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Post by coachmonkey on Jan 4, 2015 8:39:02 GMT -6
I can't imagine man. I have one two year old and fight to keep my head above water. Does your wife work? No she stays home which is also a reason for no hobbies. Anything I do extra means she works more hours. I have a 2-year old. A 1-year old (born in season in August), and now a newborn born in November. It's not easy, and my wife finished a degree when she was pregnant with the second. She supports myself and the team. It helps to have the other coaches wives as support. I still have hobbies and we still do things together during the season. My sacrifice has been watching college and NFL football, which I used to watch all day.
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Post by coachmonkey on Jan 2, 2015 21:21:59 GMT -6
My story - Played High School Football All-State both ways (1st team D, hon men O). Went to a D3 college, transferred to a D2 college and transferred again and never played football again. My dad is a hall of fame coach in our state so football is in our family. I worked in the private world, got sick of it and decided it was time to teach and coach. Was blessed to land on a great staff with talented kids. I got to coach one year with another hall of fame (high school) defensive coordinator with 43 years experience (can still ask him questions related to football and life). I now split D-Coordinator duties with another guy who handles the secondary. I call the fronts and coach LBs. We run his system which is quite simple, and have now put our own foot print on it. Won state last year. Lost in state semi finals this year. Should be competitive again this year. I enjoy DC Ohio posts, but I enjoy anyone who loves the game of football. I am always looking for better ways to coach, teach, and live.
I am also a USATF Level 1 Certified Track Coach and IYCA Youth Speed Specialist Certified Coach. I am obsessed with speed and developing speed. I study that just as intensely as I study football.
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Post by coachmonkey on Jan 2, 2015 21:12:37 GMT -6
I make sure on Saturday she knows we can do anything and everything she wants to do no questions asked. I do whatever I can with the kids after I get home from practice. I make sure I don't just plop in front of the TV on Sunday. I try to not answer any calls or texts until all the kids are in bed. And i try not to watch film until later at night after I have made sure I have spent quality time with my kids, and my wife. Then each night I pray to God to help me remember football coaching is what I do, not who I am.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 25, 2014 21:18:08 GMT -6
I really don't see a problem with your kids. They are no different than anywhere else. Your problem is the coaches. Whoever above said enforce a my way or the highway approach is wrong in my opinion. Your coaches are half butting it. Why on earth would, or should a kid give anything more? The problem is coaches, not kids. You hit it on the head. There are two of us who care. It isn't my program so I can't fire guys and bring in guys who do care. So I guess the new question is, is there anything us 2 guys can do to fix it? I have a great relationship with these kids aside from the one or two turds that we have. Invest your time and energy in those who care. Let them know it's human nature to always seek the easy or short way. It takes a special person to go against the grain and put in the time and work to be great at something. If they were close show them. They have to believe in themselves first.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 25, 2014 21:08:34 GMT -6
That's my inclination. Head coach is fighting to keep him. Not really sure why. Yes, he's a great athlete. Isn't bought into what we're doing though. Yeah, he's good, but if he transfers he won't see the field. Also, he'll lose a year of eligibility. Have at it I guess. I really don't see a problem with your kids. They are no different than anywhere else. Your problem is the coaches. Whoever above said enforce a my way or the highway approach is wrong in my opinion. Your coaches are half butting it. Why on earth would, or should a kid give anything more? The problem is coaches, not kids.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 22, 2014 12:43:13 GMT -6
Fortunately, one of our cancers is looking to transfer to a nearby school. He is the best running back in our program and would probably touch the ball 30 times a game and are flexbone offense but wants to go pass block in a spread offense That doesn't matter. Kids want to win. Winning solves a lot of issues.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 22, 2014 10:58:56 GMT -6
One thing that helps in changing the culture is just bringing your positive energy as a coach into everything. We try to. I think part of the problem is that the staff isn't present. I am there, the HC is there, and the speed/strength coach is there, and that's it. I feel like it's hard to get kids to buy into you if you aren't visible, right? We do bring in that positive energy and the kids just kind of mock it. They think we're crazy for making them do little things like log their lifts because the old HC didn't make them. He also didn't have a real offseason program in place. Allow them more options as to when they lift. Some won't lift for certain coaches. That being said, if you want to get them to play their hearts out for you make it about them. Build them up. They know they suck, they have heard it for years it sounds like. It's easier to blame the coaches though with human egos being so fragile. I recommend reading 3-D coaching and anything by Joe Ehrmann. We have a put up or shut up rule on our team. You are only allowed to say something that puts someone up, if it tears them down then shut up. We run for put downs. It pays off in games when its tight and the other team is screaming at each other and our kids are picking each other up. Make them accountable to each other, not the coaches. You must have a couple guys who want to play football. Start with them.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 12, 2014 9:56:49 GMT -6
Assistants?
Head Coaches?
I am willing to bet that assistant coaches do much more laughing and joking than the average HC
Part two....how many games did you win? Our HC probably jokes with the kids more than the rest of us. If its who you are then do it. Kids can smell fakeness a mile away. We were 25-1 past two years.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 12, 2014 8:17:10 GMT -6
Brophy- part of my issue with it is that it does not reward to making the post-season. It only rewards for making the quarterfinals. I think if it was based on making the post-season, I'd be a lot better with it. Like I've mentioned, you can have a really good season, do a really good job, and not make the quarterfinals for a myriad of reasons. Making the post-season would be a solid benchmark, because that generally means you're running a competitive program. Ram- sure, if you look at is as "free money" then I guess you're right. However, as I mentioned, this a county this is way behind in terms of facilities and coaching stipends. Part of my frustration with this is that I feel this money would be much better allocated in a different way such as upgrading facilities and increasing overall coaching stipends. If you're an assistant coach busting your balls for $1700 a year, then the volleyball coach across the county makes more in a bonus than you do in an entire year, it's maddening. So are you saying that none of your players receive outside help? Camps? Training etc? You seem to be arguing its a dumb policy because other coaches have offseason help from leagues AAU etc. Perhaps you should see if you can run your strength training program through school or summer school and get paid for that.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 11, 2014 14:33:15 GMT -6
We made 1,600 last year. That is the entire year. I made a $100 more a month than my assistants. Which I bought them beer with. We figured up we made .35 an hour....... Rooster I'd coach with you for beer.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 11, 2014 14:28:09 GMT -6
If you want to keep your sanity don't figure your coaching pay by the hour. Or teaching.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 11, 2014 11:00:06 GMT -6
Yes. Bad decisions mean ineligible players and lack of commitment.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 11, 2014 10:57:32 GMT -6
Currently looking at a job that is as of this point telling me that I would be able to set my own schedule and still be the HC. If I am worth a crap I would make around $75K, if I am marginal at new job $45. I work in a good district and have a few hats so I am making around $70 right now but that is just about my max. Checkout the benefit packages. I'd also caution against choosing a job solely on pay. I was in a good paying job but ended up hating it. Got an alternative cert in education and now teach and coach. Pay is less, but so are the hours and stress. I love teaching/coaching. But, I also understand for many people the grass is greener when in education until they get out for themselves.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 11, 2014 10:54:46 GMT -6
I've never even heard of bonus pay like that I've never heard of bonus pay for coaches. We get paid for our season, and nothing extra for playoffs. When we won state, thats an additional 5 weeks of coaching time for "free." With that being said, I didn't expect to make money when I became a high school football coach.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 9, 2014 8:01:52 GMT -6
Coaching is huge. Program is huge. Lifting is huge. Culture is huge. Fundamentals and Techniques are huge. X's and O's are important. Admin is important. Facilities are important. Tradition is helpful. Community support is helpful. But all of those don't matter if talent is not comparable. Just ask yourself this one question. How will your 3rd team do against your 1st team? For 34 years our high school has had 3 non-winning seasons. Never had a D1 player. Always had to play bigger schools than us. The schools for the most part had better talent. ( We never could kick deep on kickoffs because of other teams speed....) I believe that the culture and tradition is huge. Up until about 8 years ago we never had a consistent weight lifting program. Just a rural community with farm strength kids that were tough. I agree with everything above, but culture in the locker room is more important than scheme any day. Just my 2 cents Rooster That. Heart and toughness can compensate for a lot. A lot of coaches egos don't let them handle a loss as anything more than the other team was better as it would be painful to admit our coaching was inadequate.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 7, 2014 20:02:34 GMT -6
Your kids should have been prepped ahead of time on proper focus. Once the game starts its no different than any other game. Don't let your kids get caught up in the "wow we made it moment." Making it to state is not the goal, winning it is. There is a drastic difference between teams that want to win, vs. those that expect to win. Keep things as close to the same as you can. I have won a title as a player, and a coach. Just keep it simple.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 7, 2014 7:50:14 GMT -6
Paint Ball is pretty close... Â MMA is close. Coach: Is there anyone who doubts that paintball is a war game? Comparing football to war is a disservice to service men and women who fought, many losing their lives, their minds, and in some cases their soul. Football is a kids game. Does football require strategy, yes, but so does chess.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 4, 2014 14:17:58 GMT -6
I know the whole war analogy with football is common and convenient for most. I wonder whether or not its valid,though, because after you take more than a passing glance at the two and dig just a bit deeper, in my mind, the similarities fall apart because other than the classical military doctrine of engage/avoid, they don't share much in common, particularly in this day in age. Brophy: Here's something to stimulate debate: Sound like any games you know of? Seriously, I say North American football is a strategic war game because it reflects, better than any other game or athletic contest, the "paradoxical logic" Luttwak mentions above. Discuss amongst yourselves -- I'll be posting on this shortly. Paint Ball is pretty close... MMA is close.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 4, 2014 14:13:07 GMT -6
Not even sure I should post this put... Anytime I see war and football mentioned together I tune out almost immediately. Maybe your just talking strategy or out maneuvering people or whatever but there is no comparison between the two. Football is a game. War is war. Maybe I did when I was younger but after knowing guys who went to real war I haven't compared the two since. I think sometimes we over think football way to much and trying to make it into military strategy or whatever is one of those times. "Football is a kids game made complex by coaches." - Rex Ryan
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 4, 2014 14:08:42 GMT -6
The only thing I don't like about this, well it's THE thing I don't like about this, is that kids are great at sensing BS. Every winning program or good football team is working hard in the off season, and kids know that. I get what you are doing, but my personal preference is to not do the whole "nobody else is working this hard" routine. I just get tired of hearing a coach yell this over and over. I am not smart enough to articulate exactly what I am trying to get at, but I would rather motivate the player to outdo himself on a daily basis, and not worry about what the other teams are doing. I want my players to work harder today than they did yesterday, not because team X is working hard, but because my guy needs to push himself to be better than he was. I am not trying to be disrespectful of what you do, because it sounds like it is working well for you. I just would rather not tell a kid something when I know dang well that the teams we need to beat are working their a$$ off also. I also think that the running after camp, and working hard in front of other teams is a great way for your players to showcase a work ethic and put other teams on notice that "we are about working hard and gettin it done around here". I really like this. - You are absolutely right in saying you dont like lying to the kids. Maybe I explained it poorly but I wasnt lying, what I was referring to is that nobody around here conditions like we do. The schools I would bring up in practice were working hard, no doubt, but they didnt do gassers, they didnt run the "snake", they didnt run 50 yd x or cross runs. You know, we really pushed them and ran a ridiculous number of yards everyday that off season. I could tell the team that those other schools weren't working as hard as us because I knew we were doing more, these kids were running more yards everyday.
I completely agree that I would rather motivate my players by wanting to outwork themselves on a daily basis, to not need to hear about other schools but to motivate themselves. We were in year one of an attitude change and we couldn't just develop that be better everyday mentality right away. We had to start by giving the kids the idea that they could outwork their opponent, that even if they are more athletic (which most teams we played were) we could work harder than them. Then our kids started to believe if we out worked them maybe we could beat them. No offense - but I like teams that do all of the "conditioning" you have described. We are a fast team. Doing this type of running hinders speed development. Therefore, I can tell my kids, other teams are running conditioning programs trying to keep up with us, not realizing they are actually hurting their players and in the meantime we are getting faster. You can run them until the cows come home, but if they are not fast, I don't care how much discipline or mental toughness they have, they won't be as effective. There is no substitute for a lack of speed.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 4, 2014 14:02:42 GMT -6
Coaches, Looking for ways to teach this in the off season. Curious what you do to focus on this so during the season it is automatic. Personally I think toughness is nothing more than an attitude. Teams take on the personality of their coach. Kids can also tell when adults are faking it. We got rid of all non-football related conditioning in the summer and in season (100s, gassers, sprints etc). To me there is much more valuable ways to spend that time. Running doesn't build toughness. My kids will hit anybody any day of the week. We play physical. We preach physical, and yet rarely hit live in practice. There are ways to get kids to sell out for you and your team other than simply running them into the ground. If kids are running that much why would they play football? They are just doing a cross country practice in pads. Not to mention running slow - conditioning - is a hindrance to speed development.
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Post by coachmonkey on Dec 3, 2014 9:58:12 GMT -6
I am at a small school. Approx 50 kids frosh-seniors on the roster. At each position we are lucky if we are two deep, and many times wind up playing frosh on varsity (which I hate). Anyway, I think competition amongst kids is the strongest incentive for them to get better, however we have a severe lack of it. Many players are smart enough to understand the tremendous drop off in talent from them to the next guy. We are not in a situation where we can do a rebuild and start a bunch of young guys and work them through. We need to win a little. Guys, do any of you have some advice on how to foster competition? Im thinking position battle wise? Or is that just not something possible at such a small school? If not, how do you small school coaches find success outside of talent? I actually tend to think you need to go a different route. You need to create a stronger bond among the team so they want to work harder and play harder because they love their teammates. For proof of this I would recommend 3-D Coaching, or anything by Joe Ehrmann. If it sounds to lovey dovey, try reading Damn Few - it's about why the Navy Seals are so successful when others are not. Basically it's the same brotherhood principles. Think about the people you truly love in your life. How much hell would you endure for them? What about those you are neutral to not liking - how much would you give for them??? For the record, I am at a small school that's had a lot of success. We were 11-1 this past season and I started 2 freshmen and 2 sophomores on defense. Due to injuries we also ended up starting a 3rd freshmen for 3 games.
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Post by coachmonkey on Nov 25, 2014 10:45:50 GMT -6
There was a team in my area who did this one year. It cost them a trip to the state finals. The next year they punted. Not all the time, but when it made sense to punt. I think it was something like ball on their own 10 yard line, a minute or less to go and up by less than 6. The team stopped them on 4th down, got the ball and punched it in. Like Deuce said, sounds good in theory, but if it blows up in your face watch out.
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Post by coachmonkey on Nov 21, 2014 14:34:41 GMT -6
I am a varsity Coordinator at the moment, but I was a Jr. high coach at a small school for 2 years. I think the biggest things are have fun #1. Kids have to want to play. AND, we do this on the Freshman and JV team levels as well, EVERY KID PLAYS WHEN THE GAME MATTERS. You can at least hide a kid for a series on defense if you have to, but they should all be allowed to play when the game matters. Each kid should get playing time in both halves. Nothing irritates me more than having a kid quit as a freshman because a coach is trying to win the superbowl. At that level you have no idea who will bust their butts and turn into a stud for you later down the road. Keep them out so I have the most kids possible to choose from at the varsity level. Other than that, they should be using your terminology and schemes to cut down the learning curve in high school. Friday nights, I would leave it up to them. If your a small school they will probably be at the game anyway.
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Post by coachmonkey on Nov 21, 2014 14:18:52 GMT -6
We played a team of 17 kids, they got 15 of them on the field and everyone of them played tougher meaner and harder than my 30! Those kids believed in each other and their system. You could see it in their body language, demeanor, the things they said to each other. A kid missed a tackle they slapped his pads and said "you got em next time!" Not down on each other, not dead silent like "uh, oh, this again" but confident, positive, and determined. I think I'll be close to that with my current group next year and hopefully all the way there the year after. But man. I was jealous. This is how we coach our team. Our head coach has a "put up or shut up" rule. You either put up your teammates, or shut up. The entire team runs if we get on each other. It's definitely neat in a game when its tight and our kids are picking each other up and the other team is tearing theirs down. We point to that as a reason they are about to break and our kids buy into it. It really does make a difference.
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Post by coachmonkey on Nov 16, 2014 9:48:33 GMT -6
Those who quit a sport should not be eligible to play another in that same school year. . . this was the norm at schools I coached at I don't like this policy. If a kid wants to walk away let him. Why force someone to play if they don't want to? Why hurt another sport because he doesn't like one sport? I've never heard of this policy and wouldn't work at a school that did.
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Post by coachmonkey on Nov 14, 2014 8:50:06 GMT -6
I am leaving after this year. After I tried to stop caring and decided to keep my mouth shut and just follow orders I felt were bad, the HC and his chosen successor warmed up to me. They started coming to me asking for input and our relationship improved, even though we kept doing an offense and defense of the week for the last 5 games. It was weird. Now they're saying the other guy may not get the HC job despite some family connections and some people are encouraging me to apply for it after I spent most of the past 3 years getting thrown under the bus and blamed for our 1-29 record since I came here. I'm not going to do that, though. All year long, I felt bad because I thought we were letting these kids down. Then the players pull this stuff and it was clear that a lot of them never really cared and the ones who did gave up once senior night was over. I'm going to move on, but is there anything a staff can do differently in this situation? I don't know what we could have done besides win a few games to keep the players interested. The last 2 games, we may as well have just canceled the rest of the season. Off-Season training needs to be looked at. Reward kids for showing up. If they don't care it's because they are not putting enough into it. Football is like most things in life. You get out of it what you put in. Secondly, schedule as weak of a non-conference opponent as early in the season as you can. You need to get a W to gain confidence in what you are doing. Lastly, I (I don't know in your situation) but too many coaches on unsuccessful programs tell kids to do something without giving them the why. If you don't know they why, or can't give the why, don't do it. Kids have to be built up, not torn down. They don't need someone else yelling at them. Make a kid believe he has incredible self worth and he will give you incredible effort.
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Post by coachmonkey on Oct 30, 2014 12:12:16 GMT -6
I have 7 kids that start both sides of the ball, and play on KO and KOR. We are the smallest team #'s wise, of any team we play Then I don't understand how you're able to go best on best through inside run period, 7 on 7, and team offensive and defensive periods for an entire practice. You have to split up your best, or put them against your next best. In the past I have worked "inside run against half line so we can get 1s on 1s. Just have to get creative. You don't need to do it a lot as the fits and leverage etc are more important.
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Post by coachmonkey on Oct 30, 2014 10:41:36 GMT -6
We keep things the same, other than we have full team on Monday so we spend time running through Team Defense so Scout Offense can get used to it. We also rep two groups at the team Defense.
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Post by coachmonkey on Oct 30, 2014 10:23:34 GMT -6
In high school, my team averaged 58.3 points per game. We were done at halftime in all regular season games. We only gave up 13 points going into the playoffs. We blew out the first two teams in the playoffs with starters only playing the first 3 quarters (if that). We won it all, never once did I feel tired. This is a cop out in my opinion. In actuality in the playoffs you probably are playing teams that were in a similar situation a lot as well. Sidenote: My junior year I was a starting QB, got injured up 48 points in the 3rd quarter and people were questioning I was still in a game at a point when it clearly did not matter. I still played the following weak, but at probably about 60%. So your one year of experience with a team that was obviously better than everyone else should negate the experience of others? His reasoning was that he lost because his team lost because they only played 2 quarters and not 3. That does not seem legit to me. That can easily be fixed and addressed in practice. It appears he got outplayed and out coached and couldn't admit it so he needed an excuse. In other words its a coaching problem disguised as a problem with the kids. I do not like coaches blaming kids for a loss. Read more: coachhuey.com/thread/66428/running-score?page=3#ixzz3He7V3zIi
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