OTF Premium OTF on the Road: Steve Sarkisian's keynote address at the THSCA Convention

[Jeff Howe]

Sark running down the correlation between the team GPA and success on the field.

Team GPA at the end of the spring was 3.13. It was a 2.32 at the end of Sark’s first spring.

[Jeff Howe]

Sark on how Texas operates: “This is not a dictatorship. Everyone has a role.”

[Jeff Howe]

Sark: “Leadership to me means stepping into challenges and being vulnerable.”

[Jeff Howe]

On the first Culture Wednesday of every season, Sark gives his story to the players unfiltered. He said there’s a lot of tears and some tough days he has to relive, but he feels vulnerability is one of the things that makes him an effective leader.

[Jeff Howe]

Sark on leadership: “You’ve got to have authenticity and you’ve got to be transparent.”

[Jeff Howe]

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

Sark on leadership: “You’ve got to have authenticity and you’ve got to be transparent.”

Those tools help build trust, but Sark wants his coaches and players to feel love. He wants everybody in the building to feel valued.

”If I can create an atmosphere of love in our locker room,” he said, “how cool is that?”

[Jeff Howe]

Sark currently hammering home the importance of consistency in leadership.

[Jeff Howe]

This talk is giving me a pretty good picture on why Texas has been a team that can be described as coach-fed and player-led.

[Jeff Howe]

For Sark, consistency and discipline are critical to how the program operates.

Consistency in expectations on and off the field and discipline in daily routines.

[Jeff Howe]

Sark said he listened to what Arch Manning, Michael Taaffe and Anthony Hill said at SEC Media Days. He heard himself in each of them, which lets him know that his messaging and the program’s messaging from the top down is consistent.

[Jeff Howe]

Sark: “Don’t be upset with the result you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.”

[Jeff Howe]

Sark on the importance of self-reflection and growth within the program: “Who you were last year won’t be good enough this year.”

[Jeff Howe]

Sark on the importance of responding positively to adversity: “We don’t succumb to what the surrounding temperature is supposed to be. We set our own temperate. We’re not thermometers. We’re thermostats. I think that’s why we’re so good on the road.”

[Jeff Howe]

A lot of what Sark believes in resilience and positive energy when dealing with adversity comes from studying Kobe Bryant. 

[Jeff Howe]

Sark: “We have totally created an environment that’s a want-to mentality, not a have-to.”

[CoachBobbyFinstock]

11 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

On the first Culture Wednesday of every season, Sark gives his story to the players unfiltered. He said there’s a lot of tears and some tough days he has to relive, but he feels vulnerability is one of the things that makes him an effective leader.

Love that. Absolutely it helps build relationships and trust. 

[Jeff Howe]

Everyone has heard Nick Saban talk for years about the process.

For Sark, it’s about falling in love “with the habits that bring you success.”

[Jeff Howe]

Sark talking right now about how much he loves football and college football.

”I love what I get to do every single day,” he said.

[Jeff Howe]

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

Sark talking right now about how much he loves football and college football.

”I love what I get to do every single day,” he said.

Part of that is being real. Sark said there have been days where he’s told the staff that he needs their help because he doesn’t have a full tank, so to speak.

[Jeff Howe]

Sark: “My job is to empower others. It’s really that simple… Empower them to go be great, go be special, go do things they want to do.”

[Jeff Howe]

“Capable of Anything, Entitled to Nothing!”

That’s one of the quotes that Sark said is a pillar of the Texas program under his watch.

[Jeff Howe]

Sark: “That’s a whole different form of adversity, is success.”

[Jeff Howe]

Sark is wrapping up by thanking the Texas high school coaches for what they do and letting them know that the doors on the Forty Acres are always open to them.

[Rocky P]

Sark handing out gold today!

 

[Jeff Howe]

Sark wishes everyone the best of luck this season and thanks the THSCA for having him.

And that’s it for his keynote address, as coaches start to file out of the ballroom here at the convention center.