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7 Keys
Listen To The Podcast! Coach L. Albaugh DBLITY
Last week I asked, “Is it possible for a team that plays better football than another team to get beat 52-0 by that same team that actually DOES NOT play as good of football?” At first glance you might say – well heck, the team that won 52-0 obviously plays better football. And of course Texas, California, and Florida are the states that play the best football because they lead the nation in D1 recruits. To me, we’re really talking about which team has the most talent and which state has the most talent. Doesn’t have anything to do with who plays the BEST football. Consider this – we all know the average play in football lasts 4-5 seconds. I heard a coach say that the first 2 seconds of every play are what is coached and executed by the players. After that, the next 2-3 seconds are dictated by the natural ability of the players. So, a lesser talented team might be executing their offense, defense, and special teams at a very high level. They’re playing good football. But the other team has such superior talent that they overwhelm them in the 2nd half of the play. They didn’t execute as well but their talent took over and thus, beat a team that actually plays better football 52-0. So when someone asks which state plays the best football, maybe it’s Vermont. Maybe it’s North Dakota, Maybe it’s New Hampshire or Rhode Island. Or maybe it IS California. Who knows? And what do you think of my philosophy? Crazy or something to it. Let me know.
Certainly there are many keys to playing good football and we all could make our own extensive list. But I came up with what I believe are 7 keys to good football and I talked about it a couple of years ago. Here they are…
- Fundamentally sound in stance, alignment, communication, reading keys, adjusting to opponents alignments…
- Minimal offensive penalties – particularly false starts, motion, illegal formations.
- High level of offensive execution.
- Minimal unforced errors.
- Well organized in all 3 phases.
- Play great team defense.
- Hustle. Feel free to add to the list. There are a lot of coaches out there a whole lot better than me. AND…THAT’S MY TAKE!
Been watchin any of The Last Dance? Interesting. Reminds me of when Jordan 1st came to the league and a student of mine, Derek, said, Coach – he’s the greatest player of all time. Now this was like Jordans 2nd year. I said what? You can’t call a player the greatest after only 2 years. I mean, I had seen them all since the 50s. Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Kareem Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic, Bird, Dr. J, Jerry West…He said, You wait and see Coach. This was before the Bulls won those 6 titles. Years later I said Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time. I still think he is. And I’ve seen Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Nowitzki, since. Derek was right. Oh, one other guy said Jordan was the best player he had ever seen after coaching him in the ’84 Olympics. Bobby Knight. And he doesn’t hand out praise like that very easily.
The latest video on the Online Clinic features Aaron Kunz, head coach at Williamsville High School in central Illinois just outside Springfield. In his 17 years as HC his Bullets have gone 146-45 and that includes a 1-8 season in his first year. Since 2010 Williamsville has gone an astounding 105-16 and capped it off with a 3A state championship last November. Kunz credits the rise to the top partly due to what he calls The Difference Maker. Putting team vision, values, and culture first. This guy has done an outstanding job and you’ll want to take a look at his philosophy.
Hey, did you watch the virtual Kentucky Derby? I did, it was fun. Some complained it wasn’t realistic enough. All the horses ran the same and didn’t look enough like the real deal. That may be true, but at least it was something. And what a great idea to put the 13 Triple Crown winners against each other. Secretariat won as expected – heck, he holds the record time in all 3 races. How you gonna beat that? But as I’ve always said – Never a horse that couldn’t be rode, and never a man that couldn’t be throwed.
Sad to see the passing of the great Don Shula at age 90. Longtime coach of the Colts and Dolphins. What a career. So many of the old pros that I watched as I was growing up are no longer with us.
One more thing…Intelligent people are always open to new ideas. In fact, they look for them. Proverbs 18:15
Wanna make a comment on anything I’ve discussed? Drop me a line at popsalbaugh@gmail.com. Wanna take a look at the transcript of this podcast? Go to the website at clinic.chiefpigskin.com and click under “more” then click on blog. There are more fun things to look at and read.
Hey, join us next week for another CP coaches podcast and we’ll see you then!
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair. Nelson Mandela
Sweet 16 Countdown: 51. Alaska -9.2 50. Vermont -1.7 49. North Dakota 3.3 48. Wyoming 5.2 47. Rhode Island 8.4 46. District of Columbia 8.4 45. Delaware 14.7 44. South Dakota 15.3 43. New Hampshire 16.7 42. Montana 19.2 41. Maine 19.5 40. New Mexico 20.5 39. Oregon 24.2 38. West Virginia 26.3 37. Nevada 31.2 36. Idaho 32.2 35. Nebraska 32.6 34. New York 33.0 33. Iowa 34.4 32. Minnesota 35.9 31. Kentucky 36.3 30. Hawaii 36.5 29. Connecticut 37.3 28. Massachusetts 38.3 27. Wisconsin 39.9 26. Virginia 40.8 25. Oklahoma 41.5 24. Michigan 41.53 23. Kansas 41.8 22. Tennessee 41.9 21. Washington 42.6 20. Indiana 43.9 19. Colorado 44.4 18. South Carolina 44.61 17. New Jersey 44.63 16. Arkansa 45.0 15. Arizona 45.2 14. Mississippi 45.6 13. Alabama 45.8 12. Utah 46.0 11. North Carolina 46.7 10. Missouri 49.0 9. Pennsylvania 49.9 8. Illinois 50.3 7. Louisiana 51.9 6. Maryland 52.8 5. Georgia 57.2 4. Texas 60.8 3. Ohio 61.0 2. Florida 62.5 1. California 69.4
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Coach Albaugh coached high school football in Illinois for 28 years. During that time he coached at every level and on both sides of the ball. He was the offensive and defensive line coach for four undefeated teams and was a defensive coordinator in his last 11 years, twice reaching the semi finals of the Illinois state playoffs.
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