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Post by coachplaa on Apr 30, 2015 14:08:07 GMT -6
Definitely going to try this. Any other advice from the DIY's out there I'd love to hear it.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 27, 2015 13:57:49 GMT -6
We order about 60% S/M, and 40% L/X. That is why I wear them, just for the knee to knee contact.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 23, 2015 20:00:49 GMT -6
It's obvious to me that drug use is going on more and more. I tell my kids choose drugs or choose sports, and if I have any proof they are choosing drugs or get busted by the school, that's it and they are out of the program. My hope is it gives kids a reason to say no, but I know that's not always the case.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 13, 2015 13:49:34 GMT -6
I got the idea after watching spring ball at Arizona State. Their OL-DL were HUGE and they practiced in girdles/shorts and pull up knee pads. We adopted it and I'll never go back. Their practice was full speed and so is ours. We do take care of our players and we will wrap and drive but we do not dump our players. Sure kids fall down, but I'll still argue the pullup knee pads are safer than the practice pants I used to checkout that had rips/holes etc.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 7, 2015 22:33:51 GMT -6
Some are going on their fourth season. I include them in their spirit pack their sophomore year and have them keep them for 3 seasons, so they take care of them better.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 7, 2015 12:54:07 GMT -6
We've always used Adams knee pads. We buy about 20% smalls, 40% mediums and 40% larges.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 1, 2015 21:37:09 GMT -6
Our district pays for helmet and shoulder pad reconditioning every year. Once kids check out a set of pads, they keep them all year. So when they get their pads every year, they are clean. IMO if the district isn't paying for reconditioning, the district could be liable for what you're talking about.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 28, 2015 17:29:18 GMT -6
On our practice plan, we have a column for each manager that tells them their job for each period. That way by knowing what they have to do, they will know where to be.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 26, 2015 19:53:07 GMT -6
Each coach gives a practice player of the day. And we give them out on Wednesday for grades. One if all C's or better. Two for straight A's. We don't do anything for games.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 25, 2015 9:59:40 GMT -6
Our players want the best uniform and spirit pack stuff, so the total for EVERYTHING comes out to $180. That includes one of their game jerseys that they will keep. So we make our own discount cards which cost about .25 to make each. We give the kids the option of paying $200 for their spirit pack, or selling (20) $10 cards. It is a requirement that they have their fundraising done before they will get their pads checked out. I also build it into our pride points system and let them know that for every card they sell above 20 minimum earns them extra points. In the summer, we take all the "extra" cards we have left over, and we scour the neighborhood to sell off the rest.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 20, 2015 11:52:42 GMT -6
We do it and its worth the effort. We have roughly 160 kids in our program. Usually about 30 Seniors, 30 Jrs, 50 Sophs, and 50 Frosh. My coaching staff decides on the best 16 captain candidates, and they can be Juniors or Seniors. We notify those captain candidates, and tell them they must select a co-captain from the opposite varsity class. So if they are a Junior, they must pick a Senior to be their co-captain. We blast the 16 captains on twitter, and then tell them it is first-come, first-served on their co-captain selection. We'll do this during our Spring football week of practice.
Then during finals week, after spring football is over, we will have a "draft." Each captain and co-captain picks (1) Senior or Junior. Then each team picks (2) Sophomores. After those first 3 rounds, all Seniors/Juniors/Sophomores are fair game. After they are all gone, they then pick up to (3) freshmen on their team. They don't usually know the incoming freshmen, so picks range from "kids they've heard about" that are coming to our school, to little brothers or neighbors. I then assign the remaining freshmen to the teams.
Each team captain is responsible for daily roll. If his entire team is there, they get extra "pride points." If someone isn't there, the captain better know why. During our pre-practice dynamic, they are grouped together and each group leads one part of the warmup. At the end of every practice, we have a 10-15 minute competition. It could be anything and it could be unrelated to football completely. Anything you can think of and I'm always looking for new ideas: 4x100 relays, ro-sham-bo tourney, water balloon relay, leap frog relay, tire pulls, 3-legged race, trivia like states-capitals, dodgeball, you name it. They get 3 points for first, 2 points for 2nd, and 1 point for 3rd place each day. All teams that have at least 2 points after Thursday's practice, get to participate in the tug-o-war tourney on Friday. The Tug-O-War's are awesome. If its two-teams, we do traditional tug-o-war. If its 3-teams, we loop ropes through a tire, so that each team has a rope, and they have to pull the tire 10' in their direction. If its 4-teams, same deal, we just loop an extra rope through it.
These competitions make for a BANG at the end of practice. Everyone loves them. It builds program-morale. Seniors have to work with younger kids. It takes care of attendance. Captains have an attendance card they must turn it at the end of every week. The big thing we are trying to improve is to come up with new and creative games all the time. Some that require skill, some for speed, some for size, and some for intelligence.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 20, 2015 11:06:07 GMT -6
Love the scarecrow idea. Looks like my next project!
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 18, 2015 21:36:39 GMT -6
Todd Graham ASU James Franklin. PSU Mark Speckman Chris Peterson. UW Steve Greatwood. UO
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 18, 2015 21:32:42 GMT -6
I wish I had some. I definitely will. The pipes are easier to store and get out than jump ropes for plyos. We just use 1" pipe. Got the idea from a coach we had who was in an NFL training camp. They'd even use it in pass sets to emphasize picking up the foot and putting it down quickly. Pipes go with players to every EDD. I'll make sure to get some footage in May when we do spring ball.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 18, 2015 14:44:37 GMT -6
We use 18" PVC pipe for all of our linemen. They each have to grab one to start practice. When we do step drills to work on our run game blocking, they have to move the PVC in front of their foot to work on their first step. Pick it up and put it down. They also use them for plyos all summer. Cheap easy way to reinforce footwork for the big guys.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 18, 2015 14:41:33 GMT -6
I agree. We got the idea from Arizona State and I figured if 6-5 275lb guys can do it that run that fast, than a HS can do it. We've done it for four years now and its been outstanding. The knee pads are on their ankles for all skill work, and then they pull them up for contact drills. I think they are safer than the crappy practice pants we used to use.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 7, 2015 13:45:30 GMT -6
Hudl Campaigns has been incredible for us. I coach football and baseball and it is a no-brainer.
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Post by coachplaa on Aug 1, 2014 7:20:54 GMT -6
I put the daily plan on the bulletin board also. You are dealing with a lot of type-a personality kids that will feel much more comfortable at practice if they know what to expect.
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Post by coachplaa on Jul 14, 2014 19:43:56 GMT -6
We give them out for effort in practice and for good grades, that's it. I don't give them out for anything else.
Every Wednesday I run a grade check. All C's or better they get one decal, all A's, they get two decals.
At the end of every practice, each coach gives out a decal to the player they felt like gave the best effort at practice. This could be a star or scout teamer.
The idea is we are constantly rewarding effort, both on the field and in the classroom. I feel like that will make us better as a team, and we want to recognize the kids that are working hard so that other kids will want the same recognition.
The decals we use are color blocks. We have navy helmets so we give out silver bars and they link together to silver out part of our helmet.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 27, 2014 12:14:50 GMT -6
This will sound over the top to some of you, but we are going on year four of music at practice (and I'll never go back). We use playlist folders on iTunes, and load them into an iPod nano. When I add music I actually put it in a Monday, tues, weds, or thurs playlist folder. Our tues/weds playlist are very up-tempo songs, because those days are so intense. Our Monday playlist has more methodical songs, and Thursday is lighter, and more fun.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 17, 2014 11:48:24 GMT -6
We lift for 15 minutes in the middle of practice. Out on the field, fast rotation, two sets of 6 different stations with their pads on. We let them take their shoulder pads off if they can do it quickly. If not, they do the exercises with their pads on the next day. Cleans/front squats, battle ropes, jump rope, mma/core station, sled dawg drive, kettlebell work.
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Post by coachplaa on Apr 16, 2014 20:58:46 GMT -6
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 5, 2014 10:40:36 GMT -6
We did something very similar last year and it was a huge hit. We had 12 teams that each had about 12 kids on it. Of those 12 kids, there were 2-4 kids from each class.
Coaches chose 12 Seniors with the most leadership potential, and we threw a "draft party". They were instructed that "rather than pick your friends, pick kids that are going to help you win competitions physically, mentally, and that are responsible." The kids that were picked in the 1st round took pictures with their captains, with a #1 jersey just like in the NFL, and we put those pics on twitter. Kids ate it up. What was shocking to the coaches, is the kids that WEREN'T picked first. We had some very good athletes with questionable attitudes that dropped to the middle rounds, and that spoke volumes and was a reality check for that kid who dropped.
At the end of every summer workout, we set aside 15 minutes for the daily "summer games." It could be any contest from relay races, to strength competitions, to pushups, to planking; you name it. Teams would get points for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and we'd keep track on google docs. Then every Friday, teams from just that week that were the point leaders, would have a Tug-O-War contest. And we'd be creative with the Tug-O-Wars, as there are all different kids you can do- 3-way, 4-way, freshmen only (force teammates to root each other on), etc. A side benefit, was we got to see which "Senior Captains" could and couldn't lead. By the end of summer, we knew exactly who are captains were, because there were so many times that we could give them a chance to lead their group of 12. And if they couldn't lead 12 kids, how could they be expected to lead a team.
Then Tug-O-War winners each Friday would be awarded points for our Pride Point system that we have built into our program for achievement. It would force peer pressure for good attendance. We would push Hudl signups/logins early in the summer by rewarding teams that were the most in compliance. This summer we are going to send home "character" homework and reward the teams that have the best completion rate, etc.
Bottom line....Freshmen work with the older kids to be a team. They are not as isolated. They have more fun. They get good role-modeling. My son was a 9th grader last year, and he loved it.
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Post by coachplaa on Mar 1, 2014 17:10:49 GMT -6
We have a list by the equipment room door. They have to print their name and what they need, and I get it for them. Next to the list is a "charge" list of how much each item costs. It will have to be paid for by the end of the season or I turn the list over to the school to handle as a fine. Kids always "spin the wheel" after practice anytime they need a piece of equipment.
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Post by coachplaa on Feb 27, 2014 11:29:42 GMT -6
This whole idea that cussing is manly or accepted, is part of the ill of society, that we as football coaches have a chance to at least alter, since we obviously can't fix it.
I know there are a wide variance of opinions here, but I'm going to stick to my opinion and respectfully agree to disagree with others.
I still feel like it presents a lack of discipline when you allow coaches or players to swear. It is NOT unrealistic to have this expectation of your high school program. For those of you that accept it at the high school level, would you say that its ok to also accept it at the youth football level? When do you draw the line?
I've had the same no-F-bomb rule in all of my years of coaching, and we probably average 2-3 F-bombs per season that are just total slips. I've been a part of passing league competitions vs other teams that drop 2-3 per sentence, and that's just the coaching staff.
If you can't say it in front of your mom or boss (principal) than why would you its ok "as long as they aren't around."
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Post by coachplaa on Feb 25, 2014 21:40:54 GMT -6
Not completely sure. He's speaking at clinics right now and I've heard he may still have his job in the CFL but also could be headed back to coach in CA.
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Post by coachplaa on Feb 25, 2014 9:59:46 GMT -6
No F-bombs, its an automatic "wheel spin" for us after practice. I can always tell when a kid lets one slip because everyone gets quiet and looks at the coaches to see if they heard it. They won't snitch on each other but they love to see their teammates spin the wheel. Any other bad language, including put downs, is auto 10 pushups on the spot. As far as I'm concerned, poor language is a lack of discipline and shows ignorance. We are coaching/teaching kids, so why would we want to role model poor language. Coaches must spin for all F-bombs as well.
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Post by coachplaa on Feb 25, 2014 9:56:22 GMT -6
Speckman is one of the best coaches I've ever been around. Even though I'm not a Fly offense guy, I sit on every clinic I can when he talks because he is full of information that makes me a better coach. You may want to drop him an e-mail to ask for clarification.
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Post by coachplaa on Feb 18, 2014 20:51:08 GMT -6
#1 thing that has worked for us, increase the rigor. I've found the more disciplined, competitive, and challenging we make our program, the higher the attendance rate we have. It doesn't give kids a reason to go seek "training" elsewhere.
Every year we get better and one thing we started doing last year was incorporating more "body-weight" exercises for our newcomers that can't handle much weight. Pushups, squats, burpees, and some other boot camp stuff that is demanding on the body without being demanding on equipment when you have large numbers and not lots of equipment.
For kids that DO go the outside trainer route, we tell them they must do both, and our workout first.
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Post by coachplaa on Feb 14, 2014 10:46:39 GMT -6
Totally agree with Coach Holst. I tell my football staff to please feel free to disagree with me in staff meetings. I feel that has helped me grow as a head coach, and also allowed our staff to be heard too. It does one of two things: 1) If there is a better way to do something than we are currently do it, than lets make a change. Or 2) I believe so strongly in what we currently do, that I explain it thouroghly and make sure everyone understands. It sometimes ends in a compromise, but ultimately it improves the way we do things and how we communicate as a staff.
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