Elevating Your Team: Strategies from Coach Matt Ruhle

• By Keith Grabowski

Unlocking the potential of your players is crucial to the success of your team. 

Nebraska Head Coach Matt Ruhle shared his experience, strategies, and three essential rules for building a strong coaching staff and team at the 3rd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic/u/johnloose">Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic. 

He points out that he and his coaches focus on the top 10% of your team and recognizing them publicly. By doing this, you can elevate the entire team's standards. 

In looking how a team is built, Coach Rhule sees it as three parts: Roster, Locker Room, and Football. He explains that in this video:

Coaching the Top 10%

Coach Rhule shared a Gallup study that revealed three groups of workers: engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged. He stressed the importance of coaching the top 10% of your team, as recognizing and talking about them publicly will help the middle 80% shift towards them. This will raise the standards of the team as a whole, and by continuing to focus on the top performers, you can create a culture of excellence and high performance.

Building a Successful Coaching Staff

Coach Rhule shared his three rules for staff: do what you're asked, protect the staff, and put the players first. To create a team of staff members that are engaged, productive, and successful, Coach Rhule explains weekly one-on-one player interactions, weekly player position group training table meals, a semester position bonding trip, weekly academic follow-ups, and weekly goal-setting sessions. 

He also emphasizes the importance of introducing yourself to the parents and having a position manual. By following these rules and guidelines, you can build a coaching staff that is dedicated to the success of the team and the individual growth of each player.

By focusing on the top 10% of your team and building a strong coaching staff, you can elevate your team's performance and create a culture of excellence. It’s energizing to you and your coaching staff as well.  Instead of putting the focus on incorrect behavior, it highlights what the best on your team do and thus raises the bar for everyone.