Not all teams are winning teams.

Some flounder year after year until one day they hit their stride and become unstoppable.

We’ve seen it in the pro leagues with the Patriots, once losing year after year while their fans froze in the snowy stands. Then, poof, a legacy is born.

The Dallas Cowboys are another team who endured multiple losing seasons until Jimmy Johnson came along and made them into a dynasty.

Whether you love or hate either of those teams, the facts remain.

Let’s bring it to the high school level.

Some teams are just known as losing teams, and that’s unfortunate because at any moment, during any given season, a turnaround could transform that team into a championship team.

So, how does that happen? Magic? No. Luck? Probably not. It occurs with the right combination of coaching and players.

Here are some possible ways to help transform your team into championship caliber one:

Find your leaders.

A good coach will call out the leadership skills in his team.

He will meet one-on-one with his starting line to assess who has the right leadership qualities to lead the team to victory.

Coaches study and test their players to see who will persevere through challenges and who will rise to the top as team leaders.

Give the team a good reason to stay in the game despite losing.

It all comes down to attitude, and that includes both players and coaching staff.

When a team consistently loses, they need a morale boost to help them keep the belief that they are capable of winning.

A losing team will hear negative comments from opposing teams like, “Ah, we’re playing the Eagles, that’s a sure win” or “That team couldn’t catch a ball if they tried.”

It’s the head coach’s job to keep his team motivated through losing. He also needs to inspire his team to win.

An excellent coaching staff will tell the truth about the poor play, but they will also build up and encourage players to keep going.

Utilize the power of words.

Nothing can rev up a team like a powerful motivational speech before a game or at half-time.

I’m not talking about fluff and air—the rah-rah kind of speech. I’m talking about a balance of pointing out team flaws and play execution mistakes but also infusing positivity into the team mentality.

As a good coach, you will tell them what they did right and what you believe they’re capable of achieving. Quote some gridiron greats. Consider allowing the team captain to interject his thoughts if you trust that he will build the team up and not break them down.

A good coach gives his team an empowering nickname so they identify with their strength. One coach calls his team the Brick Squad. He gives them a mantra, “Everything Matters,” to chant before games, during games, and after games.

There are so many ways to resurrect a losing team that could fill a ream of pages. It comes down to reviving the locker room culture, instilling an attitude of belief within players, and fostering complete buy-in from the coaching staff, parents, and players.

 Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy QB at Winning Proof, helps athletes tell their stories by ghostwriting books. She works exclusively with pro athletes, coaches, team owners, and other sports professionals, to move their book idea from concept to publication, from the Red Zone to the End Zone.