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Winning
May 13, 2006 23:16:05 GMT -6
Post by tothehouse on May 13, 2006 23:16:05 GMT -6
What is its meaning?
Out here in California we(coaches at our school) went through an 8 hour coaching seminar (that I think will be nationwide soon) to talk about how to be a better coach. The class wasn't good...it was stuff people already knew. It would have been great for young coaches. Here is my point.
Our AD talked to me personally about where winning should be on the list of coaching priorites. He was telling me how disappointed he was in guys who put winning at the top of their list.
I thought to myself how much time and energy I put into to coaching/teaching and how disappointed I would be if we didn't win.
My thinking is this. A coach can teach character, team work, loyalty, etc. to his team. He can have FUN doing it. Putting fun into things is obviously near or at the top of the this. My point is....why not do all of this and still beat the tar out of people?
Are you happy when you go 5-5? Is that FUN?
I am not saying winning is everything. Winning is a byproduct of everything mentioned above. Character, team work, loyalty, etc.
I think our school system is supposed to teach students to become excellent at the next level. Right? In the classroom the goal is to get ahead, be great, study hard, go onto to college. If you lose in the classroom you might not get ahead (not necessarily I might add). Isn't the football field a classroom? We must teach excellence. We must win. Society tells us that you need to have a great GPA and high test scores. Schools thrive on these numbers.
What are your thoughts?
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Winning
May 14, 2006 0:39:44 GMT -6
Post by senatorblutarsky on May 14, 2006 0:39:44 GMT -6
Our AD talked to me personally about where winning should be on the list of coaching priorites. He was telling me how disappointed he was in guys who put winning at the top of their list.
Are you happy when you go 5-5? Is that FUN?
I want my players to learn life lessons, to learn how to overcome fears, obstacles, shortcomings... to develop character and reveal the character they already have... and the way to do that is to do everything in your power to WIN.
This seminar seems to be yet another product of "No Child Left Behind". For those of us who have been in this a while... the only way to not leave anyone behind is to force the best to slow down and wait. Some districts need to improve... I will not argue that- our district has been exemplary for several years (low numbers really help when it comes to statistical analysis)... we can not "improve" (as per NCLB standards),so we are at a disadvantage. The current trend is not to push for excellence by some... it is a call for all to reach mediocrity.
The bottom line is that if federal and state education departments, administrators and educational theorists looked at and then applied the practices and theories being used in football, we would have no educational "crisis" (which I maintain is a media perpetuated myth anyway).
5-5 is only fun if you were 1-9. 5-5 is not fun if you have consistently achieved at a higher level. I see this being at a school in the upper midwest...a region that has traditionally been very high in regard to student achievement. We now are legislated to be "watered down".
tothehouse... I could write 300 pages on this subject... just spend your 8 hours drawing up plays or working on depth charts and do what you have been doing. If your AD wants a change... do what you have been doing, then apologize and continue to DO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING... it is a lot easier to ask for forgiveness than permission in education.
Winning is not important (for us) at football camp... scrimmages do not count on our record, no scoreboard is in operation and nothing goes in to the newspapers.
Educating students is our goal, but let us all be honest...when was the last time people from your town dressed up in school colors and showed up with thousands of others to watch students take a math standards exam?
I COMPLETELY REFUSE to let Marxist ideas which are settling in to our social consciousness latch themselves on to sports...especially football. We are, have been and need to continue being a competitive nation. If not, what sets us apart from France other than calling it a Quarter-Pounder and not a Royale with Cheese?
Sorry this was so long... but this sort of thing really ticks me off (and I am an administrator for crying out loud).
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Winning
May 14, 2006 5:46:26 GMT -6
Post by coachjd on May 14, 2006 5:46:26 GMT -6
AMEN Blutarsky!!!!!!!!!!!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Winning
May 14, 2006 6:59:56 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on May 14, 2006 6:59:56 GMT -6
Just like so many things, winning seems to have been put into that "black and white" situation by those who need to find fault or criticize.
I coached once for a guy who was WITHOUT A DOUBT a great guy. He was great to kids, very kind, compassionate, no player (regardless of ability) was made to feel second rate. He made kids feel good about themselves. Though he was certainly good to me, I chose to move on. Of course a year later after his 4th sub-.500 season he was fired.
The guy did everything expected of him EXCEPT win. So of course that was used to get rid of him. Since he left there 5 years ago that school's records have gotten no better and they are getting fewer kids in the program.
I seem to think that it isn't a black and white deal. You can't say winning IS or ISN'T the most critical thing. I agree with the "winning with dignity" thing. I also think that sometimes it's difficult to teach that concept until you've got a little tradition on your side so you can say "this is how we do things around here." I don't discount the "dignity" part of that phrase and I don't discount the "winning" part of the phrase.
I don't have to apologize for any game I've won, and I'm proud of every kid I've coached at the high school or college level over the past 15 years who has stuck with it, given a great effort, worked to make us better, and improved himself along the way.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 7:03:13 GMT -6
Post by swarm2ball on May 14, 2006 7:03:13 GMT -6
This is going to be a great thread! I see where you guys are coming, and you have tremendous points. I tell you what, I was all about winning; I was an ego maniac; I wanted the conference championships and the state titles, but ask yourselves, "Are you using high school kids to succeed YOUR dreams, or are you going to use football to succeed your players dreams."
Another question is WHY DO WE (as coaches) WANT TO WIN? Think deep now, why have we been trained with such a competitive spirit. When WE were playing sports, did we want to win SOOOOO bad so that our teammates gain an advantage in life, maybe because I AM good, my teammates will be noticed and go on to get a scholarship and be successful in life. Or maybe so OUR coach can reach his dreams...yeah thats why we are competitive. HELL NO! It was about ourselves and it is always about ourselves.
What difference is there in January between the team who won the state title, and the team who was blown out in every game? Not much, maybe a plaque and a ring. "Success is never final and failure is never fatal"- what I like to add to that quote is that "the true winners are those who learn from what they did and improve from that mark in life." Winning is not about a state championship and a great record, winning is about building and developing our youth- no matter what our record was. It is a shame to see a high school program win a state championship and get paraded around town, beloved by their community, but in 9 months, there are seniors players who aren't graduating or going to college to REALLY do something with their life.
Two books have changed my life- "Season of Life" and "Wooden on Leadership." We all know about SEASON OF LIFE- if you don't, I am worried about your program and your kids. However, one main ingredient I learned in Wooden's book, was "Pay attention to the minutes and not the hours." I think we as coaches STRESS winning TOO much. As if it IS the only thing. What happens is that when you stress winning, you forget about the important minutes in life. Wooden NEVER mentioned the word "WIN" in his whole career. He did mention frequently about accomplishing what goals we have all personally made and those made as the team (which were never to WIN the TITLE).
This made sense to me. I will be a HC one day and I am preparing myself to focus on those important minutes, because the hours will eventually come. Keep the posts coming!
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Winning
May 14, 2006 7:14:20 GMT -6
Post by seagull73 on May 14, 2006 7:14:20 GMT -6
Not puttting winning at the top of your list would be doing your kids a injustice. If you don't win your message has little meaning. If you preach character and academics and win 2 or 3 games a year no one is listening to you. Win 8 to 10 and the kids know you know what you're talking about.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 9:22:12 GMT -6
Post by groundchuck on May 14, 2006 9:22:12 GMT -6
I hate it when people say it is alright if we lost as long as the kids had fun. That is like going to class and saying it is okay toi flunk the test.
I strive to teach and model character and have fun and make football a postive experience no matter how we do on Friday nights. But like one coach said earlier why not do all these things and go out and try to win.
People get confused and think winning has to be the number one priority. It doesn't. But it needs to be near the top. If winning does not matter why turn on the scoreboard?
[glow=red,2,300]Blutarsky--AMEN BROTHA! AMEN.[/glow]
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Winning
May 14, 2006 9:33:47 GMT -6
Post by coachbw on May 14, 2006 9:33:47 GMT -6
I am not sure where you will all stand on this.
I often tell people that winning isn't important, but making a committment to winning is.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 9:43:03 GMT -6
Post by tothehouse on May 14, 2006 9:43:03 GMT -6
Senator, or should I say, President Blutarsky.....nicely done.
I agree with most everything posted since the original post. Our HC had been at our school for about 20 years (HC for 11). He had won. He had sent players to all levels of college. He had sent players to good jobs. He had made players great community leaders. He helped make great husbands and fathers. And he was getting crapped on at school.
Support for the program was not as good as it could have bee for a program that brought in the most money. Money that is quickly given to other sports (football games average about 5,000 fans at our home games). The football program was (and still is) winning over 80% of its games. If we were 2-8 would people come? Would the other sports have to fundraise more?
Our HC took a look at changing jobs. He went to a place that enlightened him. He went to a place that offered him everything that a coach would need to succeed. The best equipment, weight room facilities, computer software, you name it. You know what they told him??? "WIN". Simple as that. And they were nonchalant about it. This school district's idea was simply, "we are going to give you everything you need to be successful. Whether it's your schedule, hiring good assistants, or having the best assistants, we are going to give it to you". Bottomline is this school district wants to be great in everything. Academics, sure, but they wanted the same in athletics. And they are getting it from all of their sports. Our HC turned down the opportunity, but brought back the philosophy of EXCELLENCE.
So many people say, "Commitment to Excellence" and other "excellence" quotes, but some don't know how to get it. Some think it is football only. I started a thread about how to choose between 5 good players for 3 spots. My saying is, "Everything you do counts". Weight room work, school work, how good of a person are you, how good of a football player are you. Everything that you do will be factored into the decision to play you over another kid. If two players are awesome athletes, but one is tardy all the time to class or a butthead to a teacher...it is simple...the other guy is playing.
There are tons of ways people can WIN that don't have to be on a scoreboard. That is my final point here today. When you go to a job interview you are trying to WIN. We you are trying to meet and get to know a girl you are trying to WIN. When you study in school you are trying to get a scholarship (academic) to a college. You are trying to BEAT OUT other students from around the world. You can be nice, have great character traits, be a great person, help your neighbors and community with giving of youself and do fine in life.
Who would you take if you (a president of a company) had two identical applicants that do the stuff mention before (smart, good character, help in the community) to handle a huge job for your company? Both played sports, but one, as you look at the resume and ask questions, never played on a winning team and the other came from a team that barely lost a game ever. I would take the guy who won because he is used to being excellent. The other guy might be great, but it might take him time understanding excellence.
Maybe my analogy is not that great, but I think it is extremely important to be part of a program that wins. BTW Swarm....good point about Wooden not saying the word win. It doesn't need to be said because all of the hard work, in all facets of the game and life, will make the scoreboard turn in your favor.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 10:44:17 GMT -6
Post by swarm2ball on May 14, 2006 10:44:17 GMT -6
Winning is entirely important. Thats a given and we can all agree on it. But it is the process of winning that I have changed my mentality on. All I am saying is that if all you do is focus on winning, you forget the little things. Those little things add up in a year or two and can be the X-factor in being successful both on the field and off.
Fellas, society is regrettably changing. Kids are not going to join our squads and immediately say "COACH...Ok that wall, Yeah I'll run through it right now for ya." They are only going to do whats good for them. They are not going to run through that wall until they trust that you care for them and their teammates care for them. When all you do is focus on winning, all the kids see is a coach who only cares about winning. You may get a handful of kids who may buy into your cause (if your lucky), but those kids who get left in the dust, those are going to be the kids who make or break your team. Focusing on winning will not bring those needed kids "on the fence" to jump on board. It will just make matters worse as we coaches get frustrated with them.
Sure we can talk about coaches who are in college and the NFL and say well they do this and they do that...but that is not reality when compared to HS football. And there may be those fortunate who are part of a big HS program who continually win, and that is great. Personally, give me a 2-10 team, not a 12-0 team. Show me a coach who turned around a losing program, I do not care about a coach who took over a winning program. See how they did it. The foundation in this day and age is relationships that build trust and respect, and then you can do what you want with the team when they have bought in.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 11:04:04 GMT -6
Post by bulldog on May 14, 2006 11:04:04 GMT -6
I guess I should quit coaching. My team went 5-4-1 last year and 5-5 the year before that. We had some fun along the way, but we certainly did not enjoy losing. We played every game to win and my kids competed hard. In my judgement, we were the second-best team (athletically) in every one of those 20 games except maybe 2 where we were fairly equal. In our league, every single team has had at least (1) D1 scholarship in the last 2 years and a couple of teams have several every year. My team has had zero in my 5 years at the school.
We have ZERO patsies on our schedule, no easy wins. I'll bet not everyone who preaches winning can say that . If you have 3 or 4 easy wins every year and only have to compete in a few, it is much easier than if you have to REALLY COMPETE in all 10.
We don't stress winning within our program. We stress doing the things it takes to win. We stress 'winning' each play. We stress hard work. We stress execution. We teach fundamentals. The coaches put in a lot of time trying to out-coach our opponents. The coaches want to win as much as any group of coaches that I have ever been around.
I have been exceptionally proud of my kids after a loss against a superior opponent. And I have told them so. I have told them that they showed great character and poise in the way that they battled. I have told my first-year, third-string 5'7", 5.3 second corner who covered the Cal-bound 6'3", 4.5 WR that he did a great job after he 'limited' him to 6 catches and only 1 TD.
We have also stepped-up and beat teams that were much better than us physically. A 'perfect storm' where everything aligned. I find it kind of flattering when I hear an opposing coach yell at his team going into the locker room at half time, 'you guys suck, letting yourselves get beat by these guys!' Sometimes I want to tell their coach, 'by the way, your getting out-coached as well.'
Perspective on winning? If we just preached winning at our kids, we would be setting ourselves up for failure. This is not some PC crap, it is reality. Our kids are what they are. We have changed the culture within our program. We win games handily that used to be close. We play superior opponents close and win a few of those. The kids expect to win and they are incredibly disappointed when they don't. After a game, I am not going to tell them that they are failures because they didn't win. I tell them what we can do to improve (neither effort or desire is EVER the problem). I tell them they are failures if they don't pick themselves up and come back with hard work and a good attitude to go win the next one. They know that I am looking for effort and attitude - the two things they control.
I want our kids to have fun. I want them to achieve above their means. I want them to compete as hard as they can compete. We hold them to a very high standard and they work very hard. Maybe we'll make the playoffs this year, maybe we won't. After a loss - I look at film, not to place blame for the loss, but to see how I can improve - to see what I did wrong - and to see what they did wrong so that I can address our mistakes. I want them to come back the following week and believe that they will win - and I want them to have fun. I guess I AM THE FAILURE. And maybe I should get out of coaching to make way for someone who will stress winning and let the kids know that they are failures if they don't score more points than their opponents. After all that's the way it is in real life - winners win 100% of the time.
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zulu
Freshmen Member
Posts: 38
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Winning
May 14, 2006 11:14:16 GMT -6
Post by zulu on May 14, 2006 11:14:16 GMT -6
Not puttting winning at the top of your list would be doing your kids a injustice. If you don't win your message has little meaning. If you preach character and academics and win 2 or 3 games a year no one is listening to you. Win 8 to 10 and the kids know you know what you're talking about. well said jonathan livingston!!
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Winning
May 14, 2006 11:21:05 GMT -6
Post by groundchuck on May 14, 2006 11:21:05 GMT -6
I am not sure where you will all stand on this. I often tell people that winning isn't important, but making a committment to winning is. Bingo. I think when most of us saying winning is a top priority se mean the committment to prepare to win is important. Winning is of course a by-product of being prepared and committed to winning. I have left jobs not because we were not winning but because the community from the admin down to the parents and kids were not interested in making a committment to winning. We all stress "Winning" in different ways. Bulldog sums it up well too by saying he tells the kids to do what it takes to win. That is all I am trying to get across to my kids. Do what it takes, really committ to it. Then maybe with some luck it will happen. WE all know the only place where "success comes before work is in the dictionary." Can't just talk about winning. Gotta talk about what it takes to be a winner...because the same things it takes to be a winner in sports are most if not all the same things it takes to be a winner in life.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 11:25:13 GMT -6
Post by kcbazooka on May 14, 2006 11:25:13 GMT -6
bulldog - true dat...
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Winning
May 14, 2006 12:36:56 GMT -6
Post by spreadattack on May 14, 2006 12:36:56 GMT -6
This is a good thread. I think what you teach kids by prioritizing a commitment to winning or excelence is to set goals and to figure out how to accomplish them, with class, dignity, and within the rules. If you want to get to a good college, you say you're going to get a 3.5 or a 4.0 and you figure out if you have to study for it, meet with the teacher, etc. I agree, what is the point of playing organized, competitive football if it is not to win? Kids can play touch football every day if that's all that matters. That doesn't mean it will work out, but you set goals, individual and team goals, and if everyone commits you've got a chance to win.
The unfortunate thing about football is it is a zero-sum game, somebody wins and somebody loses and sometimes the coaches/players/schools that "deserve" to win don't. On the other hand once the game starts, it's the same football and same field, same number of players for both sides.
Football is a great sport because you learn that there is no substitute to hard work, if the guy across from you is better than you it will show, and being a poor sport just entices the other team to play harder and target you as an individual. It's a team sport and one guy out of 11 can blow up the whole thing. Win with class and you earn respect, and bare accomplishment is undeniable.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 12:39:34 GMT -6
Post by coachcb on May 14, 2006 12:39:34 GMT -6
Great thread....
I go into every season with the drive and desire to win, but it isn't the first or only thing I emphasize with my kids. I am a firm believer in the follwing saying-
"The will to win isn't important, its the will to prepare to win".
I am basically going to sum up alot of people's posts with a quick example-
We were slated to play a terrible team one week, a squad was low in numbers and low in talent. We were coming off of a big win against a great team so the kids got lazy and arrogant. The entire week was sloppy, it seemed like I was on someone about being in first gear each and every practice. The only thing that sets me off with my kids is laziness, its the only thing that will turn me into a yeller. We went into the game that Friday and beat the hell out of the other squad. Did I hand out praise after the game- HELL NO!! They displayed the sloppiest performance I had ever seen and I was furious. We won the game by a large margin, but we were terrible- visably lazy. I told them them right there and then that I want to win, but I want to see heart, effort and discipline first and foremost. The only thing that gets you ahead in this world is hard work and dedication and this is something that I want each and every one of my players to learn. The kids responded to it, we improved a great deal and finished up in the top of the league.
I coach because I want to teach my kids the value of dedication, desire and discipline- winning is product of bringing all of those things together. I want my kids to learn to that the only thing in life that is respected and will pay off consistently is hard work.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 13:29:45 GMT -6
Post by senatorblutarsky on May 14, 2006 13:29:45 GMT -6
I guess I should quit coaching. My team went 5-4-1 last year and 5-5 the year before that.
Bulldog, the above is about the only part of your post I disagree with... you made some great points. "Winning" is what we strive for... coachbw, and Vince Lombardi both echo my sentiments when they say that it is the "will to prepare to win" that is important.
We went 5-5 in my senior year in HS. That was the only non-losing record I played on until my senior year in college we went 6-5. I played on 1-9 teams, an 0-10-1 team... but in every instance I thought the point was to get better and do everything you could to help the team win.
In my senior year in HS, we lost to the #1 team in state 18-14... we were up 14-11 with less than 2 minutes left. I did not take that as a moral victory- looking back though, I see it was- my old HS had a 70 year losing tradition- since I've graduated they have been in the playoffs several times and were state runner-up twice. That was the first time in HS we did not accept games like that as "moral victories"... and by not accepting it as one, it became one.
There are certainly more important things than the final score when it comes to being a HS coach- but I think we miss out on a lot of those things if we don't prepare, practice, workout, run, implement strategies, implement team building, etc. in an effort to give ourselves the best chance to win (and that chance might be 20%... up from .01%).
This is what I tell our players every year: You beat 40% of your competition by outworking them You beat 30% of your competition by being a team comprised of people who have character and principle. You compete with the other 30% in a dogfight in the free-enterprise system. We cover that at the pre-season parent meeting. It is the only time during the year I ever mention "winning". Really, we are talking about work-ethic, and being good people more than anything.
Obviously, these numbers are a generalization and an oversimplification... but our players buy it completely (after all, coaching is psychology in many respects)
If we have no talent, we will not win the last 30%. There are years I know that we will not win those games without Divine Intervention... So we focus on the work ethic and character aspects. We will work on a plan that I think may help us do better in one of those seemingly unwinnable games, and will do all that we can to win...even though we will probably lose those ones.
We have ZERO patsies on our schedule, no easy wins. I'll bet not everyone who preaches winning can say that . If you have 3 or 4 easy wins every year and only have to compete in a few, it is much easier than if you have to REALLY COMPETE in all 10.
I've been in that situation... at my previous school (similar to your situation, many 2-8 or worse years in history) we had what I consider some great years ending at 6-5 (5-0 league, 1-4 non-league, 0-1 playoffs), because we played a tough non-conf. schedule... and a competitive conference schedule.
"Winning" in the grander scheme of things is relative to where you are. Bill Snyder did a tremendous job at Kansas State. His winning percentage (even if you discount the first 3 years) was not as good as Frank Solich's record at Nebraska.
If you go 5-5 (or 0-10) and do everything you can to help the players win, they will get all of the lessons about adversity, work ethic, trust, etc., then your program is on the right track and is doing a great service to the players.
My point is that one only strives to be 5-5 or average if they were 0-10 or 1-9. The push for mediocrity across this nation scares and angers me. I am fortunate that we have had several good years... 5-5 would not be good for us considering where we have been lately. It may happen, but it will not be our goal. The attitude of NCLB seems to punish those who have been successful while it rewards those who are slowly rising to the middle of the bell-curve. The prevailing philosophy in education is much like determining state playoff entries by how much progress one made over the previous year. In that case a neighboring school who went 5-4 in 05, compared to 1-8 in 04 would have made the playoff over us (for dropping from 9-0 to 8-1).
For me, it all boils down to this prayer by St. Francis of Assisi, which we cover several times throughout the season:
"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
If we have the courage, and give our players the courage to change those things we can... then we are winners, as teams and people.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 13:40:19 GMT -6
Post by senatorblutarsky on May 14, 2006 13:40:19 GMT -6
If we have the courage, and give our players the courage to change those things we can... then we are winners, as teams and people.
...and bulldog, from what you said in your post, it sounds like you are doing exactly that.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 13:49:10 GMT -6
Post by jhanawa on May 14, 2006 13:49:10 GMT -6
House, what kind of background does your AD come from that he would be disapointed in a coach of competitive sports emphasising winning? Sounds like a politically correct moron. IMO, he needs to put his sandles and tiedye's on and load up the VW bus for another destination (Of course he won't have to go far in Kalifornia....lol). I watched your dvd and was even more impressed by the character, team building and discipline within the "program" than the product on the field, which is saying something based upon your on field success. Your staff has developed a good group of young men there. Stay the course, your doing it how its supposed to be done. By the way, nice job on the video.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 14:10:57 GMT -6
Post by phantom on May 14, 2006 14:10:57 GMT -6
I've struggled with how to respond to this thread so it must be a good one. IMO, winnin should be the highest priority in every program because all of the important lessons- work ethic, teamwork, tenacity, resilience, etc.- come as a result of having a result of having a group of people working for a common goal. Fun? I was an OL for most of my career and, call me crazy, but ramming my face into a guy 40 times a game wasn't as much fun to me as it sounds. The fun in football isn't necessarily in the game but in the relationship between the people in the program. I had an interesting and instructive playing career. We won three league championships in founr years in HS, then my college team won seven games during my three varsity seasons (I'm old. We had freshman ball). Guess which was more fun? I'm not saying that losing makes you an abject failure as a human being. Sometimes the other guy is just better or the Football Gods decided to dick you that night. I've seen teams finish 4-6 and admired the job that the coaches and players did given their talent level. I've seen 0-10 teams that never quit and had the greatest respect for them. Winning, in the long run, isn't a big deal. Hell, who remembers what our record was in 1997? The answer is the guys on that team. The reason that they remember is because of the effort that they put into achieving that record, whatever it was (No, I don't remember either). That's where the lessons are learned. I woldn't be interested in being a part ofa program where winning wasn't important.
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Winning
May 14, 2006 15:09:45 GMT -6
Post by coachcb on May 14, 2006 15:09:45 GMT -6
I'll give you an example of what happens when the administration doesn't take winning seriously-
There's a school in one division lower than us that's won 5 games in five years, their best record in the decade has been 3-7. The activity director was roomates with the head coach in college-the guy's job is has never been in jeopardy. They are flat out terrible, year in and year out. They run an option heavy Delaware Wing attack and its incredible how bad their footwork is- they look like they practice about an hour a week. Their numbers are lower than teams from schools half their size and they are the joke of the conference. The worst part about this situation is the kids themselves- the ones that come out bust their asses on the field. They hit all game long and they don't seem to ever give up- even when they're down big. The problem isn't just that winning isn't a priority, its the fact that the administration has allowed this situation evolve. They have allowed this head coach to blame the lack of success on low numbers, even though his terrible coaching has caused it. The kids that come out now play extremely hard and with heart, but they're not being taught the skills they need to win.
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