Football...More Than A Game

Football!

As coaches, how many times have we declared, football is more than a game? But have we really ever thought about that? The game? Yes, we as coaches should all be passionate, focused, disciplined, engaging, fun, competent, win more than lose, etc. But have we really thought about the game and what it means to your players?

I have always said at the youth and HS level, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS. At the end of that day, it is about your players. This is not pro football, not D1 college, a prison sentence, or some other forced event, and 95% of your players will never play at the D1 level and move on to the NFL. Many will never go on to play at the next level for varying reasons. So that leaves a vast majority of your players playing football for love of the game and/or a variety of other reasons.

As coaches, it is our job to foster a love of the game. Love of the game starts with us. WE must love the game. Many coaches don't or no longer love the game. This is understandable in some cases when coaches are dealing with bad parents, low budgets, losing, stress, an unsupportive AD, burnout, etc. Many people don't realize or understand what it's like to be responsible for a football program, and building and managing a successful team. Some coaches coach for the wrong reasons. This could be ego, vicariously living through their players, reliving "glory days", ensuring your son or daughter is the QB or RB on your flag team or youth team, and more. If we don't love the game, we shouldn't be coaching. Simple as that. That love is contagious. Lack of love, well, that too is contagious.

So why is football more than just a game, and why should we love it? For starters, our passion is contagious. If we don't love the game of football, the kids won't. Outside of the wins (winning is fun and losing not so much), football offers something no other sport can and the game is more than 22 players running into each other. We will come back to this.

With the LA Rams, one of the things I loved most was when we were coaching up the youth and high school players. Their enthusiasm, energy, willingness to learn, excitement, responsiveness, etc., are a stark reminder of why I coach and love coaching football. Yes, it helps that I am an LA Rams Coach...they love that, but their love of the game, even in their limited understanding of X's, O's, etc., they still love the game and I love coaching it!

But one of the things that struck me most was when we (LA Rams coaches) would go into the LA County juvenile prisons to speak and spend time with the kids, and play some flag football. Remember, this is LA County. The "kids" in these prisons are gang members, some have attempted murder or actual murder charges, etc., both boys AND girls! These are some rough kids who had an even rougher upbringing, which led to some very tragic and poor choices. BUT!

When we bring out the footballs and flags? They would literally revert back to being kids. They were no longer gang bangers; they were children playing backyard football. Albeit with some spicy language and intensity ( I damn near blew out my knee playing with these kids!). This is the love of the game I am talking about. Put a football in a kid's hand and magic happens. Everything...stress, jail, etc., slips away. This needs to be fostered, nurtured, and shared. Football has so much more to offer than just wins and losses.

Having coached for some time now, I have coached absolute studs, solid players, developing studs, and kids who very rarely saw the field. We all have. But something I realized very early on in my career was that sometimes, a kid needs the program more than the program needs the kid.

Instilling a love of the games isn't exclusive to the studs. Its for every player on the team. There are players on the team who contribute in other ways versus TD's and interceptions. They are the motivators, will help in anyway they can, provide comic relief, try their best, are willing to help the coaches, and contribute in other ways. They love the game too. But what about those kids who love the game and need the program more than the program needs them.

I have had the privilege to coach those kids, too. They come from broken homes, single-parent families, zero athletic ability, they work three jobs after practice, etc. Sometimes, coaches never think about what those kids go home to after practice. Those kids NEED the program and the game of football.

The team or program may be the only family they have. The only sense of stability and belonging. The only safe place. Their teammates may be the only ones who stand up for the player if someone tries to bully them. YOU, as their coach, may be the only father figure they have. YOU may be the only one who can give that kid hope or, in some cases, a helping hand to his family, who may be struggling. The responsibility of a coach in these areas is immense and can make a difference long after you have retired from coaching.

Why? Why do any of us need the program or the game? The love of the game and what it gives us.

Let's explore a couple of reasons why the game of football is more than a game.

• It's fun! At least it should be. If it's not, then don't coach or play. Try a different sport

• Winning is fun. Losing sucks. Get better at winning.

• As a coach, our goal is not only to earn wins, but to develop winners. Not only championships, but also the number of champions we develop.

• Football is hard. Working towards a team goal and achieving it is fun, rewarding, and a critical life skill.

• What you put in, you get out! That's fun!

• Football is the only game where ALL 11 players MUST do their job in order to succeed.

• Football teaches us life lessons like discipline, control, overcoming personal and team challenges, critical thinking, being part of something bigger than yourself, etc.

• When you are down for what ever life throws at you, and lets face it being a teenager today is way harder than it was for many us when we were that age, having teammates who have your back, give you a sense of family, support, encouragement, and a sense of belonging and being part of something bigger than yourself, is priceless.

• Yeah, you or some of your players can make fun of some of your non-stud players and say, he just wants to wear the jersey on Fridays at school. But is that player still running the drills, running on scout O or D, still out there dogging it in 100-degree heat or rain, cold, etc? At the weight room? At conditioning? giving 100% Etc.? Then he or she earned that right and is a member of your team, and it's YOUR job to ensure teasing, mocking, and that crap doesn't happen. NEVER make fun of your players. Especially in front of other players. It's one thing to joke about a knucklehead in a fun way, and its entirely another to belittle a player. One is funny, the other is destructive. NEVER DO THIS!

• When kids pick up a football, the fun begins. From little toddlers to big toddlers! ;-)

• Even non-football players like throwing around a football at the beach, in the pool, or at Thanksgiving.

• Girlfriends, Moms, Dads, Sisters, love wearing their players' jerseys at games. I have 3 daughters, and they always wore my son's jerseys at games. The love of the game is a family thing!

• Engaging and building a sense of community and supporting that community. They support your program, support them!

• Football teaches us that the only thing you can control is yourself. I always tell my players, you can't control the ref, the other team, the weather, or your teammates, but the one thing you CAN control is yourself. Your attitude, your effort, etc.

• Football shows that hard work as a team and individual translates to success on and off the field.

• Football is hard. Really hard. So is life. Leading to overcome adversity is an outstanding life skill.

• Football teaches players to self advocate. As a I coach, I dont want to hear from your mom or dad about playing time, depth chart, etc. if you want to know why you are where you are, come see me and ask. Self Advocate. This ia an outstanding life skill!

• You as a coach, may be the most important person in a players life. You may have a far greater impact on that players life that even his own parent or parents. This applies to all coaches.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. From a coaching standpoint, football is far more than a game. There is strategy, IQ, planning, executing, time management, interpersonal skills, communication, budgeting of finance and time, and more. Sound familiar? Then there are the X's, O's, and Y's. Unless you are Bill Belichick, you don't know everything and, in fact, may not know anything. Bill might even say the same thing. The game has endless combinations and variables that need to be mitigated or executed upon. That is awesome! No wonder coaches love the game...or should. It is a constant process of self and team improvement.

So I would encourage you to think about why you love the game and why it is more than a game to you, then share that with your team, team parents, and program supporters. Your passion and love of the game are contagious. Your players will pick up on it and incorporate it. I also encourage you to think about each of your players and consider why the game is important to them. ASK THEM! You might be surprised and inspired.

Coach David Frederick