Eric Galko, founder and owner of Optimum Scouting joined the show this week to talk about the scouting process and lessons learned while overseeing player personnel for the XFL!
In my conversation with Eric, we touched on everything from comparing quarterbacks to characters from the classic show, "The Office" to scouting processes, navigating the football industry and behind the scenes stories from his experience overseeing player personnel within the XFL!
Knowing Eric as both a friend and former colleague, this was one of the most enjoyable conversations I've recorded and chock full of personnel insight!
Here are some of my own takeaways from the episode, but please be sure to comment or tweet at me with what you took away from the show:
Network with a purpose - BRING VALUE.
UTSA's Joe Price discussed this when he joined the show (Episode 4) but you have to find a way to stand out from the pack. Identify possible pain points or problems to solve for the people you're trying to connect with, be patient and be prepared with an answer when the time comes.
Hire people that are UPWARDLY DRIVEN.
To reach true heights as an organization, you have to bring in high performers. With that said, most high performers will have their own career aspirations and part of the role of being a leader is developing your employees to reach their own personal and professional potential. Be prepared to lose your best employees as they climb the ladder and accomplish their dreams, and continually seek, recruit and incorporate those types of workers into your program. That applies to recruiting, coaching and any business field for that matter.
Decision makers want to hear your ONE LINER (Not your entire report).
Don't lose the forest for the trees and get lost in the minutiae. Break down the role of the player you are evaluating and what his fit is within your program/scheme. That's it. Have the rest of the scouting report information ready to answer any follow up questions, but cut to the chase because decision makers don't always have the luxury of time.
When constructing your roster, DON'T MISS ON INFO.
What are we talking about when it comes to info? That's your background and character of a player, the work ethic, coachability, accountability, professionalism, etc. That's injury history. That's verified measurables and up to date testing numbers. Lastly, but certainly not least is the analytics piece. How does a player with "x" production and measurables stack up historically to other players at his position?
The information gathering component to scouting is the most OBJECTIVE segment of an extremely SUBJECTIVE process. Being aware of the subjectivity of evaluating the game film and limiting errors within the more predictive, objective field of research/information is the first step in lowering your "misses".
Again, be sure to hit me up with your top takeaways from the episode and thank you for taking time out of your day to tune in!
If you enjoyed listening to Eric talk ball, you can follow him on Twitter at @EricGalko!
Follow the links below to tune in on your favorite platform, and be sure to subscribe, rate and share the show!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-close-in-personnel-with-alex-brown/id1504584632
Stitcher: https://stitcher.com/s?fid=516832