Hope for the Best and Plan for the Worst

A day does not go by that someone does not ask my thoughts on what the football season will look like this year.  I do not know.  Nobody (not even the experts) know.

I hope that we can start our summer Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Monday, June 8th, but I am going to plan for our players to perform their workouts off-campus and on their own.

I hope to host our Youth Football Camp the week of June 22 but will plan to have it in late July to buy more time for restrictions to be lifted.

I hope that we can have our team Mini Camp the week of July 20 but will have a plan to install our offense and defense with Zoom meetings.

I hope that the Vermont Shrine Team can report for camp the last week of July and play the game versus New Hampshire on August 1 but I will plan to have our offense and defense installed in fewer practices than we are scheduled for in case we are not allowed to dorm together for the week.

I hope to have our team report to Training Camp on August 10 and play our home opener on the 29th but will plan to continue workouts and installations virtually until the time we are allowed to come together as a team.

My friends who are Marines tell me “hope is not a course of action, and serendipity is not strategy…” Yet they are still some of the most optimistic people I know. Even in the most challenging of circumstances, they find silver linings, reasons to work harder, and opportunities to learn new lessons.

These are uncertain times indeed, and we will most certainly work hard, find good, and learn about our teammates and ourselves. We’ll stay optimistic, hope for the best, plan for the worst, and be grateful for the opportunities we’re given.  Looking back at the list of “worsts” listed above, I can’t help but think if every last one of those “worsts” were to come true, we’d still be OK… and as a staff, we’d still focus on developing our players, our team, and our culture.

We’ll grow stronger through the adversity we encounter, set a good example for our student-athletes, and say a prayer for those whose list of “worsts” include the real tragedies so many encounter.  The Hilltoppers will be just fine… and we stand ready together; come what may.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at  richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!