Wednesday, August 20, 2008

One coach's recipe for success

Here's one high school coach who absolutely "gets it."

Coach Earl Smith, 54, and his staff have led his current program to consecutive North Carolina state titles. His recipe for success:

-- Pay attention to details. "It gives you a chance to succeed if you focus on the little things," said one former player.

-- Highly-organized practices "orchestrated with precision." Said Coach Smith: "Every minute is accounted for. Every second. One thing we don't do is waste time."

-- Positive coaching. "No berating" players.

-- A good staff. "I rely on them heavily to teach the fundamentals."

-- Clear goals for the season. Now that his team has had some success, "the goals have been raised."