“If ifs and buts were gifts and nuts, everyone would have a Merry Christmas…”
Your record today is what it is. You cannot go back and get a “do over.” Focus on the game ahead. There is a reason why your car’s windshield is much larger than its rearview mirror. When you are driving the car, you need to spend your time looking forward. It is OK to look back every once in a while; but if you spend too much time looking in the mirror at what is behind you, you will eventually crash into what is ahead of you.
Focus your coaches and players on this opponent, this week. Control what you can control. I’ve noted before, I love the game of football for its parallels to life. Life is unpredictable, and when a ball has points on its end, the ball doesn’t always bounce the way one expects. Football forces us to confront those unanticipated bounces and decide what to do next. Further, football often hands us the unexpected when confronted with daunting combinations of fatigue and stress.
What are you going to do now Coach? (The whole community is watching…)
What’s next Quarterback? (Your teammates are looking for your example…)
How about you Senior Letterman? (Every underclassmen’s eyes are on you…)
This game, like life, demands mental toughness, the ability to endure and to focus on the goals and objectives you’ve led your team to pursue. Jack Clark, the University of California Rugby Coach who holds more NCAA Division I National Championships than any coach, in any sport, defines mental toughness as the unrelenting ability to identify and execute the next most important thing… no matter what.
Put down the ifs and buts…
The next most important thing is this week’s game and this week’s opponent.
Get after ‘em!
O Line Skills 