Coaches in Defense of Their Players
It’s not uncommon to hear a coach back up a player having a tough go of it and, realistically, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. If not for the players, all the coaching wisdom in the universe won’t win a coach a game. On some occasions, it’s the compassionate thing to do, e.g. a player makes a mistake which apparently costs the team the game (apparently, because there were several other plays throughout the game that, had they been executed properly - or even just better - might have negated the play in question). The coach knows how bad the kid feels and wants to show support, if for nothing else, all the practice time and loyalty the player’s put into the program.
Then there are other occasions where the coach really has to bite his or her lip because the blunder made by the player was something he or she was warned of (prior to leaving the huddle after a timeout or in a scouting report or something that was gone over during the halftime adjustments in the locker room), yet loyalty usually wins out.
Although infrequent, there’s the time that a beleguered player does something during the course of the season that is of a redeeming nature, e.g. makes a play to win a game. On the high school or collegiate level (and possibly, the pros as well), most of the players are too humble to want instant payback with a “How do you like me now?!” response. The coach can be of assistance here, but needs to be careful not to cross the line of loyalty versus driving a wedge between the media/fans who berated the former scapegoat.
This past Saturday, Fresno State played a game against Utah State which was eerily similar to one a couple of years ago in which they led by three, were mounting a drive, but had to settle for a field goal. The Aggies marched down the field, scored the tying TD and kicked the PAT to win at the final gun. Flash forward to last Saturday and the identical game was taking place. The Dogs up three, can’t get the six so they kick a field goal, only to watch the home matriculate the ball all the way into the end zone, go up one with the point after, and all of this with only 38 seconds to go.
All Fresno State can do is move the ball close enough for a field goal try with two ticks on the clock. And it was to be from 58-yards out! No one in Fresno State football history (which is a long and storied one) had ever made one beyond 55 yards. The place kicker, Kevin Goessling, happens to be 1) in his first year of kicking for the team (he redshirted last year, meaning they thought the guy they had was better than he was), 2) had earlier in the season, missed three out of four field goal tries in a three-point loss to powerful Wisconsin (at home, in front of a packed house of his “supporters”), 3) had missed a field goal in a home overtime loss to WAC opponent Hawaii (not too hard to figure out the ramifications of a missed FG in OT) and, 4) oh yeah, had earlier in this game missed a 22-yarder.
Naturally, he absolutely crushed this one - right down Broadway - and made it with probably five yards to spare.
Fresno State’s coach is Pat Hill, a former FSU and professional assistant, who runs the program exactly the way he wants it run. He was undaunted taking over for a legend (his former boss, Jim Sweeney, after whom the field is named) after Sweeney’s health (and the program’s) had deteriorated in Jim’s final few years. His philosophy of “We’ll play anyone, anytime, any place” and “Our goal is to go to a BCS Bowl” is embraced by the fans at Fresno State - until they lose a game or two. Then, they have to extend the call-in shows to give all the naysayers a chance to say what ought to be done. Â
Criticism isn’t easy for people to take, although some have thicker skin and hold up better than others. This is true within the coaching ranks as well. I remember hearing of one head coach who had his wife tape record the call-in shows so he could tell who was still supporting him and who wasn’t. Hill’s as tough a guy as they come, but nobody is so hardened that harsh words just roll off their back - especially with the amount of time coaches dedicate in putting out their product.
But, when asked about how he felt for his kicker who’d been maligned (more than once), Pat said he knew Kevin was a good kicker, had a strong leg and was going to win more games for the Dogs before it was all over. Then he capped it off perfectly with:
“He’s a lot stronger person than the people who are yelling at him.” Â