GBMWolverine: Coach's Corner -- Michigan Football -- Getting Off the Deck After Getting Decked

Posted at 4:00pm — 10/25/2011

GBMWolverine: Coach’s Corner — Michigan Football — Getting Off the Deck After Getting Decked

It happens to every team, at every level. “Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier,” for those of you old enough to remember the words of Howard Cossell in the great Ali-Frazier fight. The Wolverines went down with a heavy punch to the chin, and due to the fact that the punch was given by a rival with a nasty attitude, add in a severe body blow.

The next few weeks will tell if Michigan was knocked out in that game or the team got off the deck and responded well.

So, what can a staff do when such an inevitable event happens? There are some do’s and plenty of dont’s. First, the dont’s will be presented.

The very first don’t is to feel sorry for yourself as an individual or a team. If this happens, the individual or team will be in a tiny minority of one or a few, no one else cares. Within seconds after such a loss a coach must be reassuring but never give in to the temptation of providing an artificial “oh woe is me atmosphere.”

The second don’t is blaming others or other factors for shortcomings. This is convenient, perhaps comforting, but not a long-term or even a short-term solution. The scapegoat, the straw man, the pincushion; any such blame results in a lack of focus on the true situation and the tasks needed to succeed. This includes excuses, rationalization, and playing ostrich.

The third don’t is to respond in a manner that fits the term inappropriate. Poor comments made in victory are remembered for years, so are actions and comments made on the losing end. The brain must master the mouth.

The do’s start with the head coach and filter to the staff, the seniors, and the entire team. The head coach starts the process. Players may not want to hear a post defeat speech, but real competitors know this is a very necessary component to the bridge of future improvement and understanding. If a team is not provided the opportunity to dissect accurately what happened, then what happened will happen in the future, probably frequently.

The coach’s address is important, there must be support, there must be honesty, there must be accuracy, and the stage must be set for players to internalize what happened, regardless of the bitterness. The players and coaches need to affirm the message and send a clear signal of re-commitment back to the coach. The assistants and seniors need to reinforce this far beyond the coach’s address.

Players need to not only know what happened, but also maybe why something happened. Sometimes an explanation is so simplistic, a few words suffice. This is a good time for players to hear from a coach the plan for the future. We need to get better is insufficient; here is what we will do about it is better. Doing it is the best state of going forward.

This is a good time for total re-commitment; any cracks in the foundation, anywhere, can slow progress or ignite forces such as tension, friction, disagreement, or oppositional behavior. Goals can be restated and revisited, trust can be reinforced, and focus can be invigorated.

During the time between the coach’s address and getting back to work, reflection has been proven to be a valuable method for closure on shortcomings and reaffirmation of a task and mission that remains important.

The mental part is now done, but unless commitment and an intensified desire to achieve and get better were achieved, unfortunately the physical work may not maximize improvement. Getting back to work is welcomed by players and the next step is putting into place the remedies needed to get better, whether it be technique, working harder, whatever. Determination and intensity speed up the healing (getting better and feeling good about it).

The work is done and the game is now; time to see if the thought, direction, and hard work pay off. The game is on, the will must overcome deficiencies, and the will must never quit. The goal is in sight, the focus must intensify, and the result can be either crushing or invigorating, depending on the final score. During the game there will be adversity, mistakes, pressure, and a bending of will. All of this must be overcome.

This is why tough teams are toughest after defeat, and others continue to sink into the abyss. The other accepted viewpoint is the even-keel theory. Here the team gets neither too high or too down after a win or a loss. These teams tend to be yin and yang, up and down; well inconsistent is a good term. They win some and lose some and life goes on. Coach Hoke has made it clear the path UM will take.

We close with this: consistency is the hallmark of a champion.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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