“Teams in losing streaks are dangerous.”
That is a sentence seen in The Pressbox in 2010. I was referring to Parsons High’s Vikings. Coming into last year’s Southeast Kansas League game with Iola High’s Mustangs, the Vikings were mired in a 21-game losing streak. They had one win in 29 games.
The Vikings were dangerous last year, thumping the Mustangs 63-20. The Vikings finished 4-5.
Tables have been turned. The Mustangs have lost 12 straight games going back to the 2009 season.
It is time for the Mustangs to be dangerous.
As with most high school teams, the Mustangs and Vikings are different than last year’s squads. The Vikings have a new head coach and run a double-wing offense.
The Mustangs have switched to a two-back offensive set as their base. After last week, the Mustangs are working around several injuries, including a season-ending knee injury to their starting fullback.
Devin Culler, a senior, has moved into the fullback spot and has worked well in the short week of practice for Iola. Both teams are committed to running the football.
IOLA HIGH’S Fillies are struggling on the volleyball court to start the 2011 season. They are 2-5 going into tonight’s home match against Louisburg.
Fillies, it is time to be dangerous.
Start tonight and build toward Saturday’s Iola High Invitational tournament. Find the combination on the court that opponents don’t want to face.
Being dangerous in competitive sports starts with the simple things.
It starts with one good pass or one good serve. It starts with one tackle, one block, one run.
Simple little things done right build into bigger and better things — wins. Coaches from the beginning of time have talked about doing the little things — fundamentals — right, time in and time out.
On the volleyball court, it usually comes down to serve receive. Making a good first pass allows a team to set the volleyball and deliver with a hit. Passing is a starting point for everything else on the court.
Another factor is serving. If a team cannot put good serves over the net, it’s tough to get on a run. Although volleyball has changed to rally-scoring, which means either team can win the point on a serve, holding serve is still one of the fundamentals of the game.
Football has a lot of little things to be done to be successful. Sometimes even doing all the things right, other teams are just better.
But … if you don’t tackle well defensively, you don’t give your team a chance to win. If you don’t block well offensively, you are not giving your team an opportunity to move the football and score — to win. Holding onto the football, winning the battles at the line of scrimmage whether you are on offense or defense, catching the football — every little thing counts.
Any team sport depends on each player doing the job they are assigned. Every player is important. Every assignment is important.
