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Post by coachcb on Nov 20, 2017 15:23:03 GMT -6
The biggest mistake many coaches make is thinking they can build "toughness" by simply conditioning the chit out of the kids. I have seen man, many coaches throughout the years spend a half-hour running the kids until the puke, not coaching the fundamentals of the game/scheme and then complaining that they lose games because they kids aren't "tough".
I coached under a guy who didn't "believe" in repping proper tackling continually ("they just need to be physical!") and would run the hell out of them at the end of every practice. We'd miss tackle after tackle and he'd scream and yell about us not being "tough enough".
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Post by c0ach3d on Dec 2, 2017 8:33:43 GMT -6
One thing we did that had an effect on our kids is we did rep maxes. The first time we did them they did not understand that they could push their bodies to do more. They lifted until they were comfortable. After a couple of cycles you could see a determination to go until they gave out. This had a direct correlation to their attitude and demeanor in games.
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Post by aceback76 on Dec 2, 2017 9:13:11 GMT -6
The "Mat Drills" we teach which helps develop toughness go all the way back to "Bear " Bryant at Alabama, and are STILL a part of just about every team in the SEC's program:
THE "COMBATIVE" PROGRAM:
The Combative Station offers the participants an opportunity to become physically aggressive with each other. No other station offers the aggressive approach as does this station. With the participants using only their native wrestling skills, the players simply try to overpower one another. Due to the fact that the participants must keep in close bodily contact with each other and have a very limited time to perform, the advanced wrestling techniques are all but forgotten. In fact, if a player waits for a strategic hold or move, nothing will be accomplished. If we see a mismatch on the mat or if the player becomes tired, we remove him from the mat and make the proper adjustment. We do not wait until exhaustion sets in to make the adjustment. This would only demoralize a player. The PRIMARY OBJECTIVE of the Combative Station is to develop and maintain, their aggressive nature. They will want to compete with each other if they are motivated in a positive way. They are never asked to compete in a situation where one player has a distinct advantage over another.
The Combative Program is held in our Wrestling room (or an open gym) on a regulation wrestling mat. We have had as many as seventy-five spectators in the immediate area, and a majority of these witness these exercisers. This is a distinct advantage in selling the program to the students in that they see the players without their helmets on and realize also that the Football players actually sweat and work as hard or harder than they might have otherwise believed. It is not uncommon to have some of the spectators to volunteer for the program after witnessing first hand how the program is conducted.
The majority of the exercises are based upon quick and intensive bursts of anywhere from 6 to 15 seconds! These drills are very "high-spirited" among the players. This is a very good station in that it is aggressive but controlled to the point where the players have an even chance to excel.
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Post by s73 on Dec 2, 2017 10:05:00 GMT -6
IMO,
Toughness is built through confidence. I think it starts in the weight room & the kids developing confidence that they are physically strong enough to handle themselves v. their best opponents.
Next I believe success breeds more confidence & more toughness. The more you win the more you expect to win the less intimidated you are...hence toughness.
Lastly, & I've said this on many threads before but I will say it again, I believe 100% that RECOVERY leads to toughness. I think too many guys have their kids walk on the field on Friday nights a little tired, a little achy, and just like any human being, you go into a physical competition already hurting, well you're gonna struggle.
It's akin to a boxer walking into the ring with a fractured hand. Dudes tough for still stepping out there but does he PERFORM? No, hence he LOOKS soft. The reality is his body was betraying him and so he couldn't perform to his capability.
Everyone plays harder when they feel good. JMO.
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Post by coachiminime on Dec 5, 2017 5:17:50 GMT -6
There is only one toughness: mental toughness. Physical toughness is an offshoot of mental toughness. I tell kids the way I define toughness is doing things that you don’t want to do but you do them anyway because it’s for the greater good. Going to work every day, being on time, not making excuses and saying it was fault and I’ll be better next time. Once these things are understood then it becomes taking on a double team, cracking down in a linebacker, spilling a pulling guard. I definitely agree with weight room comments about increasing confidence which leads to kids being better. However, if you weren’t “tough” when you were weaker you aren’t going to be tougher now that your stronger. You are only going to be stronger. We did a bunch of rope drills in off season, where we ask kids to “fight” for six seconds. I think we got it from the old Missouri stuff.
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Post by mnike23 on Dec 5, 2017 7:52:14 GMT -6
1. Weight Room 2. Seven Man Sled 3. Full Pads. Every. Single. Day. I agree with the first part whole heartedly. Being bigger and stronger leads to confidence which leads to physicality. I would also add in being in great shape. Nothing clouds your thinking and makes you soft like being tired. The 3rd one is the one I might disagree with. The 2 most physical teams on our schedule one has been in full pads twice, the first day allowed and the 3rd day, and hasn’t been in them since and the other doesn’t go full pads once the season starts. Both of them do go shells, 3 days a week for 1 and 2 days a week for the other. Both of these teams are extremely physical. I wouldn’t question the fact that these 2 would be among the top 5 or top 10 at worst, most physical teams in our classification. One is a perennial winner and the other has started winning with a new coach. One thing both of these programs believe in is an extensive strength program and have very good summer strength and conditioning programs. 1,2 100 percent 3, 95% kids and coaches do not know how to go shells and get an effective practice out of it, from the places I have been. shells always turns into the half assed days because kids think its a day off because were not beating our brains out. i dont know how you do inside/interior run game and get the desired effect in shells. what about goal line situational series or 2 pt play on competition tuesday for the win. plenty of times were so banged up that at 1 point you have to go shells when you dont want too..... but only 2 days a season? thats pretty extreme
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Post by clowndude on Dec 5, 2017 8:58:02 GMT -6
There is only one toughness: mental toughness. Physical toughness is an offshoot of mental toughness. I tell kids the way I define toughness is doing things that you don’t want to do but you do them anyway because it’s for the greater good. Going to work every day, being on time, not making excuses and saying it was fault and I’ll be better next time. Once these things are understood then it becomes taking on a double team, cracking down in a linebacker, spilling a pulling guard. I definitely agree with weight room comments about increasing confidence which leads to kids being better. However, if you weren’t “tough” when you were weaker you aren’t going to be tougher now that your stronger. You are only going to be stronger. We did a bunch of rope drills in off season, where we ask kids to “fight” for six seconds. I think we got it from the old Missouri stuff. Could you give a little bit more detail on the rope drills or variations.
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Post by bulldogsdc on Dec 5, 2017 9:16:33 GMT -6
Yes. It can be taught. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at my kids wrestling practice.
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curtis
Probationary Member
Posts: 13
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Post by curtis on Dec 5, 2017 9:18:25 GMT -6
My college coach once told me that the only place to build confidence was the weight room. Confident kids are tough kids. If a kid lacks confidence, he will always look for a way off the field.
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Post by aceback76 on Dec 5, 2017 9:48:56 GMT -6
Traditionally, throughout the years, Alabama builds toughness in the "COMBATIVE MAT DRILLS". SOMETIMES, these were used to "run off" players who were not dedicated to "paying the price", and bordered on "brutal".
WE use Mat Drills extensively, but in HIGH SCHOOL, we "temper" these down to the extent that the kids LOVE them. For example: If we see a mismatch on the mat or if the player becomes tired, we remove him from the mat and make the proper adjustment. We do not wait until exhaustion sets in to make the adjustment. This would only demoralize a player.
***********************************************************************************
This is from a book by one of Alabama's former players. Once again, we do not carry the Mat Drills to this EXTREME, but they DO develop "toughness"!!!
From the book "Turnaround: Bear Bryant's 1st Year at Alabama" by Tom Stoddard (Amazon.com):
BRYANT MAT DRILLS (ON HIS RETURN TO BAMA IN 1958):
The means by which the coaches began player assessments was a “voluntary” conditioning program that began in January. The sessions were voluntary, but everyone knew that players who did not volunteer would find themselves looking for food and lodging elsewhere and lose their scholarships.
Bama players underwent 3 phases of the program - agilities, mat drills, & weights (in shifts of 25 in each).
Pat James was the coach in charge of the mat drills conducted on a regulation Wrestling Mat. The clear intent was to use the wrestling to test football players’ strength, endurance, and will to win. Wrestling under James was not like wrestling anywhere else. Players were put through the mat drills in shifts of 25. “You wrestled for your life” said one of the players. Some found themselves unable to do anything but crawl away from the mat. At the end of the session as the players stumbled out of the mat room, they were covered with sweat, many of them bleeding and smelling of vomit.
It was fairly easy to find out who had ability, that was easy enough. But it took a lot more to find out who was going to stick in, who was tough enough to win when it was hard. “We challenged them - we checked them and checked them again” said Pat James.
We weren’t going to have a team that couldn’t take it! The players found the drills a forum in which they could display the kind of aggressiveness that impressed the coaches and earned them the right to play. The players realized that what it “took” was 200 percent. Those who stayed built themselves into the best condition of their lives, and thrived on the intensity.
It was survival, that’s all it was. It was the mental thing – reaching down so hard and so deep into what you had – that you either had to get on the wagon or get out! Those who stuck with it were shedding their losing attitudes and beginning to believe in themselves. After enduring this – a player mentally changed, he felt like you --- could handle anything that showed up. You had gone through so much hell!
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Post by fantom on Dec 5, 2017 10:49:22 GMT -6
I think that toughness can be taught and that it's taught through experience and peer pressure/example.
Young kids don't know the difference between normal contact, a hurt, and an injury. As they play more, gain experience, they learn the difference. They figure out that contact feels good, momentary pain is normal, and that you can ignore pain if there's no real injury. They see how veteran players handle small hurts and how they won't sit out with them because they'd let the team and their buddies down and don't want to do that.
The same is true with mental toughness, handling adversity. Ever watch a game with a 13 year old? Every bad play is doomsday. They yell at the TV, throw teams, and whine that our team is going to lose. As they mature and watch more games they learn that a bad break does not mean that you're totally screwed.
I'm a Packers fan. If I'd watched the Dez Bryant TD/no catch play for the Cowboys in the playoffs when I was a kid, if they'd ruled it a TD I'd have been crushed. After all these years, though, I cussed once then thought, "Down two points, four minutes left, two time outs. OK.".
Kids also see how older players (and coaches) react when adversity hits during a game. If the people with experience react like the game is over then the younger kids will see it that way and might for the rest of their careers. If the veterans react with deternination and confidence, the kids will pick up on that.
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Post by coachcb on Dec 5, 2017 11:18:04 GMT -6
A lot of this comes down to situational practice during the week. Assuming you run a simple, sound scheme and coach the kids up well, running 2-minute, goal line, and short yardage drills will drastically improve a player's resolve and "mental toughness". Particularly if you make the competition aspect of these drills a point of emphasis. This year, our scout team defense took great pride in duking it out with the starters in these kinds of competitive drills.
But, they didn't start out that way. They began the first few weeks of the season getting pummeled by our starters. It only took them shutting the first team down on the goal line a few times before they were chomping at the bit to do it again. And, as they upped their game, the starters did too. Our goal-line and two-minute drill sessions became brutally competitive and were fun to watch.
And, we didn't have to threaten the "losing" team with running or physical punishment either. We just continually hounded them to compete, compete, and compete some more. We made them loud, up-tempo sessions where the coaches did a ton of hooping and hollering and very little actual coaching unless we needed to.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 5, 2017 12:18:31 GMT -6
As others have said, I think you teach toughness by having players physically prepared through weight training & conditioning and by making sure they proper technique.
I don't think you can really teach nastiness, though.
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Post by coachcb on Dec 5, 2017 12:53:06 GMT -6
As others have said, I think you teach toughness by having players physically prepared through weight training & conditioning and by making sure they proper technique. I don't think you can really teach nastiness, though. I agree with this and have worked with very athletic kids who were well-coached and knew their assignments inside and out but just lacked aggression. We ran a pass heavy spread offense this year and had some exceptionally athletic WRs. However, we really struggled to get the base of our offense going (screens) because these kids just weren't physical and aggressive. They missed a lot of blocks simply because they didn't like contact. We repped proper blocking technique in full speed drills daily but our WRs still got chewed up because we couldn't get them fired up when it came to blocking on the perimeter. We ended up starting underclassmen that were nasty and would get after people on the edge. Our screen game opened up but we really didn't have the break away speed out there to force teams to reduce the box. Our short passing game was reasonably effective and we picked up yardage there. But our deep attack was non-existent because these slower kids just couldn't get open. I just couldn't understand it.. We taught it correctly, we practiced it, we got after the kids in a constructive manner when they whiffed (i.e. no screaming or yelling) but 3 out 4 starting WRs looked like Tarzan and played like Jane.
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Post by fantom on Dec 5, 2017 13:03:25 GMT -6
As others have said, I think you teach toughness by having players physically prepared through weight training & conditioning and by making sure they proper technique. I don't think you can really teach nastiness, though. I agree with this and have worked with very athletic kids who were well-coached and knew their assignments inside and out but just lacked aggression. We ran a pass heavy spread offense this year and had some exceptionally athletic WRs. However, we really struggled to get the base of our offense going (screens) because these kids just weren't physical and aggressive. They missed a lot of blocks simply because they didn't like contact. We repped proper blocking technique in full speed drills daily but our WRs still got chewed up because we couldn't get them fired up when it came to blocking on the perimeter. We ended up starting underclassmen that were nasty and would get after people on the edge. Our screen game opened up but we really didn't have the break away speed out there to force teams to reduce the box. Our short passing game was reasonably effective and we picked up yardage there. But our deep attack was non-existent because these slower kids just couldn't get open. I just couldn't understand it.. We taught it correctly, we practiced it, we got after the kids in a constructive manner when they whiffed (i.e. no screaming or yelling) but 3 out 4 starting WRs looked like Tarzan and played like Jane. Some kids just don't have it in them. It's not necessarily a lack of desire or commitment. The toughness DNA just isn't there. It's no different that in the classroom. Some kids are really smart and work hard but some subjects like languages or math just elude them. It's not anybody's fault. It's just the way it is.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 5, 2017 14:14:03 GMT -6
My own son who is 11 gets mad at me bc I harp on him about this subject. I tell him its bc I deal with so many guys that aren't tough. And some that if they were they could play at the next level. The old question are you hurt or are you injured comes to mind. Everyone is hurt... winners find a way.
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Post by coachcb on Dec 5, 2017 14:23:41 GMT -6
I agree with this and have worked with very athletic kids who were well-coached and knew their assignments inside and out but just lacked aggression. We ran a pass heavy spread offense this year and had some exceptionally athletic WRs. However, we really struggled to get the base of our offense going (screens) because these kids just weren't physical and aggressive. They missed a lot of blocks simply because they didn't like contact. We repped proper blocking technique in full speed drills daily but our WRs still got chewed up because we couldn't get them fired up when it came to blocking on the perimeter. We ended up starting underclassmen that were nasty and would get after people on the edge. Our screen game opened up but we really didn't have the break away speed out there to force teams to reduce the box. Our short passing game was reasonably effective and we picked up yardage there. But our deep attack was non-existent because these slower kids just couldn't get open. I just couldn't understand it.. We taught it correctly, we practiced it, we got after the kids in a constructive manner when they whiffed (i.e. no screaming or yelling) but 3 out 4 starting WRs looked like Tarzan and played like Jane. Some kids just don't have it in them. It's not necessarily a lack of desire or commitment. The toughness DNA just isn't there. It's no different that in the classroom. Some kids are really smart and work hard but some subjects like languages or math just elude them. It's not anybody's fault. It's just the way it is. Yup, I have certainly found this to be true over the years.
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Post by mrjvi on Dec 5, 2017 15:18:18 GMT -6
Adversity in practice helps develop toughness for us. Timed 10 yard 5 or 7 man sleds is one-must make times or they don't count (times needed shortens as the season progresses) . Also "Hour of Power" on our heavy day where we go with starters from the 5 and keep track of scores until 25 plays are run (30 sec. between plays) We do it twice and have the defense put more than 11 out there and/or tell them the play. Both bring adversity and eventually build tough confidence.
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Post by coachcb on Dec 5, 2017 15:49:06 GMT -6
We have also kept a running score of scout vs starters in goal line/short yardage and 2-minute drills in the past (we didn't do it this year).
For example, the starting offense had four downs to score, starting at the 5-10 yard line. They got a point if they punched it in and the defense got a point if they stopped them. But, the scout defense would get TWO points if they forced turn-over (pick,fumble, etc..). The starting offense would get an extra point if they scored on 1st or 2nd down while the defense would get a point for any negative yardage play.
We had more fun in a a 2 minute drill. The offense got a point for every 1st down they converted while the defense got a point for forcing a 4-and-out. The defense would also get two points if there was a turn-over. The offense got an extra point for any play over ten yards (so on point for the conversion and another for the big gain) and and the defense got two points for any negative yardage play (generally a sack).
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