Monthly Archives: January 2016

What I learned at Practice

The object of the game of football is to win the game. To win the game you must score more points than the other team. Sure defensive football coaches like to say, “If the other team never scores we will never lose.” But your team must score to eventually win that game.

So in my mind the offense is very much a part of the foundation of a football team. The foundation of the offense is the offensive line, the center, guards, tackles and yes those offensive ends.

The offensive line never gets the glory. The quarterbacks name is always in the paper. The top running back is always interviewed by the media. The defender who makes a great play or has the most tackles will get some publicity also. Once in awhile the offensive end will get some press but he has to do something besides just blocking to make the grade for the media.

This basic foundational part of football was taught to me back in high school. I was an offensive end. My high school football team ran the Wing-T with two tight ends most of the time. When the coach would divide the team up into positional practice, the offensive ends went with the offensive line coach.

I did not understand, why did I need to learn to pull like a guard, cut block, crab block, pass block or any of the other things an interior offensive lineman learns to do? Only after high school was over, did I finally realize the importance of the offensive line. When I would go to football games, post-high school, I was constantly watching the offensive line to see what was really happening in the football game. So the best education I received, about football, was when we were with our offensive line position coach.

Did you know that everyone that joins the Marine Corps is trained as a rifleman-infantryman first? Doesn’t matter if you will be an officer, enlisted, tanker or pilot you get the basics of rifleman-infantryman training first?

My thought is everyone who joins a football team should also be trained as an offensive interior lineman first. The quarterback, the running backs, the wide receivers, the defensive players, the kickers everyone should learn the basics of the offensive line. I can hear coaches now saying, “We barely have time to teach the kids their proper position let alone teach them some of the offensive line stuff!”

Doesn’t that sound just like life? Sure we go to church as often as we can. We are on the team, but we don’t have time to learn or study the basics of faith. According to studies of Bible readers, only 13% of folks read the Bible daily.1 How much time do you spend in meditation and prayer, daily? How much time do you spend in adult education in your church? Yes, the basics of faith just slip away from us.

Jesus was the kind of man who had the glory but gave it up to be a servant and savior for us. Offensive lineman, give up a chance for glory, (name in the paper or interviewed by the media after games) to deny themselves and give of themselves for the team.

Yes, Jesus is our coach today, but while he was on earth, I think he would have made a great offensive lineman. He was calling the blocking scheme at the line of scrimmage against satan’s evil team. He also was calling the offensive team to him, after the play, to come huddle up with him.

Join the team and learn the basics.

Mark 8:34 If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

(My football coach, when he got unhappy with offensive backfield players, would send them to the offensive line position coach, to learn about sacrifice.)

  1. Daily Bible reading poll