Golden Sierra Football Philosophy

By Kevin Ahern

Head Football Coach, Golden Sierra High School

I have been involved with football for over 30 years now and as a result I have had the opportunity to experience scores of football programs both successful and unsuccessful.  I have come to the conclusion that there are three components to a football program that make it successful; and none of them have anything to do with football alone.

First, I believe that things have to be done with class.  This means that we will always do the right thing regardless of the conditions.  We may see others doing the wrong thing, but that won’t detract us from doing what’s right and showing class whether we win or lose.  As coaches, we need to understand that over time our players will begin to emulate us.  This means that if we make the wrong decisions or show poor levels of class, our players will soon follow suit.  It is our responsibility to show class in everything we do.  It shows our players that we can “walk the walk” as well as talk about it. This characteristic goes beyond players and coaches. It has to include parents and fans. It has to be a part of everyone and everything in our program.  Without class, nothing else really matters.

Second, I believe that things need to be done with quality.  As a football coach, I would love to have a carte blanche account where I could buy anything and everything that I wanted for my program.  This is not reality, but I can still bring quality to my program.  It’s not the fancy uniforms or the fancy field that makes a team.  Instead, it’s a concept that is built by prioritizing what’s important to your program and then building upon it.  I have a priority to provide the best and safest equipment possible for my players.  I have to be willing to sacrifice “fancy” in some areas in order to accomplish the quality that I want in the area of safety.  As a result, we may have what some people consider “plain” uniforms, but my players are wearing the best equipment I can get to them.  Quality also permeates into the people that are in our program.  We want quality people working with our players.  Coaches are teachers.  We want quality people teaching our players how to be quality ball players and ultimately, quality young men.

Third, I believe that we should have fun. Football is a fun sport.  It can be demanding, but it still can be fun. As a young coach I was considered to be very intense.  After coaching for a while, I began to realize that I wasn’t having fun coaching.  I can safely say that my players were also not having fun.  I have enjoyed far greater success as a coach by having fun on the field than I did when I was intense.  I know dozens of people who tried to play football and quit and most of them quit because it wasn’t fun for them. I also can safely say that these men regret not having played, but somewhere in the past a coach could have done a better job making things fun for that player.

In closing, I feel that there is no better learning tool for young men than the game of football.  I believe that there is no other activity a boy can get involved in that offers so many life learning experiences. Over the years I have never met anyone who has regretted playing the game of football.  I have met scores who have regretted not playing.