What to Expect on BCFforS's Now and Into the Future

PHOTO BY JOHNNY JOHNSON

Thank you to all those that have been visiting the blog over the past few months!  It is greatly appreciated and receiving feedback from folks and encouragement about how the blog has been both of interest in a general sense as well as informative in a more technical arena has been a big plus.

Beginning on Thursday, we'll have our usual array of blog posts including the In Their Own Words series capping off last week's first round games.  We'll also begin our PAC-6 Breakdown's on the Hillside and Southern Durham games.  And on Friday we'll have our second installment of an RDU EXP-anded Breakdown.

With the season beginning to narrow down for PAC-6 teams, (Let's Go Hornets and Spartans - Great opportunity one of the two may make it to that final Saturday of the season in December) I'm sure many folks are wondering what we'll do here at Bull City Football for Starters?  We'll, don't fret, because in many ways there will be opportunity to delve into the game at a much different level, something I've been looking forward to doing the entire season.

We'll have a series that will begin after the season that will focus on the X's and O's of the game.  For those that are interested in learning a bit more about that Pistol formation and some of the plays that the Hornet's are running - well, this will be your place.  Or what about that mostly two back set the Jordan Falcons are running on offense, what are they doing and how does it work?  We'll look out of conference as well, at teams like Wake Forest-Rolesville and their classic Delaware Wing-T look and break it down.  Why is it so tough to defend?  We'll spend some time on the defensive side of the ball as well.

During the many years I've spent associated with the sport, both directly involved from a coaching perspective, from a playing perspective, from a media perspective, from a student-of-the-game perspective and finally from a fan perspective I'll also talk about the off-season and most notably about elements dealing with the recruiting process and colleges.  Over my time in this arena, a few things became clear to me, first the topic was incredibly diverse and tough for anyone that didn't spend ample time working through it to have a good grasp of the process.  Second, it varied so much from school to school and level to level.  Sure there were certain things that were standard, but so much you could only learn from being directly involved.  I've been directly involved and look forward to sharing some of my insight with the hope that more knowledge is spread to the masses and will ultimately be of service to you the reader.

In my opinion, the more knowledge that is out there does a number of things.  First it creates an environment where players and parents understand what is required to try to be great and second a solid sense of reality is brought to a place where so many are simply trying to make a buck in the process as opposed to educating folks so that they can decide what level of commitment they want to put into something that may never happen at the level they originally envisioned!  Reality is important - there is nothing wrong with having goals and working hard towards them with every intent of reaching that goal, but it's important in taking on any process to reach a goal to be realistic about the fact that sometimes you can give 100% of your energy and fall short.  That isn't always a bad thing, in fact, the process that you engaged in at 100% speaks volumes about who you are and what you will accomplish in the future - probably something extraordinary.  Moreover, that effort will in many cases open up both opportunities along the same path as your initial goal, but more likely more in-line with what fits you the best.  In the end, great effort will lead you to great possibilities - they simply may be different than what you had imagined when you started.

Second, being realistic, while also being focused on reaching whatever your goal is, will make the student-athlete a more coachable individual and in turn will make you a better football player on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday nights.  Knowing the parameters of what you are trying to do and then understanding how a coach is helping you reach those goals is a satisfying exercise and it can only happen when both you, your family and the coach are on the same page.

Finally, it hopefully makes the game you are playing fun if wasn't already!  In the end, the game has to be fun or else in many ways, it's simply a dead-end of sorts.  I don't have any tangible statistics to throw your way on this one, but what I can tell you is that with the players I've coached - when they were having fun - they were usually doing well on the field.

And in conclusion with this post, I'll direct you to the right sidebar.  You'll notice that we have our first advertiser on the site in the form of Coaches Choice (http://www.coacheschoice.com).  A special thanks to the folks at Coaches Choice for allowing the DFBFan to have them on the site!  I look forward to their involvement in this way and encourage those that are interested in learning more about the game to check out their website and review both their books and DVDs.  From personal knowledge, they are some of the most detailed and on-point references that folks can find when it comes to the technical elements of the game. For those players that want to understand how to be a better wide receiver or defensive back or perhaps understand zone blocking as an offensive lineman to another level - this is your place! You'll notice that we have a Discount Code specific for Bull City Football for Starters and we encourage you with the Holiday season upon us to utilize the code in all of your Coaches Choice related purchases!  Thanks for your support in this area and we look forward in the coming weeks and months to additional top-tier advertising elements joining the DFBFan at Bull City Football for Starters!