Building a dynasty

[OneChance]

Can a good coach have a successful High School program with poor talent?

I’m asking this because how in the world is Coach Lombard at Canyon HS so dang successful year in and year out?

He has won 18 state championships in 38 years! No way does Canyon, TX out by Amarillo have that much natural basketball talent year after year!

So what has been Coach Lombards secret to success in building this dynasty?

[WOSgrad]

"You can't win the Kentucky Derby with a mule".......Cornel Thompson, Dec. 18, 2015.

[OneChance]

27 minutes ago, WOSgrad said:

"You can't win the Kentucky Derby with a mule".......Cornel Thompson, Dec. 18, 2015.

Another good example! WOS football cannot just have god given talent walk through the hallways year in and year out! How are these programs able to train these guys because it takes more than just showing up in middle school and only working during the season!

[WOSgrad]

12 hours ago, OneChance said:

Another good example! WOS football cannot just have god given talent walk through the hallways year in and year out! How are these programs able to train these guys because it takes more than just showing up in middle school and only working during the season!

It goes down to a word that I hear used a lot in pros and college but really applies at the high school level.....culture.  It is an intangible that takes many forms in different communities but is usually indicated by a few things:

1.  Talent.  Hence, Coach Thompson's statement kind of puts that in a nutshell.  Will a program have elite talent year end and year out?  No, but you can't be completely devoid of talent to do what folks like Lombard, Thompson and the likes of a Barbara Comeaux have done.

2.  Commitment.  Canyon High School's 2017-2018 season began, not on November 7th, not during the summer, but back in February.  WO-S' 2017 football season began on Jan. 2.  PN-G's 2018 volleyball season is currently underway.  That commitment is on the part of the players' willingness to work to make their talent, whatever level it may be now, to an even higher level.  I have little knowledge about Coach Lombard or Coach Comeaux's workout regimen.  But the workout regimen at WO-S is spartan like, which causes a number of players to leave the team.

3. Coaching ability.  Your coach has to know what he or she is doing.

The element that is usually missing as a whole is

4. Community support.  Now, I know that there are folks that will say, "Oh, I attend all of the games and yell my head off."  It is bit more than that.  In fact, it is a lot more than that.  It is giving the coach the benefit of the doubt that he or she knows what he is doing and that that person has taken the team as far as they take go.  It is when a kid comes home and complains about the coach getting onto him or her, that an immediate call to the principal or the board member you happen to go to church with will not ensue.  It is the realization that little Jenny's and Johnny's playing time or lack thereof is actually a reflection of their actual ability or commitment.  It is not demanding the coach find a real estate agent if the first season under a coach does not go well.

But way too often, the above things that shouldn't happen do happen,  Which results in a coach who had may well been the best fit for the program being run off before being able to install the very culture that is necessary which keeps others from wanting to enter the district to attempt to install a culture...if you don't think word gets out about communities and how they treat coaches within the fraternity (or sorority) of coaches, then you are dangerously naive.

[OneChance]

Nice! This is what I wish the boards had more of!

[Alpha Wolf]

7 hours ago, WOSgrad said:

It goes down to a word that I hear used a lot in pros and college but really applies at the high school level.....culture.  It is an intangible that takes many forms in different communities but is usually indicated by a few things:

1.  Talent.  Hence, Coach Thompson's statement kind of puts that in a nutshell.  Will a program have elite talent year end and year out?  No, but you can't be completely devoid of talent to do what folks like Lombard, Thompson and the likes of a Barbara Comeaux have done.

2.  Commitment.  Canyon High School's 2017-2018 season began, not on November 7th, not during the summer, but back in February.  WO-S' 2017 football season began on Jan. 2.  PN-G's 2018 volleyball season is currently underway.  That commitment is on the part of the players' willingness to work to make their talent, whatever level it may be now, to an even higher level.  I have little knowledge about Coach Lombard or Coach Comeaux's workout regimen.  But the workout regimen at WO-S is spartan like, which causes a number of players to leave the team.

3. Coaching ability.  Your coach has to know what he or she is doing.

The element that is usually missing as a whole is

4. Community support.  Now, I know that there are folks that will say, "Oh, I attend all of the games and yell my head off."  It is bit more than that.  In fact, it is a lot more than that.  It is giving the coach the benefit of the doubt that he or she knows what he is doing and that that person has the team as far as they take them.  It is when a kid comes home and complains about the coach getting onto him or her, that an immediate call to the principal or the board member you happen to go to church with will not ensue.  It is the realization that little Jenny's and Johnny's playing time or lack thereof is actually a reflection of their actual ability or commitment.  It is not demanding the coach find a real estate agent if the first season under a coach does not go well.

But way too often, the above things that shouldn't happen do happen,  Which results in a coach who had may well been the best fit for the program being run off before being able to install the very culture that is necessary and keeps others from wanting to enter the district to attempt to install a culture...if you don't think word gets out about communities and how they treat coaches within the fraternity (or sorority) of coaches, then you are dangerously naive.

Great post Warden!

[Coach.Shu]

I agree - very well said and all true!

[oldschool2]

15 hours ago, WOSgrad said:

It goes down to a word that I hear used a lot in pros and college but really applies at the high school level.....culture.  It is an intangible that takes many forms in different communities but is usually indicated by a few things:

1.  Talent.  Hence, Coach Thompson's statement kind of puts that in a nutshell.  Will a program have elite talent year end and year out?  No, but you can't be completely devoid of talent to do what folks like Lombard, Thompson and the likes of a Barbara Comeaux have done.

2.  Commitment.  Canyon High School's 2017-2018 season began, not on November 7th, not during the summer, but back in February.  WO-S' 2017 football season began on Jan. 2.  PN-G's 2018 volleyball season is currently underway.  That commitment is on the part of the players' willingness to work to make their talent, whatever level it may be now, to an even higher level.  I have little knowledge about Coach Lombard or Coach Comeaux's workout regimen.  But the workout regimen at WO-S is spartan like, which causes a number of players to leave the team.

3. Coaching ability.  Your coach has to know what he or she is doing.

The element that is usually missing as a whole is

4. Community support.  Now, I know that there are folks that will say, "Oh, I attend all of the games and yell my head off."  It is bit more than that.  In fact, it is a lot more than that.  It is giving the coach the benefit of the doubt that he or she knows what he is doing and that that person has taken the team as far as they take go.  It is when a kid comes home and complains about the coach getting onto him or her, that an immediate call to the principal or the board member you happen to go to church with will not ensue.  It is the realization that little Jenny's and Johnny's playing time or lack thereof is actually a reflection of their actual ability or commitment.  It is not demanding the coach find a real estate agent if the first season under a coach does not go well.

But way too often, the above things that shouldn't happen do happen,  Which results in a coach who had may well been the best fit for the program being run off before being able to install the very culture that is necessary which keeps others from wanting to enter the district to attempt to install a culture...if you don't think word gets out about communities and how they treat coaches within the fraternity (or sorority) of coaches, then you are dangerously naive.

2

This ^ sums it up.  A friend of mine showed me a video of WOS players sprinting up and down bleachers in the pouring rain during 2-a-days.  Here's the difference in some folks' definition of "community support".  At WOS...nothing was said.  In fact, had a kid fallen I bet Coach Thompson could have said something along the lines of "If you aren't athletic enough to run up and down steps maybe athletics isn't for you."  Of course, that's hypothetical...but had that happened I bet nothing would have been done then either because the COACH is trusted to do what's right for the team.  Not the school board.  Or a group of parents.  Just like the other coaches mentioned.  They aren't questioned either.  Now...it does take talent as well.  Someone would be extremely naive to believe that Cornell Thompson and Joe Lombard doesn't have extremely talented kids pretty often.  But a coach has to be trusted to do what it takes to win even when they have lesser talent.  That's the difference.