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Post by bigm0073 on May 26, 2012 20:15:40 GMT -6
D IA Players are born and not made. You can usually see them in middle school...maybe in pop warner ball.. They must have measurables - skill players 6 feet or over... Lineman 6'4'' and taller range.
Their tape should JUMP OUT at you... Like WOW. We have two 16 year old kids this year who are current juniors with multiple division IA offers. One kids is 6'2" 200 lbs genetic freak. His sister was the starting center for UNC and wast just drafted in the WNBA. As I started earlier he is very gifted.
Another kid is closer to 6'0"170 range. Not huge. runs 4.5. Has 7 offers. As a junior he had 60 catches 1020 yds and16 TDS..had 7 playes for 40 yards or more for TD on hilight film. Returns punts/kicks and plays corner and safety.
These kids dominated. There was never a question of "are they DIA"...They just are.
Like Brophy said usually an agenda coming from parents or some Uncle Rio type. They guy that says "I know a guy at Rutgers....I know a guy at TCU...I know a guy at Auburn....You know the type. They create and manifest this fasle hope.
In my 12 years as a high school football coach I have been apart of 5 players that went d-ia. They all HAD GREAT WORK ETHICS. Some are playing pro ball currently. All were very,very tough and all possessed the IT factor. They just had. Football was important to them. They would not miss practice, limp around. They were always the first in conditioning and always wanted to win first.
My 2010 team sounded like your current team. Very, very selfish. They were more caught up in their indidividual goals and not the team. They did not believe that team success will bring individual glory. It was always about them....None of them were dIA though they did camps..Many went d-2 d-3 types...again they were selfish and we went 5-5 with that selfish attitude. I have true d-IA players today and they are tougher, more focused and work much harder. They know they are good and they have offers.
It is what it is...
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Post by bigm0073 on May 26, 2012 8:47:52 GMT -6
This a 3 star D-I guy we have that is verablly committed to Virginia Tech this spring as a 16 year old junior. During our regional playoff he separated his shoulder and tore his lebrum... In the next game his shoulder popped back out on a jet sweep. Trainer popped it back in and he and his mom decided to go back in. The 2nd clip is his first carry where he goes 60 yds for a TD. He played in the state semis with it and scored 2 TDs.
6'2" 200 lbs... Genetics.. He was not worried about imjures.. just winning.
He came back in May after not touching a weight for almost 6 months because of his surgery and cleaned 205 x 15 reps.. We finally told him to stop.
That is D-IA. Born not made...
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Post by bigm0073 on May 25, 2012 20:49:35 GMT -6
In 2010 we went 5-5 with very, very high expectations coming into the season. Needless to say it was A HUGE problem and one I wanted to fix asap. Made some philosophical and personnel changes. 2011 we had the most intense and demanding off season ever. Our goals were as follow 1. Make the playoffs 2. Win our district 3. Win our region 4. Win a state title
We started 9 sophopmores and freshmen. We went 10-3 and 1. Went to the playoffs 2. Won our district 3. Won our region (This means we are in the state final four for VA) 4. Lost to the eventual state champion at their place in OT where we went for 2 for the win...We fell short by less than a 6 inches (we were in by the account of many..but that is another story). The following week the 4 time state champions won by double digits and NEVER trailed...Think that played mind games with us....We had the lead against them the whole 2nd half until 40 seconds left in the game.
When we met in the first week of january and put our goals up we put up the same goals.
I can tell you this... with 18 returning starters and 32 players who take that overnight trip with us returning the vibe is MUCH, MUCH different!!!
Plain and simple -you can not fake it....Either your kids WANT it or they don't....
When they want IT!!! you can hit them over the head with a sledge hammer, run them until they pass out, push them until they puke, ask they to give EVERY ounce of themselves for January 3rd on... They will give it to you 1000%...
Remember this -They are 14-15-16-17 year old kids...They are not as wise as us and they believe they can win even when the odds are CLEARLY stacked against them. They are not as logical as us. You can motivate them to great things. They are not adults and they do not have our wisdom... Often that can be a good thingl
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Post by bigm0073 on May 13, 2012 20:02:03 GMT -6
When I say football I mean all aspects directly to the game. I run the offense so I need to watch film, game plan, organize the offense. Often I could not do that when I get pulled into a 1000 directions or when I had my hand in a 1000 different pots. Rule of thumb for me was if it helps me win on Friday Night do it...if it is just pure fluff and it cost money I do not do it...
Loose - At 2:30 after school last year we go to the game field and Have the Lineman Challenge. OL we do pat and go.... After a couple of rounds about 2/3 were out... Now you have the final 6-7 or so..Now we would say each run a slant... Now a few more drop (if they drop a pass). Maybe run a dig, curl.. Eventually it is down to 2 and the final guy wins the lineamn challenge. WR and skill players are all laughing, having fun... Kids love watching the fat guys running and catching... they love me breaking their balls and making fun of them (I am a former OL ).
Light walk thru and back in for dinner... Dinner kids talk, laugh, joke (it is 3:30 - 4:00)...Nobody is tense and everyone feels good.
Come back later to loosen up. Players are loose, feel good on the field. Playing with more confidence. I am relaxed too.
Our first game of the season we got on the bus to a game and there was music on the bus. In years past I did not allow music or talking. This time I let the music play and the kids were talking. Got to the school warmed up and players were loose.
Were we up 55-9 to start the 4th quarter. Every starter was sitting and watching. I realized this:
If your team is prepared Monday - Thursday and they put in the work we want FRIDAYS to be fun for EVERYONE! Like Fantom's coach back in the day I had a pit in my stomach all day and hated pre-game. Now we just relax and have fun. Helped us a lot this year.
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Post by bigm0073 on May 13, 2012 7:10:47 GMT -6
I am going into my 9th season as a head coach.. learned a lot and still learn every year..
1. Focus on football. At times early in my career I got too caught up on fringe things (Parent, booster clubs, fundraisers, character education, meals) I would get pulled into a thousand things and not have time for FOOTBALL.
2. Focus on WHAT WILL HELP ME WIN ON FRIDAYS. Kind of like what I mentioned earlier. I would get caught up in non football stuff and often it would get in the way of what I need to do to win on Fridays..... . 3. Delegate the non football stuff to people to handle
4. Stay loose on Fridays. Did a much better job of that... Really 4-5 hours before a game how a kid acts or what he does will not win the game. Keep them loose.
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Post by bigm0073 on May 12, 2012 13:48:38 GMT -6
What came first the chicken or the egg? Winning does help a lot in these situations. When your players get a taste of a success and championships they want that taste again... Probably not the most politically correct analogy but it sounds to me for many it is like when a heroin or crack addict take that drug for the first time. They continue to chase it. I believe that is what happens when you win the players taste it. They crave that championship. I do agree with BLB that you may need to look long and hard at yourself and the coaches overall philosophy. Being 1-19 over the past two years is very hard to overcome and these kids will NEED to see some success soon (Winning record, playoffs..) or more may jump ship.
Good luck.
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Post by bigm0073 on Apr 5, 2012 9:23:56 GMT -6
Attention to detail...
When you listen to some speakers at clinics in the NFL and they go over their position manuals, calls, recognition... It is very detailed... Most college programs have this as well.. Attention to detail no stone left unturned...
I would say in most high school programs in the nation the same can not be said.
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Post by bigm0073 on Apr 4, 2012 11:37:59 GMT -6
Be true to you... You are who you are... Also run what you know and especially what you know the answers to...
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 29, 2012 6:54:32 GMT -6
Those are all good points and factors... Lot of places the JV program might not be good and the player is getting better coaching at the varsity. I get that.
Two things I have learned when working with sophomores at the varsity level
1. Have to be patient. You really, really have to be a good coach. Those kids need constant reps and constant work, feedback.
2. You usually see a LOT of growth very, very quick. As the year goes on their athletic ability starts to show when the mental and emotional side of the game slows down. A sophomore that plays week # 1 for you often is a completely different and better player that will play in week #10.
Since I have been the head coach at my current school I have started almost 30 freshmen and sophomores over the past 4 years. Our players know the best players play - seniority does not mean a thing. Keeps kids competing and does not allow a complacent environment.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 28, 2012 10:15:14 GMT -6
I have one WR who will be a 4 year starter next year...
Had 2 seniors 2 year starters... one a three year starter..
Had 3 other juniors who will be 3 year starters next year as well....
We do try and identify the best players and play them up if they are socially, emotionally and physically ready.
This year we have a "log Jam"... With so many spots taken I do not forsee any Rising sophomore starting for us next year... Maybe 1 or 2 in spell situations... We are very senior and junior heavy this year.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 28, 2012 9:35:07 GMT -6
We have just under 1700 students... AAA Football in Virginia (Division 5 ). OUt of 6 divisions we are the 5th highest..
Team we lost to in the state semifinals in OT won the state championship game by couple of TDs... They are a national powerhouse!
Our 2nd none district game was against the Division 6 State Semifinalist and State Champs year before.
We play a very, very difficult schedule. Very high level of competition... Lot of speed and athleticism within our schedule and district.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 28, 2012 9:15:43 GMT -6
I have always played young players....
Last year we started our last 7 games of the season with 9 Freshmen and Sophomores starting... We won our district and region and lost in the state semifinals in OT with 9 of them ( 2 OL, 2 DL, 3 LB, 2 Secondary). Pretty wild.
As 9th graders they were 10-0 and won 345 - 55 against their opponents.
So I do not prescribe to that philosophy....
You have to be patient at times but their up side tends to be MUCH greater than that of a senior or junior. Couple of them actually played a few JV games early and it was not until weeks 4-5 that they started full time for us.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 23, 2012 11:44:48 GMT -6
Agree..
Coach he was the reason they beat us too in the semifinals the week before... Kid was a freak (LOL).
Our b-ball coach is our staff.. I love football players playing basketball. I have two D-IA players on my team this year (A first for me) and both are WR/RB/DB... Both play basketball too.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 23, 2012 10:24:20 GMT -6
No doubt small success is important and leads more success down the road.
That being said Bill Parcells said it best "You are what your record says you are".
At the end of the day we as programs are defined by wins and losses. I too do not always agree with it but all of the small success has to lead to wins on Friday nights. Not just for the school but ESPECIALLY for the players.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 23, 2012 9:35:24 GMT -6
We do a 3 day routine (M - W - Thr) through the winter...
2:30 - 4:00 (Hour and half)
In the spring we incorporate running/cond/agility..
Come March we add a 4th day (Football skills) WR/QB throw
OL/TE Blocking drills. done by 4:00.
So our kids buy into this..
Monday - Thursday from 2:30 - 4:00.... Rest of the day is there..
Every weekend from March - Until August is a 3 day weekend. Off Friday / Saturday and Sunday. Relax and be a normal teenager.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 23, 2012 7:12:43 GMT -6
Like others I agree with the hard work, leadership and commitment. Wins do come from this... Our kids have bought into this concept
Pay me now or pay me later..... Pain of agony or pain of regret...
We talk about how we can have an easy off season.. Joke around, eat ice cream, sing songs (OK Overboard). I told I can not demand a lot out of you and your teammates. Not require off season workouts... Just go at your pace.. Make it not too demanding... No hard running, Buffet Style lifting... No attendance... etc, etc, etc... You get the idea...
But when we lose our first game in the fall and when we lose more games in the fall and do not make the playoffs do not Blame me... When you lose on friday night and have that feeling like you WANT TO DIE AND PUKE ALL OVER YOURSELF!!! Do not blame me....
On the flip side... Is there ANY BETTER FEELING for a young man than to work hard and accomlish something. Seeing the fruits of his labor in the fall... Winning will make up for a lot. There is a price. Kids should want to compete and they should want to push themeselves.. they should want to win. If not you probably do not have the right kids in your program. It may take time but I believe it can be developed.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 18, 2012 10:25:26 GMT -6
At our banquet in December I nominate and select the The Leadership Council (around 12 - 15 players). around 6-7 seniors... 3-4 juniors.. Maybe 1 or 2 sophomores. They are our leaders and usually returning players/starters. We have about 3-4 leadership council meetings in January - February/March.
We have a mini camp in June where we work with the players. The last 3rd day of the camp the players vote for captains. The last day of camp the captains are selected and they lead us through the summer and into the season. Works great for us.
One thing is I SELECT the leadership council. So from there our captains are selected.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 15, 2012 6:51:26 GMT -6
In August - Summer we scheme offensively against the following fronts
4-3 / 4-4 - Even
3-4/ 5-2 - Odd
3-3 / 5-3 - Odd Stack
Under/Eagle
Bear
We do rep this is well. We actually start this in the spring (right now) and do it through the summer.
When we play against an established program/defense we will go off our breakdown and what they have done in the past.
When we play against a "Slappy" DC That is blitz/slant happy with a lot of man coverage and does the defense of the week thing we give the offense ALL KINDS of CRAZY scenarios. Prepare them for these worst case scenarios in practice so in the game they are ready.
I would say on our schedule there about 2-3 teams that will jump around and play the "defense of the week".
First 6 games of the season we will see it all
5-2 / 3-4 Odd 4-3/5-2 Under/Eagle Bear sprinkles in...
We have to be ready for it all...
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 12, 2012 8:00:14 GMT -6
I did it for most of my head coaching career and stopped this year. Had the best players play.... we had 45 varsity...25 jv....30 9th grade....huge drop off in talent imo at our school....our best players play both sides better and we are not cutting corners with talent... We won or district and region...made it to the final 4 in our state doing this....we felt like getting away from 2 platoon gives us a better chance of success.
Something to think about is back ups when players go down...the 25th to 35th players in our program are awful and could not have played at the level we wanted them to play at.. the back ups are the biggest issue I ran into..
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 3, 2012 11:24:54 GMT -6
The kid was the best player in the state IMO.. Not 56..
If he is not a prospect than do not put him on the list.
Anyway just shows that these recruiting things/gurus are not always what people think they are cut out to be.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 3, 2012 8:36:13 GMT -6
For the one in VA I have found it breaks into a few categories
1. Recruits/Recruiting - Ranking players in the state, highly films, college visits, interviews. This part is pretty cool and I think the players like it.
2. Loyal fans who are interested in their team. Many have a loyalty to their team and just want to follow and support. They do not have an agenda. I from PA and I go on the one from PA to read about my team from back home and how the local teams from my area do. I do find that usefu.
3. Disgruntled parents - Bashing coaches and people... They are fairly obvious in their post.
4. Disgruntled coaches - Coaches who bash other coaches and want THEIR JOB. You see these stupid post all the time. I find it annoying and cowardly. They throw out BS and random claims about a coach, his position or some BS rumor.
That being said I agree with fantom. Very little useful information. IMO most of the useful stuff comes from the recruiting guru guys in the state. Though you have to wonder how they rank certain players.
There is a 6'3" 220 lbs MONSTER from a local high. Runs legit 4.5 and IS MEAN. Best MLB/DE I have ever seen. All District WR. BIG TIME D-IA. The 2nd best player I have EVER coached against. I mean an ANIMAL... No grades so he has no D-IA offers but still is one of the best players in the state hands down - not even close.
Our state web site ranks him as the #56 prospect in the state behind some other D-II shmoes who could not impact a game if they wanted to... Not sure how this kid was in the 50's.... crazy. Literally the best player hands down we saw all year (We saw some damn good teams) and one of the best ever.
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Post by bigm0073 on Mar 2, 2012 8:47:42 GMT -6
Here is our schedule for March - august
March - April
Workout M-Wed - Thurs
Tuesdays - Football stuff after school. QB WR/Routes, OL / TE Blocking stuff...
Basically 8 days of install stuff there... Indy, reps..
May
Monday - Lift Tuesday - Practice Wednesday - Lift Thursday - Practice
We will get 8 offensive practices in the month of may. Install our offense twice. Practice are about hour and 15 minutes. Warm UP Indy - 15 Group - 15 7 on 7 - 10 Team - 15 COND
We will film them and correct mistakes.
Have a four day install in month of June for whole team - offense/defense/SPTMS. 2 hours after school every other day 2nd week in June.
July Team Camp at JMU 4 More installs there in shells
So we are just spacing it out and doing kind of the NFL Philosophy and College. May is like spring ball (No hitting). March/April/June/July we have minicamp/OTA stuff..
One thing with our schedule from March - August
Players are off Fridays - Saturdays - Sundays (3 day weekend) Every weekend Through August. Keep them fresh. No Fridays and No Saturdays.
Worked well for us last year.
Our offense is on a 4 day install. So we will repeat our install 4 times (Twice in ma, once in June and once July) before we report in August. We should be good come August.
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 29, 2012 9:38:04 GMT -6
bigM: Could you expand on what you do/happens at the senior council meeting We have done this the past 2 Winters. 1. First meeting in January - I pick 3-4 players from grades 10 - 12 (Rising) That I believe are our Leaders (Our captains will come from this pool). Usually 5-6 seniors... 4-5 Juniors.. Maybe one or two sophomores. We have a theme or a focus. Below is our agenda from January 5th - first week we returned. Players answer the questions and each player shares their independent response. We brainstorm, discuss. I try and give them ownership. IMO This was the BIGGEST reason why we went from 5-5 to winning our District and Regional Championship last year. L eadership Council Meeting 1/5/2012
1. Define Success
2. Would you classify last year as a successful season? Why or why not?
3. What do we need to do next year to ensure a successful season? Bullet main objectives that you believe have to be met.
4. Why was our win loss record better than last year? Why did we hang banners this year but we did not in years past?
5. What do you want to see from new members?
6. How do I deal with players that are not coming to workouts (Players that choose not to come.. Not players playing a 2nd sport). Do you want them to come the council and make a commitment… Trial basis?
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 29, 2012 7:24:36 GMT -6
In my opinion, you will never win a championship unless your best players and leaders are your hardest workers. Sure you can have success without this, but I don't think you can win a championship. I make sure to pull aside our best players and leaders to explain this to them during the off-season. I agree 1000% with this quote. IMO this is the whole point. We all want to win on Friday Night and we use the off season as a tool to get us there. If you are chasing your best players and leaders than there is probably a fundamental issue in your program that is wrong and it is a LOT deeper than kids not working out. Kind of like a malignant tumor in your program. Deeper and worse than you may understand..... This is why we have leadership council meetings in the winter right when the season ends. Expectations are clear and the players lay them out!
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 28, 2012 12:07:06 GMT -6
Is that kid really going to help you win a championship? I would not really chase or bother with that type of kid... you need a kid like that like you need a hole in your head.
If he is a senior and is getting in the way than cut him in August. Hopefully your seniors/leadership will get this guy in line...
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 28, 2012 10:36:07 GMT -6
WOw over the top there...
Has to come from within too.. Players have to want it as much or more than the coaches. 5 days plus saturdays could be a bit much for some...
Our state has a dead period now and our players have been bugging me all week about working out and getting back to it...
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 28, 2012 10:33:40 GMT -6
A coach in our area took over at a school that traditionally had been pretty good in Football, enrollment between 650-700 (although like everyone in our state it's below that now). He instituted a five day-a-week off-season program with make-ups on Saturday mornings. Without getting into all the specifics, his policy was you had to participate in 90% of the off-season stuff to be on the Varsity, 80% to be on the Junior Varsity. wow that is over the top... 5 days plus saturdays? 90% - 80%... At some point it has to come from "within" too.. Players have to want it more than or as much as the coaches.. In our state we are in the middle of a dead period until end of this week - like 10 days... I was getting all kinds of text and emails Sunday asking if the players could workout. Right from them... Couple of our kids had workouts with the players at a local gym with about 10 guys... I thought that was pretty cool on showed some nice leadership. After a 1-8 first season, they went on a run where they won two state championships in four years. They had players signed by several D-I schools including Michigan. Down side was they never had more than a couple dozen kids on the team and struggled to field JV and Freshman teams because they usually did not have enough Sophomores due to the 80% requirement. And then the D-I players left, and despite the coach's formerly "successful" off-season program-demands, the team went 3-6, 4-5, 2-7 until he quit. Their program still hasn't recovered. Last season our JVs beat them 74-0 (61-0 at half largely due to four defensive TDs) and they dropped the team the next week.
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 28, 2012 10:13:04 GMT -6
This is also why I prefer going one platoon.. Weed out the "baggage" and have kids who are ALL ABOUT IT! IMO you win with those kids... At least we have... Rather have 20 - 35 of those types on Friday nigh than an additional 20 - 30 kids you chase around school, campus and they never really do anything for you. And many of them of them are your back ups By having our players play both ways it creates a HIGHLY competative off season. Players know there are very, very limited amount of positions and only the strongest will get them. Our best players usually gobble up two or more... Players limited in physical ability have to out work, out hustle and really, really, really want it to play Friday Nights. The weaker kids that do not desire to workout with us usually fade away and go away... Kind of explains the Social Darwinism approach.... Not for everyone but our players really buy into it and like it.
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 28, 2012 10:07:16 GMT -6
Social Darwinism....
We also have extreme peer pressure from players....
We actually are turning kids away (poor grades, poor practice habits, behavior problems, not about it..).
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Post by bigm0073 on Feb 27, 2012 9:57:48 GMT -6
Veerman,
This is a format I was exploring too....
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