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Post by Coach.A on Dec 26, 2011 17:12:22 GMT -6
I think the "universal terms" thing would be like trying to go out to the world and tell them that now we need to all operate under a single basic common language. There's just so much that's ingrained in certain regions, systems, levels, etc. that calling for consistency would probably aggravate and confuse more people than it would help. I agree with the above, but I think the Internet along with the boom in communication technology and ever increasing football media coverage is helping the advancement towards a common football vernacular. For example, terms like 3tech and 1tech (and more recently "wide 9") were rarely used during broadcasts even 15 years ago. Now they are common place.
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Post by Coach.A on Dec 25, 2011 1:26:37 GMT -6
This thread keeps haunting me when I hit the "new topics" button...I agree that it's a great topic and that it's vital for coaches to identify their weaknesses in order to grow and improve. So I'm jumping in.
For me, it's developing leadership qualities in our players. I was blessed earlier in my head coaching career with having great leaders in our program. These were kids that motivated their team mates, got players in the weight room, kept everybody positive on the sidelines, etc. Basically these players made my job a whole lot easier. As with many things, you don't realize how valuable true leaders are until they are missing from your team. This past season I coached a team with no true leaders...a few kids had potential to be great leaders but didn't step up and take charge. Our team was relatively successful despite the lack of player leadership, but I know that it prevented us from reaching our full potential.
I spend a tonne of time in the off-season researching fundamentals and scheme (mostly because it interests me and it doesn't really seem like work), but I know that devoting more time to researching leadership development will have more 'carry-over' to coaching and a greater impact on our program.
I'm hoping to do some more reading on leadership and I'm also going to try to attend a few clinic sessions on program development this off-season. In the past, when I attended coaching clinics with multiple sessions running simultaneously, I would never chose the program development sessions. Last year at the Notre Dame coaching clinics, the keynote speakers (Urban Meyer, Chip Kelly, and Brian Kelly) all spoke about program development and philosophy. All three were excellent and they really made me realize that I need to devote more time to this often underemphasized aspect of coaching.
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Post by Coach.A on Dec 21, 2011 19:21:44 GMT -6
For us pre-practice is working on positional fundamentals at slower speeds. We don't do a traditional stretch style warm up, so the pre-practice period serves as our team's warm up. In the second practice period drill speed and tempo increases.
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Post by Coach.A on Nov 21, 2011 21:45:09 GMT -6
What kind of sled is this, and where can I purchase it? I noticed that a lot of NCAA and pro teams use this style of sled.
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Post by Coach.A on Nov 1, 2011 20:57:23 GMT -6
Mental toughness, toughness, toughness. Who are the mentally toughest kids on your team. Wrestlers. Mental toughness can also be developed in the weight room...some would argue moreso then wrestling. The strongman competitions we have are a great example of this. You could argue that consistently executing and improving in the olympic lifts would have a greater carry over to tackling. I'm not sure what you mean by this. Why will athletes "peak" in weight gain and strength gains in May/June? In the past I've had athletes break plateaus and experience incredible gains during these months. I'd rather have a 250 pound kid that can move, run, and hold up for 4 quarters AND bench a house than a 150 pound kid that can move, run and hold up for 4 quarters. I'm not sure what the S & C program is like at your school, but the top football schools in most states have extensive strength, speed, agility and mobility programs for their athletes to work on for the entire off-season. Most athletes in good S & C programs will experience significant gains in all these areas along with improved mental toughness. I'm not anti-wrestling...in fact I agree with most of the points you made about how wrestling can carryover to benefit football players. But I do think it's very small-minded of you to believe that these same benefits can't come from a good off-season strength and conditioning program. If your school's strength and conditioning program is developing lazy "250 pound softies" then I blame your coaching staff for having a crappy strength and conditioning program.
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Post by Coach.A on Jul 13, 2011 11:36:03 GMT -6
High school football is played in Canada and it has improved drastically over the past 5 years. It isn't at the level of American high school football, but there have been several games this past season where Canadian high schools defeated american high schools in games. In fact one Canadian high school team (the Raymond Comets from Alberta) defeated 4A state champs from Blackfoot Idaho this past season....add to that Raymond only has about 200 kids in their school. Raymond is one of the best high school teams in our country though. You can watch that game here if you're interested: www.idahosports.com/gamestreams/player/default.aspx?webcastid=900
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Post by Coach.A on Jul 11, 2011 10:37:38 GMT -6
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Post by Coach.A on Jul 10, 2011 18:05:51 GMT -6
I think it will come down to the US and Japan for the Championship with Mexico and Canda battling for 3rd place. I'm not going to pretend to know much about the other countries, but I would be surprised if Canada wasn't the second best team in the tournament. We put together a top notch coaching staff for the tournament and the team is composed of mostly university all stars and players that recently got dropped from CFL rosters. Anyway, here are some highlights of the first round games:
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Post by Coach.A on Jul 5, 2011 22:16:46 GMT -6
I'll join fantom. It's a different game. I enjoy it for what it is, but it's not American Football. So please don't disprespect our game by telling us we should change it to be like your's. New rules are implemented every year. Suggesting that the game evolve is not disrespecting it. For example, the first legal forward pass in American football took place in 1906...was that change disrespectful? I love the American game too....maybe moreso then the Canadian game, but that doesn't mean the American game can't improve.
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Post by Coach.A on Jul 1, 2011 20:07:42 GMT -6
I love watching the CFL...I am Canadian though.
I think the American game would be way more exciting if they used Canadian motion rules. I would also like to see a 20 second playclock in the American game. I think 20 yard endzones also make the Canadian game more exciting because the deep pass threat remains in the redzone. Maybe one day.
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Post by Coach.A on Jun 24, 2011 7:13:46 GMT -6
We would love to get one here in Canada. I would also like to see Glazier clinics in Canada. Many Canadian coaches travel to the US for Glazier clinics...I'm sure you could attract some reverse commuters from the US along with the Canadian coaches.
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Post by Coach.A on Jun 23, 2011 13:15:03 GMT -6
I love the Spread Offense content. Keep it coming!
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Post by Coach.A on Jun 16, 2011 10:56:27 GMT -6
Many of the highest scoring offenses in the NCAA over the past 5 years tend to have the smallest playbooks. Malzahn, Holgorsen (who apparently installs his entire playbook in 3 days), Leach, etc. From my observations, the offenses finiding success with smaller playbooks tend to be fast pace no-huddle teams. What these teams lose in schematic complexity, they gain in tempo and execution.
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Post by Coach.A on Jun 8, 2011 21:45:14 GMT -6
they sold THEIR PROPERTY for some tattoos... big whoop. I am sure there are much worse violations going on NCAA True there are much worse violations, but the NCAA can't ignore the minor violations because it can become a very slippery slope. What if the tattoo shop near "school A" offers a tattoo in exchange for a jersey, but the tattoo shop near "school B" offers 10 tattoos in exchange for a jersey.....and the store near "school C" offers $1000 worth of clothing in exchange for a jersey, etc. I don't pretend to have a solution to these issues, but I've been an athletic director and I've learned that making exceptions for violations of the rules will cause the system to collapse in a hurry. This is a very complex issue with no easy solutions. The NCAA is often heavily critisized for how they handle these issues, but I actually sympathize with them.
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Post by Coach.A on May 15, 2011 22:10:33 GMT -6
I think the school board is setting a very dangerous precedent by penalizing these kids based on pictures retrieved from Facebook.
What happens when kids that aren't on sports teams are exposed on Facebook for underage drinking or other illegal activities?
What happens if pictures are photoshopped (e.g. digitally adding alcoholic beverages or drugs to the image). What if a rival school does this and e-mails it to the principal?
What if the images were attained illegally (e.g. hacking in to someones computer or cell phone)?
I doubt the schools decision to suspend these kids would stand if it were challenged in the court system.
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Post by Coach.A on May 14, 2011 13:41:44 GMT -6
I would focus heavily on attendance goals (weight room and practice attendance). Also focus on strength and conditioning benchmarks, for example: - All senior OL bench press over 240 by training camp - All defensive backs vertical over 24" by training camp - etc. . What do you do if they don't make it? Good question. I guess I didn't word my response the best way. They are goals, not be all end alls. If your team is achieving all of its goals, then you probably aren't setting goals that are challenging enough. We tell our players that if we can reach those benchmarks, we have a greater opportunity to be successful. The strength standards are something to shoot for. They give our players a sense of purpose for their work outs...they clearly define our expectations. If you don't know where you're going, it's much harder to get there. We've also found that these position group standards help bond our athletes and develop some accountability with our players (e.g. one O-Linemen isn't coming to all of the work outs and is preventing the OL from achieving their position group goal...he will feel some peer pressure from his team mates to get in the weight room). If you've spent enough time training high school athletes you have a pretty good understanding of what is attainable with regards to strength numbers. I like to set team goals, position group goals and individual goals as well. In the off-season, the greatest emphasis is placed on individual goals. When dealing with team or groups goals for strength numbers you have to take other variables into consideration like school population. We don't kick kids off the team or take away starting positions if they aren't attaining these goals. There are too many variables that could prevent an athlete from achieving these goals even if the athlete is committed to the program (e.g. injuries, multi-sport athletes not be able to lift as often as other players, illness, family issues, etc.).
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Post by Coach.A on May 14, 2011 10:59:46 GMT -6
I would focus heavily on attendance goals (weight room and practice attendance). Also focus on strength and conditioning benchmarks, for example:
- All senior OL bench press over 240 by training camp - All defensive backs vertical over 24" by training camp - etc.
Set some clearly defined, attainable and measurable goals. Put a timeframe or deadline on those goals. And clearly communicate the goals to your team.
I would also recommend that you try to identify the leaders as soon as possible. If you can find a few strong leaders on your team, this process becomes easier.
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Post by Coach.A on May 3, 2011 12:42:09 GMT -6
I think it's possible to be a good on-field coach but also a poor leader. Some coaches make great assistants or position coaches but are not cut out for the head coach position. Fantom I would argue that the biggest problem in these perennial "doormat programs" is a lack of strong leadership, not necessarily bad coaches. A successful head coach (i.e. leader) can get everyone to "buy in" and commit to the program and its goals.
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Post by Coach.A on May 2, 2011 14:24:22 GMT -6
I think I would give more recognition to experience (i.e. length of time coaching) over wins / losses.
That being said, there are those programs that do win consistently and there are those coaches who have been known to turn struggling programs around. The success these coaches experience has far more to do with their leadership qualities then their knowledge of x's and o's. They have the ability to get the most from their players, staff, parents and community. In my opinion that is the secret to long term success in this game.
I should add that in my experience, turning that struggling program around (e.g. going from a winless season to getting those first couple wins, or finally getting a team above .500, or finally getting a team into the playoffs) is the hardest part. Once you find success it becomes easier...success breeds success.
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Post by Coach.A on Apr 20, 2011 0:14:59 GMT -6
Running drills that don't transfer (or aren't relevant) to your systems.
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Post by Coach.A on Apr 18, 2011 19:40:12 GMT -6
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Post by Coach.A on Mar 14, 2011 20:34:27 GMT -6
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Post by Coach.A on Mar 9, 2011 22:09:35 GMT -6
Great work Coach! My only recommendation would be to give them 2 attempts per station instead of one.
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Post by Coach.A on Mar 3, 2011 15:10:23 GMT -6
We had several back-up players on our team "selected" to attend the FBU camp in our region. Meanwhile some of the best players on our team that were being heavily recruited by many schools did not receive invites. I have no idea how they "selected" our back-up players, while overlooking some of the best players in our region.
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Post by Coach.A on Feb 22, 2011 15:49:04 GMT -6
If you can teach grade 9 phys. ed. it helps identify talent and allows you to develop a rapport with the kids. This is very beneficial when it comes to convincing kids to give football a shot....so I guess my tip is teach grade 9 Phys. Ed. if possible and develop a rapport with the athletes.
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Post by Coach.A on Feb 19, 2011 22:42:53 GMT -6
We actually bring the full team to the goal line and do 5 quick minutes of dynamic movements after these "pre-practice" drills. But really it's just to get them mentally prepared and aware that the practice will be full intensity from this point forward.
Let's hear some other ideas for pre-practice drills for each position.
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Post by Coach.A on Feb 19, 2011 17:33:52 GMT -6
Coaches,
We have abandoned the traditional warm up and stretch and replaced it with reduced speed, minimal contact, football specific drills. If your team has done this as well, share what you have your players do in place of stretching.
Some of the stuff we like to do is listed below:
QBs/Rec/RB - Air Raid drills (settle & noose, pat & go) *Ofen we'll take 1 QB and RBs and work our handoffs and option reads
OL - Hip mobility circuit, pass pro punch drill, zone steps over the boards, kick-out pulls and square pulls at reduced speed.
DL - Hip mobility circuit, 6 point punch, get offs from fit position done at reduced speed, stimulus response at reduced speed
LB - pass drops at reduced speed, OL reads and run fits
DB - various backpedal drills and pass drops at reduced speed - finish with a break on the ball
We try to have most of our position to do 2 different drills each day (e.g. Monday O-line is doing hip mobility and pass pro punch drill, Tuesday O-Line is doing zone steps over the boards and pulls at reduced speeds, etc.)
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Post by Coach.A on Feb 19, 2011 11:29:06 GMT -6
I have been wanting to look at this idea more. Each position group focusing on a position specific warm-up that is football specific warm-up that is not a generic dynamic warm-up and/or stretch. Are there any DVD resources devoted to this concept? Has anyone put together a specific plan for each position group that they would be willing to share or trade? I am always looking for ways to improve our practice efficiency and would love to see ideas from others that are specific within each group. Husky 44, I'm also very interested in hearing what others do with the various positions for their "productive warmup". You might get better responses if you start a new thread...I would start a new thread on this but I don't want to steal your thunder. Anyway, here is some of the stuff we do: QBs/Rec/RB - air raid drills (settle & noose, pat & go) *Ofen we'll take 1 QB and RBs and work our handoffs and option reads OL - Hip mobility circuit or pass pro punch drills, or zone steps over the boards, or kick-out pulls and square pulls at reduced speed. DL - Hip mobility circuit, 6 point punch, get offs from fit position done at reduced speed, stimulus response at reduced speed LB - pass drops at reduced speed, OL reads and run fits DB - various backpedal drills and pass drops at reduced speed *always try to finish with a break on the ball. We try to have most of our position to do 2 different drills each day (e.g. Monday O-line is doing hip mobility and pass pro punch drills, Tuesday O-Line is doing zone steps over the boards and pulls at half speed, etc.)\ Husky44 I think this topic would make for a great thread...if you don't start a new thread, I hope you don't mind if I do. Thanks!
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Post by Coach.A on Feb 19, 2011 9:54:07 GMT -6
Teams that have eliminated traditional warm ups & stretching don't just go into practice full boar...most do football specific drills at 1/2 speed, and progress to 3/4 speed.
The low speed football specific drills provide an opportunity to increase your core temperature and lubricate joints while being productive and working football specific techniques.
I know a lot of teams use this strategy, but you might want to look into "air raid" practice structures as almost all air raid teams start practice with the same set of drills done at lower speeds.
I don't have any scientific data for you, but we have not experienced any change in the amount of injuries since we abandoned the traditional warm up & stretch.
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Post by Coach.A on Feb 17, 2011 19:06:14 GMT -6
I'm not a fan of the "never punt" philosophy, BUT I think the vast majority of coaches are far too conservative on 4th downs...at least according to the statistics. See interesting article here: mgoblog.com/diaries/fourth-down-decisions-never-punt-tebowFor those of you not willing to read the article, check out the below graph taken from Michigan's mgoblog: Still, regardless of how convincing the statistics are, the armchair quarterbacks will still call you an idiot if you go for it on 4th down and fail.
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