The Most Overused Phrase In The Coaching Vernacular

I've Been Listening To Coach Speak For Years, But Just Recently Has This Phrase Become A Thing.

Coaches in all sports from professional to college and even high schools use coach speak, but perhaps none more than college football coaches.

College football coaches have an almost endless supply of "coach-speak" phrases that have been passed down through generations to share their thoughts on their team. 

Some of the favorites used most often are true and can be part of a successful team. Things like "one game at a time," or "play for 60 minute," and even "leave it all on the field" are important aspects of sports. Those and others like them are repeated ad nauseum across the sport.  

One phrase that has recently become common in football in particular is the phrase "fix it."

A particular favorite of coaches of struggling teams, this phrase can be heard mulitple times during postgame or mid-week media sessions. 

It means that the coaches and their players have to correct what they are doing wrong and do it better, or correctly in the future. 

But what if the same problems is still an issue next week and for weeks to follow?

While "fixing" problems is important, as a journalist, and as a fan wouldn't it be better for a coach to tell us what, or how he or she plans to "fix" what's wrong!

Simply saying "get back to work and fix it" only to have the same things happen in next  week's game only acknowledges a problem exists, it doesn't offer a solution.

While I would agree that journalists and fans aren't entitled to know all the inner workings of the team dynamic, fans are not dumb. They watch and can see when things are not right. 

Yes there are intricacies to the game of football that some fans and media don't know or understand entirely, but football is not rocket science and not beyond the realm of understanding for mere mortals.

Saying something like "we're going to run little Timmy till his tongue hangs out this week because he got that 15 yarder and we don't want him getting another next week" wouldn't hurt anyone- but maybe little Timmy or his parents-feelings.  

Perhaps that's a bit drastic and maybe a coach shouldn't name a specific player, but then he could say, "we're going to spend two days this week working on form tackling and spacing and foot work to put ourselves in the right spots to make plays. 

Something, anything other than "fix it!"  

No one questions Nick Saban, Bill Belichick or other similarly high profile coaches when they say "fix it" because chances are that those things will indeed get fixed moving forward.

But for coaches of struggling teams, perhaps attaching at least part of your plan to "fix it" would help fans stomach repeatedly seeing the same issues you vowed to "fix" happen week after week. 

It might not be a pleasant thing, and might break a rule of the coach-speak handbook, but it would also show that there's a plan that the coach has and cares enough about fans to share. But what do I know, I'm just a dumb media guy.