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Post by Defcord on Oct 9, 2018 9:38:54 GMT -6
Every head coach I have worked for has called the offense. I think several factors come into play.
First, there’s some ego. They want to be responsible for the points scored. I think the good ones also know that there is more criticism on the offensive play caller when things aren’t going smoothly and want to bear that responsibility so that an assistant isn’t taking the heat.
Second as already mentioned the offense sets the team tempo; it dictates the type of team you will have. Are you going to be a grind it out and play great defense team or are going to toss it around and try to hit out shoot your opponents?
Third I think running the offense is more creative and allows a coach to put his mark on the team. Defense allows for some creativity but it’s a lot more reactionary. Most head coaches in my experience have wanted their team to be molded in their identity and offense allows that more than defense in my opinion.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 7, 2018 5:38:30 GMT -6
No. Because my son has flag football and then guitar lessons.
When I was single, I would have went though.
I like scouting live because I think you get a better feel for the opponent's personnel. But I also like film because it takes the emotion out of the game and gives you the raw data.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 6, 2018 9:49:48 GMT -6
“I want to spend more time with my girlfriend.” —Our starting QB. Then she leaves him for the new starting QB within a week. I’ve also had a few quit so they could attend Wednesday church services, which didn’t start until an hour after practice anyway. The first one is hilarious!
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Post by Defcord on Oct 6, 2018 6:58:17 GMT -6
I think if you are going to talk negatively about your team you have to keep it in house or anonymous.
Sometimes venting is good but you don’t want it to come back around to sting again. The bad game has already been played and the damage done. If a kid or a parent or anyone close to the program hears the show and brings it back up then the negative parts of the game just linger.
That being said we were 5-0 and lost last night 53-26 and I don’t have a lot of positives to say about things so I could see how in a talking role that kind of comment would come out pretty easily even though the coach meant nothing by it negatively towards the program.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 5, 2018 12:51:16 GMT -6
Morality / ethics and language are very different things. Plenty of very moral, ethical people have a potty mouth. And plenty of scummy, slimy, sneaky sacks of garbage know how to put on the righteous act. Swearing and morality far from mutually exclusive. This is a great point. I have found since I moved to South Carolina that "Yes, sir" can mean a variety of different things.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 5, 2018 11:04:34 GMT -6
Shouldn't you always conduct yourself as a teacher coach with morality and ethics? I mean, what are you teaching your players? Whose morality and ethics? The school I teach at essentially does not care about profanity in the halls / lunch ect. In the classroom you can write them up if it is a disturbance, but generally speaking, nothing is going to happen. At home, many of these kids cuss all day long. They have parents who cuss all day long. Listen to music that cusses. Watch movies that cuss. And somehow, we are still a top achieving school. Our kids still go to college and have careers. The earth is yet to fall apart. In fact, the school I'm at has a great reputation and the kids are extremely well behaved. They cuss in the hallways because thats what teenagers do. Not having to regulate it is a massive stress relief for me as compared to old jobs that wanted to spend more time enforcing various codes and policies then actually teaching. NFL players cuss (sometimes it even gets on camera and shows up on TV). They can still play. CEO's cuss. The military has made it an art. Ever been in a factory? On a farm? in a shop? On a construction site? So what are we regulating here and why? Some tradition from the 50s? Is it still improper to leave your house without a hat, and for women to wear pants? So lets call it what it is. I teach and coach down the road from newhope. It's a state that still wants to cling to old notions of "proper respect" and the "old ways" and using the little power that still exists to try and enforce that as best they can. I used to work in a factory every summer from my sophomore year in high school until graduating college. One year I was invited to play in the softball league, which usually was reserved for full time employees. Cussing was part of the culture. I hit a homerun one game and a lady in the stands of the other team with young children called me the C-word. It was pretty awesome!
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Post by Defcord on Oct 4, 2018 19:09:54 GMT -6
Would you drop F Bombs in the classroom? Would you let your students? Why is the football field or the locker room any different? Why have different standards for teachers and coaches? Would you want your kid's English teacher motherbleeping everyone in sight? Just food for thought. I would like a teacher that dropped a few eff bombs here and there. I am serious too. I think it would lighten the mood on the whole educational experience. The only time I heard a teacher cuss in class in high school a kid kept calling our chemistry teacher by her first name. She asked politely for a couple weeks for the kid to call her Ms. Weaver. Finally one day he called her by her first name and she turned RED. She looked him dead in the eye and sternly said “My name is Ms. Weaver to you Goddammit and i don’t want to hear anything else again.” And she didn’t. Sure she could have written him up and called his parents but this way was more fun for me as an innocent bystander.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 4, 2018 11:23:10 GMT -6
Had a kid quit one year so he could get prepared to play college football. Was a sophomore, who could have helped us a little but wasn't to be a starter. His dad told him he would be better of just working out.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 4, 2018 6:47:31 GMT -6
I am coaching at a small school for the first time. We also have a small sophomore class. One of the coaches who is a lifer here said that he noticed whenever there is a strong class or two in a row that there tends to be a really small class. He said he thought it usually started their sophomore year because we don't have a JV so they can't play B team because they are too old and they aren't good enough to get regular reps on the varsity.
When I was in middle school our team never lost a game. Only had one close game in 2 years. Had like 40 kids on the 7th grade team and went 7-0 and then a little less but like 35 on the 8th grade team and went 7-0. When we got to high school we had 10 on the freshmen team and in order to play we had to move down bad sophomores. I don't really know what caused our class to lose all of those kids. I am getting old and that was like 20 years ago. By the time we were seniors we only had 6 seniors and 1 was a first year player.
I am thinking at small schools a lot of it is probably just random. It's kind of a paradox because if you talk kids into coming out that don't really want to be there, you face lack of motivation and dedication, but if you have a really small class you struggle with depth and numbers.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 3, 2018 9:25:10 GMT -6
That's pretty bizarre. By no means am I justifying the actions of the kid in white, they are 100% despicable. I do wonder if the kid in black had not kicked him if it would have escalated. In any event the kid in white did act far beyond the line of acceptability. I have no clue how I would intervene if I were in a position of authority at that school. What action would you guys take if you were in charge? State rules would have the kid sitting out for at least one game given the nature of the penalty. As a staff, we have the ability to suspend a kid for as many games as we want and I seriously doubt he'd still be on the team. The kid's actions leading up to getting kicked in the a$$ would be enough for us to consider booting him. The coaching staff needs to be fired if they were encouraging kids to target. Period. Would you boot him forever? or Would you allow him to come back in future years? I have no problem with firing any coach that encourages kids to do harm to other kids.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 3, 2018 8:17:03 GMT -6
That's pretty bizarre.
By no means am I justifying the actions of the kid in white, they are 100% despicable. I do wonder if the kid in black had not kicked him if it would have escalated. In any event the kid in white did act far beyond the line of acceptability.
I have no clue how I would intervene if I were in a position of authority at that school. What action would you guys take if you were in charge?
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Post by Defcord on Oct 2, 2018 13:05:37 GMT -6
For my OL, I grade each of the starters in 3 categories: Assignment, Technique, Finish. Assignment = Did you do your job? Technique = Self-explanatory. Usually look at footwork here Finish = Where are you at the whistle? Your hands need to be on a defender or you’re ACTIVELY pursuing a defender Each play will get a 0 (bad) or 1 (good). At the end, I’ll get a percentage for every category. Then avg. the percentages to get a total grade. Stole this scale from a COOL clinic and I love it: I also track knockdowns. I define a “knockdown” as any action that forced a defender to pick himself back up. Even if it looked like BS, I’ll reward it. I preach that if we make a defender pick himself up or play a full 7 seconds (average play time length), we’ll make them wave the white flag sooner or later. The player with the most knockdowns gets the “axe”. I just take a picture of them holding one of my axes, make them a little short highlight reel and give them a shoutout on social media. They LOVE it. Guys are constantly competing every week to win the axe and I love it. I think evaluations are key because they let kids know specifics of what they’re doing right/wrong. Especially for positions like OL, where detailed feedback is rare. Do I dread doing it every Saturday morning? Yes. But it’s so worth it. Players love looking at their grade sheets. We give them a running total also, and give them an average of their overall grade %’s, creating an “overall” rating like they see on Madden. Seeing “John Smith, RG, 89 OVR” is cool to this generation that was raised on Madden/2k/NCAA games. Here’s an example grade sheet: This is pretty good stuff. Are you consistently getting knockdowns in the teens? Our offensive line is really good but we just don't get knockdowns like I have at other places.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 2, 2018 13:01:27 GMT -6
It’s an interesting question. I am dc and lb Coach. My second and third lbs are close. My second one is 5-10 185 and looks like a freak. My third one is 5-7 150 and looks like Greg Heffley (main character in diary of a wimpy kid). They are on a 2-1 series rotation because they both also play offense. Whenever a big play occurs when the two is in no one says anything. Whenever a big play occurs when the three is in and it doesn’t matter if it was his fault everyone asks why the two wasn’t in. It’s kind of goofy. But I stick with the three because of the evaluation. What I am looking for is working to the right run fit, block destruction, leverage in pursuit and actual production. Our three is better at the first two but is worse at the second two so he remains a three. But it’s really close so I play them both. If he is worse at actual production than your other kid, I would agree with your staff...... Sometimes we just fall in love with a kid's work ethic, leadership, etc., and put blinders on...... The two is better. He plays twice as much. I love them both and think they can both play. It's close in terms of production so I keep them on a rotation. Partially because I understand that since they both play offense that there will be a point of diminishing returns if the two gets too many snaps. It may partially be blinders because I admittedly am going to find kids time if I can without it hurting the team. I would never, however, take our first linebacker out to get the number 3 in, the number 1 is a stud and only plays defense. In this case the second is only marginally better than the third so there's more to it than just work ethic and such.
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Post by Defcord on Oct 2, 2018 10:48:14 GMT -6
Upset that her son doesn't play much. He is a sweet kid that is...not all there. All of our games have been close, too. So she asks, "why did he not play at all tonight? It's not fair!" Well, for one thing, he is the worst player on the entire freshman B team, and we were only up 6 until a pick 6 at the end. So it was close, we wanted to finish it off. Second, he left his helmet in his locker at school and it was an away game. So that's another reason. Not sure, but sounds like maybe she came in right after the game? If so, Rule #2: No parent discussions immediately after a game. Both coaches and parents need time to let the adrenaline settle. This I fully agree with!
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Post by Defcord on Oct 1, 2018 5:43:36 GMT -6
Isn't their playing time part of their role? Indirectly. Those are 2 different discussions. Separate discussions maybe; but how could their playing time not be directly related to their role on the team?
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Evaluation
Sept 29, 2018 12:01:18 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Defcord on Sept 29, 2018 12:01:18 GMT -6
It’s an interesting question.
I am dc and lb Coach. My second and third lbs are close. My second one is 5-10 185 and looks like a freak. My third one is 5-7 150 and looks like Greg Heffley (main character in diary of a wimpy kid).
They are on a 2-1 series rotation because they both also play offense. Whenever a big play occurs when the two is in no one says anything. Whenever a big play occurs when the three is in and it doesn’t matter if it was his fault everyone asks why the two wasn’t in. It’s kind of goofy.
But I stick with the three because of the evaluation. What I am looking for is working to the right run fit, block destruction, leverage in pursuit and actual production.
Our three is better at the first two but is worse at the second two so he remains a three. But it’s really close so I play them both.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 29, 2018 11:52:35 GMT -6
First, teach them the most vital things they need to know to accomplish their role and help the team succeed.
Second, sprinkle in little bits of the finer details.
Third, laugh at them when they said they made the tackle on the 52 yard line.
Fourth, laugh with them when you score and call for the KOR to get ready.
It’s a complicated game. I focus a vast majority of my time on the skills they need to be able to execute routinely within their position.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 21:07:15 GMT -6
1. It doesn't if you don't let it. "Sorry ma'am...we are not discussing another player. This is your son's role with the team." Then be honest. "Maam we love little Johnny but we don't envision him not playing much this season. What he can DO is help us by being a good part of our scout team and helping us prepare. If he begins to be successful there against our #1s then things could change. But at this point he isn't ready to play more." 2. I agree with this. I would include the kid in the conversation so all three of us are on the same page about the kids role. I like your point though so maybe my first response with the parent would be to ask them if they had discussed the player's role with the player. 3. I don't think it's pandora's box. I am not saying to pander to the parents and play them more. I am saying they are giving us their most cherished commodity and going through great inconvenience in many cases to do so. I think that deserves and honest answer to their child's role, including playing time. I think communication clears up issues more than refusing to communicate. I guess you and I have been at different types of places. In the cases I have been in, when a parent asks why there kid isn't playing what they are implying is, why arent I smart enough to play their kid. If they wanted an actual answer I imagine they'd ask "what could my kid do to have a better chance to play (or get more playing time)?" But I have yet to get that one. I have seen both. Definitely more of the ones you are encountering for sure.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 13:09:26 GMT -6
We ask parents for their kid, their time, their money and their support. Why can't they ask about playing time? 1) Because it inevitably turns into a discussion about someone else's kid(s). If lil Johnny aint playing, then its probably because big Bobby is better. So in the end I have to discus another child's abilities with an adult who is not their parent. 2) More often than not, the kid has not made an effort to self-advocate and is just relying on mommy to stand up for them. I am trying to teach them to speak up for themselves, and I can honestly explain with any player why their PT is what it is. 3) Pandora's Box- once you let one many more will come, and it will be a competition between them to see who can complain the best to get their kid the most PT. 1. It doesn't if you don't let it. "Sorry ma'am...we are not discussing another player. This is your son's role with the team." Then be honest. "Maam we love little Johnny but we don't envision him not playing much this season. What he can DO is help us by being a good part of our scout team and helping us prepare. If he begins to be successful there against our #1s then things could change. But at this point he isn't ready to play more." 2. I agree with this. I would include the kid in the conversation so all three of us are on the same page about the kids role. I like your point though so maybe my first response with the parent would be to ask them if they had discussed the player's role with the player. 3. I don't think it's pandora's box. I am not saying to pander to the parents and play them more. I am saying they are giving us their most cherished commodity and going through great inconvenience in many cases to do so. I think that deserves and honest answer to their child's role, including playing time. I think communication clears up issues more than refusing to communicate.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 11:31:54 GMT -6
I think you can have an honest conversation with a parent to help them understand their child's role on the team. That includes playing time. In my experience those communications help rational parents understand the situation. Irrational ones, well there's no chance anyway. Role on the team, yes. Playing time, no. Isn't their playing time part of their role?
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 10:35:09 GMT -6
We ask parents for their kid, their time, their money and their support. Why can't they ask about playing time? Because it is a wasted conversation from which no one will leave happy and no one will convince the other. It's pointless. I won't be able to convince them junior isn't good enough. They won't convince me he is. They will leave madder than when they came in. I've got too many more productive things to do with my time. All I owe them for their kid, their time, their money and their support is to give their kid a fair chance and to spend my energies towards trying to make him the best player and person I can. We will talk to the kid. We will tell him what he needs to get better---we will talk to parents about what the kid needs to get better, how he can improve, etc. We will talk to parents about how we can help the kid with schoolwork, with personal issues, with college, with life after football---pretty much anything except playing time. Once you open the door to playing time discussion, then you'll have lots of those discussions. Then you'll have discussions about how many touches he gets a game, etc, etc, etc. I think you can have an honest conversation with a parent to help them understand their child's role on the team. That includes playing time. In my experience those communications help rational parents understand the situation. Irrational ones, well there's no chance anyway.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 10:32:06 GMT -6
I am not saying it's the right way to do things but I personally think every kid that is in good standing should play every game at the lower levels. And at varsity the kids that have been invested in the program should be played as often as possible. If our sport is struggling with numbers, then we need to allow kids to experience the best part of it...playing. I know their is value in competition and winning but on the freshmen B team surely there is a spot this could have gotten in without ruining the outcome for everything. If he was a turd, I would have a different opinion but good kids deserve to play. Plus you never know what will happen to a motivated kids in over the course of a 4 year high school career. As right as you may be, i disagree. we dont have a participation rule, thats pop warner/aau/usa football. best kids play. rules for parents, we dont discuss playing time. you want to know why he didnt play, come to practice and watch him compete with the person in front of him. end of talk. as far as varsity kids being invested, yes they should play, in blowouts, homecoming games and senior night(if a senior) otherwise, win your battle with the #1 in your spot. im not going to pull a starter just to give little billy some burn because he came to 100% of the summer workouts. by the same token, i will yank a player for screwing up, starter or not. when you are evaulated on wins and losses, not for getting kids in games or sending kids to college, better score 50, give up 0 and win every game you can. not saying its right, but its reality in certain places. I am not saying on varsity to play them whenever. I am saying play them when you can. Lower levels I am not saying play them as a participation trophy. I am saying play them as an investment in your teams future. I am also not going to pull a starter to give little Billy free playing time, but if he is invested in the program I think finding him time is beneficial to the program more than detrimental. One example is the more those guys get to play the better they practice and give us a look when on the scout team.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 9:50:49 GMT -6
Rule 1: We never discuss playing time with parents. Explain this to parents at the first parent meeting and every subsequent parent meeting. Make sure admin knows this is your rule. It will save you a lot of time and problems. We ask parents for their kid, their time, their money and their support. Why can't they ask about playing time?
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 9:41:10 GMT -6
I am not saying it's the right way to do things but I personally think every kid that is in good standing should play every game at the lower levels. And at varsity the kids that have been invested in the program should be played as often as possible. If our sport is struggling with numbers, then we need to allow kids to experience the best part of it...playing. I know their is value in competition and winning but on the freshmen B team surely there is a spot this could have gotten in without ruining the outcome for everything. If he was a turd, I would have a different opinion but good kids deserve to play. Plus you never know what will happen to a motivated kids in over the course of a 4 year high school career. He also didn't have his helmet. Yeah that part is a major problem! He wouldn't play.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 28, 2018 7:51:49 GMT -6
I am not saying it's the right way to do things but I personally think every kid that is in good standing should play every game at the lower levels. And at varsity the kids that have been invested in the program should be played as often as possible.
If our sport is struggling with numbers, then we need to allow kids to experience the best part of it...playing.
I know their is value in competition and winning but on the freshmen B team surely there is a spot this could have gotten in without ruining the outcome for everything.
If he was a turd, I would have a different opinion but good kids deserve to play. Plus you never know what will happen to a motivated kids in over the course of a 4 year high school career.
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Post by Defcord on Sept 24, 2018 11:58:50 GMT -6
What if someone steps on your toe during the game and you react, "Damn!...my toe." Allowed or not? In your state, apparently not. I am not in NC...but I get your point. You said it's about learning when and when not to use certain language. Where does this situation fit into that?
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Post by Defcord on Sept 24, 2018 11:45:08 GMT -6
Yes..... No one swears in the real world. No.. Kids need to learn when it's appropriate and when it's not. I had a foul mouth growing up but knew better than to call someone a "piece of chit" in front of a teacher/boss or state that "this is f-ing bullchit" when a teacher/boss asked me to do something. What if someone steps on your toe during the game and you react, "Damn!...my toe." Allowed or not?
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Post by Defcord on Sept 24, 2018 8:12:21 GMT -6
I like the idea of holding coaches and kids accountable but this seems way overboard. I believe for us, bad language can result in an unsportsmanlike...that to me seems reasonable, but getting tossed? And then isn't there a lot of room for interpretation on this rule? Do they have a list of profane language or is it up to the officials to discern tone and intent of something that was said? Just as an example, the word "suck" could be used in fairly benign ways or extremely profane ways depending on context. Seems like a can of worms to me. I have no problem with being held accountable or a 15 yd penalty. As it was explained to us by officials, tone and intent have nothing to do with it. You say it, you're tossed. What is considered profanity? Do they give you a list of words?
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Post by Defcord on Sept 23, 2018 15:53:02 GMT -6
Sounds like bulllshit to me...
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Post by Defcord on Sept 18, 2018 13:05:52 GMT -6
I am usually up there cussing so no one, at least not as many people can hear me.
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