By Darrin Sheffer
In honor of Star Wars coming out next week, I have chosen to "Use The Force" to help pull you away from the Light Side and Dark Side to become what is called a "Grey Jedi". For those of you who are not Star Wars nerds hang with me, I promise I'm still talking about football. For some background, everyone who has seen Star Wars, and even those who have not, you know what I mean when I say the Light Side and the Dark Side. Good vs. Evil. Right vs. Wrong. Republican vs. Democrat. You get the picture. If you pay attention to the media you may get the image that you must "choose a side". You are either Conservative or Liberal. It's like this with more than just politics, but it is the most prominent example I can use. What if I told you that you don't have to choose just one side? What if I told you there is this amazing yet terrifying place called "The Grey Area"?
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So what does this have to do with football? If you are a football coach, it doesn't matter if you are an offensive, defensive or special teams coach you have probably gotten into a debate with other coaches about things such as different schemes (Old school vs. Spread) player skills and discipline/execution. Which one is more important? Which one should I focus on the most? Which side should you choose? What if I told you that you don't really need to choose one side and that they are all equally important?
Scheme
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I have had this conversation with other coaches on many occasions: which scheme will make my team the most successful? Ask any coach and you will probably be told that whatever scheme they run is the best. It could be Wing-T, Spread, I formation or Triple Option, each and every coach is biased. Coaches believe the most in what they know. I'm a Wing-T guy so I am liable to be biased in that regard and recommend other coaches run Wing-T.
I have also gotten into debates about whether or not the scheme (at the HS level) truly matters in determining success? To some coaches scheme is everything. In the coaching community it is usually two groups who hold to this: Wing-T coaches and Spread coaches. I can't tell you how many times I have heard someone say, "just run the Spread" or "just run the Wing-T and you will be successful".
Player Skill
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Something else I have heard 100 times is something like this, "it doesn't matter what scheme you run, if your kids don't have football skills you are never going to be successful". In other words I will use the famous quote among coaches: "It's not about the X's and O's, it's about the Jimmy's and Joe's". I will admit that there is a good bit of truth in this statement, it isn't those circles on the chalkboard playing the game, it's those teenage boys in the locker room. It's those boys you are trying to convince that school is important and they need to behave in class. It's those boys you are trying to teach morals and life skills they will take with them into the rest of their lives. It's the boys who all think they are Wide Receivers, but can't run a route or catch a pass. It's those boys who as a coach you form bonds with that will last forever. They may not be the reason you got into coaching, but they are the reasons you stayed a coach.
Discipline and Execution
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Do your players have Football IQ? Do they know where to line up? Do they know what gap/man they are responsible for? Is their tackling/blocking technique sound? Are your kids gritty and tough? These are just some of the things I like to lump into this category. How many times have you seen teams with tons of skill and potential fall to teams who just kill with their Execution? Lot's of coaches out there will preach these qualities above all others.
Be A Grey Jedi Coach!
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While many coaches will tell you that one of these things is more important than the others, I would like to pull you to the "Grey Area" and say that they are all equally important. You can't have one but not the others and still be successful. In my opinion, they kind of act like three pillars which will hold up a roof. How? Well let's say you have really skilled players, but they are undisciplined. If you have a sound scheme you might be able to get away with two pillars: scheme and skill. What about if you have a shoddy scheme? If you have good players who execute their assignments you might still be successful. What if you have a bunch of kids who just aren't very football skilled? If you have a good scheme and your kids are disciplined and able to execute the game plan you can still be successful. I really hope you are understanding what I am trying to get across. Imagine you had all three: skill, discipline and scheme. State Champs.
Let me know your thoughts and "May The Force Be With You".
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