Halftime Adjustments: It’s Bad At Half…The Case For Standing Pat.
Let’s continue our look at halftime adjustments. This is the continuation of yesterday’s blog where we pose the question. It’s half-time and your unit is not playing very well. If you missed the scenario you can go back and read it here.
Today we want to look at the case for standing pat. Standing pat, you ask? Our definition of that is to stay true to your game plan. You don’t adjust your offense, defense or special teams scheme during the game.
First, let us say that it is normally the right thing to do. The likelihood of you coming up with something in the next 30 minutes that you did not over the course of the week is not good. Here are some other reasons why.
We would also ask “Can you identify the problem? Per yesterday, is it something your unit is doing poorly or something the opponent is doing very well? This should affect your halftime adjustment decisions. If you can identify what is wrong then by all means fix it now.
If it is something your squad is doing poorly, you may be able to fix it with a technique adjustment. If you can then that’s going to be your best bet. We caution you to not be stubborn about this. Just because you can tell the player how to correct it does not mean it’s going to fix things.
Remember, unless you can identify a specific problem, you are running the risk of screwing up some of your other players who may be performing just fine.
Another thing to heavily consider is the loss of confidence with your players if you adjust too much. They are not dumb. They will understand that a change is being made for a reason. Panic is not your friend on game day.
Finally, if you adjust your scheme there is a high likely hood that you will be asking your players to execute something they have not practiced that week. You can’t with a clear conscience ask and expect your players to execute the assignments at the same level as the ones you have repped that week.
So yes, for all of you out there who are solidly in the camp of “Don’t just start calling plays and defenses that you have not practiced.” we understand. It makes sense, especially if you don’t have anything better in mind.
Tomorrow we will come back and look at the other side of the coin. There are also a lot of reasons and philosophies that will tell you to scrap that plan and get to something that works. Halftime adjustments are as unique to whoever is making them.
