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| photo by Bob Rose |
Tough lessons are often the best ones, and that is what I am counting on.
While Bearcat Football continues to improve, the results have been disappointing. And, as is the case when you are the head coach, the first place to look when the results are not what you want, is in the mirror. My two biggest mistakes going back to April of 2023:
1- I overestimated how much offense we could handle.
2- I underestimated how much structure we need.
We are already addressing both to make us better going forward. We are restructuring our offense to be simpler and to build off the things we do well and fit our skill set. We are putting together program standards for the weightroom, classroom, workouts, practices & pregame. I realized in October of this season both mistakes I had made. We didn't wait until 2026 to start to address them. We started taking steps immediately and we are already better for it.
One constant that has continued is the daily battle for the proper mindset. When my mind is on the process and what I need to do today, to do NOW, I am in good shape. I enjoy what I am doing. When I think about the results.. not so much. I read Bill Walsh's book, Finding the Winning Edge in the spring of 1999. In 1998 we had started the season, 1-6, finishing 4-6. The book changed me as a coach and was a huge boost to my mental health. I realized there were alot of things that were under my control and it was up to me to do those as well as I could with my best effort.
One area that continues to grow as a positive is I love football, kids & coaching more everyday. ACHS is alot like Boyle Co. HS, September, 1970. If I were to mix old Boyle, old Mercer, old Paris & old Mason County, it would be the building I walk into each morning. Of the four, it feels most like old Boyle... but there are things that remind me of each school. I am thankful to coach in a great place with wonderful people. I still cannot imagine a day that I will NOT want to coach football. I am hoping my body & mind can hold out until I reach that day.
The daily mission to help others be the best they can be still gets me fired up each day. One of my favorite challenges.... honest conversations, that most people don't like to have, but are necessary for growth.... how can I do those conversations in the best way possible? In the most Christ-like manner? The more I have those conversations, the better I get at doing them well. And, the feedback of a young man, looking you in the eye, accepting the constructive feedback with a true desire to be their best...one of the greatest moments a coach can have.
A huge benefit from the tough times the last 3 seasons has been a more proactive mindset in regards to what I anticipate each day. When I was a young head football coach, I use to HOPE we would have a good day and get mad when we did not. Now.... I KNOW we will have issues and problems to address. I know that is true for every HS football program across the country. The separator will be how we handle our problems. Now, I try to anticipate the problems we will have and how to address them, in a calm, cool, productive manner. When something comes up that surprises me, that is an obstacle that can make me better... even at 60 years old! It has become a challenge that some times I even will enjoy. And, I am committed to handling our issues better than anyone else can handle theirs.
The podcast with Chuck Smith has helped me be a much better coach and continue to grow & improve. It gives me access to excellent coaches. The Tough Topics give me accountability for how I run our program and force me to think through what is the BEST way....not just, "this is how we have always done it. "
One practical change from the 2025 season I copied from my good friend, former EKU OC & Ashland Tomcat HFC, Leon Hart. I use our video and Hudl to take notes on the defense we just played while it is fresh on my mind. I save those thoughts in a playlist and add them to the next season (I created the 2026 season on Hudl in August and added that game for next season, each week,) This past season, all of those were completed by the following Monday. Previously, I did those in December. Now, I can move on to other tasks in December. And, the content is much better when it is prepared so soon after we played. I have also found that what I need to remember is much simpler than what I had been preparing in the past.
Our November followed a similar format from the past two seasons but with an important tweak. We took one week to clean up. The next two weeks were devoted to SQR... Stacking Quality Reps. I sent the assistants home. They needed a break and we will hit it hard in January. Myself and some of our players that lead their position were in charge. In those two weeks, we were able to stack over 18,600 quality reps. All voluntary. We are better now than when the season ended. That number (18,600) actually helps me sleep a little better. I can't handle a November moping around and pouting because we are not in the playoffs. The response to unsatisfactory results is a better plan and more quality work. We answered the bell and are well on our way to having a better football team in 2026. It was also great on the structure part that our guys needed. They had to do the same reps, fundamentals, over and over, and do them well...or it did not count. It is ok for young people to learn that they don't have to be entertained to do what they need to do and do it well. The SQR sessions were four of the best days, ever, as a football coach.
The best way for struggling programs to close the gap with the top programs... continuity with quality & consistent hard work. Most powerhouses had a stretch w/ the same coach or coaching tree for an extended period of time. The more quality days we can stack at Anderson County HS, we will significantly increase our chances of extraordinary success in the future. I hope when I am 70, 80 years old, I am still coaching football. Selfishly, my best chance of success, ceteris paribus, is that I am still at Anderson Co. and we are still on the same page, working together.
Each day possesses a duality that makes moments more meaningful and bigger as I experience them. Even if I am fortunate to coach until I am 80 (big & TOUGH goal), I know the end is near and that is not good. But, knowing that makes me appreciate what I am doing now and enjoy it more than I might otherwise. That duality makes a day on this earth at 60 more of an "event" than each day might have seemed when I was younger. I walk in each day with the sensation, "This is incredible! I still get to do this!"
This summer I was working on the podcast and went digging through some old pictures. I found this one, and remembered a bunch of these guys.
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| photo by Larry Vaught |
They were good to me and I am thankful they played for my Dad at Boyle County. As I am trying to figure out what music to put with this picture, I kept going back to 'Let It Rain" by Eric Clapton. A great song, but not one that I listened to often. Since that time, I have enjoyed listening to that song over and over. It makes me feel like it is an August day in central Kentucky, on a grass field, practicing football. Sort of weird, I have not been able to get that song out of my head all fall. Finally, after weeks of this tune playing between my ears, I looked up when that song was released. August, 1972. The photo, August, 1972. Crazy to me that the picture & song were connected somewhere in my brain from 53 years ago, but it was still there. And, I am glad they were. One of those moments that makes me feel connected to so many people I love from these past 6 decades. And, of all those people, the connection with my Dad is the best part. Good grief I miss him. And, I think that connection is one reason I don't want to walk away from this incredible experience called HS football. When I am at that HS, locker room, field, coaches office, with my players or coaches... it sure does feel like he is close by.
It may not have the same effect for you, but.... give it a listen..... Let It Rain- Eric Clapton . Hope it works for you. I know this... a hot August day on grass, practicing football in central KY is a great place to be. I have had a lifetime of days on those fields. And, I am not ready to see them come to an end. Not even close.
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