As a high school coach we can only coach the players that we have. We can not go out and recruit, we can not go out and trade, and we are lucky if we ever get a move in with talent. Now, some schools may get move ins because of the program's tradition. And it's weird how some schools always get the local greats to move to their school. Makes you want to go hmmmmm.

But no matter what school you are coaching, you have to prepare the team and get the most out of the talent you have.

Throughout my career here are 4 ideas that have helped develop the Winning Process for High School Programs.

• Mental Training

• Physical Training

• Be the Best at what we do

• Creed, Slogan, or Acronyms

Mental Training

During mental training, stress the importance on and stress the attention to the details when the players are pushed to their limits and ALWAYS EMPHASIZE eye contact. The best teams I have coached all have eye contact when being talked to. Even when they want to puke from exhaustion, demand they look you in the eyes when they are talked to.

Here is an example of me in the foreground talking to my running backs and in the back ground Coach Joe Jon Finley (now a TE coach at the University of Oklahoma) is talking to the OL. All have eye contact. The quarterback in the middle is not being addressed, so he is thinking.

The QB is thinking about why don't we throw the ball more while the OL coach and myself are talking about why power is the best play in football - LOL.

There are several types of mental training. You can have a boot camp, you can have a classroom setting, or you can demand mental toughness daily (highly recommend) where the players do what is expected with exact details and with positive body language including eye contact when tired and talked to. This will help you during the season.

I will write about the importance of body language later.

Physical Training

We all lift, run, and do skills/drills. But the key is no matter what you are doing, make sure it is done with maximum effort!

There are many training programs out there for you to use and they all have their benefits. I have seen or used them all (not really but you get the idea). The most important thing is the players improve their strength and speed. That is the goal.

But for it to carry over to success on the field it must be done as a team with maximum effort with the attention to details.

Like Nike says "Just Do It."

If you need some ideas or want to try a new training program for your sports team? Need a easy to use program where all genders sports can benefit be sure to check out my Twitter buddies who offer are fully certified (MS, CSCS, SCCC) in what they do. There is no garbage - just a simple to follow and implement program for your team.

Pat Basil who is on Twitter @pbasilstrength

Cody Hughes is also on Twitter @clh_strength

Do What We Do and Do it the BEST

You have to sell the program to the players. Make them believe the training you are providing is the best in the area and you know what you are doing.

Motivate the players that the best way to win games is to operate the offensive and defensive scheme better than anyone can replicate.

What I mean by that is, every team has a scout team when they prepare to play you. Make your offense be so quick off the ball, so detailed in their assignment, and physical that the scout team pretending to be use is almost useless.

Don't forget about doing the same for the scout team. Make them so hostile and physical that it pisses off the coordinator. Hey, a little shit talking between coaches in a competitive manner is good and the kids feed off that confidence.

Here is what NCAA National Champion Kirby Smart has to say about scout teams. The audio is tough to hear, but turn it up and listen how important scout teams are to preparati

Slogan, Creed, or Acronyms

The best teams I was a part of repeated their belief on a daily basis in everything they do. The belief was stated by players, coaches, and at times recited outloud.

Here are some examples:

Took this from Harlingen High when I was there and inplemented it when I took over in San Antonio. This is an example of a creed:

We started every class in the off-season reciting this as a team.

Here are some slogan examples:

Coaching high school sports is more that X and Os. Coaching high school sports is alot of psychology and motivation.

Here is what they mean:

W.I.N. is What's Important Now. Overall, get the player to focus on the moment and not dwell on his past mistake.

T.P.W. is Tough People Win. The people who win at life continue to grind and get after it. The work and don't let distractions get in the way.

To get more details on how to use these be sure to read coach Randy Jackson's book Culture Defeats Strategy.

M.T.X.E. is mental toughness and extra effort.

Code B.L.A.C.K. is from a small rural school I was the OC at and had a hard time winning. We got the place going and won alot of games, championships, and defeated rival for first time in 27 years. Great Place. Well, I took off to a much bigger school and the small country town still wins today.

Code B.L.A.C.K. is belief, loyalty, attitude, committment, and kick ass.

You can use this any way you want. At another school I used Code B.L.U.E. which was belief, loyalty and ultimate effort. You get the idea.

Summary

I hope you have gotten some ideas you can take to your team. These ideas apply to any sport and any level. Your homework now is to think of what your program you lead or work with are doing to build a Winning Process?

Which of these ideas to create a Winning Process will you implement?

• Mental Training

• Physical Training

• Be the best at what you do

• Slogan, Creed, or Acronyms