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TRAITS OF A GOOD FOOTBALL PLAYER: Desire is the determination to overcome an opponent, whether by delivering a solid block or by shaking off the block attempt of an opponent and going on to make the tackle. Desire is a state of mind, an abandonment of self, a form of courage, the joy of mixing it up. It is doing one's best, calling up whatever reserve power is available and never quitting. It is playing both for oneself and for the team's interest. It is the exercise of a determined will. It flows from your competitive spirit and drives you to achieve your goal. Desire is available to all kids, not just to a gifted few. We, as coaches, firmly believe that the size of the heart is more important than the size of the body. Desire is 100% effort, 100% of the time.
CONFIDENCE: The belief that he can do what he has been asked to do. Football but the idea is not to humiliate or hurt the players, it’s to get the kids to wake up, to realize that they are part of a team, and their actions affect their teammates. Most kids will get yelled at and be upset by it. Parents will be worried by it and begin to feel protective. The coach is just trying to motivate the player, to toughen him up, to prepare him, and to get him excited enough to put forth the effort needed to play football. Sometimes the coaches will need to bark at a player who is not paying attention. We don’t do it because we like to yell, and we certainly don’t do it to make the player feel bad. We do it because all team sports, football especially, requires team effort. A player who is doing his own thing, talking, or not paying attention while the coaches are teaching is risking possible injury to himself or a teammate, and is setting himself up for failure. Remember, as the great Woody Hayes once said, “Discipline is something you do for someone, not to them.”
THE LOVE OF THE GAME: This is an important part of any football player. A good football player enjoys the competition of a depth chart, and is willing to work his way up the ladder to starter. They have the willingness to play any position. They have the motivation to study the playbook and be responsible to their teammates.
There is only one way to succeed in anything and that is to give everything!
If you want to play like a dog, you can't train like a puppy!
There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren't willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. Michael Jordan
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