Villaume: 0-3 Feels Bad, But 0-4 Feels Worse

We lost our third game in a row. When you watched the game you noticed the opponent seemed to draw strength from singular miscues throughout. I study the film and I cannot figure out what went wrong. But when it does go wrong, it goes bad. Players hang their heads, coaches make bad decisions, fans start yelling, coaches yell, players yell, it is awful.

No, not the Vikings, but rather my seventh grade football team.

I am what I would consider a motivational coach. I help you enjoy football, teach you what little I know, and hope the experience was good enough to get you to return. In this my third year as the middle school coach at Rockford I have the pleasure of getting players who have previously played contact football. They know where the 'four' hole is, they understand what I mean by 'cover', and they are not afraid to hit. Well, mostly not afraid.

But winning a game involves more than knowledge. You have to have kids play hard. You have to coach better than the other team, or at least equal. And you have to play as a team.

We lost our third straight by a 14-8 margin. We had a touchdown called back by a holding penalty. We drove in the opponent's end repeatedly only to turn the ball over on downs (no field goals yet). We held them to only a few big plays. But they had the bigger big plays.

So now we are 0-3. So our the Vikings.

I am not sure what Leslie Frazier is going to do to change the tide, but I think I will continue as is. Each game has gotten closer, and Thursday's opponent Maple Lake is having a down year I heard. My defense is getting more and more confident each game. The hits are louder, the players are learning the defensive scheme, and we are making stops and creating turnovers.

But my 7th grade team and the Vikings are similar on offense. We don't score enough points. It is very difficult to win without scoring. I told my young team today we might have to put up a zero defensively to get our first win. We have running backs, a couple of good ones. We have all the arm you need to win in middle school. But we have false starts. And missed blocking assignments. And drops. All the coaching in the world cannot save a fumbled snap during a game. Or seven.

Where the two teams differ is in how they lose. Again, my young team starts off slow, and then improves throughout. The Vikings go into the locker room at half time kings, and come out as paupers. It is as bizarre a metamorphism as I have seen in sports.

So along comes the Chiefs, also 0-3, and a chance to end the streak. Jamaal Charles is out for the season. Kansas City has struggled in most games. It makes sense.

And yet nothing has made sense to date.

My seventh grade team plays their first home game tomorrow. We face a team that has beaten us solidly the last few years. But like the Lions last week, we must not let history stand in the way of success. We all feel if we can win one game, the season can be turned around. But an eight game schedule ends sooner than later. The time is now.