There was such a frosty atmosphere at breakfast this morning that I buried my head in a sports psychology book. Some of these publications are for the birds but this one had a bit of useful advice. Just before kick-off, tell the kids one thing you want them to achieve in the first five minutes. This helps them focus.
This nugget comes to mind when I see our opponents warming up, replete with newly-stitched “Sportsmanship Award” patches gleaming on their left arms. I will never understand why coaches choose to advertise their team’s weaknesses like this but there you go. One born every minute.
Armed with this crucial byte of information, I call our boys into the huddle.
"I want every outfield player to commit one seriously bad tackle in the first five minutes," I say.
Most nod their heads eagerly. Kids love proper instruction especially when laced with violence.
"But that’s against the spirit of the game,” says Joey, the son of college professors, the kind of boy who spends too much time reading books and not enough working on his weaker foot.
"The spirit of the game?" I ask, fumbling for a reply and making a mental note to try to embarrass him in practice next week. "In the spirit of the game I’ll drop you to the bench if you don’t do as I say."
There endeth the argument.
The first five minutes is a cacophony of whistles. My boys show how well-trained they are and bodies fly everywhere in the opening exchanges. Those on the other team who aren’t limping have quickly lost all appetite for the fight. They are much more skilful but we still cruise to a 3-0 victory.
What’s that they always say on ESPN? Coaching wins games.
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