Fake it Till you Fell it

I remember hearing a rap line once that said “fake it till you make it; what happens when you do?.” It stuck in my head for years. And the older I get, the more I realize "fake it till you make it" is terrible advice.

Because what happens when you finally make it? What happens when you hit the goal? The whole phrase falls apart.

But recently I heard a better version. One that actually fits coaching and football perfectly.

Fake it till you feel it.

Here’s the truth. There are a lot of parts of this game that are a grind. A lot of monotony. A lot of things your athletes will never get fired up for on their own.

Nobody wakes up excited for their fourth lift of the week in the seventh week of the offseason. Nobody jumps out of bed ready for another long film session. The spark isn’t always there. That’s normal.

So sometimes it is on us as coaches to manufacture the energy until it becomes real.

We're allowed to be silly. It's okay to be loud. It's okay to bring juice and passion. We need to bring the energy to the room until the room starts generating its own.

Our defensive staff does this every Friday. They blast house music during film review. It feels ridiculous the first five seconds, then the temperature in the room changes. The energy builds. The kids wake up. Suddenly everyone is locked in, ready to go, and it feels like timeout on the field during a close ball game.

They faked it. Then they felt it.

And that is the lesson. Energy is contagious. Enthusiasm is contagious. If the coach brings it, the players follow. If the coach shows it is safe to be excited, the players will meet you there.

So do not be afraid to lean into it. Do not be afraid to be goofy. Do not be afraid to spark the room yourself.

Because once they feel it, everything changes.

Keep the Fire Burning,