During training camp, we welcomed Burr and Burton Academy to our campus for a controlled scrimmage. It was a really good scrimmage… For them.
Burr and Burton arrived with 17 seniors who had played on a State Semifinal team the year before. They were experienced, confident, well prepared, and looked like a team already in midseason form despite being only two weeks into camp.
We, on the other hand, looked like a team that had been together for two weeks because, well, we had. We were still trying to figure out who we were, what we could do, and what kind of team we might become.
That night, Burr and Burton provided us with a valuable measuring stick. They showed us where we were and, perhaps more importantly, how much work we had ahead of us.
I remember leaving the field trying not to dwell on the outcome or everything that had gone wrong. Instead, I thought about the few things we had done well and the many things we needed to do better.
My thought that night was simple: If we committed ourselves to getting better every day, perhaps we would earn the opportunity to meet them again.
We went back to work.
Eighty-five days later, we have that opportunity.
This Saturday, we’ll meet Burr and Burton Academy again, this time with the Division I State Championship on the line.
A lot has happened in those 85 days.
Our younger players have gained experience. Our veterans have grown into leadership roles. Our offense has evolved. Our defense has improved. Our special teams have developed into a more consistent and dependable part of our game. And somewhere along the way, we’ve developed a clearer understanding of who we are as a football team.
But the work that brought us here didn’t begin 85 days ago. It began shortly after last season ended, when our players made the commitment to prepare for the season ahead.
I’ve often said that football games aren’t won on Friday and Saturday nights in the fall. They’re won during countless afternoons on the practice field, in the weight room, in team meetings reviewing film, and in the everyday actions teammates take to reinforce success, hold one another accountable, and do the right thing when no one is looking.
That’s where teams are built. That’s where habits are formed, standards are established, and trust is earned. And that’s where the foundation for success on Friday and Saturday nights is laid.
None of that happens overnight.
It takes months of dedication, discipline, and hard work. It takes players willing to put the team ahead of themselves, to accept coaching, to learn from mistakes, and to hold themselves and one another accountable.
And I’m certain Burr and Burton has been doing much the same.
That’s what makes Saturday’s opportunity so special. Two teams that have invested nearly a year preparing, practicing, competing, and growing together have earned the opportunity to compete for a state championship in November.
But Saturday isn’t about what happened 85 days ago. It isn’t about what either team has accomplished since. And it certainly isn’t about settling a score from a preseason scrimmage.
It’s about two football teams, each having earned its place, competing for a championship.
That first scrimmage gave us a picture of where we were. Saturday presents an opportunity to demonstrate how far we’ve come.
For 85 days, we’ve worked, competed, made mistakes, corrected them, and come back to work the next day. Along the way, we’ve learned a great deal about ourselves, both individually and collectively.
Now we have one more opportunity to put those lessons to work.
One game. One opponent. One championship.
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!
