Just had a student-athlete receive his second college scholarship offer. Our head coach spoke with the college coach, and these were the questions they asked: • How is his home life? • How are his academics? • How is he in the weight room? • Is he coachable? • Does he pick up on concepts? • Are his parents a problem? • Is he a complainer? • Does he run track? • What is his legitimate size? Not one question about his stats. Not a single one. College coaches are evaluating the whole person. Character. Family. Academics. Work ethic. Coachability. Football IQ. Physical development. Attitude. The scoreboard matters. The film matters. The production matters. But when a college coach is deciding whether they want to invest in a young man for the next four years, who he is matters just as much as what he does on Friday night. That’s why we talk so much about building the person, not just the player. The game may get you noticed. Your character determines what happens next. @CoachJonWheeler

As we head into the fall season, coaches, remember this: Throwing stuff against the wall to see if it works is not coaching. It’s hoping. Championship programs are built on a foundation of fundamentals, consistency, and attention to detail. Coach the small things relentlessly. Demand discipline. Teach the why behind every drill, every rep, and every expectation. When the foundation is solid, everything else has something to grow from. Great teams are not built by accident. They are built one detail, one practice, and one day at a time.

As an Athletic Director, you better learn quickly that if you don’t understand your school’s foundation is academics, you will constantly face internal struggles with teachers and other administrators. At the same time, the best schools also understand that athletics is the front porch of the school. It is often the first thing prospective families see and experience. When schools intentionally invest in both academics and athletics, everyone benefits. Strong academics build the mission of the school, while strong athletic programs build community, school pride, visibility, and relationships that extend far beyond the playing field. The schools that truly excel are the ones that stop viewing academics and athletics as competing priorities and instead recognize that they are partners in creating an exceptional student experience. Great schools don’t choose one over the other. They commit to both.

As an AD, your talent as an athlete tells me two things: you were blessed with good genetics, and you worked hard to maximize them. What tells me even more about your character is what you do with that talent. Do you use it to elevate others, encourage teammates, and make the people around you better? Teams naturally follow their most talented players. The reality, however, is that the most talented athletes are not always the best leaders. True leadership is not about what you can do for yourself. It is about how many people you can bring with you. The athletes who leave the greatest legacy are not always remembered for their stats, but for the impact they had on their teammates and program.