IN THE HUDDLE

 

By Erin Throneberry

 

December 2, 2007 - As I sit here in a turkey state of mind, it is a blank sheet of paper.  This is the first article for which I’ve struggled to come up with a theme.  As I look over my notes from practice, I see a running tally of who was there, what was being done, and who is playing where, I start thinking that maybe I should just publish these ideas and let people know how I REALLY feel.

 

Seriously though, as I look through these notes it occurs to me that in the few practices I have been able to make it to, I have learned so many names and have been impressed by what I have seen.  Some of my comments include the players’ children at practice and what they have been up to.  From Daneé and Ted’s brood playing football or getting rides in golf carts with Sarah, to climbing and rolling down a pile of dirt, to my own son trying to tackle team members, “go for the legs, Alex!”

 

What strikes me the most about my notes might be the manner in which they have progressed.  In September I was noting wobbly throws, missed tackles, and little self-assuredness on the field.  Now the comments I see are “nice catch,” “great pass,” “lots of fire.” I also recognize that I take notes on what coaches are saying or even that how I feel on a subject often reflects the involved coach.

 

I see the team do a lot of talking around the quarterback.  Now, knowing that it is not just idle chat or stories, I have heard discussions of on-field scenarios and clarifications to make sure the team is all on the same page.  Coach Val said it early in practices “I want you to practice and learn the drills before I put the paper in front of you with routes.” What fabulous advice! It’s much easier to do it then to read about it.  The powwows with the quarterback demonstrate confidence and the ability to communicate and work together.  What is going right? What is going wrong? How can we fix it and make it better? To play together and effectively, the offense and defense need to keep open the lines of communication.  Veterans may have the experience to help the rookies through, but the rookies have a new perspective on old issues.

 

I also have noticed in my notes that I go back and forth between individual and team comments.  I have group comments about working together and talking about plays.  I have individual comments about the seemingly permanent smiles, the LOOK of a football player and others’ ability levels.  It amazes me to see how these comments have changed from the simple moves to the finesse it takes to execute the moves you make on the practice field and what will carryover into game situations.

 

I would like to share some recurring thoughts you may have heard at some point in a practice (some you may not have):

*Catch the ball, tuck the ball, run with the ball (toward our end zone), be the ball.

*Absorb the ball when you catch it.

*Keep moving the feet.

*Hit at or below the numbers when blocking.

*HIT ‘EM HARD!

*Knock them off balance and swim over and around.

*LOOK mean-don’t just smile, it won’t necessarily intimidate as it will make them wonder what you are up to.

*FUMBLEROOSKI-get on it.

*PASS! BALL! RUN! Get loud and let everyone know what is going on.

 

TEAM UP, SPITFIRE!