Whenever you play Johns Hopkins you are in for a reality check. This is a team that is attempting to win the Centennial Conference championship for the tenth year in a row. Let me say that again…….for the tenth year in a row. Let’s not take that too lightly.
That means for the last nine years nine other teams in our conference have failed to unseat them. And, it wasn’t until recently there have been any teams in our league who could even beat them.
*******
I have to mention something here because it bothered me when I heard an alum complain about our inability to beat teams like Johns Hopkins or even Muhlenberg. Here are some stark facts.
Let me throw a little perspective out there for everyone. Johns Hopkins has an annual endowment of 3.3 Billion dollars (That is with a “B”)….Moravian has an endowment of 102 Million dollars. I am not good at math. But, that is a pretty big difference.
Just one other note…the guys from across the river – our supposed rival (My alma mater – Muhlenberg is ranked fifth in the Centennial Conference with 246 Million dollars in annual endowment.) By the way that 102 million Moravian has is dead last in the ten team Centennial Conference.
Instead of worrying about winning football games the people who in charge of raising money – well you tell me what they should be doing.
Let’s not even start on facilities – trust me when I say we lag way behind there as well. Easily WAY BEHIND in this area – just like financing.
I assure you these are not complaints THIS IS REALITY! The things Moravian coaches face every day.
But our parents and backers should know the obstacles Moravian athletics face.
Sorry….I digress. But it truly does irritate me when I here these negative things being said about our “troops”. Outsiders have no clue about the handcuffs placed on Moravian athletics from the admissions department to financial aid.
Other coaches cannot say anything about these problems – they depend on Moravian for their living. On the other hand – I work for free because even in retirement coaching is what I do.
They can tell me to hit the road…..then I’ll just load up my truck and go back to Michigan (trust me there are many college teams at all levels who will take a broken down coach for free!). So I feel no guilt or fear in sharing these ideas with you..
******
Enough!!
Back to football!
Basically I have been around football my entire life. Trust me when I tell you that our guys at Moravian have made tremendous strides….they continue to improve each week. Actually they get better every day. I have seen it, and I love where Moravian football is going.
These guys on the team work extremely hard and believe me when I tell you this – there is a bright future. Can we be the one to eventually unseat JHU? I don’t have a crystal ball and honestly if I could answer that I would go to the track tomorrow and win some serious money.
Unlike many jobs in the real world……..
When you lose games – coaches go back and watch the video of the game. They analyze the game plan….they review the previous week’s practice. In other words they look for anything that they can improve.
It is a difficult and a very arduous task. But, it is what we do. Actually this analysis is cathartic. It provides an outlet for our emotions – maybe like a valve to let off steam that is building up. As coaches we are always in search of excellence – always looking for a better way.
When you examine a football contest there are always several factors that you have to bear in mind. In a game you always look at turnovers, penalties, time of possession, field position, missed tackles, mental errors etc.
These things are almost always effected by your execution of fundamentals. Like anything in any business if you don’t have your basic skills under control and a solid foundation established you will have a difficult time succeeding.
When we look at our game video we always see some errors in these areas. For example let’s take missed tackles. In the first half alone failing to execute tackles cost our defense more than 70 yards. We probably allowed even more in the second half.
So as coaches we go back to our past week’s game planning and we look to see if we practiced tackling enough. In my opinion we certainly did – we practice tackling EVERY DAY!
But, perhaps we need to become better at developing different drills to simulate errors we made during the game. That is the challenge of coaching – trying to help the players overcome their mistakes through better teaching (coaching) techniques.
OK enough about the things that hold us back.
Let’s look at some extremely big positives we have in Moravian football.
Our leadership is extraordinary and their efforts spread through our team every single day. Senior captains – Nick Zambelli and Nick Tone – among a very solid group of upperclassmen – are fine examples of what it is to be a Moravian football player.
Junior captains Brett Poling and Sal Pagano epitomize leadership and they combine with some very strong younger players to help our team move forward. These guys paint a bright picture for Moravian football.
Personally I love being around these guys and the team that they lead. They not only inspire me, but they allow me to see the great things we have to look forward to here in Bethlehem.
Then…let’s look at the troops. The young men who get the job done day in and day out working on the field. I have been around some excellent football teams over my years….but these guys on the 2018 Moravian Greyhound team are special.
From the early morning meetings every day – the late afternoon practices – to the weight lifting sessions. You. cannot find a more committed group. These young men are the real deal.
Every single player – from our injured guys who help with the video taping of practice through our “Special Forces” players who force the starting units to improve to the guys who work on Saturdays – they are awesome. (By the way that might be a run-on sentence I guess!)
I salute you Hounds and can’t wait to see where our season leads us!