It was our worst practice of the year.
Not what you want on the Wednesday before the conference championship game.
Wednesday is for solidifying the gameplan, finalizing the scheme.
But there we were.
Out on the turf, missing our assignments. Everything bouncing the wrong way.
As I watched the offensive “show team” throw another touchdown pass over the heads of our defensive starters, I knew it was going to be a sleepless night.
Creating the Plan
This was a few years ago now.
I had spent the early parts of the week sitting in the office watching hours of film.
The odds were already stacked against us heading into the championship game that year. We had lost to our opponent twice in the regular season.
At that point in my career, I’d won the conference championship once as a position coach, but I’d lost the big game on two other occasions.
Safe to say, I was wound pretty tight early in the week.
After enough film study, though, some pretty solid tendencies began to emerge.
If they do this, it’s likely to be this play, so we should check to this…
I had it all figured out. The plan was clever as hell. We’d check to exactly the right defence to stop whatever play we thought was coming, based on tendencies found through film study.
It couldn’t fail.
Good on paper…
Back to Wednesday’s terrible defensive practice.
The plan, while sound in theory, was a disaster on the field.
There were too many checks, too many attempted adjustments.
It wasn’t going well.
As practice was ending, I considered shaking things off.
By Wednesday, it’s all about building confidence. I could downplay the errors, explain to the players why things would be different on Saturday. I didn’t see any other option.
As I was walking off the field, I found myself next to one of our defensive assistants.
“How was practice, coach?”
I asked it almost rhetorically.
“Well, the guys looked confused,” he said.
It hit me like a dagger.
Confused.
He knew it wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
Thank goodness he said it.
Midnight Epiphany
I tossed and turned all night.
How could we salvage this?
The week of practice was almost over. I had spent so much time selling the plan, explaining how clever I was for putting in all those great adjustments. What options did I have?
Then, lying in bed staring at the ceiling, it hit me all at once.
TAKE. IT. ALL. OUT.
I’d have to admit that my plan was flawed, that we’d wasted most of our prep days. Hopefully we could get one good practice in before the game.
It was the only way forward.
Gutting the Plan
I stood in front of the defence during Thursday’s meeting and explained that everything was out. All the new checks, new coverages, new adjustments.
Out.
We’d go back to playing our base defence. Being comfortable, playing fast. The nodding heads throughout the meeting room told me I was on to something.
We went out Thursday and had a great night of practice.
On game day, in monsoon-like conditions, we had a strong showing in all three phases of the game. By the end of it, we were conference champions.
Striking a Balance
It’s like walking a razor-thin tightrope.
Too much install, and we start to slow our players down. It doesn’t matter how good something looks on paper. Can the players execute it in the heat of the game? At full speed? With confidence?
This is the important question.
Too far in the other direction, however, can be just as damaging. If you’re completely stagnant and predictable, your opponent will take advantage.
It’s all about finding that sweet spot.
These days, I try to trust my gut when I feel myself tilting too far in either direction. Changing things up midweek can be difficult, but sometimes it’s the only way to go.
If nothing else, at least it helps me sleep at night.
All the best,
Jon Svec
Defensive Coordinator
St. Francis Xavier University
X-Men Football
IG: @jonsvecx
Twitter: @jonsvecx
Jon Svec is the author of the e-book Canadian Football Chalk Talk: Defensive Basics.