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Post by doublewing on Jan 17, 2009 16:26:06 GMT -6
for yrs I have always tried to relate a football team to that of a family unit. but recently, warren sapp on the nfl network, gave it another spin to the subject. he stated football teams are not families, but rather a brotherhood of men. the analogy he gave was in a family you wait for a person who may be late and everyone goes together....you help, wait and prod (bobby is late and the whole family waits in the car until he is ready before they can leave for the movie) everyone pays the price! in a brotherhood of men everyone has expectations and is accountable to the group as a whole. it's your job to get things done......if you can't, get out of the way, and lets get somebody who can! for yrs i tried and talked about the family atmosphere....but warren sapp made me think it is about a brotherhood of men might be more appropriate thoughts....opinions?  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2009 16:54:51 GMT -6
well put
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Post by schultbear74 on Jan 17, 2009 18:13:30 GMT -6
I like the brotherhood idea. Good way to get young men thinking,
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Post by jgordon1 on Jan 17, 2009 20:14:08 GMT -6
You know I always had trouble w/ the family thing. Our coach stresses that bog time. It also seems to be a "thing" w/ other teams w/in the school. for instance, during BB games the team will alway break the huddle w/ the slogan FAMILY and then get on the court. I personally like the term "brothers w/ different mothers". close brothers do evrything together compete, fight etc. you remember you and your brother fight all the time someone picks on your brother you BOTH beat him up. I do like the brotherhood of man idea... never heard of it before
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Post by fbdoc on Jan 17, 2009 21:15:51 GMT -6
The old football coach "Bill" Shakespeare put it best,
He who has no guts to fight may leave,
but we who stay and fight shall grow stronger.
We few, we happy few, We Band of Brothers;
For he who stays, and sheds his blood with me today,
Shall be my Brother.
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moon
Junior Member
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Post by moon on Jan 18, 2009 9:12:32 GMT -6
Coach, this season, with our new HC we used "Wildcat Brotherhood" and the kids really responded to that. To us, brotherhood is more then a family. We all have the same goals and are willing to sacfice for one another. It's about being able to count on one anther, on the practice field, game, or even in the classroom. "Wildcat Brotherhood" didn't stop at the end of the season either, it has carried over to our basketball team this year as well. There are even fans that now make shirts and billboards in town during the season that say Wildcat Brotherhood. It has been a long time since our high school has had a winnng record (until this year) and it a lot of it came from the Brotherhood concept.
"Wildcat Brotherhood"
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Post by mariner42 on Jan 18, 2009 12:17:10 GMT -6
Our frosh HC preaches family all day long to the boys. As they develop into JV and varsity players, the focus becomes brotherhood. This isn't a program decision and not made with conscious motivations, but more of a reflection of the individual coaches on the staffs. I feel it is a good thing, however, because when they are freshmen, they need family. They need to know that ol' papa bear HC is going to be there for them. They need support, guidance, and wisdom from the coaches. As they grow into young men, they need to rely on each other and depend on one another more and more, which is where I think brotherhood comes in.
If I had to go with one as a top-down, program-wide decision to have a theme to reinforce and harp on and constantly chirp about, it would be brotherhood. They need to know that the fellas around them will be there for them not just in the four years of school, but life beyond.
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Post by lilbuck1103 on Jan 18, 2009 12:40:48 GMT -6
I like the brotherhood idea. I see how it fits in nicely with your programs. Just for the sake of discussion, I will detail the "family concept" idea that we have used in the past.
We have used family in the past, because like any good family, each one of us has a specific role to carry out. It is not always the same role. As with our football team, the freshmen football player does not have the same role to be performed as does the senior. We like defining our roles within our family so that we can move forward together. Take what Warren Sapp said...everyone goes together. In this day of instant gratification and everyone moving in different directions, we like to move together. Yes, you may wait for someone to get to the car, but if their expectations and role are clearly defined, it will be a one time wait. As a freshmen, your needs from the family are different. You are the little brother who needs to learn the lay of the land, the expectations, and sometimes, the protection of your older family members. As a senior, you are now more in the front, having the experience that you can pass on to those behind you who are craving it. Your role as a leader or director is very important.
We base our family typically on four pillars. These pillars make up the foundation for our program and team. They do change with each group. Each family is different, with different needs, roles and the family decides upon what our house will be built on. Family, just like brotherhood is something that goes with you, it does not end it just contiually expands.
The other advantage over the brotherhood is that what if everyone is not a male. For example, we treat our stat and ball girls as family members. Once again, they have a specific role that needs to be carried out in order for the family to thrive. Our high school administrative assistant has a role, booking bus times, securing meal funds, etc. that are necessary for the family to prosper. How are they included in your brotherhood, or is it just for the actual players? We try to expand the family to all those who contribute to the immediate success of our program.
Just a bit of information on what we have done in the past. I do like the brotherhood example though. Anything that you can use to increase the understanding that together we are powerful and alone we will struggle. My two cents...
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Post by cc on Jan 18, 2009 13:05:12 GMT -6
I have been using the Shakes "Band of Brother" quote with a team picture as a poster in our team room for a few years. I really think it makes more sense than family. It is more like a military hierarchy but not as strict or harsh as the military experience is.
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Post by touchdowng on Jan 18, 2009 13:23:57 GMT -6
We preach "Family." Always have and always will.
When I have to make tough decisions regarding my players I always frame it with the mindset of how would I want the situation handled if it was my child.
Some families are not very functional so we continually talk to our players about what it means to be a functioning family unit within our FB team. None of us are perfect but we do pick each other up and we do take care of one another with the goal of making each situation as perfect as we can. If you know that Jimmy has difficulty being on time teammates are expected to make sure that Jimmy IS on time. I honestly believe that most of my H.S. aged players are just not ready to handle the band of brothers mentality at this stage in their lives. NFL? Yes. The military? Yes.
If a player cannot find a ride to an off-season event he knows that he can rely on his team by mentioning it out loud at the end of a practice or weight room session. Nobody is HOME ALONE is our motto.
If a player is short on $ for something he knows he can come to his coaches and we will find a way to take care of this challenge. When they talk to us we are 100% successful.
I like the band of brothers mentality but we at our H.S. we aren't fighting a war and we aren't in the NFL. All of our players will most likely lead a family one day and I'd like to help them with just a few ideas on how to keep everyone in touch and on board.
The coaches at our district rival school are big on the band of brothers mentality. It really fits their coaching staff's mentality. Over the past four years what we have seen is the following:
1. Our school opened up in 2005 with 1000 students. 80 Football players. Our rival had 1400 students and 85 out for football
2. We began playing our district rival in '06 and were beat by them fairly soundly. We had 1200 students and 94 Football players, They had 1300 students and 80 Football players. Are you noticing a little swing in participation?
3. We played in 07 and soundly defeated them even though they had three D1 players (we had none). Our enrollments are now both between 1350 and 1400. We had 105 kids out for FB and they had 70
4. This past fall we again soundly defeated them. AND we swept them soundly at all three levels. Our player numbers are now at 115 at the end of season and their numbers were in the high 60's. Again, they have three who are going to D1AA or D2 schools. We are hoping some of our seniors are going to have a chance at D3.
I believe our Family approach gives us year around strength and our players believe in it. And that's the biggest thing.
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Post by airman on Jan 18, 2009 13:48:10 GMT -6
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother.
On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died.
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Post by jgordon1 on Jan 18, 2009 13:53:59 GMT -6
Zonespread: excellent post: Could you expand on your four pillars. What they are? how do you teach them? does each class have their own pillar?
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Post by lilbuck1103 on Jan 18, 2009 14:07:34 GMT -6
Our four pillars often times change from year to year. We do this because of the different young men in the program. As you know, each team is a different group. Typically our pillars will range from this such as: accountability, hard work, excellence, together, etc. We teach it by empowering the team members to speak on the various issues, why this certain pillar is important to them, how they will incorporate it into our team, etc.
The test to the question of whether they are achieving the four pillars is to have someone watch practice. We once had a motivational speaker watch our practice (we didn't know he was a speaker) and he ended up talking about how we practiced and how he could tell what our program stood for. He actually got 3 of the 4 pillars correct. Have an outsider, watch your team practice or play...that is the greatest evaluation of whether you are meeting those pillars. The kids really like it, gives them ownership in laying a foundation.
As coaches, we evaluate our teaching methods, interaction methods ourselves to see if we are empowering our kids to meet these goals. It has turned into one of our best/ most looked forward to practice days for kids and coaches. The meeting can get emotional with different stories told, etc. of how/ why we choose those goals.
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Post by khalfie on Jan 18, 2009 14:27:42 GMT -6
I like to think of the team... As a deck of cards... You got jokers, aces, kings and queens... but you still aren't complete , without your 2's thru 10's. Sure, you can play some games without the 2's thru 10's, but there are other games when the dueces are wild. Not to mention when you need some jokers. Point is... not all the cards have the same value, but they do have value, and without all 52, the deck just isn't complete. Family... no Brotherhood... not close... Deck of Cards... now you are playing with fire!  |
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Post by 19delta on Jan 18, 2009 15:30:15 GMT -6
I like to think of the team... As a deck of cards... You got jokers, aces, kings and queens... but you still aren't complete , without your 2's thru 10's. Sure, you can play some games without the 2's thru 10's, but there are other games when the dueces are wild. Not to mention when you need some jokers. Point is... not all the cards have the same value, but they do have value, and without all 52, the deck just isn't complete. Family... no Brotherhood... not close... Deck of Cards... now you are playing with fire! Great analogy, Khal! Good stuff. |
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Post by khalfie on Jan 18, 2009 15:48:48 GMT -6
I like to think of the team... As a deck of cards... You got jokers, aces, kings and queens... but you still aren't complete , without your 2's thru 10's. Sure, you can play some games without the 2's thru 10's, but there are other games when the dueces are wild. Not to mention when you need some jokers. Point is... not all the cards have the same value, but they do have value, and without all 52, the deck just isn't complete. Family... no Brotherhood... not close... Deck of Cards... now you are playing with fire! Great analogy, Khal! Good stuff. Nah, Delt... The more I think about it... The team isn't a family... Its not a brotherhood either... Couldn't even call it a deck of cards... The more I think about it... the football team is... Wait for it... wait for it... a used car lot... Yeah... see, every kid is a different make and model... all with several miles on them. Those miles dictate their potential value and usefulness... some have hard miles, while others were well maintained. Either way... all of the cars need some "detailing", some TLC... to make them shine, to get them off of the lot. We coaches are the used car salesmen... we have to take in cars others don't want anymore, and rebuild them into something the world finds value in... Yeah... we're used car salesmen! |
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moon
Junior Member
Posts: 324
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Post by moon on Jan 18, 2009 22:23:00 GMT -6
khalfie, I can picture it now. First practice of fall ball right before the kids go out on the field to stretch. Team is huddled around HC.
"Okay boys, this is the year we're going into the season with a new concept of team. We're not a family, oh no, we're not a brotherhood, but you know what we are? A bunch of used blepping cars!!! With you used cars we're going to wash you, polish you, and detail your insides. That's right. And, at the end of the season we're going to sell this used car lot to the whole freakin town. What do you say boys? Are you with me? Now go out there and show me what you got. We're running the quarter mile now..."
Yeah, I like that concept
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Post by khalfie on Jan 18, 2009 23:10:39 GMT -6
khalfie, I can picture it now. First practice of fall ball right before the kids go out on the field to stretch. Team is huddled around HC. "Okay boys, this is the year we're going into the season with a new concept of team. We're not a family, oh no, we're not a brotherhood, but you know what we are? A bunch of used blepping cars!!! With you used cars we're going to wash you, polish you, and detail your insides. That's right. And, at the end of the season we're going to sell this used car lot to the whole freakin town. What do you say boys? Are you with me? Now go out there and show me what you got. We're running the quarter mile now..." Yeah, I like that concept Hill larry us... I actually cried! ;D |
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Post by coachnichols on Jan 20, 2009 19:45:36 GMT -6
Like the brotherhood idea. Great for college maybe and definitely pros. High school? I'd say somewhere around 3/4's of our players need a father figure, so the family analogy works very well for me. I'm biased though because my college coach preached family and still does constantly.
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