Rick Lewis

“In moments of victory or defeat, I think it’s really important to be respectful. Whether we win or lose, we’re going to have respectful interaction. Your time to congratulate and show respect in the immediacy right there. Respect the people you play against. We want to be a program that wins with class and loses with class,” Kara Lawson

“It’s never the refs fault!” Blaming refs teaches the wrong lesson. Great teams and great players don’t point fingers, they take ownership.

"Your job as a coach is to coach your players. If their parents and their friends are getting mad because you're getting yelled at, get better parents and better friends." Coaches aren't calling you out. They're calling you up! Build connections so they hear the corrections.

“Administrations win championships. Coaches win games… if you’re not totally into it and they’re not committed, you’re not winning. You just can’t.” True at the high school level as well… x.com/slancehoops/st…

If your coaches are discouraging you from lifting during the season, there is a problem.

SC athletic directors lock in senior transfer rules plus other key ammendments passed on final day of spring athletic administrators conference thestate.com/sports/high-sc…

Culture rarely explodes. It erodes. One skipped rep. One eye roll. One excuse. Drip by drip. Great coaches protect the standard before the damage spreads.

“Good players want coached. Great players you can’t coach them enough, they want more, more, more. Inconsistent players want to be coached on their terms”

THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST QUOTES OF ALL-TIME BY #NFL ICON TOM BRADY: “To be great at something, you don't need to be special. You just need to be what most people aren't: Consistent. Determined. Willing to work for it. No shortcuts.” 🐐🐐🐐

Sports make a great game - but a terrible God. Listen carefully if you’re an athlete… One day the season will end. One day the career will end. One day the applause will stop. If your identity is in the game, you’ll feel lost when the game is gone. But if your identity is in God, the game simply becomes a platform. Sports are meant to be played. They were never meant to be worshipped. Train hard. Compete with excellence. Honor God with your effort. But never forget: Your purpose is bigger than your performance. “You shall have no other gods before me.” {Exodus 20:3}

As an AD, want to build a championship program and culture? Every big vision is simply the result of hundreds of small decisions made the right way, day after day. Be consistent

As an AD, no matter how hard you work to create equality across all sports, there will always be someone who believes you care more about another sport than theirs. The reality is that supporting every program matters, even when the perception does not always match the work being done.

As an AD, I have learned that supportive families who truly understand the value of athletics are essential to the culture of a program. Their encouragement, perspective, and belief in the bigger picture must always be louder than the negativity.

PARENTS: One day, our kids will be finished playing sports and they will be adults raising their own kids. The best thing that we can do now is to teach them how to be good, happy people so they can, in turn, one day raise good, happy people.

As an AD, I’ve learned most parents believe sports teach accountability along with many other lessons. That belief sometimes changes when the accountability affects their own child directly.

As an AD, when I meet with coaches at the start of the year, I always ask “What’s your team goal?” Many say “State Championship” because they think that is the answer I want. My next question is “Do you have state championship talent?” Most say no. That is when I remind them the best programs build by setting attainable goals, hitting them, and growing from there. Championship programs are built step by step, not declared in a meeting.

FAILING TO HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE: - erodes your team's culture - undermines your team's standards - weakens your leadership credibility - frustrates people who do the right thing - destroys your team's chances of success IF YOU WANT TO WIN, YOU MUST HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE.

Loyalty can be a liability make sure everyone in your boat is rowing and not poking holes in it‼️