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Post by coachmason on Oct 11, 2013 8:28:00 GMT -6
We play a huge game against a team in our playoff region tonight. We are 4-1 and they are 5-0 and it is our homecoming game. The game is on our grass field and it is already soaked with a lot of rain still coming. We are ready with towels, cleat cleaners and a few other things. I wanted to see anything else you guys have done for games like these, warm up in gym, warm- up in different uniforms, etc. Any recomendations would be appreciated.
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Post by coachg13 on Oct 11, 2013 9:22:13 GMT -6
There's 2 things you can do. Make sure you have as much extra dry clothes as you can get them. Don't know your equipment situation, but warm up inside or in their own shirts, keep everything they're going to wear during the game as dry as possible before the actual game starts. Change as much stuff as you can at halftime. If they have practice cleats and game cleats, switch them out at half time. Switch everything out at the half.
Or the 2nd option - it's football. They're gonna get wet.
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Post by tigercoach11 on Oct 11, 2013 9:33:06 GMT -6
We invite this kind of weather!!! We run the DTDW and we have mostly 4-5 wide out throw it around the yard types teams that come in. It was pretty funny we had weather like that a couple of weeks ago and they ran inside. I asked "did someone see lightning?" and one of our coaches watching them said "no..they said something about keeping their balls dry?"...one it leaves so many jokes available, two keep a couple dry and keep warming up IMO..ha!
Now I would suggest you keep your footballs as dry as possible and switch them out as best as possible.....as for players etc....if it aint freezing rain who cares...keeping them dry through warmups is not going to keep them from getting soaked on the first kickoff. If its cold too change out as much clothing as you can at half.Cleats we never worry about just make sure we brush the mud/grass off when they come off every once and a while and make sure they have new replacement cleats in before the game....your choice but I wouldn't worry too much
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Post by fantom on Oct 11, 2013 10:20:19 GMT -6
I seem to remember somebody a while back saying that they use kitty litter as a cheap ball-drying agent. Does anybody else remember that or know anything about it?
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Post by fballcoachg on Oct 11, 2013 10:43:57 GMT -6
I seem to remember somebody a while back saying that they use kitty litter as a cheap ball-drying agent. Does anybody else remember that or know anything about it? My last school used it, I think it worked decent. There is a dusty film on the ball (as you would expect) but you just wipe it off. It is a cheap easy fix, not sure if it's the best but it served it's purpose. |
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Post by fantom on Oct 11, 2013 10:49:43 GMT -6
I seem to remember somebody a while back saying that they use kitty litter as a cheap ball-drying agent. Does anybody else remember that or know anything about it? My last school used it, I think it worked decent. There is a dusty film on the ball (as you would expect) but you just wipe it off. It is a cheap easy fix, not sure if it's the best but it served it's purpose. What do you do, put the balls in a plastic trash bag and shake it up like Shake N Bake? |
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Post by dytmook on Oct 11, 2013 10:53:28 GMT -6
We were told no artifical ball dryers including our ball dryer and kitty litter and the such...
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Post by tothehouse on Oct 11, 2013 10:53:48 GMT -6
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Post by fantom on Oct 11, 2013 10:55:40 GMT -6
We were told no artifical ball dryers including our ball dryer and kitty litter and the such... By whom? There was a thread on this in the Fed Rules section and it was agreed by the officials that there are no Fed rules against it. |
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Post by John Knight on Oct 11, 2013 11:03:13 GMT -6
You better have a couple of adults take care of ball boy duty. Get the dry ball in the game every play, run it out and hand it to the official, have lots of towels and share dry ones with the umpire.
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Post by newhope on Oct 11, 2013 11:15:25 GMT -6
It depends on how wet it is. I once had them change pants at the half. Socks would help as well and shoes if they have them.
The biggest thing is to have some dry-ball (or ball-dry, I can never remember the brand name) and to keep the balls dry with it and run a dry one in every play. You will need an adult to help the ball boys with this.
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Post by kad02002 on Oct 11, 2013 14:30:27 GMT -6
We play a huge game against a team in our playoff region tonight. We are 4-1 and they are 5-0 and it is our homecoming game. The game is on our grass field and it is already soaked with a lot of rain still coming. We are ready with towels, cleat cleaners and a few other things. I wanted to see anything else you guys have done for games like these, warm up in gym, warm- up in different uniforms, etc. Any recomendations would be appreciated. I've had some good results as a player and coach in the rain. To detail them: jr. year of high school essentially won the league championship in a pouring mud bowl against a favored opponent, sr year my final game of high school we beat a good team 35-7 in the rain, freshman year of small college we upset our undefeated rivals in a torrential downpour (we were 3-4, they were 7-0). This past season as a coach we had 3 or 4 games (can't remember exactly how many) in rain (I'm coaching in Denmark) and we won all of them. I lost a few games coaching the year before in the rain, but we were also 2-8 that year. So I've learned many lessons. Off the top of my head, from my experiences: Don't worry about shielding your players before the game, changing uniforms, staying out of the mud, etc. Embrace the muck. They are going to get wet soon enough. Let them have fun and tell them that this is YOUR type of game. Get out there, dive around, get muddy, have fun. This was our approach in the college mud bowl, while our opponents tip toed in warm ups and didn't come out on the field in their clean white uniforms until the final moments. We were nice and muddy and laughed at their rain avoidance. I think this gave us a mental edge, they didn't get a feel for the weather, and I think it contributed to their fumble problems. Use leather balls. No rubber/fake leather. Rubber is way too slippery. The big victory my jr. year, the opponent used rubber because they thought it wouldn't get soggy and they could handle it better. It didn't get soggy, but it did get VERY slippery. Conversely, the leather balls absorb the wet and get heavy and easy to carry. I was the main running back that game, rushed for over 100 yards and didn't fumble. The opposing running back was much more talented than me (became a 1aa all american) but only got 30 or 40 yards and fumbled (not sure how many times). We probably won the turnover battle by 4 or 5 that day and that doesn't count the ball slipping out of their QB's hands on passes or through the punter's hands. Consider kicking off to start each half, depending on the extent of the downpour. Definitely defer to start the game. If it is really storming out there, both teams will likely have trouble moving the ball. I've been on the good side of this, starting the other team backed up, forcing a fumble, having a short field. You can play the whole first half on their side of the field. If it works in the first half, might as well do it again. The victory my junior year and my freshman year of college, we kicked off to start each half, if I remember correctly. Conversely, in my 2-8 coaching season, we had a game in downpour where we started receiving. I can't remember the exact order, but I think we started by fumbling and then they got a quick TD, then we snapped the ball over our QB's head (side note: if you have both shotgun and under center plays, evaluate which one you are less likely to fumble and go with that) for a safety, and then they scored another TD after the punt. Something like that. It was 16-0 early in the first quarter and the ball hadn't really moved out of our side of the field yet. Cut some towels to tuck into the C, QB, and RB's pants for quick drying. Don't allow ballcarriers to wear any long under armour type sleeves. When it gets wet it, the material gets slippery and becomes a fumble threat. You want skin on heavy leather. (I don't know if UA or Nike has created something for rain weather, if so I may be wrong). Added emphasis on runners keeping two hands on the ball, and on defenders stripping the ball. Everyone needs to concentrate on short choppy steps. Runners can have a great day on a wet field, keeping their feet under them, choppy cuts, while defenders slide by. I loved that game my JR year, I felt in control with those quick steps and quick cuts, very easy to get the defense off balance in that weather. Long strides are not good in the rain (except of course in straight sprints). Lots of towels for the ball boys to dry the balls. Of course rotate the balls all the time. Consider squib kicking the ball - very hard to pick up. If I think of anything else I'll comment again... |
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Post by fballcoachg on Oct 12, 2013 16:00:47 GMT -6
You better have a couple of adults take care of ball boy duty. Get the dry ball in the game every play, run it out and hand it to the official, have lots of towels and share dry ones with the umpire. Had a monsoon game a couple of weeks ago and the official on our sideline yelled at our ball bays for running it out, told them they couldn't come on the field, told us "We aren't changing balls every play," and dropped the ball multiple times when he called for it. Clearly the HC was not pleased, got fed up, and just told them to run it out anyways, the umpire had to step in and let the official know it was perfectly fine to do. Refs are human....at least that's what I try and tell myself! |
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Post by fballcoachg on Oct 12, 2013 16:06:06 GMT -6
My last school used it, I think it worked decent. There is a dusty film on the ball (as you would expect) but you just wipe it off. It is a cheap easy fix, not sure if it's the best but it served it's purpose. What do you do, put the balls in a plastic trash bag and shake it up like Shake N Bake? That's what they did forever and my first year there. After that year we just had a large amount of balls checked in, some first half some second half. |
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Post by coachjps on Oct 12, 2013 23:14:25 GMT -6
I learned not to make weather a factor, try to ignore it. If you make a big deal out of it so will players. When it rains during practice we embrace it. We practiced during record rains,
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Post by td4tc on Oct 13, 2013 9:01:03 GMT -6
tons of towels needed but i like the above post who tried to explain "strategies in the rain" re kick off etc..some good points
tough to move the ball but if you are lucky enough to have a Q who can throw a wet ball it is a deceiving advantage for Oline and receivers and should not always just be 3 yds and a cloud of mud
shotgun snaps are tougher and need to be practised a lot pregame but UC is no gift either..go for it on fourth down as punting is tough and net yards is poor
squibs is a great idea for kickoff...screen game
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Post by fantom on Oct 13, 2013 10:00:56 GMT -6
.go for it on fourth down as punting is tough and net yards is poor I don't agree with this. I think that in a weather game field position becomes even more important than usual. Especially in plus territory punting can be a weapon, even without a great punter, because the mud keeps the ball from rolling and giving you a chance to pin the opponent deep. |
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Post by td4tc on Oct 13, 2013 19:00:19 GMT -6
never mind getting chirped by fantom cause the man knows how to win
we struggle with the long snaps in the rain and i have bad memories that are tough to shake
also, love the guy who won the 5A state championship in Arizona without punting so we have adopted that much more than previous
Get what you mean about the dead ball bounce if you play on grass though
Also , kind of like playing golf in the rain..(only fun if you are drinking)..ball never seems to go anywhere in the air
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coachsmi0901
Freshmen Member
Ever heard of that coach that hated his job? Yeah, me neither.
Posts: 85
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Post by coachsmi0901 on Oct 14, 2013 19:55:32 GMT -6
.go for it on fourth down as punting is tough and net yards is poor I don't agree with this. I think that in a weather game field position becomes even more important than usual. Especially in plus territory punting can be a weapon, even without a great punter, because the mud keeps the ball from rolling and giving you a chance to pin the opponent deep. A lot of wisdom in those words, sir. |
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Post by dytmook on Oct 16, 2013 14:11:40 GMT -6
We were told no artifical ball dryers including our ball dryer and kitty litter and the such... By whom? There was a thread on this in the Fed Rules section and it was agreed by the officials that there are no Fed rules against it. By the officials. |
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Post by newhope on Oct 16, 2013 16:51:01 GMT -6
Agreed---no rules against it.
When they tell you that you can't, that's when you explain to them that if they persist in not allowing you to dry them, that they are going to have to explain to their supervisors why they wouldn't allow you when the rules do not prohibit it.
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Post by 1teammom on Nov 11, 2013 12:31:18 GMT -6
Our school team has been using a product called SuperBallDry for the past couple of years now to keep our equipment dry. All we had to have besides their product was a 5 gallon container with a lid. We put the Super Ball Dry in along with the balls, close the lid, shake it up, and they're dry within a minutes or two. We've had great success with this.
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