Today, August 6TH, I was at another Greenville two-a-day practice, the fifth day of that particular learning and growing experience for the team. Usually, and I say this from experience, on the fourth or fifth day of two-a-days there is a letdown. Players are tired, sore, hot, sweaty, and the routine is pretty much the same. Because of this, and it is human nature, players lose focus; they don’t pay attention (they’ve heard it all before), and the coaches are tired of repeating themselves.
Today was that day; plays were sloppier, no helmets on, talking to each other and not paying attention, and the Coach had had enough. He let them know it!
There is one difference though in this group of coaches, and the players have no idea how lucky they are! THESE GUYS TEACH! They do raise their voices some, but most of the time it is not criticism as such; it is more “Why are you doing that??, YOU SHOULD BE OVER HERE!, COME ON, run it again” stuff. To us old timers, that is so lucky for today’s players. When us old guys played, if we were not paying attention, missing assignments, no helmets on (THE CARDINAL SIN!), we would be running till we dropped, or bear crawling around the field till we dropped, then, and this is hard to believe nowadays, no water break! Today, coaches would be fired for that!
Greenville has a lot of new players, some of whom have never played before, so the teaching part is so much more important. The first four practices were pretty good; yesterday I thought they looked much improved, but today they regressed.
Don’t panic; there are days like that, and it is usually about this time of two-a-days. The head coach, Steve Channell, called a meeting and made it clear to them, in no uncertain terms, that he was displeased with their effort. To some who heard it, it may have seemed somewhat harsh, but he actually made his point without tearing them down too much.
To be honest, they deserved it. They were sloppy, unattentive, and missing assignments – things that yesterday were routine- and the performance yesterday showed much improvement. Today… well… it was the fifth day, and they regressed. It happens. They have another practice starting at 10:30, and I am betting it will be livelier than the morning session. I hope so, because these young players need to realize that the entire staff is trying to make them competitive, and they do not have enough numbers to show any complacency. They need everybody on the same page. So, if you are a Greenville player and you read this, do WHAT YOU ARE TOLD, PAY ATTENTION, AND LEARN! You have a great staff who is trying to teach you; LEARN!
Today was a learning experience for coaches and players. They need to help each other to be successful. The coaches need the players to be attentive and do their jobs. The players need to learn the systems without being told a hundred times, and they need to pay attention. They both are tied to success, and success will come.
I think today was just an anomaly, hopefully. Everyone who has ever played football has had those days, including coaches. Playing through soreness, tiredness, and a lack of fundamentals is part of the game. Good teams come back from days like today. I am convinced that the team leaders, mostly the seniors, and the coaches will not have another day like today. They can’t afford to. They still need numbers.
A part of this team is new to this game. They will learn to love it as the coaches and those who have played before do. It is hard to explain the love of the game to those who have never played it. I can’t either. But I do love it all. Yes, it is hard and painful, but that is the nature of the game. It is the best game ever, and today the Greenville players and coaches may not have loved it as much as before… but they will never quit!
That’s the way I see it…….from the sidelines!
