Fourth and Goal
by B.J. Eick, director of youth activities

Today is November 28. By the time you read this, two things will be certain. Winter will officially be upon us and the Ohio State Buckeyes will once again hold the National Championship title in college football. How can I say this with such confidence more than a month before the title game? Simple. They are a great team! Whether I am right in my prediction or not, there is no doubt a lot can be learned from evaluating great teams and how they work. What makes a great team? Great teams come in all different shapes and sizes, but they are all very similar. Contrary to popular belief, great teams aren’t formed from an accumulation of great players and great coaches, they are the culmination of players and coaches working together to achieve greatness as one united effort. All of us work in teams every day. At school, in the office or in the field, we all count on some sort of teamwork to get our jobs accomplished. Achieving greatness with a team can be a difficult and complicated task. Here are my four downs to scoring success with your team!

First and Ten — Talk
It’s time to get in the huddle. Communication is the number one key to any relationship. Communicating thoughts, feelings and ideas makes a team work more effectively. It’s hard to believe with cellular phones, conference calls,
e- mail, faxes, blogs, text messages and all the other great communication technology available to us, communication can still be a problem, but it is! Communication is the foundation upon which your team is built. The ideas your team members have and their ability to freely convey their individual thoughts, strengths and weaknesses make your team stronger. Communication has to be a two way street. For effective communication to take place, everyone’s opinions must be heard. Without an open line of communication, your receivers will continue to run the same unsuccessful routes. If they can communicate freely with their coaches and teammates, they will be able to identify the problem and create a new approach, landing you in the end zone!

Second Down — Evaluate
Read the defense. Open-minded evaluation is stage two in creating a great team. Coaches, players and staff have to closely evaluate all sides of an issue before moving forward. Once team leaders have encouraged communication, they have to provide a forum for evaluating everything that has been discussed. Just like the assistant coaches in the press box, high above the playing field, it’s best for all of us to step away from the issue during the evaluation stage. People must exercise their ability to release their convictions and take a look at the big picture in order to make solid decisions. Great teams not only allow everyone's opinion to be heard, they also consider all the ideas they are approached with, no matter how off the wall they may seem at the time. All too often people do things the way it is expected by the status quo because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” Using this attitude is nothing more than a surefire way to hit a brick wall with your progress. Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes always keep a trick play up their sleeve for the big games and tight situations. Often times pulling something new and different out of the playbook turns into a big score for everyone involved!

Third Down — Adjust
Call an audible. Once we’ve evaluated the situation, we can adjust properly. You don’t keep running the ball up the middle if your fullback is getting stuffed. You have to adjust. Maybe it’s time to call a new play or make a few changes in the lineup. The biggest portion of adjusting is learning how to use the people on your team the way they work the best. Great coaches know how to use all of the potential they have on their bench to get the team to peak performance. They evaluate each players talents and adjust the playbook accordingly. They have plays drawn up for specific players and they know how to use each players skills to get the best results for the team. Great coaches also realize, given the chance to adjust, people’s talents will naturally exceed their weaknesses. If a team will allow the flexibility needed for their players to display their talents, their weaknesses will become a non-issue. Without a doubt, people will exude more effort at a position where they have natural talent. However, if the team can only find problems with the player, rather than focusing on their skills, they are not likely to receive much effort out of the player in any aspect of the game! Everyone on your team is good at something. As a leader you have to discover these talents and use them where they work best for your team. Adjust the playbook and use the hand you were dealt to it’s strong suite and you will find yourself taking a Gatorade shower at the end of the game!

Fourth and Goal — Make it happen
Take it in for six! It’s time to make it happen. This is where all of the preparation and hard work, all the two-a-days and the practices come together. Everyone must do their individual part to get the job accomplished. But before you tie into the big game, you should make sure you have clearly defined the goals for your team. What do you want your team to accomplish? A clear and concise game plan is another huge key in making your team successful. Defining your goals, providing incentives for reaching goals and keeping the team motivated are all factors in making it happen. Winning the game is everyone’s goal. By defining the path for your team and using your players in the right positions, you will be set up to make things happen. The next time you get your team together, consider these four points before you make the pre-game speech and you will be on the way to winning the big game with your team! Go Bucks!

Front row, from left: R.J. Blankenship,Hollie Detrick, Lacey Caffee, Megan Lee. Back row, from left, Trae Simmons, Collin Hardcastle, Jason Salton, Morgan Core