I recently witnessed a Twitter war.
It was ugly.
I’ve had these come across my feed before. Someone posts a football thought or opinion, and somebody else comes along and tears it to shreds.
It got me thinking about the coaching community as a whole and some of our challenges.
Here’s what I came up with.
The War
I didn’t see the whole thing.
After a little bit of rubbernecking, I turned away.
But it was basically two coaches having a disagreement about a coverage.
More specifically, a disagreement about the “rules” used when running a certain coverage. (They happened to be talking about the 4-down, American version of football.)
It quickly turned into a personal battle.
Attacks around who had a better playing career, who was a better coach, who knew more, etc.
Gross.
And I’m sure this Twitter war resulted in a bunch of new followers for both participants.
But at what cost?
Absolutes Are Dangerous
I believe this to be true:
Any time you think you’re right about a football concept, you have a lot more learning to do.
There are many ways to play this game.
Traditional techniques change, evolve, and then come back around again.
If you see this game through a “right vs. wrong” lens, you’re missing the point.
(And part of this “war” came down to something as simple as naming structures. The two were using different names for the same route combination, fighting about who was right. Crazy.)
How Can We Grow?
Discussion is great.
But tone — and intentions — matter.
When talking football, we can only improve if we’re coming from a place of growth.
When you see something being done differently — even if it’s something you don’t agree with — you get to choose how you respond.
How about:
Oh, that’s different. Interesting. I wonder how they teach it? I wonder what their “rules” are? Could I learn something from this?
That’s a lot more productive than:
They’re wrong. I’m right. I’m going to let them know.
Perils Of Online Discussion
I know, I know.
This is the reality of posting online about a topic people are passionate about.
But I believe “Twitter wars” like this are why we don’t have enough discussion around the game.
It’s nasty out there.
Why share your thoughts if there’s a chance you’re going to be publicly embarrassed?
And I’ve been there. I’ve had people disagree with something I posted in a tone I didn’t like.
It’s not fun.
But if we can move the needle away from “wars” and closer towards growth, we’ll all be better for it.
Note: If you’re looking for a place online where it’s safe to post your ideas and generate discussion, you should check out the Chalk Talk Community. It’s full of coaches who just want to grow. Click here to learn more.
All the best,
Jon Svec
Defensive Coordinator
St. Francis Xavier University
X-Men Football
Email: jsvec@stfx.ca
Twitter: @jonsvecx
To read more check out the Canadian Football Chalk Talk e-book and video series, which can be found by clicking here.