Coach Erick Webster

FAMILY

OBJECTIVE: Create a sense of family and unity among football players of all ages, their families and members of the coaching staff.

Year 1: Thursday Night Meals: Thursday is a big day for our program. It's when we polish our football skills and bond as a program

Team Functions: Immediately get a monthly date outside of school to have team socials.

THURSDAY NIGHT MEAL

Thursday night meals are a great way to come together as a team and an outstanding way to get our parents involved in our program. Each spring we have a parent meeting to organize for the next year.

At the parents meeting we ask for several committee chairs. One of those chairs is in charge of Thursday night meals. This chair will then find a sponsor for each week of the season. The sponsor for that week is responsible for setting the menu and getting other parents signed up. Each week after our Thursday night practice we eat together at the cafeteria. Our kids love this part of the week. Our parents love it because they want to be involved. I love it because we all get to sit down as a family and eat a meal at the end of a hard work week. This meal serves as transition for us from practice mode to game mode. Not to mention this is the best meal some of our kids will eat all week.

FAMILIES THAT EAT TOGETHER STAY TOGETHER
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
SYMBOLIZES END OF WORK WEEK
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND SUPPORT
BEST MEAL SOME OF OUR KIDS WILL GET TO EAT ALL WEEK

“I carry a link in my pocket

A simple reminder to me

Of the fact that I am a team member

No matter where I may be.

This little link is not magic

Nor is it a good luck charm

It isn’t meant to protect me

From every physical harm

It's simply an understanding

Between my teammates and me

When I put my hand in my pocket

To bring out a coin or a key

The link is there to remind me

Of what a team member should be

It links me to the team

It links me to the school

It is a constant reminder

That there is no place for a fool

So I carry this link in my pocket

To remind me many a time

That a man without conviction

Isn’t worth a simple dime”

Links

We present each member of our team with a link during our lock-in at the beginning of the season. Each member of our team and coaching staff carries a link with them throughout every week. Before the game on Friday night, we join our links and then we hang the links on our ‘sledgehammer’. The player that earns hit of the week carries the hammer as he leads us onto the field.

We tell each of our kids that by accepting the link they are accepting the responsibility of being part of something special, everything they do affects the rest of the chain. Each member of the team is their own individual part of something great. The kids wear the links everywhere they go. You will see them attached to their shoes, on chains around their neck, and even on bracelets. After the game I hand the links back to the kids and use it as a reminder. It could be a reminder that regardless of winning or losing we are still a team. It could be a reminder that any action they take over the weekend can affect the whole chain.

BIRTHDAY CARDS

In our program we get each athletes birthday off their player info sheet at the beginning of the year and enter into our calendar program along with the rest of their information. When their birthday rolls around each football player will receive in the mail a birthday card. I have had many players throughout the last 5 years thank me for these cards. For many of our players this might be the only card or gift they get for their birthday.

SENSE OF BELONGING
SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ONLY CARD MANY GET
INEXPENSIVE
SEND EMAIL OR TEXT ONCE GRADUATED

ONCE A MONTH IN OFFSEASON
POOL PARTY
BOWLING
PAINT BALL
MOVIE NIGHT
LOCK-IN
TEAM PICNIC
FLOAT TRIP

TEAM FUNCTIONS

Building a team is a year long process that yields little and short-lived results if not intentionally cultivated. Current research shows that connections between teammates don’t last unless extraordinary effort is applied. Football is a competitive and stressful game. We need to get our players together outside of competition frequently to build a foundation for our relationships. We must cross the line of acquaintances to something more.

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