Athletic Director at Catawba Ridge
Fort Mill, SC
Joined November 2011
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Rick Lewis retweeted
You’re allowed to want more minutes and a bigger role.
But your attitude can’t become another obstacle your teammates have to overcome.
Want more for yourself while still giving your best to the team.
Rick Lewis retweeted
If you choose the goal, you also have to choose the work that comes with it.
If you want to be great, you don’t get to decide each day whether great effort is necessary.
You already made that decision when you set the goal.
If you commit to the goal, commit to the cost.
Rick Lewis retweeted
One of the greatest responsibilities we have as coaches is understanding the influence we have on young people.
Nick Saban said it best:
“Leadership is all about helping someone for their benefit. If you’re helping them for your benefit, that’s manipulation.”
That’s a powerful reminder.
We all want to win. We all want our programs to be successful.
But coaching has never been just about what players can do for us.
It’s about what we can do for them.
The lessons we teach. The confidence we build. The standards we establish. The people we help them become.
Our success as coaches shouldn’t just be measured by what our players accomplish for us, but by who they become because of us.
That’s the responsibility.
And the privilege of coaching.
Rick Lewis retweeted
Fort Mill, Catawba Ridge grab Region swim titles fortmillprepsports.com/fort-…
Rick Lewis retweeted
As an AD, you have to be willing to make the difficult decision to replace or remove an athlete who refuses to live up to the team standard, regardless of their talent.
If there is no accountability because a player is too talented to replace, your culture will eventually suffer. One athlete who consistently puts themselves above the team can poison an entire program.
Talent can help you win games, but culture is what sustains success.
In the long run, a group of athletes who fully buy into what you are trying to build will always be more valuable than one all star who is selfish, entitled, and determined to do things their own way.
Protect the standard. Protect the culture. The program comes first.
Rick Lewis retweeted
Marcus Freeman shares why "leading by example" isn't enough.
"We don't love leaders by example. Because leaders by example are guys that do what they're told to do, they do everything they're asked, right?"
"But they don't say things when their teammates aren't reaching the standard. We can't have that."
Real leadership isn't just performing at the standard. It's protecting the standard.
"We need more leaders. Guys that are willing to hold their teammates accountable because it's gonna make your teammate better."
Accountability isn't about being hard on people. It's about caring enough to not let them settle.
"I wanna make everybody in our organization the best they possibly can be. So if I let you cut corners or I don't say something to you when you're falling under the standard, then I'm not helping push you to the best you can be."
Leading by example is the baseline. Leading with accountability is the standard.
(🎥notredamebusiness)
Rick Lewis retweeted
If someone advises you to play 1 sport in High School they don’t have your best interest at heart!
Yes I said it
Rick Lewis retweeted
As an AD, here’s a reminder for parents:
Competition is hard.
Winning is hard.
Losing is hard.
Being coached is hard.
Accountability is hard.
Competitive sports were never meant to be comfortable.
If you don’t want your child to face hard things, don’t sign them up for competitive athletics.
The struggle is the lesson.
The adversity is the teacher.
The hard is the point.
Rick Lewis retweeted
“Success is momentary it’s not continuous. It’s right then, this is what you did, that’s over and done with. You better be where your feet are and move onto the next one,”
Nick Saban
Winners allow the moments of success to strengthen their will to win not define their identity.
Rick Lewis retweeted
You can't take the trophy with you.
But the person you became chasing it?
That's yours forever.
"Banners collect in gyms and rings collect dust, but who you become and who you impact in these 4 years you get to keep forever."
- Cori Close 🔥
Rick Lewis retweeted
The NCAA just passed a new rule giving Division I student athletes five years to complete five seasons of eligibility. The clock starts when you turn 19 or graduate.
Some of the 8th grade reclassing will stop bc of this rule and high school recruiting in general will be similar to COVID-era.
The new rule, as I read it, essentially does away with redshirts.
Athletes who finished their fourth season in spring 2026 do not receive additional eligibility.
Rick Lewis retweeted
The strongest programs usually have older players teaching younger players what the standard looks like.
Rick Lewis retweeted
High school coaching was never meant to be a stepping stone.
The greatest impact comes from staying long enough to see the results of your investment in people. To coach siblings. To coach the children of former athletes. To become part of the fabric of a community.
Wins matter. But character, culture, and lasting influence take years even decades.
Celebrate coaches that fight to stay for the good of a community
Rick Lewis retweeted
The Costs of Leadership: Kirby Smart
1. You will make hard decisions that negatively affect people.
2. You will be disliked despite your best attempts to do the best for the most.
3. You will be misunderstood & won't have the chance to defend yourself.
Rick Lewis retweeted
📢 Coaches & AD's, please make note of the combined Business & SCHSL Rules Meetings schedule for each sport.
These meetings will take place at the Coaches Academy Friday July 24, and Saturday July 25.
#SCACA #SCHSL #SCCoaches #HighSchoolSports
Rick Lewis retweeted
As an AD, you learn quickly that everyone supports accountability in sports… except when you’re unwilling to make an exception for their child. Strong cultures are built on standards that apply to everyone.
Rick Lewis retweeted
Gregg Popovich shares his final message and it has nothing to do with wins and losses.
"The wins and losses are all crap. The highs and lows are all crap. It's illusory. It doesn't really exist."
"What exists is seeing these guys and their kids. Those relationships with your assistant coaches - everybody else you're with - your colleagues, your friends."
"'Cause that's what you take with you as you move along."
The best leaders and coaches invest in people.
"All those wins or losses - they fade away. They fade away."
"But those relationships stick with you forever. And that's where the self-esteem and the self-satisfaction comes."
A must-listen message for all coaches, players, parents, and teach out there.
Great leadership isn't one style. It's knowing your people well enough to give them what they need. Invest in the relationships.
Care about people, hold them to their potential, and lead in your style.
(🎥NBA )
Rick Lewis retweeted
Vanderbilt Head Football Coach Clark Lea (@Coach_Lea) epitomizes the meaning of ownership.
I love this clip because it's a masterclass in refusing to play the victim, escaping the echo chamber that imprisons so many people, and understanding that the internal agreement you make to chase excellence comes with immense pain and a hard truth: Nobody is coming to save you.
🔥 We are not victims in this process. The joy we experience is often equal and opposite to the pain we endure. Growth isn't found by avoiding adversity, it's found by carrying it with pride. The struggle you're facing today may be the very thing preparing you for the opportunities you're praying for tomorrow.
🧭 You don't control every circumstance, but you do control your response. This is the ground you stand on. This is where you're supposed to be. There are no mistakes. Every challenge, setback, and obstacle has the potential to drive you forward if you're willing to accept it as part of your journey rather than evidence that you've been treated unfairly.
🪞 Ownership requires honesty. Be proud of where you are, but be honest about where you've fallen short. The objective is never to wait for someone else to rescue you. The objective is always to perform better. To improve. To adapt. To grow. Excellence begins the moment you stop asking who will save you and start asking how you can become better.
The moment you stop seeing your circumstances as something happening to you and start seeing them as something shaping you, adversity transforms from a burden into a blueprint.
@VandyFootball is leaning into this idea for the 2026 season. #AnchorDown
