As the summer heats gruelingly strikes the United States, it is a clear sign that football season is coming up! Soon enough, the heat will give way to cool, damp mornings, where smells of grass and sweat blend together with the August sun. We are approaching the greatest time of year, FOOTBALL SEASON!
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| Bleachers and field in the hot sun |
Young men from all social, racial and economical backgrounds are coming together with one goal in mind, to succeed in the battlefield known as football. Football, I am talking about football here people!!!! The greatest team sport on Earth! If that doesn’t get your heart pumping, then nothing will.
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| Heart pumping.... get it? |
As football coaches, it is our responsibility to bring these young men together. This job is a privilege and a great responsibility. When talking to a fellow coach over the past few days, he asked me what I felt were the most important parts of the two-a-days season. He talked about schemes and x’s and o’s, and while he talked; I felt that those are important, but what’s more important is developing your team and staff. I wanted to share some of my thoughts going into two-a-days that have helped me be successful:
#1 Find the leaders on your team and get them to buy in
The leaders on your team might not always be the best player or athlete. Your responsibility is to search them out, and let your team know that any one player could be a leader or captain. Many teams and coaches automatically name the best player the “captain.” I suggest that you do not follow this old model, instead search out for the player that all of the team respects. It is easy to identify them, you’re your team gets water or is eating together, see who the players gravitate towards. They can be the second string QB, or smaller DB, but they are popular and understand their role and the game of football. Most importantly, they are VOCAL. When crunch time shows up, they have the guts to stand up, be VOCAL, and lead their teammates to success. Find that leader among your team!
#2 Promote position competition during two-a-days
Each season I have coached, I have realized how important it is to promote competition for positions. Just because “Joe Schmoe” started at middle linebacker last year as a junior does not guarantee he has a starting spot this year. Young players are smart, and if they know they have a guaranteed spot, motivation often drops off. If they feel the heat of someone taking their position, two positives happen: they perform under stress and they still motivated to continue to improve themselves.
Consequentially, the other players on the team are motivated to earn that starting spot. There is nothing worse than a player feeling he “shouldn’t try” because someone has the starting position locked up from day 1. These players staying motivated and invested also help get them prepared for when they do have an opportunity to play.
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| QB Competition |
#3 Make sure all of your coaches are on the same page
As a player, there is nothing more frustrating and confusing than having three different coaches telling the player to do three different things. All off-season you have probably met with your coaches and discussed the schemes and plans for the season. Make sure that your coaches are following the plan and running a tight ship.
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| Same page right coach? |
#4 Standards don’t float
Work with your team to understand what the following statement means “Standards don’t float.” An Army General taught this saying to me recently, and I love it. It means that just doing the standard or minimum is not enough.
The General shared a story about how a recruit came to him and asked “Do you think I will be able to do the minimum on the physical training test?” The General responded “Son, you should be asking me ‘Do you think I will be able to do the maximum on the test?”
The whole idea is to get your players to do more than just the minimum. Block until the whistle, run to the football on defense, heck, even clean the tables spotless after team dinners. Push your team to the maximum of its potential, because…. “Standards don’t float.”
#5 Remember, we are not perfect, but we will strive to be
Young men and women are raised to be perfect, and often struggle with how to respond to challenges. Work with your players, and let them know that plays will sometimes not work, that turnovers will happen, and the other team will score. This is not a time to tuck our tail and take our ball and head home. This is a time to rise to the challenge. Show character and exceed past the failure. Communicate this to your players, and if mistakes happen, they will be able to push past it.
With the ending of one of network tv’s greatest shows “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS” I am reminded of Coach Eric Taylor’s speech to his players:
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| I am going to miss this show.., |
“We will all at some time in our lives, fall. Life is so very fragile, we are all vulnerable, and we will all at some point in our lives, fall, we will all fall. We must carry this in our hearts, that what we have is special, that it can be taken from us, and that when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls. We will all be tested. It is these times, it is this pain, that allows us to look inside ourselves.”
Let your team know that failure will happen, and it is what happened, it is how the team responds. As a defensive coach, the best example I have of this is during a sudden change moment (turnover by the offense, blocked punt/FG). We pride ourselves in stepping up to the challenge of a failed opportunity. Instead of putting our heads down, we will find the character inside us and meet the challenge. We may not be perfect, but we will strive to be.
These are five basic tips for your upcoming camp. With all of these, most importantly, have fun and enjoy two-a-days! Football 2011 is upon us, and I wish the best of success for each and every team.
A couple of shoutouts
