"im NOT an Xs and OS guy"...what does that mean?

never heard it from anyone i have coached around



some of them might not have been that is for sure
but none of them were stupid enough to say that out loud

I would venture it could mean that a coach is more interested in building player relationships, making sure the boys develop into men, teaching values and ethics etc, than drawing up how to block the down play vs. an under front.

It could also mean he is more interested in blocking and tackling than in drawing up lines on a white board. He might be a coach who feels that WHATEVER the X'S AND O'S that are drawn up are...that blocking or tackling is vastly more important.

maybe , but arent we all expected to do those things???

Funny... I actually said that today (talking with our girls BB coach... many complaints...l long story- no need to go in to that here... love that part about being A.D. ).

I told him that about myself (then I elaborated) meaning:

The important things are: team unity, team chemistry, team workmanship... basically THE TEAM. Our girls are having a problem with that and he keeps trying new schemes, but the issue is that the girls are catty and do not work well together. I said that about ourselves (my team this year), because we will run the same play over and over, be boring and do what we need to do to get by (Win). With a bunch like his (or ours... that lacks talent and leadership), have strong team unity, be disciplined, eliminate mistakes and be patient and force the opponent to become impatient, thus leading to their mistakes (Sun Tzu Art of War type stuff).

We had a Freshman QB starting on the varsity, another freshman starter, and 4 sophs. starting... we had to be pretty vanilla and we were, so that is what I meant by that. I knew a "new scheme" was not the answer... making leaders out of our seniors, making our freshmen confident, making our team strong by a lot of leadership/goal setting type of activities WAS the answer.

Probably not the right way to summarize all that... but I'll admit I did say it (though I consider myself consumed with Xs/Os... I don't think I'm very good, as the only person I've ever outcoached was me).

Where I come from it means you´ll soon be out of job.

Just an aside--I would much rather work for a coach who admits he isn't an x and o guy (and concentrates on his strengths, be it program development etc. ), than to work with a guy who thinks he is an X and O guy,

"Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective."--- Sun Tzu

I say some pretty dumb things a lot (I'll have you think they were all on purpose... all part of my grand scheme).

^{.it struck a nerve with me when I heard a coach say that. His team was 1-9.}

THAT certainly doesn't help my argument... especially the 1-9 part.

Obviously context and tone have a lot to do with meaning.

A 13-0 guy says it... not much of a problem (probably many other coaches will decide that schemes are just not important and will change their philosophy).

0-9 guy says it.... IDIOT!

(Not sure what I'm accomplishing on this thread... but after the day here... I need to unwind a bit)

Not sure if "not an x and o guy" means they are lost in the x and o department. It could mean that is not what they enjoy most about football. For some coaches, the deciding factor in a job might be that they know they will be helping a certain segment of the population that needs it. For others, it might be that they get to run the dbl wing offense.

...or it could mean that they REALLY ARE LOST in the xs and os department and:

dont know how to veer block
dont know how to diagram or teach a trap blocking scheme
dont do anything other than base block...everything
use defense of the week and offense of the week...

....know what I am saying?

I just cant imagine being a head coach and not having a good understanding of the tactics we are using on the field? How would you like to go to war with a General in command who is clueless in military tactics? I dunno, it just struck a nerve...maybe I misinterpreted it...actually, I do recall one of my former bosses saying to me that he was big into reading about motivation and the mental approach to coaching athletes, sports psychology....he was pretty lost when it came to xs and os....and it kinda showed. lol. I know for me personally, Im always trying to learn what other offenses are designed to do and what other defenses are designed to do, also I personally think that it takes a couple of years of running something to really get it when it comes to all of its strengths and weaknesses.

good discussion actually...no offense meant to those who arent xs and os guys, just help me understand what it means to you . That is all...

I think there are guys who will modestly say " its not my strong suit" or whatever...but to not be "into it" is sort of an alarm to me...I know there are many assistants who are satisfied with being assistants and being rah rah "just hit somebody" types...and thats fine, theres a place for them...but when i hear a hc say that its not his thing...stunning to me. Time will tell if he can be successful in his methods. so far...eh, not so good.

i guess this goes to show how awesome you really are and how much everyone else sucks.

Coachd5085 has the best post here. If you aren't sure of his meaning, ask him. He may have a great reason for saying (I'd say unlikely, but you never know) or he may truely have a {censored} poor reason. Going back to Calande's orginal post, I've never heard that line as a reason to get out of going to clinics.

what?

cyberstalker, you are so right. I didnt realize that is just what I was saying! I do rock.