|
|
DECEMBER, 1999
Coach Ricky Hunley
Associate Head Coach /Linebackers
University of Missouri
Other:
Coach
Dan Hughes
Head
Basketball Coach
The WNBA Cleveland Rockers
Coach Hunley's been with the Tigers for six years and serves as associate head coach. He has coached the defensive line for three years and now tutors the linebackers. He gained experience with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992) and San Diego Chargers (1997) as part of the NFL's Minority Coaching Fellowship program. He has completed the AFCA professional and advanced professional development series. In 1998, Coach Hunley served on the AFCA Asst. Coaches Committee as the Big 12 regional rep and also on the AFCA Minority Issues Committee. |
SMC: How do you evaluate your team at the end of the season ?
RH: First I look at what goals we've set at the beginning of year compared to the past season, which student-athletes came back and their perceived potential. Obviously coaches shoot for the stars then readjust as the season progresses. But, if you don't have very specific set goals the team will march through the season with no purpose. We measure how successful the zone blitz was against our opponents. We measure success by how well we did with first downs, If the opposing quarterback threw the ball for a gain of 3 yards or less, we were successful. If on the 2nd down, the opponent didn't get a first down; if we stopped the drive… we were successful. We also evaluate our team on how well we controlled field position and time of possession.
SMC: What if your season was not what you had hoped for?
RH: You have to begin measuring the season based on the goals you had set. You wanted to achieve a winning season but what factors came into play? We lost our starting quarterback; obviously that effected our season. What about specifics like how you controlled the time of possession and points put on the board? Look at your season statistically and at each player's individually. What position hurt or helped the team then obviously factor that into your recruiting plan.
SMC: When you evaluate your team you always find "me guys" on the team. How do you work with them? How do you motivate them to focus more on the team?
RH: You'll always find "Me guys" and the challenge is to evaluate whether or not they're willing to lay everything on line for the team. Your senior leadership must take part in helping them understand their role on the team. Obviously, the coach does too because when the team succeeds, we all succeed.
SMC: So how do you get "me guys" to understand?
RH: Usually, they're players with real talent and ability and the best way is to help them understand the whole scheme both offensively and defensively. They have to understand why it's important that they do something. Many times they're simply undisciplined. They'll go outside the realm of their responsibility which leave seams, gaps for the rest of the team. A coach once told me that there have to be 11 guys each guarding a door. Their responsibility is not to let anybody in their door. Do whatever you have to do to keep people out. if you run away from your responsibility to help someone else, everybody is hurt by it because you loose your focus, your responsibility. Break their responsibility down to simplest form to help them understand.
SMC: What does it take to get the most out of any player?
RH: Football is a series of seconds… not a 60 minute game, or 4 quarter game… Ask the player, "can you give me everything you've got for 3 to 4 seconds? Can you play as hard as you can for 60 minutes? Probably not. For two quarters? Probably not. But can they play as hard as they can for 3 to 4 seconds? Probably he can. He understands that and the coach has the responsibility to get him to do that throughout the whole game… The key is to get the whole team to do that all the time. Break it down to its simplest form.
The biggest mistake we make as coaches is to put adult heads on kids bodies. They don't know what we know… we spend hours and hours and we don't get it right all the time.. we're playing live game of chess and hoping they're do what we want them to do.
Teach your guys to play their assignment as hard as they can then react to the rest where you can. You'll always have "me guys" and you've got to praise those guys loudly and criticize them softly. Look them directly in eye and whisper in their ear…"you gotta do better".
SMC: Is there anything else?
RH: You've got to believe in your players even when they don't believe in themselves selves. It's about building honesty & trust in the relationship. You have to know how bad they want it and whether you can you trust them to follow through. Somehow you have to get them to all work toward a single focused purpose. I tell them they must consider the consequences of their actions. Kids are exposed to so many different and difficult things. I tell them not to put themselves in a position to deal with those negative things. Then as a coach you always have to ask yourself the question "what if?"
SMC: What are the biggest challenges a coach faces today?
RH: Coaches today have so many commitments above and beyond the x's and o's of the job. Just like medicine, banking or other professions, everything is specialized today. As a result, there's not as much interaction with your players' life outside of football. It's terribly difficult to know who the young man is and what he's all about with the limited time we have. You want to treat the players exactly alike but they're not the same so you have to find ways to get through to them on an individual level.
One of the biggest challenges is helping kids to manage their time. Many of them are still kids who basically don't want to be responsible. They've got a variety of new decisions to make which makes it difficult for them to stay focused on football. For many of them they're not only responsible for balancing their time without their parents watching over their shoulder but they may also be balancing a checkbook for the first time too.