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Post by schlomo on Nov 10, 2008 5:41:04 GMT -6
What do you do when your team quits before the season is over?
Last year we where 4-6, as of today we are 6-3, having lost the last 2 games. I think that the kids are happy that we have turned the record around, and have shut it down.
Any suggestions?
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Post by outlawjoseywales on Nov 10, 2008 9:41:56 GMT -6
A teenagers mind is truly a strange thing.
I've seen this before, and two weeks ago had the same thing rolling.
Now, we were 8-0, going for a perfect season and playoff, never before happenend and I got the feeling that if If I would have asked if anyone wants to go home, I'd have had several starters do just that.
Now this week after we are 9-0, and playing for something, they are just as happy as can be.
I felt like the pressure just got to them, the expectation of the fans and school, the pressure of having to do something no one else had done.
Also, we have not had a week off since Aug. 11 since we started fall practice here in Florida. The kids were emotionally tired also.
OJW
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Post by phantom on Nov 10, 2008 10:06:54 GMT -6
BTDT. A few years back we lost a playoff game we should have won. Lousy effort. We found out later that several players had arranged hookups after school on Monday when we'd normally be having practice. I'm not suggesting that they threw the game to get laid. It was a symptom. They were just tired of football.
I wish I had an easy answer for you so that I could use it myself. I don't. You can only do the things that you can control. How have you and your staff been handling yourselves? Have you been acting tired? We don't have that luxury. Have you changed your practice routine? Sometimes teams shorten or drop parts of practice late in the year and the kids may interpret that as giving up.
Talk with the kids in private to see if you can find a hot button. Talk with the team to see if you can refocus them.
Don't be shocked if it doesn't work. Teams have a personality and, just like with individuals, that does not change easily. If you're going to avoid going nuts at this job you have to accept the fact that you can't control everything. We hear about the "Jimmies and Joes". That's not just about physical talent. It includes attitude.
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Post by Coach Goodnight on Nov 10, 2008 17:00:25 GMT -6
Phantom and others,
I wonder if those situations arent a place where you do more character education like some have talked about doing. I know that you teach character on and off the field but maybe doing more of it and spending more time on it. I read where one coach spends about 20 minutes a day doing so, and it has worked well for them I am assuming, so why not do it in those sitautions. Start at the beginning of the season, might just be what they need!
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Post by btincup on Nov 14, 2008 11:19:31 GMT -6
Yeah, girls can't live with them can't live without them.
It reminds me of an interview I saw this year that just made my hair stand on end.
It was when ROMO took a shot to the chin and I expected the interview to be "did you lose any teeth, how bad is it, can you continue" but NO, I swear to all the football gods she said " wow, that's a very unattractive bandage you have on your chin Tony"
Whats the world coming to ?
Makes me want to cry !
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juice10
Sophomore Member
Posts: 200 
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Post by juice10 on Nov 14, 2008 12:44:52 GMT -6
Schlomo,
How has the tradition been there? The reason I ask is because I had a similar situation this year with our team. Our team has been very bad for a lot of years, and finally after 3 awful seasons, we were able to turn around from worst to first and a conference championship for the first time in 36 years. We made the playoffs, and it seemed like the kids were not themselves. I think that there was some added pressure with this team because they were winning. I felt like after the last regular season game, which secured our conference championship, our kids were wore out mentally. It showed quite a bit from practice and carried over to our playoff game. We made lots of mistakes that we really didn't made since early in the season.
We as coaches were also in new territory, so we also need to figure out ways to divert the added pressure and find ways to keep the kids motivated and focused, and try to find ways throughout the season to prepare them better to NOT get so mentally fatigued.
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Post by waltflanagansdog on Nov 15, 2008 14:51:08 GMT -6
We had a rough year. Finished 1-9. Real young team. We knew we would take our lumps, but not like this. Gave up 44.1 points a game. Defense was horrible. We had one practice and one game left. 6 players, we have low numbers, made a coordinated effort to skip the last practice, a walk through. 3 were starters (OB, FB, WR). I removed them all from the team, leaving us with 16 to play in our last game. 4 of whom were freshman. We finished the season. That's all I could ask of the kids with the heart to finish. Very disappointing.
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Post by touchdowng on Nov 16, 2008 9:09:06 GMT -6
Do you have more goals for your team to achieve than just the "Ws"?
I've seen this happen before after my team has beat their crosstown rival. They get the constant, "I don't care what you guys do this year, you just better beat them."
They get this from all of the adults. We play them week 9 for goodness sake. We beat them and my kids start to shut down but we know we have to snap them out of it because it's playoff time. The last two years we've had this scenario and we have to do some strategizing on how to combat it.
I think I might tell all of the parents and community that they need to start talking about the playoffs, etc. All they care about is saving face at the water cooler at work.
You could be working against something like this.
When I survey our 100+ kids on their most memorable aspect of the season or their career at our school, 90% of them put down beating their rival. Only a handful mention the playoffs.
We have lots of short termed goals but our community has my kids brainwashed. They mean well but we have to address it without offending them.
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Post by buck42 on Nov 17, 2008 15:54:50 GMT -6
After we lost to our cross-town rivals we were a wash for a couple weeks...I think that the season and the commitment gets long and old hat for these kids...
Changing things up can spark the team...
I know that I get tired and drained towards the end of the season...I can only imagine what the kids are thinking and feeling...remember they are the ones that have to take tests and wake up at 5 am to get to school...it makes for a long season...not that it is an excuse, but finding a way to spark the team and to change things up is key late in the season...
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