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Post by coachjuice on Aug 4, 2011 12:30:38 GMT -6
As I prepare my pre-season practice plans I am considering taking out the old school conditioning stations where groups rotate form one grueling drill to another to instead running stations that are based purely on fundamentals. Has anyone done this? The kids have been working hard so they are already in pretty good condition. Just a thought.
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Post by fantom on Aug 4, 2011 12:40:20 GMT -6
We stopped running stations years ago. As you said, the kids have been working hard so what's the point? We felt that it's a waste of time. Just do football.
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Post by pvogel on Aug 4, 2011 13:04:21 GMT -6
we do agility stations during this first week of practice. focuses on footwork, coordination, and reaction.
And since theyre running hard they get real good conditioning as well.
and then we do more traditional conditioning again at the end
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Post by Chris Clement on Aug 4, 2011 15:00:01 GMT -6
Surely you can find drills that cover both?
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Post by groundchuck on Aug 4, 2011 20:35:27 GMT -6
I have flipped back and forth on this question over the years. Here is what we do. We do stations in the traditional sense because I want to push the kids through some team building/breaking point activities. I think it was good for us last year, and we are doing them again thsi fall. My assistants felt strongly we needed to bring them back after a two-year hiatus and it seemed to help us improve by 4 wins from the year before. Was it the mental toughness or the physical conditioning? Or both?
We strive to get as many drills that give us 1on1 competitive matchups as we can. I want the kids to be forced to compete with eachother. Our stations this season will be:
1. Agile Bags--usual drills but we set up 2 rows and on command players drop to an updown and then go 1on1 racing though the bags.
2. 4-corner cone reactions--coach points to a cone and the kids in the "box" have to open hips and spring to the that cone and then back to the center. Go 3-4 times and then forward roll out of hte box.
3. Tug/Tire Wars. 1on1 Players have to pull their teammate and touch a cone 5 yards behind them.
4. Agility Ladders--again see bag drills
5. Ropes--see above
We felt these drills helped get our guys in better physical shape and created the kind of tempo we wanted for camp. we did them ony during the 1st week.
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Post by Defcord on Aug 6, 2011 17:56:03 GMT -6
We use both. We get away from the conditioning stations a little more as the year goes on but we do both blocking and tackling circuits every single day. We do it so all of our coaches can emphasize what we feel are the two most important aspects of the game. I think what you were pointing out to is that these will help build conditioning as well as fundamentals which I definitely agree with.
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Post by jturner on Aug 6, 2011 18:20:19 GMT -6
I have to agree with Groundchuck for the most part. I don't really look at conditioning stations as "condition" per se, but more as mental toughness drills. By 2 a days, your players should be in good enough shape that doing those types of activities wouldn't really tire them out for the most part. However, I feel like these drills should emphasize building mental toughness and fighting through adversity. I think it's these kinds of activities that coaches can do that set their players up best for success in life. This is as close as you can get to simulating what it is going to be like in a game, in class, and in the job place that the kids get no penalty for under preforming or failing. Their behavior can be correct without consequences. That gives them a chance to be mentally tougher for when they are out in the real world and there not many "second chances" available. I also make sure to tell my players this as well. It seems like they respect us coaches more for it now that they realize that it isn't for punishment, but character building. Lastly, I do think you can find ways to incorporate fundamentals/agilities into conditioning stations and have them work simultaneously.
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