CoachKSooter 🦬

On a recent podcast, I was reminded of a story about having a balanced offense. It was when we were still an Under-Center Wing-T team. Many years ago, I had a local reporter come by the office one Sunday evening after our coach’s meeting, and he asked, "Coach, when are you going to throw the ball a little more? I think you need to be more balanced.” He had been making snide remarks in print and in public about our boring, unimaginative offense. I knew this was an opportunity to enlighten him and maybe make him an ally to our program. I do have to give him credit for being funny with some of his comments. There is one in particular that I will always remember (it made me laugh). He had written in his weekly column, “What do Michael Jackson and our wide receivers have in common? They both wear gloves for no apparent reason.” Another time, he referred to them as “Wide Tackles.” I said, “Well, I went back and looked at it, and I had called 18 passing plays out of around 50 total plays. Nearly 40% of our play calls Friday night were passes.” He said, “No coach, y’all only threw it nine times; that is only 18% passing,” as he pointed to his stat sheet. He then asked, “Aren’t you concerned about being more balanced offensively as you get into the meat of the schedule?” And I replied, “I didn't say we threw it 18 times. I said we called 18 pass plays.” I continued, “That means I called for a pass nearly 40% of the time. That’s a good bit of passing for high school.” I then explained that we called the Roll Out, Waggle, Belly Keep Pass, and Counter Boot. I would be remiss if I did not mention that we threw a couple of Hitches on the quick game (we completed one, and the receiver dropped the other). As I mentioned, we were an under-center Wing-T team, and the quarterback had the option to keep it if the defense dropped or the receivers were covered. Our QB at the time wasn't very tall but was quite an athlete. He signed with North Alabama and played defensive back. And then I said, “Come on, let's watch some film.” I showed him all 18 pass plays and explained them. I said, “Look, that's a pass; do you see the receivers running routes?” I said, “Do you see anyone taking the QB? He'd been a fool to throw it. Look, the receivers are covered. So he ran it.” I added, “Check out this Belly Keep Pass. He's rolling out; the outside linebacker stayed in the flat. He keeps it, gains 5-6 yards.” I laughed as I added, “We're calling passes, but the defense apparently likes to see our QB run it.” I continued, “We don't have the kind of quarterback to do a five-step drop-back pass style of offense. Nor do we have a line that can protect for a five-step drop. We're going to call play-action and roll out passes because it suits our kids and offense.” The reporter said, “I understand now, thanks for your time and the clinic.” The snide remarks in the paper stopped, and he turned into an advocate for our program. He loved having access to us and the explanations. Was he entitled to it? No, but our kids sure benefited from positive coverage from an enlightened, well-informed source. Coaching Points: Guys, high school coaches cannot always expect the kind of offensive balance we see on Saturdays and Sundays. Most of us do not have those kinds of dudes. Think about it: you need three things to do that: a QB who can throw the ball, receivers who can consistently catch it, and an offensive line that can protect your QB. Have the kind of offense and call the kinds of plays you need to win, not the kinds the media and fans want to see. After all, it won't matter if they say, “He called a hell of a game,” after a loss. Put your players in the best possible position to succeed; that’s why they put Coach in front of your name.