Will Dingle

Most coaches had a tight grip on the offseason when I was playing. They scripted practices and organized everything for their players. Coach Leach didn’t. It’s pretty well documented that he would get out of Dodge and head down to Key West for some “Leach Time.” I believe that freedom accelerated the growth of his players and coaches. Instead of having our hands held and simply following the coaches’ scripts, we had ownership. We structured our practices, organized 7-on7's, created drills, and determined which installations we needed to emphasize. It forced us into a coach’s mindset and required us to understand the system at a much deeper level. I remember scripting our offseason practices around specific concepts we wanted to install and improve. As a result, I learned the offense better and accelerated my growth within the Air Raid because I had ownership in it. The same thing happened at every position. Our offensive line leaders, Gunnar Eklund, Joe Dahl, Cole Madison, Riley Sorenson, and others, created their own drills and practice structure. That responsibility helped them understand their position and the system at a deeper level. Leach led his coaching staff the same way. He didn’t micromanage. He hired great people, trusted them to do their jobs, and stayed out of their way. That freedom allowed his assistants to grow, excel, and create incredible trajectories for their careers. In essence, Leach created a system that didn’t need him there every day to operate at a high level. To me, that is one of the greatest signs of leadership. Can your organization or team operate at a high level without you constantly driving the wheel? Great leaders don’t make people dependent on them. They empower people, give them ownership, and create opportunities for them to figure things out for themselves. Build people who can lead without you. Build a system that can thrive without you. #MindStrength #MindStrengthLeadership #Leadership Photo Credit: The New York Times