Anthony Becht Explains Progression as Coach, Holding Battlehawks to High Standard

Life as a head coach is different for Anthony Becht in 2024. The former Mountaineer now has one season under his belt, but winning in 2023 has led to increased expectations moving forward.

Unfortunately for Becht and his team, the start of the UFL season came with their first loss of the year. So now Becht is forced to use his experience as a coach to get things turned around, especially with the goal of making the postseason and winning a championship always present.

While speaking with the media, including Mike Asti of WV sports Now, on Monday, Becht took ownership for the 18-16 loss to the Michigan Panthers. Despite picking up their play in the second half, a loss is a loss and that means it “wasn’t good enough,” says Becht.

Becht always makes it clear he goes into everything he does with extremely high expectations. He says he was that way as a player and is that way now as a coach. But part of why he believes his team can compete with anyone is they proved that by going 7-3 last season, granted that was part of the now extinct XFL.

“I think going into the season last year the biggest thing I wanted to focus on was my job in game, making sure situationally I’m sound, have a good understanding of what’s to come, what’s happening and give everybody a good sense and plan early enough so my coordinators can make the proper adjustments they need to make so we can execute at a high level,” said Becht.

He then elaborated on the differences of coaching this team this season compared to the situation last year besides just the change in leagues.

“Last year we had a little bit longer training camp so there was a little bit more banging and some things going on there like ‘how can I be different?’ and ‘how can I get guys fresh?'” Becht added that 2023 was a learning experience for him.

“You want to push them hard but you also go to tier it back and figure out that happy medium. For me, that was a big emphasis in training camp this year. Make sure we get our work in but make sure we get the schedule set so guys get adequate rest so they feel good, not just for the game, but the practices and everything we do.”