Be careful what you wish for.
This time, two years ago, I was really missing football, being a head coach, having a team, and wanted to coach again. As God will do, not only will He answer prayer, He may even have a sense of humor about it. I can almost hear Him.. "You want to coach football? How about drinking it out of a fire hose on full blast?"
Well, it has worked out great. I love being a football coach. And, I have plenty to do. Not necessarily easy, but certainly a WIN-WIN.
My second year at Anderson County HS concluded my 32nd year as a head football coach. Already excited and working toward year 33, I really don't see an end in sight. I have joked, sort of, that the plan is to be a head coach until I am 80, then may be a position coach until I hit 85. We got to see Jeff Lynne in Nashville not long ago. At 76, he is still rocking and rolling. Most certainly a inspiration. When I am 80, if I can smile as big as he did after each song, I will be doing well.
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| Jeff Lynne, he's still got it! |
So... what are the takeaways from year 32?
1- You can have a great job, love your job, work with wonderful people, and still HATE losing. The results were better in 2024, than 2023. The improvement was significant. But, it will never be ok when the clock hits 0:00 and the other team has one more point than your team. The difference in old me and young me is that I have more discipline in regards to my post game thoughts. In the old days, I just stayed mad and thought about the loss for way too long. Now, I can force myself to get in the mindset of, "Losing is not ok, so how do we get better? What can we take from Friday night and how can we use it to make sure our team is better going forward?"
2- Focused on playing one play at a time, LOOKS LIKE, we know we are gonna win. In both wins and losses, for the most part, we played very hard. Some times, we got back in games, even when our fans had left. When a team "quits", often it is because they have given up on winning the game. Our guys have done an exceptional job of focusing on playing each play and not letting the scoreboard influence their effort and execution. Ironically, we had the most struggle staying focused when we were experiencing success. In four of those games, we won two and lost two. But, we have become a fun team to watch because of our effort and never quitting, regardless of the circumstances and the score. To continue to grow in this regard, we will have to make a deliberate effort to continue to think the right things. And, we can work on that thinking through out the offseason.
3- "People" continues to grow as the most important part as opposed to "football" and "stuff". Each year, our postseason inventory / clean up process becomes more streamlined and more is delegated. Usually, I will do a December scouting report for every defense we will face in the next season. For 2025, that assignment has been delegated. More of my time will be spent on building relationships and player development ( Strength, Conditioning & Skill Development).
4- If you love coaching, building a program is for you! As a staff, we constantly worked to make our schemes and practice processes the best possible to help our guys win. We could take some sound/conventional concepts, apply a new formation or approach, and significantly improve the likelihood our players would experience success. Although I believe football is more cyclical than evolutionary, there is an infinite number of combinations you can use in regard to schemes, concepts, fundamentals and teaching that can be applied to give your team their best chance to win. That challenge can certainly help make you a much better coach as well. This theme continues... we do the same things over and over, but in a little different way and they can look different than they ever have before. That trend will continue in to 2025 & beyond.
5- The year away from football continues to pay dividends. Spending a season with a great coach like Kevin Wallace at St. X, scouting their excellent opponents, and being around the Tigers as a whole, it has become much easier to recognize what our opponents do well and not so well. It is also easier to know what information is important, and what is not as critical. And, that same lens can be applied in evaluating our own team and making improvements. The other benefit, as much as I hate losing, there is always a focus on moving forward and getting better. Not coaching, not having a team, is much worse than losing a ballgame.
6- After one of our games, the back judge told me that our guys did a good job of self-policing. He said they held each other accountable. That really gets me fired up because that type of leadership will raise our ceiling significantly. Like our mindset, we will have to be deliberate in developing that type of leadership and what it will look like. But, when players lead players and hold each other accountable, there is an opportunity to build something special.
7- Choices are critical. In particular... what we allow in our mind, who we allow in our circle, and how we spend our time. Circumstances matter, but they can't touch those 3 choices on a daily basis. For most of us, our circumstances have a mix of good and bad. Don't be a yo-yo.
8- I shared with our guys one day after practice about Abbey Road, side 2. As great as the Beatles were, their very last work, was incredible... potentially their best ever. Each day we go to work, we should be the best version of ourselves that we have ever been. Experience & lessons learned help to give us that opportunity. That gets me fired up... each day I go to work, I go with the expectation that I have never done my work better, than I will today!
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| 2024 Freshmen- Conference Champs! |
9- Don't underestimate the choices and decisions you make in regards to your freshman program. It takes extra effort to get it right. I am not sure there is a coach in the entire program more important than the head coach of the freshman/JV program. Unconventional approaches may be necessary to get kids out and keep them on the team. But, if you can continue to stack years of a successful freshman program and freshman teams, your chances of future success will increase dramatically.
10- Don't waste money, but don't be afraid to spend it. Be too tight/too cheap... you may be fired before the rainy day hits. Spending money for meals to facilitate team building...important. Spending money for gear that appeals to kids...essential. New technology that can facilitate teaching, performance and winning, crucial.
I am beyond thankful that I have another football season to prepare for. Walking into ACHS, or the lockerroom, office, on to the field...I still feel very much connected to my Dad, his teams, and my teams, going back these 55 years. I don't want to give up that connection and that feeling when I am in those places. Believe it or not, 2024 at Anderson County, feels alot like Boyle County 1970, or Mercer County 1982, or Paris... Mason County, etc.
How this will all end, I really have no idea. But, if you could go back to 1970, find me at the Boyle County homecoming at 5 years old, and tell me how my life was going to play out, that little boy would have told you, "that is too good to be true."
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