Once upon a time, on my freshmen football squad there was Coach Vinny whose preferred method of getting the forty of us screwballs’ attention was screaming at the top of his lungs, a very loving:
“Shut the f*** up and listen!”
Oh yeah - he was a screamer, and a curser. He seemed perpetually on the cusp of a aneurysm.
While every football staff has one “screamer-coach”, there’s a misconception about how coaches are supposed to communicate with their players perpetuated by Hollywood, pop culture and flawed “back in my day” coaching beliefs.
In fact, the most effective teachers and coaches almost never need to scream to get their players’ attention.
When I was a first grade teacher in Brooklyn, our principal, Jonathan Dant, taught each teacher how to gain their students’ attention.
The hardest part with getting little ones’ attention was, of course, getting them to stop talking and focus on the teacher.
Rather than talking over the kids or yelling, Dant coached us on “wait time” between when we asked for attention and when we began addressing the class.
Wait time meant you wouldn’t speak until each student was focused on you.
Refusing to address the room until everyone’s attention is solely on you communicates the importance you place on each player’s attention, but also the importance you place on what you’re about to tell your players.
Are there times when you may need to blast your players? Sure. But, you don’t have unlimited ammunition to do that daily. In fact, most research shows after a while, attention and yelling become inversely related.
The screamers might win the day, but they usually lose the longer term goal of gaining and keep their players’ respect.
Summing it all up, The Power Pause Move:
Call for your players’ attention - “Guys, bring it in real quick…,”
Stay still: The more you move around as the coach the harder it is for kids to lock onto a moving target with their eyes.
Scan: While staying planted, actively scan with your eyes looking towards players who are still speaking on the edge of the huddle. This might look like you even bending your body left or right to over exaggerate “scanning” to see which kids are paying attention to you yet.
Let players call each other out: Here is where it gets good. It is going to get awkward after a few seconds of this wait time. But, resist calling out players directly yet. They will usually start to call each other out when it becomes clear you’re not moving on until you’ve got everyone’s attention. If you have to “I’ve still got 1-2 guys not looking at me…,” will usually get the last few guys on board.
That’s all for now - thanks!
Coach Cahill
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