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Post by coachcb on Apr 16, 2024 9:27:32 GMT -6
It's easier to sell the skills one develops as a teacher when applying outside the education field. I applied for and was offered a position managing a unit within a residential treatment center for teens. In my resume, I detailed these skills and how they made me a fit for the position pretty easily. But, I could also had "managerial experience" within education (athletic director) which helped me sell myself. The gig looked sweet on paper as it paid well and living on campus reduced living expenses significantly (no rent/mortgage) but the hours required were pretty merciless.
The same could be said of coaching but I think it'd be a much harder sell.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 9, 2024 10:45:10 GMT -6
Yes, I think it absolutely makes a difference. And, it creates a spectrum of advantages, depending on the team your playing. Some DCs will be smart and make small adjustments to their base in order to defend you. That's still an advantage as they might only have to install Robber 2 to deal with you but that's still an investment in practice time. And, it's moving them and their kids out of their comfort zones.
Other DCs will go full-grab bag and install something completely alien to the kids in 2-3 days. This is obviously a huge advantage, for a variety of reasons.
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Post by coachcb on Mar 7, 2024 10:43:07 GMT -6
I know of a team that had a really bad experience in 2019. Kid got seriously hurt. If you are going to do them, make sure you know what you are doing and you have the proper equipment. And ask yourself, is the juice worth the squeeze? In other words, if something bad does happen, how are you going to explain and justify the drill to administrators?
This, 100%.
I also think there are far more productive uses of that time with respect to strength and conditioning.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 20, 2024 9:51:34 GMT -6
I could see a high school official missing the FB in that play, given how fast those fakes hit. But, I've always wondered how Liberty Hill gets away with their quick huddle break and snap. That's certainly not by the books.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 9, 2024 14:23:14 GMT -6
Tuesday: Offensive emphasis. Full offensive practice with defensive indy along with other small-group defensive work (pod stuff, 7v7, inside run) tossed in. Typically a 2/3-1/3 split.
Wednesday: Defensive emphasis. Full defensive practice with offensive indy and other small group offensive work plugged in.
I preferred this as it gave us a little more time to clean up things we were struggling at.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 7, 2024 11:06:24 GMT -6
Be purposeful. This is good day-day advice but it's a great guide in coaching. Basically, try to make sure that you say and do not only serves a purpose, but a proactive one.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 6, 2024 16:19:31 GMT -6
Focus on what you can control, ignore the rest.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 5, 2024 9:24:16 GMT -6
I worked under an HC who was dealing with a kid who was causing all kinds of problems in the off-season. The HC met with the kid, his parents and the AD and was pretty straight-forward with him. The gist of the conversation: "You can come out for football but I don't have to play you. And, right now, I don't plan on it."
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Post by coachcb on Jan 30, 2024 15:06:00 GMT -6
Some of the teams we have played that were really talented and not so well coached tended to give up more big plays on defense, have more turnovers on offense and committed more personal fouls and presnap penalties. Playing these teams drive me crazy because they typically can score in one play and make games close, but it beats playing a more talented team that is also well coached.
This. Sloppy teams with studs tend to be inconsistent in all three phases of the game. They'll win games and make up for the miscues with big plays. But, I don't think I've ever seen one of these teams win it all. They get knocked off in the play-offs by better-coached teams. Teams that may not be as talented but do the right things consistently.
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Post by coachcb on Jan 25, 2024 11:17:06 GMT -6
This is 100% a real thing that a ton of coaches deal with. I was at a school that was a perennial avg to below avg team and was wing t... they had a year or 2 that was successful but mostly not. I had kids that I tried to recruit out of the halls tell me... "I am not gonna play on a team that just runs it up the middle every play... that's boring". I agree with other posts... WINNING solves all problems... but if you are a veer guy or a wing t guy trying to turn a program around, you better do it quickly and you will probably have to do it before those fringe kids come out and play for you. High school kids want to be recruited to play and like it or not a ton of them are playing simply to try to get scholarship and think they have to run a "college" or "pro" offense to have a chance to be seen.
An old coaching buddy of mine is a DW guy. He took over a mediocre program two years ago and kicked over to the Gun DW/Single Wing as he knew he'd get push back over the DW. He took the team to the playoffs for the first time in awhile. The program had been based out of the I-formation previously and he told me that kids thanked him for running a more "modern offense." Some might call it rebranding but, IMO, it was a lateral move that solved problems.
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Post by coachcb on Nov 9, 2023 8:51:15 GMT -6
Because nobody said it. Academic smart and football smart are completely different and unrelated. I respectfully disagree. Although the kids may have more motivation to absorb and retain information in a sport, they're ability to do so will be hampered by a learning disability. And, adjustments need to be made accordingly. We had taught GDP rules to many, many kids with success before I took over at the school. Our OL was riddled with LD kids and I was shocked by how hard it was for them to pick up on them. Hell, they were blowing assignments against static fronts during pre-practice walk throughs three weeks in. Stunt pick-up was a nightmare. We had already made those rules as simple as possible and presented them to the kids in a "best practices" manner. We chalked it, walked it, went through slowly, broke everything down on practice and game film, etc.. etc... But, the moral of that story is that there's almost always a simpler way. Coaches on here suggested that I kick over to down-tracks but I ignored them. We started using those tracks later on and it was astounding how quickly the kids picked them up.
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Post by coachcb on Nov 8, 2023 12:14:17 GMT -6
So a school a friend of mine coaches at a school that has roughly 25% of the high school population on an IEP. He told me that about the same percentage of boys on the football team are on an IEP and mostly it is stuff related to LD (Learning disabled). They are a small school and so there are about 40 boys out for football. How does one adjust to deal with coaching kids who need it simplified, modified, slowed down, etc. They can learn but it takes more time, they forget more etc. When we talk about the game is moving too fast for that kid, it literally is moving too fast for them. I love and believe in match coverages and things like Steeler and Stubbie. But what if kids simply cannot learn it? What if on the O-Line they just can't be taught we are NOT blocking this guy because we are reading him in the option game. Do they need to have it distilled down to the idea that hey just block the guy in front of you every time and let the RB sort out the rest? Speaking about how to adjust O and D schemes. Practice reps. Film study Etc etc. I've had a similar experience as your friend. We simplified things significantly across the board to accommodate. The OL was still a struggle and I failed to adjust to it. We were using GDB-esk rules for our blocking schemes and it confused the hell out of the kids. And we only had four total blocking schemes. We slowed everything way down, chalked and walked through things on a daily basis and things eventually clicked. If I had listened to you guys and taught tracks,we would've been much, much better.
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Post by coachcb on May 14, 2023 7:53:58 GMT -6
I watch a whole lot of college ball and a little NFL. I almost hate to admit it but I'll watch rugby over either of them.
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Post by coachcb on May 12, 2023 11:08:30 GMT -6
Careful coach, this was almost like an old Mountjoy post except he would've said Woody told him that directly while dropping 6-7 other names and rambling on for many paragraphs and then telling you to call him for his thoughts on the matter. Joe Bugel, who coached the legendary Hogs for the great Joe Gibbs, told me and Nick Saban the same thing in a private clinic. For more information call me at 555-3825. You changed numbers? I have you down as 867-5309... You're probaby gonna tell me your name isn't Jenny, either!
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Post by coachcb on May 10, 2023 10:58:12 GMT -6
I don't know about rsmith but to me meeting at 5 AM after a night game is a non-starter. I worked for a program where we met at 8 a.m. Saturday mornings and it was rough sometimes.
Agreed.... We met on a Saturday morning once at 8am after pulling into the school parking lot at 3am. Four cups of coffee and I still couldn't put together a coherent thought.
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Post by coachcb on May 2, 2023 9:15:20 GMT -6
The last year I was a HC, I coached in a 2 school coop. The school I worked at had about 300 kids and the school we cooped with had about 130ish. Anyway, the main school's kids bought our program quickly and got to it. The other school's kids came up with all these weird ass suggestions and acted like they were the Bible. Finally I asked a kid where the got that {censored}. He told me from Mr "Smith". Turns out Mr "Smith" was their PE teacher. Guy's a minor professional bodybuilder. His wife is apparently very successful. He has a big social media presence and is always posting his weird workouts. Kids kept telling me that was what we needed to do. Finally, I said, "Look, Mr "Smith" is huge. Guy's very impressive looking. He also can't walk across a football field without sweating and panting. So, maybe leave the athletic development lifting to me? Oh, and guys, you don't have the kind of money to get that many roids." They all swore up and down he was "natty". Turns out, he's whatever the opposite of "natty" is.
We've run into a few of these situations over the years. It doesn't typically become an issue as the kids will just go workout somewhere else. We did have one kid throw a fit as he'd been doing a bodybuilding routine at a local fitness center that didn't have him squatting, dead-lifting or power cleaning. He came in and tried to do 5RM maxes on the lifts before the start of the season and failed miserably. He wanted us to count his leg-press 5RM as his squat and deadlift. He and his mother weren't happy when we laughed at this proposition. His bench made it on the all-time record boards (imagine that) but couldn't complete a power-clean and his squat and dead were wayy low.
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Post by coachcb on May 2, 2023 6:44:44 GMT -6
Unfortunately, that's rarely possible in track as we're usually working an event. So, I can attempt to police them at the event I'm working but that's about it. And, that's difficult to do as we have a lot of things going on when we're working that event. The joys of coaching track, the only meets that I don't work at are the regional and state meets. Not much supervision outside of my event area.
Yup... This is also why I'm an exceptionally strict track and field coach. If a kid screws around in a big way at a track meet, there's a good chance they'll be off of the team. Any report of bad behavior is dealt with fairly harshly due to the lack of supervision.
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Post by coachcb on May 1, 2023 12:27:06 GMT -6
I've run into a new and unpleasant situation this year in track. I've taken over the throws for our high school track team and changed some things. I have all of the kids take one or two standing/power position throws during meets and then allow them to work into the rotation in the disc and glide in the shot.
I do this because I'm undoing a lot of bad habits: they get more distance on their standing/power position throws than their spin/glide because they're throwing properly from the standing/power position. They'll take more full throws at meets once their form is nailed down. Until then, they'll perform better at meets without mucking up their throws.
Two straight meets, two girls have set PRs from the standing position from the power position and under-thrown with a full throw. They're great kids and understand the process. Their parents are a different story. During both meets, a mom and a dad have been pulling the girls aside and telling them not to listen to me and take four full throws. The girls haven't been listening to me as they're seeing the results but it's upsetting them and p-ssing me off.
I've explain to both parents the method behind the madness during and after meets. And, I've asked them to stop undermining but they just keep doing it. Our HC has approached them and told them the same but, again, they pulled it again this weekend. The bosses can't ban them from meets as a)they're away and b) they're not being disruptive. But, I am ready to lose my mind over this crap.
I know it's harder in track than in football, but try restricting where your athletes go doing meets. I had a strict rule in football: if I see you over at the fence or I see you communicating with anyone in the stands, you sit. After I sat down one of best players on the team for going over to the fence, I didn't have to do it again. Keep them in one area, restrict access to the area, and maybe it will help. Unfortunately, that's rarely possible in track as we're usually working an event. So, I can attempt to police them at the event I'm working but that's about it. And, that's difficult to do as we have a lot of things going on when we're working that event.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 26, 2023 9:30:55 GMT -6
Watched the Spring game. First thing I thought about was how hard it's going to be to recruit athletes to come to a place that it SNOWS during your spring game!! Other than playing for Deion what is there to offer?? And if there's not some success, that will wear off quickly as well. What's he going to say "Come to Colorado, where you get to play in sub zero temps year around, it even snows during our spring practices and games" LOL. I'm hoping he does great. I think he says all the right things and tries to put his words into action as good as there is. I mean...after you listen to the guy, how do you not want him to succeed. This year I would set the line at 3 1/2.
Going to school in Boulder, CO used to be a huge draw as it's a cool town. But... It's become prohibitively expensive to live there which is a big drawback.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 26, 2023 9:14:03 GMT -6
The roster purge will either make him a genius or a moron. I'm teetering towards the latter but we'll see.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 25, 2023 15:37:40 GMT -6
I give him two years to get them to a bowl game. I figure he'll be gone if he can't manage that.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 25, 2023 9:55:18 GMT -6
Could be. One of the reasons I no longer coach is because I don’t like the style of play anymore. I like old school Wing-T, I, Veer, etc. Good luck running those offenses at most schools. Whenever you struggle on offense, whether it’s your fault or not, folks are going to say, “Why are we running this antiquated offense? Why aren’t we in the spread like everyone else?” We went 11-1 and averaged around 45 a game and people bitched about our offense.
Had a similar situation but experienced fun from both sides. We averaged about 40+ points per game running Wing-T, went undefeated and won the middle school "championship". Parents complained we weren't throwing the ball enough. During the "championship" we were up 18-6 in the first half and dialed up a PA that scored. We got hollered at (by our own parents) for "running up the score".
I'm unofficially retired from football right now. I've been asked to coach next year by multiple people. Situations like the one I described are why a give a hard "No".
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Post by coachcb on Apr 24, 2023 8:42:45 GMT -6
I know ADs have talked to members of the sports teams prior to interviews in order to get some feedback. But, I've never heard of kids basically dictating who's hired.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 21, 2023 7:57:54 GMT -6
I'll make it more complicated: it depends on the player and the skill involved.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 20, 2023 14:43:13 GMT -6
Coach's Eye seems to be discontinued. What did it do?
It breaks down videos frame by frame. Some cell phone cameras do the same. I didn't even realize it was discontinued: I paid for it last year and it still works.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 20, 2023 11:34:03 GMT -6
video is huge and as we say never lies. My problem was I always had 30+ throwers of each gender. (60 not multiple genders ) Hard to video them all.
It gets tough even when I only have 20 throwers. Each gets one or two recorded throws each day and then we break them down as we can. I typically have at least ten throwers in my room during lunch, going through their throws.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 20, 2023 9:39:34 GMT -6
Great discussion, thanks to the contributors for providing insight into what other districts/states are facing in this area. The area that is a burr in my saddle is the ability to get to appointments/run errands while coaching is virtually impossible. At the weight room at 6:00am, school duties start at 7:45, lunch duty, not allowed to leave during prep, coach duties start 15 minutes after classes end. I usually add a half hour onto departures for away contests just to go I can get to the bank, deliver items to boosters. Every DR. appointment is extended at least an hour to get personal issues/errands completed.
This has been a big driving point for 4-day school weeks. Teachers and kiddos take less time away from school as they have Fridays to handle things. I taught in one school with this type of schedule and it does cut down on absenteeism across the board.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 20, 2023 8:27:36 GMT -6
I personally look at sick/personal day as part of my compensation package. I get 12 a year, if I don't use them I can bank them; up to 90. When I retire I will get paid for any used in that bank (for a fraction of my daily rate).
I agree as long as teachers don't abuse it. My issue is with teachers who perpetually use all of their personal days and then a) ask for donations from other teachers and b) try to demand more days during negotiations. I've run into a few school boards that have done away with the donation system due to teachers who've pulled this chit. That screws over the people who really need the donations.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 19, 2023 14:48:15 GMT -6
A strong, reasonable local union will do wonders for a teaching staff. Otherwise, they can be pretty detrimental. Honestly, negotiating contracts should be simple because you know what a district can afford. Everyone has access to every aspect of the districts finances and there's no reason why a district can't negotiate a simple COLA raise every single year.
But, again, this is assuming the union is strong and reasonable. When I negotiated contracts, I had to tell the union "No, I won't go the table for _____" three different times. I was negotiating with truck drivers and ranchers and there's no way in hell I'm going to risk a 4% bump in pay on the base for three extra personal days.
Don't get me started on personal days. Every year I get into an argument with teachings using sick days to do personal things. Probably one of my biggest pet peeves. Our district gives teachers 10 sick days a year (that can roll over)- 3 of which can be personal (those don't roll over) You work 181 days. It is ridiculous to think you should get paid 5 days to go to Disney or on a Cruise. I think one of the weaknesses/issues of teacher's unions are that they are really school district employee unions- which further adds to the vast differences between different jobs in the educational system. Tough to collectively bargain things when it is clear that a HS Art Teacher is different than a Band Director which is different than a frosh Civics teacher, which is different than a HS math teacher with 4 different preps, which is different than a Jr. High foreign language teacher, which is different than a 2nd grade teacher, which is different than an elementary PE teacher which is different than a literacy interventionist, which is different than an elementary behavioral class teacher which is different than a HS librarian, which is different than an elementary librarian, which is different than an instructional coach, which is different than a SPED resource teacher who team teaches, which is different than a SPED resource teacher who pulls students...all of which are different than non certificated personnel such as custodians, maintenance, IT, Human Resources, bus drivers, etc. I think an issue moving forward with unions as the teaching shortage grows is that the number of younger teachers will be increasing-and older teachers decreasing. The wants of the younger generation are different than the old hats. That is actually how the business world was able to drop pensions and push the 401(k) narrative.
IME, there's just not much common sense within some unions. They routinely fail to step back and compromise when it comes to the best interest of EVERY teacher in the union. I made it pretty simple when I was president and negotiating contracts: we could all agree on more money on the base and that's what I pushed for. Some didn't like that approach and I made it clear that they could appoint someone else to go to the table. No one else wanted to do the leg work for negotiations so I got my way.
"My way" resulted in the school being the 8th highest paid in the state and 2nd in the classification. I knew what the district could afford while not breaking the bank and asked for it. I didn't do much dickering with them: I asked for 4.5% on the base (compounding) and they gave us 4%. The 4.5% would've squeezed them a little bit so I had no problem backing off to 4%. But, I knew that going in and planned accordingly.
If I had asked for more personal days, higher insurance coverage or any of the other things the union was pushing, we wouldn't have gotten them and been lucky to get 3%. Just asking for more personal days would've pretty much guaranteed a miserable raise. We already had two teachers take unpaid days that year because they burned through their ten days every single year.
The union viewed all the crap they wanted as bargaining tools. What they didn't realize (even after it was explained to them) was that these aren't REAL negotiations. We know what's in the coffers and we know what the insurance projections look like it so we can just ask for a reasonable raise. If insurance is going to jump significantly, either make sure the raise covers the difference or ask for a smaller raise and more money towards the premium, depending on which results in more money for the teachers.
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Post by coachcb on Apr 19, 2023 12:21:13 GMT -6
been out of coaching/teaching for 10 years, but after 34 years of it, i would be pretty skeptical of the change. maybe i'm kind of cynical, but in my experience, those in charge rarely have your best interests at heart. just my 2 cents, which apparently is no longer worth 2 cents. Agreed. Also, in my experience, your union doesn't have your best interests at heart either. They're their for themselves and their buddies.
A strong, reasonable local union will do wonders for a teaching staff. Otherwise, they can be pretty detrimental. Honestly, negotiating contracts should be simple because you know what a district can afford. Everyone has access to every aspect of the districts finances and there's no reason why a district can't negotiate a simple COLA raise every single year.
But, again, this is assuming the union is strong and reasonable. When I negotiated contracts, I had to tell the union "No, I won't go the table for _____" three different times. I was negotiating with truck drivers and ranchers and there's no way in hell I'm going to risk a 4% bump in pay on the base for three extra personal days.
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