Several years ago, say back in the 1990s, schools like Pea Ridge had relatively small football staffs.
While also having relatively small football rosters, the head football coach would be the head of everything. That would involve deciding who played, who sat, what defense to run, what offense to run, and a myriad other details and concerns that face a head coach in the execution of a football game. More often than not, they would also be involved in maintaining towels and keeping the soap supply caught up.
But here in Pea Ridge in 2016, the 20-plus football rosters of yesteryear have given way to teams that now exceed 80 players. It is conceivable that as many as 100 varsity players may one day be lining up to play football on the Ridge, perhaps sooner than later.
When the team had a limited number of players, most of the starters never left the field as they had to play both defense and offense. Coaches never had the chance to discuss with their offensive leaders, between possessions, what they might need to change the next time they had the ball because they were on the field playing defense.
When former head coach Tony Travis, who also worked as the offensive coordinator, left Pea Ridge this past spring, the school opted to hire both a new head coach and a separate coach to serve as offensive coordinator for the new school term. Stephen Neal is the new head coach with new coach Crosby Tuck taking the reins of the offense.
Lafe Caton has already been serving as the defensive coordinator, a role he has filled the past few seasons that has resulted in a much improved defensive effort. Matt Easterling will be the special teams coordinator this season with Larry Walker assuming the role of strength and conditioning coach.
Coach Neal is kind of like the CEO of the football, overseeing every facet of the football program but having another coach to be involved intensely in each particular aspect or department within the football program. The head coach, like a CEO, will bear the brunt of accountability for the success of the whole.
For those who may not be aware, a special teams coordinator is the coach who handles kickoffs and punting responsibilities. A lot of games can turn on special teams mistakes, and having a coach in place to make sure the right personnel are on the field with the necessary training and knowledge takes a burden off the other coaches who have their focus on their respective areas.
Having someone in place to be in charge of strength and conditioning will mean better prepared athletes on the field, with less time lost to injury. Ofttimes in early season games, you see players limping to the sidelines with cramps or perhaps fatigue. Those conditions are usually caused by players who have yet to achieve the level of physical fitness needed to sustain competition.
All the roles the various coaches play have a unifying purpose. They all work together to make sure their athletes are physically fit and ready for athletic competition with each player having confidence in the role they will play.
With the greater number of coaches and the division of responsibility the staff has accepted, the number of athletes actually making the field goes up dramatically. With more eyes on the players, students that might have been overlooked by an overworked head coach in years past get their chance to shine.
Ideally, very few players have to play both defense and offense in a game. Further, ideally, special teams players use a lot of the younger athletes. This gives them the extra drive to practice and will ultimately make them better players when they become the older players on the team.
The more players who get to be involved in a game, the less tired or exhausted the team becomes overall. Since injuries most often happen to players who get tired or weary, this type of system preserves the roster for future games.
Back in 1968, we had a new head coach in my high school who announced that players would not be playing both ways any more and that the staff had to train and prepare at least 30 players to play at least half the time. When some parents questioned the advisability of having our star players on the bench for any of the game, our coach replied "A good fresh player beats a tired star." Four years later when the team went from being a 0-10 doormat to a 14-0 state champion, folks finally got it.
The bottom line for any team that looks to succeed is preparation. A good example of the value of preparation would be the Robinson/Pea Ridge second round playoff game last season. Robinson might well have been the more talented team but Pea Ridge was decidedly better prepared than their competitors that night.
There are 51 days left until the season's opening game here with Booneville. You can bet the 2016 version of the football Blackhawks will be prepared.
Major League baseball enters second half
The Major League All-Star game was held yesterday with American League and National League regular season games set to resume Friday.
In the National League Central last year, St. Louis was tearing it up from opening day to July, building up a large lead. However, with injuries and other setbacks, the Cards were very nearly caught by the Pirates and the Cubs. Though having the best record in baseball last year, the Cards stumbled to the finish line and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
This year, as expected, Chicago has been on a tear and looking to be a runaway winner in the division. However, after building up an 11 1/2-game lead over the next best team through April, May and June, the Cubs got into July and lost nine of 10 games, shrinking their lead to seven games -- shades of St. Louis.
At present, the Cardinals are in second place in the division with the Pirates just a half game behind. The Cards have been a strange team this year, sweeping the Cubs three straight in between losing series wins to teams under .500. Unexpectedly, the Cardinals are leading the league in home runs, but sub-par pitching has been their downfall.
With the break, will the Cubs be able to right their ship and go on to end their 100-year absence from the World Series? Perhaps the Cards can get their act together and do what the Cubs did to them last season. With Washington playing well in the East and San Francisco dominating the West, there are several teams who have a legitimate chance to pay in this year's Fall Classic.
I hope the National League won last night so the older league will get to host the opening games. This looks like a good year for a team from the NL to take it all.
•••
Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. Mr. McGee can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 07/13/2016