Seventeen years ago, when I started at Springfield Central High School as an assistant principal, we had one of the lowest performing athletic programs in the Western Massachusetts region and one of the largest student bodies in the Commonwealth.

There’s plenty of proud history at this inner-city school—our gym not only displays state title banners, but also the jerseys of past alums who made it to the NBA and MLB. However, the school was in the midst of a dramatic downturn in athletic success and there was little to boast about when I arrived.

Fast forward nearly two decades. Across the board, our teams are some of the most competitive in our state’s highest level. Our boys’ and girls’ basketball teams routinely reach the final weekend of postseason. Our wrestling program often wins state championships, and our football team is now considered one of the most powerful in New England. During live recruiting periods, coaches from the Big Ten, ACC, Ivy, and Patriot Leagues visit our school.

Rally the community.

When you’re an inner city school, everything that goes wrong in the city gets equated with the school system. It’s a tough reputation to shed. As hard as we tried, people just didn’t find academic success that interesting. It’s hard to get the attention of the media from a positive perspective.

But when you have an athletic win, they’re almost forced to put it in the paper. And our brand could be out in the community in a positive way.

It’s amazing how many people will stop you on the street to say, “Hey, you’re having a great year.” They have no idea what you’re doing academically, but when they see your name in the paper for athletics, it connects positive thoughts to your school.

I recently researched how many times our athletic teams garnered headlines in a local news outlet versus how many times we were mentioned for academic reasons. The ratio was 97 to 1. When we quantified this with a projected advertising cost, it equated to tens of thousands of dollars.

We’ve been fortunate to get the full support of our city’s political community. They want to see us be successful academically and socially, and our positive identity allows us to get the support we need.

You’ll see them at games—our mayor, our superintendent, school committee members, city councilors—cheering for us, proud of us. It drives home that what we do as an athletic department is important.

We also try to bring back alumni as much as possible. Travis Best, who was a McDonald’s All-American a quarter-century ago at Central and went on to great success in the NBA, can always be found in our stands when he’s in town. His jersey is the only retired number for any of our athletic programs.

Every year we hear stories from students who have dreamed about becoming a Central High School Golden Eagle. It’s a great feeling to know your school is providing amazing academic and co-curricular opportunities for students who are historically disadvantaged. We’ve even had students turn down full-scholarship opportunities from prep schools to become part of our community.

We don’t have all of the answers but we hope to continue to improve, grow and develop. Resources like this blog can help us, and other schools across the country, share ideas and best practices to ensure positive experiences and future opportunities for student-athletes everywhere.

Another year later, we had attracted even more students and clinched another state championship. And finally, when a school on the other side of town closed, we got a gym of our own.

Because of sports, we cemented our identity. Because of sports, I began to see more parents at games and meetings. Coaches can easily see the inherent value of sports—our challenge is to get kids to believe in themselves, change their course and inspire others.

Throughout my years as a five-time state championship coach, I’ve learned there are three major components in building a program that will provide student-athletes the best experience and character development possible.

Culture

Not only do coaches need to do whatever it takes to help players believe in their own value to the team, they must also understand that it’s not always the game plan that wins the game—it’s the team’s identity and philosophy.

Think of culture as a loose ball. You gotta dive for it. My focus is on making sure my players handle the honorable variables of being an athlete, like time on task, engagement, random acts of kindness and, most importantly, the two “extras” that help you win in the classroom—extra credit and extra help.

There are so many things coaches can do to build a strong culture. I spent my first paycheck as a basketball coach on making 300 t-shirts with our team logo and mantra. I handed those out to anyone who would listen. Months later, many of our freshmen showed up to school with New Mission t-shirts already on their backs. These kids had never played for me, but they were already connected to our team culture. They were Titans.

Relationships

If you have no idea what your players’ home situations or backgrounds are, how can you expect to coach them? Player development is not exclusive to skills and drills anymore.

It’s the conversations that happen after practice. It’s the bus ride to or from games. It’s the impact a coach can have on a player in their most vulnerable moments. You don’t even have to talk—it’s more important to listen.

Relationships help players buy in. I always kept an identity chart of my players so I could help them understand the value of being their best self even when it was hard. Be the example—teach them how to show who they are by showing them who you are.

The Extra Mile

Coaching is a job where when you win, someone else gets the credit, and when you lose, “It’s on you bruh.” It’s full of ups and downs. But when all else fails, trust in your players.

As coaches, we need to remind ourselves of the impact going the extra mile can have. It matters if I drive the 20 miles to take a player to a college visit or show up to a parent meeting. It might be the difference between life or death if I don’t check up on a kid in the summer to make sure drugs or violence hasn’t swallowed them whole.

How to Get Started

1. Build relationships with all of your players.
2. Have the NCAA qualifying conversation with them in 9th grade, and use the guidelines to help them in their academics.
3. Create an environment that reflects success and family. Develop mantras, post quotes about your program philosophy or create incentives—whatever it takes to help them understand that who they are on the court is who they are off of it.
4. Be intentional about your goals. Every step forward is a step closer to a championship.

Everyone seems to hate the phrase, “Ball is life.” But from my experience, it is.

Cory McCarthy spent more than a decade coaching basketball. As Director of School Culture and Climate at New Mission High School, he has helped lead the school to being named the 2012 EdVestors’ School on the Move, 2013 National Blue Ribbon School for Improvement, and the 2017 Title One Distinguished School. McCarthy has represented Boston Public Schools at conferences such as ASUGSV Technology Summit in San Diego and COSEBOC in Boston, MA and New York, and has been a guest lecturer at Emerson College and UMASS Boston.

Most athletes do their best to avoid being disruptive, but every coach has encountered their fair share of challenging players. Next time this happens, consider using these tips to improve the situation.

Make sure everyone on the team is engaged

Kids, particularly younger ones, have a lot of energy and short attention spans. Keep your practices active and get every player involved. When running drills, aim to pair or group together players of similar skill levels. Every player will feel challenged, but not intimidated.

Also consider including small group work in your practices. This can bring shy players out of their shell while ensuring disruptive players are kept busy.

Don’t forget about the parents

Make sure your players’ parents understand the rules and expectations you have for the team. While parents can help keep their kids in line, you might find difficult parents just as common as difficult players.

Kids pick up a lot from the adults in their lives, so encourage the parents on your sideline to be good sports. Don’t be afraid to tactfully tell them if their behavior is a negative influence on your team. “A coach’s job, in my opinion, is very much the same as that of a parent—to prepare your children to live life without you,” Infante said.

The other key to strong parent-coach relationships is open lines of communication. Set ground rules such as ‘wait 24 hours after a contest to talk to me about it,’ but let them know you’re available to address their concerns.

Keep your cool even when you’re frustrated

Staying calm is easier said than done, but it can go a long way when it comes to dealing with difficult players. You’ll be able to make better decisions on behalf of your whole team.

Try to understand why the challenging players on your squad might be acting out without letting them monopolize your time. Listen to their concerns and consider the challenges they may be facing at home or at school. You may not be able to fix their problems, but they’ll appreciate your effort to meet them halfway.

And when it’s time to focus on the team, they’ll be ready. “We had a team meeting in the locker room and I said, ‘Guys, from this point forward we clear the mechanism,’” Steve Specht, head football coach at St. Xavier (Ohio), said.

“I don’t want to worry about what your grade in biology is or the issues you’re having with your girlfriend or any problems. When we set foot on this field, for two hours we clear the mechanism and we have fun.”

Want more tips on how to ensure players buy in to your coaching philosophy? Check out our comprehensive guide to reaching full program alignment.

Following Their Example

Turner is strong-willed, grounded and hard-working. The strong women she looked up to in her youth instilled these traits in her.

Her aunts Eleanor—who worked at and served on the board of the YMCA—and Lucille—who was the president of the National Urban League—demonstrated how women should lead. Her grandma was a retired nurse that became a prominent figure in the St. Louis political scene. She taught a young Katasha how to make her voice heard in a male-dominated field.

Turner’s mother was a single parent, worked at Job Corp as a special education teacher, and taught G.E.D classes on the side. Turner admires her mother for her selflessness and dedication to those she served.

In short, her role models set the table for a glass-shattering career.

Taking the Reins

In 2019, Turner became just the second woman to be an athletic director in the history of Selma High School. And as a Black woman working in sports, Turner acknowledges obstacles and hurdles are everywhere.

“It’s tough as a female because people don’t think you know what you’re doing, and it’s especially tough for an African-American woman,” Turner said. “You can have all the certifications, you can have all that. But it is a challenge because sometimes people do not think that a woman knows what she’s doing.”

The stereotypes that exist against women, and Black women in particular, often deter them from pursuing roles in sports they’re qualified for (if not overqualified).

“You rarely see women athletic directors. And I mean, you rarely see African-American athletic directors,” Turner said. Few too many Black women exist in rooms where decisions are made.

That’s why Turner belongs to national organizations that work toward greater equity and opportunity for women and minorities in sports. She’s a member of the Global Community of Women in High School Sports and the National Organization of Minority Athletic Directors, or NOMAD.

Turner said building trust and getting buy-in are important for breaking through the stereotypes she faces. To earn that trust, she continues to look for ways to enrich the lives of her student-athletes.

Finding Ways to Empower Students

According to U.S. News & World Report, the Selma student population is roughly 900 students. The makeup is 99.9% Black, with 85% living in economically disadvantaged households.

Turner is committed to providing any opportunity possible to Selma students, not just to help them explore new interests, but to keep them safe.

This past year, Turner sent out a survey to students asking what activities they would be interested in if offered at their school. The results of the survey spurred six new athletic programs at Selma: 7-on-7 girls’ football, wrestling, girls’ and boys’ golf, and girls’ and boys’ e-sports teams.

Turner launched these programs because she knows how important it is to keep students active within the school. She uses the phrase “Be. B.I.G”—her shorthand for “Believe in Being Greater”—to encourage athletes to be their very best, on the field and off.

“The streets are always waiting,” Turner said. “Sometimes kids are going home to nothing, or nobody at home. But this is a chance to do something constructive and competitive. If [students] don’t like the situation that they’re in, hopefully this can be an avenue to help them maneuver themselves into other opportunities.”

Blazing Her Own Trail

Turner is the embodiment of creating opportunities through sports. In her coaching career of 16 years, she’s coached basketball, volleyball, softball, and track and field.

She opens herself to any challenge and any opportunity that comes her way—and she takes them head on. Her attitude and drive, combined with a wealth of knowledge and experience as an athlete and coach, have prepared Turner for the job she was born to do.

And now that she’s taken her seat at the table as Selma High School’s athletic director, she’s working tirelessly to provide opportunities for her students to take control of their own futures.

“I’m being the example that my mother, my grandmother, my aunts—that they showed me,” Turner said.

Katasha Turner is making “queen” moves, as she calls them: leading by example and demonstrating just how far a fearless attitude and hard work can take you.

The future is bright at Selma High School and Turner is putting her best foot forward to make sure it stays that way. By any means necessary.

“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.”

Sure, winning is important, but so is your players’ well-being. Just like positive teams are more productive in the workforce, they’re also more successful on the field or court. A good culture can develop naturally, but it’s up to coaches to create an encouraging environment. These three small steps can make a big impact on your team.

Measure Success beyond Ws and Ls

Whether or not your team has a winning season, it’s important for coaches to acknowledge the little wins, like your team executing certain plays better, or improving in a set of stats, along the way.

Individual improvement is another way to assess how far your team has come—like if the player who racked up the most penalties or fouls in your earliest games has cut that number in half by the end of the season.

Stats that align with your coaching philosophy are a good way to measure progress, but success can also be measured by your players’ individual and team efforts.

Involve the Entire Team

One of the key things students learn from high school athletics is the value of participation and teamwork. It’s easy to focus on your top performers, but great coaches find ways to make even their least skilled players feel like MVPs.

Be consistent in your interactions with players and find ways to involve your entire team (including the non-starters) in practices, workouts and game prep. Consider an exercise where players take turns discussing what each member brings to the team. This can reassure everyone that their contributions are key to the team’s success, no matter if it’s points scored or morale boosted.

Reinforce Good Behavior

On the team or individual level, positive reinforcement is generally more effective than punishment when it comes to changing behavior—and it creates a more constructive atmosphere on your team.

Players learn from your example. If they see you praising their teammates for good behavior rather than coming down on them for poor performance, they’re likely to do the same (even when you’re not around).

Take a few minutes in each review session to go over highlights—ideally before you begin the physical part of practice so the team is energized. Letting your players access game video helps them share these moments with their parents and friends, and giving them the opportunity to do this on their own will ensure you don’t need to devote too much important practice time to it.

For more ways to engage your athletes, check out our guide to building your coaching philosophy.