One of the most rewarding seasons I can ever remember as a coach was one where we started out losing something like 8 out of the first 9. Kids were down on themselves at that time, understandably. I kept preaching hard work, and above all, I kept reminding them of the truth as I saw it, specifically, that we were talented enough to beat any team in the league and not just once in a while. I never slacked off, but instead, worked the kids harder and harder to almost ridiculous proportions. We finished every practice with the craziest conditioning sessions that I derived from my time in the Corps. I made them miserable for three reasons: first I wanted anybody who wasn't committed to leave, second, I wanted them to understand that in no way shape or form had I given up on the season, and third, I needed to develop some mental toughness. It can be hard to focus on your practice reps when you KNOW that grueling 30 minutes of hell was coming at the end. There was one condition that had to be met in order to avoid the gauntlet at the end. EVERY kid had to give 100% effort on every rep of every drill, or every game situation play along the way. We might have had a single practice where that happened. The net result though, was that the quality of practice went up and kids did a way better job of holding each other accountable.
We finished that season one game under .500 after winning 7 of the last 8. I was so proud of those kids, when it was over. At the end of the season, we talked about the lessons learned. The kids talked openly. Most all of stories involved something mental. The most common thing I heard was, when you fear practice, suddenly game pressure doesn't tighten you up as much. One of the leaders of that team returned to school after college to be an assistant coach for me in the program.
(Obviously, my sport isn't football because you can't always practice that way during a season for fear of injuries and you can't compete on Saturday with dead legs, but I digress.)
Many of us, including myself, had high expectations for GT heading into the 2015 FB season. I had no idea where our record would be, but I didn't envision what we have witnessed to date, just as I didn't those years ago coaching my team. I guess my point is, this can still end up being a very rewarding season, even if there will be no Orange Bowl at the end.
