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As I read this series, two immediate red flags pop up. The first has to do with too much information and the risk of "analysis paralysis". I addressed this risk in the last installment.

The other issue I see is this: Even if you have the best plan in the world, you ain't going nowhere if you don't have buy in from your team. It doesn't matter how many Frisbee articles you read, how often you scour RSD for tips, or how long you spend in strategy brainstorming sessions. You need people to show up, to work hard, and, at the core, care.

It's not an easy task. No one gets paid to play college Frisbee. At least in my day and in my surroundings, claiming you start on the ultimate team's national caliber O-line never got anyone paid. There are no scholarships to lose, and college students are (for the most part) not in school to compete in UPAs. They have classes and more often than not a handful of other obligations and demands on their time.

From what I have experienced and seen, getting people to buy in is one of the toughest struggles of mid-level teams.

There is no magic formula for creating buy in, and to some extent, there is little one person can do alone. You need a dedicated core of the most talented individuals on the team to set the example and the tone. You also need a strong core of young players who are willing to follow the lead.

Beyond that, I think it's important that the team leadership clearly set the goals and expectations for the team.

The goals should dictate where you want to end up and how you plan to get there. These need to be realistic. (For example, a team that has never finished in the top 3 at Regionals shouldn't aim to make semis at Nationals. Or a team that has never played on Sunday at Regionals typically shouldn't plan to win the region.) Once you have a realistic goal identified, you need to figure out how you plan to get there. You should have answers to the following questions:

• What does success look like (both on and off the field)?
• Where does your team need to be in terms of skills?
• How often will you need to practice to get there?
• What training do you need to do? What are the expectations surrounding attendance? What are the consequences for poor attendance? (In other words, how do you hold people accountable for doing their part to meet the team's goals?)

Additionally, a team's goals and plans cannot be dictated from above. The team leadership needs to get a good sense of what the team really wants and how badly they want to get there. This can be done through email questionnaire, one-on-one conversations, or a team meeting to discuss these questions. These discussions are tricky--Players don't always say what they mean. Sometimes they like to think of themselves as the type who would give up their nights and weekends for the team, but when it comes down to it, they are lazier than they think they are. The team leadership needs to encourage truthfulness, make an honest assessment of what is possible, and plan accordingly.

Only once these goals and plans are in place should team leadership address higher level questions of team strategy.