D3 soccer program cultures

Started by Dubuquer, January 27, 2020, 01:48:52 PM

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Dubuquer

The mention of program culture in the "coaching carousel" thread reminded me that I've had a couple conversations with colleagues and my wife recently about organizational culture, conversations driven by changes in higher education, particularly in higher education leadership (we both work in Academia).  Mr Right's mention of culture got me thinking about how this applies to D3 sports teams.  Clearly every organization, every campus and every team has their own unique culture; some are more unique than others, and some are positive while others can be pretty toxic. I recognize that just defining an organizational or team culture can be hard! But... What are the key elements it takes to develop a positive, lasting culture in a D3 sports team program?  How long does it (or should it) take for a new coach to make their stamp on the culture of a program and make it "theirs?" (Should a coach make it a priority to make a team culture their own? Or should the players drive the team culture?) How important is a strong, positive culture to a team's success?  Who is most responsible for a team's culture - the coach? the captains? the players as a whole?  What are things that might cause a significant cultural shift within a team (short of changing coaches or major roster changes)?  How receptive are players, coaches, alums, etc. to purposeful attempts to change team cultures?  Are there D3 soccer programs you can point to that have especially strong, positive team cultures?

Sorry for the abundance of questions here but I'm genuinely interested in any thoughts you might have and thought this might be an interesting topic of off-season conversation...  And, go.

OldNed

I don't have any insight into the questions raised here, but I think this is a terrific topic and I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say on this subject.

Another Mom

I'm looking forward to the answers too! But I bet most people don't have a lot of inside information; and/or don't want to post negative things.

I hear Bard's team culture is still struggling despite the new coach. But this was from a disaffected player.

Ejay

I've probably read this question 10 times - thinking back to my playing days and then coaching days of kids both in and almost in college.  I think it's extremely difficult to answer without inside information. In any event, I'll start the ball rolling on a question by question basis in hopes of generating some more discussion:

What are the key elements it takes to develop a positive, lasting culture in a D3 sports team program? 
As with any "group", I think a positive lasting culture requires a leader who can set the expectation, a follower who can embrace the message and then subsequent followers who want to be part of the action.  In the world of team sports, you need a coach to set the expectation, the captains (presumably) to buy in, and the rest of the team to want to join the captains.

How long does it (or should it) take for a new coach to make their stamp on the culture of a program and make it "theirs?"
New coaches should set the tone immediately.  Their roster will turn over frequently, so it doesn't make sense to keep an existing culture intact if it doesn't align with their own idea.  I think a big part of hiring a good new coach is determining if they can either change the culture, or keep it intact (depending on the school's goal). 

Should a coach make it a priority to make a team culture their own? Or should the players drive the team culture?
It needs to come from the top.  Coaches set the tone and players follow the lead.  This is where recruiting comes in to play - finding the kids who "fit in". Conversely, it's also why recruits need to shop around to find the right fit for them.

How important is a strong, positive culture to a team's success?
It's certainly one ingredient of a successful team. I'm sure you can find plenty of instances of teams who either win games they shouldn't or lose games they shouldn't because they have a good or bad culture respectively.

Who is most responsible for a team's culture - the coach? the captains? the players as a whole? 
At the risk of repeating myself, the coach defines the culture, the captains promote it, and the players as a whole buy-in to it. Coaches can make poor decisions on naming captains and I think the results can be disastrous.

What are things that might cause a significant cultural shift within a team (short of changing coaches or major roster changes)? 
Results, although I think roster is #1.  Recruiting players who don't fit the mold.  One wrong player can throw a wrench into everything.

How receptive are players, coaches, alums, etc. to purposeful attempts to change team cultures? 
It can be tricky for players if a coach attempts to change the culture.  Players have expectations and people, for the most part, do not like change. So the new coach who changes things will probably require a few cycles to get the culture where they want it to be. With few exceptions, I don't think Alumni at the D3 level carry much clout and unfortunately are at the mercy of the administration.

Are there D3 soccer programs you can point to that have especially strong, positive team cultures?
Wouldn't know.  I think you need to be part of it to be able to answer this question. I suspect the successful teams have consistency year over year in terms of culture, but again, one bad apple...

Mr.Right

Really well done EB2319.....I like it...Coaches set the table but the players gotta put the work in...You would have to say Tufts has a pretty good culture going..One of the Q/A EB2319 gave was:

"How receptive are players, coaches, alums, etc. to purposeful attempts to change team cultures?

It can be tricky for players if a coach attempts to change the culture.  Players have expectations and people, for the most part, do not like change. So the new coach who changes things will probably require a few cycles to get the culture where they want it to be. With few exceptions, I don't think Alumni at the D3 level carry much clout and unfortunately are at the mercy of the administration."

This will be a major factor at Tufts in 2020. Whomever they hire will want to put their own stamp on the program. Probably not the wisest thing after 3/4 NCAA titles...Watch this situation play out in 2020...Do the players respond to a new voice like they have in the past?