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Casey: Today on Clubhouse gas Coach Jimmy Fields from Whitefield Academy
is back to help us with maybe some tips for game management. Maybe
you’re coming up this Saturday on your very first game. You’ve never
been a head coach before. He’s got a few easy tips that might help you
make it through the big day. Let’s go to Jimmy Fields from Whitefield
Academy now on Clubhouse Gas.
Coach thank you so much for joining us again. Last time you were here
we talked about managing practice. Today, we want to talk about
managing a game. How do you prepare yourself for Friday night?
Jimmy: You know it’s all about going over scenarios and it starts with you know
some parts of the game that sometimes you know, you tend to put on the
back burner, you know the kicking game, special teams and going back to
the practice this week we try to include that as a part of our normal
practice especially during our Tuesday/Wednesday practice. So as we’re
strategically planning for the opponent offensive and defensive then we
incorporate that into our normal practice together so then when it comes
first to the Thursday and we’re making those last minute notes and
preparations that we have already gone over with the kids and prepared
them but you know as for preparing our self you know I think it’s more do
we have for example an old sidekick thing. Do we have that?
Casey: Right.
Jimmy: Have we covered that? Do we have it on writing you know have those
reminder in your reminder sheet? So during the game you can look over. If
a kid gets injured you know you better have that handy reminder sheet so
that you will know when you’ll have a sub ready for that. All kind of
different situations, you know I remember seeing when I was a graduate
assistant at Alabama I think they had it with a Bear Bryant one of those
handy sheets that Coach Bryant actually had a manila folder that he had
winded up and probably carried with and I think if anybody made a
football movie or coaching movie you would have on game day the coach
with the piece of paper watered up in his hand and that I reckon he has
gained management so that didn’t change, you got to have those metal
notes but you got to have those written notes to help keep you own the
straightened arrow.
Casey: Today we have big laminated cards buckled to our belts with maybe to
pull off string but it’s the same basic situation.
Jimmy: Sure.
Casey: Is there anything for you that you dread thinking about a game situation
that you just think gosh man is it a fourth and a one in the 40. Is there a
certain situation for you that that call always gets you into buying that you
don’t look forward to?
Jimmy: Right you know, any time you know when I feel like I’m the one making
the decision, you know I always feel like and I have learned a long time
ago it’s not so much what I think or what I feel but you know what are the
players? What do they think? I mean if it’s fourth down and I may think
we need to go for it, but if you look into the eyes of those kids and there
you know not with you then you probably don’t to go for it.
Casey: You go ahead and kick that ball.
Jimmy: So I think it’s— you know I don’t know so much you dread it but you
know that’s nothing you’ll know that you get in that situation you know if
it’s fourth and one do we need to go for it. You know that’s the time I’m
not looking at that piece of paper that’s the time I look deep in the heart of
those kids’ eyes.
Casey: Right, how did you manage your 2 point diversion situation, do you have
a— there are charts that you could get off the internet when to go for two,
do you have one of those charts or is it just the field fan?
Jimmy: I reckon after you coach alone you kind of got a— mentally to be honest
with you, you know by the time I pull that chart out and figured out where
were and have somebody interpret and rate for me.
Casey: It’s like a black jack card.
Jimmy: You know we would have to take a few time outs before we figured that
thing out so we would rather conserve our time outs and certainly you
know the experience that’s where you’re allowing more than just yourself,
you know a group of men, a group of coaches to ask and to be honest
that’s the one good thing about delegating authority you know not calling
the offensive plays or Coach Peterson calling our offense here, you know
hopefully as we’re getting rate of score, you know I can be telling with the
other coaches how if we score, what do you think that we go for two or do
we just go for the one. You know and thinking about those situations but
the bottom line is you know what do the kids want in this crucial
moments.
Casey: For you, you talked about timeouts. As a hands on coach which is what I
am and hanging around you long enough I can tell you’re a hands on
coach. You get three time outs a half. I found myself always wanting to
call a timeout. There was always someone I wanted to talk to about the
timeout seems a burden sometimes because you don’t have enough of
them and how do you manage those three timeouts?
Jimmy: Well I think you know it’s always been kind of an unwritten lieu with me
you know you’ve got three and their there for a reason to be used
especially you know no one at any level, you know not just high school
with middle school, little league and even the guys playing on a certain
Sunday make adjustments. You know if you have to get in there and make
an adjustment that you know you need a timeout to actually pull the kids
over and talk to them to get them in the best position and you got to do
that.
And honestly, the one thing that once you get to start getting down to that
one timeout you know I think that’s the one you want to avoid. You don’t
want to use that last timeout. You know if there’s certainly if you’re still
in the first quarter if you’re in the third quarter and you know you got a
whole another quarter to play, you want to league yourself with at least
one timeout preferably to so you know calling that first timeout is not such
a burden but when you start getting to call on that second timeout you
know it’s a lot of stress you want to try to avoid that.
Casey: So for basic management as a coach you basically put the same
requirements on yourself that you put on your players throughout the week
just be prepared and be ready for anything and it should take care of this.
Jimmy: Sure, you want to make adjustments, you know sir, you know I think
anybody that has a been a round football you know at any level will tell
you, you know once you get in there on Friday, once you get them— yeah
they need to be prepared. They need to have been hopefully put in to
position that gives them the best opportunity but then once their there it’s
a matter of executing and can those kids you know carry out those
assignments.
And then you know from time to time they’ll always be an adjustment
here and there that you can help you know maybe. You know I found out
this probably more times than I would like to admit how wrong I am. You
know I think, well this is the best way to defend them or this is the best
way to attack them and I’m just convinced that they had until about
midway through the first quarter and that’s when you got to swallow your
pride and say, “Hey look this ain’t working” you know or sometimes half
time but you got to be ready to make adjustments and I think that’s part of
game management. Going in with the staff saying okay this is what we
believe is the best thing for our kids but plan B, plan C we’ll keep that on
the back burner. We might take a timeout; we might have a real time, a
real prayer meeting coming half time.
Casey: [Laughs] Alright coach well thank you so much that’s great information
that’s going to do it for us today and we look forward to seeing you right
back here next time for another great edition of Clubhouse Gas.
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