From Time To Time, Break Something

It used to be a dumb idea to run a forward press. You’d exhaust your strikers.

It used to be a dumb idea to have a scrambling quarterback. They’d get hit too much.

It used to be a dumb idea to jack up fifty 3-pointers per game. Games were won in the low-post.

What was once silly is now mandatory.

But each of these advancements took a certain level of recklessness from a coach to break from the way the game is played.

Regardless of your sport, regardless of your team, it’s a worthwhile investment to spend time trying to break the game — finding a new way of doing things that will stress and unbalance your opposition.

I’m not talking about gimmicks. I’m talking about strategies.

The good news is there are opportunities everywhere.

To break something, you must approach the game with curiosity. View it with a critical eye. It often helps to sit with a coach from another sport and quiz them on what they see that doesn’t make much sense.

There’s no competitive advantage to be had by being in a perpetual loop of playing tactical catch-up.

To jump ahead, you must be willing to break something.