My team is made up of 18 student athletes, a manager, and two assistant coaches. They are all unique and to treat them as anything but is a big mistake for a coach.

So how do you create a good team environment that values the uniqueness of the humans and the contribution levels that exist between All-Americans and the last guy on your roster? How do you continue to lead in a manner that is consistent and honoring of the different levels of commitment, discipline and talent?

One of the areas I have been fascinated with lately is my hopes and expectations and the way they play together.

Here’s what I mean. I have the same hope for all of the athletes I coach. That hope is they become absolute studs, All-Americans. Strong mentally, physically, emotionally, and fundamentally. You get it. We also give them the tools and lay out the reality of what it takes to get there.

This isn’t a BS hope. I really believe it (Science says I should). With enough grit, studiousness, and self-awareness anyone can become an All-American. The thing is, most people don’t have the desire to put in the kind of work necessary to become a high performer. That could create quite the disappointment in a coach that continually sees people failing to meet this hope. That being said, this hope creates passion for improvement in the athlete and reengages me to spend time with the last guy on the bench, because, who knows?!

When someone thinks highly of you or your future, it’s empowering.

Now, hope is one thing and as a wise man once said, “If you have hope in one hand and a piece of shit in the other, what are you left with?” Yup…

Upon reflection, I tend to couple these hopes with my expectation. My expectation is that you get just a little bit better every day. This exists in that sweet spot between “this seems attainable given my current level of competence” and “that’s ludicrous, I don’t see how that’s possible”. They are unique to the individual and based on past performance. This can be quite dull if expectations exist in the absence of hope. The perpetual cycle of chasing new expectations would contribute to floundering, disconnection and, if taken to the extreme, eventually depression.

The combination of the two contributes to a culture of cooperative excellence. It keeps me consistently engaged in all of our athletes because I know that anyone could be next year’s All-Americans, it keeps the high performers challenged and continually looking to hone their craft, and it keeps the low performers engaged in the journey to All-American without being so daunting that they lose hope.

I wouldn’t expect the last guy on our bench to be the next years All-American but is it possible? Hell yes it is!