Expect to be successful
For the second time in three seasons, Clemson University and its head football coach Dabo Swinney are national champions. This series offers a deeper look into how Swinney and the Tigers are able to sustain their amazing success in the ultra-competitive field of division one college football:
Coach Swinney has many core values however “expecting to be successful” appears to be of significant importance. In his first team meeting after becoming head coach he appeared with two signs that have accompanied him into every team meeting ever since. One reads, “believe” and the other “it can’t be done” with the “t” crossed out. According to Swinney the number one thing that needed to change when he took over as interim head coach in 2008 was a true belief that Clemson would win (Gordon, 2018). This was made evident during his first board when the board shared their vision that Clemson should strive to excel both academically and athletically, similar to schools such as Florida, Michigan, and Georgia. Swinney respectfully disagreed and stated that his vision for Clemson was not to copy those other schools but rather reach a level where those schools would try to emulate Clemson (Gordon, 2018). Despite not seeing the on the field results during his first or second season as head coach, Swinney knew his program was on the right track when he arrived to a team meeting without his two signs (“believe and “it can be done”). Before Swinney could muster a word, the players interrupted the meeting and made Swinney go get the signs (Gordon, 2018): they were “All In”. Later during his 2010 postseason press conference he publically shared his vision that in the year 2020 Clemson would have completed its best decade of football in its history (Gordon, 2018). Since making that promise, Swinney has led the Tigers to many accolades including: (a) a bowl game every year (Smith, 2019); (b) seven ACC Atlantic Divisions titles; © five ACC championships; (d) a top five ranking for eight straight seasons by the Associated Press (AP); (e) four consecutive college football play-offs (Tiger timeline, 1995); (f) three national championships, winning two and; (g) an overall record of 102–28 (Swinney, n.d.). Under Swinney’s leadership the Tigers are also the only program in the country that ranked in the top 15 on the field and top 10 in the classroom. (Clemson tigers, n.d.).”
Coach Nelson serves as a high school football coach who is pursuing his doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology. He has worked for a division 1 athletic department, professional sport franchises, a Fortune 100 Company and has won numerous awards for his LEADership abilities.
His mission is to positively influence the world through Love, Effort, Attitude and Discipline (#LEAD). To learn more about the LEAD philosophy follow him on Twitter Levi Nelson or reach out via email at rln10@zips.uakron.edu He’d love to learn about or help you in your journey!
References
Clemson tigers. (n.d.). The official website of Clemson University Athletics. Retrieved from https://clemsontigers.com/death-valley/
Dabo Swinney. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://daboswinney.com/staff/
Gordon, J. (2018, Feb 9). Positive University with Jon Gordon and Guests[Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://positiveuniversity.com
Smith, J. (2019). Clemson football: Location, history, and best current NFL players. Retrieved from https://heavy.com/sports/2019/01/clemson-location-history-nfl-players-deshaun-watson/
