Look Sharp- Play Sharp

Look Sloppy- Play Sloppy - Team Sucks 

An experienced coach can often look at another team warming up and decide if they can play or not. A quick observation of the opposing coaching staff and how they are dressed will often  carry directly over the the players on their team. This is a lesson my dad taught me years ago, and the same lesson was carried on by Coach Wilson at Sebastian River High School.  

Like I said yesterday in my blog entry, I had the rare chance to watch a little youth league football last Saturday.  I pulled into the parking lot, and one of the opposing senior teams were warming up on the practice field.  I noticed how the team was dressed.  The team colors were black and red, so the uniforms themselves were very nice. However, I noticed most of the players had their jersey's hanging out.  Some were tucked in.  Some of the jersey's were half-in and half out.  Some of the players had socks on...some of the players did not.  Some of the players had neon colored socks on, and some of the kids had stupid looking beehive stripes on.  Some of the kids had one sock on and one sock missing.   Some of the kids wore a different colored shirt under their pads...some were blue, some were green, and some were yellow or neon.  The coaches looked just as bad with all sorts of shorts, sandals, and hats to wear with their game uniform.  I could tell during warm-ups that the team was going to be terrible, and they were.  This is a direct reflection on the coaching staff....they should be ashamed of themselves.

Looking sharp does not have to cost a dime.  Order the kids to tuck in their shirt. Make it mandatory. Make a team rule that ONLY white socks be worn...or only black socks..or even red socks....but just make sure everyone is on the same page.  Tell the kids to wear a simple white shirt under their pads...even black or red would be ok.  But, they should not allow the kids to wear a miscolored shirt to show beneath their uniform jersey.  It just looks like hell.  Shoes you can't do much about because in most cases, the kids are buying their own shoes, and they are expensive.  But, for the most part, the team needs to look identical.  Afterall, football is a team sport....not an individual sport.  I think the NFL has done an excellent job of making sure the players are dressing alike...while still allowing just a bit of individuality.  

There is an exception to my rule however...even though I am still not crazy about this either.  During Breast Cancer Awareness Month,  teams will often allow their players to wear pink colored socks, or wrist bands, or whatever to show support for the sometimes fatal disease.  OK, I can live with that for a few weeks.  But that does not mean I have to like it.  I generally just grumble and try to overlook it. 

My dad's football teams were very disciplined.  Everyone dressed alike...no exceptions.  We walked to the playing field in unison. We warmed up in unison.   Everything we did on the field in public was rehearsed.  His teams looked sharp and we played sharp...and we won....period.  "Look Sharp- Play Sharp" was preached to anyone who ever played for him.  It is a lesson I still believe in today.  

Our Team Always Look Great  

I have an old-school story for you here.  Back in my very early days of coaching, I used to coach in the Vero Beach Recreation Football league.  I coached in the senior player level in those days.  Back then, the kids purchased their own football helmets and pants.  Of course, the helmets and pants were almost always white in color.  The league itself supplied the different colored football jersey's which were always lettered with sponsorship by local businesses.  Of course, my dad always sponsored my teams.  The first year I was "the Bucs" and we wore orange jerseys to resemble the colors of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Our orange jerseys and white pants and helmets looked OK, but I wanted them to look even better.  I wanted our uniforms to stand out and look sharp.  I looked and looked before finally asking a local sign company to cut me some 2" orange stripes to be added to our helmets.  (remember, this is long before computerized letter cutting for vinyl)  The night before our first game,   I collected all the helmets from the kids and sat on my living room floor and added an orange  stripe right down the center of each helmet.  I had also ordered 30 pairs of white tube socks with orange stripes from a local sporting goods store.  Right before the game, I gave the kids back their helmets and presented them with a brand new pair of matching socks.  The kids looked so sharp before the game and they were so excited.  No one else in the league looked as good as we did that year.  We looked sharp and played sharp.  We went 8-0 that year.  People hated us.  I loved it.  

 Tradition Rich VBHS:  I Love it Here.  

Later:  

GZ