Post by cmow5 on Oct 29, 2007 1:09:27 GMT -6
Why I Coach Football
Why I Coach Football
Added 1/30/2007
By O'Dorgan
for BigBlueInteractive.com
NOTE: The following is a presentation by Coach O'Dorgan that was written for a clinic a few years ago. The clinic's organizers told him that they had a very high number of attendees who were first-time coaches and they wanted him to address the subject of "Why do you want to be a coach?"
I coach football.
August 2001 saw the beginning of a promising year. We were young, but we had some returning linemen, a smattering of juniors and seniors, three very talented sophomores and the best freshman quarterback prospect I've ever coached.
I was coaching linebackers, running backs and was the defensive coordinator.
Our head coach was new, but he had been on the staff for three years and had decided to run the same offense as the old coach. Our former head coach had moved on to a larger school after a very successful run with us that included two sectional titles and advancing to the semi-finals in the state the previous year.
We won our first game handily despite some grievous coaching errors by our new head coach. Being a self aware individual, he critiqued his performance and made some game-day changes in responsibilities. He gave me the latitude to make most of the critical decisions, including when to punt, or when to go for it, full responsibility for time management, and when and when not to call time outs. I could tell he was going to be a good coach and he used solid judgment by allowing his most senior assistant to assume some of his duties.
He had done a fine job calling plays, but he had made some very questionable decisions on managing the game and cost us dearly in field position. As many young coaches do, he had gotten caught up in the excitement and responded poorly.
We started our second week uneventfully by reviewing our game tape and outlining the upcoming game plan for the team. Our opponent was a powerhouse and we were outmanned. We also knew that if we could play with them we would have a team that could make some noise in the post season.
I was convinced we could hold them to three scores, but concerned over our ability to move the ball against their defense.
Tuesday, September 11, 2001...
Schools closed early that day. Businesses were like ghost towns by late afternoon. People rushed home to be with family and watch the news coverage in shock.
School was canceled the following day, but we contacted our kids and had them come in for practice at the normal time. We wanted to maintain contact with them and assure them that their world had not come to an end.
Our kids were scared and on reflection we made the right decision. They needed their daily routine to continue. They needed structure to reinforce their hope that life was going to go on.
On Thursday morning school reopened.
The officials from Section V met and decided that the weekend high school games should go on as scheduled. The games would count and any team that elected not to play would forfeit.
I don't recall if anyone forfeited locally, but a few leagues outside of section V canceled all events.
Thursday Evening:
It is our custom for our last weekly practice to be held at night, under the lights. We go on the game field in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts. We run through our pre-game warm up drills, then a walk through of the offensive and defensive game plans, a special teams review, then we meet in our home end zone with the team under the goal posts.
We follow that up with a team meal that includes parents. It's a wonderful way to build team unity and include the parents.
I remember how eerily quiet it was that night. No traffic on the highways, no planes over head (we are in a high air traffic corridor). The field lights were the only lights visible for miles.
The world had taken a pause.
The team grouped under the goal posts all on one knee.
As our head coach reviewed the schedule for the following day and reminded our players to get their rest, to behave like gentlemen the next day in school, to be focused on the task at hand, etc....
I stood back and scanned the faces of the boys, wondering how many of them would end up half a world away fighting a war that they didn't understand. It was profoundly depressing.
The head coach turned to me and asked me if I had anything to say.
"Not tonight, coach. I will address the team tomorrow after the game. The time for talk has ended."
Friday:
This is a small school district in a rural area. The district is made up of two small villages and the surrounding farmlands. It's quiet and peaceful. People are for the most part, friendly.
They like their football and we draw decent crowds.
This night was different. The crowd was huge. Yes, it was a big game early in a season of promise, but the crowd size showed just how right the decision was to play this night.
People had spent the week holed up in their houses still horrified at the week's events and they needed something...something that would indicate that life was going on. Something that proved to the terrorists that we were not going to cower forever.
We had a playoff caliber opponent and the atmosphere was playoff caliber.
They were good.
It was obvious in the first four minutes that it was going to be a battle for either team to move the ball. Our defense was playing with fire. We were outmatched up front, but our linebackers and secondary were coming up and closing off lanes as a unit.
Late in the 2nd quarter we got them in a 3rd-and-12. I called a free safety blitz and we hit the quarterback just as he let go of the ball. Our cornerback picked it and took it the distance. We missed the extra point and led 6-0.
Unfortunately, they ran the ensuing kickoff back, kicked the extra point and in seconds we trailed 7-6.
The second half brought more of the same. We were tiring late in the game and their halfback finally broke off a long run. We tackled him at the 5-yard line.
Somehow, we held them for three downs and they elected to kick a field goal.
10-6 with three minutes to go.
Our young head coach was calm, poised and efficient. He had learned a lesson in week one and it showed.
We drove from our own thirty to the 15-yard line before time ran out.
We lost, but we knew that we had a team.
Post Game:
It has been and remains our custom, that following the handshake with our opponent, we assemble our kids at the 40-yard line in the center of the field, with their backs to the score board. We preach that during the game, you don't watch the score, you play each play hard and the score will take care of itself. When we win, the head coach will tell them to turn around, "go ahead, look at the score now...you earned it".
When we lose, we ignore it.
I'd been on a sideline several years. Won a lot of big games, lost a lot of heartbreakers. I'd never seen a team so emotionally spent. They were all crying. Some were sobbing uncontrollably. The emotional roller coaster ride of the week had taken its toll.
The head coach praised their effort and told them the season was just beginning and not to let this one loss affect them. He spoke for a few minutes before asking each staff member if they had anything to add.
I always speak last. It's a privilege that has been given to me because I'm an old goat and I've been here forever.
I'll be as accurate as I can with what I said that night. I feel it is the finest moment of my coaching career and it has nothing to do with football.
Gentlemen, that was a fine effort. I'm proud to be your coach. You showed me more heart, courage and guts than I thought possible.
But, we're not going to talk about the game anymore. It was just one game and our upcoming games are more important than the one you just played.
I want to talk about love.
(as you can guess, this caught their attention)
I want you all to think about the events of this week and think about all the people who perished in the terrorist attacks. Many of them knew that they were not going to survive.
Think about it...many of the passengers on the airliner knew that they had been hijacked and that they were going to die.
What did they do? They took the time to call home and as their last act, they told their families that they loved them. Knowing that they were dying, they took the time to let their families know that simple fact…that they loved them.
The people in those buildings called home...they called home and told their family that they loved them.
I want you all to do the same thing tonight. I want you to go home and tell your mom, your dad, your sister, your brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends...anyone you care about...I want you to go home and tell them that you love them.
You tell your favorite teacher what he means to you. You tell your buddy how much his friendship has helped. Whoever is important to you, you tell them.
I know that I learned that lesson this week and I'm not going to let another moment pass without telling YOU how much you mean to me. I love you all. I love your heart, your pride and your work ethic. I wish you were all my sons.
Forget the {censored} game.
We lost the game, but we won a bigger battle by playing football the way it should be played when other people were sitting home cowering.
I might not ever get this chance again, so I'm telling you again:
I love you all.
Monday, me and coach will be here ready to work. Make sure you're here too and make sure you're ready to work because we're not losing another {censored} game this year.
I got more phone calls from parents that week than I'd gotten in many years.
The school superintendent called me and asked me to address the teachers in an assembly and tell them what I'd said.
I don't know how many of you know this, but I'm not a teacher. I didn't even go to college.
I'm one of the few coaches left in NYS in the public school system that is uncertified.
Despite this he wanted me to address the teachers because in his eyes, I had taught the best lesson a teacher could teach.
I was flattered but declined because the moment was a personal one between me, the rest of the staff and those kids.
Throughout all the years, I got more from the kids than they ever got from me.
That's why I coach. I'm a selfish bastard and I need it
Why I Coach Football
Added 1/30/2007
By O'Dorgan
for BigBlueInteractive.com
NOTE: The following is a presentation by Coach O'Dorgan that was written for a clinic a few years ago. The clinic's organizers told him that they had a very high number of attendees who were first-time coaches and they wanted him to address the subject of "Why do you want to be a coach?"
I coach football.
August 2001 saw the beginning of a promising year. We were young, but we had some returning linemen, a smattering of juniors and seniors, three very talented sophomores and the best freshman quarterback prospect I've ever coached.
I was coaching linebackers, running backs and was the defensive coordinator.
Our head coach was new, but he had been on the staff for three years and had decided to run the same offense as the old coach. Our former head coach had moved on to a larger school after a very successful run with us that included two sectional titles and advancing to the semi-finals in the state the previous year.
We won our first game handily despite some grievous coaching errors by our new head coach. Being a self aware individual, he critiqued his performance and made some game-day changes in responsibilities. He gave me the latitude to make most of the critical decisions, including when to punt, or when to go for it, full responsibility for time management, and when and when not to call time outs. I could tell he was going to be a good coach and he used solid judgment by allowing his most senior assistant to assume some of his duties.
He had done a fine job calling plays, but he had made some very questionable decisions on managing the game and cost us dearly in field position. As many young coaches do, he had gotten caught up in the excitement and responded poorly.
We started our second week uneventfully by reviewing our game tape and outlining the upcoming game plan for the team. Our opponent was a powerhouse and we were outmanned. We also knew that if we could play with them we would have a team that could make some noise in the post season.
I was convinced we could hold them to three scores, but concerned over our ability to move the ball against their defense.
Tuesday, September 11, 2001...
Schools closed early that day. Businesses were like ghost towns by late afternoon. People rushed home to be with family and watch the news coverage in shock.
School was canceled the following day, but we contacted our kids and had them come in for practice at the normal time. We wanted to maintain contact with them and assure them that their world had not come to an end.
Our kids were scared and on reflection we made the right decision. They needed their daily routine to continue. They needed structure to reinforce their hope that life was going to go on.
On Thursday morning school reopened.
The officials from Section V met and decided that the weekend high school games should go on as scheduled. The games would count and any team that elected not to play would forfeit.
I don't recall if anyone forfeited locally, but a few leagues outside of section V canceled all events.
Thursday Evening:
It is our custom for our last weekly practice to be held at night, under the lights. We go on the game field in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts. We run through our pre-game warm up drills, then a walk through of the offensive and defensive game plans, a special teams review, then we meet in our home end zone with the team under the goal posts.
We follow that up with a team meal that includes parents. It's a wonderful way to build team unity and include the parents.
I remember how eerily quiet it was that night. No traffic on the highways, no planes over head (we are in a high air traffic corridor). The field lights were the only lights visible for miles.
The world had taken a pause.
The team grouped under the goal posts all on one knee.
As our head coach reviewed the schedule for the following day and reminded our players to get their rest, to behave like gentlemen the next day in school, to be focused on the task at hand, etc....
I stood back and scanned the faces of the boys, wondering how many of them would end up half a world away fighting a war that they didn't understand. It was profoundly depressing.
The head coach turned to me and asked me if I had anything to say.
"Not tonight, coach. I will address the team tomorrow after the game. The time for talk has ended."
Friday:
This is a small school district in a rural area. The district is made up of two small villages and the surrounding farmlands. It's quiet and peaceful. People are for the most part, friendly.
They like their football and we draw decent crowds.
This night was different. The crowd was huge. Yes, it was a big game early in a season of promise, but the crowd size showed just how right the decision was to play this night.
People had spent the week holed up in their houses still horrified at the week's events and they needed something...something that would indicate that life was going on. Something that proved to the terrorists that we were not going to cower forever.
We had a playoff caliber opponent and the atmosphere was playoff caliber.
They were good.
It was obvious in the first four minutes that it was going to be a battle for either team to move the ball. Our defense was playing with fire. We were outmatched up front, but our linebackers and secondary were coming up and closing off lanes as a unit.
Late in the 2nd quarter we got them in a 3rd-and-12. I called a free safety blitz and we hit the quarterback just as he let go of the ball. Our cornerback picked it and took it the distance. We missed the extra point and led 6-0.
Unfortunately, they ran the ensuing kickoff back, kicked the extra point and in seconds we trailed 7-6.
The second half brought more of the same. We were tiring late in the game and their halfback finally broke off a long run. We tackled him at the 5-yard line.
Somehow, we held them for three downs and they elected to kick a field goal.
10-6 with three minutes to go.
Our young head coach was calm, poised and efficient. He had learned a lesson in week one and it showed.
We drove from our own thirty to the 15-yard line before time ran out.
We lost, but we knew that we had a team.
Post Game:
It has been and remains our custom, that following the handshake with our opponent, we assemble our kids at the 40-yard line in the center of the field, with their backs to the score board. We preach that during the game, you don't watch the score, you play each play hard and the score will take care of itself. When we win, the head coach will tell them to turn around, "go ahead, look at the score now...you earned it".
When we lose, we ignore it.
I'd been on a sideline several years. Won a lot of big games, lost a lot of heartbreakers. I'd never seen a team so emotionally spent. They were all crying. Some were sobbing uncontrollably. The emotional roller coaster ride of the week had taken its toll.
The head coach praised their effort and told them the season was just beginning and not to let this one loss affect them. He spoke for a few minutes before asking each staff member if they had anything to add.
I always speak last. It's a privilege that has been given to me because I'm an old goat and I've been here forever.
I'll be as accurate as I can with what I said that night. I feel it is the finest moment of my coaching career and it has nothing to do with football.
Gentlemen, that was a fine effort. I'm proud to be your coach. You showed me more heart, courage and guts than I thought possible.
But, we're not going to talk about the game anymore. It was just one game and our upcoming games are more important than the one you just played.
I want to talk about love.
(as you can guess, this caught their attention)
I want you all to think about the events of this week and think about all the people who perished in the terrorist attacks. Many of them knew that they were not going to survive.
Think about it...many of the passengers on the airliner knew that they had been hijacked and that they were going to die.
What did they do? They took the time to call home and as their last act, they told their families that they loved them. Knowing that they were dying, they took the time to let their families know that simple fact…that they loved them.
The people in those buildings called home...they called home and told their family that they loved them.
I want you all to do the same thing tonight. I want you to go home and tell your mom, your dad, your sister, your brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends...anyone you care about...I want you to go home and tell them that you love them.
You tell your favorite teacher what he means to you. You tell your buddy how much his friendship has helped. Whoever is important to you, you tell them.
I know that I learned that lesson this week and I'm not going to let another moment pass without telling YOU how much you mean to me. I love you all. I love your heart, your pride and your work ethic. I wish you were all my sons.
Forget the {censored} game.
We lost the game, but we won a bigger battle by playing football the way it should be played when other people were sitting home cowering.
I might not ever get this chance again, so I'm telling you again:
I love you all.
Monday, me and coach will be here ready to work. Make sure you're here too and make sure you're ready to work because we're not losing another {censored} game this year.
I got more phone calls from parents that week than I'd gotten in many years.
The school superintendent called me and asked me to address the teachers in an assembly and tell them what I'd said.
I don't know how many of you know this, but I'm not a teacher. I didn't even go to college.
I'm one of the few coaches left in NYS in the public school system that is uncertified.
Despite this he wanted me to address the teachers because in his eyes, I had taught the best lesson a teacher could teach.
I was flattered but declined because the moment was a personal one between me, the rest of the staff and those kids.
Throughout all the years, I got more from the kids than they ever got from me.
That's why I coach. I'm a selfish bastard and I need it
