Last week I shared a saying in football “it is not the Xs & Os it’s the Jimmies and Joes.
This week I share another football saying, “culture trumps talent.” 
That is not to say that a good culture can overcome poor talent, but it is most definitely true that poor culture can destroy a team with great individual talent.
Do your players and your team’s values, beliefs and attitudes reflect what is most important to you? What are you doing to create a strong culture within your team? Our culture hinges on shared perspective around 4 key components:
* A shared understanding of the environment – “We know what we face”
* A shared vision of where we are going – “We know what we have to do”
* A shared set of organizational values – “We are in this together”
* A shared feeling of power – “We can do this. “
We layer lessons about individual character traits; Integrity, Loyalty, Trustworthiness, Selflessness, and others to inspire teammates, foster commitment, and reinforce interdependence.
While you are putting your schedules and practice plans together for summer OTAs, Mini Camp and Training Camp, be sure to include team building activities into your plan and make certain that your coaches are on the same page.
The plays, schemes, and techniques we teach our players will serve them well through the season but will soon be forgotten. What you teach them about being part of a team and putting others above themselves will serve them for the rest of their lives.
A strong culture will make them champions on the field, and champions in life.
Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends.
Thanks for your time!
It was a great day at the 18th Annual Alercio OLine Clinic. 200 offensive linemen, representing schools from all over New Jersey and three boroughs of New York, learned and trained OLine Skills under blue skies with 60-degree weather and great facilities at the Hun School. Personally, I had the opportunity to reconnect with three former high school teammates and a half a dozen former players from West Chester University, Trenton State, The College of New Jersey and Castleton State. Perhaps the best part of the day came after my 6-hour ride home. I received the following text from the mother of a player who attended:
On Sunday March 24, the Hun School of Princeton will host the 18th annual Alercio OLine Clinic. For almost two decades, we have taught over 5,000 players from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland the techniques and skills of offensive line play. We will welcome perennial state powers who bring dozens of players every year as well as individual players who come all by themselves representing some of the smallest schools in the region. We also open the clinic to any coach at no cost. 
Before speaking at the New England Nike Coach of the Year Clinic, I had the pleasure of speaking with football legend Johnny Majors. But when we shared contact information, I came to know that he refers to himself as John T Majors, not Johnny.
sat in on my presentation then introduced himself sharing how much he enjoyed it. What a thrill to think I may have contributed a bit to the perspective of a fellow coach who has succeeded with athletes as talented as NFL Quarterback (and likely future hall of famer) Phillip Rivers, and conference leaders across the Country. To make it even more exciting, he later frequently referenced my presentation during his session. Maybe we will see our SPOs (Screen Pass Options) added to his NZone System at Arizona next fall!
We identify the Sam LB (strongside inside linebacker) as the most difficult player to account for in our 2-count, 3-man screen plays, making him the player we target to put into conflict. Instead of just calling a screen to one side, we offer the QB another pass read off of the conflict player, to the side opposite the screen. We do this with dropback, bootleg and sprint out passing schemes.
