It’s easy to celebrate championships. The banners, trophies, and rings are the symbols of success. However, for Steve Pyne, the coaching work happens long before the lights shine on game night. It’s in the sweat-soaked practices, the uncomfortable conversations, and the relentless commitment to growth—both for his players and himself. It’s all part of his football program turnaround blueprint.
Pyne has made a career out of football program turnaround. He built a struggling Ida B. Wells team into a champion. Then, he established a dynasty at Central Catholic—195 wins, 14 conference titles, and five state championships. Now, he finds himself at Union High School, where the scoreboard hasn’t been as kind. But Pyne knows something that numbers don’t always show: transformation starts long before the wins do.
“Kids First, Winning Second”
Pyne’s biggest coaching revelation didn’t come amid a championship season. It came in the moments of struggle—after yet another quarterfinal exit at Central Catholic. He looked inward, questioning what was missing. “What am I not doing that is conducive to us getting past this hurdle?” he asked himself.
So, he sought advice. And the message that echoed back was simple:
“Put kids first, winning second.”
For years, he had it backward. It was all about winning. The weight of that pressure bore down on his players, and when the games got tight, they cracked under it. That had to change.
So, he rewrote the script. He drafted a mission and vision statement and shared it with the community, the administration, and, most importantly, his players. He shifted the focus from results to relationships, from pressure to process. The very next season, his team broke through to the semifinals. Two years later, they won the first of back-to-back state titles.
Building a Culture, Not Just a Team
At Union, Pyne inherited a different challenge—a program that had won just two games in the previous two seasons. He knew the X’s and O’s weren’t the issue—mindset was.
“Our kids didn’t know how to win. They didn’t know how to deal with adversity. When something went wrong, it was, ‘Here we go again.'”
So, he started with the foundation. Accountability, investment, and communication set the core of the program. He pulled grades and saw 50 players with Ds and Fs. That wasn’t just a football problem—it was a mindset problem. He implemented study halls and made it clear. If you can’t handle business in the classroom, you won’t be on the field.
At first, the consequences stung. But over time, the numbers shifted. Just a few weeks ago, he checked again. Out of 115 kids in the program, 80 had no Ds or Fs, and most had above a 3.0 GPA. That was the first real win.
“The Pain of Retention Can Kill You”
One of Pyne’s most challenging lessons as a coach has been recognizing when people—whether players or staff—aren’t aligned with the mission. He’s learned that keeping the wrong people around can be more damaging than the pain of letting them go.
“The pain of removal is temporary. The pain of retention is what can kill you.”
That idea extends to everything in his football program turnaround philosophy. If a coach isn’t all-in, they’re out. If players aren’t bought into the culture, they won’t last. Pyne knows that a weak link—whether in attitude, effort, or accountability—can drag an entire team down.
The Turning Point
Not every lesson comes in a win. Some of the most important ones come in losses. Midway through the season at Union, Pyne and his staff realized something had to change. The players weren’t responding.
His defensive coordinator spoke up. “We’ve got to stop being so negative with the kids. We’ve got to bring the energy.”
It was a simple adjustment but a powerful one. They started practices differently—clapping, hyping each other up, faking enthusiasm until it became real. The shift was tangible. The kids played harder. They started believing.
And in the final game of the season, they won.
“Not everybody gets to end on a win,” Pyne said. “It wasn’t the win we ultimately want, but it was a step forward.”
What Comes Next
Pyne doesn’t put a timeline on turnarounds. He knows the results will come when the process is right. The standards haven’t changed from his championship days—they’re just being applied to a new environment.
“You have to be a program prophet,” he says. “You have to put your vision out there and show people we’re nose down, working towards something great.”
The wins on the scoreboard will come. But for Pyne, the real victories are already happening. The kids are showing up, buying in, and learning what it takes to win—not just in football, but in life.
And if history is any indication, it won’t be long before Union is hanging its championship banner.
Related episode: Three Keys to Building a Championship Program
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