There are three types of football teams when it comes to leadership.
The first is simply having nobody in that role at all which tends to lead to poor results on the field. The second is an entirely coach-led operation, which is something that tends to produce moderate success. But the third and most desired option is a football team that is largely led by those players on it.
Now in his third year atop the West Virginia program, that is what head coach Neal Brown is trying to produce this off-season by allowing his players to take the lead.
“We’re trying to transition from a coach-led team to a player-led team and that’s a transition that you should be able to make it you have the right guys going into year three,” Brown said.
The Mountaineers have a relatively small, but impactful senior class in the program with the bulk of those players now spending their third off-season with Brown atop the program. That means an understanding of how he likes things done which can be passed on from player to player.
Now, that doesn’t mean that Brown isn’t the actual leader of the club or ignores his duties as the head man but finding the right way for the players to hold themselves accountable is how teams grow.
“When you have player-led teams you have a chance to be elite,” Brown said. “That’s what we’re trying to be.”
One way that Brown is helping to foster this behavior is through off-season teams where ten captains pick their members and compete in everything until the end of the summer. Part of that includes a weekly leadership meeting where Brown is able to sit down and discuss those aspects with his team.
“He tells me what I did good that week from a leadership standpoint and what I didn’t and what I can improve on,” senior running back Leddie Brown said.
For Brown, a reserved type of person, vocal leadership doesn’t come easy, but the exercises have given him more confidence in those situations. It’s pushed him into areas where he is typically uncomfortable and allowed him to embrace what is being asked out of him as a veteran on the team.
That is the same with many others across the roster.
“We’ve got a good group and they’re maturing and taking that leadership role seriously,” Brown said.
The end game is to have everybody on the same page by the time the fall rolls around and the players stepping into more vocal roles while taking ownership of the team and the product on the field.
“We give them some say so they make decisions in there and also try to get the pulse of the team,” Brown said. “Always open the meetings with what are our issues and how can I help.”
The true test will be what unfolds on the field this fall, but it’s clear that Brown believes that the Mountaineers are moving in the right direction. Now, it’s about putting it in place.
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