June 1, 2009

 

*When creating your vision, you must look beyond your current reality.

 

Purpose- To be an extraordinary team

*On and off the field, everything we do is judged against this purpose. If it doesn't contribute to this purpose, it is thrown out or it isn't done.

*Extraordinary thru best guys, best coaches, best pure soccer, incredible overall college soccer experience, best TEAM.

*Excellence defined..... deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, compounded together, added up over time.

*ISI is..... "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"

 

Playing Objectives

*Team built on chemistry, team agreements, disciplined thought and action, and belief. The team no one wants to play in NCAA's; ability to play with anyone; and on that basis, ability to play the role of giant-killer.

*A PROUD TEAM and PROGRAM, regardless of results.

*To do in Division I men's soccer what has not yet been done.

 

Playing Style

*Definable and 100% unique- no one plays like Navy. Great players, but great players not the focus. Not a contest to see who has the best players. Navy will have top players, but only those who will work and thrive in a totally team-oriented concept ("Miracle"- USA Hockey)

*Although systems of play will always be evolving, Navy's playing style is modeled after Ajax/Holland of the late 90's and Arsenal of today-very fast ball circulation and combination play and an emphasis on penetration, perfect positioning on both sides of the ball, pressing defense; requiring a high degree of intelligence, discipline, speed, athleticism, and team orientation.

 

Type of Player

*Technical, disciplined, quick, aggressive, strong work ethic, will sacrifice for the team. Commitment a clear priority. Pride in playing for the team, program, and institution & values being part of something bigger than himself (Belichek's Patriots, Lombardi's Packers, UNC Women's Soccer).

 

Type of Person

*Emotional maturity, selfless, no ego, no attitude, willing to lead by serving. No matter how talented you are, you first have to be a good teammate, with a spirit of sacrifice, discipline, trust, and respect. Absent those qualities, you can't play for us. Zero bad apples; we find the right people and don't burden them with the wrong people for any reason.

 

Squad

*2 deep in comparable quality at every position. 22 players think of themselves as starters.

*Everybody in the squad, and anyone in the entire organization, is respected. People get ahead on the basis of what they know and what they can do on the field. We don't permit factions, groups, politics, or cliques to get in the way of doing business. If there's a problem, we get it out in the open immediately and solve it.

*Team chemistry is of paramount importance, and to that end, the team will be shamelessly encouraged to do as much as possible together off the field socially. Relationships within the team are seen as of critical importance and something to be constantly fostered. A culture of doing things together-always all for one and one for all a critical part of the experience in men's soccer here.

*We will believe in people and play deep. Deeper in quality than other teams. Every player coached and capable. We will enable our player's belief in themselves and in each other.

 

Coaches

*Coaches have a strong vision & understand the importance of modeling that vision every second. Coaches model respect, servant leadership, work ethic, courage, vision, purpose- and are respected on the basis of their complete knowledge of the vision-on and off the field.

 

Training

*Always intense, focused, directed, efficient, mentally and physically challenging. Can be short in duration at times, but never causal. Training is intense and pressure filled enough that the game becomes second nature in those ways.

 

Winning

*A championship is not in any way "luck" or a sign of divine favor. A team of people working together with vision, discipline, singleness of purpose, and a commitment to excellence will always prevail.

*We believe in ourselves and in our methods. Winning is an affirmation of who we are and our methods.

 

Motivation

*The stated purpose is the primary motivator, and every player has absorbed that purpose. Therefore, there is no need for extrinsic or negative motivation. A player who misses the team fitness mark for example is not "punished" or made to do extra work. Instead, he suffers his own disappointment and that of his teammates and coaches, and knows that in this particular case, he let the team down and had to be picked up by others. This engenders strong internal motivation for that player to somehow make up for letting his teammates down, and he will be motivated to look for the opportunity to do that as much as possible for the rest of his career.

 

Building the Brand

*Every move we make, every step we take, matters in "building the brand". Navy men's soccer, champions or not in any given year, must come to mean pride, excellence, and success in every venture at every moment- down to things like daily training, how recruiting is handled, and summer camps. Everything that bears our name is a reflection on who we are and excellence must prevail at every moment. It must be an every second thing (U2- "it had to be the best show of our lives every night"). Something that students, alumni, and the community will be excited to align with.

 

Attendance

*Something people will want to watch- not because we are giving away sandwiches or hats, but because we are worth watching. It is our job to entertain and play a style that people will want to see (Dan Gable's Iowa wrestling-aggressive, unique, fast style that people can't get enough of-they WANT to watch).

 

Capstone Experience

*Huge leadership emphasis running thru every facet of the program. This is the team experience that most players have always hoped to be a part of. With all the time, energy, and money that has been put into each player's soccer career from age 6, this is an experience that will impact each player's life; impacting them for not only the next 4 years, but the next 60. This is, in effect, the capstone experience to a player's soccer and team sport career, having an unspeakable impact on each player's life with regard to the very high bar that will be the standard for excellence each player will strive for, the relationships the player will develop within the program, and the leadership lessons the player will learn and exercise.

 

Catching the Butterfly

In the end, we want to be an extraordinary team. Not just some years; not just when our chemistry happens to be right- but every year; which will make us a unique and extraordinary organization. To be extraordinary and realize your purpose as an organization takes the right vision, and then a huge investment of time and energy- so that "every little thing" is done the way it must be done. If you can't do every little thing right at every moment, then the vision will never be realized. If you can, then your organization develops a culture of all the right things-which then become the norm in your organization, what you are known for, and what separates you from everyone else.

 

# GO NAVY #