Famous John Kennedy Snr speech seasonally adjusted for the new footy world

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Dec 14, 2008
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Sometimes you see rousing old speeches by famous coaches and think wow, they really had the ability to get their players up, the old ones like Barassi ranting and raving, Hafey, Sheedy, Parkin with the bulging neck vein but the most famous of all, the don't think, do speech by John Kennedy...

Don't think, Do, sentiments that might have worked in 1975 but would they wash today? today its more like don't think, don't do, don't act, just play your role....

It seems like today its far more programmed, into roles and structure, cant get emotional, or else your message gets muddled and lost in translation. But isn't it emotion if harnessed the thing that can take you over the edge, to go the extra yard?

don't think, do, simple clear, concise.

Lets see how a seasonally adjusted don't think, do speech might look after the original



What a pathetic performance. Half the game over. We’ve been thrashed ... One thing is to be beaten, another thing is to be beaten the way you blokes have been beaten.

Boys, Our key indicators show we were lacking in certain key criteria in the first half. We have been comprehensively out pointed. Its one thing to be out pointed, but we have not been allowed to play our brand.


Now look, one bloke went out on the flank and battled against three, and I don’t know what in the name of fortune you’re doing, there's only one thing in football and that's to get in and fight for the ball.Fight for the ball!!

Now look, our structures have been dragged all out of position, they are getting numbers to the ball, they are using their plus one around the ball but we have been slow to react. We need to get more numbers to the contest! Be first to the contest, Attack the contest as a unit!


Bomber, a player can be beaten for half a game and come back in the second half. Now you've got to get your eye on the ball and use your tremendous ability to get the ball. At first when you get it you'll have to kick it because you haven't had many kicks. Get it and kick it and don’t expect anything else. Get the ball and kick the ball and kick it long.

Bomber, your numbers have been down but keep playing your role and things will turn. When you get the ball I want you look inboard and use the corridor by foot, go long and try to get it over the back of their press or use the fat side if it’s really on.

'We're so far into the mess that we have to be desperate to get out of it. And we will not get out of it with kick-and-mark football. Knock the ball towards our goals and anybody who takes a mark, handball on, handball on, one handball and kick the cover off it.


We are so far off the boil in terms of key indicators, we really need to raise the intensity to get back on terms. It will not happen with possession football, just get it moving forward anyway you can, take a risk, get it moving though their press, run in number, run in waves with link handball, run them off their feet.

Have you got that? One handball and kick the cover off it. I wonder how many blokes are prepared to go totally with me and take the risk. It couldn’t be worse than it is.

Are we clear? Get it and use the sling runner who will go long thru the corridor, I need you all to play your role and move forward as a unit. It can’t be worse than what we have been playing, stagnant stop start tempo footy.

I've seen Matthews on his own over there, but nah, don’t kick it to him, don’t hand pass it, run on and kick it, over the man on the mark, and give it to him if it's on. Better still if there's a man coming past give him the ball. If it goes wrong, it goes wrong, at least you’re doing what I asked and at least I'm responsible. But I'm not responsible for the gutless, witless display that's going on out there. I don’t know how you can, you can, face one another and carry on as you're carrying on out there.

If you see the loose man over there, don’t get sucked into going sideways, keep going fast thru the corridor, if the corridor kick is on, take it, it opens up the whole ground. It wont come off every time but ill take the blame when it doesn’t, you are playing our brand. But I wont wear players who don’t two way run, players who neglect their defensive responsibilities, who are playing like individuals, you can come in here post game and say, at least I played my role for this team.


Anybody who takes a mark take the risk and hand-pass, and players without the ball you must have the initiative to come past, but don’t all come past and no one go in, that’s half the trouble. There’s a lot of blokes prepared to run past but not too many are prepared to go in. Go in, get the ball and blokes come past for the handball. Take the risk, if you make the mistake, if you do it and it doesn't come off, do it again. Do it again. And keep doing it. Keep doing it!

So everytime we mark I want runners, drag your man with you, create spaces for others to run into but don’t all get sucked to the ball, you must keep your structure, but we don’t want a team of outside players, somebody still needs to hit the contest, we are getting killed in contested possession numbers, I need more repeat efforts, go and go again. 2nd efforts are key. More spread, More repeat entries.


Do. Don't think, Mick, don’t hope. Do. At least you can come off and say, 'I did this, I shepherded, I played on. At least I did something for the sake of the side. Do. Act. Don’t think, act. Eye on the ball. The contest is still the same. You must win the ball to win the match. And more than that, when you win the ball you must cooperate with fellas coming past. And you must be desperate enough to stick with me and do it. The crowd might laugh. It might go wrong. I'm game enough to tell you to do it. Are you game enough to back me up? Are you game enough, Scotty, to back me up on that?


Play your role!, don’t think, don’t hope, play your role! At least come off and say I played my role, I ticked off my kpis, I played my role in the structure. Play your role. We must play our brand of footy to win the match, but we will only win if we play as a unit. You must play our brand and keep our structures. The crowd might laugh, it may not come off this time, but if we keep playing our brand of footy the result is not important, we will build into the team we want to become moving forward. Are you all with me?


inspiring stuff hey...

 
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Howie, that needs to be in a supporters column in the newspaper - a fantastic contrast of perspectives between the old simplistic, intuitive game to the new, more complex, formatted game. There used to be a focus on inspiring individuals to become team-oriented. Now they focus on inspiring teams to work as a single unit individual.

I suspect that the future of coaching will be getting a team to work more like a quantum computer, transcending a binary focus to allow players to exist in two places at one time thus completely bamboozling the opposition and infinitely increasing structural probabilities. It may take some re-jigging of coaching philosophies though.
 
Howie, that needs to be in a supporters column in the newspaper - a fantastic contrast of perspectives between the old simplistic, intuitive game to the new, more complex, formatted game. There used to be a focus on inspiring individuals to become team-oriented. Now they focus on inspiring teams to work as a single unit individual.

I suspect that the future of coaching will be getting a team to work more like a quantum computer, transcending a binary focus to allow players to exist in two places at one time thus completely bamboozling the opposition and infinitely increasing structural probabilities. It may take some re-jigging of coaching philosophies though.

its my exact feel - that coaching has become programmed, it has become about numbers and process.

We must never forget inspiring men can be a forgotten skill. in a comp so even, if you can get a man motivator, you may gain 5% ontop of the other teams who are running their drills...

I think Grant Thomas said the other week something along the lines of managing men is much more important than game plans and structure

I think I see where he comes from
 
I suspect that the future of coaching will be getting a team to work more like a quantum computer, transcending a binary focus to allow players to exist in two places at one time thus completely bamboozling the opposition and infinitely increasing structural probabilities. It may take some re-jigging of coaching philosophies though.
and the magnet boards
 
Does the AFL have a secret deal with Bunnings we don't know of?

multi billion dollar industry and they are sitting in a circle on plastic Bunnings chairs at half time like they are at a bbq drinking UDL's round the fire
 

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Howie, when I wonder about you at work I imagine you as state manager for a brand of fine Italian men's shoes.
High quality but not particularly well known shoes, so you have a fair bit of down time.
I picture you poring over inside football, a long skinny leg on the desk. A fax machine in the background.
 
Howie, when I wonder about you at work I imagine you as state manager for a brand of fine Italian men's shoes.
High quality but not particularly well known shoes, so you have a fair bit of down time.
I picture you poring over inside football, a long skinny leg on the desk. A fax machine in the background.

think more balding man playing drums on the Penski file for 11 years stright
 

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