How to Prepare Your Team for The Big Moments

If you don’t know me, I’m Brian Smith.

As Head Wrestling Coach at Mizzou, I’ve spent years building a program around more than just talent. These athletes are some of the greatest men I know. They’re full of integrity, discipline, and grit.

“Are you livin’ it?” is a question I ask my athletes almost every day. It’s about living out Tiger Style, and more importantly, living a life you’re proud of.

Today, I want to discuss one big culture question and let you in on where I’ve been. 

Let’s get into it. 

FROM GOOD TO GREAT

How do I prepare my team to be great when it matters most?

For most teams, the big moments come at the end of the year or the end of a quarter. I’ll often see leaders change their technique and push their team extra hard right there at the end. 

It may work for some, but for me, I know my team has put in the work all year long to get to where they are — the last thing I want is for them to fill their mind with new techniques or wear their body down before a big match. 

When you introduce them to more intense training, you can distract them from the fundamentals. 

During my first year coaching high school wrestling, coaches from different schools wanted to organize joint practices since only a few of their athletes had qualified for the state tournament. The majority of my team qualified, so I was hesitant. Nevertheless, I invited the other teams to practice with us.

I quickly noticed that their approach differed from mine. The other coaches suggested high-intensity, competitive workouts, but I knew that wasn’t what we needed. I believed in refining and reinforcing what we’d been practicing all season. 

My philosophy, inherited from my father, was to focus on the fundamentals, especially during critical times of the year.

I always ask my coaches to identify the most important aspects of our preparation, and the consensus is always the same: wrestle within themselves, execute their individual game plans, and be proficient at taking down and controlling their opponents.

OFF THE MAT

I’ve mentioned that I’ve been speaking around the state and the country, and that trend continued this past month. 

I was able to speak at the ZOU to YOU tour and the MO MGMA (Medical Group Management Association). 

MGMA’s mission is to develop and equip their members to create dynamic, successful medical group practices that meet the needs of today's patients. Nothing a little Tiger Style couldn’t help. 

On the personal side, I was able to travel to NYC to see my daughter. She is enough for me to make the trip, but I was also able to check off a bucket list item:

Mets/Yankees - I’m a huge Mets fan, so going to the Subway Series game was a major check off the bucket list, even though the Yankees won 2/3 games. 

I guess this is my encouragement to you to step out of the workplace every once in a while, spend some time with the people you love, doing some things that you love.

As always, if you’re looking for a speaker to tell you about building a winning team culture, I’d be happy to come and share about Tiger Style. Check out my site below.

Thanks for tuning in.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or respond to this email. I’d love to hear from you.

— Coach Smith