Bill Belichick has been referred to as everything from a psychological mastermind to “the scary Alex Trebek.” He tests and quizzes his players constantly, to the point where it causes fear.
Why?
Tedy Bruschi explained to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen that, “The idea is to take it personally. . . Bill wants you to do that. You get angry, and you get embarrassed. But then you get to the point where you want to fix it, and fix it badly.”
The point is to know your opponent better than they know themselves. Identify their strengths and weaknesses. Take away what they want to do and exploit them where they are vulnerable.
That is the point of a game plan, right?
So, what is an easy way to implement this quizzing strategy? Here’s where Just Play can help using your Hudl, XOs or DVSport Video.
Player quizzes are extremely important and should take place regularly – not just the night before a game when you’ve already run out of time fix problems.
What if your players woke up to a quiz – a quick test that is tailored to an individual or position group. Make them accountable with scoring and feedback and keep it coming throughout the day.
Lunchtime, quiz. After practice, quiz.
Make quizzes quick and easy – two or three questions max. Keep your players honest and consider posting the results. You can even build in rewards for responsibility and strong performance to create competition within your team.
Learning can happen through reinforcement and feedback. With our player quizzes feature, Just Play provides both.
Building a quiz in your Just Play system takes less than 2 minutes. Our quizzes take place in an interactive player app, proven to be a more effective learning environment than the traditional classroom. And we provide detailed reporting making it easy for you to evaluate how well your team is preparing.
Quizzing will make assignments and responsibilities second-nature for your players, so they can react more quickly and play with more confidence.
And quicker reactions will win you more games.
In the last 20 years of NFL games, 46% have been decided by 7 points or less. 24% were decided by 3 points or less.
A quick reaction can be the difference in converting a key first down, making a third-down stop or a touchdown saving tackle. It can even win you a Super Bowl.
Clearly it’s working for the Patriots. Take a page out of Bill Belichick’s coaching playbook and test your players on a regular basis – and do it with Just Play.