5 Ways To Turn Last Season’s Failure Into Next Season’s Success

As summer approaches and your offseason begins, it’s time to take stock of your players, your coaching and your team’s chances next season.

If last season didn’t go the way you hoped, there’s no reason to worry; it’s never to late to turn your team’s fortunes around for next year.

Think about what went wrong this past year, as well as what went right. Is there a takeaway for your team to build on? Are there things you may be able to correct moving forward? Let’s take a look at five ways for you to turn last season’s failure into next season’s success:

1. Learn from your mistakes

While you should have faith in your strategies and tactics, being too stuck in your ways may be the reason your team is stuck in the basement of the standings. Pride doesn’t win championships. You have to be willing to find where you went wrong and fix it, both with your players and with yourself.

Maybe your players are having trouble learning overly complex plays? Are your players getting injured regularly? They probably aren’t wearing the most effective, properly fitting equipment? Did your team lack a sense of camaraderie and unity? There are ways for you to give them a stronger identity?

It is perfectly okay to admit that you were wrong or made a mistake. In fact, correcting a mistake might be the catalyst your team needs. Just look at New York Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin; once he realized that being a hard-nosed disciplinarian wasn’t jiving with his players and he softened up, his team went on to win two Super Bowls.

2. Take advantage of your best resource

When it comes to taking the temperature of your squad, your players have the best perspective on how things are going.

Talk with your players regularly, especially the most senior members and team leaders. They have the strongest pulse on the rest of the team. But don’t overlook your younger, greener players, as they play a different role on your team and bring fresh eyes and opinions.

Understanding all angles makes it easier for you to truly understand your squad.

3. Be willing to make the hard decisions

Last week, in a somewhat shocking move, U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann decided to leave Landon Donovan off the World Cup roster. It was not a popular decision and, according to Klinsmann, it was not easy either — Donovan is the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Men’s soccer, after all.

It’s hard to make difficult decisions, especially unpopular ones. Unfortunately, as a coach, that just comes with the territory. While no one wants to be the bad guy, when the goal is to win a championship, tough sacrifices must be made.

Try not to let emotions play a role. If letting go of a star player is the right move — like the Philadelphia Eagles DeSean Jackson — don’t be afraid to pull the trigger.

4. Change the culture

There’s a reason certain professional sports teams seem to be mired in a state of constant mediocrity (see: Browns, Cleveland), while other franchises are simply dominant for decades on end (see: Lakers, Los Angeles): culture.

It comes up any time a new ownership group takes over a franchise and hires a completely new front office. “We’re trying to change the culture of the team,” seems to be the go-to motto for any new owner, general manager or star player. That’s because winning breeds winning and losing breeds losing.

Setting the tone for your team is extremely important for establishing a winning culture. Let everyone know — from players and assistants to athletic trainers and fans — that losing is not the norm, nor is it acceptable. Turning into a winning team begins with a winning mentality in all that you do.

5. Don’t abandon ship

If your season truly went south and major changes must be made, don’t panic. A calm, collected approach to righting the ship doesn’t just make the process easier, it helps to establish that winning attitude we just discussed.

Be methodical and precise in your decisions and don’t just shake things up just for the sake of changing. Your moves need to have reason and purpose, as your players are looking to you for guidance and leadership.

When you take a business-like approach to your offseason and use the time wisely to improve your team, your players follow suit and make their own improvements.

That’s how losing teams turn into winners.

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