The Right Playbook vs. The Right Personnel

In the NFL there has been a handful of teams that have dominated the league in the last 10 years. Teams such as the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianpolis Colts etc...There are many factors that have contributed to the success of these teams over the years. Some would argue that they have some of the best players in the league, the most knowledable coaches, an outstanding front office, an unrivaled playbook, or a combination of it all. For whatever reason these teams have continued to dominate the National Football League and the impressive part is that the dominance has and continues to be consistant over the years.

As I continue to attempt to draw comparisons of the Cabrini Connections program to an NFL team, I wonder what truly does lead to success. Does success come from having great players that perform a step above the rest and the playbook is secondary; or if put in the 'perfect' system with an extensive playbook the players will come together in a way that leads to success of the team? Many people will argue both sides.

As a former athlete, but a current Head Coach here at Cabrini Connections I'd have to say it is a combination of both. This tutoring/mentoring game that we are playing is constantly evolving and the outside factors that affect our players such as poverty, underachieving schools, lack of parental invovlement at times, should cause a chain reaction to the thoughts and approach that the coaches and front office respresentative have to take to prepare our players for success Meaning that the playbook that we use should change as well. Just like in the NFL, something that worked in the 50's may not work or be as effective in the present and if you have a quartback that can't throw over 20 yards it wouldn't be smart to keep calling for the Hail Mary.

Since this is one of our bye-weeks for the holiday season, I studied all of the plays in the current playbook for the Cabrini Connections' program and there were a lot of plays, packages, and schemes that were either outdated or did not look like a good fit for the current personnel. With the current personnel there are some great talent in the players and coaches that has led to some huge wins in the past two seasons. At at recent Award's Banquest the Cabrini Connections' TEAM was honored as the #1 TEAM for Mentoring across the 6 Regions of Chicago, which is like winning the Super Bowl in this sport.

But there will be no parade through the streets of Chicago, no trip to Disneyworld, no car for the MVP of the the big game. Due to our personnel, our playbook, our fan base, our lack of a marketing/advertisement department, or a combination of all four...our season and maybe even the entire franchise could be coming to an unfortunate end. So tell me sport's world which one is it, The Right Personnel or The Right Playbook that leads to success?