Coaching Like Carroll

The Cross-Town Rival

Coach Pete Carroll. The legendary Coach Pete Carroll. He’s recognized as one of the most successful college football coaches. Pete Carroll transformed an underperforming Trojan team into a dominant powerhouse in a very short period of time. Under his leadership, the Trojans earned two National Championships, seven PAC-10 titles and produced three Heisman Trophy winners. During his 2002-08 tenure, Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans achieved a tremendous amount of success on the scoreboard.

With all of that game day success, Pete Carroll might be even more known for his transformational coaching style. With reference to his Win Forever pyramid, Coach Pete Carroll demonstrates a compassionate leadership style, competitive mentality and commitment to ensure his players win at life. Pete Carroll focuses on coaching the whole athlete, not just the one playing on the field.

Winning on the scoreboard while also winning in life sounds pretty cool. But how exactly do we get there? What’s the recipe? Or, is there even a recipe?

Let’s rewind a bit.

Why on earth is a UCLA Bruin writing about the USC Trojans Hall of Fame football coach? Well, interestingly (almost shamefully I might add) I was born and raised a USC Trojan. Yep, you heard me. I was the young girl dressed in the USC game day gear with pom poms in each of my hands, cheering on the mighty USC Trojans every weekend at the Coliseum. I had dreams of attending USC. I wanted to represent the school, the athletic department and the community as a whole. Being a Trojan was in my blood. But blood only runs so deep. When the time came, I chose to be a Bruin. And, I’m perfectly happy with the decision I made to athletically represent the cross town-rival, UCLA.

As a young USC Trojan, I had the opportunity to watch many of Coach Pete Carroll’s teams compete. During this time, I also got a taste of Coach Carroll’s coaching style and leadership philosophy. After watching, learning and partaking in one too many discussions with my father, I was sold. Pete Carroll was my favorite coach. He was my favorite leader. Coach Carroll led with compassion while ensuring that competition was central to his coaching philosophy. As I grew up in athletics, training under various leaders, I was eager to learn more about different leadership styles and coaching philosophies. I heard stories that Coach Pete Carroll had life-long impacts on his players, beyond the football field. Yet, so many leaders do not have the same effect on their players. What made Coach Carroll different? What made him transformational?

My desire to learn more about Coach Carroll’s transformational leadership style led to my analysis of his book, Win Forever, with Yogi Roth.

Always Competing & Winning at Life

Pete Carroll encourages all leaders to develop their own coaching philosophies. He believes that there are no wrong coaching philosophies as long as the leader fully embraces its principles. Hence, leaders must first be introspective in order to create a philosophy that mirrors their beliefs and values. Pete Carroll developed a pyramid in an effort to teach his players about his personal coaching philosophy. The principles of Carroll’s coaching philosophy include Do Things Better Than They Have Ever Been Done Before, Competition, Practice Is Everything, and Knowing You’re Going To Win. Pete Carroll discusses his four principles that lead to a successful football team culture in his book Win Forever. But thankfully, these coaching principles can be applied to all forms of leadership ranging from athletic teams, organizations, managers, supervisors, teachers, parents, etc.

Carroll stresses the importance of leaders understanding their own core values prior to developing a philosophy. He believes that this is the biggest challenge for young leaders. Coach Carroll had to cultivate his personal beliefs, styles and rules before putting these elements into his coaching philosophy. The first principle Pete Carroll introduces is Do Things Better Than They Have Ever Been Done Before. This principle serves as the foundation for his coaching philosophy and it incorporates what he calls a set of beliefs, styles and rules. The beliefs Carroll developed were 1) It’s all about the ball, 2) Everything counts, and 3) Respect everyone. Carroll believes that if a team has a common set of beliefs then it will help them do things better than they have ever done before. Coach Carroll then created a set of playing or performance styles, which include great effort, great enthusiasm, great toughness and play smart. These styles are implemented to develop a streamlined team culture. Lastly, Coach Carroll created team rules which are 1) Always protect the team, 2) No whining, no complaining, no excuses, and 3) Be early. These rules or team standards help hold each player accountable with the purpose of doing things better than have ever been done before. Carroll explains, “At this foundational level, my philosophy has the vision: Do things better than they have ever been done before. This level consists of a variety of philosophical beliefs for any organization I would build. These covered the elements of the game, human performance, and organizational structure that were most important to me” (Carroll, 81). Coach Carroll believes that performing better than they have before starts with having common beliefs, styles and rules on the team. This is the foundation of Pete Carroll’s coaching philosophy. 

The next principle that Pete Carroll discusses is Always Competing. This principle serves as the central theme of his coaching philosophy. Carroll states that “As I had learned through the process of self-discovery, competition is at my personal core, so it would be foolish not to put it at the core of any program I ran” (Carroll, 81-82). Coach Carroll has three mottos when it comes to competition, which include 1) Always compete, 2) You’re either competing or you’re not, and 3) In a relentless pursuit of a competitive edge. Carroll believes that competition is the heart of his teams. He thinks that athletes must always compete to Win Forever. Pete Carroll defines competition as “a mentality, an outlook, and a way of approaching every day” (Carroll, 85). To pursue winning, athletes must always compete with each other and help each individual reach their peak potential. Carroll states that competing is a ‘mentality.’ So, players must show up ready to compete at every practice. Competition is a principle that players must embrace on Carroll’s team to Win Forever. 

The third principle that Pete Carroll introduces is Practice Is Everything. This concept builds upon his principle of competing. Carroll believes that who you are in practice is who you will be in the game. Coach Carroll states “It is my belief that how we practice makes just as important a statement about who we are as how we play the games” (Carroll, 90). To rise to the occasion, you must be prepared for the occasion. Every practice is an opportunity to reenact the atmosphere of game days. Practice repetitions are not always fun at times. In fact, Carroll even claims that “The real opposition is the challenge to remain focused on maximizing their abilities in preparation for the game” (Carroll, 85). A player must learn how to stay present in the moment and continuously compete each day. Carroll stresses the importance of treating every practice with the same mentality and respect as the actual game. This starts with the coaches. Pete Carroll believes that the coaches can dictate the energy and passion of the players. He continues by saying “The passion and the excitement that coaches bring to the field will transfer directly to the players and will allow you to create a competitive practice environment, not to mention a fun one” (Carroll, 92). Coaches must coach with just as much energy, enthusiasm, excitement and passion that they bring to the games. This energy will transfer over to the athletes and create an environment that is equivalent to game day. Coaches cannot expect their athletes to play at a certain standard each day if they are not willing to meet this standard of enthusiasm themselves. To Win Forever, athletes and coaches must treat every practice with the same respect and energy as the actual games. 

The last principle that Pete Carroll discusses is Knowing You’re Going to Win. This final concept is the pinnacle of Carroll’s coaching philosophy. It is accomplished through focus, confidence and trust. The confident state of ‘knowing you’re going to win’ is what Pete Carroll defines as playing in the Absence of Fear. Carroll explains this concept by stating “When you know you’re going to win, you don’t doubt or worry. You can actually perform with a ‘quieted mind,’ in the absence of fear” (Carroll, 83). The absence of fear is developed through preparation. All of the mistakes and growth moments in practice make each player ready for the games. Knowing you’re going to win is not something that is suddenly achieved. It is developed and nurtured every single day in training. Through discipline in practice and always competing, players will earn confidence and trust within themselves. This confidence and trust will lead to a ‘quieted mind’ and the ability to play without fear. Carroll continues explaining this concept by saying “With consistently competitive practices, players would ultimately reach a point where they could perform in the absence of fear, due to the confidence they have gained by practicing so well” (Carroll, 82). Playing in the absence of fear is earned rather than given. It is the grind behind the scenes that allows players to play with a quiet mind. To Win Forever, players must have trust and confidence that they know they are going to win. 

Coaching Comparisons

There are many similarities between Pete Carroll, John Wooden and Pat Summitt. Pete Carroll developed his coaching philosophy utilizing the Wooden Pyramid as inspiration. Carroll and Wooden have similar ideas regarding maximizing the potential of their players. Carroll states “What Win Forever means to me is aspiring to be the best you can be, or as I like to refer to it, ‘maximizing your potential.’ But Winning Forever is not about the final score; it’s about competing and striving to be the best” (Carroll, 81). Carroll and Wooden both focus on effort rather than external results. This makes success achievable for every individual since it is within their control. Additionally, Carroll refers to coaches as teachers. This is a concept that Wooden endorsed as he always referred to himself as a teacher rather than a coach. Pete Carroll’s principle to Always Compete is similar to Pat Summitt’s principle to Be a Competitor. Both coaches emphasize the importance of constantly competing. They believe that competition is a privilege and that players must embrace competition every day to become better.

There are a few differences between Pete Carroll, John Wooden and Pat Summitt. Coach Carroll was very active, lively and energetic with his team. He displayed this energy through his actions more so than just his words. Pete Carroll was often seen throwing the ball or running plays with his players. He is very careful with his words and does not allow curse words into his vocabulary. Viewers can see Carroll’s intensity through his upbeat personality, facial expressions, chomping of gum and personal engagement with players and staff. On the other hand, John Wooden brought intensity through his words rather than his actions. Wooden rarely ever displayed excitement with his body rather he would choose his words wisely to elicit energy. Pat Summitt was different from both. She was more verbal and unafraid to use harsh language and profane words on occasion. 

Other similarities between coaches are found in training. Carroll discusses the concept of playing in the Absence of Fear. This state of mind is achieved through developing confidence and trust. Confidence and trust are earned through preparation in practice. Similarly, Wooden teaches the principle of Confidence in the Pyramid of Success. Confidence is earned through preparation in practice. Players can develop the ability to play with confidence by intentionally treating every training session like the game. Pat Summitt discusses the principle of Respecting Yourself and Others. This relates closely to Pete Carroll’s belief of Respecting Everyone. By having a foundation of respect, it promotes an environment of authenticity and trust, which are essential ingredients in developing a positive team culture.

Character and the importance of ‘team’ is at the heart of all three coaching philosophies. Each coach demands their players work hard to perform at their best, which is ultimately in the best interest of the team. John Wooden outwardly focuses on character in his Pyramid. Carroll and Summitt believe competition must be embraced because it makes everyone better. The common thread is that through their coaching philosophies, each coach has principles that are founded in creating a player that embraces a strong work ethic, respect for teammates and personal responsibility. All of these traits are transferable to daily life.

My Spin

I relate to Coach Pete Carroll’s teachings for a multitude of reasons. In particular, the way Coach Carroll articulates ‘competition’ resonated with me deeply. The word ‘competition’ elicits deep emotions. In fact, ‘competition’ and ‘compete’ can even have negative connotations to some people. When I hear the word ‘competition,’ I think about hard work and effort but I can’t avoid the negative definition some place on the word. Some players see competition as alienating. For example, I don’t want to look stupid, or my teammates will get mad at me if I play hard against them. I understand those feelings, I just refuse to be bound by them. It’s important that leaders embrace competition as an opportunity to grow and improve. Everyone can respectfully compete and maximize their own potential. Competition comes from within. It is about elevating yourself and becoming the best in which YOU are capable of becoming. Almost sounds like John Wooden, right?

Simply put: Competition is internal; not external.

Coaching Implementation

Now that I am able to coach the sport that I love so dearly, I have the opportunity to shape the views and perspectives of the young women and girls that I lead. With every team I’ve coached, I have made a conscious effort to discuss the topic of competition. I do this intentionally in order to debunk the myth that competition is intimidating, wrong, mean or negative.

At the end of each practice, I ask my team to reflect on how they got better that practice. I ask my players to give a shoutout to three teammates that made them better that day. These shoutouts are framed as gratitudes…

Here’s an example: I want to shoutout Josie Bruin for sprinting fast on that swim set. She pushed me to go faster even when I wanted to give up. Thank you for making me better today.

These shoutouts are implemented to encourage players to thank their teammates for competing and making them better. By thanking teammates for their work ethic, it helps develop a culture that thrives on positive competition. It creates an environment where competition is not only accepted but expected. It is the standard.

What are your thoughts on Pete Carroll’s coaching philosophy? Do you think he’s transformational? How do you actively become a transformational leader? Let me know! You can email me here: Bella@bellabaia.co

Thanks for reading! :)

Citations: Carroll, Pete, et al. Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play like a Champion. Portfolio, 2011.