You've heard of Socrates? Plato? Aristotle? Morons.
The school motto at the University of Oregon is "Mens agitat molem." That translates in English as "the mind moves the masses," and Coach Chip Kelly practices it every day.
It turns out Kelly is a classicist. Last week we found out he scores Competition Days with a variant of the Pythagorean theorem and yesterday he revealed he coaches up quarterbacks by employing the Socratic method. In his weekly press conference the coach told the media:
"I still talk to those guys a lot. Usually, most of the time, I talk to the other quarterback that’s not in. Helfy’s kind of coaching the guy that’s in, but you’ll see me talking to Nate while Darron’s taking snaps, and, you know, ‘What are you seeing?’ We’ve got a pass play called, or when Nate’s in talking to Darron, ‘What do you see? Where would you go if you were in on this play? Can you get a mental rep even though you’re not taking the snap? What’s your thought process?’ Or, ‘Why did you see that?’
"And I’m a big question guy. I don’t like to tell them anything, to be honest. I want to know what they’re thinking, and explain to me what they’re thinking. A lot of times I feel, when you just tell them, you just get, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ And, I don’t know, ‘Yeah, yeah’ in my mind means you have no idea what I’m talking about right now. So I ask a lot of questions: ‘What do you see right here? Where would you go with the ball right here?’ And try to get what their thought process is.
"And then a lot of times it’s just me, because I’m calling plays, is, ‘Do you like this?’ Because it doesn’t matter if I like it, because I’m not playing. And Helf’s not playing. It’s, what do they like? But if they don’t like it, I need an answer. Not just, ‘Because.’ It’s, ‘I don’t like it because this is unclear to me,’ or, ‘It makes me indecisive.’ Now I know they’ve got a grasp, and you can carry on a pretty good conversation with them, and get an understanding of what they’re doing and what their thought process is. And it gives you a better understanding as you formulate your game-plan."
(source: Rob Moseley's Oregon Duck football blog). For an audio clip of the press conference, visit the Wines family Duck blog.
It was a refreshingly self-revealing exchange with the media, as Kelly is ordinarily a little tight-lipped and evasive with the press. Clearly his job title is Head Coach of Oregon Football, not Director of Media Relations. Every minute he spends answering germane and inane questions is another minute he doesn't have for the game plan and the other critical evaluations of players and practice. He doesn't suffer fools, gladly or otherwise.
The clip explains a lot about Kelly's method and success. He uses the same tools Socrates used to coach up Plato in the Mediterranean-10 back in 410 B.C. To build his pupils' skills, he stimulates their thinking with questions. Looking back at the rapid growth and development of Dixon, Roper and Masoli, his previous students, you can see how the method produces dramatic results. To become a good quarterback, you have to think like one, and that is what Kelly and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich do best, teach quarterbacks how to shift through options quickly and act decisively. The physical skills are important, and get a proper emphasis, but the difference maker in the differential calculus of Oregon quarterbacking is Kelly's ability to improve their understanding of the offense, teaching them the art of recognition and making choices on the fly.
It explains how Dennis Dixon could grow so much from his junior to senior year, and how Justin Roper could learn enough quarterbacking to throw for four touchdowns in the 2007 Sun Bowl. It's a key reason why Jeremiah Masoli could go from an untested transfer with a scattergun arm to MVP of the Holiday Bowl in 2008, then produce dominating performances versus Cal, USC, Arizona and Oregon State in 2009. In his three years at Oregon Kelly's offenses have produced about 38 points a game and 5500 yards a season, and in two of those years he started with a raw, inexperienced quarterback. The Ducks have won nine, ten, and ten games, with Kelly being named PAC-10 Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm.
Thomas and Costa will succeed, because they will get the teaching that raises their games. The track record speaks for itself.
That quote from Kelly is excellent. Spread QB's may have a hard time transitioning to the NFL, but first and foremost they are here to run the spread offense. And Kelly does indeed coach them up.
ReplyDeleteGood post.