Here is some words of wisdom. Not from a player or taking head, but a former member of the US Army SFOD. He is talking about shooting skills, but his sports analogies are spot on.
Gunfighter Moment – Mike Pannone
October 17th, 2015
Magic and the Easy Button
The firearms and tactical training trade is rife with people “selling magic”. By that I mean being a vocal advocate for the newest “great idea” that hasn’t really been vetted but looks good on YouTube. It’s always amusing to see these new ‘groundbreaking’ techniques that are either poorly thought out or have been preceded by better techniques years and sometimes decades prior seem to get overnight popularity.
One I have addressed previous is the Temple Index and the inherent flaws of it. Another example of selling magic is the widespread use of vehicles as a prop for a shooting class. This is done in complete contrast to vehicles being a useful training aid for teaching sound tactics associated with open air conflicts around vehicles. The point is missed completely because many are trying to entertain more so than teach.
When I played lacrosse in college, my coach Bill Tierney (probably the most successful lacrosse coach in history) rode us hard on the simple things. He reminded us that controlling the ball and consistently working hard on offense as well as defense would win over a more talented but less disciplined team that made mistakes on simple things like catching and throwing. We spent lots of time on ball drills because if you can’t scoop a ball, pass and catch then the rest was a waste of time. The principle was what Brian Searcy from Tiger Swan (also my first TL at JSOC) called “brilliance in the basics”. Greatness is the basics done flawlessly and on demand.
On the shooting side I have often been asked what special techniques SFOD uses or favors. I find that a bit amusing since there are no secret techniques nor any secret tactics. There is only one principle that guides the best units or sports teams or for that matter anyone to repeated success. That is a mastery of the basics and the ability to replicate them on demand precisely and consistently. In life and in training there is no Staples “Easy button”, there is only hard precise work.
So in the end, the magic is…that there is no magic.
– Mike Pannone
The bolded highlights some great points IMO. NU, for years, has been plagued by the basics. Penalties, clock management, tackling, dropped passes etc......Until we can "master the basics", it won't mater what type of scheme we use, the recruits or the talent we have.....
I will say Riley has seemed to improved our basics in some areas i.e. tackling and it shows on the field in the score. We have a long way to go with penalties, clock management etc... Catching had improved, but seems to be regressing....
Block, tackle, catch.... the basics
Gunfighter Moment – Mike Pannone
October 17th, 2015Magic and the Easy Button
The firearms and tactical training trade is rife with people “selling magic”. By that I mean being a vocal advocate for the newest “great idea” that hasn’t really been vetted but looks good on YouTube. It’s always amusing to see these new ‘groundbreaking’ techniques that are either poorly thought out or have been preceded by better techniques years and sometimes decades prior seem to get overnight popularity.
One I have addressed previous is the Temple Index and the inherent flaws of it. Another example of selling magic is the widespread use of vehicles as a prop for a shooting class. This is done in complete contrast to vehicles being a useful training aid for teaching sound tactics associated with open air conflicts around vehicles. The point is missed completely because many are trying to entertain more so than teach.
When I played lacrosse in college, my coach Bill Tierney (probably the most successful lacrosse coach in history) rode us hard on the simple things. He reminded us that controlling the ball and consistently working hard on offense as well as defense would win over a more talented but less disciplined team that made mistakes on simple things like catching and throwing. We spent lots of time on ball drills because if you can’t scoop a ball, pass and catch then the rest was a waste of time. The principle was what Brian Searcy from Tiger Swan (also my first TL at JSOC) called “brilliance in the basics”. Greatness is the basics done flawlessly and on demand.
On the shooting side I have often been asked what special techniques SFOD uses or favors. I find that a bit amusing since there are no secret techniques nor any secret tactics. There is only one principle that guides the best units or sports teams or for that matter anyone to repeated success. That is a mastery of the basics and the ability to replicate them on demand precisely and consistently. In life and in training there is no Staples “Easy button”, there is only hard precise work.
So in the end, the magic is…that there is no magic.
– Mike Pannone
The bolded highlights some great points IMO. NU, for years, has been plagued by the basics. Penalties, clock management, tackling, dropped passes etc......Until we can "master the basics", it won't mater what type of scheme we use, the recruits or the talent we have.....
I will say Riley has seemed to improved our basics in some areas i.e. tackling and it shows on the field in the score. We have a long way to go with penalties, clock management etc... Catching had improved, but seems to be regressing....
Block, tackle, catch.... the basics
