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Draft
Apr 26, 2009 16:02:36 GMT -6
Post by mahonz on Apr 26, 2009 16:02:36 GMT -6
I severely dislike Al Davis. I just don`t understand his moves. I'm a Bills fan and I think Al Davis should go. I'm a Broncos fan and I think Al Davis should stay. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 25, 2009 21:19:34 GMT -6
Just got back from the clinic - great stuff. You don't have to be a SW guy to get a lot out of it. In fact, only about 20% the clinic was about the SW, everything else was about defense, practice planning, game management, character development, dealing with parents, etc. There was a lot of great info for any coach, regardless of your scheme. And Dave was actually pretty entertaining. All in all, it was a very pleasant and informative day. Doug What, you didn’t previously realize that Dave was entertaining??? ;D Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 21, 2009 8:11:17 GMT -6
The live version of The Ecstasy of Gold that Metalica plays as they take the stage for a concert. I do believe it is the theme song from The Good the Bad and the Ugly. A unique version is on their S&M album with the SF Symphony.
No words...short...great build up.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 17, 2009 13:48:48 GMT -6
When I was about 10…late 1960s…I was at old Bears Stadium in Denver with my Dad watching the Raiders Broncos game. It was winter and really nasty out.
Our seats are right behind the Raiders bench. Madden is in a dress shirt with his funky half a hair-do flopping around acting like a madman. They are up like 35-3 in the 4th when a whiskey bottle comes flying out of the stands and hits Madden square in the back. I happened to be watching him right when this happens.
He pulls his QB over to the sideline and I hear him yell out to runt he f**king score up on these pathetic mother f**ks. They do. Game ends like 53-3 or something.
Afterwards we are down by the locker rooms getting autographs…back then it was easy…and here comes Madden right towards us. I ask him to sign my Broncos hat and he does staying for probably another hour doing the same for the rest of the mob.
Loved that guy ever since. My Dad tells me he was the last one on the bus. Still have the hat.
Anyone who takes the time to sign autographs in the freezing cold with no coat and a welt on his back form a whisky bottle cant be all-bad.
BTW…I was born and raised to absolutely hate anything and everything Raiders…except that hat.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 9, 2009 13:23:31 GMT -6
Rams
OK…now you have gone off the deep end a little bit.
The only time you care about the opposing fans is while you console them out in the parking lot right after your team put an a$$ whoopin’ on their team !
Seriously.
Who cares what they think about you. As long as your team plays clean football and you are not wandering up and down your sideline dropping f-bombs…they have no right to complain about anything.
As far as one of your least talented players making a good play…he will know he’s done good by you when you go a little apesh*t happy for him. Positive reinforcement without any particular keywords.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 9, 2009 12:40:45 GMT -6
Rams
That soccer coach was a dang fool for sending that e-mail to people he did not know. Was it tongue in cheek or serious? Didn’t matter, those who took him serious got him ousted.
Your fans will get to know you and your style so why worry about terms….as long as you are working hard and teaching the game properly they should put up with the occasional…” Johnny…for cryin’ out loud, bust em in the gut ! “.
Its football….not soccer.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 7, 2009 22:49:03 GMT -6
Dave
Thank you !
Our attrition rate is also always next to nothing.
I do the player parent coach contract thing like you. Everything is spelled out and EVERYONE that follows the program plays a bunch and has a great time. Buck the system and you will not last long. I don’t even bother with our league MPR because we don’t have minimums on our team. I don’t even use the term.
Kids are kids and every last one of them has a skill set of some kind….given the chance.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 6, 2009 18:51:56 GMT -6
If a parent cant get their kids to practice on time then they should not sign them up.
If I have to pick kids up to get them to or from practice thats the same as a babysitting service. What happens if you get in an accident and that kid is killed? Dont know cause I wont do it but it aint gonna be pleasant.
If its that critical a kid plays and the parents cant get him to practice or home then its time to get a night job to pay for the cab fares....or buddy up real quick with another teammate.
No way Im continuing a practice for an extra 30 minutes just to punish a parent either...what are you gonna do?...have that kid run laps because he is the only one left at practice while his parents watch? No way. Run him at the beginning of practice and go home to your own family on time.
Besides, 90% will appreciate punctuation while the rest could care lass. Why cater to the problem?
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 4, 2009 5:45:39 GMT -6
Coach Mike. WTF? That is some funny stuff. I don't have the gonads to pull that one off. But, I am thinking about it. Coach I figured out about 15 years ago that pier pressure is the best way to instill discipline into a football team. It is also is a very good team-building avenue. I have an entire program that I follow that is considered odd by others. Football is 90% mental so I teach kids to flip that switch as young as possible. Godzilla actually helps in many ways. My attrition rate is nearly zero so it has worked for me. At the end of the day that’s all that really matters. I have coached in very wealthy suburbs and in poor inner city areas. The one constant is if you hold everyone’s feet to the fire they will respond…and its always a positive. For some kids, sports is their only means of structure. So as the coach…have structure. Being on time is only the first step. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 2, 2009 9:47:28 GMT -6
I can tell you this pretty much started with Nancy Reagan and her national “Timeout” campaign.
I remember the day I went down to the local elementary school to enroll my oldest for Kindergarten. This was 1984. Im turning in the paperwork and going over theirs when I come upon a paragraph that states….If a teacher or administrator is suspicious of abuse in the home towards the student they have the right to call Social Services. As I read this agreement that I am supposed to sign… I look at my son who is exactly as tall as every doorknob in our home…is one ruff and tumble kid who likes to ride his Big Wheel into the ditch for fun…and Im thinking I am pretty much screwed because he has bruises and scrapes all over him.
I asked the administrator what this paragraph meant and she explained its the new government regulation. I asked her if the teachers were trained in spotting abuse and her reply was…sign this agreement or go to another school. I was wasting her time.
As all of my kids grew up we followed this new “Timeout” BS. Seemed to work fine until each one hit puberty. Then when a real disciplinary action was necessary…as they are a lot more often with teenagers… they threatened me with abuse and said they would call the police.
Nice.
Currently we are all dealing with “Latchkey Kids” disciplined with “Timeout”. Double death.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 1, 2009 11:01:10 GMT -6
Player arrives late…after agilities the team does 10 pushups while the late players stands in front of the team with Godzilla. At each rep the players doing pushups thank the late player by name and the late player responds at each rep…you are welcome. Late player then runs his lap with Godzilla. Godzilla is a 4” PVC pipe filled with 10 pounds of sand and nails. Mom sees this and is mortified. Thereafter she will never watch the end of Oprah again....or whatever. Matter of fact she is now 15 minutes early for the rest of the season. Forces everyone to be on time. If a coach is late…he runs with Godzilla too. Two way street. Football is a regiment so you have to train the parents too. We will have a half dozen or so tardy issues in August and then none the rest of the way. The parents and players sign a team contract so this action comes as no surprise…until it happens to them. Coach Mike The problem is when parents aren't even at practice, they drop little Jimmy off and take off to their hair/nail/salon appointment. I make players stay after practice so that the parents have to wait. If they don't want the kid to make up the time, no problem, he can sit on the bench this week. I plan my time with the thought of leaving 30 minutes after practice anyway so it doesn't bother me. It really bothers the parents who were late though. And if parents are late picking up their kids, well, that is handled in a pre-season parents letter explaining that kids left 15 minutes after practice will be picked up by the police and they can collect their children there. I agree...with us word spreads. I like the post practice idea for pick ups. That is also an issue. Personally, I get real tired of being treated like a babysitting service. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Apr 1, 2009 10:37:35 GMT -6
Player arrives late…after agilities the team does 10 pushups while the late players stands in front of the team with Godzilla. At each rep the players doing pushups thank the late player by name and the late player responds at each rep…you are welcome.
Late player then runs his lap with Godzilla. Godzilla is a 4” PVC pipe filled with 10 pounds of sand and nails.
Mom sees this and is mortified. Thereafter she will never watch the end of Oprah again....or whatever. Matter of fact she is now 15 minutes early for the rest of the season.
Forces everyone to be on time. If a coach is late…he runs with Godzilla too. Two way street.
Football is a regiment so you have to train the parents too. We will have a half dozen or so tardy issues in August and then none the rest of the way. The parents and players sign a team contract so this action comes as no surprise…until it happens to them.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 31, 2009 14:18:36 GMT -6
Gentlemen
My league questions are almost complete.
What are your league registration fees and how many games does that fee guarantee?
Does your league provide any gear for the players in that fee?
Does your league have mandatory league fundraisers?
Do the teams in your league charge a separate team fee outside of the registration fee?
Does your league provide the coaches with any practice or game equipment other than fields and officials?
Example: Registration fee $150.00 for 8 games guaranteed. Registration fee includes a game jersey only. No mandatory league fund raising required with a separate team fee of $100.00 for the banquet. Our league provides the coaches with 6 footballs and a 1 tee.
Thanks for all of the feedback. I really do appreciate it.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 31, 2009 14:16:56 GMT -6
Coaches
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Its a big help.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 28, 2009 10:57:35 GMT -6
Gentlemen
I have a question for those coaches that coach in leagues whereas you have multiple age groups on one team.
For example, your league has 3 divisions and those divisions are made of up 8 and 9 year olds…10 and 11 year olds…12 and 13 year olds.
My question is if you wanted to coach your son and are hired as the HC when he is 8 years old and you then HC the team for 2 seasons, what happens when you move up to the next division and there is already a HC in place? What if there was no coaching position at all once you move up? Does this happen often and does it create problems?
Does this hurt continuity with the kids that play two seasons under one staff and then 2 more seasons with another staff and then finally 2 more seasons with yet another staff?
Also do you coaches that do not have a son in the program have a tendency to stay at one division while half your team turns over every year?
Thanks for the feedback.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 23, 2009 17:35:58 GMT -6
Father McIntyer…rest his soul.
Dean of Students at my alma mater…x marine…former boxing champion.
If you had the need to fight and got caught then you were sent to the “Red Room” after school or even the next school day because word traveled if you thought you were smarter than him and took your issues off campus.
This room was an old utility room with red gymnastic mats hung on all 4 walls. He would gear you up, put on his RED 1943 military issue gloves and always give you the first shot. Then…dressed in his finest priest suit… he would beat the s**t outta you for one minute…kindly help you up off the floor…remind you what a fu**ing pu**y you really are and send you on home.
Worked for me.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 21, 2009 8:25:54 GMT -6
I read this article that suggests Head Coach's should not coach their own son nor should they permit assistant coach's to coach their own kid. The major point of the author is the Dad coach cannot eliminate the perception that he is playing favorites. What do you think? Coach It really is impossible to coach your son without a little bit of nepotism involved because you want him to succeed. That is just being a parent. How many of us have coached up our sons going to and from practice, at the dinner table….whatever. That’s nepotism without an audience. A good coach will treat his son as an equal and play him in the proper position for the team. Unfortunately that does not always happen and what prompts articles that you just read…albeit not realistic because without willing fathers there would be no youth sports . Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 20, 2009 14:15:21 GMT -6
27 yards? I like that .... 25 is too short and 30 is too long ... excellent, I'll have to use that ... LOL Doug There is a theory behind 27 yards. Its half the width of the field and in my opinion the only distance a player will ever run full speed while on the field. 40 yards? Leave that for the track and field people. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 20, 2009 14:04:59 GMT -6
""their 4.4 (forty yd. dash speed) wingback"" Sounds like a40 yard dash claim to me. As insane as it may seem there are many youth coaches that actually think they have kids that run this fast and or "embelish" their kids 40 times. Dave I have coached a ton of 4.4 kids...27 yard dash times though. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 19, 2009 15:32:18 GMT -6
Not that kind, lol! But in another defensive thread, there was some discussion about the "ethics" of running "the wedge", at the "youth level" (say the 12 and under crowd, specifically).......What I'm really thinking about, would be a super tight/no splits/6-7 man line......whose sole purpose on the play was to overlap, with the center as the tip of the spear......and drive their way downfield......running over every kid in their path......with the back in behind them, eventually cutting to daylight. Personally, I've never run it(with the exception of a QB sneak/possible center and gd.s wedge blocking).....just didn't fit in with our style of play.....but what do you all think.....as far as a safety issue, with these minimum play kids up front a lot......and what the benefits/short comings are.......as far as kids learning to play football....on both sides of the ball......not trying to be ethics police, just wondering? Los You don’t have to be perfect to run a good wedge. Here is a good wedge story for you..... I was the OC for the 5 time defending champs in ’06 in our local semi pro league that is quite competitive and very successful. They are celebrating 22 seasons and this team was one of the originals. The team had just been sold and about 70% of the veterans retired from football so that year we were basically a new and fairly young team. That season I installed the read read spread so in preseason I cut most FB and TE types and held onto WR and TB types. We can only keep 50 on the final roster so I made room for the spread talent. We sucked. Started off 0-3 and losing by rather large margins. The 5 time defending champs were going down and there was league wide dancing in the streets. We managed to get to 1-4 with 4 games left to play. All remaining games were road games out of state. The HC comes to me and tells me when he coached HS they ran the DW because they sucked…but were at least competitive. I was familiar witht eh offense but had never coached it up…so off I went. We changed our offense and ran the spread “i” that we already ran and put in a simple DW with no FB’s of TE’s on the roster. We ran a rather sloppy DW but the players LOVED it. Went on the road and won all of our remaining games to sneak into the playoffs as the last seed. Nobody had paid any attention to us and didn’t know we changed offenses. The contenders considered us dead and blew us off. In the quarter final round of the playoffs we ran mostly “i” and barley won. The only DW plays we ran were our wedge plays because the team to beat that was on a bye were all in the stands watching because they played the winner of this game. The wedge actually got us the win that evening. The next week we ran 50/ 50 spread “i” and DW without substitutions. My backup QB was the starting FB. The TE’s were tough nut undersized WR’s that loved to shoeshine block. Our opponent was the team to beat in the league that year and our hated rival. They had beat us 37-7 week 4. The police were called that night in the 4th to make sure everyone went home after the game safe. We won that conference championship game 14-7 to go to our 6th consecutive championship game. We had 160 yards rushing off wedge alone that night. I hope Coachld who frequents this forum sees this post because he played SS on that team we beat. He will tell you what its like to defend wedge. I watched our FB run right by him many times. The next week we played the best defense in the league. Unbelievable speed at all 11 positions. We were up 25-7 before they knew what hit them. We held on to win 32-28 for the championship. We ran about 70% DW that night and not very well I might add because it’s a hard offense to teach…but these were grown men with tons of football experience. Third play of that game…an 85 yard TD wedge run by the smallest and fastest TB in the league playing FB. He loved to run wedge. He would bug me to death until I put him in for the wedge. Since then every offense I run has a wedge play in it. Last year we ran the a-11 for our 8th grade team and we ran a direct snap wedge play out of the a-11 that worked great. The players absolutely love this stoopid play and who cares about the defense. BTW…in ’07 we ran the DW and the 5 wide empty at the semi pro level. Won our 7th consecutive championship. In ’08 I switched over to the DC position and we lost to that hated rival team in the conference championship game 21-20. The new OC refused to run any kind of wedge and it cost us IMO…even though the veteran linemen begged him to put it in. My advise…learn wedge and run it. We all else fails that play wont. Then you will find yourself designing more wedge type plays to run regardless of your offensive approach. Its ugly…its Neanderthal…and it slowly beats the opponent to death…which is the point. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 17, 2009 18:54:26 GMT -6
I like helmet awards...then my players can tell who the studs are on the other team and key on them right away.
They really are a lot of work and the whole idea hardly ever comes out "fair" in the end. I stopped using them a dozen years ago. Although I do like the academic ideas. Anything that pushes them in the classroom would be a positive and worth the effort.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 14, 2009 11:50:13 GMT -6
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Post by mahonz on Mar 8, 2009 23:00:07 GMT -6
Our semi-pro league plays in the spring/early summer. We used to play in the summer/fall NAFL, a national league, but travel costs became too great. Thanks for the advice, guys. This was our second game of the season and the first in which I called the majority of the plays. I'm learning. It's complicated because I was a teammate to most of the guys on the team before my injuries. Hard to go from buddy to dictator. Coach I have coached semi pro ball the last 5 years, 4 as the OC and one as the DC. I know exactaly what you are saying here because coaching semi pro ball is very difficult. You practice once or twice a week...no film study or film exchange...few coaches meetings...no scouting reports....show up on Saturday night and shoot from the hip. We have had experienced college coaches quit in pre season because its pure mayhem and why I like it. I was very successful because I had huge balls. Had I been in your shoes I would have run a fake field goal...call time out and draw it up in the dirt. Under the circumstances your opponent would expect you to go for the easy 3 and the tie regardless of injury. Stay confident and listen to your position coaches. That is key. Unless you have coached semi pro before its hard for anyone to understand how insane it really is. Now you know. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 8, 2009 16:42:22 GMT -6
CQ, wrote, "I did my entire playbook on word while I was playing college football. Took the laptop on all of our football road trips and put them together" Man, when I was in college I listened to the Boss sing "Born to Run" on the radio and drew my plays on piece of paper. lots and lots of paper. Man those were the days. OJW: I still have my notebooks from high school... All: Here is a download link for the "little football guys" in BMP format: savefile.com/files/33735Ted Do you know how much ink it takes to print out a playbook with those "little football guys"? Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 8, 2009 15:53:32 GMT -6
NO. Play calling is one of the smallest parts of being a football coach. That would be true if you only had one play in the playbook. Play calling is scratching an itch, recognizing a tendency, your eyes in the sky, a substitution, creating the setup, taking what is given, listening to assistants, white boarding between series, scripting off scouting reports.....and so on. Play calling is a skill. Very important. Its the only part of coaching that cannot be exacted during the week...only on gameday. The term out-coahing your opponent comes to mind. Good play calling followed by better play calling with adjustments. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 6, 2009 20:50:29 GMT -6
Coach
Being that 80% of all parents on every team I have coached have asked the same question at the banquet...
"What can we do in the off-season?"
...I'd say you have a great idea here.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 6, 2009 19:10:19 GMT -6
Thank you all for the input
We are voting to raise our backfield limitations in an unlimited weight league from...
2nd grade, 75 lbs. 3rd grade, 80 lbs. 4th grade, 90 lbs. 5th grade, 100 lbs. 6th grade, 110 lbs. 7th grade, 125 lbs. 8th grade Seniors have no backfield weight limitations.
to....
2nd grade, 80 lbs. 3rd grade, 90 lbs. 4th grade, 100 lbs. 5th grade, 115 lbs. 6th grade, 125 lbs. 7th grade, no backfield weight limitations. 8th grade, no backfield weight limitations.
Per your feed back and others we are well below the national averages because of fearful undereducated mothers...yet a TE or SE that can weigh whatever is allowed to catch passes down field...or these weight restricted backs have to block monster defensive ends. Makes no sense.
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Mar 6, 2009 18:39:24 GMT -6
Why do the coaches think you have to be black to be fast? Its not the coaches, or even this parent...just reality. Look at the summer Olympics, the NFL, the NBA... I have coached semi pro football the past 5 or 6 years. We will have 200 young men show up for tryouts each spring. We keep 50 for the final roster. 75% are black because they are simply without question wonderful athletes. Its just the way it is....God given or otherwise. BTW...I am white and not one bit racist. Everyone gets their fair shot...even if they were green. I dont understand...if you have 4 agressive backs then why wouldnt you put them in a position to make a point?...in August... to proove to you who carries the rock. Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Feb 28, 2009 16:49:57 GMT -6
If you play the safety card enough...you will get people to listen.
Maybe its time you all get your own anti a-11 movement together and send it to the associations. For every one petition for this “experiment” that an association receives… they will get 25 from the anti a-11 movement.
Delta should be the prez…
Coach Mike
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Post by mahonz on Feb 26, 2009 18:13:33 GMT -6
Gentlemen
Favor to ask….
Could those of you that coach in unlimited weight leagues that play by grade with weight restrictions for the backfield please post up your weight restrictions.
Example:
2nd grade 80 pounds
3rd grade 95 pounds
4th grade 110 pounds
etc.
Thanks
Coach Mike
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