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Preparation is the Key to Success*
By: John Miller
Sometimes winning takes luck, some coaches may get away with good fortune during a few games and possibly even a season. But there comes a time in every coaches career when he or she has to put the ax to the grindstone and win when winning seems impossible. Being a X-AOFL World Champion I have gained a reputation as being a tough opponent. The other week our, AOFL Commissioner (Pat17) said, "If you do not prepare when you meet the Flunkies you will surely lose, [and] sometimes that does not even help."
Thus, I have decided to share a few of my ideas on game preparation. To give you an idea of my philosophy I would like to quote my favorite philosopher, Zhuge Laing:
"Know yourself, know your enemy and you will never lose the war." Words to live by.
Most coaches prepare from week to week. However, it has been a favorite trick of the Flunkie organization to prepare for opponents two weeks in advance. What I do is scout the team that I will play after the current game and make a game plan that will beat my current opponent, but struggle against or lose to my challenger two weeks hence. Sometimes when you face two tough adversaries in a row this is not a viable option. In that case I choose a plan that will take advantage of my current rival and force the second team to change their tactics. The former gives my next opponent a false sense of security. The latter brings about a state of confusion and possible indecision.
The secret of the Flunkies lies in their defense. My defense is never the same from week to week. Most coaches do not believe that I pay much attention to the Art of Defense because of my tactics. The Flunkies did not win the Championship with offensive brute force. They won with defensive cunning. The idea is to give the contender an appearance of stagnation. Every week I try to make a brand new custom built defense for my foe and I name all the plays with the same or similar names to my previous weeks defensive plays.
It does not matter whether you are working on your offense or your defense, I stress that you do your best to stay away from repetition. I have seen many a coach come out with fire and brimstone only to end up in a perpetual losing streak. If you desire to obtain the ultimate in PlayMaker glory you must change every week.
In order to be prepared for your current enemy you will have to come up with a game plan. To do so you must do your homework. He who looks only at their opponents last game as if it is the best source will soon wonder why they do not win that many games. I have always taken a representative sample of my rival's game plans.
There are several rules that I abide by when choosing which playbooks to practice against. If my opponent has played a tough veteran earlier in the season, then I grab that playbook. If my opponent has played the another team twice in the same season then I use the second games' playbook. If that is not available then I take some random samples. I also add a playbook from last season or even older when available. In general I will collect three to four playbooks before I begin to prepare.
Once I have the playbooks I run one or two from each playbook. I find the playbook that gives me the most trouble and create my team to beat that game plan. After I adjust my team so that they are winning constantly, I look at the other playbooks and adjust my Artificial Intelligence as needed.
Finally, it is important to watch a few games, start to finish, in order to do any final tweaking neccessary. Mistakes or changes in AI, nagging penalties, and correct personnel should all be finalized and corrected. When you are finished, though a victory may not be assured, you can be confident that at the very least, you will field a competitive team.
* For more articles like this one, check out the Coaches' Handbook on PMFB.net.
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