For football coaches, preparation for an upcoming opponent is crucial to the success of your program.

However, Randy Jackson, head coach at North Forney High School (Forney, Texas), believes that all preparation should begin with looking in the mirror—not at the opponent.

Jackson joined USA Football’s Coach and Coordinator podcast to talk about how he learned that it was more important to focus on one’s own team rather than the opponent, and the interesting technique he uses to remind his staff and players of this importance.

“I used to always worry so much about our opponent. I grinded on film and if I was not watching any I felt guilty,” Jackson said. “Now I understand it is about us.”

His philosophy on preparation has shifted from being obsessed with the next team on the schedule to devoting his attention on making sure his own players are ready to go.

He tells his players and staff that worrying about how they are going to play and execute is the biggest challenge, and once that is done, everything else will take care of itself.

While film study and scouting reports are still important to Jackson’s staff, he employs one unique too to remind players to focus on themselves, not the team on the other sideline.  

“We have a mannequin in our locker room that has a white helmet on, a grey jersey with no numbers and white pants. He is the most generic mannequin you could imagine,” he said, speaking of his time at Grapevine, where he coached last fall. “We call him ‘Next’ and basically, we tell our guys that we don’t care who we are playing, that’s just who’s next. Focus on you.”

Jackson’s approach can allow him to get the most out of his players by constantly reminding them to concentrate on controlling what they can control and being the best players they can be.