I am so
excited to have the opportunity to write
again. Not so much because I enjoy sitting
at my computer agonizing over what to write,
god knows I hated that feeling in college.
But more because I get to return to this
little fantasy world I created for myself
while writing for the Windham
Independent. So thanks to Chris
Spaulding for again providing me an
opportunity to share with you my experiences
as a coach and the many outstanding
achievements of the student-athletes I have
been so fortunate to be associated at
Windham.
However, since it
has been so long since my last column, I have a
million random thoughts popping in and out of my
head. So many, it’s hard to figure out what the
theme of my first column back should be. So
instead of ranting about everything and
anything, I might as well focus football.
To be totally
honest, our football team has been the foremost
thing on my mind anyway. I think mainly because
I have really enjoyed this season. I look
forward every day to practice and certainly the
games on Friday night. I love our new spread
offense because of its versatility and the
pressure it puts on defenses. And I really think
it is going to get better as the season goes on.
I have also really enjoyed working with our
quarterbacks, Jackson Taylor (not Taylor Jackson
Mr. Goldberg!), Artie Winship, and Cody LaBerge.
They are all very coachable, making my job a
whole lot more fun.
To many it might
seem we are off to a difficult start. But I
don’t really see it that way. Certainly, our
goal is to make the playoffs and we will need to
win some games to do that. But we also want to
make sure we are getting better each and every
week. And to me, there is no question we have
improved. We are starting many underclassmen and
guys with limited varsity experience so there
has been lots of teaching going on in practice.
And I guess that is why I have enjoyed this
season so much. To me that’s the juice of
coaching, the reason you want to come back each
year and do it again.
Plus, we haven’t
played that badly. I thought we played pretty
well for three quarters against Deering. We made
some plays on both sides of the ball and gave
ourselves a chance to win. The punt return early
in the fourth quarter took the wind out of our
sails a bit. The lesson certainly is you need to
play hard for four quarters to compete against
the good teams in this league.
Bonny Eagle was a
strange game. Obviously, we played great in the
first quarter. We took advantage of field
position and some kids made some nice plays to
start the game. But for some reason, things
started to snowball against us. Partly, I think
because Bonny Eagle is an excellent team. They
have great coaches and many skilled football
players. But also, I think we let some things
get to us a little too much. The two fumbles
inside our own ten yard line really brought the
kids down and we never seemed to regain our
focus. We need to understand that those things
happen and that we are only truly as good as our
next play.
The injury to Nate
Dixon, I think, had an impact on everyone. Most
of our thoughts were on him at half time. I know
personally, I had a real hard time focusing in
the second half, especially since the injury was
thought to be worse when he left in the
ambulance. Thankfully, he just had some broken
ribs and will be fine in a few weeks, although
in some pain. Nate is such a tough kid that he
showed up Saturday morning to watch film and
helped out the athletic boosters at the auto
show on Sunday.
The lesson learned
in the Bonny Eagle game is the importance of
staying focused for 48 minutes. Football is the
ultimate team sport that requires 11 players to
do their job on every play. One mistake can lead
to a negative outcome. We need to find leaders
that pick us up emotionally when things are
going tough. In fact, to me that is what is
missing most – emotion. Watch any college
football game on TV and you’ll see emotion at
its highest level. In some cases, the behavior
pushes the limits of sportsmanship. I certainly
don’t want us to be bad sports, but an increase
in energy can go a long way. After all, football
is as much about emotion as anything else.
Our schedule gets
a little easier but by no means can we start
penciling in wins. Portland has a long storied
tradition and any win against them will not come
easy. We need to have our best week of practice
yet. We need to get excited about playing and
realize we have laid a nice foundation to build
upon. Our defense isn’t great but is getting
better. Our offense is good and will get better
as our young linemen improve – which they have
already. A win this week will go a long way in
gaining the confidence to make a playoff run.
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