# Nfl・D1コーチ達からの学び🏈 **Source:** https://taksanart.com/en/nfl・d1コーチ達からの学び🏈 **Language:** English --- What I learned from working on facilitation with NFL and D1 coaches was, first and foremost, a Zen-like feeling of "It's not all about Football, but It's all about Football." ### More than just 🏈?! What I learned even from casual conversations was that these individuals, operating within strict governance rules, are compelled to engage in timely and transparent communication not only within the team but also with stakeholders. They understand, follow, learn, lead, and live by the rules of communication to meet these demands. On top of that, they achieve results in the world of competition through strategy, field operations, and more. As I listened to these stories, I remember feeling a strange sense of excitement and thrill. (Some coaches even showed me their daily 24-hour schedules. They were incredibly meticulous, aiming to cover everything possible to win.) ### How to Become a Coach A story about the background and career of an NFL coach I had the opportunity to assist: He initially aspired to be a college coach. However, he was required to obtain a teaching license through graduate school. As a result, he became a teacher of algebra and geometry at a US community college?! He mentioned that he learned how to create curricula and develop fair evaluation and feedback methods for his students, which later proved immensely useful in his coaching career. Perhaps this level of objectivity and qualification is necessary to be entrusted with the significant responsibility of college football. I also remember myself: a long time ago, when I was working as a salesman in the US, my head at the time had a subjective Player Head that thought, "If the customer is happy and I get results in the field, everything else will follow." Because of this, I had some pretty extreme and painful experiences. Even if I got results, I was often cornered. LOL. I felt a sense of tension that I couldn't survive if things continued like this. So, I thought it would be difficult to survive without learning objectivity, and I remember taking lectures for ISO (International Organization for Standardization) qualifications and making "adjustments" to my previous subjective brain that thought, "It's enough to get results in the field." Later, this knowledge helped me in many situations. #### Development from Village to Nation To "develop a village into a nation," we need the participation of as many "people" as possible. Therefore, first and foremost, there must be a system or platform where people with diverse backgrounds can compete fairly. Communication with those involved is a responsibility and a given. I've experienced firsthand that the more extreme the diversity in the US, the more necessary fair and objective systems become. The participation of athletes who achieve success from impoverished areas is a highlight, and if fairness is guaranteed, broad participation can be expected. I learned that the NCAA was established to ensure safety and fairness, which I find convincing. #### What about Japan? Unlike the US, in terms of facts and demographics, 🏈 also has the characteristic of being a sport for children from families who can afford to buy helmets and protective gear. Therefore, it tends to be a limited world. Within that, I speculate that there is a risk of the world and relationships, led by people from backgrounds of players who have been active in it, becoming exclusive and closed. In fact, I believe it is a world with a strong tendency towards being Closed rather than Open. Speaking of Backfire within that, criticisms towards leaders and commanders often include harsh remarks such as "privatizing the team or organization" and "imposing subjectivity." I'm not trying to defend them, but I personally believe that probably one intends to privatize, act superior, or do as they please. My guess is that the starting point is a pure feeling like "I just love 🏈! I want to develop players!" and everyone is struggling immensely through self-study at an amazing level in a small world where resources are not established... I think the pure starting point is the same as in the 🇺🇸. That is why, if the necessity of academic common concepts, governance rules, and tools becomes clear, I believe it will be a great help to future discussions for development. #### First Step To put it crudely, I think the first step is not difficult. First, what do we want to do with Japanese 🏈? How do we want to develop it? Do we want to keep it within the narrow world that we can see by ourselves? Those in positions of authority, such as management and federations, must face the facts, make decisions, and show a VISION. If we desire development, I believe it is important for everyone to "learn the necessity of learning" and "vow to learn." Within existing relationships, there is need for a "Know-It-All competition" where people boast about knowing someone famous, having a certain background, or knowing something special. On the contrary, I propose that everyone learns from each other in a flat and open manner as something new (competitively). (Although it might be a bit extreme, it might be good to intentionally make the content primarily in English, and have everyone, regardless of age or gender, start from the same point and learn through hardship.) I heard a story about a rugby coach at a certain university in 🇯🇵 (who is also a professor at the same university) who academically developed organizational construction with objectivity. He made this knowledge open information, which led other universities to start learning academic organizational construction, and their teams became stronger, causing them trouble. However, the story also said that the league's standard bar has definitely risen, and the number of fans fascinated by the competition of high-level athletes must have certainly increased. I think it's a wonderful story. #### Introduction of Specific Tools If you ask AI, it will answer immediately: there are plenty of communication tools to build reliability. Meeting agenda management, minutes disclosure, project management methods, quality control, and so on. These are all things that anyone can do quickly if they learn them. (However, just like a playbook, implementation skills are of course necessary. If there is grounding in what basis the tools are selected, it will not continue.) Personally, what I believe is necessary as a tool/measure is: clear definition of responsibilities and roles in advance. Especially for PRO coaches, the labor-management relationship is equivalent to that of company employees, so I think it would be effective to standardize the clarification of responsibilities within the team (job descriptions), such as what is expected from the employer and what should be presented to the client. From the athletes' perspective as well, if the responsibilities of the coaching staff are clear, they will know what is expected of them and what actions will lead to evaluation, which will lead to healthier relationships and more active engagement. (This should avoid the risk of being misunderstood as imposing one's own theories or personalizing things, and should allow focus on refining a common platform.) >>> Of course, there are tricks to implementation and explanation. If you force the introduction, it will be back to square one (lol) But I always say, "If I could learn it, you all can do it even better!" This is true. ---------------------- Although I have written the above in a hasty manner, with related consultation services, If you are interested, please feel free to contact me. ### Share this: - Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook - Share on X (Opens in new window) X - Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp ### Like this: Like Loading… ### Leave a Comment Cancel Reply