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Post by 3rdandlong on Sept 17, 2022 19:23:52 GMT -6
We're at the point in the season where practice is getting pretty stagnant and I don't blame the kids and I don't blame the coaches either. We've gotten a lot better, but we just lack some energy at practice. Part of it is because of the routine. The routine is a big reason of why we improved, but we can use a little more enthusiasm, excitement, and fun at practice. I'm not necessarily talking about drills to help us on the field (redzone, best vs. best, etc. we've done most of that already), but some things that can be good for team building, excitement, etc.
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Post by 44dlcoach on Sept 17, 2022 19:42:42 GMT -6
I'm a grumpy old man so I'm not a huge fan of music at practice but it might help pick the energy up a little bit.
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Post by larrymoe on Sept 17, 2022 20:10:06 GMT -6
I'm a grumpy old man so I'm not a huge fan of music at practice but it might help pick the energy up a little bit. Me either. Only did it one year and it seemed like the kids ended up caring more about what was playing than what we were doing at practice. Also made it hard to teach stuff IMO. Personally, at this time of year, we'd start throwing the carrot out that if practice looked crisp and we got done what we needed we'd cut the length of it. The key is you have to follow through if they do it. And we only went 2 hours to begin with. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2022 7:16:34 GMT -6
Incentivizing kids to leave early, or even looking for ways to shorten practice by trimming off a few minutes here or there can be good.
You could even make a game out of this. Tell the kids
“we’re going to get 10 reps here as fast as possible and then we’re done,” then hustle at an up-tempo pace to see how quickly you can finish each drill Just be careful to not misjudge how many reps you can do in a short amount of time and never move so fast that stuff which needs coaching goes uncoached.
Start practice off with a quick Oklahoma Drill or something similar and competitive.
Look for ways to make the drills competitive and fun between the players or groups. Reward the winners with stuff like breaks from running, Little Debbie cakes or cokes after practice, etc. It doesn’t take much.
Mix up the routine. You are confident it’s part of the reason for your success, but can you move a segment around here or there? Just a little variation can, even if it’s just doing things in a different order can break up the monotony.
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Post by mariner42 on Sept 18, 2022 8:07:35 GMT -6
Take their pads off for a few days, give them a Monday off, find a way to surprise them with something.
Embracing monotony is important in the long run, but you can do some simple things to give a positive shock to the grind.
I'll also throw this out there: Is it possible you could do less in the months leading up to the season? Something to consider during the off-season.
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Post by wolfden12 on Sept 18, 2022 8:46:31 GMT -6
Best on Best or Competition with incentive
Shorten practice
Have fun
Ask players for feedback
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Post by blb on Sept 18, 2022 10:12:16 GMT -6
I'll also throw this out there: Is it possible you could do less in the months leading up to the season? Something to consider during the off-season. ^ THIS!! |
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Post by 3rdandlong on Sept 18, 2022 10:32:11 GMT -6
Take their pads off for a few days, give them a Monday off, find a way to surprise them with something. Embracing monotony is important in the long run, but you can do some simple things to give a positive shock to the grind. I'll also throw this out there: Is it possible you could do less in the months leading up to the season? Something to consider during the off-season. Absolutely about the less pet during the months leading up. |
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Post by fantom on Sept 18, 2022 10:58:03 GMT -6
George C. Marshall had a sign in his office: "Enlisted men may be entitled to morale problems. Officers are noy. Every man in this department is responsible for his own morale. Nobody worries about my morale".
Coaches don't have the luxury of getting bored during practice. If they are it's because they're looking at each practice as just something that they have to do rather than an opportunity to help their players and team get better.
During indy position coaches need to show great attention of detail from the stance to footwork to hand and head placement to the finish. If something's wrong fix it then and there. Dot it fast, on the run, but fix it. If you do that you're too busy to get bored.
In group and team drills if every coach has a script he should know what he's looking for on each play. If he sees an error he should fix it, again quickly without interrupting the flow of practice.
Human nature being what it is there will be days when you'll have to force yourself to do these things. Well, that's what the big bucks or for.
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Post by blb on Sept 18, 2022 11:55:06 GMT -6
George C. Marshall had a sign in his office: "Enlisted men may be entitled to morale problems. Officers are noy. Every man in this department is responsible for his own morale. Nobody worries about my morale". Coaches don't have the luxury of getting bored during practice. If they are it's because they're looking at each practice as just something that they have to do rather than an opportunity to help their players and team get better. During indy position coaches need to show great attention of detail from the stance to footwork to hand and head placement to the finish. If something's wrong fix it then and there. Dot it fast, on the run, but fix it. If you do that you're too busy to get bored. In group and team drills if every coach has a script he should know what he's looking for on each play. If he sees an error he should fix it, again quickly without interrupting the flow of practice. Human nature being what it is there will be days when you'll have to force yourself to do these things. Well, that's what the big bucks or for. This is a GREAT post. By the nature of the sport there is some "routine drudegery" as it were. If it wasn't the best way to prepare for the "battle of the game" you wouldn't be doing it. Only way kids can learn how to "Love the Fight" and "Fight until the fight is done." As the great Coach John Wooden said, "Hard work can be fun." |
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Post by 19delta on Sept 18, 2022 19:20:32 GMT -6
I haven't coached HS ball since 2009 but, if I ever got another bite of the apple, I would look at getting practice over in an hour and a half after the 3rd game of the season. 30 minutes special teams, 30 minutes defense, 30 minutes offense and then go home. If kids can't block and tackle after the first 3 weeks, they aren't going to learn in the last 6.
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Post by coachwoodall on Sept 19, 2022 7:52:56 GMT -6
Teach them that Monday is a Monday. Tuesday is a Tuesday. Wednesday is a Wednesday. Everyday you have to get up and go chop wood. Prepare regardless of the opponent, time in the season, or any other external factor.
Boring is better than losing.
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Post by raider92 on Sept 19, 2022 8:33:15 GMT -6
We deal with this. Program has improved leaps and bounds since we started here. Occassionally kids complain about practices always being the same.
We remind them practice used to be "fun" and they always lost.
Unfortunately none of the kids who remember that are around anymore. If you're showing up actively working to get better then it shouldn't be a concern for players or coaches. We do shorten up the practices by around week 6 or 7 but we didnt the first few years because we still needed the reps. I just tell kids who complain to kick rocks, you can be good or you can take shortcuts.
With all that said, there are lots of little things that can be injected into practice to keep it fun. Competitions, rewards, music, just silly dumb fun stuff that high school kids like, etc.
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Post by fantom on Sept 19, 2022 10:54:02 GMT -6
If kids can't block and tackle after the first 3 weeks, they aren't going to learn in the last 6. I disagree. Baseball players take batting practice every day. Basketball players shoot every day. They need to to keep their skills sharp. The skills that our game requires, many of which are completely unnatural, need to stay sharp as well. |
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Post by raider92 on Sept 19, 2022 10:57:29 GMT -6
If kids can't block and tackle after the first 3 weeks, they aren't going to learn in the last 6. I disagree. Baseball players take batting practice every day. Basketball players shoot every day. They need to to keep their skills sharp. The skills that our game requires, many of which are completely unnatural, need to stay sharp as well. Agreed. We shorten up practice as the season goes but I tell everyone that it is NOT because we cut reps. we cut down the total practice time by getting faster and more efficient at getting thru our schedule. We still get thru all our indy work and we run team O at a no huddle pace, cut down conditioning a bit when we know weve got a well conditioned team, etc. That's how we shorten up, never by neglecting skill development |
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Post by 19delta on Sept 19, 2022 17:05:26 GMT -6
If kids can't block and tackle after the first 3 weeks, they aren't going to learn in the last 6. I disagree. Baseball players take batting practice every day. Basketball players shoot every day. They need to to keep their skills sharp. The skills that our game requires, many of which are completely unnatural, need to stay sharp as well. But they would still be practicing those skills. They would just be doing it during team time. |
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Post by 3rdandlong on Sept 20, 2022 13:22:19 GMT -6
All great stuff guys. I appreciate the feedback. We changed some things up at practice, shortened it up, and had a few more competitive scenarios and it worked great. Thanks again fellas!
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Post by linemanpete on Sept 21, 2022 10:56:54 GMT -6
On O we let each position group draw up a trick play, run them each in practice and pick the best one. We guarantee running it during the week. Lots of fun. Have done it on specs too.
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Post by dubber on Sept 21, 2022 17:56:40 GMT -6
Do it right, do it light…….do it wrong, do it long.
3 good reps are better than 9 average ones
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