Leading a team can be both daunting and rewarding, but Madison County coach Stuart Dean has set up a system that, on top of being highly effective, happens to be highly entertaining.
Dean has installed a point system where players earn or lose points based on their play and behavior before, during and after practice. Everyday the team is split into three units where Dean and his staff try and mix and match players of different ages and talent levels to breed team camaraderie.
One way to earn points comes at the end of practice each group must volunteer a player to perform an unknown task which can vary from an enjoyable watermelon eating contest all the way to a physically demanding tractor tire flipping competition that looks like something World’s Strongest Man contestant Magnus ver Magnunsson would do around 2 a.m. on ESPN2.
“It’s hot and people are sore or hurting a little bit, but it says a lot that everyone is still out here and excited,” Dean said. “It says a lot about our seniors really, that they want to have some fun but also want to do everything well.”
One of the perks for performing well comes during team meals. The squad with the highest point total is allowed to eat first. The group that finishes second is allowed to eat after the first place finishers. Third prize means eating last and doing so with a football helmet still strapped on.
The system has a been a big success this year by not only keeping the players disciplined, but also by helping them getting to know one another quicker and establishing team chemistry.
For Dean, the end result of the process has been a more polished product for he and his assistants to work with.
“We were just saying the other day that this group has been the most coachable group that we’ve had in the past few years,” Dean said. “And that just makes our job a lot easier and a lot more fun when you have a kid that wants do everything you ask him to do.”
Madison County kicks off their season on the road against Group AA opponent Fluvanna County on Friday September 4th at 7:30 p.m.
