Nation, There is a big difference between a complete domination by another team and a close game. Having no chance for a win is both mentally and physically exhausting for the players and coaches. If this continues for a few more weeks, it will only get harder and harder for the players to show up and compete.
I have built programs and I can tell you a loss is a loss. It's about the expectations you set as a coach. The fact is this is a transition year with a young team. Additionally you cannot focus on the results ever as a coach. Any great coach will tell you that. You focus on the process and the details. We played a good team last night, that's what you want a young team to see, you want them to learn how to compete at a high level. Anybody that has taken a team and competed at a high level will tell you that. You face those teams day in and day out you learn how to compete at a high level.
If you want to compete for a state title you don't do that with stacking your schedule with weak teams you do that by going out and competing against good teams. Take Mallard creek for example and look at their schedule and then look at their success.
These kids are competitors I seen that last night. As a coach you have the effort you have the talent your just young. So your focus are the details and you just have to focus on getting better everyday whether it's in practice or a game. You compete with everything you have and just focus on getting better.
This is why last night was not a brutal loss. The first quarter we competed well. The second quarter we missed details I believe there was a botched snap that led them to the goal line and they punched it in for a TD. We had another one where we didn't fill a lane and they had a big gain. That's experience. Those are things that maybe against a team like SD you get away with but good teams expose that's what you want with a young team. They have to learn. That was not a brutal loss. The kids if they focus on getting better everyday will be fine. If they keep pushing and working hard and learning my guess is they are going to get somebody this year they were suppose to lose to.