How To Build A Winning Team Culture (2022): “Winners From Within”

 Barnstable Massachusetts. A town/city with a population of about 45k located in Cape Cod Massachusetts was the recipient of the 2007 All-American City Award. Known for its great beaches and outdoor summer activities, Barnstable is also home to one of the nation’s best girls’ volleyball programs, the Barnstable High School Red Raiders Girls volleyball team.

To say the program has been dominant over the past three decades would be an understatement. The Red Raiders have won 18 state championships since 1993. They have made it to the state semi-finals or better 22 times since 93. They have produced 9 Massachusetts Gatorade Players of the Year. They had a 110 match win streak from 2003-2007 that was eventually broken when they went to the west coast to play national powerhouse Brentwood California. They had a streak of six straight state titles from 2003-2008. The team has had 10 undefeated seasons with an overall record of 605 wins and 32 losses since 1993.  The 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 teams were recognized for their academic excellence as well, by receiving the AVCA Team Academic Award for maintaining a 3.30 team GPA.

Barnstable High School Girls Volleyball Program Overview 

2018  23-1 State Finalist

2017  22-1 State Semi-Finalist

2016  23-1 State Championship

2015  23-1 State Championship

2014  18-5 State Semi-Finalist

2013  23-0 State Championship

2012  21-1 State Championship

2011  23-0 State Championship

2010  21-2 State Championship

2009  17-4

2008  22-1 State Championship

2007  23-2 State Championship

2006  25-0 State Championship

2005  24-0 State Championship

2004  25-0 State Championship

2003  25-0 State Championship

2002  23-1 State Semi-Finalist

2001  23-3

2000  28-0 State Championship

1999  24-3

1998  27-1 State Championship

1997  28-0 State Championship

1996  27-0 State Championship

1995  25-0 State Championship

1994  20-3

1993  22-2 State Championship

1992  18-5

1991  16-6

1990  16-6

1989  20-2

1988  5-11

At the helm of this program since 1988, is 2008 AVCA National Coach of the Year, 2012 NHSCA National Volleyball Coach of the Year, Tom Turco. Not only a volleyball coach, but Turco was the only adaptive PE teacher on the Cape, a position he proudly held for over 30 years. He had a passion for teaching young kids how to play volleyball. An extremely humble man, Turco gives great credit to the incredible support of the athletic department and school administration at Barnstable High School as well as the parents and surrounding community as a whole. 

That is the one word coach Tom Turco used to describe the culture of the Barnstable Girls Volleyball team. “Love of the game” shares Turco. “Came across a life changing teaching moment in 1994. A guy came over to house. He was a Basketball guy. He gave me the book The Winner Within by Pat Riley. I feel this is the text book for success. I read that book three chapters at a time. The book was so impactful that I gave all the kids copies and had them read a chapter. After reading the chapter they have to send me summary of chapter, what they learned, and how it relates to them and the team.

This book has incredible insight into the competitive mind of the athletes. Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear, tell me what you actually feel.

In 2003 we had a great moment. In 2002 we were undefeated in the regular season. North Quincy was our rival. We beat them twice during the season. They beat us in the state finals that year after we beat them twice during the season. Entering the next season, 2003, one of stars, but quiet leader, stepped forward. If I heard 100 words from her over the past 3 years that would have been generous.

In her summary, she said I would do anything to win this year because the most painful thing was watching North Quincy celebrate in front of us. Nothing else would be more painful.

I didn’t know she felt like that. Writing goals allows the athlete to open up. We are cultivating self-motivation by doing the book. How can you get the athlete to want to win as much as you do? The Winner Within provides an environment on how to create an environment in which they want to win.

As coaches we are constantly winning. It doesn’t matter what you as the coach want for a goal, it is what the team wants. After the 3^rd tryout, our team is selected. In the afternoon team meeting, the seniors will come up with their team goals. These are their goals for that year’s team.

When they are done, I will come in and do one of 3 things: reject, agree, or modify. The only goal I insist they do: no alcohol/drugs and be careful on social media. I ask questions and can only offer experiences. They take a lot of pride in Barnstable volleyball. This meeting is a great opportunity to bring stuff up” continues Turco.

“We have more volleyballs in the state of Massachusetts than anywhere else. If you get these kids to develop their own goals without the coaching staff, this creates ownership. We want them to come up with their number one goals without the staff.

Right now, these are not my goals, these are your goals. All I can promise you is everything that happens this year, playing time, sanctions, etc, is to get you to your goal. You’re a senior, this is your last shot.

It is not a perfect scenario, but it is amazing. When you are an adult is when you see what coaches were trying to do. When you become a parent or coach.

The last time I had a parent meeting regarding a player was in 1997. Got a couple emails and said I will speak to her. I will sit down with a player in front of everyone at practice. This is a semi-private setting. I have apologized 5 times in 27 years. My intent was to keep you in the game.

I temporarily lost the kid for the moment. We sat down and I asked, “how do you like your feedback? Your goals are this and mine are this. Evidently, I lost you for part of that game because you were bothered by my feedback? The next morning, we got some housekeeping things done. We decided if she makes a mental error, I’ll sub her out, correct it on the spot, then get her back in.” This is what she needed. A coach needs to learn how to adapt to individual personalities and how each athlete responds to coaching” shares Turco.  

“In 2012” recalls Turco, “our starting outside hitter’s numbers were going down. The kid behind her on the bench was just as good as her. I told her that her numbers were down, and I was going with kid behind her on the bench. I always talk to a kid with another coach in the room.

She hadn’t played in 6 matches, and I told her this is nothing personal. This is for the greater good of the team. Not a single phone call from the parents. When it comes to the team culture, you are either in or out. We get to the state semifinals. In the state semifinals the other girl went out and the star came back in. She came out possessed leading us to the state championships that year.

We have a tradition in which we watch the movie Hoosiers on the way up to state finals. On the way back we go through memory lane on the bus. We looked back at that move you made with the girl. You benched your star for five matches to motivate her better. She lost her starting position and kept high fighting, coming off the bench, cheering for the rest of the team. She was the first kid in practice every single day. Everything she did was about her getting the team better. I dropped two in the end zone back in high school. Every single day I stayed after school with somebody throwing passes to me. Adversity brings out the best in some people. She put the team goals ahead of her personal goals.”

Turco reveals “The team goal set by me is not to lose. I want to keep the kids out of trouble. I have them represent Barnstable high school the way it should be represented. In all my 27 years of coaching, I have had one kid get a yellow card. Occasionally I will get the yellow card.

The one thing about The Winner Within that keeps coming back from our alumni is, that it has more to do with life than it does volleyball. A former player, prior to going to an interview for a job, read through the entire book again.

It was the only book one of our kids brought to college with them. We talk about “thunderbolts” with the kids. When one player went down with an ankle injury, we knew we all had to pick it up as a team.

For the wheel to turn, every cog in the wheel has to be there. It is important to share in this goal that you have. A covenant is an agreement that binds people. You have to have everybody’s back. Positive peer pressure. What is positive peer pressure. If you walk during any time in practice, you run. If you walk you run. You don’t have to have separate conditioning sessions. If you work hard in practice and condition during practice, it teaches you hard work.

We have time driven practices. Do this at this time, this at this time, this ends here. From a coaching clinic program, we’ll do 20 minutes of teaching skill, do drills, stop go outside and play stuck in the mud. We usually spend 15-20 minutes on a specific skill.”

Turco recalls “When I first started coaching, all I wanted to do was win one state championship. My first year we went 5-11. A special ED teacher making the transition into coaching high school girls.

I made common mistakes. The behavioral philosophy in special education is that if you ignore, negative behavior will go away. I had one of the toughest kids I have ever coached in my life. I only reinforced with positive. That was a bad mistake.

Fast forward to the last practice that year. We are 5-11, it’s our last practice at Barnstable that year. I thought the girls were going to be excited it was our last practice and would have fun. A senior girl then puts her face in my face in front of all the girls and says in front of everyone, “and what a sucky practice it was.”

I went to the AD and said “Steve, I am not sure if this coaching thing is for me.” He said, “tell me about your philosophy and season.” He laughed and said, “you never gave consequences for back talk. Come back and develop a set of rules and consequences.”

What do you want to do as a coach? I want to build a program to get a team to a state championship match. Go talk to some coaches who have won. Woman from Chelmsford. She runs a rec camp at Chelmsford and invited me down to talk.

We started out with 13 kids starting in 1989 in our Rec volleyball. We were one of first programs down the cape. I had a vision of hundreds of kids. That first year, with 13 kids, the Rec director said “lets send the money back as there are not enough kids. I said no let do this.

The following year we had 45 kids, then so on. We are now maxed out at 250 kids. We have 9 courts. We have staff trainings. The fuel that drives the engine of this camp is the way that you are with the kids. The feedback our coaches get from parents is always so positive.

Each player has to write down 5 verbal positive reinforcements then 5 non-verbal positive reinforcements. The staff is only partially made up of coaches. I keep everything in a notebook. The kids are required to keep a notebook as well.  

In our Rec camp, many of our former players coach. Some kids never played beach volleyball. We want the kids to get excited at an early age, and we have a great staff that understands that.

Positive reinforcement, inclusion, these are part of the experience. You know, I like volleyball. We then introduce competitive in 4^th and 5^th grade though junior Olympics. Then we keep the 5^th and 6^th grade program in house. Then they can join the insanity of AAU teams in 7^th and 8^th grade.

In the camp we always have 4 equal teams. They can’t stack teams. Need to have really good kids, then filler players. In 25 years of running the camp, parents have never come to me talking about volleyball as all the kids have always felt included.

This is what we do in club and in camp. In all these years we have only had to kick 4 kids out of the program. All for picking on kids. I am very vigilant about this.

We also need to continually reinforce the positive. If you make a mistake, encourage each other. Find the positive. We will coach. You guys offer the positive support. Every coach I have mentored has won a state championship, so they understand this support.”

Turco reveals “I was not a volleyball player. Only played one year of club, and we only had 7 people. The reason we only had 7 was we could only fit 6 six other people in my 1976 Coupe de Ville. 

I felt you need a positive youth program to have a successful volleyball program. We did have one girl in 1990 who was an incredible athlete that never touched volleyball before her first year in high school. In the youth program, you have to get kids to say, “I love volleyball, volleyball is fun.”

Especially at camps. If you pepper with the kids at the camps, they absolutely love it. It gets them hooked. If you get here early, pepper with other kids. It is a bond. It is like playing catch in baseball and football.

When training coaches in dealing with young kids, I want them to remember that they will say things the kids will remember. We want them to keep the sarcasm down and keep the positive up.”

“This quote speaks to the culture of Barnstable: “I am a Shawnee, my forefathers…” opens up great discussion. I ask who were the players that got you excited and who you wanted to be like? I am the maker of my own fortune. You are not entitled to the next state title. In college, I got one C in an activity: Volleyball! I got grade changed by re-earning the B.

The kids see the effort the coaches put in and have their backs and vice versa. We make sure to reconvene in a practice. Do you need to go in and re-asses your goals?” expresses Turco.

According to Coach Turco “The element of trust is huge with the girls’ and boys’ teams. What is trust for you? Knowing that someone has my back. Trust between players and players. Trust between coaches and players. This is your opportunity to talk. The kids have to know the coaches are 100% behind our goals. You learn and you learn both as a coach and player.

Can a bad leader ruin a team? How did a that girl become a leader of this team? She had leadership skills but also had an edge. We felt she had turned that page and started playing terrific. A teacher at Barnstable high had a project to do. Social issues in class. A student wrote a paper on me. She said, “who I thought was the enemy was really the most important person.”

As a coach, it is not wise to think that you are not part of the problem sometimes as well. If I have to sanction a player, the rules are the same, but you are going to get different interpretations with sanctioning of playing time. There is going to be moments in every players time this season that they feel I am against them, because of limitations of playing time, etc.

Quick story. We were already down a starter heading into a huge match against a big rival. We have a rule that when you cross the cape cod bridge, all cell phones are off. What you cannot do is post anything or receive texts, or any other cell phone stuff. I do not want that as soon as cross bridge. The consequence if you do is you do not play.

I went back to talk to a player on the bus and one of the star players is on her cell phone. I turn to her and say, “what is the rule? What are you doing? You know the rule.” I went back to the front of the bus to talk to the assistant coaches. In our program the assistant coaches make suggestions, while the head coach makes the decisions.

We benched the star player but ended up beating that rival team. She did not play for next two matches. The only true motivator is playing time. I sat down with this girl in the gym in the semi-private setting during practice. I said “so, you know why you didn’t play?” She apologized and said I promise you I will never break that rule again.

The first match suspension was for the violation and the second two were for the aggravation. We were heading into a huge match and you do this? We used this situation as an example by having that star player tell all the young kids about her violation and how she was benched. This rings tremendously to young players.”

“We have Lombardi time” shares Turco, “3:15 practice, you have to be in the gym at 3:00. Set the clock at 3:00. It is like a fire drill. The older kids get all the kids together. From 3:00 to 3:15 it is their time as a team. They can do whatever they want to do to get better at volleyball.”

Turco reveals “As a coach you can’t veer from expectations and consequences as kids know it is for real. My favorite John Wooden story is when he told Bill Walton to shave beard. Wooden was the gentleman of all gentlemen. Walton said, “coach I have certain rights as an individual and I choose to exercise that right.” Wooden then said in response “Bill, the team is going to miss you.”

I took the girls to play Brentwood California, the team who broke our 110 game win streak. John Wooden said the worst thing that could happen to a player is not to allow them to practice. I tried this one time, and it was the most devastating thing for the players. We played Medfield high school. Our freshman team won, JV team won, and the varsity lost. I took 15 seconds to talk about the loss, then it was time to move on. We lost now let’s work to improve.

On the way back from matches our bus is notoriously quiet, with kids doing homework, listening to music etc. On the way back from that loss, the bus was loud. The kids were loud. I went back and said, “look we just lost to a Division 2 school, our first loss in the state in 4 years. But it is too loud back here. You need to be quiet before we get back to the school.” The kids started up again. The kids didn’t get it. We did not have a strong leader in the back of the bus. They just started with bursts of laughter again. So, I did not say anything.

The next day at practice, the nets were all set up. At the 3:15 mark, the team goes into classroom with me and another coach. I said, “yesterday, on the way I home I went to the back of the bus and asked you to be quiet, and what happened?” The kids took ownership. I told them “this is what is going to happen. We are going to go back into the gym and are going to take the nets down and Coach Martin will stay here until everybody is picked up. Does anybody want to speak?” No senior captains raised their hand. After the meeting the seniors came to my office and I told them they had their opportunity to lead yesterday on the bus and opportunity to speak today and did not. I told them “practice is over we will pick this up tomorrow.”

 Respect is like love; you cannot ask somebody to love and respect you. What will happen in this program is you will treat me and the coaching staff respectfully or you will not be a part of this team. We went on a run and ended up winning the state title that year.”

“Don’t give them the opportunity” reveals Turco, “You chose them. You select the team. In this program seniors are always captains. If you are a senior in this program, then you are a captain.

Hannah Andres, as a freshman, was the first girl setting up nets. I said to her “ever since you were a freshman, I appreciate you setting these nets up.” She said, “I like setting nets up.” She was setting the tone for what leadership looked like as a freshman and went on to win 4 state championships in a row and All-State and played in college.

They have to prove themselves every day in practice. Back in the day, the Cape TV Channel did a five minute special on when Barnstable went from a bad program to a good program. I had a girl playing for us at the time who was Gatorade Player of the Year, had a full ride to UNH, and was far and above the best player in the state. She was asked by the TV interviewer “what motivates you?” She said “I have to prove myself every single day in practice. I have to prove myself to my coaching staff and to my teammates.”

Coming off of a loss these kids would push even harder. We lost in 2000, and the girls were extremely driven! In their goals: everyone should get the opportunity to play in a blowout. We won the south sectional final 15-0 15-1 and it is now 12-1, girls want to be in there for the championship point. I took the star players out of game, including a Gatorade Player of the Year. The kids were pissed. They said they wanted to be out there for the championship point. On the way back, I showed them their written goals about everybody playing during blowout. They understood why I took them out. 

Another player, a 2 time Gatorade Player of the Year, we ended up losing her junior year. She would play beach volleyball every single day heading into her senior year. I would say, “did you have fun.” She would say yes. But the other players had to sit her down and say how she had to stop mentioning the team they lost to the year before. She would look at me during a game and say I got this! It is taken care of.”

“Kick me in the shins if you see any resemblance to me trying to be a nice guy. We were beating a team 22-12, I then called in subs. Then after 5 minutes, we were at 22-20. If you lose momentum in this sport, it can lead to a loss.

You are always learning. These kids are just so committed to the sport and to the program every single year. I am really looking forward to this year as we are coming off of a loss. Every year following a loss, this has to be seared in your heart. I don’t want reference made to the state championship match. There is a movie called Jerry Maguire: “Show me the money.” We reinforce to them that everything that happens this season is to get you to your goals” expresses Turco.

Turco reveals “Trust is something they hold sacred. Trust in the coaches that they are trying to do everything to make them better. Trust in each other. Having each other’s backs. What risks do you want to take that may decrease your opportunity to reach team goals?

Work ethic. My grandfather was the hardest working individual I ever met. He never talked about how hard he worked, just did it. We as kids picked up on this. Kids today pick up on this not telling them how hard we work. A kid mentioned the work ethic of the coaches. They see you working, investing in film, scouting reports, etc.

Barnstable is a hard place to play, but a great place to play. Our behavioral expectations are high. It is demanding physically. You don’t have control over winning and losing but you can influence winning and losing.

A teacher told me a kid is a tough kid in class. I talked to the teacher and said “I talked with player. I told her every time I am going to see you; I am going to ask how Katy is doing in class. If you tell me, she is not cooperative in class she will lose playing time.” I tell all the teachers to do this. If a kid steps out of line, I will get an email about it and playing time will be compromised.”

“We have only lost back to back state championships once. When we lose a match, you can never sanction a team for losing. Some coaches punish kids with sprints for losing. First thing is they are in charge of their goals and losing is painful enough.

You have to create an environment where the kids have ownership. They don’t want to be told they played horrible. At a clinic one time, a guy said, “something you just want to avoid as a coach is the NS statement. The NO shit statement. NO shit we didn’t play well and lost.”

Russ Rhodes is coach at Penn State. He said if you want your players to perform under pressure in a match, you have to manufacture pressure for your players in practice. Create pressure situations in practice where the consequence is running. As a qualifier, you have to be able to run 20 line sprints in a practice to be a part of this team.

Serve a ball into the other court and if miss the team is going to run. This takes guts. You are going to run 20 line sprints. If ball goes over the net, now you are going to run 19 and so on until we get to 0.

Pressure situations.  We are the best defensive team in the state. We are going to stop any attack that comes at us, but we have to make the serve. If this girl misses the serve, there is not a player that is going to blame her. We do not assign blame. I know that if she misses this serve and the team runs, she will be the first kid in practice tomorrow serving one of the 500 volleyballs we have in this school. By repetition she will never miss another serve.

We foster a culture of no blame. We foster a culture of “I did everything I could do to make sure this did not happen again.” The kids own it” expresses Turco.

According to Turco “In 2^nd grade, when doing skills camps, we instill defense. Offense wins games, defense wins championships. The toughest teams we prepare for in high school, they are the toughest defensive teams. I’ll stand in front of parents and kids, with state title banners behind me and teach defense. We do crazy defensive drills from 2^nd grade on. We do a touch 2 drill. There are 2 players out there.

I volunteered for this drill. It is very intense. We do the drill according to the kid. At the end of the camp we ask what were your favorite things at the camp? Most kids say the touch 2 drill. Even now seniors jump to front of the line to do the touch 2 drill.

In the high school program, you need 5 to get out of the touch 2 drill. If you don’t dive for a ball, then you are back to 0. If that happens a 2^nd time in practice, you are done with the drill. 

I remember the Red Auerbach camp. He said, “here is one question I am not going to answer: why.” I can’t explain everything. Just do it. There are times when I just don’t explain. After our loss to Brentwood a coach asked why their athletes return serve and pass with palms up? He said, “how was the outcome of the match?”

Turco reveals “In Barnstable these kids grow up wanting to make this team. This is why you cannot replace work ethic with anything.I remember looking up in the stands and seeing a girl in the 3^rd grades whose dad was a painter. She was at every single game. I said at the time I was not sure if she was going to make it. She ended up in our Hall of Fame, played on two state championships, and also won doubles state championships in tennis. She was so focused and such a hard worker. You never know. You can never under estimate work ethic.

Our expectations in the summer: rest. Kids need to take a break. When you come in in August the pedal goes to the medal and we are not looking back. You need to be in physical condition, but the kids need a break from volleyball.

We can offer conditioning as long as volleyball is not involved. 5:45 am to 6:45 am conditioning. I don’t mention it to them, they just know that once season starts, pedal to the medal. I kept a freshman on the team for the first time in five years this year, as her work ethic and drive were there.

It is so competitive playing now. Don’t think because you are not playing on this top club team, that this does not mean you are not playing for a starting part on our team and vice versa.”

“We can tell where your production is” shares Turco, “I sat down athlete and said, “just so you know these are your stats and it is getting to that point where need to improve or step aside.”

Our number one stat: what was our hitting percent. This shows defensive performance. It allows us to evaluate and select the team and what to work on in practice.

When the kids buy into team goals great things happen. Keeping the line of communication open. We have team meetings. Just talking. More laughs and easy conversation. You know what your goals are, and everybody has a responsibility. Some of you just changed the landscape of the match with service. Some are the best attackers; some are the best defensive players. When it comes to names in the paper, if there is an outstanding stat, I’ll gives it, but otherwise it is our team statistics that matter most.

My mother back in the day would keep a scrap book. She would say “Tom your name’s not in the paper. I’d say, “Mom I don’t care, we won.” It was more important to hold the leading scorer to 4 points and have 3 steals, and no points, but to walk off the floor with a win.

Newspaper and individual stats do not matter. What is important is Barnstable wins. Consistency across all spectrums. Red Auerbach used to talk about Bill Russel. He put a lot of pressure on Bill Russel. Auerbach never wanted to be accused of playing favorites, as it was all about the team.

Volleyball is the ultimate team sport, you could have god almighty as a middle hitter, but if the setter does not set the ball properly the play won’t work.”

Turco reflects “This has been an incredible experience. I am now on the other end of this thing and I am still learning. We went from 5-11 to 20-2 through the help of the athletic director. If you think positive, positive things will happen. If you think negative, you won’t be part of this team. That was the philosophy.

Make sure when you do your team rules, you do them as a group. Describe negative things. If a coach talks to you, you need to give him eye contact and positive affirmation. If you roll your eyes, wine, complain, etc, you will be off the team.

If you work hard, then you will get results. After learning from our AD, I went from Mr. Rogers to somebody who would hold the girls accountable. Just with that change we went from 5-11 to 20-2. Winning was not common here. We went out to 18-0 that year. We got to a certain stage and our biggest accomplishment was a change in attitude. There was an article done back then on the transformation of the program. It became a totally different culture and program, and the kids loved it. The kids got to learn discipline.

You need parameters as an athlete. If you are late for practice, there is a consequence. High school athletes need to know what the rules are in their lives. These are rules that carry across life.

We had a girl that did not know how to channel energy. In the last game, she hit the last ball out of bounds and collapsed to floor. When we went to shake hands, the team stepped over her. We wanted to show her we would not put up with that attitude.

In 1992 we got a transfer from California. The AD says, “coach did you meet your transfer from California. I looked for her but didn’t see. Then this little 5 foot 5 blond haired, blue-eyed appears and introduced herself. In the vertical jump this girl touches 9’10. Girl could pass the ball on a dime but was a middle hitter. She got a full ride to URI. She set the school record of 47 kills in a match.

Our setter at the time said, “you know coach, Lina is being negative. She told me if I could set the ball to her as well as the North Quincy setter could set the ball, we could have won that match.” I said, “I am not going to talk to her. You talk to her. You are a senior. You have two choices; you can talk to her and you cannot set for her or you can get better at setting.” On our ride up to the state championship game that year she said, “coach do you mind if I play a motivational cassette on the bus ride up to the championship game. When that ball is set, it is going to seem as big as a moon. Look at the defeat in the eyes of your opponent.”

We ended up winning our first state championship that year.”

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