Football 101. Michael Ashley
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people who make the organization a success.
More operational information about VYI is covered at the Appendix of the book.
Working with Mentors
There was a man on top of his home as flood waters rose. A rescue boat came up and told him to get in. The man said he was very religious and GOD would not harm him. The water rose to the roof and another boat approached the man. “Get in the boat, we are here to save you”. Again the man refused and said God would not harm him. The water rose to his feet and a third boat came to him. They begged him to get in the boat but he again refused. The water rose and the man drowned. When he got to heaven he asked GOD: “I believed in you, how could you do that to me?” GOD said: “I sent three boats”.
The mentors are in the boat- you just have to be smart enough to get in.
Four Great Mentors Are the Backbone of Our Plan
#1 The United States Marine Corp
Marines take great pride in being the best in the world at what they do. They keep things simple and train beyond the point of getting it right. Marines train until they can’t get it wrong.
Marines believe in perfection and precision. It is not a catch phrase, but a way of life. One wrong move, one failed assignment could cost someone their life. Marines play for keeps.
Marines believe in discipline and courage. There is no obstacle that can stop them and nothing that scares them. Once you have survived Parris Island, everything else is a picnic.
Marines are passionate about being the best.
Every year I claim: “This is the best team we have ever had.” The other coaches laugh at me. Every Sunday I claim “these are the best pancakes I have ever made” (they are Aunt Jemima out of the box), or this it is the best movie I have ever seen, the best home I have ever listed the best player I have ever coached and the list goes on. In my mind, all of those things are true. My family is convinced I am a lunatic. The fact is: Passion for being the best never fades, it only gets stronger.
These traits have produced millions of young men and women that protect our country. If used correctly, they also build great teams, especially football teams.
Turning points come in people’s lives when they are least expected and will change them forever. Mine happened at Parris Island:
I was struggling as an 18 year old. My senior drill instructor came to me and told me I had the ability to do great things but I was wasting it, which I was. He gave me the confidence and inspiration I needed. I became an honor Marine at Parris Island, a member of the Presidential Honor Guard and did a three year stint on the ultimate team: The Unites States Marine Corp Silent Drill Team at Marine Barracks 8th and I.
Inspired people do great things. Coaching allows you to inspire others and be the turning point in their lives.
#2 Buddy Allison
Buddy was a former Marine and a great coach. Buddy taught me:
Football is fun
Draft for speed, speed and speed, then good looking moms (GLMs)
Discipline works in football just like the Marines
You can drive your team with fierce determination and still have them love you
He felt that if parents heard him cussing at their kids, they were too close to the field
Buddy would never talk to a parent about playing time or positions
Buddy died too young as well, but all of these traits are in use today, except for one:
Years later we drafted a kid who was very fast but was new to football. We had the policy of not talking to parents about playing time or position, and we communicated that to them. His father sent me an email saying “Nick is an AAU track and basketball star.” That was it. We gave Nick the ball and I am not sure whether it was his athletic ability or fear, but nobody could catch him. Vienna had won a hundred championships at the A level and over a hundred at the C level but never at the B level, which was dominated by smaller, faster clubs. We went 20-0 with Nick as our 2 back and won Vienna’s first two Championships at the B level in it’s 40 year existence.
We now encourage parents at the beginning of the season to tell us in one sentence what we need to know about their kids. After that, the Buddy Allison rule is in full force and effect.
#3 George and Ricky
Nice wheels
George Casey is a local dentist and one of the smartest coaches I know. We worked together off and on in the early 80’s, but we really got together for a great run in 1994. He and Ricky Lipscomb were the first coaches under the 150 lb program to consistently beat Maryland teams in the Washington Area Metropolitan Super Bowl (Metro Bowl).
George and Ricky believed in three things:
Get great players
Run well designed plays
Work hard against the best talent available
George and Ricky were great “X’s and O’s” guys and would teach me the base offense, defense and rules we would use throughout our career:
Ran north and south with an I formation, more commonly referred to as jamming the ball down people’s throats. You know, “real” football.
Used strong tough full backs as battering rams.
Ran 60-70% of the time and had a great passing game,which kept teams off balance. They would throw short and long and the combo routes were easy read routes.
Their teams could hit every part of the field, quickly.
They prepared for other teams like no one else. George could tell you where the coaches had dinner the night before. Ricky and George had film on everyone and studied it thoroughly.
George had a staff that NFL teams would envy and everyone knew his job.
George, his staff and players were totally focused and immune to things like weather,field conditions or opponents.
The team and coaches’ work ethic was unstoppable. They just plain out worked everyone else.
George would leave the defense to me but I learned most of it FROM him, and by trial and error over the years.
At the Vienna Inn, Ricky and George would lay out plays using Sweet and Low packets (pink) and I would lay out my defense with sugar packets. They would throw out their new play and I would have to defend the play using our defensive rules and reads. Sugar always won.
Changes before the big game
One day George showed up at my office before a big game with a new defense written on one of those pads