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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 11, 2018 15:32:33 GMT -6
Is it bad as a football coach to want to have control over things that can go catastrophically bad for your team? I have literally never seen a player other than the punt returner do anything positive with the ball but I have seen a ball hit one of our guys numerous times. I would argue that the worst coached position in high school football is punt returner. I will trade a muff or two per season for the 4 to 500 yards of field position I see teams give away. Punt returners must catch the ball for us.
In a perfect world, we would catch every punt, but when the ball is likely to travel 25 yards in the air and we aren't sure where it's going it makes more sense to be safe if the kid can't kick the ball at all. We don't do it all the time. I would say last year we maybe lost 50 yards total because of it and it was well worth it. If we played in a league with guys who can actually punt I wouldn't do it but it works for us.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 11, 2018 9:45:24 GMT -6
We often have our punt return team run off the field as soon as the ball is punted. It's nearly impossible for us to get a return because of bad punters not kicking the ball far enough. The risk of the ball hitting one of our guys far outweighs the prospect of getting a return. Our parents scream and yell from the stands and then the punter shanks one 15 yards off the side of his foot and they still don't get it. To me, the most important thing is having the ball after a punt. You're exhibiting a common trait of football coaches: a preference for control. A bad punt that stays in the middle of the field may be poison, but a shanked punt presents some great opportunities for a runback by players other than your usual returners. The coverage team is mostly looking the wrong way and out of position when a ball comes down short and near a sideline. I might call it poison if conservatively protecting a lead, but otherwise it's something that should be taken maximum advantage of even if it means a player not used to handling the ball has to play a wobbly or bouncing one. Is it bad as a football coach to want to have control over things that can go catastrophically bad for your team? I have literally never seen a player other than the punt returner do anything positive with the ball but I have seen a ball hit one of our guys numerous times.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 11, 2018 9:05:12 GMT -6
We often have our punt return team run off the field as soon as the ball is punted. It's nearly impossible for us to get a return because of bad punters not kicking the ball far enough. The risk of the ball hitting one of our guys far outweighs the prospect of getting a return. Our parents scream and yell from the stands and then the punter shanks one 15 yards off the side of his foot and they still don't get it. To me, the most important thing is having the ball after a punt.
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Post by wheels1284 on Dec 20, 2017 8:03:16 GMT -6
Playing a rival in our last game of the year with a playoff spot on the line. Coach gives a great pregame speech and the guys are all fired up. He then makes the mistake of asking the seniors if they have anything to say. The backup senior kicker gets up starts yelling about beating "Team A". But we are actually playing "Team B." A senior captain then yells shut up you dumba** and everyone starts lauging. We won btw.
Same kicker gets to kick at the end of a practice. Kicks the grass behind the ball and the ball goes like 10 yards. He then immediately falls down, grabs his knee and shouts "f*** me in the a** I'm such a pu**y"
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Post by wheels1284 on Dec 11, 2017 9:51:19 GMT -6
"Quit running it up the middle, use your athletes" - during game where tailback ran for 290 yards off tackle
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Post by wheels1284 on Mar 19, 2017 12:17:13 GMT -6
Around here it's baseball coaches with pictures of their teams practicing in the snow. #nodaysoff #canyouhitasnowball #thegrind #championsdontgetcold
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Post by wheels1284 on Sept 30, 2016 6:37:39 GMT -6
So your best player who is a division 1 athlete throws his helmet because he just took a cheap shot and is flustered and you throw him off the team? Yes, It's the most important and expensive piece of equipment that they have as a player, and it's a safety hazard if it hits someone else. I get being frustrated, but they've got to control their emotions. If their wife/significant other pisses them, they've got to be able to control their emotions. I view it as a life skill. I've only had to enforce it once, and that was at practice. My players know that I don't have a lot of rules, but the ones that we do have we believe in and sell why to the players. I don't give two shits about socks, shoe colors, arm bands, hair length, ear rings or a ton of other stuff people try to police. Fair enough, personally I don't like having rules like that because to me there are always exceptions, but it's your program.
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Post by wheels1284 on Sept 30, 2016 6:04:54 GMT -6
Our back up QB threw his helmet on the sideline during a game, we made him dress and not play on the JV then not even dress for the Varsity game the following week. During practice all he did was roll the length of the field and back, sundials after each roll, and a gasser in between each roll. Same thing for our starting QB when he got ejected for throwing a punch. His game punishment was he was suspended for 2 games and not allowed to even wear a uniform or be on the sideline. He had to sit in the press box and chart for the spotter. Any other unsportsmanlike is usually just 200 yards of up downs every 5 yards. I don't have too many rules but that's one of my main ones. If you throw your helmet, you're off the team. So your best player who is a division 1 athlete throws his helmet because he just took a cheap shot and is flustered and you throw him off the team?
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Post by wheels1284 on Apr 27, 2016 12:10:50 GMT -6
I'm sure a lot of the coaches mentioned would tell you that it has more to do with players than coaches. I was part of a state championship staff in baseball and the most important thing we did all year was to make sure our guys got on the bus.
This doesn't discount what coaches can do, but it surely helps when you've got dudes.
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Post by wheels1284 on Apr 23, 2016 20:26:23 GMT -6
From Ohio, Brian White at Hilliard Davidson. To have two state titles having to compete against the powerhouses in division one is incredible. Gets more out of his kids than anyone I've seen.
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Post by wheels1284 on Mar 2, 2016 12:18:41 GMT -6
I always find it funny how different things are depending on where you coach (area and size of school). Where I am, all of our parents think their son should start as a freshman and if they don't, the coach is an idiot.
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Post by wheels1284 on Feb 2, 2016 16:13:39 GMT -6
Different sport, but can't stand when I hear announcers say "score the basketball."
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 21, 2016 7:40:12 GMT -6
I bet you'll hear all about that in the media.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 7, 2016 10:03:47 GMT -6
The article you posted above refers to NFL players, not high school players but thank you for the link. The research done on CTE and high school football has focused on players who committed suicide or died young. Most of the research in the field shows incredible selection bias because healthy individuals are not donating their brains to science. I'm not denying the issue, I just think as far as high school football goes, the issue has been blown out of proportion. If CTE was as prevalent as some articles would like you to believe, then all of us would know plenty of middle aged men having major issues. I for one don't see an epidemic of this in our society. Again, not saying it doesn't exist it ,just isn't nearly as prevalent as some want to think. Also, I have read plenty of research in the field and understand how scientific studies are conducted but thanks for the lecture. And thank you for letting me know that I shouldn't be educating anyone on proper tackling or concussion protocols used in our program. We go to great lengths to protect our players in our program. There was entire book, a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed research really, that looked at high school athletes and their exposure to traumatic brain injury. This was not a selection of players, who had committed suicide or died young, as you claim. If you'd like to read it, you can find it at this link: iom.nationalacademies.org/Reports/2013/Sports-Related-Concussions-in-Youth-Improving-the-Science-Changing-the-Culture.aspxYou say that you understand how scientific studies are conducted, yet you've repeatedly claimed selection bias. Any sound, scientific study will control for selection threat by simply randomizing the cohort. In this way, subjects are balanced across experimental conditions in a way that makes them no different from subjects in any other experimental condition, and this is done in a systematic way in order to avoid quasi-experimental results. In other words, if this weren't done, you'd have no baseline to make comparative judgments. Looking at a football player's brain, who was known to exhibit deviant behavior prior to death, is not selection bias. Scientific documents based upon individual accounts, such as those written by Bennet Omalu, only serve to call for further research. This provides two key elements to any study that might be conducted based upon these findings. First, as previously stated, it gives an indication as to whether further research is warranted in this area, and second, it allows for physical findings to be looked at more closely, instead of what are essentially educated guesses being made about the damage to cortical matter. These are simply medical reports. They're not designed to compare findings to any other group, unless a sufficient cohort of former football players' brains were examined after death, then compared to the general population. To my knowledge, this type of study has not been published. The definition of selection bias is a lack of randomizing a sample so it doesn't truly represent the population trying to be studied. Examining the brains of NFL players who exhibited "deviant" behavior before their deaths so their families donate their brains and not a random sample of brains of NFL players is selection bias if the study is trying to show proportionally what percent of players develop CTE. I understand that most studies are not aimed at this, but that is not the media's or general public's interpretation of them. I'll admit that I should change my statement to they show selection bias "if" trying to show what proportion of NFL players may develop CTE with the methods discussed. They have only shown that CTE exists. However, the media's/public's interpretations of these studies seems to be jumping to a whole lot of conclusions that have yet to be made. Do you agree with that? I'm not saying its an issue that should be ignored or pushed under the rug. As football coaches we need to embrace these studies because they will help preserve the game that we all love. Head trauma is my number 1 concern as a football coach and I do everything in my power to educate myself on the current science as well as techniques to keep my players as safe as possible.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 4, 2016 9:38:54 GMT -6
Wheels, A couple of things: 1. Right now the only way to 100% diagnose CTE is by extracting brain tissue so the subjects have to be dead. So yes it makes sense that the high school players they have studied died early. BUT as research continues, the researchers want as many samples as they can get their hands on. In fact, we could all pledge to donate right now www.bu.edu/cte/our-research/brain-donation-registry/But I don't think the researchers would call this selection bias, they are just working with what they have, and they want to diversify that pool of subjects. And along the same lines, the researchers are not spreading hysteria --in fact---they seem to be quite objective. It's the media that is spreading the hysteria. 2. Your claim that there is selection bias is somewhat softened by your completely unscientific observation that states - "however there is not an epidemic of CTE from playing high school football. If there was, we would all see it daily in our friends, family, and ex players" While I get what you're trying to say, this is not a strong argument to bring to the public. Big tobacco could and did make similar arguments. And it is true that there are plenty of middle aged people who have smoked mot of their lives that seem fine. That doesn't mean that smoking doesn't cause emphysema/cancer/COPD etc later in life. 3. I feel your frustration with these one side stories, but I think are best bet at combating them, and the most ethical way, is to follow the research in an objective manner and see what becomes of it. Read more: coachhuey.com/post/new/71891#ixzz3wHw5XcgkI agree with you on all of these. I don't think scientists are deliberately picking subjects to prove their point, but much of the headlines about these studies vastly misinterpret the data. Headlines like "95% of football players have CTE" come from studies in which the donated brains of NFL players showed that 87 of 91 showed signs of CTE. The vast majority of these men had issues at the time of death which caused their families to donate their brains. While unintentional, there is a bias here. Another article I've seen concluded that 50% or so of youth contact sports participants showed signs of CTE. There was no mention of the fact that many of the men also had military experience or that CTE was detected in brains of athletes who only played baseball or basketball. Again as you said, the majority of the problem lies with the medias interpretation of the study instead of the actual study. People read the headlines instead of looking at the actual study. I don't think my argument of there not being an epidemic of CTE really proves anything either and it's definitely not scientific. I just think it shows that we need to slow down and wait for the science before absolute hysteria sets in.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 4, 2016 5:34:02 GMT -6
The article you posted above refers to NFL players, not high school players but thank you for the link. The research done on CTE and high school football has focused on players who committed suicide or died young. Most of the research in the field shows incredible selection bias because healthy individuals are not donating their brains to science. I'm not denying the issue, I just think as far as high school football goes, the issue has been blown out of proportion. If CTE was as prevalent as some articles would like you to believe, then all of us would know plenty of middle aged men having major issues. I for one don't see an epidemic of this in our society. Again, not saying it doesn't exist it ,just isn't nearly as prevalent as some want to think.
Also, I have read plenty of research in the field and understand how scientific studies are conducted but thanks for the lecture. And thank you for letting me know that I shouldn't be educating anyone on proper tackling or concussion protocols used in our program. We go to great lengths to protect our players in our program.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 1, 2016 11:49:41 GMT -6
In thinking recently, why is it that nobody is coming out and urging people to just use common sense in dealing with all of the hysteria? There are literally millions of American middle-aged men who have played high school football that are perfectly fine. The only things perpetuated by the media are studies that show youth/HS contact sports "can" lead to brain damage. We all know this is true in rare and sad instances, but it is such a small minority. When you only study the brains of people who sadly have committed suicide or died young then that is an incredible selection bias. They aren't checking the brains of the millions of men who lived perfectly healthy lives. Concussions are a big deal and should be handled as such, however there is not an epidemic of CTE from playing high school football. If there was, we would all see it daily in our friends, family, and ex players. What, can we, as coaches do to get this out to the public? We try our best to educate our parents on what we do to limit head trauma, but many parents are convinced that playing football will definitely lead to brain damage even though we all know that is not the case. If you feel that is the case, then you should not be coaching. As a coach, I am very frustrated by the one-sided stories shoved down our throats every day.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jul 25, 2015 9:48:14 GMT -6
We send them in every year even if they are not worn. I want to make sure everyone has a sticker on the back that says the current year. CYA
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Post by wheels1284 on Jun 10, 2015 5:54:20 GMT -6
I am looking to buy play clocks for this upcoming season. I have heard of other programs finding used sets online but I'm not quite sure where to look. Any ideas?
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Post by wheels1284 on Jul 18, 2014 12:39:55 GMT -6
This is my first year as head coach and we are running a youth camp for the first time ever. I would like to hear some good ideas of things you have done with the kids in the past. We have incoming 4th - 8th graders. The 7th and 8th will have a more structured practice but I want to have more "fun" activities for the younger kids. What are some things you have done that the kids seemed to enjoy?
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Post by wheels1284 on May 20, 2014 9:23:15 GMT -6
With schools starting earlier and earlier each year, what days are various states allowing programs to start official practice?
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Post by wheels1284 on Apr 13, 2014 8:48:14 GMT -6
New head coach here and am wondering how many new footballs each of you order each year. One of the things I never payed attention to as an assistant.
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Post by wheels1284 on Mar 6, 2014 8:34:49 GMT -6
For those of you that run a youth camp in the summer, when do you hold it? Our basketball team has done it forever so they have the first week of summer booked.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jan 28, 2014 17:20:55 GMT -6
When you gameplan on a weekend, do any of you have a sheet of questions to answer or a template of what you do? I have gameplanned for years as a DC, but as I get ready for an interview, I am struggling on how to explain it in my portfolio. Thanks.
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Post by wheels1284 on Jul 19, 2012 10:39:52 GMT -6
You don't see them in other sports that aren't in the fall because the pre-season doesn't take place over summer break. If basketball was a fall sport, I'm sure the coaches would have some sort of two-a-day structure.
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Post by wheels1284 on May 3, 2012 10:46:46 GMT -6
Concussions aren't new. They are simply diagnosed much more frequently now. It used to be that "you got your bell rung" and now it's called a concussion. There is absolutley no way to take concussions out of football without fundamentally changing the sport. It's not just helmet to helmet hits that cause concussions. Anything that causes the brain to stop quickly can cause concussions. So a hard hit in the chest that causes the head to snap back can cause the same damage as a blow to the head. I have personally seen more concussions from heads hitting the ground than anything else. I just don't see how we can fix this. As coaches we need to do out part in preventing them as much as possible and then keeping a close eye on our players to make sure they aren't hiding things from us.
Also, the former players suing the NFL is an absolute joke. Nobody put a gun to your head and made you play. If you don't want the punishment on your body then don't play. It's that simple. I feel bad for the players who are sick but who is to say that their injuries came directly from football and not from some genetic defect.
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Post by wheels1284 on Mar 7, 2012 8:30:05 GMT -6
"Championships are not won on the field, they are simply played there."
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Post by wheels1284 on Nov 10, 2011 10:07:45 GMT -6
My question is why waste time having to count quarters? (and who keeps track of this) We letter seniors, starters (anyone who starts at least one game) and anyone who starts on any special team for at least 3 games. It has never been an issue.
I was on a previous staff who wouldn't letter the starting punter because he was a freshman.
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Post by wheels1284 on Mar 3, 2011 9:24:25 GMT -6
Fellow coach of mine was an assistant on a STATE TITLE baseball team a few years ago. On the field after the game as the team was celebrating and taking photos, one of the parents went up to the head coach and told him congrats and then asked why they had to bunt so much.
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Post by wheels1284 on Oct 14, 2010 12:47:27 GMT -6
I could not imagine seeing a team run 25 100's after a practice. I know of D 1 college programs who use a 16 x 100 conditioning test at the start of preseason camp. These are top athletes in tip top shape and many cannot meet the times. Not to mention, this is not AFTER a practice. I coach at a program with great tradition and if our players had to run this after practice, I am guessing that not half of the kids would be able to finish. Some of our linemen might die. We don't run except for 10 100's on Mondays and our kids are still plenty ready to go in the 4th quarter. I hate calling someone out, but I just don't believe they really run that much.
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