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Post by joker31 on Sept 8, 2013 11:20:28 GMT -6
Hey fellas, just wondering how you guys emphasize getting off to fast starts in games. We are 2-0 right now but both games we played we trailed once and were tied once at halftime, only to win the 2nd half.
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Post by 33coach on Sept 8, 2013 12:55:55 GMT -6
Hey fellas, just wondering how you guys emphasize getting off to fast starts in games. We are 2-0 right now but both games we played we trailed once and were tied once at halftime, only to win the 2nd half. I have the same issue coach . Hope to hear some good suggestions
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Post by blackknight on Sept 8, 2013 18:06:18 GMT -6
We had the same issue for years. At all levels. Then we learned something from Oregon were we used to go to team camp every year. They said the players need to go hardest the day before so that their bodies are ready for the game.
We used to go full pads on Monday and Tuesday, shells on Wednesday and helmets on Thursday.
Now we go helmets on Monday, shells on Tuesday and Wednesday, and full pads on Thursday. That is the day we work on 3rd and short, red zone, goal line, etc. Very physical day.
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Post by joboo59 on Sept 8, 2013 18:13:15 GMT -6
I have found that making sure all practices are crancked at all times. Don't "ease" into practice or start practice with low intensity drills, rather go hard early and demand perfection. As you head to team drills is a great time to wind down just a bit to cover the mental stuff.
At a former coaching gig we did all this in reverse, spent lots of time after warm up on a knee doing mental preparation, we too came out slow every game. At my current school it is flopped and we get out much faster, plus it helps the mental aspects when they are sucking wind and aching already.
$0.02
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Post by coachphillip on Sept 9, 2013 9:47:07 GMT -6
We changed our practice schedules the same way coaches did. Every day after stretching, we go into a fire up session. On helmet days, it's some kind of competition circuit. On offense days, it's 1 on 1's. On defense days, it's Oklahoma. On team day, it's goaline challenge.
Another thing we did was have our "go to war" type of guys in a room pregame with music. Lets the smiles and laughs guys get ready their way and the tears and pain guys get ready their way.
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Post by dubber on Sept 10, 2013 8:42:27 GMT -6
We had the same issue for years. At all levels. Then we learned something from Oregon were we used to go to team camp every year. They said the players need to go hardest the day before so that their bodies are ready for the game. We used to go full pads on Monday and Tuesday, shells on Wednesday and helmets on Thursday. Now we go helmets on Monday, shells on Tuesday and Wednesday, and full pads on Thursday. That is the day we work on 3rd and short, red zone, goal line, etc. Very physical day. I have never heard of this before.....goes against convention for sure (not that I am against that). How long have you all been doing this?
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Post by dubber on Sept 10, 2013 8:44:13 GMT -6
One way we have been able to start fast is by scripting the first five plays.
It is amazing what can happen when A) you know what you are doing to start the game and have practiced it all week, and B) as a staff know what you are looking for in those plays to attack there after.
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Post by blackknight on Sept 10, 2013 14:54:20 GMT -6
We had the same issue for years. At all levels. Then we learned something from Oregon were we used to go to team camp every year. They said the players need to go hardest the day before so that their bodies are ready for the game. We used to go full pads on Monday and Tuesday, shells on Wednesday and helmets on Thursday. Now we go helmets on Monday, shells on Tuesday and Wednesday, and full pads on Thursday. That is the day we work on 3rd and short, red zone, goal line, etc. Very physical day. I have never heard of this before.....goes against convention for sure (not that I am against that). How long have you all been doing this? Coach, we have been doing it for three years now. The Oregon guys told us it came from their strength guy. He pleaded with them as he claimed that it was more physiologically sound. Chip, being an outside the box guy, went with it. We end practice on Thursdays with a half line, 1's vs. 1's, into the boundary, take 'em to the ground drill we call Hash Drill.
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Post by buckeye7525 on Sept 10, 2013 18:09:15 GMT -6
I have never heard of this before.....goes against convention for sure (not that I am against that). How long have you all been doing this? Coach, we have been doing it for three years now. The Oregon guys told us it came from their strength guy. He pleaded with them as he claimed that it was more physiologically sound. Chip, being an outside the box guy, went with it. We end practice on Thursdays with a half line, 1's vs. 1's, into the boundary, take 'em to the ground drill we call Hash Drill. I'd be curious as to the science behind it. Sounds very interesting.
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Post by RedRaider on Sept 10, 2013 23:30:11 GMT -6
I have never heard of this before.....goes against convention for sure (not that I am against that). How long have you all been doing this? Coach, we have been doing it for three years now. The Oregon guys told us it came from their strength guy. He pleaded with them as he claimed that it was more physiologically sound. Chip, being an outside the box guy, went with it. We end practice on Thursdays with a half line, 1's vs. 1's, into the boundary, take 'em to the ground drill we call Hash Drill. we have been the same way. Last Friday we ran 17 plays in the first half. Second we ran 53. Same thing happened week 1. It's hard to go full pads on thurs I'm afraid we don't have enough heart to stay healthy if that makes sense. I will bring this to my HC and see how it works or us. Cause our thurs are boring as h3ll.
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Post by blackknight on Sept 11, 2013 16:25:23 GMT -6
The science was explained to me but I am a History guy so it sounded like "blah, blah, blah"!
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dmmoylan
Probationary Member
Excellence can be Achieved through Dedication and Practice.
Posts: 6
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Post by dmmoylan on Sept 11, 2013 22:41:32 GMT -6
I agree, I believe it's phycological. I hope to share a process which improved our practices and game readiness. This last year my team incorporated a employee management strategy I learned from a TED.com video with the purpose of boosting players' awareness of "problems" and accountability.
It's a simple process done at the end of practice and before a game. At the end of practice after the team breaks, we split separately into an offensive group and defensive group. I talk briefly then transition to asking the players, "what did we do well today?" Personal and group accomplishments are acknowledged and celebrated. Everybody feels good. Next, I ask, "what didn't go well today?" Guys will raddle off problems at group level and personal faults. Lastly, "what do we have to do to get better?" And the beauty is, our players say exactly what we would have told them anyway. It's easy to guide the conversation if they don't know what to say the first couple of times you try this.
Example Answers:
"We can't start so slow next practice." Me: "Ok, I want to know your opinion on how we accomplish that." "We need to be more focused." "We have to run to the ball." "Second man in has to create a turnover." "Get up the near sideline when we have a turnover." "Communicate our adjustments better." "Tackle better." etc...
I get answers on an individual level:
"I have to quit false stepping in press man" "I need to quit lunging on my jam" And don't be afraid to be interactive and ask why. Me: "Why do you have to quit lunging Timmy?!" Timmy: "One reason is because if I miss that jam when I lunge, I'm going to be off balance and going the opposite direction as the WR" "I have to high point the ball" "I have to keep my feet moving on contact" etc...
Repeat the last phase right before a game, but rephrase it as, "What do we have to do to win this game?" Half the battle is getting their football brains turned on from the get go.
Before solving a problem the players truly have to be aware of the problem, and you know they are aware of it if they can say it. Make them believe the ideas are their ideas. We all attach, favor, and buy into our own ideas and are more likely to back our own ideas. It's another level of commitment to a task when you are saying something you intend on doing in front of other people.
I hope this process can help with your slow starts. The growth our team experienced with this process was far beyond that of previous years. Practice was more up tempo, less mistakes, players held themselves and others accountable, and we have avoided slow starts altogether.
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Post by mrjvi on Sept 12, 2013 17:30:56 GMT -6
One thing that helped us was to limit our pre-game to 15 minutes. We take the field at 6:35-6:40 for a 7:00 start. Since doing that a few years ago we have started much faster. Mental tension drain and fatigue? ? Maybe.
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Post by silkyice on Sept 13, 2013 15:05:04 GMT -6
One problem with going hard on Thursday is getting someone injured. Now you don't have anymore practice time that week to get that sub ready or change the game plan.
Also, injured can be a relative minor injury and still affect you. For instance, someone tweaks their ankle or shoulder on Tuesday. By Friday, they might be just fine because of time, rehab, or just getting used to it. But if you do that on Thursday, you have two problems. Not only might they not be fine by Friday, you might not know if they are fine or not until Friday morning.
You can't let the fear of injuries dictate everything you do, but it is something to consider. Also, is it Oregon's warp drive offense or attention to details or all-star team or the fact that they hit on Thursday that makes them great? Thursday might have something to do with it, but I just can't see that being THE difference, and high schools have other factors to consider such as your backup RB might be a 150 pound freshman who runs a 4.9.
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Post by blackknight on Sept 15, 2013 18:36:12 GMT -6
Took the opening drive for a touchdown Friday.
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Post by joker31 on Oct 4, 2013 9:09:06 GMT -6
Just an update. The slow starts continued for weeks 3-5... We talked about it and burning the slow starts and getting off to faster ones. This is JV football, but it's a talented group.
Last week we played and we had 3 turnovers on offense and our defense bailed us out, we were up 8-0 at halftime on a team we were much better than, only to win 31-0.
Yesterday it bit us in the ass. We played a very good team, a team we knew we could compete with but we drove a little bit down the field after the opening KOR, then had to punt. Our defense has been good all year, so we held them to 3 and out, but they ran a fake punt and scored.
Against this team though we couldn't rally back. There's some other things we have to work on mentally as well, but I am ready to take BlackKnight's suggestion on flipping the order of practice.
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