Brad Cesmat
Herm Edwards spoke at a luncheon earlier this week. I had the good fortune of being in the room to hear him share his beliefs and insights with a group of about 200 people(several high school coaches) at the Positive Coaching Alliance lunch. Edwards and former Arizona head coach Dick Tomey spoke together on stage for an extended period. Here were some of the moments from Herm that caught my ear and eye…
“I hear a lot about systems and schemes.. if you CANNOT teach fundamentals at the sport your coaching, you can’t coach…period…I don’t care if you get mad at me or not, I really don’t care. I’m saying this at every level, professional football, college football, Pop Warner, Pee Wee doesn’t matter, If you CANNOT coach fundamentals, you CANNOT coach. That is the most difficult thing for coaches to buy into. That’s how you develop players.”
“The next time you coach, whatever sport it is, can the athlete get in the proper stance? Ask them to get into a stance,watch how they look, it’s an amazing deal. Most kids don’t even know how to get into a stance. Think about that.” 
“There’s this word called HOPE, it’s the most powerful word in the English language. It provides energy. It provides a future. It provides a vision.You have to constantly give em(players) HOPE. You(coaches)provide HOPE…period…”
“When you’re an athlete or coach you live in this bubble your whole life and the people your surround yourself with, all the same way. We don’t get caught up in all the other stuff, to me that’s what sports brings to everyone at every level.”
When asked what the biggest challenge facing coaches today. Edwards was very clear. “It’s social media. Everything is, I have to have this right now.”
