Dodge wants to see attitude during Mustangs’ offseason
MARBLE FALLS — Aside from increasing strength and quickness, Marble Falls High School head football coach Todd Dodge said the Mustangs will focus on developing something that’s just as important – attitude.
When the former Southlake Carroll head football coach started at Marble Falls on Feb. 1, he said he encountered an unconfident group of athletes.
So coaches spent the rest of the spring semester helping players develop confidence in themselves and each other. That confidence was fine-tuned during Performance Course, a strength-and-conditioning program for Mustang athletes held during the summer.
Now Dodge and Performance Course coach David Granson have turned their attention to attitude, which they believe can help a team win games.
“I think it’s very important our players realize that and are getting to the next level,” he said. “This is one of the top 4A districts in the state. There are no ‘gimme’ football games. It’ll be the same way next year.”
Granson said building a positive attitude will be reinforced in players during the Mustangs’ offseason training.
“This year, we want to get stronger. We want to get faster,” he said. “We want to build confidence. We want to develop more of an attitude.”
He said the Mustangs will do more lunges during the offseason with a greater emphasis on flexibility and moving in different angles.
“We’re going to get as sport specific as possible,” Granson said. “We want to simulate everything they do in a game. We want to put them in situations that are awkward, that are not comfortable, so they won’t freak. Freak reactions a lot of times are what cause injury.”
“To a certain extent, you’re improving technique and being able to get your body in position to make a fundamental tackle,” Dodge said.
Another part of training will focus on teaching players how to read coverages and look for hints on what the opponent is doing.
“Our football team as a whole had a very low football IQ,” Dodge said. “As a coach, you can’t assume anything.”
So they will review film from the 2012 football games.
“The stronger you are, the more confident you’re going to be on the field,” Dodge said. “That goes hand in hand. I’m a big believer in identifying what we did well to win games and what we did well to get ourselves in the hunt on certain things.”
The Mustangs skipper said this is an important part of developing a football program, and he looks forward to having an entire year to coach.
“We’re not leaving any stone unturned as far as teaching,” he said. “As players, we’re really locking in.”
Dodge said the Mustangs gave up an average of 42 points and had too many missed tackles this season.
The offseason drills for the defensive players will revolve around helping athletes get in the correct position to make the tackle, he said.
“The job of the offense is to block and possess, to move the ball toward the first-down marker,” he said. “The defense’s is to make a play. I have to rely on players to make plays. It’s a two-way street.”
With so much on his to-do list, Dodge said it’s imperative the Mustangs make every minute count and see the results as time passes.
“A lot of it is getting our players improved,” he said. “And getting our players to understand great things are going to happen. When you put in the hard work, I want them to see their bodies change.”