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Post by mariner42 on Oct 20, 2014 7:41:29 GMT -6
This week we play one of our big rivals. I disagree that it's a rivalry because when you're something like 5-20 in the last quarter century vs a team, I don't think you're rivals, I think you're the whipping boy.
We can beat them, no question. Their talent is no greater or more developed than ours. The issue is that our kids mentally go into another place when we play them. All of a sudden they are talking smack between plays, committing stupid penalties, and they lose all fight when they get down a score or two. They tighten up, they try too hard, they play differently.
I'm curious how you would carry yourself in the week before such a game.
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Post by joelee on Oct 20, 2014 8:19:27 GMT -6
I can't give you any advice for this year. However going forward gear your program to not have "rivals". By that I mean focus more on yourselves and treat every week as close to the same as humanly possible. We talk to our kids about our gold helmets and how some teams we play lose to our gold helmets before we even get off the bus. So our kids understand that thinking exists and we can turn around and tell them "you are going to play this game straight up and not give anyone anything because of the helmet they wear.
Similar to DCohio we pick out the 2 best teams on our schedule every year and we gear ourselves for them and constantly harp on the effort and technique level it will take to beat them, but its always about beating them not being worried about them. For example "man that pad level won't work against St.X, get your pads down" "That lazy ball won't work against McCallie they have closing speed, you have to throw it on a line" "That kind of effort will get you beat vs St.X, play with a motor every play". So to make a long story short we try to play every opponent with the effort and execution needed to beat those teams so we don't have to "step it up" vs good teams and we explain the effort and technique all the time so there is no mystique about those guys.
Its not easy, don't think i'm saying its easy.
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Post by fantom on Oct 20, 2014 9:07:14 GMT -6
I like what DC and joelee said and I'll add something- How about you coaches? Does this game increase your Jackhammer Factor (Definition: So tight they couldn't get a needle up your a$$ with a jackhammer)?
In a game like this it's easy for coaches to get nervous and pass that nervousness on to the kids. If you put in a lot of new stuff, if you harp on how you have to play perfectly, if you uncharacteristically go off over little things during the week you're showing the kids that the game worries you and they do notice. I know that becausee I've done it with predictable results.
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Post by coachbdud on Oct 20, 2014 9:28:47 GMT -6
Please let me know if anything works for you guys
That's our problem vs our biggest rival
We go into the game just hoping they take it easy on us
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Post by Coach Bennett on Oct 20, 2014 10:03:19 GMT -6
To follow up fantom, on game day, check yourself and your coaches. Stay loose, stay relaxed. Talk about focus and discipline but have some fun.
Athletes, like all humans, are very perceptive whether it's conscious or not. If they sense we as coaches are tight, they will be too.
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Post by joelee on Oct 20, 2014 10:15:56 GMT -6
Agree, we have 1 tight coach on staff, but thankfully the rest of us outnumber him and cancel it out I guess. Tight coaches lose some games for sure. Head coaches, play callers, and even assistants sometimes.
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Post by spos21ram on Oct 20, 2014 10:44:18 GMT -6
Now this is just me...but... It sounds like this team may be one of the better teams on your schedule? If that is the case, then everything we do...everything we install, everything we run, the techniques we use, the coverage we run, etc. are all aimed directly at this team. Anytime there is an issue at practice or I need or want to reference another team, I reference that team...as in every practice is prep for that team. if that makes sense. In addition to that - I think you have to try to diminish the "mystic" around that team or whatever mystic your kids are placing on them. One of the good teams we play is very very good every year but they haven't won a state title since 2005. So I put that in context for our players. 2005 was 9 years ago...9 years ago our seniors were in 3rd grade. Chit, at that time our entire team though girls were "yucky" and some of them still had "accidents" in their pants and it was OK because that just happens sometimes. Give me a phuking break! You're going to bow down to a team who hasn't won chit in 10 years??? (you get the idea) The other team - who is in our league, they are the 2 time defending state champions so about them I constantly kept reminding our kids "that was last year", this years team hasn't won jack and then point out their flaws - whatever they may be. In both cases I spoke about how history isn't playing on friday. Tradition doesn't play on friday. etc. It's tough to turn your kid's mentality but once turned, you've got something. One of my proudest moments was a quote by our MIKE backer after we beat the 2nd team mentioned. He said "If you take the name off their chest, they are just any other team, they are just regular guys." Both of those wins by us were program wins and we have been lights out defensively ever since. I agree with this 100%. In college my incoming year, the Coaching staff tailored everything they did in the offseason and preseason to beat the best team on our schedule. We were mediocre and they were the defending conferences champs. Week 2 we beat them. First time in a long time that happened. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using proboards |
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Post by wolverine55 on Oct 21, 2014 5:24:19 GMT -6
Not being critical here, just an honest question: What do you do if you lose the game you've based your whole offseason and preparation for? I think it would be hard to regroup mentally both as a coaching staff and team as a whole if you lose the game you've based everything on.
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Post by CS on Oct 21, 2014 6:43:04 GMT -6
Not being critical here, just an honest question: What do you do if you lose the game you've based your whole offseason and preparation for? I think it would be hard to regroup mentally both as a coaching staff and team as a whole if you lose the game you've based everything on. This is a good question and I will add another. If you talk about these teams that much doesn't it add to the mystic of that team? |
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Post by spos21ram on Oct 21, 2014 7:16:53 GMT -6
Not being critical here, just an honest question: What do you do if you lose the game you've based your whole offseason and preparation for? I think it would be hard to regroup mentally both as a coaching staff and team as a whole if you lose the game you've based everything on. We as players didn't know the coaches tailored the offense and defense to beat that one team. In camp the coaches would mention that team's name and say the usual phrases, but I had no clue our whole defense that was installed was to beat them. After we beat them the coach mentioned it in his post game talk. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using proboards |
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Post by blb on Oct 21, 2014 7:56:01 GMT -6
"mystique"
A mystic is someone who claims knowledge of or connection to that beyond human understanding.
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Post by coachdawhip on Oct 21, 2014 12:43:13 GMT -6
The only thing I disagree with is having RIVALS is a good thing.
Exposure and tailoring what you do to stop that one team is not bad.
If you can schedule a team(s) that run similar offense and defense to what they do, it helps.
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Post by mariner42 on Oct 21, 2014 20:49:11 GMT -6
Lots of great advice in here, thanks fellas.
Funny enough, one of the local newspaper writers looked it up, they're actually 91-1 vs the four other schools in town since 1988. Soooo, yeah, I was being optimistic with how bad they've owned us!
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