methods they had found most effective during their time on the sidelines. One of our head basketball coaches spoke about how they thought it was important that each player knew exactly where they stood in the program. Some would be starters, others had a chance to start, and still others would be role players, and he thought it best to communicate clearly and early on where each student-athlete stood in that pecking order. While not every player likes what he or she hears, they appreciate an honest and forthright approach.

An assistant track coach explained that he felt compelled to put in extra time to set an example for the athletes. He would make himself available after practice and on Saturday mornings for those who wished to work on some part of their event. The number of athletes that were willing to go above and beyond what was expected increased dramatically over the course of the season.

This extremely helpful interaction gave me an idea. I wanted to put together a first-class, professional looking video of our coaches answering the same question, for use in a variety of settings. I started by soliciting a local production company. The company informed me that they could produce the video easily and affordably.

I then approached a number of our coaches about doing the project, and they agreed enthusiastically to participate. In order to make sure we had a wide range of voices, I put together a list of candidates that included assistant coaches as well as head coaches, varsity level and junior high coaches, coaches that consistently taste success, and those from sports that have struggled.

To make sure all the responses were unique, I met with them in advance and said, “Here are some things I feel you do well. What do you think?” After some careful thought, I narrowed my list of speakers down to four or five coaches, and gave them each three minutes to talk.

During the 15-minute video, which also featured action footage of our athletes competing, the coaches detailed the important ingredients that go into program building: commitment, goal setting, and extra effort. There was even advice for first-time student-athletes and their parents about transitioning to the interscholastic athletics experience.

The coaches were not just good, they were great! Their honest assessments were learning tools for our student-athletes, their parents, other coaches, and for me.

And as promised, the production of the video was both efficient and cost-effective. We did the taping in one day, and the entire post-production process was completed two days afterward. The entire project cost just $200.

I am extremely proud of how our production turned out, and I feel it is one of the most effective things I have done in my time as an athletic director. I presented the video as part of an inservice I gave for coaches from a neighboring school district, and they were very impressed with what they saw and heard.

They connected with each speaker and told me each coach’s words reaffirmed the things they as coaches do well. They also told me it inspired them to be difference makers in their programs, and in the lives of their student-athletes.

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