Scout Teams-Wild Card of Great Teams

One of the strangest phone calls I ever received as a head coach was from the father of a scout team player. “Coach Glodich, this is Bobby’s dad. I am having some issues with my son and he just won’t listen or do anything I say. He thinks the world of you and will do anything for you. I was wondering if you would help me discipline him for some of his behavior. I want him to run laps on the track. I will be there to watch and monitor. If you tell him to run, he will. Of course, I would let him get water if needed.”

My Response

After a few seconds for me to wrap my head around what was just asked, I responded. “Sir I am not comfortable with that, and I don’t think that is in the best interest of you and your son.”

Scout teams can make or break any team. When your scout team takes pride in its role – that of mimicking the opposing team’s moves during practice – the week’s preparation for a game can be amazing. I am proud of the relationships built with scout teams over the years, and I think we used some unique deployments to create competitive practice sessions.

Scout Team Strategies

Timed and scripted live scrimmage sessions is something we strongly believed in during practice. These live sessions would only follow a regimented sequence of other non-live sessions. For example, on offense we would first go up against garbage cans. On defense we would first react to formations and motion, but not snap the ball.

Each coach would have exactly what plays were going to be run during the live session in their practice plan. Our goal was to make sessions short, energized, and competitive. To make the playing field even, we would make the starters run a timed sprint immediately before the session. We would also allow our scout receivers to get running starts before the snap – like in Canadian football – to simulate speed we did not have.

On most days, we threw in a competitive nugget – if the starters did not hit the goal, they were issued some physical penalty.

Smack-talk

I have never been much of a ‘rah-rah’ guy, but I must confess that I really enjoyed smack-talking during these competitive sessions. There is something special about smack-talk when you know the targets will rarely respond (for fear of discipline.)

Celebrate to Humiliate

If and when the scout team did win the competitive session, I made the kids believe they had to celebrate as if they had won the Super Bowl. I couldn’t help but smile when they took these celebrations to another level. Some days, you could, almost literally, see smoke coming out of the ears of some of the starters. I made sure to warn the scout team to protect themselves during the next play. Frustration was going to come into the equation, as well as increased physicality.

Recognition

At the end of every practice, the coaching staff would single out a player who excelled during practice. Many times, we would choose a scout team player who would then lead the final chant of the day: “One, two, three, count on me.”

If we won a big game, in the post-game team chat, we would make sure to comment on the efforts of the scout team during the week. We say Friday nights are won on Tuesday and Wednesday practices.

One-on-one Conversations

Simple banter with a scout player – like, “How are you today, big fella?” or “What’s for dinner tonight, big guy?” – were the norm. The more conversations I had, the more the player bought into his role. Coaching must be across the board. The best way to show a kid you care about them is to coach them up daily. Scout players responded just as much to coaching as the starters.

Bean Pole

James Lowery was the perfect visual for the nickname Bean Pole. Nobody really called him that, but they should have. He was the epitome of a great scout team player on the 2013 Championship Team. He was the scout team safety and had a knack for finding the ball and for interceptions. If the scout defense pulled off an interception, then the starting offense had to immediately do ‘down-ups’ – a physical penalty where the players would run in place and drop down to the ground, then pop right back up.

James was a quiet and humble young man. When he did pull off an interception, he rarely celebrated, but his scout team members made up for that. They would surround him and jump in unison while the starting offense began their ‘down-ups.’

Where James is Now

James has a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Central Michigan University. At the time of this blog, he is confidently waiting acceptance into the MBA program at CMU. We had a wonderful conversation recently and I was impressed with his maturity and communicative skills. He is a genuine young man that oozes sincerity. There is no doubt why his teammates loved him and rooted for him daily.

Feedback Given

I have received some constructive feedback from my book, “A Run to the River,” – “Why wasn’t James mentioned? He would do anything for that team, and he busted his ass every day.” The feedback is spot on and of course, in retrospect, I wish he was mentioned. The solution is simple – continue to promote the book, share the story, and expand the audience until we find someone who wants to share this story on the screen, where James will have a role.

Yes, the head coach of a high school football program might possess some influence and power over his athletes. Yes, they might run through a wall or run laps for him. Honestly though, this is just coaching jargon and not reality. But the underdog-scout team player that everyone roots for, for him, his teammates would do anything – at any time of the day or night. Thank you, James Lowery, for your excellence. Collectively signed by the entire 2013 team and coaching staff.