Davis High School Track & Field - Creating a Culture of Success for a large team
Good morning, Rotary!!!
Dave Morse clearly had “Georgia on His Mind” as he played us into the room. Could it be a nod to Chuck Snipes’ Gators, perhaps?
Jeff Adamski is filling in for President Rose today and called us all to order promptly(?) at 7:08 a.m. with a chorus of “Smile” and America the Beautiful.
No visiting Rotarians this morning.
Guests: Brian Sway’s daughters Megan & Julia joined us this morning. Brian chose business attire and sandals this morning. That definitely calls for a photo op with Temp Pres Jeff!. 
Albert Wong is also visiting again today.
Jeff Adamski & Patsy were recently in Paul Harris country of Evanston, Wisconsin. Photo ops were plentiful of Rotary emblems. Jeff and Patsy want all members of our 
club to e-mail photos of as many Rotary emblems and mentions OUTSIDE of Yolo County to them. At the demotion dinner, the Rotarian who has sent the most images will receive a prized bottle of Silver Oak wine! All pictures must include the Rotarian as well as the emblem!
Announcements:
Clay Brandow - Bocce Ball on Monday at 5:30. Wine will be shared. This is the last practice before the tournament in a week!
Keith Watenpaugh - Trivia date and time has already been set! 9th Annual Davis Sunrise Rotary Community Trivia Challenge will be held on March 15, 2019 at the senior Center. Gonna be “great!”
Vanessa Errecarte - Needs assessments for the Community have been received and reviewed. We will be getting a summary of all the recipients at a future meeting.
Tyson Hubbard - Please pay for Oktoberfest tickets. Henchmen may show up at your door if the checks are not received timely.
David Copp - Uganda project—Maternity ward at a hospital in Uganda. The primary school in Kenya is being improved. Latrines are repaired and new ones added. Now going ahead with water supply part of the project. We have been sponsoring a teenage girl in high school in Kenya. She is a girl from a small village who came to the attention of the local Rotary club and is receiving assistance from them as well as us. She sent a thank you note.
Meaghan Likes – Sewing sanitary pads for girls in Kenya are a great success. 500 pads before next November is the new goal. Please come and participate at the monthly sewing bees!
Paul Harris Awards - Larry Greene presented to David Foos and Jim Grieshop. Jim is receiving his second Paul Harris award, and Davis Foos is receiving his 6th or 7th Paul Harris award which contains a ruby in the pin. Thank you for your contributions!!!
Sergeants!!!
Sergeant Rick Stromberg kicked things off when he gave happy bucks for the month-long trip to Portugal he was on, even though he missed us!
Brian Sway - happy bucks for transitioning from work life back to volunteer life. A reminder of his come and go “farewell” party on Sunday!
Larry Greene - bought a new “Leaf” to contribute to the electric vehicle efforts.
Irena Asmundson- Happy Bucks for Chuck volunteering to host a Chinese student
Tom McHale - Happy for Homecoming today!!!
Carolyn Stiver - Make Davis SPARKLE effort happening on November 4 and November 18. Meet at the Chamber office on 3rd and E at 7 a.m. on November 4 to get started! Event is being put on by the City of Davis and the Davis PD.
Don Winters - Has been attending classes at UCD since 1967. Feels most of the professors are “Rock Stars” even though he regularly gets teased by one professor for his age. That professors initials are “Keith Watenpaugh”.
Brodie Hamilton - Happy bucks for Dick Berry carving a wonderful garden sign and special thanks for Andrew Yang’s cheesecake at the Oktoberfest.
Clay Brandow - Happy bucks for Brian’s daughters attending, and happy bucks that his daughter is cleared to open her Yolo Barre studio.
Jack Latow - Happy bucks for his son being named the youngest “Product Manager”
Gary Johns - Happy Bucks for Vanessa and David Copp for running two such vital and energetic committees.
Fines - Everyone who is not wearing a Rotary Pin throw in a buck.
Nancy Storm called out for us being upstairs instead of downstairs. Davis High asked us to change the date because of homecoming, but that didn’t get communicated to the set up crew. $5 fine.
Speaker
Coach Spencer Elliott - Head Boys & Girls’ track and field coach at Davis High and named “Coach of the Year” by the California Track & Field association. In his “spare” time, he also teaches English.
Step 1 - “Have a Vision”. In 2004 there had been zero championships, DHS was at the bottom of the league and the kids were kind, but had very low expectations. In 2018, DHS has won 22 league championships, 9 SJS championships and have that expectation that it will continue.
What is “Culture?” Coach believes that culture means that through peer modeling and accountability, athletes are going to WANT to attend, listen to their coaches, work hard, and improve. The “culture” perpetuates itself. Every time he has had a conflict with a parent it has been because the parent did not understand the culture of the team. Once the parents understand the culture of team that he is promoting, they have been largely supportive of his efforts.
Effective Leadership for a large group! Lincoln went through Winfield Scott, George McClellan, and Henry Halleck, before getting to Ulysses S. Grant. He gave each general autonomy and space to work. He knew there needed to be a shared vision. If there wasn’t, he replaced them. Coach Elliott feels the same about his coaching team. Once he finds the coaches who share his philosophy, he lets them lead the kids in their own way and leaves them alone to be their most effective. If the vision differs too much between Coach Elliot and any members of the coaching staff, they may have to be replaced.
Over the past fifteen years, they’ve assembled a “truly outstanding” coaching staff. His goal is to NOT micromanage them. He trusts that they have a shared vision, and he supports them to the best of his ability. If it doesn’t work out, they may be replaced.
Powerful. And effective Leadership. Every season athletes vote on peer leadership (captains). Again, he does NOT micromanage them. He trusts that they have a shared vision, and he supports them to the best of his ability. Young people clearly respond differently to their peers vs to adults. He works closely with captains on the team to make sure they are communicating with their team effectively and will role play with the captains if adjustments need to be made or they have a team member who is not cooperative. Whenever you can get young people to hold their own peers accountable, you will have a stronger buy-in to the program.
Everyone has a Purpose. Sondre Guttormsen knows his purpose and Olivia O’Keeffe knows her purpose. They have dreams of D1 scholarships, Olympics, and a career in athletics. They are self-motivated. We must serve these athletes.
Everyone has a purpose. What about the kids who simply aren’t Olympians? If they do not feel a sense of purpose, they will have poor attendance and unproductive behavior. They will hurt the team and its culture. We must serve these athletes too, and we must expect them to serve the team. Celebrating ALL achievements—not just the extraordinary—is crucial to making all students understand their purpose on the team.
Workout details are adjusted based on physical stamina and endurance.
Love of the sport, love of the young people... When he stops loving this, the athletes will know. There’s no facing it. When that happens, he will quit.
When I stop________, I’ll know it’s time to quit:
1. Learning names.
2. Feeling upset after a disagreement with a student-athlete.
3. Keeping a kid’s best interests in mind when making decisions.
4. Caring about how our team does.
5. Caring about whether our athletes improve
For now, he’s still loving it and hoping to strengthen the culture of the program
Questions/Comments:
Andrew Newman - his daughter was on the team and noted that no student is ever turned away. All are encouraged to try.
Bruce Wolk - How do you handle the logistics of handling 250 students on the track? Lots of parent support!!!
Gary Johns - One of his friends sons went through the program and is now in a higher division program and a track and field career.
Don Winters - Comparing a track & field meet to a three ring circus. Coach Elliott is a genius in his management style!
Draw of the Day - $818 this week. Jim Smith! Free Breakfast!!!
That’s it for this Cub Reporter.
Good night, and good luck.