Now I know Shane and Marcus read this board and if they happen to take pause on reading our insider's prose and read my words, I think it will serve them well.
I digress...
Dear Marcus, Shane or to whomever it may inspire,
Like many students of the game, I constantly shift between two states. The first (and far more preferable of the two) is white-hot “in the zone”, seat-of-the-pants, firing on all cylinders coaching mode. This is when you lay your whistle down and those clutch play calls pour out like wine from a royal chalice!
This happens about 3% of the time.
The other 97% of the time I am frustrated, struggling, rip out the papers in the playbook and shoot it into my office’s trash can basketball hoop. AND 1!
The important thing is to slog diligently through this quagmire of discouragement and despair. Put on some film, read some famous coaching quotes. My personal favorite, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up. – Vince Lombardi – Henders90”. Many of your famous coaches cannot be summarized in a single quote. What you don’t see is the 10,000 hours they spent in the same state of discouragement and despair you are experiencing right now.
In a word: Persist.
Persist on writing your own story. Persist on reaching your offense. Persist on staying true to your vision and inner self.
Next time the Special Teams outscores the Offense. Persist and remember, you’re never far from that next burst of speed through a gap that delivers a touchdown on what could have been a gain of just one or two yards. Work through that abysmal mediocrity and reach that 3% that everyone will remember you for.
You know this is what you worked for. You know what it feels like to achieve a dream. Perhaps one day in the future, when all of the fog and smoke recedes…an announcement is made, and a banner will be dropped... The Founders Zone will be renamed...the Shame Beamer Zone. Suddenly, 126,843 chant "Beamer Ball! Beamer Ball!" at the top of their lungs, and thank God that they were patient with Shane and Marcus. They asked for patience. They delivered. Persist, Deliver, Gamecocks! This is the way!