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
roll, the weeks preparation for an opponent 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 in their practice plan exactly what plays were going to be
run during the live session. 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 like Canadian football before the snap to simulate
speed we did not have.
On most days we threw in a competitive nugget, and 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 like they won the Superbowl. I couldn’t help but
smile when they took these celebrations to another level. Some days you could
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 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 the Friday
nights are won on Tuesday and Wednesday practices.

One on one conversations
Simple banter like “how are you today big fella,” or “what’s for dinner tonight
big guy,” with a scout player 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 scout team safety and had a knack
for finding the ball and for interceptions. If the scout D 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 is James 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 the book. “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 this book, share the story, expand the
audience until we find that someone. Someone that wants to share this story on
the big screen and in the theaters, 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... his teammates would do
anything for that young man, 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.