Not good

Lou Holtz once said something to the effect of, "If you can live without coaching, don't coach." This week has been a reminder of what that phrase means.

Last week at this time, I had little doubt that we were winning our game this weekend at Chapman. I felt that we had the right players, the right schemes, and we were moving in the right direction. A week later, I am not so sure what is going to happen this weekend.

We played San Diego State in a scrimmage at San Clemente High School (SCHS) on Saturday night. SCHS has done a wonderful job of putting together an annual event called the Triton Cup, where they invite two college teams from the surrounding Southern California area to participate in a showcase event for the local community.

I have an intimate knowledge of State's team being an Assistant Coach there for one year, as well as still being very good friends with their Head Coach, Matt Holman. I was pretty optimistic as to how we were going to do in the scrimmage, since I knew that State has lost some talent, and we are exponentially better. We got off to at 5-0 start in the first quarter. What a great start. I remember looking over to the San Diego State sideline and then asking one of my Assistant Coaches, "Are we going to blow them out?" That was completely stupid of me, and I know better then that. Everything that seemed to be clicking fell apart shortly into the 2nd quarter. We stopped doing what we are good at, lost our focus, and started to force things. State put in a few, and I think at the start of the 4th quarter the score was something like 7-3. We played very well in the 4th Quarter, concluding with a final score of 9-4. A good dress rehearsal in front of a large crowd, but we played poorly for more then half of the game. The truth is that State had a number of good players out with injuries, and they will play different in the regular season.

On a side note, what I was really happy about was that the Chapman coaching staff was in the stands. They were overheard discussing things about our team, different numbers and match-ups, and what their game plan was going to be. They don't respect us at all, assume that we have zero depth, and in no way can run with all of "their studs." I remember thinking as I heard this told to me, if I had experienced some moderate success, yet graduated as much as they have, would I be as over-confidant as they are? Can you be that confident when you are losing people, yet keep running the same systems over and over again each year? But, after thinking about it for a second, if I was them (right or wrong) I would probably be saying the same thing. They have lost in the Championship game two years in a row, open the season ranked #2 in the country.......they deserve to be confident. And that confidence is something that is important for any successful team to have, and will lead them to a few victories that they wouldn't obtain otherwise.

We lack this confidence, and it is killing me. Confidence is developed Monday through Friday. Saturdays are the time to go out and execute, a time to perform, and an chance to display the confidence you have in yourself and your teammates. This team puts in an average effort during the week, and then thinks that if they try as hard as they can during the game itself, it will lead to victory. But if doesn't work like that. Champions play, AND practice, at a championship level at ALL times.

Last night we had 55 minutes set aside to get through our 4 offensive sets. Just wanted to make sure we fine tune everything and are on the same page. Instead, we never got through the first one. How can we possibly not know our base offense and not be able to run it, after a month of practice? I am at a loss as to what to do to help the young men on this team. I want great success for them so badly, but they need to do their part to know what we are trying to do with our schemes/game plans.

To make things worse, two Attackmen quit today for ridiculous reasons (aren't they all........). One of them basically doesn't want to be tied down so he can do what he wants and spend more time with his girlfriend, the other one though is a complete mystery. He had been playing great. In fact, on Monday I called him to express how well he had been playing and how we were going to try to start working him in with the starting units. That phone conversation (I thought) went well. Instead, I get an email on Tuesday that says he is no longer playing and asks me not to contact him.

To top it all off, at the end of practice last night, (one that was horrible and lacked a consistent focus and effort from the team) one of our Captains gets into a fight with one of the leaders on our defense. Now, if it was an intense practice where guys are really competing well, playing extremely hard, and are getting after it, fights are not a problem and are bound to occur. Instead, I have a situation where two leaders of the team are acting like a bunch of spoiled, immature babies, and setting a horrible example for their teammates that look up to them.

"If you can live without coaching, don't coach."

I have got to figure out a way to get these young men to do things the right way. We HAVE to figure it out. Everyone has their fears, every has their motivation, and I believe that everyone wants to succeed. Therefore in theory it becomes simple, get them to face their fears, find out what motivates them, and decipher if they truly want to succeed as much as they say they do.

One practice to go before our opening game, against the best team in our conference the last few years. One game will not make a season. But, I have been waiting with great anticipation for this contest since we scheduled it last June. All of this does not seem to be a good way to be heading into the game......................we will overcome.

Even with this frustration, it is still always my pleasure to know these young men, to try to teach them, and to experience the journey of this season together.

All thanks and glory to God our Creator, and to his Son, the Christ.