AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Letter from the Publisher

X's &O's have hearts and souls.
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

One day early in September, I was involved in a conversation that both reminded me of one of my favorite feel good "heck yeah... he's doing it right" stories of last summer, and compelled me to make a mental note to remember to share it with you.

A very good friend of mine has a son who is currently a freshman player at one of the country's top football schools. This kid is a player and was recruited by virtually every school in the nation. At practice in August he quickly showed promise. The staff was raving about him, and all of the state's papers heralded him as the next "great one." Needless to say my friend had a hard time keeping his buttons from popping off of his ever-swelling chest.

All during pre-season the boy was running second-team. He graded out great in every practice and scrimmage. He appeared to be vying for some serious playing time putting all plans for a red-shirt year apparently on hold.

The youngster was on the roster for the first game and, dressed out with the team. In a word, everything was great.

The next week all went well at practice, no words of discouragement, no negativity at all. Then on Thursday, the travel list was posted for that weekend's huge game, and low and behold his name was not on the list. No warning from the coaching staff, no dropping down on the depth chart, no fewer reps in practice... no nothing.

Obviously, the boy was devastated. He called his Dad and did not know "what he had done wrong." The young man wanted to come home. He felt misled and cheated, but mostly confused. Here he is, an 18-year old man-child thousands of miles away from home, facing adversity, and the worst enemy of all: self-doubt and uncertainty.

My friend called his son's position coach and immediately told the coach that he was "not interfering." He simply wanted to tell the coach that the young man was upset, and the last thing the father wanted was for his son to become a quitter.

The position coach was totally caught off guard. "He has done absolutely nothing wrong," was the coach's response. "We love him." The coach went on to explain because of the young man's advanced skill, but young age (he turned 18 only days before reporting), the head coach really wanted to red-shirt him.

After hearing this my friend very politely told the coach it might be a good idea for someone to explain that to his son. He was certain his son would understand; he expected to red-shirt when he arrived on campus. The coach agreed. The conversation took place and now all is well.

But this story made me think about how poor the communication was in this instance (and at one of the best programs imaginable). And if it is bad here, stories like this one must happen time after time each and every season. How many kids are lost because of poor communication? I know coaches are busy watching film, planning practices, and working on schemes with intricate X's and O's. Yet all of those things are meaningless without communication.

It is a fundamental principle of good management to effectively communicate orders, plans and goals with employees. Coaches need to remember that diagrams represent people—young men— oftentimes whose self-worth and sense of accomplishment are defined by their performance on the field. Coaches cannot forget this. The easy part is drawing up plays. The hard part is getting in touch with each and every one of your players.

The story of my friend also reminded me of the wonderful move Gary Barnett made upon taking the Colorado job. He immediately set out to individually meet with the parents of every single one of his players. He wanted to go to their homes, see how they grew up, and learn about them from the people who know them the best. What a great idea. Coach Barnett knows what everyone should: X's and O's have hearts and souls.

Sincerely yours,

Barry Terranova
Publisher






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved