The Best Ways to Collect Data for Grit Leadership

Grit Leadership is designed to help you lead more effectively—with less time and guesswork. From automated reports tailored to each coach to seasonal summaries for athletic directors, the system works for you as long as you follow the reminders each season. But when those reminders hit your inbox, what’s the most efficient way to gather strong, meaningful feedback?

Here are the top three ways to collect survey data—ranked by effectiveness:

1. In-Person Collection (85–100% Response Rate)

The gold standard for survey collection is simple: stand in front of your students, explain the purpose, and guide them through it in real time.

Why it works:

- Highest response rate
- Builds trust and transparency
- Reinforces your leadership voice
- Reinforces student ownership in helping coaches, improving their program, and shaping culture

Considerations:

- Requires coordination of time and space
- May need to schedule team-by-team if not feasible in large groups
- Probably need to do 2-3 meetings with big groups of multiple teams.

How to do it:

1. Choose a common time (lunch, flex, end of practice) to meet with 3–8 teams or individual squads. Bigger groups are better. Your email can include multiple links and be sent one time.
2. Log in to your Grit Leadership dashboard and start surveys for each sport
3. Copy each team’s survey link into an email
4. Briefly explain confidentiality, the importance of honest feedback, and their role in supporting a better culture (watch this video for tips on what to cover)
5. Have students complete it on the spot and show you the final screen as proof

Pro Tip: Use QR codes to streamline the process and ensure instant responses. Once they scan, they complete.

2. Coach-Distributed Link via Email or Group Chat (50–100% Response Rate)

If in-person isn’t possible, your next best option is leveraging your coaches to share the link with their team.

Why it works:

- Coaches often have a captive audience
- Efficient if coaches are bought in and follow through

Considerations:

- Students may feel less confident in confidentiality if the coach sends it
- Coaches may not explain the survey’s purpose as clearly
- Risk of passive or skewed responses if students complete it at home

How to do it:

1. Coordinate with the coach during the last week of the season
2. Log in and tart the sport’s survey and send the link to the coach
3. Coach sends it via group chat or email, ideally as a “practice exit ticket”
4. Coach reminds athletes of confidentiality and clarifies that names are included for AD visibility only (not for coach review)
5. Ask coaches to confirm completion

3. Direct Email to Students (15–75% Response Rate)

The least effective—but still viable—option is emailing students directly.

Why it works:

- Quick, doesn’t depend on coach schedules or student availability
- Easy to automate and resend

Considerations:

- Students may ignore emails or forget to follow through
- Students may not trust confidentiality of this process without hearing you talk about it
- Lack of context may lead to incomplete or inaccurate responses
- Response rate can vary widely—especially without follow-up

How to do it:

1. Log in to start the survey and copy the sport-specific link
2. Email the link with clear instructions to watch the intro video first
3. Include a deadline and follow up daily for a week with reminders
4. Use FinalForms or other platforms to pull student emails quickly

It takes Intention and Attention

Collecting great data doesn’t have to be hard—it just takes intention. The more personal and direct your approach, the stronger your results will be. While emailing may be the easiest, in-person collection builds connection, trust, and buy-in. And when students understand their voice matters, they’re more likely to engage honestly.