Championship Teams

Over the year's, I've come to realize how important one key ingredient is....

LEADERSHIP!!!!!!

In '03, we had arguably the most talented team in school history. A very tough, fast, and large defense and O-line. An all-state RB. A very talented QB with several talented WR's to go along with him.

That '03 team went 6-5!!!!!!! Got waxed in the 1st round of the playoffs.

The one thing this team lacked? LEADERSHIP. There was absolutely none. That season was an eye opener for us as a coaching staff.

TIGERONE,

(I made a mistake, it was our '02 team I was referring to, not our '03 team)

As talented as our QB was, he was a follower. Not really by choice. I think a number of things took place in that season.

#1 - There was a division between the team. One group of kids did not really get along with the other. Trouble is, those two groups made up most of our starting lineup on both sides of the ball. It was not a very close team. Talented as individuals, but not as a team.

#2 - As a coaching staff, we did not do a good job of bringing the team together in the off-season. There was never an attendance problem in our off-season workouts, but their was never any team building going on.

#3 - As a coaching staff, I think we relaxed a bit in '02 with our intensity and our level of discipline with individuals on the team. We were coming off a championship year prior with many, many returnees and I think (subconsciously) we thought it would be a given that this team would dominate. Talking with some of the players from that team now, they say they were so confident that they stopped listening to the coaches. They thought they had it all figured out. I don't beleive this is their fault. It was our's as a staff, not being able to recognize the problems before they got out of control.

#4 - Regarding leadership. All great teams have someone on the team they look up to, or that insires them to play hard every play. With the division between the team, people would rebel rather than come together in tough situations.

What has changed?

Well, the following year, we had virtually nobody returning. It was a great situation, truthfully. Nobody expected us to win so there was no pressure. That off-season, we stressed daily how important each individual was on the team. The kids truly understood that in order for us to be successful, we would have to play together. The returners from that '02 team had realized the root of the problem. There was no leadership, no coming together as a team.

We had two specific seniors on this team ('03) that never missed a single practice, had 3.5+ gpa's, got along with everyone on the team, and were the hardest workers on the team (bar none!). It was amazing to see how those two alone brought the entire team together. That year, we went 8-4, losing in the Quarterfinals. We lost 4 games by a combined 21 points, never losing by more than 7. That season was a major turning point for our program.

This past season, we had the same situation as the '02 season. We returned virtually everyone and had great talent all over the field. The big difference? The seniors understood (because of the two seniors from '03) how important it was to stick together. We talked all year about how much fun it was to play the game of football when everyone was playing together and playing fast. The kids loved to play together. They were close and they had a leader on each side of the ball they could look to. So, what happened last year? We had our best season in school history, going 12-2 and winning our first ever league title.

A wise coach taught me this..."As your seniors go, your season goes".

What they sometimes forget, is their senior season begins immediately after the final whistle blows completing their junior seasons.