(S28) PT 4 - Back to School

[Jay_Doctor]

As temporary coach of my high school team, I would first do my best to get acclimated to roster, playbook and coaching staff. I would not have the intention of being the long term coach, but I'm too competitive to let the team play poorly if it's in my power to keep things rolling. After going through the first couple days of practice, I see some adjustments to make. We have a couple players who are natural athletes, but look completely out of position. A switch a WR and CB to opposite positions and have the position coaches spend some extra time getting them up to speed. I also push the RG out to RT. He has faster footwork than the current RT, who struggles with speed rushers. Both position switches have almost instant benefits and help both sides of the ball flow better. Another big change is simplifying things on the defensive side. There are about 4 times as many plays as needed, especially at the high school level. Man coverage and cover 2 will be what we primarily run out, with occasional other looks as needed. A lot of high school football comes down to talent. It's more difficult for a coach to coach their team into a win, though the opposite is not true at all. A lot of coaches don't utilize their personnel or try to run complicated schemes. Offensively, things are pretty stable. The option run out of spread with a variety of short and medium passing feels like a strength of this team. We also have two All-Conference caliber Tight Ends that need to get heavily featured. One is a monster in the blocking game yet can still sneak out for that 3rd and 5 pass. The other is huge for his age and can run as well as most of the WRs. He is a true matchup nightmare for any team in our conference and honestly any team in the state. The first half of the game the team is playing timid. It feels like they aren't aware of how talented they can be and are playing to the competition. At half time, we go into the locker room only up 14-7. I can tell the vibe of the team and coaching staff is content. We are going up against one teams in conference that routinely makes the playoffs and competes for the conference championship. Doing my research before stepping in, I know this will be a down year for them though and we aren't playing up to potential. Right away I lite a fire under the offense's ass. Most plays, we are letting the defense dictate the pace of the game and are sitting back. I challenge the offensively line specifically to step it up physically. With the exception of one DT, we should be able to push them around at will. The second half starts and the sideline is anxious yet excited. We go out on defense and stuff the run on 3rd and 2 to force a 3 and out. That energy translates over to the offense when they take the field next. A 10 play, 64-yard drive results in 6 points. In reality, it would result to way more than that. The players and coaching staffing started to realize the potential this team has. The offense would go on to score 3 more touchdowns in the second half while the defense only gave up a field goal. After the game, I let the team know how proud of them I am and that this right here is the expectation, not the goal. The team would go on to win conference and make a good run in the playoffs. They came up against the eventual state champions in the semi final game, a private school who recruits from around the state and country. How that system is fair is beyond me, but it is what it is sadly. Either way, my high school alma mater should be proud of what they achieved.