I am lucky to have a job that enables me to travel this great country of ours and meet lots of fine folks. Along the way I have made some amazing friends, created some lasting relationships and been able to be a small part of some great accomplishments in football.
Coaching truly is a rewarding profession in so many ways and I LOVE being able to work with coaches and players year round. Many of the teams we work with over the summers are faced with the normal challenges every team has each season: filling those holes created by graduating players, breaking in new coaches, evaluating your talent to find this year’s strengths and weaknesses, etc. For others the challenges are a little greater- taking over a struggling program, or brand new program, even picking up the pieces when the new school opens and your team is forced to split up to fill both the new and old squads.
I get the greatest satisfaction from helping these teams find success in a season no one gave them a chance in. We’ve all seen it happen, hopefully we’ve all been a part of something as magical as that type of unexpected success.
Recently I’ve been in contact with several coaches whose teams have succeeded way past expectations. I’m always thrilled to hear their stories of limping into the playoffs only to knock off a higher seed than they. Many times it’s the same story- “Playing fast and staying simple worked again! They weren’t prepared for our pace of the game!”
I also enjoy the “Our school has never hosted a playoff game”, or “This is the first time our school has qualified for the playoffs in 28 years” comments. If those achievements don’t get your blood pumping, I don’t know what will. I mean who doesn’t root for the underdog in these situations?
So, for those of you that have had much improved seasons and are making your mark in the post season- Good luck and keep rolling along! For those of you whose seasons didn’t go as well as planned (they hardly do, do they?), you’ve just opened the door for new experiences are paving the way to create your own magical comeback story!
Feel free to share an underdog story here with us.
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