Brush, brush, brush, rinse, comb, blow out, comb, brush, brush, brush. Not only do you want to grow hair, you have to train it, long hair that goes everywhere is almost like not having hair. you want it to pop. My son rinsed, comb, brushed and blew them out forward from rear to front every time. We use the 45% angle in an upward motion, to train the hair, there are several ways to do it though.
The biggest thing is putting in the time and creating a daily routine and sticking to it. If you are not working the hair for 1 to 2 hours a day, you are not working hard enough.
I was just telling the kid I'm helping this year, to ask himself everytime he thinks he is done grooming for the day, what do you think your biggest competitor is doing right now (young kid that works his hind end off with his calves) and if you want to compete with him, he'd better do just as much if not more.