The Transformation of the Army West Point Football Program
When I assumed command as the Superintendent of West Point, my boss, General Ray Odierno, the Chief of Staff of the Army, publicly directed me, during the assumption of command ceremony, to “Beat Navy.” In 2013 when I took over, Army had lost to Navy in football for the previous 12 years in a row. General Odierno, a West Point football recruit and player himself, knew the importance within the national stage to transform the Army football program back into the winning tradition it once was.
The Expectations of Our Army
When the nation puts its Army in harm’s way, they do not expect their Army to look good or to do their best. They expect them to accomplish the mission and win. But they do not expect them to win at all costs; they expect them to win in accordance with our national and Army values. And when 25 million people turn on the Army–Navy football game in December, they do not just see college football players playing a game, they see the future leaders of our military and our nation. And they do not expect them to go out there and do their best, they expect their future military leaders to fight with grit, tenacity, discipline, and mental and physical toughness. As Chief of Staff of the Army, responsible for the trust relationship between the Army and its client the American people, General Odierno understood what America expected of its Army and its future leaders. Said another way, America does not expect its Army to just do its best, or to just look good. They expect their future leaders to play with grit, toughness and relentless tenacity.
Noticing The Need for Change
There was an enlightening event that I observed during my first Army–Navy football game as Superintendent that made me realize the team was mediocre, and certainly not the men and women our Nation expected of the character of its future Army leaders. The 2013 Army–Navy football game was played on a cold, wet, snowy afternoon in December in Philadelphia. Because it was cold, the Army sideline had heater blowers, so players could stand by them and keep themselves warm. Standing on the sideline during the game, numerous Army players huddled around the heaters, more worried about keeping themselves warm rather than staying abreast of what was going on during the game. General Odierno watched the game from the sidelines as well, and he noticed the same thing.
The Same Elements…Two Different Teams
After halftime where Army was losing 17-0, an on-field television narrator interviewed each coach as they came out of the locker room. As the reporter interviewed the Navy coach, she asked him whether the cold wet snowy weather was having any impact on his players or on the game plan? The Navy coach, Ken Niumatalolo, simply answered that the weather was of no impact whatsoever. He said he knew the game’s weather forecast was for a cold sloppy day, and he made sure he practiced outside in the cold elements all week in preparation for the game. The difference between the future leaders of the Navy -- the Navy football team -- and the future leaders of the Army -- the Army football team -- as witnessed by about 25 million Americans, could not be more different and distinct. Army leaders huddled around a heater not paying attention to what was happening on the field, and Navy leaders fully prepared for the elements and were fully engaged in the game’s activities. Guess what the final score was and who won? Navy extended their winning streak another year; Navy 34 – Army 7. It was clear to me that this had to change. The Army Team was embraced by a culture of mediocrity and it was not what America expected of its future leaders. There had to be change.
A Change In Culture
It was clear that the Team had to transform from a culture of mediocrity to a culture of excellence. And in order to make that happen, as Jim Collins says in his book, “Good to Great,” they had to get the right people on the bus.[i]
In that regard we hired a coach who was familiar with the military academy programs and had a proven record of building winning programs. Because of the military disciplined life of a cadet, and the 5-year obligation after graduation, our nation’s best football recruits are normally more likely drawn toward universities without this unique military lifestyle. Although Army may play some of the best teams in the country, they’ll most likely not get the best recruits in the country. As a result, academy players will most likely be a few pounds lighter and a few tenths of a second slower than the players on most of the teams they play. But winning and excellence are not just about being heavier and faster. It is about possessing the character traits of the gut – discipline, mental and physical toughness, tenacity and the relentless pursuit of excellence.
Discipline Equates with Results
Statistically, you only get the ball on offense 8 to 10 times a game, and if you are going to win, you normally need to put about 30 points on the scoreboard. That means you need to score either a field goal or a touchdown about half the times you get the ball. If you lack discipline and turn the ball over 4 or 5 times a game, the law of averages says you have fewer opportunities to put points on the board. Fumbling the ball or throwing an interception are mistakes indicative of a lack of discipline. In addition, a penalty, which is really a lack of concentration caused by a lack of discipline, can kill an offensive drive in a second. You have to coach and teach discipline, because by doing so, you enable your offensive possessions and increase your opportunities to score. Playing with discipline, so as to not make these simple and common mistakes, is critical to winning and is a sure sign of excellence.
Further, if you want to measure the toughness of your team, look at the score over the season in the last quarter of play for each game. Army may be 10-20 pounds lighter than the guy they’re playing across from, but when it comes to the fourth quarter, it always seems that the most tenacious, toughest, and physically in-shape players will persevere and dominate at the end of the game — normally when it is needed the most. To be more mentally and physically fit than your opponent is a game changer. At the end of the game, regardless of your opponent’s weight or speed, mental and physical toughness are the great equalizers.
Creating a Culture of Excellence
If Army was to create a culture of excellence, we had to start with character traits of the gut -toughness, conditioning, and discipline.
A culture of excellence is also learning to play to the upper level of your potential in everything you do. Think of your performance on a bell shape curve. Sometimes you play above your average, and sometimes you play below your average. But most of the plays are average. To me, average is mediocre. Average does not enable improvement. Average is the same, and if the same is not a winning program, then average is mediocre.
Excellence occurs when you play to the upper level of your ability, not only during the game, but in practice, in the classroom, in study hall at night, and in your private life as well as your public life. Excellence is playing to the upper part of that bell shape curve. And guess what? When you play consistently in everything you do to the upper level of that curve, then the upper part becomes the new average, and you find yourself in the middle of consistent improvement. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, national championship coach of Duke Basketball and West Point graduate, says it best. “My hunger is not for success; it is for excellence. Because when you attain excellence, success just naturally follows.”[ii]
Why The Details Matter
Sure enough, when Coach Jeff Monken came on board, his first act was to walk into the team locker room and inspect each player’s equipment layout. Any player who did not have their equipment laid out exactly in accordance with the team’s published display had their equipment removed from the locker room, and the player had to personally report to Coach and learn why disciplined attention to detail in everything they did was critical to winning. Then a couple weeks before spring practice, Coach ran a mat drill in the stadium at 5:30 in the morning. It was one of the most intense physical drills that required 100% effort by 100% of the team, every minute and every second. If any player was observed by any coach not going 100%, the entire team had to repeat the entire exercise and the duration of the drill was extended by the additional drills now required. The team quickly learned mental and physical toughness. They quickly learned the importance of discipline. And they quickly learned the absolute selfless importance to ensure your every act is in support of the team and for the success of the team. The team was learning the character strengths of the gut — traits like discipline, toughness, selflessness, loyalty, teamwork all took on new meaning and importance.
Trusting The Process
Coach Monken’s first year team record was 4 wins and 8 losses. Each loss was devastating, but Coach ensured each player learned from each loss. The following year was a 2 – 10 season, but you could tell Army was tougher and more competitive, as 7 of those losses were from a total of 7 points or less, including a 4-point loss to Navy which was decided on the last play of the game. And then in 2016, Army went 8 and 5 including a win over Navy — the first time in 15 years, followed by a win in a Bowl game. Then in 2017, Army had a 10-win season, including another victory over Navy and another last-play victory in the bowl game against a top 25 team.
During the 2018 football season, Army was playing Air Force and the victor would win the coveted Commander in Chief Trophy with a presentation by the Commander in Chief himself in the Rose Garden at the White House. At the end of the fourth quarter, Army was leading by three points and was trying to run the clock out. With the ball on the 50 yard line, fourth and one yard for a first down with about 45 seconds left in the game, Army had a critical decision to either go for the first down and run the clock out, or to punt giving Air Force the ball with about 40 seconds left in the game with the chance of either tying Army with a field goal or winning outright with a touchdown. Most coaches in America would punt the ball hoping to run the clock out. Going for a first down on the 50-yard line would have been too much risk. But not with Coach Monken. He went for the first down and got it by a yard, thus enabling Army to run the clock out. But why he went for the first down is indicative of the culture of excellence and grit that is necessary to build a winning program. Knowing that your own actions determine your fate, when asked in a post-game interview why he went for the first down with the affiliated risks of not making it, his reply was simple. “If we can’t get one yard on 4th down and one, then we don’t deserve to win.”
Winning The Right Way
Coach Monken’s methods to win and to win honorably are proven and time tested. And as the Army West Point community celebrates its new success, it must capture the commitment that was necessary to transform itself into a culture of discipline and excellence, with character traits of grit, toughness, and relentless tenacity. In the case of the Army West Point football team, this culture of excellence is not only important to the West Point community, it is more so important for all America.
[i] Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (New York: Harper Collins, 2001), 41–64.
[ii] Mike Krzyzewski, with Donald T. Phillips, Leading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life (New York: Warner Business Books, 2001), 209.