COACHING POINT: The Power of the Pen
I am primarily a football coach . . . so this is the off season, But there really is not 'Off Season' Basketball, wrestling, track, baseball, etc., those are really conditioning for football season. Events last week did remind me of a very important coaching point. A friend of mine is in the banking business & just made a career change which requires that he build up a client list. He asked me to recommend some folks that he could email an introductory message to.
So I asked him, "When you daughter graduated from high school last spring, did you send her an email? When you wife recently had her birthday, did you send her an email?"
Now more than ever before the power & impact of a letter written on letterhead stationary, first class stamp, hand addressed, not on a copy machine, but individually printed or better yet hand written, is far greater than ever & a way to differentiate yourself from the rest.
Remember how important you felt when you got a letter & maybe $5 from Grandpa when you were a kid? I just hit a sale on hoodies at the mall of 'Superman' sweatshirts. I bought one for all the Grandsons & sent them all an individualized note about how great they are. Do you think that might be a tad more impactfull than a text?
For coaches, this is the time of year for preparation. There's not much out there that would have a greater effect than to sin down and hand write a note on your teams stationary [you team does have it's own stationary, right?] talking about how important each player coming back & the contribution they can make to the team effort. How important there leadership in the weightroom and conditioning is to set the example and the work ethic necessary for the next Championship run.
Yes, it's easier to send a text or an email. But neither has the power to impress like a hand written note from "THE Coach."
If you really want to test this out . . . just send your wife an email on her birthday & judge the reaction.
