Before a child takes his first steps, he has seen his parents walk around too many times to count. Yet, despite having seen them place one foot in front of the other for his entire life, his first attempts won’t be nearly as smooth.

Very rarely do people perform at their peak level in early attempts of anything. Even something as simple as walking isn’t accomplished without falling down several times.

Kirby Smart spent nine years learning from the best coach in the modern era of college football, but he wasn’t immune to some of the same mistakes that plague first-time head coaches. Making the final decision isn’t something that a coach can practice, even if he has watched one of the very best in-game strategists.

Smart’s first year at Georgia wasn’t disastrous by any means, but there were some questionable decisions along the way.

Entering his second season, Smart has taken the necessary steps to try and learn from his mistakes.

“I’ve spent a lot of time during this offseason talking to NFL teams because these NFL teams deal with (close games) every game,” Smart told reporters at a post-practice press conference. “Every game comes down to that. College football, I think, 50 percent of our games come down to one score. So, if that’s the case, we’ve got to simulate those.”

The Bulldogs played eight games that were decided by one possession. In close games, execution in specific situations can be the difference.

No example was more heartbreaking for Georgia than surrendering a game-winning Hail Mary on the final play against Tennessee. After the game, Smart defended his strategy against the Vols’ desperation attempt, but the execution was not there.

Putting pass rusher Lorenzo Carter back in the end zone to defend the pass may seem like a decent idea on paper — he is 6-foot-6 and possesses freakish athleticism, after all — but he looked woefully out of his comfort zone. Instead of placing himself between the ball and Tennessee’s receivers, Carter stood at the rear of the scrum and never had a good chance at deflecting the pass.

Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) catches a game winning touchdown pass in front of Georgia Bulldogs safety Dominick Sanders (24) on the last play on the game during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Plays like that Hail Mary can highlight the razor thin line that separates on-field execution and situational preparation. Had Carter played the ball correctly, Smart would have likely received praise for using one of his biggest athletes in a jump-ball situation.

Still, that final play was the culmination of a string of high-pressure moments that illustrates how critical it is to prepare for different facets of the game.

“Basically, every day we start our team meeting with another situation,” Smart said. “We have the entire team in here. We go through a situation. One of them might be two minutes, and the offense has to get a first down to win the game.

“We had that situation come up against Tennessee. We weren’t able to do it. Then we had to stop them because we had a sack/fumble. So, we did stop them. We got the ball back. We did score. So, what we’ve tried to do is replay the situation.”

With a three-point lead and nearly three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs called a pass play on 2nd-and-11 from their own 5-yard line. Jacob Eason was sacked and stripped, resulting in a touchdown for Tennessee.

If Georgia had run the ball three consecutive times against a Tennessee defense expecting the run, fans might have lamented Smart and his staff getting too conservative. But putting the ball in the hands of a true freshman in the end zone is far riskier.

That set off a string of events that made for one of the wildest finishes in college football last season. Eason threw an interception on Georgia’s first comeback attempt only to later make one of the best plays of his young career in what should have been a beautiful game-winning pass remembered fondly in Bulldogs lore.

After scoring with 10 seconds remaining, and the game all but won, Georgia was flagged for having a player run on the field with his helmet off while celebrating. This pushed the Bulldogs back on the ensuing kickoff and led to them calling a pooch kick, which gave Tennessee the ball in position to make one final play after a great return and an offside penalty by Georgia.

The rest is history, but Smart is intent on not repeating it.

“That’s so invaluable to me because you try to simulate those,” Smart said of practicing the various situations. “You talk to other coaches and try to simulate them, so we’ve done a lot of that this spring.”

Youth was the main theme for Georgia last season. With the experience gained in 2016 came a wave of optimism for the fall, however. Eason, Brian Herrien and Riley Ridley are just a few of the second-year players who have drawn praise this spring.

Experience isn’t only guiding Georgia’s players, however. After falling down a few times in his first season, Smart is quickly finding his footing as an SEC head coach.

William McFadden covers the University of Georgia for Saturday Down South. For news on everything happening between the hedges, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.