From a 1970’s Peace Corps Manual
1. Do not run. The snake is faster than you are.
2. Lie flat on the ground, put your arms tight against your sides and your legs tight against each other.
3. Tuck your chin in.
4. The snake will begin to nudge and climb over your body.
5. Do not panic.
6. The snake will begin to swallow your feet first.
7. You must lie perfectly still. This will take a long time.
8. When the snake has reached your knees, reach down, take your knife, slide it into the side of the snake's mouth between the edge of its mouth and your leg. Quickly rip upward, severing the snake's head.
9. Be sure you have your knife.
10. Be sure your knife is sharp.
I like those last two instructions. Be sure you have your knife and be sure your knife is sharp. Now I really don’t know if these were authentic instructions from a Peace Corp manual but it illustrates one thing; when going into the jungle, you’d better be prepared. You’d better be prepared for being a coach, for being a father, for being a husband – heck, you’d better be prepared for going to the grocery store. And you’d darn well better be prepared for the season coming up just around the corner in August. Players are in the weight room, camps are rolling, and coaches are meeting. Everyone is in preparation mode and I always found it kind of exciting just getting ready for the season. In fact, there were times as I began to prepare and thought of all the scenarios we had to be ready for, I sometimes got overwhelmed.
We can’t be prepared for everything, there are situations that come up that no one could have anticipated. But how we react to those situations can be the difference between a win or a loss. Especially in high school if a starter gets injured we may have just lost a position on offense and defense. We may have just lost our wing player on the PAT team and we may have just lost our contain man on the kickoff team. By losing one player we just had to replace four spots on the football team. You get the idea.
Here’s hoping that all of you coaches out there are having a wonderful summer and that all preparations are being made. Take some time with the family and don’t neglect those opportunities that come along at improving yourself and being prepared to being a better father and husband as well as a coach. We’ll talk about that sometime and don’t forget to check out www.chiefpigskin.com for more ideas on being prepared for the season. By the way, has anyone out there ever had to follow those instructions to survive an Anaconda?
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Staying on the Trail
I take no pleasure in watching any good man take a fall-I still believe coach Jim Tressel, the former Ohio State coach is a good man, but he made some obvious mistakes. I am saddened by the resignation of Tressel at OSU. How the heck does a guy make such poor decisions and lose his dream job? I can imagine his thoughts and tears as he cleans out his office. Does he have to pay the consequences for his actions? Oh, sure. But I'm not going to criticize, there will be plenty of people that do that. Besides, I’ve made my share of mistakes, worse than Tressel’s. I'm not going to rant about all of the other issues that come up with this subject. Yes, the money in college football has become too big. Yes, there is too much pressure on college football coaches to win. The pressure to win overcame Tressel’s good judgement. Yes, the recruiting has become ridiculous. But those are all other stories.
The point is this; we are all one bad decision from losing our dream job or our steps to our dream job. We're all one bad decision from losing our reputation. We are all one bad decision or step away from losing our family. Don't take anything for granted, don't get complacent in where you are.
We've all got to stay on the trail, the good trail of life that God has intended for us. Off the trail is all kind of temptation, glitter, and shortcuts. After Tressel made a mistake (or two) he tried to fix things by taking a shortcut instead of being honest. Shortcuts are tempting. The short cut led to a disastrous patch of underbrush and thistles that became so entangling it cost him his job. We've got to stay on the trail-not get sidetracked-not take shortcuts. When we do get off the trail, and we all do at some point, we must admit our blunders and honestly get back on the trail. We won't be sorry.
The point is this; we are all one bad decision from losing our dream job or our steps to our dream job. We're all one bad decision from losing our reputation. We are all one bad decision or step away from losing our family. Don't take anything for granted, don't get complacent in where you are.
We've all got to stay on the trail, the good trail of life that God has intended for us. Off the trail is all kind of temptation, glitter, and shortcuts. After Tressel made a mistake (or two) he tried to fix things by taking a shortcut instead of being honest. Shortcuts are tempting. The short cut led to a disastrous patch of underbrush and thistles that became so entangling it cost him his job. We've got to stay on the trail-not get sidetracked-not take shortcuts. When we do get off the trail, and we all do at some point, we must admit our blunders and honestly get back on the trail. We won't be sorry.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
North River
North River Campground in the Cherokee National Forest in Eastern Tennessee. I found it in a book that listed campgrounds in the Smoky Mountain area of the Appalachians. It was highly rated for its beauty, quietness, and solitude. Exactly what I was looking for. You see, I had missed my opportunity to take my son on a camping/baseball trip when he was younger (see my past article, "The Trip That Never Was" in my archives). Now it was nine or 10 years later and I got another idea. I wasn't going to miss this one!
In the fall of 1999 I started thinking about a trip my son, Nathaniel, and I could take together that would allow us time to ourselves. I enjoy the outdoors and camping. So I started thinking in that direction. He was a junior at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and his spring break would be in late March. So would mine. Hmmm. Maybe a camping trip in the secluded areas of the Appalachian Mountains would be a good idea. I settled on North River Campground and ran the idea past him. Thankfully, he was all for it. While most college kids were thinking about going to Florida or Cancun over spring break and getting drunk every night, my son was willing to go on a camping trip with his dad. How cool is that for a father?
When the time finally came, we loaded up the pickup truck with our camping gear and headed off from Illinois. The trip out was smooth sailing and it took us about eight hours to get to the Cherokee National Forest. Even though it was too early for the spring growth of leaves, the Appalachians were still beautiful with an eerie grayish-brown appearance. Once we got to the entrance of the national forest, we drove another 8 miles or so on winding, narrow roads deeper and deeper into the forest. Finally-there it was! North River Campground. Nestled in a valley between three mountains and next to a babbling North River it was better than I expected. We had our pick of about nine or ten campsites since we were the only ones there and picked a site about 15 yards from the river. We got our tent and the rest of our gear up and spent the next five days of some of the most relaxing, peaceful times I ever had. The nights were cold -30°- the days were warm -70°- and at night there were so many stars it looked as though someone had sprayed the black sky with dense white glitter. Nathaniel kept a pellet gun at his bedside in case of a bear attack. (I know - the pellet gun wouldn't have stopped a squirrel, but it made him feel better.) And although it was cold, I slept great.
A typical day went like this:
Wake up around seven or 7:30 AM and wash up.
Cook and eat breakfast - hearty bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast every morning.
After breakfast, do the dishes.
Around 9 or 10 AM we opened the Bible and read about the life of David from the book of Samuel.
After a little reflective time and discussion, it was time to gather wood for the evening fire.
Around noon we had a snack and relaxed a bit.
Afternoons were spent hiking and exploring. We climbed nearby mountains, found waterfalls, and hiked the trails.
Suppertime consisted of hot dogs or hamburgers.
As the sun went down, we started our campfire and stayed up under the stars just talking. I don't even remember what about - we just talked. This was probably the highlight of the day. There is something about sitting by a campfire on a cold night.
After five days we broke camp and headed home. All in all it was a wonderful , memorable trip and we will never forget it. I learned a lesson too. It's never too late to spend time with your kids. Thanks to www.chiefpigskin.com for letting me share once again.
In the fall of 1999 I started thinking about a trip my son, Nathaniel, and I could take together that would allow us time to ourselves. I enjoy the outdoors and camping. So I started thinking in that direction. He was a junior at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and his spring break would be in late March. So would mine. Hmmm. Maybe a camping trip in the secluded areas of the Appalachian Mountains would be a good idea. I settled on North River Campground and ran the idea past him. Thankfully, he was all for it. While most college kids were thinking about going to Florida or Cancun over spring break and getting drunk every night, my son was willing to go on a camping trip with his dad. How cool is that for a father?
When the time finally came, we loaded up the pickup truck with our camping gear and headed off from Illinois. The trip out was smooth sailing and it took us about eight hours to get to the Cherokee National Forest. Even though it was too early for the spring growth of leaves, the Appalachians were still beautiful with an eerie grayish-brown appearance. Once we got to the entrance of the national forest, we drove another 8 miles or so on winding, narrow roads deeper and deeper into the forest. Finally-there it was! North River Campground. Nestled in a valley between three mountains and next to a babbling North River it was better than I expected. We had our pick of about nine or ten campsites since we were the only ones there and picked a site about 15 yards from the river. We got our tent and the rest of our gear up and spent the next five days of some of the most relaxing, peaceful times I ever had. The nights were cold -30°- the days were warm -70°- and at night there were so many stars it looked as though someone had sprayed the black sky with dense white glitter. Nathaniel kept a pellet gun at his bedside in case of a bear attack. (I know - the pellet gun wouldn't have stopped a squirrel, but it made him feel better.) And although it was cold, I slept great.
A typical day went like this:
Wake up around seven or 7:30 AM and wash up.
Cook and eat breakfast - hearty bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast every morning.
After breakfast, do the dishes.
Around 9 or 10 AM we opened the Bible and read about the life of David from the book of Samuel.
After a little reflective time and discussion, it was time to gather wood for the evening fire.
Around noon we had a snack and relaxed a bit.
Afternoons were spent hiking and exploring. We climbed nearby mountains, found waterfalls, and hiked the trails.
Suppertime consisted of hot dogs or hamburgers.
As the sun went down, we started our campfire and stayed up under the stars just talking. I don't even remember what about - we just talked. This was probably the highlight of the day. There is something about sitting by a campfire on a cold night.
After five days we broke camp and headed home. All in all it was a wonderful , memorable trip and we will never forget it. I learned a lesson too. It's never too late to spend time with your kids. Thanks to www.chiefpigskin.com for letting me share once again.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tips for Communicating
In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah we find that Nehemiah had become so exasperated with some of the men under his leadership that he finally decided to write a job description for those that served the people of Judah. In Nehemiah 13:30 we read, “So I…assigned tasks to the priests and Levites making certain that each knew his work.” Why did Nehemiah give them a job description? So that “each would know his work”. Pretty good advice 2,500 years ago and still good advice today.
When I first began my coaching career, I worked for some good coaches and a few not so good. However, none of them gave me a formal job description. I was simply told, "You're the assistant freshman coach." So, I did the things I thought I should do and tried to watch and learn. I can remember being very unsure sometimes about exactly what was expected of me. I think I would've benefited from having the head coach or the head freshman coach sit down with me and explain expectations. A written job description along with that would've been very helpful. In my second school I taught at I even had the head football coach give me no direction at all. His strategy was to sit back and see what kind of initiative I had. I found that out after I had been at the job for a couple of years. Whether right or wrong-I'll let you decide.
In my years as a head wrestling coach I'm afraid I didn't do very well at communicating my expectations. Oh sure, my assistant would coach the JV team at wrestling meets and help run practice. But there is so much more to being a good assistant coach. Sit down sometime and write down all the duties of a coach and the list will be long. I had one assistant coach who just sat against the wall in the practice room. I would get steamed at his lack of energy, but you know what? It was partly my fault because I did a poor job of communicating my expectations. It's a lot like coaching your players, you can't hold your players accountable for something you didn't coach.
These days I'm seeing more coaches, going to a detailed job description for all coaches, including the head coach himself. I think it's a great idea and I wish I had been exposed to it as an assistant and utilized it as a head coach. By giving your assistant coaches a job description, they can have a clear idea of what is expected of them. At the end of every season it can also be used as an evaluation tool-whether self-evaluation or by the head coach.
Whether or not a written job description is used, I'm convinced that clear, concise expectations should be made available to everyone involved in the program. You won’t be sorry. And make sure you keep checking www.chiefpigskin.com for more great coaching tips.
When I first began my coaching career, I worked for some good coaches and a few not so good. However, none of them gave me a formal job description. I was simply told, "You're the assistant freshman coach." So, I did the things I thought I should do and tried to watch and learn. I can remember being very unsure sometimes about exactly what was expected of me. I think I would've benefited from having the head coach or the head freshman coach sit down with me and explain expectations. A written job description along with that would've been very helpful. In my second school I taught at I even had the head football coach give me no direction at all. His strategy was to sit back and see what kind of initiative I had. I found that out after I had been at the job for a couple of years. Whether right or wrong-I'll let you decide.
In my years as a head wrestling coach I'm afraid I didn't do very well at communicating my expectations. Oh sure, my assistant would coach the JV team at wrestling meets and help run practice. But there is so much more to being a good assistant coach. Sit down sometime and write down all the duties of a coach and the list will be long. I had one assistant coach who just sat against the wall in the practice room. I would get steamed at his lack of energy, but you know what? It was partly my fault because I did a poor job of communicating my expectations. It's a lot like coaching your players, you can't hold your players accountable for something you didn't coach.
These days I'm seeing more coaches, going to a detailed job description for all coaches, including the head coach himself. I think it's a great idea and I wish I had been exposed to it as an assistant and utilized it as a head coach. By giving your assistant coaches a job description, they can have a clear idea of what is expected of them. At the end of every season it can also be used as an evaluation tool-whether self-evaluation or by the head coach.
Whether or not a written job description is used, I'm convinced that clear, concise expectations should be made available to everyone involved in the program. You won’t be sorry. And make sure you keep checking www.chiefpigskin.com for more great coaching tips.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Lone Wolf
Some time ago, an old acquaintance of mine told me a story of a police officer who served in a northern native settlement in Canada. One day a rabid wolf wandered into the aboriginal settlement. The police officer eventually shot it, but not before it attacked a young man and his grandmother in their home making kindling out of the chair the young man used to protect himself and his attacker.
There were about 150 sled dogs in the village - more than a match for one sick wolf - yet the intruder was left alone to do its work. Why? My friend explained that in order to prevent the dogs from fighting and wounding each other, they had been tied to wooden stakes spaced far enough apart to prevent them from reaching any neighboring animal. Because of this the wolf walked freely among the dogs killing some and badly wounding others. In isolation they were no match for their foe and they suffered terribly for it.
What a picture for the need for every man to be a part of a bigger body of like minded men. (PreachingToday.com, Awlwyn Balnave, Calgary, Canada) As football coaches, husbands, and fathers, we need other men in our lives for accountability and support. We all share ideas about football. That's part of what www.chiefpigskin.com is all about. Football coaches are very generous in sharing ideas and techniques with others. That’s how we continue to improve. Do we also share ideas on how to be a better husband?
A few years ago I began meeting with a group of men on Monday mornings for a bible study. Before beginning the meeting we ask each other how the “Trail” has gone the past week or so. We get varying answers as each man has the freedom to share as little or as much as he likes. This has been a great opportunity to learn from other men on many subjects including such topics as being a better father or husband. It also serves as a certain degree of accountability with each other. It’s been my experience that most men aren’t crazy about sharing such personal subjects. We like to “go it alone”. I don’t think we were made that way; we need the support of others.
Whether it’s through a group of friends, joining a bible study, joining a church, or just getting together with another guy for a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning, I would encourage all of us to have one or more men in our lives that can ask the hard questions, not just, “how about that game Saturday?” Let me know what you think, or better yet, give it a try and let me know how it’s going. I’d love to hear from you.
There were about 150 sled dogs in the village - more than a match for one sick wolf - yet the intruder was left alone to do its work. Why? My friend explained that in order to prevent the dogs from fighting and wounding each other, they had been tied to wooden stakes spaced far enough apart to prevent them from reaching any neighboring animal. Because of this the wolf walked freely among the dogs killing some and badly wounding others. In isolation they were no match for their foe and they suffered terribly for it.
What a picture for the need for every man to be a part of a bigger body of like minded men. (PreachingToday.com, Awlwyn Balnave, Calgary, Canada) As football coaches, husbands, and fathers, we need other men in our lives for accountability and support. We all share ideas about football. That's part of what www.chiefpigskin.com is all about. Football coaches are very generous in sharing ideas and techniques with others. That’s how we continue to improve. Do we also share ideas on how to be a better husband?
A few years ago I began meeting with a group of men on Monday mornings for a bible study. Before beginning the meeting we ask each other how the “Trail” has gone the past week or so. We get varying answers as each man has the freedom to share as little or as much as he likes. This has been a great opportunity to learn from other men on many subjects including such topics as being a better father or husband. It also serves as a certain degree of accountability with each other. It’s been my experience that most men aren’t crazy about sharing such personal subjects. We like to “go it alone”. I don’t think we were made that way; we need the support of others.
Whether it’s through a group of friends, joining a bible study, joining a church, or just getting together with another guy for a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning, I would encourage all of us to have one or more men in our lives that can ask the hard questions, not just, “how about that game Saturday?” Let me know what you think, or better yet, give it a try and let me know how it’s going. I’d love to hear from you.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Trip That Never Was
I think for the most part I did a pretty good job of spending time with my kids and family and doing some fun things. I suppose we could all do better, but there is one particular instance that has always bothered me. In fact, it’s bothered me a lot over the years. I have always been a big baseball fan and my son also loves baseball. The idea came to me one time that my son and I should take a baseball trip for about a week or two during the summer. Now this was when my son was about eight years old and I figured we had the next few years to make this trip. He would be the perfect age. This was back in the mid-to-late 80’s and baseball games were still much more affordable than they are now. Here was the plan. We would travel during the day from baseball town to baseball town, get tickets and see a ball game, then spend the night in a nearby state park campground. By leaving early in the morning we could travel to the next city, get a campsite, and then head to the ballpark. After the game, go to our tent (yes, tent) get some sleep, then do it again the next day in another city. This way, we could catch a lot of ballgames in different cities, see a lot of different parks and spend the night camping. The whole idea, I thought, would be an affordable trip. Not only affordable but a lot of fun too.
I figured we would head out for the East from central Illinois and then loop on back to the Midwest. As I looked at the map it looked like we could hit cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, New York, and come back visiting St. Louis and then back home. Oh yeah, we could visit Cooperstown in New York and see the Hall of Fame. In this way we could get some good father-son time together, travel to some great cities and ballparks, and campout at night. I thought it was a great idea and really believed we would get it done someday.
Of course we all know how busy football coaches can be in the summertime. We had our summer camp, we had weight room supervision, seven on seven games, and of course coaches meetings. On top of that, if www.chiefpigskin.com had been around, I would've been learning more football. Besides all this I was a driver education teacher and so I taught a lot of driver ed. in the summer. Some people think that teachers have the summer off but I sure never did. I was always very busy with other things.
Before I knew it my son was 10 and we still hadn’t taken the trip. But I told him someday we would. And I meant it. Before I could blink he had turned 12 and we still hadn’t taken the trip but I assured him that SOMEDAY we would. The next thing I knew, you guessed it, he had turned 14 and it was his turn to start playing high school football. Now he was just as busy with football as I was. And guess what? We didn't take that baseball trip I planned on all those years. By this time we were in the early 90’s and it just didn't get done. It's one of the things that I look back on now with regret. We should've taken that trip and I’m still convinced it was a great idea. I guess the moral of this story is to take time out from that busy schedule to do something different and fun with kids.
Years later when he was in college, my son and I took a cool trip together over spring break and had a great time. Maybe I’ll tell that story sometime. But you know what? I’ve got three grandsons now and I’m starting to get this neat idea…
I figured we would head out for the East from central Illinois and then loop on back to the Midwest. As I looked at the map it looked like we could hit cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, New York, and come back visiting St. Louis and then back home. Oh yeah, we could visit Cooperstown in New York and see the Hall of Fame. In this way we could get some good father-son time together, travel to some great cities and ballparks, and campout at night. I thought it was a great idea and really believed we would get it done someday.
Of course we all know how busy football coaches can be in the summertime. We had our summer camp, we had weight room supervision, seven on seven games, and of course coaches meetings. On top of that, if www.chiefpigskin.com had been around, I would've been learning more football. Besides all this I was a driver education teacher and so I taught a lot of driver ed. in the summer. Some people think that teachers have the summer off but I sure never did. I was always very busy with other things.
Before I knew it my son was 10 and we still hadn’t taken the trip. But I told him someday we would. And I meant it. Before I could blink he had turned 12 and we still hadn’t taken the trip but I assured him that SOMEDAY we would. The next thing I knew, you guessed it, he had turned 14 and it was his turn to start playing high school football. Now he was just as busy with football as I was. And guess what? We didn't take that baseball trip I planned on all those years. By this time we were in the early 90’s and it just didn't get done. It's one of the things that I look back on now with regret. We should've taken that trip and I’m still convinced it was a great idea. I guess the moral of this story is to take time out from that busy schedule to do something different and fun with kids.
Years later when he was in college, my son and I took a cool trip together over spring break and had a great time. Maybe I’ll tell that story sometime. But you know what? I’ve got three grandsons now and I’m starting to get this neat idea…
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Short Yardage Defense
Back when I was a defensive coordinator we played a pretty basic 4-4 defense. Over the years we tweaked it a bit here and there and we came up with a quick call that was easy for the kids to get into in short yardage situations. I realize it’s pretty simple and we all have good schemes but if you’re like me you just like seeing other methods. That’s what’s cool about www.chiefpigskin.com, we get to share and just talk about football.
Now, in this case I’m talking very short yardage defense out in the middle of the field, not goal line. If we had our opponents in 3rd and 1 or less or 4th and 1 or less and we just knew they were going to sneak or dive, we would get into our “tight 22 up”. Let’s take a look at our base D.
.................O..O..O..X..O..O
..................E.....T.......T......E
...............B...........B.......B.......B
Our tackles lined up in what we called a 2, 3, or 4 alignment. We would make the call from the sideline. 2 is inside shoulder of the guard, 3 is head up and 4 is outside shoulder. If we called a 33, they would both be head up, 42 was outside-inside, etc. with A or B gap responsibility. Our ends would be in a 5 technique if no tight end and in a 7 technique if there was a tight end with C gap responsibility. Our outside backers would be in a 3 x 3 alignment outside the last man on the LOS. So, for our short yardage defense 22 meant both tackles get into inside shoulder of the guards. “Tight” meant to tighten up. Our outside backers would walk up to the line, get into a 9 technique of the tight ends and kick the D ends to a 5 technique, or “tighten” up. Our inside backers would line up in B gap and move “up” closer to the LOS. Thus, the tight 22 up call.
...................O..O..O..X..O..O..O
..................B..E......T...T......E....B
.............................B........B........
The less the offense needed for a 1st down, the more our inside backers moved up. For example, if it was 4th and inches, they would get into the B gap almost on the LOS. If it was 4th and 2, they might be about 2 yards behind the D line. This D had to: 1) stop the QB sneak and 2) stop the quick dive. Tackles were responsible for A gap and stopping the sneak. Inside backers had B gap, tackles C gap, and outside backers the edge and alley. We had great success with this simple adjustment and the kids had confidence they could make a key stop.
My best story, (I always have a story), was from 1997 and we were playing a very good Maroa-Forsyth team at our place. It was early in the 2nd quarter and they had the ball 4th and about half a yard on their own 30. They decided to go for it. We had a real good team too, one of our better ones. They had confidence they could get half a yard. We got into our tight 22 up and stuffed a QB sneak for no gain. It was very emotional and our guys were pumped as they came off the field. Me too! I think I was yelling “How dare they? How dare they?” as our guys were getting to the sideline. Before I could look up, on the very next play, our head coach John Beccue called a skinny post pass and we connected for a score. He was good at taking advantage of opportunities like that. What a turnaround! We went on to get a hard fought 16-14 win and those two plays were a great lift.
So often a tough game comes down to making one or two key plays at just the right time. It’s difficult to be ready for everything but that’s the task we are called to do, as much as possible. And I’ve learned you’ve got to have “playmakers”, those kids who just have a knack for making big plays when you need them. You can’t coach that and sure is fun to watch.
Now, in this case I’m talking very short yardage defense out in the middle of the field, not goal line. If we had our opponents in 3rd and 1 or less or 4th and 1 or less and we just knew they were going to sneak or dive, we would get into our “tight 22 up”. Let’s take a look at our base D.
.................O..O..O..X..O..O
..................E.....T.......T......E
...............B...........B.......B.......B
Our tackles lined up in what we called a 2, 3, or 4 alignment. We would make the call from the sideline. 2 is inside shoulder of the guard, 3 is head up and 4 is outside shoulder. If we called a 33, they would both be head up, 42 was outside-inside, etc. with A or B gap responsibility. Our ends would be in a 5 technique if no tight end and in a 7 technique if there was a tight end with C gap responsibility. Our outside backers would be in a 3 x 3 alignment outside the last man on the LOS. So, for our short yardage defense 22 meant both tackles get into inside shoulder of the guards. “Tight” meant to tighten up. Our outside backers would walk up to the line, get into a 9 technique of the tight ends and kick the D ends to a 5 technique, or “tighten” up. Our inside backers would line up in B gap and move “up” closer to the LOS. Thus, the tight 22 up call.
...................O..O..O..X..O..O..O
..................B..E......T...T......E....B
.............................B........B........
The less the offense needed for a 1st down, the more our inside backers moved up. For example, if it was 4th and inches, they would get into the B gap almost on the LOS. If it was 4th and 2, they might be about 2 yards behind the D line. This D had to: 1) stop the QB sneak and 2) stop the quick dive. Tackles were responsible for A gap and stopping the sneak. Inside backers had B gap, tackles C gap, and outside backers the edge and alley. We had great success with this simple adjustment and the kids had confidence they could make a key stop.
My best story, (I always have a story), was from 1997 and we were playing a very good Maroa-Forsyth team at our place. It was early in the 2nd quarter and they had the ball 4th and about half a yard on their own 30. They decided to go for it. We had a real good team too, one of our better ones. They had confidence they could get half a yard. We got into our tight 22 up and stuffed a QB sneak for no gain. It was very emotional and our guys were pumped as they came off the field. Me too! I think I was yelling “How dare they? How dare they?” as our guys were getting to the sideline. Before I could look up, on the very next play, our head coach John Beccue called a skinny post pass and we connected for a score. He was good at taking advantage of opportunities like that. What a turnaround! We went on to get a hard fought 16-14 win and those two plays were a great lift.
So often a tough game comes down to making one or two key plays at just the right time. It’s difficult to be ready for everything but that’s the task we are called to do, as much as possible. And I’ve learned you’ve got to have “playmakers”, those kids who just have a knack for making big plays when you need them. You can’t coach that and sure is fun to watch.
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