What do you tell a player when he asks..

Just tell him to dial in, keep learning and being coachable, and to hit the off-season hard. I also offer to stay after practice whenever possible; get them some more reps or watch film and hit the chalk board.

I used to give this advice and cringe at the same time; especially when it was coming from kids that I didn't view as "athletic" enough. But, I coached a junior safety a few years back who was in this boat; slow, uncoordinated, weak, and just not "athletic". He was WAYY down on the depth chart as a junior but he kept up his good work habits, worked with me after practice, hit the gym like terror in the off-season and ended up starting for us the next year. And, I was working in a very good program; the competition for that spot was tough.

Honestly, there can be a really fine line between a mediocre player and a GREAT one.

Now, here's the tough question. How do you respond when a kid does everything he can to get better and still ends up at the bottom of the totem pole? How do you reward them? That's a thought that has kept me up at night.

One if the things I ask him is why he thinks he's not playing or playing as much as he thinks he should. This way I can gauge a little bit if he is thinking he's entitled, or if he just wants to play more as most kids do.

I tell him he needs to lift and do our SAQ. If he does all the things he needs to there are very few kids we will not be able to get on the field in one way or another. I am honest and tell him it might be at special teams, or it might mean he has to change position which can open up a whole 'nuther can of worms....if the kid is a runningback but you want to move him to guard....something I's dealing with now. "Johnny, if you move to guard you probably start next year."

In hijacking the thread a little maybe we could also discuss why a kid would rather bitch about not playing at his current position when if he embrased a position change he could start and excel.

I made a list of what it takes to start for us at the position. List weight room lifts, maxes, speed (times), as well as off season attendance, camps, extra work, skills I expect of them on the field etc.

I gave it to all my position players at our post season meeting. If a player can reach all those expectations then I will get them on the field. Because if they do everything I listed, they DESERVE to be there. Make the expectations high so they and their parents know what I expect. It has cut down a lot of issues for me in this area. They always have that to refer back to.

Telling them to hit the off-season hard is challenging to do when a player asks what he can improve in Week 2. That doesn't do a whole lot for the remaining weeks of our regular season (we play a 9-game regular season in Michigan).

Our practice schedule is tight so having the opportunity to get the team into the weight room, during practice, and still getting them home at a decent time is usually not possible for us.

We're a small school so we don't two-platoon with an offense and defense. Most of our players play both ways. So organizing offensive, defensive, and special teams segments into the same practice schedule is extremely difficult from an efficiency standpoint.

We've found a way to make it work but sacrifices have been made and one of them is the weight room, during the season anyway. We emphasize strength and speed throughout the off-season and open the weight room three days a week throughout the winter, spring, and summer leading up to the season.

So unless this kid is lifting in a Weight Training class during the school day (of which we only have one class of around 35 each semester), it'll be tough for him to make that a focus for improvement during the season.

I also believe that during very demanding seasons for our players (football in the fall, wrestling/basketball in the winter) it's very challenging for our players to get much further past a maintenance phase. I have not witnessed notable strength gains made during this season by the players in my Weight Training class.

We don't really start to see major gains until the spring when our guys are in baseball or track or not playing a sport. At that point of the year, gaining strength can be their primary focus because they are in sports that, generally speaking, are not as demanding as the others stated earlier. This leads right on into the summer and then into the seaeson.

A player trying to improve his strength and/or speed will need to, like you said, wait until the off-season. That doesn't do anything for the here and now during the season. This is unfortunate to know also, because, generally speaking, with the players we're talking about here, their lack of playing time is not due to a technique, chalk talk, or film viewing deficit.

In my experience, these kids have an understanding of techniques/schemes and have made them instinctual but they just don't have it physically. Closing the gap of physical ability is the toughest task for these kids at this point.

These kids are usually not big enough so they are getting destroyed, not fast enough so they are getting run by, and/or not strong enough so even when they are pitted against an opponent of equal size they are still losing because they are getting driven.

The time to improve physically is not during the season but, instead, during the off-season as stated earlier. So now what? I'll give the player every opportunity to learn better through more reps after practice, more chalk talk, and more film but if I know his deficit is not of that nature then I'm lying to the kid. Especially if I know that those things are not going to do it. Damn it...the kid:

is a junior
weighs 130,
benches 135,
squats 190 (not at parallel),
hang cleans 125,
deadlifts 250
runs a 5.7 40.

This kid, in most cases, has had every opportunity to improve. He loves the actual game of football, he just doesn't love the other preparation aspects of the game. He just can't get motivated about strength, speed, and agility training.

Now I won't tell the kid this, but there's a good chance he lost his spot at birth. I mean seriously. I'm not trying to sound horrible here but that's the truth. Will I work with him as often as I can? Absolutely! But it may take three guys in front of him getting hurt before I even consider him being effective and put him in a game...that's the ultimate truth. Obviously I would never tell the kid that.

Even when we're in a multiple injury situation, we're going to put the best 11 on the field. If in moving a couple other players around to other positions to get the next best player on the field, he's not the next one in, then he's not the next one in.

Most of these kids, to me, are the ones that need to understand that there is more that we are doing for them than they will ever do for us. We've all got them on our teams. By that I mean, the coaching staff is creating a safe, caring learning environment and providing consistent lessons in life skills that will transcend their football careers.

They need to enjoy being a part of the team and whatever role, major or minor, that they may have. They have a role...they need to learn to cherish it. Enjoy the pre-game dinners, t-shirts and shorts, wearing jerseys on game day, pep rallies with the team, and scout team player of the the week awards.

Let's face it, unlike playing time, we afford these positive aspects of our programs to every team member regardless of their ability. Some of our kids need to understand that playing time is not a right, it's a privilege. It sounds like social Darwinism but it is, the absolute best will play because they give the team the best chance for success.

If we, as coaches, are put into a situation where two players of equal ability are competing for the same spot, the player that made a greater commitment to the program during the off-season will be the one who earns the spot.

Bottom line, he's reliable...we can count on him. In that situation, we owe it to him. Let me make this clear, he's not entitled to it, but he did earn it. I hope this clarifies my stance on this issue. As always JMO.

I actually emphasize the importance of working hard in the weight room all year long as well. I find myself expressing this in front of the group as a whole during the season.

I do more of this emphasis on an individual basis near the start of and throughout the off-season. Although I do express the importance of working in the weight room to improve collectively as a team.

However, when it comes to helping a player improve during the season, the only realistic options I can give him is getting more reps for technique and scheme, more reps for aggressiveness, more reps during conditioning, more chalk talk time, and more film time.

These are the controllable factors for him at this point. Overall strength and speed development, outside of a maintenance phase, is difficult to cultivate during the season.

Focus on strength and speed development usually happens during the off-season. I just personally believe the kid that approached me about getting better soon for more playing time, would be highly discouraged if the number one option I gave him was "get in the weight room."

Now when the season is over, by all means, remember that kid wanted to do whatever was necessary to get better and earn more playing time.

As the off-season begins, tell him that if he wants to do everything in his power so he's not in that situation again, he needs to work as hard as he possibly can in the weight room throughout the entire off-season.

I don't know if there is a more frustrating feeling than understanding you want to get better but the best option is not something that's viable at that particular time.

There's a reason we football coaches invest 9 months in developing our players athletic ability (strength and speed in particular). That reason is simply...it takes that much time. We can teach schemes and techniques in a lot less time.

For years, I always gave 4x6 index cards that had their grade from the previous game. On it there were all the stats, etc... that we looked at as coaches. I always tried to point out what they did well and what they need to improve upon. I even did it for the non starters and players whe didn't see the field. They might get a DNP, but there was a comment on what they did well during the week, and what they needed to to improve upon.

I have gotten away from that, but plan on getting back to doing something like this year.

So far as the question "What do I need to do to get some PT?", I just tell them specifically WHO they are behind and what that person does better. Sometimes there is some reassurance that the kid is an underclassman behind a SR. But sometimes it is a Sr. behind an underclassman.

One of the tenets of the program is: Knowing your seat on the bus. Not everyone can be in the front and some have to ride the tire well. I had a Sr. last year who just wasn't going to get on the field. He was a decent athlete and could have helped us on ST. I told him that his role would be primarily as a scout team player. He ended up not staying on the team. I tried to talk him out of turning in his equipment, but I couldn't honestly tell him that he would see significant playing time on Fridays and Srs. can't play JV in our league.

It is just one of those things about being a coach that you have to do. It isn't easy, but in the long run you have to be honest with that kid.

Also on the card was a running stat of ST tackles, etc..... We gave a tackle award sticker for every 3 ST tackles, with a running tally of the whole season. Those kids really would politic for those ST 1/2 tackles b/c they would add up!!

One of the things we have done in our program is make special teams well special. We make a big deal out of guys on this unit. I know that this is cliche but kids in our program really do buy into special teams roles. We talk about how special teams sets the tone for all field position which is a major decider in football games. We have rewards for each unit. Yes in high school many times special teams is reserved for younger or players that cant play anywhere else but you can still motivate them to play hard in that role. Honesty is the best policy.