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Post by jg78 on Mar 6, 2014 18:57:35 GMT -6
Lifting weights is not "practicing football" and is far different from a football player hitting in the cage in September or a baseball player running routes in March. I believe the weight room should be the foundation of the entire athletic program. It's a neutral program that benefits every sport.
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Post by jg78 on Feb 24, 2014 19:56:07 GMT -6
I don't allow it, especially F-bombs. The kid would be punished for that. But most of the time I just say "Watch your language" if it's in the heat of battle or an isolated incident. But if a player seems to have a habit of it, I will address it with him.
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Post by jg78 on Feb 17, 2014 9:37:26 GMT -6
Numbers on defensive scout cards make a hell of a lot of sense. I feel like the old "I should've had a V8 today" commercials where I'm slapping my forehead. I number scout defenders 1-11 and shade or draw a line through the offensive linemen for the DL to know what technique to play. So if scout defender #1 is aligned over the guard and the outside half of the guard is shaded, that means he's a 3 tech. It helps keep them from getting confused, especially in the spring and summer when you may be throwing a lot of different looks at your O and the scout D is shifting around a lot.
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Post by jg78 on Feb 17, 2014 9:37:16 GMT -6
Numbers on defensive scout cards make a hell of a lot of sense. I feel like the old "I should've had a V8 today" commercials where I'm slapping my forehead. I number scout defenders 1-11 and shade or draw a line through the offensive linemen for the DL to know what technique to play. So if scout defender #1 is aligned over the guard and the outside half of the guard is shaded, that means he's a 3 tech. It helps keep them from getting confused, especially in the spring and summer when you may be throwing a lot of different looks at your O and the scout D is shifting around a lot.
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Post by jg78 on Feb 17, 2014 9:16:02 GMT -6
Generally: Just O's on offense, letters on D.
Scout cards: Colored O's for offensive skill players, numbers for scout D.
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Post by jg78 on Feb 16, 2014 9:37:08 GMT -6
Whoever is the "emphasis" side of the ball goes on the bottom for me. I draw our scout offense cards with the scout offense on the bottom. I draw our defensive playbook with the defense on the bottom. To me, it's the same perspective you take when looking at the play on the field. At least that's how it works in my mind. Definitely agree when it comes to scout cards. When I'm drawing up schemes on paper or on a board, I always put the offense on the bottom regardless of which side of the ball I am emphasizing. It's just a career-long habit and I see each side of the ball just fine that way. But if I am drawing up cards for a scout defense, I put the D on the bottom to make it easier for them.
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Post by jg78 on Feb 15, 2014 6:35:30 GMT -6
I always draw the offense on the bottom. The reasoning behind putting the side of the ball in question on the bottom makes sense, but I just see things better with the offense on the bottom regardless of whether I'm coaching O or D.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 30, 2014 9:49:40 GMT -6
I am always ready to tell him the time I need (I am the DC, by the way) whenever he wants to know. I think I may ask when we start spring ball if we can do the practice schedule the night before or some time during the day. I have a couple of free periods. I doubt that would speed things up too much, but it couldn't hurt. It's a frustrating situation. I told my assistants that if they wanted any say about our practice plan that theyd better stop by the office after the kids left the locker room. Rarely does anyone bother. So I type up the practice plan each night or early in the am and email it. Some I don't think really read it until they show up to practice and say "Oh I didn't get the email" and I hand them one of the 6 I have printed out. (enabling on my part) The good guys not only show up with their own copy but set up all of their drills while the kids are stretching (a great reason to have a team stretch, its assistant coach set up time, head coach admin bs time) I like it. When I was an HC, I would drop by our DC's classroom during his free period and ask him how he wanted defensive practice included in the practice schedule. I would consider that and put it into the schedule. I would then post it on the bulletin board in the dressing room so the players knew exactly what we were doing and when we were starting the minute they set foot in there. And we hit the ground running as soon as we could. I am a thorough coach and don't cut any corners, but I also want to get 3-4 hrs. of work done in 3-4 hrs. - not 4-5 hrs. I think disorganization not only leads to wasted time but also lack of focus by the players. Give them too much down time and their focus tends to drift.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 30, 2014 9:24:34 GMT -6
I hate our general disorganization. Our players start getting to the field house about 2:10. Our HC is almost never back there at that time. Often, it is a while before gets back there. So none of the coaches or players know what we are doing when we should be getting started doing something productive. And when he does get back there, that's when he starts working on the practice schedule, play script, etc. Things that should be ready to go beforehand, and he has plenty of time for it with no classes of any kind during the school day. And even the practice schedule times we have are meaningless. We go by the general order, but we get way off our time schedule every day. And after practice, our HC almost always wanders over and chats with a parent or two for who knows how long while the rest of the staff goes to his office to wait. He'll eventually come in and we will talk a bit about something relevant and then he'll inevitably end up telling war stories about things that happened at his other schools years ago that I couldn't care less about. We are very different in that I am a highly punctual, to-the-point person and believe in an organized schedule and doing things efficiently. Coaching requires enough hours as it is without wasting time needlessly. But he is late for everything, including school and coaches meetings. He is also the disciplinarian at our school and his sixth grade son (who rides to school with him) was counted tardy 27 times (more than any other student) in the first semester. On his best day he pulls up in the parking lot as the first bell rings. I told him back in October that I was going to ride to an association in-service meeting by myself instead of with him and another coach. I didn't tell him why, but the reason was I didn't want to be late because I knew I would be if I rode with him. And sure enough, he showed up about 15 minutes after it started. I would have been embarrassed. Drives me up... the... wall. And if it looks like I'm going to be here for a second season, I'm gonna have to ask if there is something I can do to help us to be more organized before I go crazy. How about asking the HC if you can meet every night after practice to get a general overview of the next days practice - make suggestions, he can think about it and email /post the next days plan. I am always ready to tell him the time I need (I am the DC, by the way) whenever he wants to know. I think I may ask when we start spring ball if we can do the practice schedule the night before or some time during the day. I have a couple of free periods. I doubt that would speed things up too much, but it couldn't hurt. It's a frustrating situation.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 30, 2014 8:19:06 GMT -6
I hate our general disorganization.
Our players start getting to the field house about 2:10. Our HC is almost never back there at that time. Often, it is a while before gets back there. So none of the coaches or players know what we are doing when we should be getting started doing something productive. And when he does get back there, that's when he starts working on the practice schedule, play script, etc. Things that should be ready to go beforehand, and he has plenty of time for it with no classes of any kind during the school day. And even the practice schedule times we have are meaningless. We go by the general order, but we get way off our time schedule every day. And after practice, our HC almost always wanders over and chats with a parent or two for who knows how long while the rest of the staff goes to his office to wait. He'll eventually come in and we will talk a bit about something relevant and then he'll inevitably end up telling war stories about things that happened at his other schools years ago that I couldn't care less about.
We are very different in that I am a highly punctual, to-the-point person and believe in an organized schedule and doing things efficiently. Coaching requires enough hours as it is without wasting time needlessly. But he is late for everything, including school and coaches meetings. He is also the disciplinarian at our school and his sixth grade son (who rides to school with him) was counted tardy 27 times (more than any other student) in the first semester. On his best day he pulls up in the parking lot as the first bell rings. I told him back in October that I was going to ride to an association in-service meeting by myself instead of with him and another coach. I didn't tell him why, but the reason was I didn't want to be late because I knew I would be if I rode with him. And sure enough, he showed up about 15 minutes after it started. I would have been embarrassed.
Drives me up... the... wall. And if it looks like I'm going to be here for a second season, I'm gonna have to ask if there is something I can do to help us to be more organized before I go crazy.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 22, 2014 7:16:42 GMT -6
Don't forget a healthy dose of luck. I do think timing can be important to a head coach's success. No question about it, actually. A high school coach getting hired at the front end of a great run of talent is a big advantage. Or an NFL coach being hired and inheriting the #1 draft pick the year Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck is coming out. College coaches are a little more bankable because they can go out and recruit their players and being a good salesman is a very important attribute. All the usual coaching qualities are, of course, very important. But there is often a timing aspect that can greatly impact your success at a given school.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 14, 2014 22:46:01 GMT -6
I like it.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 5, 2014 18:31:16 GMT -6
Where you are (by location and school) matters a lot as far as the way you do things. Nobody in our league plays JH/JV games on Saturdays. The most I have heard of for football on a Saturday is a Pee-Wee bowl game (maybe three or four teams involved) that a couple of schools may host once a year. If our league tried to start scheduling JH/JV games on Saturdays, I don't think it would go over too well. I live in Alabama and (needless to say) college football is very popular down here. Kids and parents are big fans of Auburn and Alabama and go to games all the time. Preventing that would be a lot more trouble that it's worth. I know I wouldn't like it either. All the teams in our league play JH/JV games on Monday or Tuesday.
At my old school, in-season athletes used to lift weights before school. It was done that way before I got there and the kids were used to it and I continued it. They were also country kids that were just used to early mornings in general. Here? I'm not the head coach here, but I don't know well that would go over. It would take some getting used to. I know that. Two different worlds.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 5, 2014 17:12:30 GMT -6
I prefer to not bring the players in on the weekends. If I did, it would only be with the purpose of getting what would otherwise be weekday work out of the way so that practices would be a little shorter. It wouldn't be anything in addition to what I would ordinarily do. And even in that case, it would only save about 1.5-2.0 hrs. of time (one workout, two film sessions) that normally would be spread out over M-W. So about 30-40 min. a day. And when you factor in the time of the kids getting to and from the field house for an extra day and the battles you might have to fight (kids wanting to go to a college game, to the beach, parents objecting to their son participating in anything on Sunday, etc.) I just don't think it would be worthwhile in my situation.
What I prefer is for the coaches to watch film on their own and then meet some time Sunday afternoon or evening with all the information on hand and iron out the game plan details. As far as watching film with the players, I prefer to watch our film on Monday and the opponent's film on Tuesday. The coaches should have in mind the things that need to be pointed out during these sessions. Make brief points in the film sessions (follow up with an individual or group later if necessary) so that it doesn't take any more than 30-40 minutes to get through the film.
That's how I like to do it.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 4, 2014 14:19:47 GMT -6
I'm glad I'm not alone in seeing this. I saw a Texas coach step over an Oregon player, flex, and then scream in his face. Dude, your playing days are over. How cowardly is that? Talking stuff knowing that the kid can't reciprocate with physical play. It reminds me of girls who pick fights at bars so that their boyfriends get beat down in their place. Thanks for making me look like an idiot at work. I laughed way too hard at that bubblegum story. i've seen a few times during Texas games, and a lot of other teams. i really think, at the college level, a lot of those actions are coming from the strength coaches. it seems like there are so many of them, head and assistants/ga's, that act like they are there to get the sidelines pumped and talk $hit to the other team. I don't know if he talks trash to other teams, but Alabama's S&C coach is extremely vocal and hardcore - on the sidelines, in the weight room, everywhere.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 2, 2014 19:36:10 GMT -6
Completely unprofessional for a coach to trash talk an opposing player, especially if it involves cussing.
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Post by jg78 on Jan 2, 2014 13:41:32 GMT -6
I don't think the difference between a really good high school coaching staff and a college coaching staff is as great as the average football fan probably thinks. Football isn't rocket science.
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Post by jg78 on Dec 31, 2013 17:04:05 GMT -6
I have a personal policy that I do not accept friend requests on Facebook from students, players, parents or colleagues. I like to keep my personal and professional lives seperate. I'm also 35 years old and single, so I don't want people (especially kids) reading posts on my wall and assuming/knowing who I am dating, where I'm going on Saturday night, or other things like that. My life details are probably more interesting to some than if I were 55 years old, married, with kids and grandkids. I just like to keep that door closed to all but legitimate friends that I know outside the workplace. What if you are "real" friends with player's parents and have them on Facebook? I have several parents of players I coach or have coached on Facebook. I don't post anything stupid so I don't care who I have on there and what they see me post. If I'm tagged at a local bar I don't care if people know I'm there. Doesn't mean I'm getting silly drunk acting like a fool. The perception of Facebook has changed greatly in the past two years. It's not like the old MySpace where everyone was looking to hook up through it. It's very easy to be professional and still have a Facebook account these days. I have friends who are principals in other districts that have Facebook accounts. They don't just add anybody but if they happen to be real friends with parents then they wouldn't just decline requests. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using proboards If you feel that way, fine. I stated my own personal policy and why I do it. I wasn't trying to convince anyone of anything or say that anyone else's approach is wrong. I don't post anything foolish on Facebook either, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want everyone to know about what I'm doing. I don't want to mention on my Facebook that "Rachel and I are going to dinner at Ruth's Chris steakhouse tonight" and a kid (or nosy parent or colleague) sees it and asks me "Who's Rachel?" Nothing at all wrong with what I did or what I posted, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want more than my select friends to know about it. My way works for me and apparently yours works for you. To each his own.
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Post by jg78 on Dec 31, 2013 15:33:54 GMT -6
I have a personal policy that I do not accept friend requests on Facebook from students, players, parents or colleagues. I like to keep my personal and professional lives seperate. I'm also 35 years old and single, so I don't want people (especially kids) reading posts on my wall and assuming/knowing who I am dating, where I'm going on Saturday night, or other things like that. My life details are probably more interesting to some than if I were 55 years old, married, with kids and grandkids. I just like to keep that door closed to all but legitimate friends that I know outside the workplace.
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Post by jg78 on Dec 26, 2013 14:09:27 GMT -6
A little of topic but can anybody give some insight on how to keep the kids attention, our film days always feel like an epic waste to our staff. We have tried to enforce paying attention with extra running, calling them out in front of the team etc. we even started making them turn off cell phones and place them on a desk in the front of the room. Nothing has worked and they get nothing from the session IMO. We have seriously considered not doing team film and just monitoring hudl activity so we don't waste practice time. Any ideas guys Keep team film sessions short and maybe call in a kid to explain something to him individually and show him on film what he didn't do quite right in the game and then go over it at practice.
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Post by jg78 on Dec 26, 2013 9:02:20 GMT -6
I like to watch our film for about 30 minutes before practice on Monday and our opponent's film for about 30 minutes before practice on Tuesday. I will already know the things that need to be pointed out to the players in each film session. We go through it pretty quickly and I hit those points. Doesn't take long.
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Post by jg78 on Dec 16, 2013 17:13:10 GMT -6
Hey Guys, I am applying for my first Head Coaching Job. I just wanted to see If i could get some help on some Discipline Program Ideas. Thanks! My advice is to be firm, enforce whatever policies you implement, but try to avoid painting yourself into a corner with too many black and white rules. Try to leave yourself enough room so that you don't end up punishing a kid for something that (under the circumstances) may not make a lot of sense. For example, Player A misses practice on Monday because he's attending his grandfather's funeral. Player B misses practice on Monday because he wanted to stay an extra day at the beach on Labor Day weekend. They both missed practice, but one reason is a lot more understandable than the other. I think it would be wise to have enough leeway that the circumstances for a transgression can be taken into consideration.
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Post by jg78 on Dec 10, 2013 7:20:27 GMT -6
Our banquet includes volleyball, XC, and cheerleading, so that's all the more reason for me to keep it short and sweet. What I do is talk for a couple of minutes about the team's accomplishments, then I pass out the certificates (I don't say anything about the players), and then hand out awards - in which I do say something about the players receiving the awards.
I think what someone else said earlier about most people generally not wanting to be there is true. I don't like banquets. They're just a necessary part of the job as a coach. So I just try to get to the point and get us all out there, especially since I'm the last one up and everyone's already been there a while.
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Post by jg78 on Nov 16, 2013 11:05:49 GMT -6
I've never been all that big on warmups - before practice or games. Before practice, I like to have a static stretch (as much for structure as anything else) and a brief pursuit drill. Lasts about 5 minutes total. And then we get to it.
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Post by jg78 on Nov 7, 2013 11:45:27 GMT -6
Making your expectations clear up front (through a parents meeting, contract, etc.) and following it up with your administration will prevent a lot of problems down the road. Not sure if you did anything there. But in your case, it sounds like it is going to come down to your administration. If they let me back on the team, I wouldn't play the kid a lick and I would try to leave for another school if I could. Hard to coach somewhere that you can't kick a kid off the team for being disrespectful.
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Post by jg78 on Oct 31, 2013 6:13:06 GMT -6
We come in at 1 on Sundays and start breaking down film. Kids come in at 3:00 to watch Friday's game. Kids leave at 4:30. Devotion at 4:30. Finish gameplans, practice schedules, and be out by 6:00, the latest 7:00. We are 8-1. When you say you come in at one on Sundays and start breaking down film, does that mean you don't do anything until that time and just compress all your work into that 1-7 block?
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Post by jg78 on Oct 30, 2013 13:01:46 GMT -6
How many of you wash uniforms/practice gear for your players? How do you like to go about doing it, and how long does it take you? If you don't wash, why don't you?
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Post by jg78 on Oct 30, 2013 12:56:02 GMT -6
I am the DC at my school and the prep time I spend on the weekends can vary depending on the offense we are facing. If we are playing a good offense that does a lot of things well and maybe has shown some looks that we don't see very much, it may take a lot of time to prepare. If we're playing an awful offense that runs plain and simple schemes, probably a lot less time. But one thing is for sure, I don't put in time just for the sake of doing it. I want a reasonable purpose to what I am doing and to be efficient with it and when the work's done, it's done. I have coached long enough to know when I have reached that point, and it doesn't always take the same amount of time to get there.
And we are 8-2.
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Post by jg78 on Oct 28, 2013 12:43:28 GMT -6
I would have them report to the school, field house, locker room (whatever) at whatever time they would normally be done with school or the pep rally and they're 100% mine. From there, I would do things just like a normal game day. I would tell them the night before to just sleep late and chill out during the day and be ready to get going at the proper time.
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Post by jg78 on Oct 28, 2013 12:35:19 GMT -6
Under what circumstances would any of you decide to stay overnight when playing on the road? Obviously you would not stay if you're playing a team that's close, but is staying overnight something you like to do when you can or do you try to avoid if at all possible? Would you stay overnight maybe for a big playoff or championship game even if were not necessary from a distance standpoint?
I know some coaches who like to stay overnight and others who hate doing it. What are your thoughts?
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