Going against the grain

If you know me at all, you know I have a distaste for complacency.  I’m a fan of challenging traditions that guide poor life or business practices. As anyone who’s taken on tradition, it’s difficult because there are entrenched loyalists who will fight to the death for their turf. That’s understandable, because processes become traditions because they were successful at some point. As situations change, however, traditions are very slow to die.

I loved this story in the latest Sports Illustrated because it chronicles high school football coach Kevin Kelley, who questions two long-standing traditions: kicking and punting. Instead of punting, Kelley has his team go for it. ALWAYS. Instead of long kickoffs, Kelley has his team try onside kicks. ALWAYS.

Why? Because the odds favor his alternatives.

Kelley came to that realization after poring through tons of game stats. So, for the last three seasons, his teams have stumped the competition by doing something different.

Good for him, and good for his students, who are learning an important life lesson: Question the urge to take the easy out.

As noted in the S.I. article and over the years in Gregg Easterbrook’s excellent Tuesday Morning Quarterback column, most NFL and college coaches are gun shy about regularly going for it on 4th down or trying onside kicks because they’re afraid of the inevitable fan and media backlash should their decisions backfire.

And it’s not just football. Many baseball managers still call the hit-and-run when stats over the years indicate you’re better off saving the sacrifice out and hoping for an extra base hit. Or the insistence on saving star closers until the 9th inning, when they may be more useful in tight situations earlier in the game.

Thankfully, there are heretics like Kelley and Devil Rays’ manager Joe Maddon and Boise State football coach Chris Peterson, each of whom has the confidence to question age-old policies and procedures that preceded them. Let them be inspirations to all of us.