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I recently saw the above quote on Twitter and liked it enough to share with the student / athletes in a leadership class I am conducting. It makes the point of the importance of player leadership I am attempting to drive home to the class. The quote itself is a little too black and white or absolute to be 100% accurate though. Every team has leadership.
A very self-aware player recently asked of me, what do I need to do in order to increase my value to the team? This question came about in the context of what the athlete could do during the off season to improve for next fall. Now, I am not the athlete's coach so I cannot speak directly to what areas his coach feels should be the focus of off season work. However, I can address the general concept of increasing one's value to the team.
First and foremost is the players approach to the team, his attitude. As positivity and negativity are both contagious a player with a positive attitude is something all coaches prize. The conscious recognition that one's attitude is a choice is a starting point. One can decide to have a positive attitude, or not as the case may be. So how we approach the decision making progress in regards to attitude is very important.
Sometimes we have athletes who are very good at talking the talk but struggle when it comes to walking the walk. That is, their words and actions are not always in one accord. So, we might ask if the player is mature enough to take things seriously. Can they adhere to the details of the process even when they would rather not do so?
Another way to phrase this is to ask. what are you personally willing to sacrifice towards the success of the team? Is there present in the student / athlete a recognition that sacrificing for the betterment of the team also promotes an athletes personal agenda? The trendy phrase today is When We Replaces Me. Is the athlete willing to place We before Me?
Respecting authority is another prime example of attitude. If the athlete disrespects authority this is a manifestation of bad attitude. And when talking about authority the list includes parents, teachers, referees, coaches, captains and those placed in charge of organizing and directing play on the field - goalkeepers for instance. Differing opinions can be a strength to a team, but only when they are expressed at the appropriate time and in a respectful manner. Arguing with referees, coaches, captains, teammates during a match or even during active training is not appropriate.
Much of what has been discussed to this point might be classified as a players maturity level. Is the student / athlete mature enough to handle constructive criticism in the spirit it is offered or does the student athlete take such efforts personally as a condemnation of his play? Can the player give constructive criticism to teammates in the spirit and tone of helping as opposed to placing blame or condemning their play?
How does the athlete deal with adversity? Is there self-discipline and mental toughness present that manifests itself in determination and resiliency to overcome? These are traits prized by coaches and teammates alike. They go to the issue of trust. Is the player worthy of being trusted? Is he honest in his dealings with others - his teammates, his coaches, the referees ... himself?
Attitude is so very important, but has been so overused in the context of team sports it has lost some of its effectiveness in identifying what it is to be a good teammate. And being a good teammate is at the core of increasing one's value to his team. At the root of being a good teammate is the ability to build productive relationships with all other members of the team.
When an athlete is a good teammate bringing positive energy and enthusiasm to the team and its pursuit of common goals, good things will follow. Sure, working on technical skill sets and tactical understanding are important and improving in these areas will enhance a players value to his team, but we must not forget the difference attitude makes - be it good attitude or bad attitude. Be of service to your team and its members and good things will follow.
Many ideas for articles come from you, the readers of this blog. I have had quite a spate of conversations in recent days about people meddling in athletic programs. I have always found it curious how one particular topic seems to come to the fore during a specific time frame. I have no sound idea for why meddling is the prominent topic these last couple of weeks. Nevertheless, it is and so I will share a few general thoughts on the subject.
Just this morning, I read a rather lengthy article about the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Yes, I am a Brown's fan. Sigh. Lack of continuity has plagued the Browns for years now. Constant turnover in the front office, the personnel department, coaching staff and on the roster has sabotaged any effort to put a respectable product on the field since the franchise returned to the NFL. It starts at the top with owners meddling, or micro-managing every aspect of the franchise. In Cleveland's case, owner Jimmy Haslam is responsible for keeping Josh Gordon in Cleveland and bringing Johnny Manziel to Cleveland over the objections of the people he hired to run the personnel department. Front office meddles in personnel and personnel meddles in coaching in what can be described as a trickle down deluge of disastrous proportions.
High school soccer is plagued by teacher unions demanding their members receive preference for coaching positions regardless of merit. As it was explained to me years ago by a sympathetic athletic director, "there is no so such thing as more qualified" when weighing potential coaching candidates. Greater weight is attached to a teacher seeking coaching employment than to a non-teacher seeking the same position. "If Bill Belichick applied for the head football coach position I would still have to give the job to a teacher, if the teacher had any qualifications at all." I myself recently ran afoul of such a scenario. I was told I was the best candidate for the job, but the position went to someone who just graduated from college and is a permanent substitute for the district and would probably be hired into a full time position for next fall when the season would begin. I understand. I knew going in to the interview process that I would not be getting that coaching position. As soon as the athletic director mentioned "union" I knew it was over. Such is the meddling nature of teacher unions in athletics. I went through the process anyway for the experience and practice. I have my eye on another position I "think" may come open.
A coaching colleague had to withstand an attempt to overthrow him in mid-season last fall. I kid you not, the school posted the head coach soccer position after the season started. He withstood that challenge and went on to complete the season, but one of the persons seeking his job turned out to be an assistant coach. Talk about awkward. I have recently learned the position will be re-posted as a teacher employed by the school district has expressed interest in being the head coach,
I listened to another person vent about the "team mom" who flirted with and all but seduced a male coach to ensure her son would be captain of the team and win the desired post season awards so he could include mention of these on his college applications. A scene right out of a Hollywood movie, you say? I might have agreed had I not witnessed similar situations from both a coaching and a parental perspective.
Referees are not immune to meddling either. I saw a high school basketball referee years ago whose attitude was that the game was all about him and everyone was there to see him. He announced before the game that he was one his way to officiating college basketball and then it was on to the NBA. Each and every call he made (and there were many) was done with attitude and flair! Demonstrative doesn't begin to describe his approach. He was going for charismatic, but as anyone who has officiated will tell you the two don't mix at all.
One of the my more memorable predicaments occurred when I was hired by an athletic director to clean up a program beset by meddlesome parents. Everything went well, until the athletic director himself was run off by meddlesome parents and the new athletic director turned out to be one of those meddlesome parents. It got to the point where I was instructed who to play by the new athletic director despite the athletic director admittedly having next to no knowledge about soccer.
There was also the time for no apparent reason a superintendent fought tooth and nail against fielding a junior varsity squad. Every objection presented by the superintendent was successfully dealt with. In the end, all that was left was the cost of providing numerals to the athletes depicting graduating year that could be applied to their letterman jackets. About $15.00 total. I offered to pay for the numerals. Now, finances were not the actual reason for the reluctance to field a JV team. The superintendent backed herself into a corner by meddling in a growing and successful program. In the end there was a need to save face and no way to do so gracefully.
A coaching mentor once related to me a similar situation he found himself in many years ago. The then athletic director instructed him not to play a black athlete at quarterback. He had to play a white athlete at quarterback. The black athlete was clearly superior in every regard, but that did not matter. As in my case, if the coach wished to continue coaching he had to abide by his bosses (the athletic director) orders. The white kid played quarterback. The coach left after the season
I have seen club teams quite literally torn apart by such meddling. A power hungry assistant coach attempts to overthrow the current coach. When that fails the assistant recruits everyone who will go with him to a new team. Or a parent unhappy with the team her son is assigned to within a club attempts to overthrow the decision makers and start a new club / team that will accommodate her son.
I once had an administrator refuse to pay me over a dispute he had with a players family. I had absolutely no leverage with either party in the situation. It finally brewed over the next season when in mid-season the administrator stated the player could no longer play. The administrator went so far as stating to me that he would be coming to the next match and confiscating the players card to prevent him from taking the field. And this was the goalkeeper he was going to ban from playing!
I am also reminded of certain players through the years who were disruptive when they did not get to play the position they wanted to or did not receive the playing time they wanted. One player, frustrated with what he perceived as a lack of playing time stripped his uniform off behind the bench and put his street clothes on with over 20 minutes remaining on the clock of a high school match. A second example saw a player badger the coaching staff non-stop in pursuit of his own agenda. Or in the case of Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon of the aforementioned Cleveland Browns players will drink or do drugs, be late to practices and games and in other ways be generally irresponsible and indifferent to their responsibility to themselves, their teammates and coaches
Another common occurrence involves the parent on the sidelines who thinks (s)he knows more than the coach and isn't afraid to share his knowledge with anyone within earshot. I have first hand experience with this as a parent / assistant coach and as a head coach. Mary was an absolute nightmare in berating any player she viewed as a threat to her sons position on the team. Ed was worse as he struggled to deal with his daughters injury ruining her senior season and whatever dreams he had of her going on to play in college.
I find it extremely difficult to sit in the stands at a soccer match as a parent / fan with people who know me. I get asked questions about interpreting the Laws of the Game, coaching decisions, tactics and strategies, how an athlete can improve his chances for playing time and any number of other game related topics. Some people (Mary and Ed as examples) gleefully embrace the attention and are oblivious to finding themselves sitting alone as everyone moves away from them. As for me, I prefer not to sit in the stands. My wife enjoys my company and seeks my commentary not realizing the awkward position she sometimes puts me in. I much prefer to sit or stand by myself as many have witnessed for I want no part of being seen as meddlesome. Even so, I was accused of being meddlesome this past season. My transgression was cheering positive reinforcement to players. I am quite serious. The coach took offense to my voice being heard cheering on the efforts of players other than my son. So, I modified my behavior to cheer only for my son... which did not go unnoticed by other parents. I acquiesced to the coach's wishes in an effort to protect my son from the coach seeking retribution or revenge. It didn't work. I knew it would not. My cheering positive plays the team made or directing those cheers to my son solely could not address the coach's insecurity and frustrations in the first place. The coach felt threatened by my presence although I had recommended him for the position, vouched for him as a coach and campaigned to the athletic director on his behalf. In the end there was a coach meddling with a parent cheering positively for the team?
Where's the motivation in that?
And that's where all this is leading.
I grew up on "The team. The Team. THE TEAM!"
My actions whether as a player, a coach, an assistant coach or parent have always been guided by the philosophy shared by Bo Schembechler in the above video. It's all about what is best for THE TEAM. In all the instances of real or perceived meddling related above, the team became of secondary importance. Selfishness and individuality were the motivation of owners, front office, personnel departments, teacher unions, athletic directors, administrators, coaches, assistant coaches, referees, parents and yes, players too. And in every case when the focus shifted from the team to the individual the quality of the experience went down for not only the meddler and his or her target, but everyone around them.
It continues to amaze me how an issue will come to my attention from multiple sources in the same general time frame, but such is the case with commitment issues concerning coaches this fall.
In one case a head coach failed to show for a match without forewarning or explanation?
In another case an assistant with stated desire to be the head coach repeatedly fails to show up for practices or games.
In yet another case I have repeatedly heard an assistant identified in pre-game introductions but have never seen him present.
A fourth case involves an assistant who shows up periodically at his own convenience and is then upset when he is not included in pre-game introductions.
I understand that people often underestimate the commitment required to coach. The hours are long and the pay is miniscule. I once tracked the hours I put in as a high school coach and then figured out my hourly wage. $.35 / hour. When I factored in gas & oil for my car I actually lost money that season. So, yeah, I get it.
I also understand that people who are hired on as a "volunteer assistant" may not feel as obligated to be fully committed. Well, no, I actually do not understand this at all, but that is me. I was a volunteer assistant at Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio for a number of years and never missed a an open field, a summer camp session, practice or game in all the years I was on staff. Never. I can remember being sick with a cold, standing in a torrential downpour for both the JV and Varsity games at Van Wert and still showing up for stretching practice the next day. I suppose that's just the "old school" in me coming out.
I fired an assistant for missing practices, missing games and going to the concession stand during games among other reasons.
Seriously folks, how can you expect student athletes to be committed to the team if coaches are setting examples like this?
If you are going to accept a coaching position, you owe it to the players to be fully committed to them. They deserve that from you. And you have absolutely no right at all to expect let alone demand anything more of players than what you give to them.
Many coaches who contact me seek help in getting their teams to talk on the pitch. What they actually want is better communication between teammates playing the game. This might be for organizational purposes - establishing and maintaining proper defending shape, for example. It might be for coordinating movement of the ball and players - calling for the ball to be played to a corresponding run, for instance. The emphasis is on getting players to talk to one another on the pitch.
What about listening?
Effective communication is a shared responsibility. What good does it do if everyone is talking, but no one is listening? We have written about the shared responsibility of passing and receiving in past articles. The most basic fundamental technique to be practiced in passing and receiving is often the least understood by coaches and players alike.
"He won't listen!" This is the complaint I fielded recently from a captain of one of our camp teams. The "he" in question is a talented athlete but a mediocre soccer player. He gives great effort, but doesn't think the game very well and he refuses to "take instruction" as he repeats the same mistakes over and over. The transgression his teammates and coaches are currently most frustrated with is the player's tendency to turn and go towards goal every time he touches the ball regardless of situation or defensive pressure. "That's his total thought process," the captain complained. "He's destroying our rhythm and making it impossible to maintain possession."
I understand the frustration, but the real issue is to understand whythe player was not listening. Sometimes I wonder if I am speaking in tongues as what I say is seemingly ignored or completely misunderstood. I have to re-evaluate not what I am attempting to communicate, but how I am communicating what I want understood.
Education can be a critical element of this process.
The player in question, we shall call him John, had an established bad habit of going straight to goal every time he gained possession of the ball. He often turns into pressure only to be dispossessed by a defender lying in wait for him or he will blindly turn only to encounter multiple defenders ready to dispossess him of the ball. John's bad habit is needlessly self-inflicting pressure upon himself and by extension, his team. Teammates imploring John to "drop the ball" back are generally ignored. Encouragement to "play the way you face" when under pressure is ignored. The captain actually proclaimed, "It's like playing with someone who is deaf! And if you try to help him he gets mad and refuses to pass you the ball at all."
I posed the following question to the captain and his coaches, "If John will not listen to you, will he listen to the ball?"
Yeah, from the looks I received I figured I was speaking in tongues again!
I was not, but I did have to explain what I meant by listening to the ball. The explanation wasn't warranted because of a lack of knowledge on the captain and coaches part so much as a different perspective being required on the knowledge they already possessed. Sometimes we take for granted a basic level of knowledge or understanding only to discover such is not the case in fact. My suspicion was that is what was happening here.
Did John understand if a teammate directed a pass to his front (close or near) foot it was being communicated to him there was a defender on his back and he should "play the way he is facing" or not turn into pressure? Has anyone taught John this cue for receiving and combination passing? Does John know, understand and appreciate that if the ball is played to his back (far or across his body) foot that there is an implied understanding that he can open to the field of play and even turn towards goal?
In short, had anyone ever taught John to listen to the pass?
And does John understand and appreciate what the pass is saying to him?
There are, of course, many other forms of non-verbal communication that can be utilized if and only if all teammates are speaking the same language. In today's case, John was resistant to verbal communication. So, why not teach John the language of the pass and allow the ball to be the translator of the information being shared? John can then take that information (knowledge) the pass is providing him and use it to improve his own decisions on when to play the way he faces or when he can turn and go.
I have written a lot about decision making in general and specifically about players on-field or in-game decision making. I was talking with some friends last night when it occurred to me a coach's decision making is every bit as important as that of the players. Maybe more so in some regards.
Most people see a coach as the guy standing on the sidelines during games. This is the person who makes out line ups, makes substitutions and yells at officials during the game. What they don't see is the day to day activity behind the scenes.
Planning a 1.5 hour practice can often take me 1.5 hours. I care enough to get it right. There is analysis of where the team currently stands, specifics to be addressed, how to go about addressing these areas and planning for the needs to do so.
Training and game schedules.
Transportation.
Equipment.
Budgets.
Assistant Coaches.
Post game meals.
Video Taping practices and games.
These are but a few areas coaches have input in on decisions being made.
It goes even further than that though.
On the roster of a soccer team you will have players that learn in many different ways. How do you select or design an activity that reaches across all of these? Will you have to coach, instruct, teach the same activity in different ways to reach every player? One size rarely fits all.
Sometimes I think people forget a coach wants to win. While there is a contest taking place on the pitch there is also a bit of a contest taking place on the sidelines between coaches. Which coach will have the better initial game plan and which will make better half time adjustments to provide the players the best opportunity for victory.
When I go about setting a line up it can be a difficult task. It's definitely not about putting your 11 best players on the field so much as it is about putting the 11 who play best together on the pitch. This has been driven home hard in recent cub seasons as I have had a plethora of players who play center midfield for their high school teams. Some must change positions. Some may have to come off the bench as a substitute.
I have been following the teams that camped with us this summer and, of course, my son's high school team. In each case, I have found myself wondering about positions certain players have been placed in - not criticizing where a coach has decided to utilize a player. Just wondering what went into that decision making process trying to understand why the coach believes this is the way the pieces best fit together.
This is what I am getting at - most people know very little of all the decisions a coach must attend to nor do they realize the details of the process that take place far from the public eye. Parents tend to view a coach's decisions from the perspective of their child first and the team second. Whereas a coach must view things from a team perspective first with the individual players perspective being secondary.
Thus a player coming to his high school team after enjoying great success as an outside back for his club team may find himself playing center midfielder for his high school team. Or a more than capable club winger might be asked to play as a goalkeeper in high school. It's how the pieces best fit together in a given circumstance. As a coach I both understand and appreciate this.
Being on the other side of the pitch these last two fall seasons has been such a Blessing to me as I have watched the decision making process of coaches from a parents perspective, BUT with the inside knowledge of the vast variables a coach faces in making decisions. This has been of a tremendous benefit and influence to me as a coach.
In fact, this experience has provided me with the inner strength to make changes on the club level that I might not have had the courage to otherwise make. A prime example was my calculated move to take a center midfielder and move him to left back. There was some initial trepidation, even reluctance on the players part about making the switch. He bought into the move though. Asked questions and really studied and learned the position. Best left back I have ever coached and without a doubt in my mind the best left back in the area right now. He would have struggled to find time as a midfielder on our club team. Now, he should have college coaches clamoring for his attention.
A second example can be found in the demotion of a player to our second team. This players mother was extremely upset. She went so far as to try and convince another coach to take over the team so that her son could remain with the "A" team. She talked about me behind my back and was just generally belligerent towards me. I attempted to explain the reasoning but she could not see the logic through her anger, disappointment and hurt.
The player was a bit more receptive. I think he understood on a deeper level that in order to have a great senior year in high school soccer he needed to change some things about his game. He had been named to the varsity squad each of his first three years in high school only to be demoted back to JV in short order. A definite pattern had been established. This young man worked hard this past winter and spring. He did everything I asked ... and more. Not only did he learn to play at a higher level, he became a leader for our second team. He just blossomed as a player and a person.
Two great memories from this experience I will carry forward with me. The first was the day the player handed in his "homework" to me. It detailed the perspective of 5 different players taking part in an exercise and he nailed it in an extended response form. It was well thought out and on point. A far reach from his one word or short sentence answers of his previous homework assignments. The second was his taking over half time of a match. He was frustrated with a lackadaisical first half effort by his team, but he wasn't negative in addressing his teammates. He identified problems the team needed to solve, provided ideas about how to go about solving them and was very encouraging of his teammates. I remember standing aside watching and listening in awe wondering where this had been in previous years?
The answer was quite simple, in previous years he had deferred to others. He had been surrounded by teammates who were a little further along the development trail of leadership. Now, he had to step up and assume that mantel. He always had it in him, but had never been in the proper circumstance to allow it to shine forth. The by-product of all this has been a huge surge in confidence. This is a confident young man on the pitch. He's not a captain for his high school team, but he is a leader on the field.
It may well sound as if I am patting myself on the back for coaching decisions that have turned out well, but that is the furthest thing from the actual truth. I am not responsible for these players transformations and success. They are. I may have provided some tools or a venue, but these players put in the work and enjoy the success from having done so.
The point I have sought to make is that most people (players & parents) do not consider all that goes into a coach's decision making process. Nor do they appreciate the allocation of time and effort resources that are involved in making the decisions coaches do. Coaches can quite literally be exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally after a season concludes. The stress of constantly making decisions and balancing the interests of the program, the team and the individual player (in that order) can take its toll.
If only all we had to worry about was line ups and substitutions!
One thing I have learned from coaching is the necessity and benefit of asking for help. The more perspectives on a matter, the better in many cases. I value assistants who will speak up and offer input even when... perhaps especially when... their opinion differs from my own. That has never been more true than this spring.
In coaching two teams I am sometimes spread pretty thin. Admittedly this accentuates the tunnel vision I am prone to during a season anyway. In recent matches I asked assistants to manage the game for me, give the half time talk and generally assume the responsibilities of a head coach in the game. I learned a lot through how they interpreted the games they managed. Their substitution rotations and patterns differed from my own. The positions they played some in differed as well. Not only did I take notice of all this, but I embraced some of the things the assistants did and incorporated them into my own management of games.
Another thing I do is to seek input from players on a wide range of matters. I will ask players to suggest starting line ups. I seek their input on positions. I encourage their input during matches, at half time and in post game evaluations. I have found a players perspective can be among the most enlightening.
I will also ask coaching peers for their input. Sometimes I ask someone to come observe a match. Other times I will send video of a game to colleagues and ask for their impressions. I did this very thing recently as I struggled to find the 11 best to start games and the substitution rotations that would keep us well balanced throughout the game. I went so far to seek input on who the 10 best field players were on the team and how they might fit into a lineup.
One observation from a group of colleagues was that opponents seemed to pick on our left back position. I knew this was happening, but assumed it was because most teams are right foot dominant. My peers thought that was not necessarily the case and suggested I move the left back(s) to the right back spot to see what happened. It did not take long to discover teams were "picking on" players more so than the left back position. One player really struggles with first touch and opponents seem to sense they can pressure him into mistakes. The other was very offensive minded and slight of build. Opponents seem to think they can out-muscle him and take advantage of his aggressiveness in attack.
An associated observation was that we were wasting the talent of the player manning the right back position. It was suggested he needs to get a lot more touches on the ball. That was one I had wrestled with quite a bit as it was my son manning the right back position. We were told he is the best right back in the state by ODP coaches. So, right back seemed to make sense, but it appears it really doesn't in this case. We were probably wasting his talent at right back when he could use it as a center mid.
Fitting a formation to the talent on hand can also be a difficult. In terms of center midfielders the talent we have suggests playing 3 of them. We tried this early in the season and it was a disaster. I perhaps abandoned the 4-5-1 formation to quickly, but the team settled in pretty well in a 4-4-2 before opponents began exploiting our aggressive attacking mentalities at the position by counter attacking directly down the middle of the pitch.
To say the team was underachieving and that my inability to uncover the 11 who would play best together was a root cause would be a significant understatement. So, as I have already stated, I asked for help. I spoke with coaching colleagues and peers. I shared match video with them. I spoke with players. I asked referees I know and who had officiated our matches for their input.
Position and personnel changes have followed. We now play a 4-1-4-1 having inserted my son in as the one holding midfielder. We had one very accomplished forward and playing him as a lone forwarded opened space for him to play in. We have strengthened the back line and improved the defensive presence in the midfield. And tonight the final piece may have fallen in place for us - thanks to input from an assistant coach we found a second player more than capable of playing the target forward position. The team is beginning to play closer to their potential. Possession and ball movement has improved. Varied attacks and multiple goal scorers are becoming the norm.
Some feathers have been ruffled. With every decision there are consequences and as I alluded to earlier some players have lost starting positions leading to dissatisfaction with my decision-making. I have had to speak with some individuals about accepting new roles for the good of the team. Some embrace this idea while others are more selfish in pouting about the change in their role perceiving it as a demotion or a reduction of their importance to the team which isn't the case at all. It's nothing other than a change - no more and no less.
However, there have been rewards as well. The former left back who struggled with first touch has had much better touch as a midfielder and forward. I am not yet quite sure how to interpret this. He had several "whiffs' in the games before the position switch and not a one since? He has played as defender for a couple of seasons and I wonder if he became bored with the position or perhaps merely wanted to play a different position? It might be that I rarely substitute backs and he has been fresher physically and mentally in playing fewer minutes thereby reducing mistakes caused by fatigue. He is now playing in 12-15 min shifts with short breaks between them and making far fewer mistakes.
The new right back has a tremendous leg he is using to switch fields and explosive speed he is using in combination play with midfielders to get himself into the attack. The new left back has given us a physical presence, improved and increased distributions in starting the attack. Our new holding mid is protecting the center backs, providing the pivot in transition, switching play and distributing the ball extremely well. A former forward is being allowed to play to his strengths as a midfield wing.
Overall the team is beginning to click. I take the blame for it taking this long, but also accept the credit in the sense that I am the one who ultimately makes the decision. However the real credit goes to Steve, Marc, Phil, Bruce, Randy, Keith, Mac, Billy, Kyle, Dave, Greg, et al. and our players who have provided input and insight. Without contributions from our coaches, colleagues, peers, players and officials I fear my tunnel vision would still be inhibiting the teams ability to play closer to their potential. So it is, that on behalf of our team, I thank each and every one of you who have shared thoughts and suggestions with me to date. Please, please, please keep up the good work!