Random Tips Won’t Change Your Program

Hey coach, 

Think about the early days of building your team culture. 

Most coaches start the same way. 

You give reminders in practice.
You correct things when they pop up.
You offer advice when something feels off. 

At first, it feels like you are doing the right thing. 

But over time, you notice something frustrating. 

The same behaviors keep showing up.
The same conversations keep happening.
The same reminders keep needing to be repeated. 

Then at some point, the shift happens. 

You stop giving random advice and you start setting standards. 

Clear expectations.
Daily rhythms.
Non negotiables everyone understands. 

It is harder at first. 

But once those standards take hold, things get easier.
The culture starts to reinforce itself.
You spend less time correcting and more time coaching. 

That lesson matters far beyond your team. The same way standards shape your program, they also shape how you recruit, lead, and operate every day.  

For a long time in this Busy Coach newsletter, my goal was to be helpful. 

I tried to help coaches do busy better by sharing:
More tips.
More templates.
More ideas.
More ways to save you time. 

Helpful feels good. 

But after 23 years as a college soccer coach and 9 years working with coaches, here is what I know to be true: 

Random helpful strategies do not change behavior.
Standards do. 

And if this year is going to be different, not just busier and not just louder, this is the shift that matters most. 

Most coaches live in a world of advice. 

Podcasts.
Threads.
Articles.
Videos. 

All useful.
None essential. 

Because advice without application does not create leverage. 

Leverage, for you as a coach, means identifying and prioritizing the small number of actions that move your program forward no matter how busy the day gets. 

Standards do that. 

Leverage does not come from trying to do more things.
It comes from owning how things are done. 

That is the difference between consuming content and operating inside a system. 

Here is the hinge most people miss. 

Leverage is not effort or output.
It is positioning force over time. 

You know standards are set when:
Coaches start using shared language.
Certain behaviors become non negotiable.
A way of operating becomes recognizable.
Results accumulate in one place. 

That is when you hear phrases like:
“That is not how we do things.”
“What system are you using?”
“Are you in that yet?” 

That is the moment something stops being optional. 

This is why I keep coming back to the same idea. 

You do not need more productivity tactics.
You need an operating standard. 

A place where:
Expectations are clear.
Language is shared.
Rhythms are consistent.
Identity is elevated. 

Because when coaches start seeing themselves differently, everything else follows. 

Admins trust coaches who operate with clarity.
Staff respect leaders who are not reactive.
Recruiting improves when systems replace scrambling.
Burnout fades when structure replaces chaos. 

Not because coaches tried harder.
Because they operated differently. 

Here is your question for this week: 

If someone watched how you work, would they recognize a system or just effort? 

There is no judgment in that question.
Only information. 

Effort keeps you busy.
Standards change trajectories. 

And the coaches who win the long game are not doing more. 

They have chosen to operate inside something that supports them. 

More soon,
Mandy Green 

If you want to talk through your operating or recruiting systems with me, book a call https://calendly.com/busy-coach 

P.S. Coach, behind the scenes I am focused on building one place where coaches operate at a higher standard together. If this resonates, you will understand why what is coming next matters.   

 Here’s how Busy Coach can help you leverage your time and resources:

 To leverage your time: High Performance Coach and Recruiter 
 

 To leverage your staff: The Assistant Coach Accelerator
 

 To leverage your recruiting system: Recruiting Made Simple 
 

 To stay consistent on social media: Social Story Recruiting
 

 To plan with clarity and focus: The Busy Coach Planner — grab one here and start 2025 fresh, organized, and dialed in.