Preparation

The key to winning a game or losing a game is determined by the preparation the team puts forth. If a team looks past an opponent or doesn't watch film and discover what plays they like to run, it will be difficult for them to win the game. Preparation is looking at the opponent, practicing what the opponent does, hard work, and creating a strategy that will hopefully beat the opponent.

In football, preparation is the difference between good teams and less successful teams. Good teams study their opponents and train for them week by week. Poor teams don't care what the other team does because they think they are better than them no matter what. If a team does this wins will be very hard to come by. As a football player I watch film every day for the opponent I have the next week. This allows me to look and find their "star" players, and get a sense of the offense and defense that they run. This also allows me to look at the guy/guys I will be blocking that night and see what they are like.

Each week at practice we have what's called a "scout offense" and "scout defense" units. These teams mimic what the opponent will look like. These players are very helpful to the team because they make the starters better by giving them a good look, and allows the coaches to see their skill even though they aren't the starters. The only thing a scout team normally can't simulate is the speed at which the other team does their plays. Since the opponent runs these plays every day for months on end, a week of doing the plays will be the same speed as in a game.

Another part of preparation that is important is never overlooking an opponent. Teams tend to do this all the time! When a better team faces a team that might not be the same level that they are, teams tend to look towards the team the play the following week, or just don't prepare. This is a terrible habit! This leads to upsets in sports, and asks for unsuccessful play if this occurs.

The last thing a team needs to do to be as prepared as possible is work hard all week. No matter the opponent the effort should always be there. Naturally teams work harder if they have a difficult opponent the next week, but if a team works hard every week, success happens. Hard work has a correlation with success, and it feels great when you know you have done everything in your power to prepare for a game, and when you play well. This leads to confidence and a sense of pride of what you're doing, and that leads to success and winning.