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Post by jgordon1 on Feb 28, 2012 12:30:15 GMT -6
One of the things that is not being mentioned..if you are having trouble getting kids in the weightroom..maybe you need to look into the mirror..I am not saying you have to entertain them, but it should be somewhat fun..compete, have special music days..I know one coach he does something like no top thursday..play BBasket ball on Friday after workout etc..rememebr we are building a team
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mcrsa75
Sophomore Member
Posts: 116
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Post by mcrsa75 on Feb 28, 2012 19:19:38 GMT -6
As a coach you have control over who gets playing time. I have convinced my HC to limit spring football participation to those individuals who a) played additional sports and/or b) participated in off-season work (at least 60%).
I think you have to demand and reward work ethic if you want to change the culture of a program. I know some will say that you may lose some talented players; however, this school has a long track record of losing with uncommitted yet talented players. I believe the long-term benefits outweigh the short term loss. Just my thoughts.
MCRSA75
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scuba16
Sophomore Member
Posts: 201
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Post by scuba16 on Feb 28, 2012 22:39:13 GMT -6
I agree that dedicated kids that come to every workout, fundraiser, eat breathe and sleep football are great to have... but how many do you guys really have??? Alot of our kids play other school sports. Add in AAU baseball and basketball in the spring and summer, in which alot of these kids play extensive schedules.... can you really just play them on special teams because they missed workouts and camps? Most of our best skill kids are basketball kids. Play the kids that came to the workouts and camps more? How do you guys do that??? You really mean to tell me that some of you guys out there don't play the best kids when actual football season rolls around??? You guys don't have kids that go on vacation for 2-3 weeks during summer vacation. Kids with divorced parents who have to go live with their other parent for the summer. You guys really tell kids they can't go on vacation with their parents because of workouts or 7on7 tourneys? We try to play the best football player... period. Doubles start, time to get after it and earn your keep. If you are the best kid, you start. If you don't start, you need to find your role and fit into it for the betterment of the team. I'm glad some of you guy live in Football Utopia... but the rest of us don't.
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Post by Coach.A on Feb 29, 2012 2:08:16 GMT -6
In my opinion, you will never win a championship unless your best players and leaders are your hardest workers. Sure you can have success without this, but I don't think you can win a championship. I make sure to pull aside our best players and leaders to explain this to them during the off-season.
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z
Junior Member
Posts: 332
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Post by z on Feb 29, 2012 4:16:07 GMT -6
Might be the best thread that I've seen on this board in a long time. We keep attendance records (which include those kids that play different sports). I realize that "things come up", but that kid that just doesn't show up-does show that he will not commit to the cause. In football, you give up something to play or coach the game (time with family, time with friends, missing something, etc). Kids need to understand and learn this very important aspect of life-you are going to give up something to get something!
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Post by CoachHam55 on Feb 29, 2012 6:58:05 GMT -6
Perhaps the best solution to this entire thread is to have a point system that rewards kids for playing other sports. Being organized and understanding of vacations / visitations is also vital and allows for communication to occur in a positive manner. Preventing kids from playing based upon time spent in other sports, 2 weeks of summer vacations or court ordered visitations is over the top in my opinion. Thus, the point system could / should reflect the coach's philosophy in regards to these issues. I should have added that we do encourage our kids to play other sports. Under our point system, they receive an equivalent number of points by playing another sport as they would for attending the weights/speed program for whatever period of time the sport is in season. They can even receive bonus points, above and beyond the equivalent for off-season conditioning, if their teams make the post-season and/or they receive post season honors. The only requirement for receiving these points is that you must finish out the season of the particular sport. You cannot receive the point equivalent if you quit. Obviously, exceptions are made for injuries. AJ
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 29, 2012 7:24:36 GMT -6
In my opinion, you will never win a championship unless your best players and leaders are your hardest workers. Sure you can have success without this, but I don't think you can win a championship. I make sure to pull aside our best players and leaders to explain this to them during the off-season. I agree 1000% with this quote. IMO this is the whole point. We all want to win on Friday Night and we use the off season as a tool to get us there. If you are chasing your best players and leaders than there is probably a fundamental issue in your program that is wrong and it is a LOT deeper than kids not working out. Kind of like a malignant tumor in your program. Deeper and worse than you may understand..... This is why we have leadership council meetings in the winter right when the season ends. Expectations are clear and the players lay them out!
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Post by jgordon1 on Feb 29, 2012 8:22:31 GMT -6
bigM: Could you expand on what you do/happens at the senior council meeting
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Post by mrjvi on Feb 29, 2012 9:28:50 GMT -6
We run weights in the morning so that everyone has an opportunity to get there and it is obvious when they don't. I know that it is hard for some to get there but with our car pool system nobody has been unable to arrange it. My concern is that kids who do another sport are being rewarded for it. The problem here is that almost none of the sports strength train and in fact almost discourage it. (dark ages) If a kid does another sport but doesn't come to the morning workouts ever, I have trouble rewarding that. I know I should be a school "team player" and push 3 sports but I'm not sure if the benefits out way the weakness that is prevalent in our other sports. I'd love to see kids do 3 sports but ones that strength train. Reward them in my situation? Not sure about that.
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 29, 2012 9:38:04 GMT -6
bigM: Could you expand on what you do/happens at the senior council meeting We have done this the past 2 Winters. 1. First meeting in January - I pick 3-4 players from grades 10 - 12 (Rising) That I believe are our Leaders (Our captains will come from this pool). Usually 5-6 seniors... 4-5 Juniors.. Maybe one or two sophomores. We have a theme or a focus. Below is our agenda from January 5th - first week we returned. Players answer the questions and each player shares their independent response. We brainstorm, discuss. I try and give them ownership. IMO This was the BIGGEST reason why we went from 5-5 to winning our District and Regional Championship last year. L eadership Council Meeting 1/5/2012
1. Define Success
2. Would you classify last year as a successful season? Why or why not?
3. What do we need to do next year to ensure a successful season? Bullet main objectives that you believe have to be met.
4. Why was our win loss record better than last year? Why did we hang banners this year but we did not in years past?
5. What do you want to see from new members?
6. How do I deal with players that are not coming to workouts (Players that choose not to come.. Not players playing a 2nd sport). Do you want them to come the council and make a commitment… Trial basis?
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Post by mholst40 on Feb 29, 2012 10:59:48 GMT -6
I think most of the problems everyone is having here occur at most every school in the country.
Four years ago whe we first started our Pride Point system, we thought about cutting kids who didn't get to the minimum. This didn't work for two reasons. One, it's against school district policy and two, we would have lost out on a ton of kids in the fall. Our roster sizes are already small, so diminishing them even more would have been a tough pill to swallow.
Our point system rewards attendance at off-season workouts the same as playing another sport if the kids go to our morning lifting sessions. So, kids who play spring sports have to attend two morning lifts per week to have the maximum number of points.
It drives me nuts when kids can't commit in the off-season, but for some teenagers, that is their nature. I used to worry over this a ton, but I have become a lot calmer and less frustrated with this in the off-season. About 95% of our big time players will be there throughout the entire off-season. I'm not going to stress about the other 5%. Most of those kids, especially the older ones, will be so far behind in lifting that it will take an entire off-season to just teach them the basic technique of each exercise.
During the fall, if those kids who have been flip-floppers during the off-season come out for the team, let them. They're going to have to play catch up for a variety of reasons, but they could add value somewhere to the team. We can't officially keep them away anyway.
We highly encourage consistent attendance in the off-season and reward it through our point system in a variety of other ways (T-shirts, shorts, food, etc.), so we let peer pressure and the potential for getting a bad number/lower quality equipment push the kids to attend every day.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2012 23:13:12 GMT -6
I have just inherited a program that has not won a game in 4 years. I fear that if we do not get things turned around soon, they may cut the program altogether. We are a school of about 350 in a very socio-economically downtrodden area. That said, we have more skill athletes than we know what to do with.
Last season we finished with 24 kids in the entire program. This season we are starting a co-op with a school of about 150. As of right now, I have had 120 students show interest in playing football next season. Obviously we know as coaches that not every student will make it to or through the practices or make the grades, but if we can retain even 50% of those that have shown interest, we have more than doubled the number of students that participated.
I myself am now the head football coach, head wrestling coach (started the program this past season), and assistant track coach (throwers). I am very much stressing that all athletes need to be multisport athletes, and I can make this work since I am so heavily involved in sports during all 3 seasons.
To improve offseason (summer workouts mainly) I have decided to have a draft with my captains picking players to be on their "team" for the summer (this will be behind closed doors so no one knows who is picked first or last). From this point forward, everything becomes a competition between the teams. I have also decided to start awarding helmet stickers (we are the Bulldogs, stickers will be dog bones) starting at the beginning of summer. Based on certain criteria throughout the summer; Team BENCH, Team SQUAT, Team POWER CLEAN, Team SPEED, 1000 pound club, Attendance (10 bones for perfect attendance, 8 for 90%, 6 for 80%, 4 for 60%, none for anything lower), dog bones will be awarded. Dog bones can also be awarded if a coach sees a player going above and beyond the "call of duty."
If anyone has any comments or questions about what we are planning to do to turn this program around, feel free to send me a message, or just respond here, I would love to receive as much input as possible.
Thanks.
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go42
Sophomore Member
Posts: 147
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Post by go42 on Mar 6, 2012 20:09:53 GMT -6
There will be kids who do everything a coach asks. There will be kids who do nothing. There will be a bunch of kids who can go either way. Focus on utilizing the dedicated kids to influence the ones who can go either way. Don't completely write off the ones who are not dedicated, but reward the crap out of the kids who do the job. We use the off season points system and have developed rewards such as: t-shirts, awards decals, first pick of equipment, and getting to sit out a conditioning session during the first week (huge motivator). Focus on the kids you can reach and don't lose sleep wondering how you can "get back" at the kids who don't show up. The coach controls the playing time
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Post by bluecrazy on Mar 7, 2012 7:37:17 GMT -6
What do you do with the kid who doesn't show all winter and spring and then you have a kid show up at your end of the school year meeting wanting to play? And this kid was part of your program the previous year? What do YOU do with him? You gonna tell him he can't play because Football isn't as important to him as it is to you? In my experience kid like that is a "Spring Football player" - thinks playing Football is a good idea in May but when Summer Conditioning or Two-a-days roll around, not such a hot idea. What do you have to lose? If he does make it through Summer or Two-a-days may be he'll be a player somehow, or at least contribute on Scout teams. If he doesn't no skin off your collective noses. Why do we get so bent out of shape about HS kids who only want to play HS Football during the HS season? They are TEENAGERS. They only breathe because it's an involuntary act. Some will figure out how to feed themselves. Most of them can't think past this afternoon. Again, these are not scholarship athletes and shouldn't be expected to behave like or be treated as such. BLB Thank you. I have trouble with this to. I expect them to be at workouts if I'm there. However, I have to remember that I really don't have any kids that have no Interest in even playing D-3 ball. They don't even want to start in August, they would rather just play high school football once school starts. They do show in in August, and I need to be happy that they are with us then. I will just continue to work with the few dedicated kids that want to get better, and show up in the off season. At the same time, I need to understand where we are, and the dedication I'm going to get at our small school.
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Post by blb on Mar 7, 2012 7:51:37 GMT -6
BLB Thank you. I have trouble with this to. blue, EVERYBODY (all HS coaches) has trouble with this except the top 5% of programs in each state that have tradition and community expectations for their kids to play Football and the team to win BIG. That's why there's so many posts on this subject every winter. Frankly I think a lot of it is transference - we as coaches are afraid we won't win if we don't get 100% commitment 12 months out of the year which is just not realistic for HS Football except in those small number of programs.
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