The Last Rep

New Season
by: Aaron S. Lee
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Practice scheduling is becoming more important with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top head coaches from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning their industry.

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What is a coach’s mindset entering a new season?

“Coaches in Division III are at a disadvantage because we do not have spring football. I am always amazed with the sport of football because there is so much to learn, like the kicking game, the offense and defense. We get about 27 practices, but basketball, baseball and everyone else gets twice that much practice time. In fact, let’s look at basketball ... you can wait a minute before tip off and pull a basketball player from the stands and he could do pretty good offensively if he has some experience and talent, but try doing that with football. I don’t care who the guy is, no one could come out of the stands and play offense. Yet we are expected to get our teams ready year in and year out, and we do.” – John Gagliardi, St. John’s (Minn.)

“Before the season starts my staff and I try to get away and recharge our batteries ... I kick them out of the office during the month of July. When we come back we are refreshed and ready to go.” – Joe Tiller, Purdue

“For us it is trying to tackle a very tough non-conference schedule. This year we open up in Norman against Oklahoma, and then we play Baylor, Air Force and Arkansas. We have won our conference (Sun Belt) the past two years, but we have also survived our non-conference schedule relatively injury free. Although we have not been as successful in those games as we would like, we have gotten more competitive in those games.” – Darrell Dickey, North Texas

“We always have a slogan before the start of every season that says, ‘We must get the leading lady.’ It is an old baseball cliche` that I used when I was a high school baseball coach. We always felt that if we got the first batter out in the inning then we could have a good inning ... it is the same with football. If you win the first game, then you have a chance for a good season. If we lose the first game, then you have to make sure the team understands that one game does not make a season.” – Joe Taylor, Hampton

“You want your team to be rested. You want them to be jumpy coming out of the blocks like a racehorse. They should be excited and energized at the thought of the first game. I believe practice should always be about quality not quantity.” – Charlie Weatherbie, UL-Monroe

How will the new NCAA rules on two-a-day practices affect your program?

“Well, I hope it doesn’t affect us at all. It is going to be quite different than in years past. I don’t think that you can condition your players as well for the upcoming season without being able to have consecutive two-a-day practices, but we will see ... we have to fully condition before we get to camp.” – Howard Schnellenberger, FAU

Do you have a special routine that you do to prepare for the new season?

“I’ve done this so long, getting ready for football is no different than waiting for spring, summer or fall, it just rolls around and it’s here.” – John Gagliardi, St. John’s (Minn.)

“The week before the first game we divide the team up and have a full scrimmage with the officials, the band, the fans ... it is like a game before the game. The biggest improvement on your team is between the first and second game, so the scrimmage helps us get a head start.” – Joe Taylor, Hampton

Do you have any rituals that you perform before a game?

"I like to BBQ at home with my wife and daughter and watch the Thursday night football game on ESPN. I try to sit back and enjoy the game, but I have actually seen a play and run to my offensive coordinator the next day to talk about it.” – Darrell Dickey, North Texas

“I take a moment to walk around the field and pray.” – Charlie Weatherbie, UL-Monroe

How important is it to win the first game of the season?

“I think coming out of the blocks ahead is the key to any race. If you don’t win, you have to constantly reevaluate your team. You have to have a short memory because you don’t have a lot of time to spend sulking about a loss or celebrating a victory.” – Charlie Weatherbie, UL-Monroe

What happens if you start the season with a loss?

“It is very important to have success and to see that the team is improving. Even losses early in the season can help tremendously in teaching your team to improve. We are honest with our team and we tell them that if we play very, very well and the ball bounces our way we have a chance to beat anybody in college football ... some weeks that task is much more difficult than others. The thing that I am most proud of is that we play hard each Saturday to put ourselves in a position to win.” – Darrell Dickey, North Texas

What advice can you give another coach?

“I don’t see how anyone involved in coaching can not enjoy communicating with young people. To be successful, obviously you have to have good talent, but you must also have a good relationship with your team and players. Through communication your players can learn anything you can teach them. The military has been plucking kids off the farm for years and teaching them to fly planes and drive tanks with absolutely no previous experience. So teaching our kids the sport of football is easy.” – John Gagliardi, St. John’s (Minn.)

“There are two things that need to be accomplished going into the season. First, you need to be in better physical condition than any of your opponents and in order to get them to do that you have to work them very hard and long. They have to be better prepared, which is also accomplished by long hard work. Secondly, on game day you have to make the calls that will allow them to play at their very best. At FAU, we like to attack on offense ... we try to use every opportunity to score points and on defense we want to force our opponents to work for scoring opportunities.” – Howard Schnellenberger, FAU

“Be as organized as you possibly can ... organization is the key to success and achieving credibility from coaches, players, members of the media, boosters, etc.” – Joe Tiller, Purdue

“Coaching is a great profession. The most important thing is that your players are going to look at you to see how you react during the different situations that come up, like the good times, bad times, dropped passes and bad calls ... your behavior will have a great impact on how they perform and how they carry themselves.” – Darrell Dickey, North Texas

“Establish a philosophy. You are going to see a lot of different coaching methods at clinics, but decide for yourself what it is that you want to do as a football coach and the means by which you can attain your goals.” – Joe Taylor, Hampton

“One of the things that I learned the last couple of years is that the players don’t care what you know until they know that you care. The more time you can spend with your players, the more you can develop a relationship with your players ... once that is established your players will run through walls for you.” – Charlie Weatherbie, UL-Monroe

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