I know you have been waiting to learn about the OODA loop. Many of you have been thinking about bringing this up to me…I just know it. OK, maybe not. But this is something I learned many years ago and it actually came up in a conversation I had just yesterday (Sunday).
I have mentioned my late friend Frank Gansz who was one of the most inspiring and knowledgeable coaches (people) I know. Frank was one of the original Special Teams coaches and to this day acknowledged as one of the best coaches in the NFL.
Frank taught me many things about the great game of football – but in his own way he taught me about the OODA loop.
The OODA loop is something that everyone can use in day to day life. (Actually you may already use it and not even know why or what it is). It is especially effective when utilized in high stress decision making situations. Trust me it is very effective.
OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. It was a system developed by a USAF Colonel – John Boyd. Now John Boyd should have attained a rank of higher than Colonel, but apparently he just could not get along with his superiors.
He must have been a stubborn guy who stood by his work and his assumptions. This got him crosswise with leadership and put Colonel Boyd on the “shit list” with many higher ups. He was known as the “Mad Major,” and “Genghis John” due to his strong stances about warfare in the sky.
None-the-less his theories are used throughout the world today. Colonel Boyd had a dramatic impact on aerial warfare and he is credited with helping to develop a critical part of the plan for the invasion of Iraq during the 1991 Desert Storm.
The OODA loop is a practical theory that allows for rapid and accurate decision making when time and clear thinking is imperative e. Naturally this can be applied to athletics and football in particular.
Here is the way it works in a picture:
But in real life (Football??) It applies to everything we do – from studying the game video – to teaching the players to the actual execution by the players on the field!
Just think of video study by coaches.:
You OBSERVE (watch) the video….then you ORIENT (develop your thoughts for a game plan from your observations)…then you DECIDE (actually formulate your plan of action from those thoughts)….then you ACT (You create the plan and implement it with your team from those decisions).
Now, think of it as a player who has been through a week of game plan meetings and practice. You have experienced all of those things mentioned above in the OODA loop as a student in the classroom of football.
Now, you are playing the game against the opponent you have studied all week. You are a Safety (that is a defensive position for some of my friends who aren’t interested in football)….the other team comes out in a certain formation:
You OBSERVE (see this specific formation). You ORIENT (this formation triggers the key points you learned through video observation, coaching meetings and practice sessions during the week). You DECIDE (take an alignment you learned during the practice sessions to counter this alignment – perhaps you make a specific “Call” to adjust your teammates positioning or assignments as you have been instructed by the coaches). Then the ball is snapped and you ACT (you execute your assignment as you were taught during the week of practice).
Then you clear your mind (another great technique to learn as an athlete) and start over as you prepare for the next play.
https://youtu.be/aXrpmN6hHqc
This is how the OODA loop works. Perhaps you know it by another acronym or you just do it in your daily life. But – like a hammer, wrench or saw – it is a valuable to keep it in your toolbox.
Colonel Boyd took this further however. He added that the fighter pilots who could do cycle thru the loop the fastest were destined to be the best warriors.
So, the more you you work on the OODA cycle the better you become at your profession (real life as well I guess). The more you can Observe in your realm – whatever that may be. will allow you to Orient yourself faster. This in turn spurs a quicker Decision and then a faster and more effective Act.
If you think about it…this is what we are trying to do on every play. The team that executes their fundamentals the fastest in the heat of the battle…well that is the team that is successful!
Alright maybe you weren’t interested in the OODA loop – but you have to admit it is some pretty cool stuff.