Read Ebook: Building a championship football team by Bryant Paul W Gregory Lloyd Jefferson Author Of Introduction Etc

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It's Ray Berry, who wears contact lenses, making unbelievable catches for the Baltimore Colts. And after the game, when he dons his thick glasses, he looks the part of a studious school teacher--which he is after football season terminates.

It's a scramble for tickets, playing parlays, wide-eyed youngsters getting autographs, a fist fight in the stands, second guessing, banquets, icy rains, color guards, fumbles, goal line stands, homecoming queens, and the typical mutt running onto the field attracting everyone's attention.

Football is Tommy Lewis jumping off the bench in the Cotton Bowl game and tackling a touchdown-bound Rice runner simply because, "I've got too much Alabama in me, I guess." It's the quivering voice of a dying George Gipp telling his Notre Dame teammates, "Win one for the Gipper."

It's New Year's, Christmas and the Fourth of July rolled into one. It's VJ Day, the Declaration of Independence, Haley's comet and Bunker Hill. It's tears and laughter, pathos and exuberance.

Football is a game that separates the men from the boys, but also it's a game that makes kids of us all.

Most of all it's a capsule of this great country itself.

The author extends sincerest thanks to Clettus Atkinson, Assistant Sports Editor, Birmingham Post-Herald, for contributing his fine depiction to the meaning of football.

FOOTBALL IS THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE

Football, in its rightful place, can be one of the most wholesome, exciting and valuable activities in which our youth can possibly participate. It is the only sport I know of that teaches boys to have complete control of themselves, to gain self-respect, give forth a tremendous effort, and at the same time learn to observe the rules of the game, regard the rights of others and stay within bounds dictated by decency and sportsmanship.

Football in reality is very much the American way of life. As in life, the players are faced with challenges and they have an opportunity to match skills, strength, poise and determination against each other. The participants learn to cooperate, associate, depend upon, and work with other people. They have a great opportunity to learn that if they are willing to work, strive harder when tired, look people in the eye, and rise to the occasion when opportunity presents itself, they can leave the game with strong self-assurance, which is so vitally important in all phases of life. At the same time they are developing these priceless characteristics, they get to play and enjoy fellowship with the finest grade and quality of present day American youth.

Not only is football a great and worthwhile sport because it teaches fair play and discipline, but it also teaches the number one way of American life--to win. We are living in an era where all our sympathy and interest goes to the person who is the winner. In order to stay abreast with the best, we must also win. The most advantageous and serviceable lesson that we can derive from football is the intrinsic value of winning. It is not the mere winning of the game, but it is teaching the boys to win the hectic battle over themselves that is important. Sure, winning the game is important, and I would be the last to say that it wasn't, but helping the boy to develop his poise and confidence, pride in himself and his undertakings, teaching him to give that little extra effort are the real objectives of teaching winning football.

If I had my choice of either winning the game or winning the faith of a boy, I would choose the latter. There is no greater reward for a coach than to see his players achieve their goals in life and to know he had some small part in the success of the boys' endeavors.

Boys who participate in football, whether in high school or college, are in their formative years. It is every coach's responsibility to see that each boy receives the necessary guidance and attention he so rightly deserves. I would be deeply hurt and embarrassed if I learned a boy wasn't just a little better person after having played under my guidance. If we, as coaches, lose the true sense of the value of football and get to a point where we cannot contribute to a boy progressing spiritually, mentally, and physically, we will be doing this wonderful game of football a great injustice by remaining in coaching.

The coaching profession is honorable and dignified and we football coaches are in a position to contribute to the mental development and desirable attitudes which will remain with the boys throughout their lives. We have the opportunities to teach intangible lessons to our players that will be priceless to them in future years. We are in a position to teach these boys intrinsic values that cannot be learned at home, church, school or any place outside of the athletic field. Briefly, these intangible attributes are as follows: Discipline, sacrifice, work, fight, and teamwork; to learn how to take your "licks," and yet fight back; to be so tired you think you are going to die, but instead of quitting you somehow learn to fight a little harder; when your team is behind, you learn to "suck up your guts" and do whatever it takes to catch up and win the game; and you learn to believe in yourself because you know how to rise to the occasion, and you know you will do it! The last trait is the most important one.

One personal reference will illustrate the intangible attributes that football teaches. We have all seen or heard someone tell about the greatest display of courage a team has ever shown. When a team you coach has had such an experience, it makes you exceedingly happy and proud of your position and the team. While I have never been ashamed of any of my football clubs, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for one of my teams in particular. I think my 1955 Texas A & M team displayed the greatest courage, rose to the occasion better, and did more of what I call "sucking up their guts and doing what was required of them" in a particular game than any other team with which I've ever been associated.

We were playing Rice Institute in Houston on a hot, humid afternoon. Our play was very sluggish and before we fully realized it, the game was almost over, and we were behind 12-0. We were leading the Conference race up to this point, but it was beginning to look as if we were going to be humiliated before 68,000 people. Having become disgusted with my starting unit's ineffective play, I withdrew the regulars from the game early in the fourth quarter. With approximately four minutes left to play, I decided to send the regulars back in. I told them they still had time to win the game if it meant enough to them to do so.

The first unit went on to the field and immediately called time out. I later found out they vowed to each other they were going to do whatever it took to win the game. We eventually got possession of the football on our own 42-yard line, and the clock showed 2:56 remaining to play. Again the boys called time out, giving each man a few seconds to make up his mind just exactly what he was going to do. On the first play from scrimmage, Lloyd Taylor, a little halfback from Roswell, New Mexico ran 58 yards around left end for a touchdown. He kicked the extra point and the score was 12-7, with 2:08 remaining in the game. We tried an on-side kick, and Gene Stallings recovered the ball on Rice's 49-yard line. Our quarterback, Jimmy Wright, then threw a 49-yard pass to Lloyd Taylor who made a beautiful catch as he crossed the goal line. Taylor scored his fourteenth point as he kicked his second point-after-touchdown placement. With the score 14-12, we lined up and kicked the ball deep to Rice. Forcing Rice to gamble since they were behind, they attempted a deep pass which our great fullback, Jack Pardee, intercepted and returned 40 yards to the 3-yard line. On the next play Don Watson carried the ball across for a touchdown, making the final score 20-12 in our favor.

After the game in our dressing room when everyone was congratulating each other, and everything was in a state of confusion, Lloyd Taylor suggested we thank the Master for giving us the courage to make the great comeback. From that game on we have always said a prayer of gratitude after the game, win, lose, or draw.

The particular incident cited was the greatest display I have ever seen of boys reaching back and getting that little extra, showing their true colors, and rising to the occasion and putting into practice the thing that we preach and believe in.

What do we get out of coaching? There is nothing in the world I would swap for the associations with those boys, and the other fine men I have coached, and the self satisfaction of knowing I've helped many boys to find themselves. In my estimation, football is truly a way of life.

The Theory of Winning Football

Every football team has a slogan, and each coach has his own theory as to what makes a winning team. We are no exception. Our slogan is, "Winning is not everything, but it sure beats anything that comes in second." Our theory on how to develop a winning team is very simple--WORK! If the coaches and players will work hard, then winning will be the result.

We want to win. We play to win. We are going to encourage, insist and demand that our players give a 100% effort in trying to win. Otherwise we would be doing them a great injustice. It is very important for the boys to have a complete understanding of what they must do in order to win.

When a boy has completed his eligibility or has played four years under our guidance, I like to believe he will graduate knowing how to suck up his guts and rise to the occasion, and do whatever is required of him to get his job done. If our boys are willing to work hard, and we give them the proper leadership and guidance, then they will graduate winners and our athletic program will be a success.

HOW TO START BUILDING A WINNER

Building a winning football team is something that cannot be accomplished overnight, or even in a year or two, if the program is starting from scratch. I believe, irrespective of the time element involved, a football program has little chance of succeeding unless the following "musts" are adhered to:

It is vitally important that a coach build a solid foundation for his program. In order to do this he must have complete cooperation from every member of the school's administration. In many cases the school officials will not have a complete and thorough understanding of your athletic program. It is important that you explain to them just what you are trying to accomplish, how long it will take, and why you are doing it in your particular manner. The administrators and the administration must understand the value the program has for each boy who participates, and the ways the program can benefit the entire school system. Therefore, before a coach accepts a particular position he should give considerable thought to the administration's philosophy, attitude or point-of-view toward the football program. If the school president or principal is skeptical, consider the position seriously before accepting it. Building a championship team is difficult enough with full cooperation from everyone, but it is an impossible coaching situation without the administration's full support and confidence.

If a college coach is going to build a team, it is an absolute must that he have a long term contract. There is little use in believing or thinking any other way. It is very possible, and highly probable, it will take at least four or five years to shape a ball club into winning form. Without the security of a long term contract, a coach can be forced to concentrate on winning a certain number of games each year, and it is possible this can completely disrupt or disorganize a rebuilding program. I am not saying that a coach should not try to win every game, because he obviously should strive to win 'em all. I merely want to point out the fact that without the security of a job for a period of years, he might be forced to revert to certain practices which he knows are not sound principles on which to build a winning program. As an illustration, he might have to revert to such a practice as playing individuals of questionable character because of their immediate ability, rather than weeding them out and concentrating on the solid citizens. The latter group will stay with you and will eventually be winners, if you are given job security and adequate time to work with them.

Unless a person is dedicated to his chosen trade or profession, regardless of his field of endeavor, he is never going to be highly successful. Building a winning football team is no exception. The head coach, as well as his assistants, must be dedicated to football. All of them must be tough mentally, too.

Many times a coach's job is unpopular and unrewarding. From time to time a coach must make decisions that are unpleasant. He cannot compromise, however, if he expects to build a winner. He must be tough mentally in order to survive.

In addition, a coach must be tough mentally in another sense. He must be able to spend numerous hours studying football all ways and always. A coach who hopes to be successful must drive himself and be so dedicated to his job that he puts it ahead of everything else in his life, with the exception of his religion and his family. One can have a tremendous knowledge of the game, but he cannot possibly make the grade unless he can stand up to the long hours and the trying times. It is not an absolute necessity for a coach to be exceptionally smart or a brilliant strategist, but he must be a hard worker, mentally tough, and dedicated to the game of football. One can only be honest with himself in determining whether or not he has these qualifications.

As head football coach, you must give leadership and direction to your program if you expect it to be successful. Therefore, you must have a definite plan in which you and your assistants believe. In order to build winners you cannot deviate from your plan, and there cannot be any compromises.

Many factors go into the plan, such as organizing the program and the type of boys whom you have on your squad, both of which will have a great deal to do with your ultimate success or failure. These and other phases of the plan will be discussed in detail shortly, and in later chapters in this book.

The team with the best athletes will usually win the tough ball games, other things being equal. It is a well recognized fact that a coach is no better than his material. Therefore we must have the best material available in order to be a winner. I tell my coaches if they can recruit the best athletes to our school, then I can coach them. If they recruit mediocre athletes, then the assistants will have to coach them.

The type of boy you select to play on your football team has a great deal to do with your ultimate success or failure. In order for our program to be successful, we try to select the boy with the following traits:

A player must be dedicated to the game to the extent he is willing to work, sacrifice, cooperate and do what he possibly can to aid the team in victory. It is our duty as coaches to explain and show our boys the advantages of being winners, and to impress upon them the absolute necessity of it so they will put forth the much needed effort to accomplish the objective. It is important for the players to understand that football is not an easy game; nor is achieving fame an easy task. However, anything worth doing, is worth doing right. Therefore let's do it right and be winners.

We refer to "the little extras" a boy must give in order to be a winner. These little extras really make the difference between good and great, whether it be on an individual or a team basis. When a boy puts into practice what you have been preaching about giving that extra effort when he is dog tired, going harder, rising to the occasion and doing what is necessary to win, then you are making progress and he is on the way to becoming a winner both individually and for his team.

There is nothing else I would rather see than when our boys are in their goal line defense, and they have supreme confidence they will keep the opposition from scoring. Every boy is taking it upon himself personally to do what is necessary to stop the ball carrier from scoring. When a coach has a team thinking like this, he will have a winner, and the boys will be winners when they get out of school.

We talk about the importance of particular aspects of coaching, such as full cooperation, long contracts, and other phases connected with coaching, but in the final analysis the success or failure of your program depends on the performance of the boys on the playing field. The game is generally won by the boys with the greatest desire. The difference in winning and losing is a very slight margin in a tough ball game. The same applies to two players of equal ability, except that one is great and the other is average. What is this slight margin? It's the second and third effort, both individually and as a team. The boy who intercepts a pass or blocks a punt, or who gets his block then goes and knocks down another opponent is the individual who wants to excel. He will make the "big play" when it counts the most. He and others will give us "the winning edge." These are the deciding factors in a tough ball game.

The teams that win consistently are the ones in the best physical condition. As a result they can play better football than their opposition in the fourth quarter. We also believe and teach our boys they must be more aggressive and "out-mean" our opponents if they expect to win consistently.

We may not be as smart and as tricky as our opposition, so we have to out-work 'em. If our boys are in top physical condition, if we "out-mean" and physically whip our opponents by hard blocking and tackling, and we are consistent in doing it, we'll win a lot of football games. Football is a contact sport, and we must make the initial contact. In order to be a winner a boy must whip his man individually, and the team must beat the opponent physically.

Unity is the sound basis for any successful organization, and a football team is no exception. Without team unity you cannot have winners. We believe and coach team victory. Our goal is to win every game we play. We go into every game believing we will win it. Obviously we don't win all of them, but we never go into a game believing we cannot come out of it the winner.

In order to have a winner, the team must have a feeling of unity; every player must put the team first ahead of personal glory. The boy who plays for us must be willing to make sacrifices. Victory means team glory for everyone. Individual personal glory means little if the team loses.

In order to have winners your boys must be leaders both on and off the field. They should be good students, too. As was indicated previously, if your contract will give you sufficient time to work with the "solid citizens," they will stay with you even if the going gets tough, and eventually they will be winners.

Most coaches take pride in their ability to pick out boys with athletic ability. I am no exception. However, you can never be absolutely certain about a boy because you cannot see what is inside of his heart. If we could do this, we would never make a mistake on a football player. We have seen it occur frequently where a player was pitiful in his freshman year, and the coaches almost give up on his ever improving. However, through determination, hard work, pride and desire the boy would finally develop and would play a lot of football before he graduated.

My assistant coaches have a favorite story they like to tell about a player we had at the University of Kentucky. We had started our first practice session in the fall of 1948 when a youngster walked out on the field. His appearance literally stopped practice. He had on a zoot suit with the trouser legs pegged so tightly I am certain he had difficulty squeezing his bare feet through the narrow openings. His suspenders drew up his trousers about six inches above his normal waist line. His long zoot coat extended almost to his knees. His "duck tail" hair style looked quite unusual. He was standing in a semi-slump, and twirling a long chain around his finger when one of my assistants walked over and asked him if he wanted someone. His answer, "Yeah. Where's the Bear?"

He found me in a hurry. Our first impression was that he would never be a football player, but he was issued a uniform anyway. I figured he wouldn't have the heart for our type of football and would eliminate himself quickly from the squad. To help him make up his mind in a hurry I instructed one of the coaches assisting me to see that he got plenty of extra work after practice. The boy's name was difficult to pronounce, so we started calling him "Smitty."

Despite "Smitty's" outward appearance, he had the heart of a competitor and the desire to show everyone he was a good football player. He worked hard and proved his point. In his senior year he was selected the outstanding player in the 1951 Sugar Bowl game when we defeated the University of Oklahoma. After graduation he played for several years with the New York Giants as a fine defensive end. I shall always have the greatest respect for him.

Other coaches probably have had similar experiences where a boy with questionable ability has made good. If a boy has a great desire to play football, regardless of his ability, and you work with him, he is likely to make tremendous progress toward fulfilling his objective.

GOOD ORGANIZATION--A BIG FACTOR IN BUILDING WINNERS

Without good organization our thoughts or plans of any kind would be absolutely useless. Good organization is a must if a team is to operate at maximum efficiency. There are many plans of organization that are good, and I am not saying mine is the best, but I believe my plan is sound and this is what really counts.

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