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Post by flycoach on Jul 19, 2007 1:32:09 GMT -6
I need some ideas from you guys. The situation: We have a AWESOME class of incoming freshman and sophomores that have been hitting the weights most of the summer. A lot of them will see significant playing time this year. Almost all of our seniors are just plain choosing to not attend weight training and they are too good not to play once the season is here. Trust me I would love nothing more to play someone younger with an equal talent level over them. We have some extra money and I ran it through the HC and I am going to purchase either Under Armour or T-Shirts for the guys that have showed up a good % of the time. What should the shirts say?  ? I want to instill that work does not go unnoticed. We are getting REALLY close to turning this program around and little things like this have made all the difference. I was thinking about something that involves WORK "I put in the work to win" !? I would love your guys' ideas. Thanks Tut |
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Post by phantom on Jul 19, 2007 4:27:49 GMT -6
Forget the T shirts. Give them playing time. Honestly, how good are you going to be if the seniors play? How about if they don't?
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Post by flycoach on Jul 19, 2007 5:54:26 GMT -6
Forget the T shirts. Give them playing time. Honestly, how good are you going to be if the seniors play? How about if they don't? TRUST ME, TRUST ME, TRUST ME! I would LOVE to give these guys the playing time but I want to win. So do the underclassmen. I am a firm believer in my best 11 on the field. When I say best 11 I always account for the mental part of the game. My sophomore starting QB doesn't throw the ball NEARLY as well as my senior backup. My starting QB knows when to audible and to where. He doesn't make mistakes and he makes the throws that he needs to. |
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Post by saintrad on Jul 19, 2007 11:10:22 GMT -6
fly ....get Darin Slack's stuff and your sophomore will be better than your senior back up
ok.. if i had seniors that werent putting in the time to get better then you bench them and play the youngers ones. Think about the message your seniors are sending to the younger players...is it worth the longevity of your program to have tha message being sent? you (as a staff) need to let the players know who is in charge.... then I would suggest creating some sort of leadership training and team building exercises.
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Post by airman on Jul 19, 2007 11:26:56 GMT -6
I remember mark speckman(fly guru) was giving a lecture and his first year as a high school coach he had a similar situation. he cut all the srs and went witht he underclassman. he sent a message that summer program is where football starts. not the first day of preseason camp.
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Post by brophy on Jul 19, 2007 11:29:10 GMT -6
great idea for the under armor shirts.....kids really like them
I don't know if you need to put anything on them besides a school emblem - just so long as those kids are the only ones getting them.
but what about something like
"time to go to work"
"never be satisfied"
"hustle"
"(_______) High School Construction Team"
definitely back up the Darin Slack comments
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Post by fbdoc on Jul 19, 2007 11:35:08 GMT -6
Coach - if your summer conditioning isn't mandatory then it's difficult to penalize your upper classmen. IF is IS mandatory, then you need to hold them accountable.
I also understand what you're saying about winning now. If you're going to end up playing the seniors, then giving the younger guys who lifted a t-shirt might be a great way to build for the future. Make it a nice underarmor shirt with your mascot and a phrase like CHIEFTAN POWER or something like that. The young guys will like it, the seniors will understand that they didn't earn it, and the talent hierarchy is preserved. The good news is it sounds like you have a good foundation of talent for the coming years!
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Post by dacoachmo on Jul 19, 2007 11:35:41 GMT -6
FRONT of shirt
(insert mascot name here) CLUB
HARD WORK and COMMITMENT
BACK of shirt
I PREPARED to WIN
somehow add commitment into he shirt, I do agree that shirt are just an extra but playing time is the true reward.
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Post by brophy on Jul 19, 2007 11:36:17 GMT -6
great idea for the under armor shirts.....kids really like them
I don't know if you need to put anything on them besides a school emblem - just so long as those kids are the only ones getting them.
but what about something like
"time to go to work"
"never be satisfied"
"hustle"
"(_______) High School Construction Team"
definitely back up the Darin Slack comments
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Post by schultbear74 on Jul 19, 2007 12:01:17 GMT -6
Seniors who are bent the wrong way can be a cancer. This is especially true when you are starting a new program. It is a great situation to have good underclassmen. Don't let those seniors be bad influence on the future. If they don't buy in and are stuck in the past- start the future.
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wccoach
Sophomore Member
Posts: 159
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Post by wccoach on Jul 19, 2007 13:38:37 GMT -6
Hello Coach,
I completely understand the situation you are experiencing. I have had this situation more than once and how it is handled depends on the maturity of your program. If your program demands that you have a certain level of winning, then you better put the best 11 on the field no matter what they have done in the voluntary work out program. That stinks, but your staff may not have to worry about the underclassmen next year because you will get replaced. If you are in a rebuild and the powers to be are going to be patient then you can mix some of your hard workers in on game nights and let them take their lumps and get the experience. If you do play the young kids, get ready for the heat that will be coming.
The younger kids that are busting their butt will probably keep the same work habits no matter what you do and will not be offended if you explain it to them. Many of these kids know that they are not as good as the seniors and will not want to hurt the team by taking playing time from a more talented upperclassman. Do something special for them with some type of reward (t-Shirt, etc.) and talk to them individually to help them understand your situation. Just make sure they get plenty of JV, Soph or freshmen playing time and coach them as hard as you can. Maybe latter in the season some of them will be able take a position away from a lazy senior. Just an Opinion
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Post by spartancoach on Jul 19, 2007 13:54:09 GMT -6
I posted this before, but our weightroom shirts had our logo on the front, and the following design on the back: www.savefile.com/files/669634The kids loved them. |
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Post by lukethadrifter on Jul 19, 2007 14:20:49 GMT -6
The success of your team this fall will depend a lot on the amount of leaders you have on that team. One would hope that mostly seniors take ownership in the team and are your leaders, but it doesn't always work that way. Make those guys earn a spot on that field with their work ethic and attitude. If a sophomore guy is better, then play him. Just my 2 cents. Luke
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Post by khalfie on Jul 19, 2007 15:07:58 GMT -6
Coaches get real brave with other coaches teams...
You better win some games to make sure you are the coach next year, to see those underclassmen mature.
The T-shirts are a great idea...
I'm going through the same circumstance, just had 9 kids show up for weightlifting. First year the program has had weightllifting. The worst part is... we started at 29 in the first week, 22 by the second week, 19 in the third week, and now 9 yesterday... sure some kids were accounted for, but we are getting bad at the wrong time.
I've got to right the ship without sinking it... T-shirts sound like a start... do what you can... do it all... its the job!
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Post by flycoach on Jul 19, 2007 15:30:16 GMT -6
Thanks for ALL of the reply's coaches. The way I see it is this: Our incoming freshman and sophomores and several juniors have been showing up. We as coaches have stressed the importance of this and these are truly great kids to be around. The best thing we have done for these kids is made the weight room a fun place to be. We point out their gains in lifting (I must brag we have a kid going into his sophomore year that put up 310 on the bench the other day ;D) and I have taken any challengers at NCAA FOOTBALL or MADDEN, no one wants a piece of coach TUT  I honestly believe that the 7 seniors that have NOT been showing up have been "hurting" anything. This is my second year in the program and 1st full year as the OC. This team has won something like 5 games in 4 years. We constantly point to that and say and these guys wonder why we kept losing. Up at Willamette football camp three weeks ago we went up there and kicked some serious ---. The underclassmen are on fire right now and the seniors come back and want to go swimming and hang out with their girlfriends  Oh well the rant is over and those guys will be gone after this year. Like I said when the time comes to play, they will probably play, but EVERY one of those underclassmen will know their role and know that WE AS COACHES CARE FOR THEM! TUT |
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Post by flycoach on Jul 19, 2007 15:40:15 GMT -6
fly ....get Darin Slack's stuff and your sophomore will be better than your senior back up ok.. if i had seniors that werent putting in the time to get better then you bench them and play the youngers ones. Think about the message your seniors are sending to the younger players...is it worth the longevity of your program to have tha message being sent? you (as a staff) need to let the players know who is in charge.... then I would suggest creating some sort of leadership training and team building exercises. I have coach Slack's DVD's and the thing that has helped both Quarterbacks the most is really one thing: 1. Most QB's are taught to push the ball to their back shoulder and this means the ball is pointed at the ground. When the ball is pointed at the ground every QB has to wind up in some way so they can throw the ball. With the wrist "cocked" and the bottom of the ball pointed out away from their body at at least a 45 degree angle they are ready to throw right now. My sophomore QB had this long release and this cured it. He throws more accurately and throws a spiral everytime. This kid is going to be scary real soon. Just thought I would put my Coach Slack hat on today ;D |
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Post by tog on Jul 19, 2007 19:02:29 GMT -6
get it done or move out of my way
that should send the message
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Post by spartancoach on Jul 20, 2007 11:35:41 GMT -6
Along the same lines as tog's, how about "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way"
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bigcroz
Junior Member
Go STAGS!!
Posts: 356
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Post by bigcroz on Jul 20, 2007 12:16:27 GMT -6
The only place work comes before success is the dictionary!
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Post by flycoach on Jul 20, 2007 13:12:30 GMT -6
The only place work comes before success is the dictionary! You need a new dictionary ;D |
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Post by kloranc on Jul 20, 2007 14:30:05 GMT -6
I agree that you can't sit the seniors if they are the better players, but I would really make them earn the starting spots. You might be surprised to find that some of them have been passed over by your underclassmen. Let the guys that showed up all summer be the first team throughout your first practices and if they keep doing well, start them in your pre-season scrimmage.
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Post by phantom on Jul 20, 2007 14:41:39 GMT -6
I agree that you can't sit the seniors if they are the better players, but I would really make them earn the starting spots. You might be surprised to find that some of them have been passed over by your underclassmen. Let the guys that showed up all summer be the first team throughout your first practices and if they keep doing well, start them in your pre-season scrimmage. Great idea. If they earn it they earn it. I'd make them work for it, though. |
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Post by Coach Vint on Jul 20, 2007 19:15:50 GMT -6
You will know best what to do with your team. I will say this: One year we had a great group of sophomores and a terrible group of seniors. We said, oh, when these seniors are gone we will be fine. Two years later we were saying the same thing. The seniors had a negative influence on those sophomores and they had become what they despised. I saw Bruce Brown speak on this and he has some awesome booklets on this for like $5 at his website. Find a way to get the seniors to buy in if you really want them on the team.
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Post by sls on Jul 20, 2007 19:25:57 GMT -6
Tie conditioning into off season attendence. The gusy who have come into the weightroom run significantly less. The young guys who have been coming will appreciate the less running and everyone else will get the point that they should of been in the weightroom.
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Post by coachmoore42 on Jul 20, 2007 19:58:30 GMT -6
Tie conditioning into off season attendence. The gusy who have come into the weightroom run significantly less. The young guys who have been coming will appreciate the less running and everyone else will get the point that they should of been in the weightroom. We do this as well. This is the best thing we have done to get more guys into the weightroom (and to send a message to those who don't). We also allow the guys who attend workouts to pick their jersey numbers (they are told to choose either an OL or Back number). The other guys get theirs assigned, and they will not get any number that they have worn in the past if the number has to be assigned. Another incentive we started is to have a "end-of-summer" cookout for those who have enough days of attendance. |
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Post by coachjim on Jul 20, 2007 22:57:20 GMT -6
How about a varsity letter on their shirt? Seeing as they are doing what the varsity squad outta be doing.
Also, I still like that idea of the sunglasses with team logo from another thread, for those that earned them. They are cool and maybe some good old fashioned jealousy might do the trick, at that age group.
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Post by flycoach on Jul 21, 2007 1:17:59 GMT -6
I agree with Kloranc. I wouldn't just kick them off, but they would go to the bottom of the depth chart and I will coach the young kid up as best I can and try to accelerate him the best I can to get him ready as soon as possible. AND even if the Senior earns that starting spot, the young kid will get some time, and when he is ready, I will play him infront of the senior. Our summer stuff is voluntary, but it's mandatory that you volunteer. I make out the starting lineup, who is better is my judgement. I play who I trust. I replaced a senior DE with a freshman in game 2 last year, frosh started the last 8. And I am fully plan on starting a freshman LB who is in the weightroom everyday in front of a weight room skipping senior this year. It's the freshman's position to lose, we are coaching him up as best we can, getting him as many reps as possible and I'm rooting for the freshman all the way, and I told the senior exactly that. So if he is to get that position, he will earn it and he will have to be OBVIOUSLY better than the freshman. Very Well put. I am FULLY on board with what your talking about and this is what I couldn't put into words. Thanks Coach! Thank you coaches. I love throwing something out there and having it hit from 100 different angles. I took something from everything you guys wrote. TUT |
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Post by khalfie on Jul 21, 2007 8:42:18 GMT -6
The only place work comes before success is the dictionary! You need a new dictionary ;D That's Hill Larry Us! |
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