Coaching Football's "Little Things"

I read a great article this morning. It really made me “sit up and think!” Here I am a Head Coach and it is telling me that I need a good adviser to reach my full potential. That is thought-provoking. Listen:

We may be good at what we do. In fact, we may be better than most of our peers, but…. without the help of others, we will never be as good as we could be. We will never reach our highest potential without a good coach/adviser. Why would a world-class tennis pro need a coach— especially one who is not as good on the court as the pro? One pro answered, “Tennis requires subtle adjustments crucial to winning and my coach is the best at making them. The older I get, the more valuable he becomes.” Why is that? Because age and experience don’t necessarily make us better. It’s possible that they just deepen the rut we’re in!

In life, as in sports, you never reach the point where you don’t need good input. Yet many of us tend to operate under the misguided assumption that because we are the leader (i.e., head coach), we don’t need to be led. We make the mistake of measuring ourselves against others instead of our own God-given potential. In the end, we never become what we could have been. Self-evaluation is good, but the evaluation of others is crucial for continued growth. A good adviser measures your performance against your strengths, not somebody else’s. That’s because he or she knows what you’re capable of… and they push you to your limit!

And, by the way, good advisers/coaches are constantly on the scene observing… not back at the office. That’s because they’re personally invested in your success. A win for you is a win for them. Find a good adviser. Pray to God that He will bring that special person who can “coach” you to your fullest potential.

I had the joy of watching 3 of our players sign on Wednesday to play college football next year. Lots of excitement in the room; lots of smiles on faces! I saw proud (but relieved) parents. I saw teammates who stopped by who were there to support their friends who will be going on to play at the next level. I saw girlfriends who seemed to thinking about next year and not being at the same college as their (now) boyfriend. I saw teachers and administrators who simply enjoyed the accomplishments of these three outstanding young men. It was a great morning!

To be honest, it was a struggle seeing this (the recruiting process) through to the end. For example, one of our boys didn’t get his scholarship offer until Monday night! My mantra throughout the recruiting process was: patience. It’s a process and it takes time. Any coach who does not deem it his responsibility to help and direct his players and their parents along the recruiting path is 1- doing his players a disservice and 2- missing out on one of the great joys of coaching in high school.

Why is it a disservice? I feel it is one of the main responsibilities of any high school coach to help his players if they are interested in playing college football. With Hudl today, the process is a LOT easier than it was 10 years ago! I give guidelines (2-3 minutes long; start with your very best plays ups front and… NO music!) about making the fabled highlight video but… these days, I let the player and his parents cut up their own video! It gets posted on Hudl and then it’s just a matter of finding out which colleges they want it sent to. I just email the video. I would encourage coaches to send along an email letting the recruiter know that you are sending a highlight video. They get bombarded by video’s these days. Knowing that the coach is sending it makes it more valid. Most parents (and players) have no idea how to traverse though the recruiting process. The coach needs to be there for them.

There is no better feeling than enjoying the moment when your players’ dream comes true! Seeing them ink their name on that scholarship form is one of the great moments in coaching. I heard my old coach, Lou Holtz, say numerous times: “If you want to be successful, help your players accomplish their goals.” It builds a positive image for you and your program. Kids and their parents notice when a school has players signing college scholarships. It is quite an accomplishment and one that everyone call be duly proud of.