**Terminally ill university professor on achieving your childhood dreams. His thoughts on value of football at 8:16
Football is an amazing sport and some rightly say that it is the ultimate team sport. There is a spot on the roster/field for every type of athlete. Each position is unique and the fun thing about them is the development curve as players become not only bigger, stronger and faster, but more technically savvy along the way. Further, development within the unique scheme that each team deploys is key to being one’s best. When this occurs, the TEAM begins to shine.
I have coached a bit of football the past twenty six years
or so. Along the way, I have observed
that the vast, vast majority of young people who play the game, usually play
their last down of ball at the conclusion of their varsity and midget
careers. I have also noted that the a
great number of the very best high school football players that take the field
year to year in our program and those of our competitors fall into this
category. I will say this again for the
sake of clarity, many of the very best high school football players in BC,
never play another down of football past grade 12.
Who are these guys?
Well, for starts, they are amazing fellas. There is no cookie cutter profile for this
athlete, but there sure is a set of commonalities to them. They have first and foremost, a passion for
the zen and spirit of the game.
Everything they do is basically a commentary on this first trait. These great players go through the process:
They lift, run, skip and do all they can to prepare their bodies for the
challenges of practices and games. They
support their teammates first and foremost by maximizing their own point of
effort. They unselfishly learn and play
the positions that support the team the best.
They make the “big time” where “they are”. In so
doing, they raise the bar for all who around them and not just the other
players. Their coaches, in the presence
of such greatness, have to bring their best game to each and every
practice/training session or risk dishonoring the gift before them. Again, the bar rises.
Where do they come from? Well hec, they come from every type
of family and background you can imagine.
They come from across the socio-economic spectrum and from places where
football tradition is rich or poor. Many
do not show-up for the first practice of their career as standouts in any sense
of the word. They all have their own reason
for being at that beginning. At that
point, the adults and more experienced players have a big say in how that
desire is fed, watered, encouraged, challenged and ultimately developed. It is within that context that loyalty,
toughness, desire and selflessness flourish, always undergrid by TEAM for it is
far better to celebrate great accomplishments with one’s friends than to stand
alone. The physical component only nears
its potential with, and not separate from, this complex football stew.
These guys are the leaders on any given team. The one’s truly followed. They are followed because of what they
represent in the moment, the hour, the day, the week, the month, the season and
so forth. It is very likely that their private
and public lives follow a similar pattern.
The exceptional teams have their share of these fellas and as imitation
is one of the highest forms of flattery, these groups of young men that “rise
above” are usually a reflection the leadership within the roster.
I said earlier, that most players, and the majority of the
great ones, do not play football after high school. Why? Well, there are plenty of reasons. Genetics have a huge say. It is a Darwinian game with traits like size,
agility, speed and strength being huge selecting factors. As the financial stakes rise at the next
level for both the athlete and the host organization, DNA surely has its
say. Add to this great character,
academics and financial access and you get a kid with a good shot at the
collegiate level. It begins with DNA and
that is the one factor at present for which there is no “getting around”. Without going into great detail, the genetic
lottery is a great separator in terms of access to playing at the next
level. This is what makes “the lure”, a
kid with all the God Given athleticism, but lacking the character traits
previously described, one of the toughest things to witness as a coach or fan
of the game. I however, digress.
Another factor for lack of continuation is that as mentioned, these great high school players, with their work-ethic, character and innate leadership abilities, have an almost unlimited horizon of opportunity beyond high school football. High school football surely brought out these characteristics and the body of work along the way, developed them for the great things ahead. All of them leave with an appreciation for the game and some come back to coach or have their sons play down the line. The pads however, will not be strapped on again.
What is the point of this conversation thus begun? The point is that at the provincial level, we
may be missing the big picture. Worse,
we may be allowing the game to drift into a progress trap of sorts. Here is some general thinking
points:
The game comes first, the game, the game, the game! The game is a TEAM game, Team! Team!
Team! The best games are played between
collections of players that form the best Teams. If the game becomes about individuals and elites,
it is no longer the game. It becomes a
platform for individual self-aggrandizement and deification. The elites held high in the spotlight on the
backs of the faceless, striving many. In
short,” me” gets hyped at every turn and “we” is an orphan. What is being taught about the nature of the game of football?
Leaders have a huge role to play here and what leaders
emphasize sure enough, takes root. This
is surely the case with emphasis placed on the galaxy of provincial all-star
teams here in BC. What exactly is being
accomplished here? How is the game being
promoted at the grass roots level? How
are existing programs at every high school benefitting from this? What is this doing in terms of growing
football? Assuming there is a finite amount
of time and energy within the provincial organization, what percentage of it is
being spend running combines, ID camps and taking select groups off to foreign
locales for one or two games? On top of
this is the money. How much time is
spent fundraising? At ID camps, families
are having to come up with sixty bucks a head just to test. At weekend tryouts even more dollars and it’s
especially expensive when travel and lodging are taken into account. Again, for what exactly? The fee pyramid it would seem, is structured
to support the end game, which is a very limited number of folks taking a long
and expensive trip to participate in a game or two that does exactly what for
grassroots, g. 4-12 football in British Columbia.
Could these significant expenditures financially and again
in terms of energy, be spent more efficiently growing the game of football in
BC? Is the promotion of “elites” a
neutral thing or is it at the expense of the greater body of athletes/programs
as a whole? Ultimately, what is the
mission here? Are we growing, improving
and promoting the game of amateur football or are we here to feed the next
level? The argument cannot be made that there is a whole lot of development taking place on these all-star teams. The vast majority of the development takes place at the home program.
The current provincial emphasis feels, well, misguided. The same dollars could be spent running
regional skills and development camps. Referee
clinics could be piggybacked on top of these camps. Coaching certification, trainer certification
and concussion certification as well could be piggy backed on the regional
development camps. Would not a far
greater group of people and programs benefit from this? The overall quality of the game would go up
as would participation. Ultimately, as
the player pool increases along with the quality of the game, coaching,
refereeing etc. so would the pool of “elite” athletes.
Lastly, the best is the best. The next level finds the guys with the gene pool/academics/economics. If they can’t do that, they ain’t worth a
lick or deserving of the title “coach”.
Our provincial organization does not need to insert itself at such great
time and expense into that hunt. There
is something else at play here…..
