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Post by vanden48 on Jan 25, 2018 8:00:51 GMT -6
I have kids reading Jeff Janssen's Team Captains Leadership Manual. They are reading it in small groups of 3. We meet and talk about it. When they are done they will give the book to another teammate of their choice and invite them to talk about it. The coaches and I are also reading Jeff Janssen's Seven Secrets to Successful Coaches, and Building a Championship Culture.
I think coaches character development is very overlooked. We need assistants that will model the behavior we expect from our players. And Janssen's books are a short easy read, and it puts things in perspective. There are a ton of good books out there with big time coaches names on them. I have found Janssen's books to be the most relate-able and they have a ton of ideas to use.
Don't just focus on the kids though, your assistant coaches can have a much greater impact, and you just need to communicate your expectations for them clearly and make sure you also show your appreciation for them.
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Post by vanden48 on Jan 24, 2018 12:53:49 GMT -6
Not redundant and a good question.
Now to clarify what you mean when you say community, because I think you need to attack this in 4 directions.
4 classifications of community:
1) Parents. Get them involved in raising money, helping with team dinners, making awards, cleaning equipment, chain gain, bus snacks. Have as many of them on the boosters as possible.
2) Teachers and Administration and other School personnel. Recognize the teachers who help the kids. Give other teachers as many opportunities to help as possible. Share you teams mission statement with them. Ask the administration for ideas. Say thank you to every janitor possible and give them all a hat and t-shirt.
3) People in the community who don't have kids in the program. This is hard, but an idea I'm tying this year is to have a coaches corner TV show on the local public broadcast station. You have to try and create fans of the high school team, just like a pro team.
4) Local businesses. Find ways for them to help out with out directly giving money. Use them all the time. Frame old jerseys and give them to them to display.
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Post by vanden48 on Dec 21, 2017 6:20:22 GMT -6
No, I know that if you don't communicate with your Head Coach you will burn that bridge. I tell all of my assistants that I want them to always look for a "better job". If I have guys that want to be a head coach, they will work their tails off. I will give them a good reference. On the flip side, if I have guys that are not good coaches, and they are looking for another job, I can help push them out the door. Unless you are a bad person and are not good for kids, I will try to help them get another job, as long as you communicated with me that you are looking.
When I was an assistant, I went about it both ways. I once was exploring other opportunities, just to see if they were there. I didn't tell my HC and he got a reference call the afternoon that I applied to a job. I was literally going to tell him the next day I was looking. I came into the locker room the next morning and all of my pictures of me coaching were off the walls, my name was no where to be found. He went off the rails. He was bipolar and a little crazy to begin with, but I think if I would have told him he might not have exploding as bad. Another job I had I literally applied for 3-5 HC jobs every off-season. Head Coach knew about every application before it went in. He was very supportive. I worked my tail off for him. Actually turned down two jobs to stay on as an assistant with him.
If you can't have an open like of communication with your head coach, or as a head coach can't have an open line of communication with your assistants, there is a problem there.
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Post by vanden48 on Dec 1, 2017 13:19:29 GMT -6
Give them a book to read, like any of Jeff Janssen's books, Extreme Ownership, a John Maxwell book. The Art of the Deal. Something that will help then develop leadership and a winning culture
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Post by vanden48 on Nov 30, 2017 9:23:36 GMT -6
OK I'll play along: 8 Regions, 8 teams from each region: West:AK, WA, OR, ID, CA, HI Central: ND, MN, SD, IA, NE, CO, MT, WY, UT, NV, AZ South Central: KS, OK, NM, TX, MO Midwest: WI, MI, IL, IN, OH, PA South: KY, AR, LA, MS, AL Southeast: TN, GA, FL, SC Atlantic: NC, VA, WV, MD, DE, NJ East: ME, VT, NY, CT, NH, RI, MA
32 team Bracket, Top Left West would play Central, Bottom left South Central would play Midwest. Top Right South would play Southeast, Bottom Right East would play Atlantic.
Bracket would look like this:
1w: Mater Dei (CA) 1s: North Little Rock (AR) vs vs 4c: Chandler (AZ) 4se: Brentwood Academy (TN) 2c: Bishop Gorman (NV) 2se: American Heritage (FL) vs vs 3w: St. Louis (HI) 3s: University Lab (LA) 2w: St. John Bosco (CA) 2s: Trinity (KY) vs vs 3c: East (UT) 3se: South Pointe (SC) 4w: Centennial (CA) 4s: Hoover (AL) vs vs 1c: Bingham (UT) 1se: IMG (FL)
1sc: Christian Brothers (MO) 1e: Troy (NY) vs vs 4mw: Lincoln-way East (IL) 4a: Mallard Creek (NC) 2mw: Archbishop Hoban (OH) 2a: Bergen Catholic (NJ) vs vs 3sc: Allen (TX) 3e: Everett (MA) 2sc: Bishop Miege (KS) 2e: Darien (CT) vs vs 3mw: Pine-Richland (PA) 3a: St. John's (MD) 1mw: Ben Davis (IN) 1a: St. Frances Academy (MD) vs vs 4sc: Union (OK) 4e: Choate (CT)
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Post by vanden48 on Nov 29, 2017 11:10:35 GMT -6
It'd be cool for the coaches bragging rights...everybody would be fired up when the big texas schools got beat, because of all the "friday night lights" penis envy I could see Texas going all-in on this thing, it would only take a couple of years of losing to some school in California or Ohio before the state legislature would make damn sure they all the best players were on one team like they do over there in "limp-wristed liberal" California. "Allen-Aledo-Lake Travis-Katy Consolidated High School" would have 9000 students, classes would include Football, Gun-cleaning, American History (mostly focused on Texas) World history (again..Texas), and Ancient Philosophy (of Bum Phillips) Ummmm...How do I get a job at that school??? Hey Texas does high school football the way it should be done.
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Post by vanden48 on Nov 3, 2017 7:33:48 GMT -6
I had to build a weight room basically from scratch once. School thought $5000 was going to get them an awesome fitness facility. When I told them that the floor mats alone would be $5000-$10,000 they were in shock. I had a space already giving to me but it was in no condition to be a weight room yet. The school had some equipment, a squat rack, a bench, and some dumbbells, but nothing major. First thing I did was design a program in year one with out a weight room. There was never a weight program so anything the kids did was beneficial. Remember one thing, unless you get a $100,000 donation, this is a multi year project, you need to think in phases.
Year One
1) I did was much work in the summer outside as I could in the program, focused on using dumbbells and other training devices. 2) I found anything heavy that they could lift. I called up some tire and tractor stores and they were more than willing to get rid of old tractor tires. I loaded up about 6 truck loads, about 12 tractor tires and 12 SUV/small tractor tires. 3) Got the school to purchase about 8 sledge hammers. Not alot of money so they did it. 4) I focused on year one in acquiring new equipment that we could use outside. (Dumbbells) I orders $2500 in new dumbbells and $2500 worth of new adjustable benches. 5) I called every college and gym in the state and looked for who had anything they wanted to give away.
Year two 1) We got our room but it was in no shape to be a weight room, so we needed student and parent volunteer help to Demo the room and paint it. 2) Convinced the administration that if the purchased the pain I would paint it. 3) Found a college that was building a new facility, grabbed all of their old floor mats, racks, and dumbbells. 4) Painted all of the used equipment our school colors after school with players help. Added slogans and things on the racks and benches as well. 5) Demo the new room and painted it with the help of students and parents. 6) Installed all the new "used" equipment.\
Bottom line, unless you have an administration or boosters that have money to blow, a new weight room is going to require a serious time investment on your part. I put in over 1000 man hours into building this weight room, paid off big time, but there were many weekends spent driving to get equipment and painting.
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Post by vanden48 on Oct 25, 2017 8:28:03 GMT -6
This is why I hate the baseball handshake. Touching every players hand and saying good game. What if it wasn't a good game? Shake the hand of the players you know and/or respect. Coaches meet and shake hands. I hate the long line.
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Post by vanden48 on Sept 4, 2017 10:36:35 GMT -6
I was cracking myself up as I was typing it. And at the same time I was thinking of a few coaches I know that would be all over that.
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Post by vanden48 on Sept 3, 2017 19:58:03 GMT -6
In college the girls that dated baseball players were "stitches", girls going after football players were "jersey chasers", the basketball groupies were just "sluts". This is a new bread, one that I encountered early in my coaching career when I was single. This mom only wants to hook up with Head Coaches, she is what I call a "Whistler Blower". Coach if you are single and she is good looking, let her blow your whistle. For her its like climbing Mount Rushmore. Everyone goes there and looks at it, and alot of people wish they could climb it. She wants to be the one that looks at all those little people and say, "I owned Mt. Rushmore for one night."
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Post by vanden48 on Aug 12, 2017 12:16:51 GMT -6
I gave the parents the option of purchasing their player the better helmets at my last school. I had 8 parents purchase Speed Flex or Xenith Epics. That was out of 50 kids in the program. That allowed me to purchase more higher end helmets as well. Some schools will have a liability issue with it. Coach, just an opinion here, so take it for what you want : I would avoid using qualitative terms such as "better" when describing the equipment your athletes are wearing. You gave the parents the option of purchasing their player the MORE EXPENSIVE helmet. Just seems safer. You are offering the kids quality equipment that meets the needs of the sport. Let other people judge "better" Yes, I was very careful about not throwing the school under the bus for buying less expensive gear. When talking to the parents we did tell them that there are options A-B-C and that C is the most expensive. I just said more expensive on here.
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Post by vanden48 on Aug 10, 2017 10:52:37 GMT -6
Best pads I have put on kids so far are the Gear Pro-Tec Razors. Those Russell shoulder pads I have not seen in person yet and I have not had one rep try to sell me them. I liked the Razor shoulder pads better than douglas though. They have some newer technology. Douglas is the best at what they offer, but they are older technology. These russell pads might be the best technology out there, but again, nobody has experience with them.
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Post by vanden48 on Aug 10, 2017 10:48:17 GMT -6
I gave the parents the option of purchasing their player the better helmets at my last school. I had 8 parents purchase Speed Flex or Xenith Epics. That was out of 50 kids in the program. That allowed me to purchase more higher end helmets as well. Some schools will have a liability issue with it.
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Post by vanden48 on Aug 6, 2017 10:19:42 GMT -6
amgreatness.com/2017/07/30/defense-americas-game/For every CTE article that comes out, someone needs to write one like this up. The Stanford study did nothing more than test to accuracy of CTE diagnostics, as the brains that were looked at were already diagnosed with CTE before they died. And when you look at the results, the HS brains was around 21%. That means that if you only played high school football, and you are having brain problems, there is a 1/5 chance it was caused by the repeated head blows you took playing high school football. Which means there is a 4/5 chance it was something else. The Failing New York Times takes a legitimate scientific study and turns the outcomes and measures of the study upside down. All to attack the sport of football. Girls soccer has more concussions on average than football. But why are they not attacking girls soccer? Because there is no money there. NFL is the big cash cow when it comes to sports, and those that can't make a living through working with football, will try and cash out in attacking it. Shame on the Failing New York Times.
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Post by vanden48 on Jul 26, 2017 20:57:25 GMT -6
These studies are painting a one sided picture about football. This is no different then the Global Warming studies. All skewed and hand picked data to paint a picture of doom and gloom so that you don't question the study. How old are these brains, what era of football did they come from, what else did they do in their life, what other variables are there that these people had in common, besides football, that could lead to "CTE"? If you took skin samples of every football player that dies of skin cancer, and determined that the football player died of skin cancer, coming to the conclusion that football causes skin cancer would be basically the same study.
I am not ignoring the fact that concussions happen in football. I have been knocked out playing high school football, and went blind in one eye for a half playing college football. The helmets, if you are spending $300+ are much better then what I played in from 1995-2003. And the way that we coach now is so much better than the coaching that was going on just 15-20 years ago.
I would like to see a study done that shows how many people play football and are just fine.
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Post by vanden48 on Jul 24, 2017 6:02:03 GMT -6
I have worked for coaches that chew my butt out. I have worked for coaches that scream and yell at kids, put their hands on kids. I have worked for coaches that will do anything to win. Buddy is all of that wrapped up into one. He said he looked at himself after season one and said he needed to change. What is he going to do after season two?, stop coaching? He thinks he is gods gift to coaching. And after the last episode, you saw his true colors. Telling a coach he is sending him to the both and talking to players about a coach. I would love to put 70 on him.
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Post by vanden48 on May 29, 2017 10:40:09 GMT -6
So what do you do about athletes that are playing winter and spring sports? We want kids playing other sports. They get 2 weightroom credits per week for playing another sport and then we expect them to lift 2 days a week but not on game days. That could be a whole other topic. How do you get the other coaches on board with in season lifting? I have been to 5 high schools, going on six, and I haven't come across one wrestling coach and one baseball coach, at different schools, that don't have a problem with their players lifting in-season. The problem I run into with this is that weight lifting is often viewed as a football activity. So when I ask the basketball coach if I can have the basketball players lift once or twice a week, the response I usually get is will I let the basketball players attend open gym during football season. I have just encouraged the players to play multiple sports and given them credit for playing the sport, unless they quite, then they get no credit at all. But I would love to hear about some successes and struggles with having a whole school weight training program. Excluding Texas, as I know in Texas athletics is a class.
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Post by vanden48 on May 28, 2017 22:34:08 GMT -6
So what do you do about athletes that are playing winter and spring sports?
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Post by vanden48 on May 28, 2017 0:01:02 GMT -6
I talked to Coach Al from Grant HS (Sacramento) years ago about how he gives out his numbers. His studs always got #1, then the next best was #2, and so on... He went by seniority then talent, or performance on the field. You watch them play, whoever has #1 on will probably be in the NFL in 3-5 years. Made sense, I don't think anybody was going to question when Shaq Thompson wore #1. But he turned it into a privilege type of deal. If you got offered to wear #1, you had some big shoes to fill.
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Post by vanden48 on Apr 29, 2017 21:04:10 GMT -6
I married a dentist, so I don't need to teach and coach, but I still teach. www.gametimect.com/football-ludlowe-hires-darien-assistant-mitch-ross-head-coach/This guy is a full time practicing dermatologist and he just got hired to be a head coach. Look him up and ask him for advice. I would say to you this, it all depends on what you are are going into practice. Some physicians will work more hours than others. Anesthesiologist, you can probably pick your hours. Cardiac Surgeon, count on missing some practices and games because you could be in a surgery for 8 hours. And if you think you are going to coach in a residency, don't plan on finishing your residency. We need Doctors more than we need coaches.
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Post by vanden48 on Apr 28, 2017 10:50:37 GMT -6
To make matters worse, the other finalist that didn't get the job was a local coach who graduated from the high school and has had success as a HC at another school. Some of the town folk think he was cheated out of his birth right. It will be a challenge, but I'm pretty sure I have the staff bought in, they are running the program until I get there. I haven't been able to make any hire as all of the assistants were told their jobs were safe and have been retained. But they have all been great and I think they really only truly care about the program and the kids.
I think there are some unique things I do like our Victory Rocks, character education, leadership training, and some other things that the last coach didn't do, which will add to the culture. But the weight training culture is already there, the kids already have expectations for summer workouts and camps, the film work and group meetings has already been established. So there is a ton of work in culture change that has already been done. This is almost a more difficult situation to be in than taking over a program that is no good.
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Post by vanden48 on Apr 19, 2017 21:31:30 GMT -6
I got to visit Bear Bryant's home he was born in, in Fordyce, Arkansas. Awesome. They have a stature of the man wrestling a bear, and that is how he got his nickname "Bear". By being the only person around that could wrestle the bear at the county fair and win, or at least not die. I tell stories of Bear Bryant every year and have his quotes all over the locker room and weight room.
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Post by vanden48 on Apr 19, 2017 10:56:26 GMT -6
I would be interested in this. I am taking over a program that is having their most successful coach of all time at the school leave for another school. The kids, program, school, and town loved the old coach. I have all of his old assistants left over on my staff and I have no option of getting rid of any of them until after the season. The players and parents are worried that when I come in their culture of winning that they have had will be changed. This program never has seen the success it has seen over the last 6 years. First trips to the play-offs, first play-off victory. averaging 8 wins a season.
I will never talk bad about previous staffs, even if they sucked. The HC I'm taking over for was a great guy and an excellent HC that did everything right. But even with playoff trips in 4 of his 6 years, they only had 1 playoff victory. I am hoping I can get them over that hump. But they don't know me there, I'm not even from the same state. I am a complete foreigner coming into a school that has only had alumni coaching there.So what do I sell them on?
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Post by vanden48 on Apr 9, 2017 16:08:01 GMT -6
How hard is it to get into Texas High School Coaching from outside of Texas? What would it take for an out of state coach to get considered for a head job in Texas? What needs to be on a resume for a 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A?
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Post by vanden48 on Apr 4, 2017 13:02:14 GMT -6
I am running into the problem like everyone does of having to replace a 1st team all-state QB and 1st team all-state WR. We don't have guys coming up that will replace them on either side of the ball. They both played DB as well. If I can replace those two players with 4 players, we might be able to come close to replacing their production on both sides of the ball.
I love to play 22 guys, but if I have some studs, I'm keeping them on the field. Its not college ball, its high school. And even in college, if you have a Jabrill Peppers or Adoree Jackson, you find a way to keep him on the field.
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Post by vanden48 on Mar 28, 2017 9:31:01 GMT -6
The dead? Yup, they act like somebody just died when they just cramped up or sprained an ankle.
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Post by vanden48 on Mar 27, 2017 14:12:07 GMT -6
I always thought it was for religious purposes for prayer. I express my dislike of it early on and tell the kids not to do it. But its almost ingrained in them when somebody goes down. I always bring our team to the numbers and have a coaching moment. When I get told I'm unsportsmanlike for it, I just tell them I'm glad they don't think us beating them by 60 was unsportsmanlike. Sportsmanship is reflected in how the players act on the field, not how the honor the dead or injured.
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Post by vanden48 on Mar 26, 2017 19:46:38 GMT -6
In North Dakota, Valley City State University has a good one, along with UND and NDSU.
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Post by vanden48 on Mar 26, 2017 19:43:26 GMT -6
The slow decline of civilization as we know it... Maybe its me.... but I'm of the opinion that civilization has never really been that great to begin with ever. We as a collective species are a giant pool of mediocrity and let down. Speak for yourself. I am the greatest thing since Laser Discs. What would have been a real funny turn to the story is if a kid tried to grab it to eat. This is why I only grille steaks with the team, nobody feels compelled to compare their junk to the food.
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Post by vanden48 on Mar 10, 2017 10:24:11 GMT -6
This is like that TV series Friday Night Lights where the Coach was held Liable for the QB's injury because he wasn't coached how to tackle.
I can see if the player told the coach this was happening and the coach ignored it. But if the coach had no idea this was going on there is nothing he could have done about it. If he faces criminal charges however, I'm sure that he and the district will be facing civil court proceedings as well for money.
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