Worst cliche you keep encountering in coachspeak/interviews

One I was guilty of reciting today during our weekly show was a player expressing concern over "putting together four quarters." As soon as I said it, I regretted it.

 

One local team runs the triple option like a charm. I've talked to a few out-of-coverage area coaches about it, and it always ends up with them saying, "We have to stick to our assignments on defense."

This week, when I talked to the opposing coach, the conversation led to the option offense and before he could say anything, I said, "I bet you're going to tell me you have to stick to your assignments on defense."

He laughed, and then he gave me a really good quote about how it's basically impossible to stop them no matter what you do.

 

"special"
He's has a chance to be a special player, we have a chance to be a special team, thankfully I've never heard this term every four years and nobody refers to an athlete as a "special Olympian."

 

Going through interviews for weekly football preview of Local High School. This is the third week in a row Coach has said "They might be the biggest, most physical team we've faced this season." .. also on a side note, a TV guy shows up to weekly Montana State pres conferences and the first words out of his mouth to every athlete and coach, every week, are "how have you improved?" Every week, for two years running.

 

"We wanted it more than they did."

 

"We were fired up!" I hate it and almost never use it in a story.

 

One local coach always says "Here at Podunk High School ..." Either before or after a typical cliche. You can count on it every time he's interviewed, sometimes more than once.

Then we have another guy that's been around forever and never says the same thing twice. You just wanna hang out and talk forever he's so original. Last week he said, "That stadium brings out the worst in people, it's like there's bodies buried under the field or something. It's a hallowed, special place."

Does anyone else get the "multiple" response when asking about a team's offense/defense? "They're very multiple" is what one coach says about every team they face. Thanks coach, hard hitting stuff.

 

I'll bet coaches like these have an entire set of home cliches their wives and families are tired of hearing, too. You can't just leave that kind of forced-message mentality on the playing field.

 

Along the lines of "we/they just wanted it more," I used to hate the "It comes down to making plays, and they made a few more of them than we did."

Thanks, Doctor.

 

Their cheerleaders looked better than ours did.

 

I had a player that ran for 200+ yards, several touchdowns and his team upset the best team in the conference. I interviewed him afterwards and he started every answer to questions with something to the effect of "I just want to thank God...without God, I would be nothing..."

When I finished the interview, he said to me "You better Goddamn, fucking print that."

 

Had a coach once tell me "we're the best 0-5 team in the league." Of course, his team was the only 0-5 team in the league. And the only winless team.