Team Themes
Where to start with team themes
Every coach has given the talk he made up in the truck on the way to practice. It is not that you had nothing to say. It is that Tuesday came fast, the talk about toughness got two minutes of thought, and it sounded like it.
Those talks are the ones players still repeat back to you ten years later, long after they have forgotten the play call. They deserve more than two minutes in the truck.
Team themes are a week of material on one characteristic, laid out so you can teach it without preparing it. Each chapter gives you a short introduction to open the week, quotes and thoughts to use Tuesday and Wednesday, questions your players work through later in the week to look honestly at themselves and at the team, and a link to a short video on the same idea. There is also space for players and coaches to write their own thoughts or put an action plan together.
Volume 1 covers fourteen characteristics, which is a season. Five to ten minutes a day and you are done.
The Team Theme Book is Volume 1 and the one to buy first. These volumes do not build on each other the way the playbooks do, so you are not locked into an order, but Volume 1 is the natural first season. Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5 and Volume 6 are additional characteristics for the years after, which matters if you keep the same kids for four years and do not want to repeat yourself. The Team Themes Bundle puts the whole run together.
Who this is for: head coaches and program leaders who want the character side of the program handled with the same structure as the offense, and any coach who has been told to develop the whole athlete without being handed anything to do it with. Nothing in the material is football-specific, so it works for other sports and for a teacher running an advisory period.
What this is not. It is not a devotional and it is not a book of motivational speeches. It is a weekly framework with the raw material already in it, and it still needs you to run it.
What to do right now
Get Volume 1, put the theme on the board Monday, and give it five minutes before you stretch.
As a coach we want to talk to our athletes about attributes that will help them beyond the game. It is imperative you discuss characteristics that will last your players a lifetime.
This book goes over 14 characteristics that every player on your team would benefit to learn about. Each chapter gives you everything you need so that you can lead life lessons in just 5-10 minute conversations. You will be able to pull from the quotes, questions, links to motivational videos and more that is in each chapter.
Become more than just the coach of a sport, but the coach of the whole athlete.
Help your athletes realize the importance of developing characteristics like honor and grit.
The book is set to have a quick introduction to go over at the beginning of the week. It then shares quotes and thoughts about the topic. Later in the week you can go over the provided questions to help athletes examine themselves and the team in light of each attribute. Finally, a link to a short motivational video that covers the topic.
Each chapter also has a section for athletes and coaches to write their own personal thoughts about the attribute or create an action plan to improve.
Characteristics in this book include:
Honor
Integrity
Grit
Effort
Sacrifice
Character
Pride
Sacrifice
Competitiveness
Encouragement
Leadership
Commitment
Adversity
Excellence
Winning
This book is broken into 2 major parts:
Quotes to motivate the team and coaches
These quotes are meant to inspire you as the coach or your assistants. They are quotes I have gone to for inspiration and motivation each season. They also apply to every member of your team.
Theme quotes
The goal of this book is to work through with your program and teach more than just a game to your program. Each chapter will cover a “theme word”.
At the end of each section, I have included some basic questions we would talk with our team about. Feel free to use these or add your own as you work to make your program about more than the game.
There is also a QR code at the end of each section that will link to a motivational video over the topic.
The topics covered include:
Inspiring
Authentic
Responsible
Enduring
Dependable
Enthusiastic
Resolute
Appreciative
Reliable
Confident
Resilient
Genuine
Team Themes volume #5 - quotes for the team and curriculum for coaches to use with their teams.
Team Themes Volume 2 is out!
11 weeks of pre-planned character building curriculum for any sport.
Each chapter features multiple short video links, quotes, an overview over the word and thought provoking questions for your team.
This book is broken into 2 major parts:
Quotes to motivate the team and coaches
These quotes are meant to inspire you as the coach or your assistants. They are quotes I have gone to for inspiration and motivation each season. They also apply to every member of your team.
Theme quotes
The goal of this book is to work through with your program and teach more than just a game to your program. Each chapter will cover a “theme word”.
At the end of each section, I have included some basic questions we would talk with our team about. Feel free to use these or add your own as you work to make your program about more than the game.
There is also a QR code at the end of each section that will link to a motivational video over the topic.
Creating new content of coming up with themes has been difficult at times and can be very tough in the middle of a season. Often, I have relied on quotes and built a theme from these quotes. In this book you will find some of my favorite and powerful quotes.
Team Theme Bundle — A Complete Character & Leadership Curriculum for Your Program
Great programs don’t just teach football.
They teach habits, standards, accountability, and belief.
The Team Theme Bundle was built for coaches who want a daily, intentional curriculum for their athletes — something that goes beyond X’s and O’s and creates real discussion, ownership, and growth inside their locker room.
This isn’t a motivational poster pack.
It’s a weekly structure your players can live by.
🏈 What the Team Theme Bundle Is
The Team Theme Bundle includes 5 total books, each built around a specific theme that matters inside successful programs.
Each book is designed to be used in 5–10 minute segments each day, giving you a full week of focus without stealing time from practice, lifting, or meetings.
✔️ Short, intentional daily lessons
✔️ Built-in discussion prompts
✔️ Quotes that spark conversation
✔️ QR codes linking to video content for each topic
✔️ Flexible enough for youth, middle school, and high school programs
This is a plug-and-play curriculum for coaches who want to lead — not lecture.
📚 What’s Included in the Bundle
✅ 5 Team Theme Books
Each book focuses on a core principle successful teams must live by — on and off the field.
Inside each theme:
• Daily reading prompts
• Coach-led discussion questions
• Quotes to reinforce the message
• QR codes that take athletes directly to video breakdowns and talks
• Clear application to football, school, and life
These aren’t abstract ideas — they’re coachable behaviors.
🧠 How Coaches Use This Bundle
✔️ 5–10 minutes before practice
✔️ Short team meeting to start the week
✔️ Position-group discussions
✔️ Leadership council curriculum
✔️ Offseason culture building
✔️ In-season reset and refocus
You don’t need a 45-minute meeting.
You need consistent daily deposits.
This bundle gives you a structure that fits real coaching schedules.
🎯 Why This Works
✔️ Encourages athlete discussion — not just coach talk
✔️ Builds leadership vocabulary inside your program
✔️ Reinforces standards daily
✔️ Creates alignment between coaches and players
✔️ Helps athletes think beyond the scoreboard
The QR-code videos allow players to:
📱 Watch on their own
📱 Revisit lessons
📱 Hear the message explained clearly
📱 Connect the theme to real situations
This keeps the conversation going outside the locker room.
🏆 Who This Is For
✔️ Head Coaches building program culture
✔️ Youth & middle school coaches teaching habits early
✔️ High school programs emphasizing leadership
✔️ Coaches who want intentional development, not empty speeches
✔️ Programs that care about who players become — not just wins
If you believe football is a classroom, this bundle was built for you.