Published: May 07, 2008 11:30 pm            

JUSTIN GRAVES: Old-school CSHS gets new-school makeover

There’s excitement in the air at Cold Springs High. And for once, it’s not the basketball team that’s creating the buzz.

Cold Springs is currently going through spring football drills, and the coaching staff has made a decision that’s got people talking up on the mountain.

That’s right. Football has just taken center stage at a school where basketball has been king for decades — which is exactly what this program needed.

So what exactly did the coaching staff at Cold Springs do? They simply decided to make football fun for everyone by changing to a spread offense.

What? Cold Springs is going to run a spread offense? Yes they are, and that’s possibly the best decision this coaching staff has made.

I know Cold Springs has always used the old “three yards and a cloud of dust” offensive philosophy.

But that doesn’t mean the Eagles can’t run an effective pass-oriented offensive scheme.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the spread offense is that it requires lots of exceptional athletes. But in reality, teams that aren’t blessed with tons of speed and quickness are probably better off running the spread than the Wing-T.

Usually, teams that are successful in the Wing-T or veer option are blessed with explosive players at the skill positions. Teams that are successful with a Power-I offensive scheme are usually blessed with big, overpowering running backs and feature dominant defenses.

But at the same time, there are teams that have had success with the spread offense that have very average athletes at the skill positions.

Why is that? Well, it’s because the spread offense is all about making plays in space. And it’s not hard to teach an open receiver to catch a five-yard pass in the flats.

If you have a quarterback with a decent arm that you can teach to read defenses, a few wide receivers who can catch short passes and a running back with above-average speed that can also catch the football, then you have enough talent to put points on the scoreboard with a spread offense.

With the type of athletes Cold Springs has, the spread offense should be a good fit. And since this scheme gets more players involved in the game, it helps make football fun for everyone — which doesn’t hurt when you’re trying to get more players to come out for the team.

There’s a reason Cold Springs has more players out for spring training this year. The kids know the spread offense is a fun system that produces lots of star players, and that’s something everyone wanted to be a part of.

This system helped Fairview go from 1-9 to 6-4 in one season. And who knows, Cold Springs could see similar results.

‰ Justin Graves is the sports editor at The Times. He can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.

        

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