Stop Running the Same Season Over and Over

Hey coach,

If you want this year to be different, you’re going to have to stop doing the same things. I don’t mean working harder or adding more to your plate. I mean actually changing how you operate.

You’ve probably heard the quote: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Coaches say it all the time to their athletes, their teams, and even recruits who won’t change habits. But here’s a better question to ask yourself. If I looked at how you’re running your program or recruiting this year, how different would it actually be from last year? Or the year before that?

Most of the time, it’s a version of the same. The same recruiting approach, the same way of organizing your day, the same way of handling staff, the same weekly rhythm. Maybe there’s a little more effort or a few new ideas sprinkled in, but underneath it, it’s the same system.

And that’s the problem. Incremental change rarely creates meaningful results. When you aim for “a little better,” you ask the same questions, you get the same answers, you take the same actions, and you end up with the same outcomes. So you stay stuck in a loop where you’re busy and working, but not really moving forward.

If you want a different result, you have to ask a different question. Not “How can I do more this season?” but “What would have to change for this season to feel completely different?”

That question forces a different level of thinking. It pulls you out of the weeds and makes you look at how you operate, not just what you do.

Try this. What would have to change if you recruited half as many athletes but got better results? What would have to change if you worked fewer hours but felt more in control? What would have to change if your staff handled more without coming back to you? What would have to change if your week had structure instead of constant reaction?

Those are uncomfortable questions, because the answers usually aren’t “work harder.” They’re things like changing how you spend your time, stopping the things that don’t matter, installing systems where you’ve been relying on effort, and raising the standard for how you operate.

That’s the shift. Not doing more, but operating differently.

The coaches who separate over time don’t just improve what they’re doing. They change how they’re doing it. They stop trying to squeeze more out of the same approach and start building a better one.

Here’s your action this week. Pick one area of your job that feels stuck. It might be recruiting, time management, or staff communication. Now ask yourself, “If this had to look completely different, what would I stop doing?” Not what would you add. What would you remove. That’s where change actually starts.

Because what got you here isn’t going to get you where you want to go next.

More soon,
Mandy Green

P.S. Most coaches don’t need more information. They need a different way of operating. And once that changes, everything else starts to move with it.