The Little Things

[CoachKen]

In sports and in life everyone does the big things, but the true winners do the "little things" that often go unnoticed. Successful football teams are the ones that in numerous unnoticed ways do a hundred different things that compiled create the "Winning Edge." I have taken notice of all the "little things" that are going on with the UH football program that cumulatively lead toward success. Here are just a few:

Winter workouts- Putting together the "team concept" of competition has created an extra enthusiasm among the players. The extra pound lifted, the extra sprint ran, the extra emphasis on being competitive will pay off in numerous ways.

Second chances- Any player whom was overlooked or felt like he would not be given the chance has that chance now. Coach Mack has declared a "clean slate" for all players and he means it. Guys are working harder than ever for a shot to start or even play. The extra passion and enthusiams shows in every workout.

Recruiting- I seldom listen to or read the "experts" on recruiting and prefer to follow the New England Patriots philosophy of "best fit." I have seen too many "5 Star" recruits give up after one year and too many hard working walkons achieve All American status. This coaching staff was given the green light and the budget to go out and get the best fit for this program....I think we accomplished that. You can believe in Rivals and Scout.com all you want, but I prefer to believe in the coaching staff.

Facilities- Facilities in and of itself does not created wins, but in the case of UH it is symbolic. Things are getting done and players are taking noticed. It makes them feel appreciated and wanted. That does count for alot!

New blood! I like the young look that has been added to the coaching staff! The only new guy I know is Nick Rolovich, but in the short time I had a conversation with him, I could see that one day he would make an incredible coach. He will be able to tell the QBs things that only a player from this system could relate. I believe he will be a superstar.

Consistency- There was an inconsistency in how the team rules were applied...those days are gone! Everyone will live by the same code, the same discipline and the same accountability. This is the factor that often cuts into morale when players feel there are exceptions to the rules. Coach Mack does not make exceptions and that is already evident. Look for a team that is already close to have the highest level of morale ever!

New stars- It always happens when you lose quality players, others step up to be counted and fill in the ranks of the departed. There are players whom as we speak are dreaming of greatness on the field of battle. They will shock and surprise all of us and we will wonder how? Look for players whom you never expected to make a difference making the difference. Why? Because they have a shot at greatness!

Discipline- Coach Mack has a way of bringing out the best in players because he expects the best. I don't know that the UH football team maintained discipline at all times...Coach Mack will expect and demand it. Mental errors will not be tolerated nor inappropriate conduct.

There are many more "unnoticed things." Our 2008 schedule will demand a higher level of performance than last year. There will be few "cake teams" and that means all the little things will make the difference. You can never deny that talent is important, but there is also no denying the power of team, the power of hard work and dedication, or the power of believing...these kids and these coaches believe that they are ready to put on a great show in 2008 and we should all be excited about a new era and a new opportunity.

CoachKen

[Poopsnorkeler]

Aww you're gonna make the off-season feel that much longer!

j/k! Great post, Coach!

I look forward to seeing a more disciplined team. I thought at times when some of our players were getting out of hand that Jones would tend to look the other way...

[uhwarrior23]

Another excellent post, Coach. Very well said.

[Macnut]

One of the little things but is huge is discipline. I have a feeling Coach Mac will big on this. Here's hoping no more bravado and showing up or showing off like past JJ teams.

[Old Diver]

One of the little things that bothered me at the games was observing the Hawaii players on the sidelines standing on
or over the sideline boundary. The other teams always would stand away from the sidelines by several feet. Even when warned
by the officials the Hawaii players in a matter of minutes would be standing over the sidelines. How embarrassing it would
be to lose a game because we ignored a little thing like not crossing the sideline boundary. I get the feeling that this will not
happen again with Mack as coach.

[H20]

Recruiting- I seldom listen to or read the "experts" on recruiting and prefer to follow the New England Patriots philosophy of "best fit." I have seen too many "5 Star" recruits give up after one year and too many hard working walkons achieve All American status. This coaching staff was given the green light and the budget to go out and get the best fit for this program....I think we accomplished that. You can believe in Rivals and Scout.com all you want, but I prefer to believe in the coaching staff.

You say that as if it was by choice that the coaches wouldn't want to go after 5-star rated athletes. Ask them, off the record, if they'd rather have gotten the guys they did, or the top rated 5-star athletes at the same positions. I say off the record because of course they'd say they wouldn't change a thing if they knew lots of people were listening. I'm not knocking our class, I love what we got in this class. I'm saying it's a bit of a reach to think they wouldn't have gone after guys rated at 5-stars on rivals or scout if they thought they had a legitimate chance.

[SundayJam]

May we have a backfield full of Ray Rice's and Mike Hart's.

amen.

[Old Diver]

Recruiting- I seldom listen to or read the "experts" on recruiting and prefer to follow the New England Patriots philosophy of "best fit." I have seen too many "5 Star" recruits give up after one year and too many hard working walkons achieve All American status. This coaching staff was given the green light and the budget to go out and get the best fit for this program....I think we accomplished that. You can believe in Rivals and Scout.com all you want, but I prefer to believe in the coaching staff.

You say that as if it was by choice that the coaches wouldn't want to go after 5-star rated athletes. Ask them, off the record, if they'd rather have gotten the guys they did, or the top rated 5-star athletes at the same positions. I say off the record because of course they'd say they wouldn't change a thing if they knew lots of people were listening. I'm not knocking our class, I love what we got in this class. I'm saying it's a bit of a reach to think they wouldn't have gone after guys rated at 5-stars on rivals or scout if they thought they had a legitimate chance.

I didn't get the impression Coach Ken was saying that the coaches " wouldn't want to go after 5- star rated athletes".
I believe he meant that Coach Mack will go after the best, best fit players they can get. As to the part of believing the
coaching staff instead of rivals or scout, this is my take on his comment. Hawaii had several players last year who got
drafted yet were not 4 or 5 star rated in high school. How did this happen? It was because the coaches saw something in them that others didn't. Coach Ken believes the coaches will go after the unrated star athletes of the future that best fits what we do, something the scouting services don't take into account. It's of course possible that my
interpretation of what Coach Ken said is totaly off base, but since this is a forum I went for it.

[vailima]

the more comments about Mack I hear from the 'insiders' the more I'm beginning to think he's more of a fit for the college game than JJ was (no knock on JJ intended)---especially in terms of tightening the reins on discipline and enforcement of the rules---almost forgot, and recruiting.

[CoachKen]

Old Diver,

You are right that is exactly what I meant. UH knows the big schools are going to outspend us and have a mainland location advantage. It is easy to identify "5 Star" athletes...it is hard to find the kid who is overlooked, underrated, but can be a player one day. I think Rich Miano has this insight and finds these types of kids.

CoachKen

[fuzzylogic]

the more comments about Mack I hear from the 'insiders' the more I'm beginning to think he's more of a fit for the college game than JJ was (no knock on JJ intended)---especially in terms of tightening the reins on discipline and enforcement of the rules---almost forgot, and recruiting.

I agree. I always believed that JJ was very aloof when it came to all that you say. I think it is because of his pro coaching background where all the players should know what to do. But here, these are college kids that need more discipline and direction. I like Coach Mack as he seems to better understand that these are college students playing and still learning what is right and wrong.

[Honu73]

Mahalos again Coach Ken! You bring awesome points. Here's a little something from "The Babe"
"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."
Let's keep believing as a fan base...because you know that all of those athletes will. I am so excited for 2008 season and proud of all the Hawaii athletes!

[H20]

Recruiting- I seldom listen to or read the "experts" on recruiting and prefer to follow the New England Patriots philosophy of "best fit." I have seen too many "5 Star" recruits give up after one year and too many hard working walkons achieve All American status. This coaching staff was given the green light and the budget to go out and get the best fit for this program....I think we accomplished that. You can believe in Rivals and Scout.com all you want, but I prefer to believe in the coaching staff.

You say that as if it was by choice that the coaches wouldn't want to go after 5-star rated athletes. Ask them, off the record, if they'd rather have gotten the guys they did, or the top rated 5-star athletes at the same positions. I say off the record because of course they'd say they wouldn't change a thing if they knew lots of people were listening. I'm not knocking our class, I love what we got in this class. I'm saying it's a bit of a reach to think they wouldn't have gone after guys rated at 5-stars on rivals or scout if they thought they had a legitimate chance.

I didn't get the impression Coach Ken was saying that the coaches " wouldn't want to go after 5- star rated athletes".
I believe he meant that Coach Mack will go after the best, best fit players they can get. As to the part of believing the
coaching staff instead of rivals or scout, this is my take on his comment. Hawaii had several players last year who got
drafted yet were not 4 or 5 star rated in high school. How did this happen? It was because the coaches saw something in them that others didn't. Coach Ken believes the coaches will go after the unrated star athletes of the future that best fits what we do, something the scouting services don't take into account. It's of course possible that my
interpretation of what Coach Ken said is totaly off base, but since this is a forum I went for it.

Old Diver,

You are right that is exactly what I meant. UH knows the big schools are going to outspend us and have a mainland location advantage. It is easy to identify "5 Star" athletes...it is hard to find the kid who is overlooked, underrated, but can be a player one day. I think Rich Miano has this insight and finds these types of kids.

CoachKen

I made the last line of the original quote bold because that was the main part I was looking at. I agree that we got kids that fit what we're doing and kids that can develop into very good players.

My point of bringing up that I'm pretty sure the coaches would go after a 5-star that fit what we're doing if he was very interested over a less talented guy was to point out that there's nothing wrong with Rivals and Scout trying to rank and rate them. Again, which is why in my original post I put that one line in bold. It's not Rivals and Scouts job to rate guys based on their fit to the program they signed with or might sign with, or how they think the draft will go 4 or 5 years into the future. They rate them as they see them overall based on their position and current talent level. So what I'm saying is it's not about believing in one or the other. It's about trusting that the coaches got the guys they think they can turn into very good players for us, even though they are not 4 or 5 star rated on Rivals or Scout. Believing in the coaches doesn't have to mean not believing in the recruiting services.

[Old Diver]

It's funny because college football pundits claim poor recruiting has been Notre Dame's downfall as of late.
They say you cannot believe all the stars behind their recruits because the stars only reflect that Notre Dame
is recruiting them. I'm guessing Notre Dame is recruiting "stars" as opposed to best fit. Or it could be lousy
coaching. heh!

[H20]

haha, yeah I'd go with the coaching part. If you can't win with the kind of talent the have to pull in every year just because they're notre dame, you gotta look at the coaches.