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Post by wingt74 on Aug 15, 2006 14:48:05 GMT -6
Hi Coach's. Hope your seasons are off to a great start.
Checking for some thoughts/advice on what to do with one of my players.
Last season he was my 2nd string QB. Perfect kid. (12/13 year olds) Tough, hard runner, pratices hard, great attitude, and fundamentally sound at QB / knows the plays inside and out.
Problem...very short, weak arm, and not very fast.
1st stringer is a great athlete, and a good kid in his own right.
Well, this season, I wanted 3 QBs to ensure i have enough depth. I found another QB on the team who is a good athlete, and over a year, has developed a cannon for an arm...with accuracy too! This new kid could push to start.
THat leaves my 2nd string QB (We'll call Rudy) as a third stringer. He has his heart set on QB too, and busts his butt.
I have no clue what to do with Rudy. He isn't interested in defense...and like I said, has his heart set on QB.
Only thing I can think of is getting him on every special team, and making him a captain.
Any other ideas?
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Post by brophy on Aug 15, 2006 14:51:36 GMT -6
if he's tough as you say he is....put him at FB.
We had a kid EXACTLY like that to a "T" last year....phenomenal LB, tough as nails / fundamental QB (didn't want to be QB). He was our Veer Option QB in pre-camp (3 days) and because he was 5'7" I couldn't play him at LB, so we put him as Strong side corner.
Most of all......WHAT OFFENSE DO YOU RUN....if the wing-t like your name, I can't really see what a noodle arm has to do with his liabilities...if his fundamentals are sound he'll be able to get the ball where it needs to go (no?).
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Post by airman on Aug 15, 2006 15:39:10 GMT -6
i was rudy at my high school. I was the third team tailback behind a jr and soph. the coach talked to me, put me on special teams where I excelled.
I am trying not tooting my own horn here or anything thing.
My coach told me I was his favorite player of all time. he told me this my first year of coaching.
I am not sure why, other then I always did what I was told and I tried hard. he said the happiest moment he had was when on a 3 and 5, with both tailbacks out the game due to injury, he called a toss sweep and for some reason, I took it 67 yds to paydirt thus wraping up the confrence championship.
I still have that ball at my house. there is a special teams player of the year away given each year. it is named after me. i did not ask for this but my coach thought it should be this way.
I still call him coach when I see him. He now calls me coach. so being rudy can be a special thing for both the coach and the kid.
find a place for the kid some where. he will give you his all, I know I did. kids like me or this kid just want to contribute. we are not fastest kids but we know how to use our minds.
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Post by khalfie on Aug 15, 2006 18:44:39 GMT -6
If he's a QB kid... then he'll play where ever helps the team... and he can still be the 3rd string QB...
I say, nurture the QB'ism's, as we don't know who he'll grow into, but in the meantime... put him where he most benefits the team, and let him know that he can always compete for the QB spot, but he's just not winning right now!
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Post by tothehouse on Aug 15, 2006 23:52:31 GMT -6
We had a kid that was a 5th quarter QB as a freshman, didn't see the field much as a sophomore, backed up (and would have been a liability if our #1 QB went down) as a junior, and sat behind a junior as a senior!!!!!! Then, you know what we did? We started him over the underachieving senior in a the first playoff game of the 2004 season. All he was facing was a 10-0 team that had given up only 57 points all season. Final score?  Us 21 Them 20 He then LEADS, and I mean leads us to two more wins getting us to the championship game. Here is where he falters right? NO. He leads us to an almost improbable victory. Almost outplaying now Arizona QB Willie Tuitama. Tuitama's squad of 4 other D1 players beat us and our "Rudy" QB 50-45 that day. But our QB who never should have stuck it out.....DID!!!! And we were the better for it. BTW - He will be a great coach when he is done with college (not playing in college, but probably would beat out most guys with heart). |
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Post by superpower on Aug 16, 2006 7:17:05 GMT -6
I am sure "Rudy" is a great kid, but this concerns me: "He isn't interested in defense...and like I said, has his heart set on QB." To me it sounds as if he is putting his concerns for himself ahead of the team. I tell our kids all the time that they might not be #1 at the position they want to play, but they might be #1 at a different spot and may be able to help the team by switching positions. I think if a kid really wants to play, he must be open to playing where his abilities will most benefit the team. However, if a kid says, "No, I am a QB and not interested in defense," I have no problem letting him stand on the sideline.
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Post by wildcat on Aug 16, 2006 9:55:32 GMT -6
I am sure "Rudy" is a great kid, but this concerns me: "He isn't interested in defense...and like I said, has his heart set on QB." To me it sounds as if he is putting his concerns for himself ahead of the team. I tell our kids all the time that they might not be #1 at the position they want to play, but they might be #1 at a different spot and may be able to help the team by switching positions. I think if a kid really wants to play, he must be open to playing where his abilities will most benefit the team. However, if a kid says, "No, I am a QB and not interested in defense," I have no problem letting him stand on the sideline. I agree with superpower...we seldom tell kids that they can't play a position that they really want to play. MOST kids will quickly see the writing on the wall when they aren't getting reps at their chosen position and will ask if they can help somewhere else. The handful of kids who can't figure it out, well, we will try to "guide" them to a position they are more suited for. If they run with it, fine. However, if they would rather be a 3rd string FB than a starting OG, then they can keep me company on the sidelines. If this kid was truly a "Rudy", he would be asking the coaches what he could do to help. Maybe I read it wrong, but the kid sounds a little selfish. |
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Post by phantom on Aug 16, 2006 10:12:14 GMT -6
I am sure "Rudy" is a great kid, but this concerns me: "He isn't interested in defense...and like I said, has his heart set on QB." To me it sounds as if he is putting his concerns for himself ahead of the team. I tell our kids all the time that they might not be #1 at the position they want to play, but they might be #1 at a different spot and may be able to help the team by switching positions. I think if a kid really wants to play, he must be open to playing where his abilities will most benefit the team. However, if a kid says, "No, I am a QB and not interested in defense," I have no problem letting him stand on the sideline. I agree with superpower...we seldom tell kids that they can't play a position that they really want to play. MOST kids will quickly see the writing on the wall when they aren't getting reps at their chosen position and will ask if they can help somewhere else. The handful of kids who can't figure it out, well, we will try to "guide" them to a position they are more suited for. If they run with it, fine. However, if they would rather be a 3rd string FB than a starting OG, then they can keep me company on the sidelines. If this kid was truly a "Rudy", he would be asking the coaches what he could do to help. Maybe I read it wrong, but the kid sounds a little selfish. I'm glad somebody said it. I feel the same way. The real Rudy played the DL because that was his only chance to be on the team. As a kid, on the night before my first-ever football practice I did NOT dream of putting my hand on the ground and playing guard. |
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Post by banditgsk on Aug 16, 2006 10:39:47 GMT -6
My 8th grade year was my first true exposure to football, even though I had 2 older brothers that had played. (They kept telling me I would be the water boy or bench warmer.) I will never forget when the coach asked where each of us wanted to play, and I said fullback and went over to the group that were running backs. I had not had my growth spurt and was kinda chunky at that time and slow, but I thought fullback sounded like a good spot. The coach made this long speech about how we don't always get to play the position that we want, and he might have to move some of us, and it was not personal but for the betterment of the team, etc., etc., etc. A very long speech. I thought to myself that there were certainly going to be lots of boys moved over with the rest of those linemen in the other group, and I hoped they could handle it. Coach sure took up alot of time with that speech. He move ONLY me.
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Post by blackfly73 on Aug 16, 2006 12:55:47 GMT -6
I have a Rudy kid too ... very little atheltic ability... but TONS of heart and pure guts. The kid spent most of his entire Spanish class this year drawing up about 45 pages of football plays!
His dream is to walk on at Texas - and he likes to wear number 34 for "Sweetness" - and he'd LOVE to play running back. Last year in JV ball we let him have the first two carries of our last regular season game - and it was his highlight.
His chances of playing RB for us are very slim, same as FB... BUT... how do you deny a kid like that, who LOVES football... the chance to be on the field.
We're not coaching in the NFL and most of our players won't ever get to that level... a FEW might play past HS. I think we have to realize at times that HS Football is what feeds the entire game - and not with players but with fans.
What do we gain as coaches by keeping a kid like that on the sidelines?
For me... I'm going to give him a VERY specific job on special teams - he'll be one of the guys who will try and block punts. That will be his only job on punt return - and I intend to sit down with him and explain to him the importance of his job, and how it can change the face of the game.
And heck... if we're blessed to be up by a bunch and on the goal-line...you can bet your knickers the kid's going in there and I'm giving it to him 3 or 4 times, hoping he'll score - cause it'll be the highlight of his life!
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Us 21 Them 20