Every coach has a favorite phrase. A good phrase is something that you use at practice, at half-time, after a tough loss or an exciting win. A good phrase can help keep a team focused that is riding high, and can help a team bounce back after a disappointing loss.
My favorite phrase for a long time has been….
The game is talking to you. Are you listening?
This phrase can be used in so many situations and my favorite part is that it immediately makes the players start thinking. If players are actively engaging with the problem being solved, there is a lot better chance for success. I believe I first heard this phrase when reading the book by Jeffrey Marx ‘Season of Life.’ I would encourage all coaches, of all sports, to read this book. It is a great story of coaches making a difference in the lives of their players.
The quote says the ‘game is talking to you’, and there are so many directions you can take that. One direction to take it, when talking to your players, is to bring in all the senses that we have to experience something: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste and Touch.
Sight
A favorite phrase at Concordia College was teaching our wide receivers and QBs the acronym ‘DEAL’ to figure out what coverage the defense was in. We were trying to get them to actively see all the information that was being presented to them.
D = Depth – If the cornerback is playing back at 7-8 yards and the flat defender is shallower than the corner, then you most likely have Cover 3 Zone.
E = Eyes – If the defender has his eyes inside on the QB, then it is most likely Zone. If the defender’s eyes are locked on you it is most likely Man.
A = Angle – If the corner has his body tilted in, then it is most likely Zone. If the corner’s body is straight up to you, then it is most likely Man.
L = Leverage – If the corner is up tight on you but has outside leverage, you might be funneled inside on a Cover 2 Zone. If the corner is head-up or inside while being walked up, you are most likely facing Man coverage.
Again, the ‘DEAL’ is all about what the game is telling you visually with your sense of sight. You are ‘Listening to the Game’ by taking in these visual cues.
Sound
There is so much sound happening before, during and after a play that can be helpful. I remember in high school that we played a split 4×4 defense which means that both of our defensive tackles played ‘3’ techniques, which means they are outside the offensive guards.
This left both A gaps open and teams would sometimes think just running Quarterback Sneak up the middle for a few yards was a good play. In one game the opposing quarterback started checking to a new play and said something he had not said the whole game….
Green 12, Green 12
While playing corner, I looked over at his number and 12 was his number. He was checking to quarterback sneak! I yelled to my middle linebackers ‘That is QB Sneak!’. That quarterback looked at me with a big ‘Uh Oh’ look on his face because he knew there would be nothing sneaky about this quarterback sneak! He only got a yard or two if I remember right.
The sense of sound is so important in ‘Listening to the Game.’
Smell
At first thought, it might seem like the sense of smell doesn’t have much to do with understanding the game, but we use this term to detect the emotional swings of the game.
You call almost smell the fear that a team has that is on the edge of being defeated. There are probably a bunch of visual cues that are telling us this about the body language of the players also, but we usually describe sensing this defeat/fear in terms of smell.
Taste
On the other side of defeat/fear we talk about anticipating the taste of victory. I can almost ‘Taste it’, is a common phrase we have all heard.
The game is telling you that success is near and that you need to stay focused and finish the job. If you want to ‘Taste’ success you cannot waiver.
The game is trying to tell you that it is not over yet. You need to finish the job.
Touch
The sense touch of course can be looked at as barely making contact with somebody. But football is all about contact so that is how touch can be described. My favorite phrase related to this is that ‘The Low Man Wins.’ In the 2021 Super Bowl just a week ago, I was watching Tampa Bay try to punch a score in at the goal line in the 2nd quarter. It was a very simple outcome where the Kansas City linebacker got lower than the Tampa Bay running back at contact and stopped him short of the goal line.
You can go to this YouTube video and watch the play there from 3:22 to 3:27.
I bet that running back is ‘Listening to the Game’, and the next time he is on the one foot line he will make sure he is the ‘Low Man’ so he can score.
In the end you have to find a set of phrases that fit you as a coach and the experiences that have brought you to that point. Players will only remember a small percentage of what you say. So tying your message around certain consistent phrases will keep bringing them back to the central theme of your team.
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