PLAYER APATHY

Those with that ATTITUDE - sit their asses on the pine! That is what they respond to the most - lack of "PT" (playing time).

Like it or not - MOST teams reflect the attitude of their COACH. If the majority of a coach's team is like that - he MAY be in the wrong profession! Football is a "PEOPLE profession", & takes a certain amount of ability in dealing with such issues. Those that will suceed have (or have to develope) that aptitude.


A T T I T U D E

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company . . . a church . . . a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude . . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our attitudes.”


PS: This one is good also:

A REAL PEARL OF WISDOM!

AN ANCIENT AND WISE PHILOSOPHER HAS SAID, “OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU WILL KNOW IN A LIFETIME, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE OR LOSE. TO THE QUESTIONS OF YOUR LIFE, YOU ARE THE ONLY ANSWER. TO THE PROBLEMS OF YOUR LIFE, YOU ARE THE ONLY SOLUTION.”

THE MAN WHO PONDERS THIS BIT OF WISDOM AND ACCEPTS IT’S CHALLENGES IS DESTINED TO BE ONE OF THE HAPPIEST AND MOST SUCCESSUFUL MEN OF ANY GENERATION!

Jerry - I think I told you I had breakfast with Chuck Noll in July (chance meeting). On the back of his business card that he gave me was this quote (which applies to the question you posed):

"ON EVERY TEAM, THERE IS A CORE GROUP THAT SETS THE TONE FOR EVERYONE ELSE. IF THE TONE IS POSITIVE, YOU HAVE HALF THE BATTLE WON. IF IT IS NEGATIVE, YOU ARE BEATEN BEFORE YOU EVEN WALK OUT ON THAT FIELD."

Chuck Noll (winner of FOUR Super Bowls with the Steelers).

I'm coaching at the 8th grade level. Our philosophy is to play what we deem are the best players although we do make an effort to play everyone (no guarantees though). We have a small group who seem more interested in wearing the jersey to school than actually playing. From talking to other coaches, it seems pretty common to have at least a few of this type on every team.

Apathy is a dangerous road for a football team to start down. I started my coaching career as an assistant on a team that had 3 of the best football players I have ever had the pleasure of coaching--one of them had 480 total yards by himself in a game. However even with a core of very talented players, the team only was able to win 3 games. Yes, we were in a tough conference, yes the offensive system was more complicated than I would like to see in a HS offense...but, the main player was a long-standing "tradition" of mediocrity on the football field. The players were never very upset after a loss. They didn't have the passion because they had never seen the passion from upper-classmen as they were growing in the program. I've also been a part of programs that went from worst-to-first. I wholeheartedly believe that no matter the coaching staff, an attitude turnaround needs to come from within the ranks of the upperclassmen players. Coaches can do plenty for a team, but let's face it...HS players feed off of each other moreso than thier coach. Team leaders are the Key!

THATS ONE ROAD THEY ALL HAVE TO WALK ON THEIR OWN. TRUE MOTIVATION ALWAYS COMES FROM WITHIN. YOU CAN BE A SHIRKER OR A WORKER, THE CHOICE IS STRICTLY UP TO THEM. WITHOUT SELF-MOTIVATION, IT IS A LOST CAUSE.

Coach Esaton-TIGER ONE

Like the great Paul Brown said: "When the bad attitudes outnumber the good attitudes - you have a REAL PROBLEM. YOU DON'T WIN WITH DOGS"!!!!!

I am always telling the players to decide what things to do with their life and do them to their ultimate ability. By being out for football, they are saying that football is a worthwhile way to spend their time. If this is the case, it is a waste of their time to do any less than their ultimate effort.
As far as hustle goes, I think it helps to look for it on every rep. If a rep is done finished at 100%, we either do it again, or we punish with up / downs on the spot. It doesn't have to be a lot of up / downs for them to get the picture.

I think it is also important to sometimes take a look in the mirror as well. Is practice too hard to do at a high level of intensity? If so, cut down some of the "extra" stuff so you can do the fundamentals at the highest level. Am I giving a high level of effort to do my best in practice? If not, my players are not going to. Do I reward them or acknowledge players that do give a good effort and show a good attitude? These are some things I have found to help.

The majority of kids these days do not like to discipline themselves and do the right / hard thing consistently. I know that working with kids is thankless and you never get back as much as what you put in, but when things aren't going like I want them to I can often take a step back and find a way to get more of the result I am looking for by changing something.

REBELS,

I have been to those clincs for years. Believe on game night in TOTAL POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. But, come practice time if you want tough players, you have to be tough with them! Practice is the time for correction, discipline, physicality! Molly coddling will get you a bunch of pansies!

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE