It takes 16 long weeks, a handful of injuries, highlights, momentum changes, penalty flags and handshakes. Sixteen weeks of practice, ankle wraps, weight lifting and watching film. Sixteen weeks of pep talks, team meetings, conditioning drills, pep rallies and bus rides.
At the end of it all, the teams still standing have something very few can claim — a state championship.
“It’s the best feeling in the world when you win a state championship,” North Texas coach and former Southlake Carroll coach Todd Dodge said. “You go back and look at the season and remember all the little things that went into it and there is no better reward for the coaches, the players and the fans. It’s a very special thing.”
Dodge, who has four state titles at Southlake Carroll, including three in a row from 2004-06, said there isn’t a magic formula. It just takes being in the right place at the right time with the right people in the right situation.
Dodge said that while every championship team is different, there are common factors present in all of them. He realized one of the most important ones in 2006. When Dodge and his staff took over at Southlake Carroll, he knew that his playbook, expectations and style would need to trickle down the ranks. The seventh-grade players started learning the system and by the time they got to high school, things went pretty smooth for the Dragons.
“In that 2006 game, we ran 82 plays,” he said. “80 percent of those plays are ones that the kids in junior high were learning. It was really neat to see everything come full circle.”
Also in that game, Dodge saw another ingredient. His son, Riley, the quarterback, was sick the day of the title. In front of a huge TV audience and live crowd, Riley threw up on the field, took a snap, then threw a touchdown pass. That moment is one that still is talked about before every state title game.
“That is one example of toughness,” Dodge said. “No one is 100 percent healthy at that point in the season. It is impossible.”
Along with a focus on the program and toughness, coaches say that the age old cliché “one day at a time” is important. So important, in fact, that former Converse Judson coach D.W. Rutledge, who won four state titles with the Rockets, had a whole book on the subject.
Rutledge said it helps break down the weeks so no one has a chance to get too caught up.
“You lose games by looking ahead,” he said.
The coaches who have been there before know that along with all of the tangibles, it takes luck.
Katy coach Gary Joseph, who is looking for a second straight state title today, is well aware of this. In last year’s state championship, with the Tigers down 7-0 just before halftime, Katy scored on a Hail Mary throw. From that point on, Katy unstoppable.
“You can do everything right, the way you are supposed to,” Joseph said. “But you still take a few risks and you still have a few moments where you have to hope for some good luck.”
Dodge agrees.
“You can have the most amazing team ever,” he said. “But every one of those state championships, I can look at them and see the moments where things went our way. You know that old saying has a lot of truth to it, ‘I’d rather be lucky than good any day.’”
KEYS TO A TITLE
1. Expectations/tradition: Community support plays a big role for teams looking for a title.
2. Talent: Even with good coaching and top-notch facilities, a team can’t win without talent.
3. Execution: Players have to make plays.
4. Focus on the program: Coaches who win state titles always have one eye on the big picture.
5. Good fortune: Coaches all agree a little good ol’ fashioned luck is necessary.
At the end of it all, the teams still standing have something very few can claim — a state championship.
“It’s the best feeling in the world when you win a state championship,” North Texas coach and former Southlake Carroll coach Todd Dodge said. “You go back and look at the season and remember all the little things that went into it and there is no better reward for the coaches, the players and the fans. It’s a very special thing.”
Dodge, who has four state titles at Southlake Carroll, including three in a row from 2004-06, said there isn’t a magic formula. It just takes being in the right place at the right time with the right people in the right situation.
Dodge said that while every championship team is different, there are common factors present in all of them. He realized one of the most important ones in 2006. When Dodge and his staff took over at Southlake Carroll, he knew that his playbook, expectations and style would need to trickle down the ranks. The seventh-grade players started learning the system and by the time they got to high school, things went pretty smooth for the Dragons.
“In that 2006 game, we ran 82 plays,” he said. “80 percent of those plays are ones that the kids in junior high were learning. It was really neat to see everything come full circle.”
Also in that game, Dodge saw another ingredient. His son, Riley, the quarterback, was sick the day of the title. In front of a huge TV audience and live crowd, Riley threw up on the field, took a snap, then threw a touchdown pass. That moment is one that still is talked about before every state title game.
“That is one example of toughness,” Dodge said. “No one is 100 percent healthy at that point in the season. It is impossible.”
Along with a focus on the program and toughness, coaches say that the age old cliché “one day at a time” is important. So important, in fact, that former Converse Judson coach D.W. Rutledge, who won four state titles with the Rockets, had a whole book on the subject.
Rutledge said it helps break down the weeks so no one has a chance to get too caught up.
“You lose games by looking ahead,” he said.
The coaches who have been there before know that along with all of the tangibles, it takes luck.
Katy coach Gary Joseph, who is looking for a second straight state title today, is well aware of this. In last year’s state championship, with the Tigers down 7-0 just before halftime, Katy scored on a Hail Mary throw. From that point on, Katy unstoppable.
“You can do everything right, the way you are supposed to,” Joseph said. “But you still take a few risks and you still have a few moments where you have to hope for some good luck.”
Dodge agrees.
“You can have the most amazing team ever,” he said. “But every one of those state championships, I can look at them and see the moments where things went our way. You know that old saying has a lot of truth to it, ‘I’d rather be lucky than good any day.’”
KEYS TO A TITLE
1. Expectations/tradition: Community support plays a big role for teams looking for a title.
2. Talent: Even with good coaching and top-notch facilities, a team can’t win without talent.
3. Execution: Players have to make plays.
4. Focus on the program: Coaches who win state titles always have one eye on the big picture.
5. Good fortune: Coaches all agree a little good ol’ fashioned luck is necessary.
