Developing A Culture For Your Program
By Shane Dreiling

If you would carefully study any successful sports team or corporation, I would bet that you would quickly discover a specific culture that pervades the organization.  The dictionary defines culture as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a company or corporation.”  This could just as easily be said for a basketball team.

As a staff, we believe that it is absolutely critical for our players to know what our culture is.  Our culture is what makes us unique and what makes who we are.  It is our foundation and as our players like to refer to it as, “our home base”. 

The seven aspects of our culture are:

• Family Environment – We support and love one another.

• Definite Dozen – Our expectations for our players on and off the court.

• Shared Learning - Coaches teach the players, upperclassmen teach the younger players, team teaches at the camp, players keep notebooks.

• Defensive pressure / Stance – The hallmark of our system.  We take pride in our defensive pressure.

• Our Language – We value our system and we sell it.

• Winners Run – With our program, the winners of our competitive drills are rewarded with a victory lap. 

• Play Hard, Play Smart, Play Together – What we must do each day in practice and in games.

Knowing our culture gives the members of our program a sense of identity and pride.  Our fans and area students have picked up on this “culture” as well.  Another added benefit is found that by knowing and understanding what it is that makes our program what it is, our players, coaches and administration is able to sell and promote our program to the community.  This builds support and an ever-increasing fan base and just as importantly, added revenue.  This culture, at least in part, is responsible for a 500% increase in attendance in one year alone.  Who wouldn’t want to see more fans in the stands?