Sports Daily: Unsolicited advice

Sometimes, when a team’s down bad, you have to shake things up.

Implement unorthodox training methods. Bring in a fresh voice.

Luckily, Sports Daily is here to help.

Quick links: Tech and the new frontier | Campbell coaching fallout | An ITP PGA Superstore

JUST TRUST ME

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

In yesterday’s newsletter, I wrote about United manager Ronny Deila calling his squad “soft” with “no killer instinct.”

Our pal Ken Sugiura, columnist extraordinaire, followed up with a piece pointing out that Deila pulling that particular rip cord represents a point of no return.

The final stage of a bargaining process. A ski-jump across the Rubicon.

It either works … or things end badly for everyone involved.

But fear not, dear reader. I come to you (and Mr. Deila) with a modest, four-step proposal that has a proven track record of turning the cruel tides of sport.

Step 1: Back to the basics. Even the pros need a refresher sometimes. We’re gonna work on positioning, running, weaving between little plastic cones. Everything.

Step 2: Soft feet. Passing is important. You don’t shoot the ball to your teammate, you sail it to them. You don’t stop the pass. You accept it, you cradle it.

Concentration, not strength.

Step 3: Goalie work. Hear me out: Strap Brad Guzan to a goal. And then let everyone else shoot at him. All at once. Over and over again.

Guzan gets locked in (what’s one ball at a time compared to a dozen?). The rest of the squad gets a morale boost. Win-win.

Step 4: A rousing speech. Get the guys in the locker room at halftime of Sunday’s match against Cincinnati.

Then hit ‘em with something like this:

“If you learn nothing else when you’re here, you learn this. This is not just about soccer. It’s easy to be confident when you have control of the ball, but it’s very, very difficult to keep that confidence when you gotta take whatever strange bounces life throws your way.

“Don’t be careless but don’t be too careful, either. You cannot be afraid to lose. That’s how you gain the confidence to attack the game when the ball isn’t yours. That’s how you attack life. Even when you think you don’t have any control.”

At this point, everyone will take turns standing up and saying their name and where they’re from.

They’ll cheer. They’ll play for each other.

And they’ll win, finally.

But Tyler, you might be saying: “Isn’t that all just a weird combination of scenes from the classic film ‘The Mighty Ducks’ and one of its sequels, ‘D3: The Mighty Ducks’?”

And I’d say yes. Yes it is.

You got any better ideas?

Please email me with your own motivational tactics. Or, you know, clips from your favorite inspirational sports movies.

ON TAP TONIGHT

Credit: John Bazemore/AP

Credit: John Bazemore/AP

⚾ The surging Braves start their road series with Washington at 6:45 p.m. on FanDuel Sports. Spencer Strider is expected to return from a hamstring injury to make just his second start of the season.

🏀 The Atlanta Dream’s big home opener at State Farm Arena is Thursday, but first they’ll try and break the Indiana Fever on the road. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. on Peachtree TV.

🏆 High school baseball finals continue at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville and other sites around the state. Already crowned champs include Newnan and Calvary Day.

HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA

Smyrna’s Campbell High School fired two basketball coaches so ingrained in their community the gym is named after them.

Then Cobb County’s superintendent hired them back.

😬 And now? Now Campbell’s principal and athletic director have been reassigned to other schools.

JACKETS WITH CASH

A federal judge might (finally) rule on the House v. NCAA settlement this week, setting the course for revenue sharing between universities and athletes.

With that in mind, Georgia Tech beat writer Chad Bishop touched base with athletic director J Batt, football coach Brent Key and both Yellow Jacket hoops coaches.

They’re all ready for the new frontier.

“I would tell you that we’re really transparent with our coaches,” Batt said. “We’ve got great buy-in across the board. We’ve been planning on how does this happen, what does it look like, for well over a year at this point in time.”

More Yellow Jacket notes:

ALSO INTERESTING

🤔 The NBA’s Eastern Conference finals begin tonight when the Timberwolves visit the Thunder (8:30 p.m. on ESPN).

And one Minnesota Star Tribune columnist wants to know: Is Atlanta native Anthony Edwards the Twin Cities’ next Kirby Puckett?

🙄 Banning the “tush push” is back on the table when NFL owners gather in Minnesota this week. More interesting? Other proposals that would reconsider giving division winners an automatic home playoff game.

If the latter happens, the Falcons might actually never host a playoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

🙏 The White Sox have a new tribute to Pope Leo XIV, commemorating the spot where he sat during the 2005 World Series.

As you might expect, it’s both understated and tasteful.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Courtesy PGA TOUR Superstore / Phil Oliphant

Credit: Courtesy PGA TOUR Superstore / Phil Oliphant

A photo of a random PGA Tour Superstore location?

Yep. Because the chain just announced plans to take over and convert a soon-to-be-closed Haverty’s store in Buckhead — bringing Atlanta proper its first location since the Great Recession.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.

Until next time.