by Larry Beckish

This article was written by the ‘Ol Coach in September 2009 as he watched Tim Tebow lead his Florida team against Tennessee

Last Saturday the Florida-Tennessee game was the game that attracted my attention the most. I wanted to watch the Gators’ Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Tim Tebow, who brings back memories of the first quarterback I coached.

Coach Jeffries, the first African-American Division 1A, head coach, hired me in 1978 as the quarterback coach at my alma mater, Wichita State. There I coached the first quarterback in NCAA history to throw for 4000 yards and run for 2000 yards in his career, Prince McJunckins. In many ways Tim is a lot like Prince. Watching Tebow run for a TD from the one yard line against a tough goal line defense and running 9 yards for a first down and throwing exceptional passes made me feel that he is a quarterback and a
fullback and tailback and so was Prince!

A QB coach is a lot like being a brain and heart specialists in order to help QBs be successful so the team can be successful. The most important aspect of a QB coach is to teach the QB how to make perfect decisions. These decisions are as important for the team as decisions made by Congress or businesses CEOs are for people in the U.S. However, the decision making process for a QB is more difficult since in a game a QB
often has to make 20 or 30, and possibly more critical decisions in less than a heartbeat. One aspect of QB decision making is determining where to throw the ball and when to throw it. Another aspect is choosing plays at the line of scrimmage which will take advantage of defensive alignments. That’s like me trying to decide whether to hit an 8 or 7 iron on a150 yard par three with hopes of making a hole-in-one!

Last year I played golf with Tom Moore, the Colts former QB coach and offensive coordinator, and I asked what made the Colts offensive so effective. He said the offense was effective because of Peyton Manning’s decisions.

A successful QB has to have the athletic ability of a running back plus exceptional arm strength to be successful. From the day I started coaching Prince, I quickly learned that the most important athletic ability for a QB are his eyes. His eyes! A QB needs great eyes for depth perception to throw perfect passes down the field and exceptional peripheral vision to see the field from sideline to sideline to know where all the pass defenders are. And a QB’s eyes are critical to misdirect defenders who are coached to react to his eyes. It’s an important skill for a QB to give the impression he is going to throw the ball down the middle and then throw to a receiver to his right or left.

I learned by observing and from other QB coaches an ideal QB is: A kid who is mentally and physically tough, a kid who becomes a student of the game as much as his coach, a athlete who is a threat as a runner and passer ( Like Prince and Tim), a player who can concentrate throughout the game regardless of how mentally and physically tough the game gets, a kid who strives to develop sound fundamentals like the ability to throw the ball off balance, a player who deals with negative aspects of being a QB, like upset coaches, fan outrage, and trash talk from opponents and doesn’t allow those factors to affect his attitude or performance on or off the field.

The quarterback’s leadership is critical to win! His leadership on the field comes from his ability and willingness to: control teammates in difficult situations on the field and on the sideline, congratulate good plays and forgive poor plays, understand all parts of the offense in order to aid teammates when they have problems remembering or focusing on assignments.

I’ve passed those thoughts onto Beaufort High’s QBs, Beau, Thomas, and Alex in my 7 page, ‘Thoughts for Quarterbacks,’ written 20 years ago. I want all little league, middle school, and high school QBs in Beaufort County to be a Prince or Tim.

Coach Beckish is an author and frequent contributor of articles to the CompuSports Media Exchange. He is also a frequent Guest on Coach’s Corner – the Football Coach’s Radio Show from the CompuSports Radio Network. His book, the Trap Option – 40 Plus 60 Equals Option is a coaching classic, and in his “I Believe in Cream, Apples, and Football – Thoughts for Coaches”, Coach Beckish draws on his experiences and a coaching philosophy that developed during his career as an assistant coach at the collegiate level to provide insight, advice and guidance to football coaches at all levels

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