Simply Put- "You Can’t Coach Scared”

10/2/08
By: Clint Cox

With a minute to play last Friday night in Jacksonville, Marianna scored a touchdown and trailed 21-20 to Episcopal. As my buddy Russell Register and I speculated on the radio about what Coach Armstrong might do, Register asked me what I would do if I were the coach. I instantly replied "Kick the extra point" and send the game into overtime. I knew this went against the tradition of ‘go for the win on the road and go for the tie at home’ that some folks advocate.
Fortunately, Coach Armstrong wasn’t thinking like me. Marianna went for and converted the two point conversion to take a 22-21 lead. Then they held on that final minute for the one point victory. It was without question a great comeback and finish for the Bulldogs.
In Coach Armstrong’s post game interview on the radio he said it was never a question of whether or not to go for two, it was simply a matter of what play to call. When we got off the air I told him of my comments to Russell about kicking the extra point. Armstrong responded to me "Clint you can’t coach scared." I thought about that comment all weekend long. He was absolutely right.
Over the past 30 years since high school I’ve coached my fair share in various youth leagues for football and baseball. I had some years where we fielded some really good teams and some years where wins were hard to come by. After thinking about Armstrong’s comment I recalled that in my younger days of coaching I didn’t hesitate to take a chance or roll the dice so to speak. I can remember chastising my Auburn friends when former Auburn Coach Pat Dye went for a tie in a game. I called him Pat Tie Dye.
But somewhere over the later years of my life I seemed to lose that daringness, that willingness to roll the dice. My play calling late in the game became very conservative. This from a guy who used to love the razzle dazzle plays, the trick plays, the high flying offensive show of the early Bobby Bowden teams. So what happened? I really hadn’t thought about the change until Armstrong’s comment of "Clint you can’t coached scared."
Armstrong’s comment reminded me that sports is a game and is meant to be fun. Having fun means taking some calculated risks, and not being scared of "what if it doesn’t work." It’s like the old saying of "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." I realized I’ve gone soft in my older age and have let the fear of losing keep me from playing the game.
Simply Put, I’m turning over a new leaf. The old me is back. Let’s go for the win and if it doesn’t work out that way, so be it. But it won’t be because we didn’t try.
From the front porch: Coach said luck is a lazy person’s estimate of a worker’s success.