It has been said both ways, “The best offense is a good defense” and “The best defense is a good offense.” It’s because both are important. In most games the place where those two meet are where the game is won or lost. For soccer it’s the midfield. In football it’s at the line of scrimmage. In long distance running, it’s finding the best pace. This concept of needing both is also true when it comes to leading young athletes.
Our defense is being there for them when they need something. When they have a bad game and blow the final play, or when they are struggling with something outside of the game. This is our defense and we need to be ready to play defense because it is the best way to move a young athlete forward.
Without an offense though, we won’t win. Our offense is being proactive. Taking initiative and realizing how we can influence young athletes is one of the most important aspects of coaching. If you are constantly waiting to see what the other team does, or constantly waiting for the athlete to approach you in order to speak into their lives you are going to miss out on a lot of opportunity.
So what is they risk? I had a game where we were down by one goal and had a corner kick in the 87’th minute. I flooded the box with every player we had including the goal keeper. As the ball came in our keeper got his head on the ball and it went straight towards goal. The opposite goal keeper quickly caught the ball and booted the ball down the field faster than anybody could run. It made his day scoring from the other goal! However, it did not make my teams day. Everybody agreed with my game plan, but the risk backfired.
I’ve also tried to approach athletes and tried to be proactive only for them to completely reject the idea of raising them up in character and faith. I put myself out there and it backfired. That’s our risk, opening ourselves up in an area where we have a passion and desire. Only for it to be rejected. Here’s the truth…
The risk is worth it
Jimmy Johnson (2 time Super Bowl champion coach) said, “Do you want to be safe and good, or do you want to take a chance and be great?” When people look back on their lives and talk about coaches, it normally is because the coach cared just as much for them as people than they did about them as athletes. They pushed their character, their faith, and grew them into leaders. So, as we strive to be the best coach possible we need to take the risk. I don’t want to be a safe and good coach, I want to be a great coach. One which is proactive about helping his athletes become more than just good athletes, I want them to be great people. So, to me, the risk is worth it. I believe the best defense is a good offense.