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Post by coachlesko on Jan 13, 2020 11:39:06 GMT -6
I feel that a speaker doing a broad topic isn't really going to give me a lot of information in a 50 minute session versus a speaker focusing on a very specific topic. For example, one of the best clinic sessions I've attended in the last few years was Mike Tressel going through the tackling circuit they use at MSU. That or someone who is going to focus an entire session on something like just how they run Power is going to be a lot better than a session that focuses on "how we run our 4-3 defense" or "how we run the wing-t" in my experiences. As I have attended clinics over the years, I would agree that a speaker spending their full hour on a specific concept and how to teach, adjust, execute it is far more valuable than the "overview" guys.
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Post by coachlesko on Oct 21, 2019 8:03:11 GMT -6
Just a couple ideas, take em or leave em:
Challenge position coaches to come up with a new fun drill to do during INDY. Still position and technique related, but maybe something a little competitive and fun:: I used to have a 1v1 drill for corners with a little plastic basketball hoop to work man coverage feet. Lightened the mood some but there was still work getting done.
In general, get away from EDDs (or maybe just one) and let the kids "just play ball" during a few minutes during practice.
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Post by coachlesko on Oct 18, 2019 6:29:23 GMT -6
Earlier this season we lined up to kickoff after scoring and the entire front line of their KOR unit was aligned on our side of the 50. Refs threw a flag for offsides and the ball was re-placed, and this time they lined up correctly.
Mind you, this was week 3. It was just a funny occurrence.
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 20, 2019 7:07:48 GMT -6
I'm an assistant and am lucky to coach at the HS in the city I live. I am not a teacher, so I commute in each day. However, the HS can be on the way home from work and is 7 minutes from my house.
Before this I coached at a school 20 minutes each from work and my house. At the time, my job required some weeknights after practice... that was a lot of back-and-forth. Honestly, that was the worst part of the situation, up to an hour in the car in a day.
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 19, 2019 7:12:59 GMT -6
I've put this up before, but this was my 2 platoon plan for a JV team at a small HS (220ish), grades 7-9 (just 1 elementary fed the HS). I think it should be said that on the JV level, every kid should play in every game if possible. JV is all about development and getting them ready to play next year; especially when you never know which kid you may end up needing next year. If you are going to ask these kids to show up every day and sometimes put in an extra day of riding the bus every week, reward them with game-like reps. I think too often, this is where we all mess this up- don't play a kid on JV then wonder why they don't come back the next year.
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 13, 2019 12:52:16 GMT -6
If that was the case, many coaches would be considered "unqualified" - Bellechick didn't play LB for example, (he was an OL) but he coached LT and other great LBs. Urban Meyer was a DB in college, but moved up the ranks as a WR coach. The list goes on and on really.
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 11, 2019 12:43:51 GMT -6
Cleveland and Pittsburg are early March. I'll be stopping by both for at least a little while.
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 1, 2019 15:38:01 GMT -6
March 8-10, and yes. It's still in Aurora
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 1, 2019 14:44:20 GMT -6
Side question to all of this. Two platooned before and obviously had the best 11 play other years as well. Is there more benefit in a modified version such as: One Way: QB OL DL Rotation Two Way Players at the skill positions. Creating different packages for that FB(HBack)/LB kid that will allow them to only have to learn 2 or 3 plays rather than the full system and keep their reps near 100% on defense. I have always coached with between 30-50 kids on the 9-12 roster. Always tried to get as close as possible to 2 platooning as we could each year. Always seemed to begin where spillnkill is stating here: When possible, QB only plays offense. Then, as many OL/DL as possible play one way. After that, it's all about skill level of the kids and how much you can trust them in a game situation. Is the 22nd kid better "fresh" than the 2-way kid who plays that position? I have often found that developing depth is the better route- the best 11 play on both sides, but you try to develop behind the 2-way players as much depth as you can. This can often help get you even closer to 2-platooning, even if you never get fully there. I have found that often, the ability to 2 platoon changes as the year progresses, due to injury, necessity, sometimes due to a kid developing faster than expected, and other times due to sheer dumb luck. In all these cases, developing depth behind the "First wave" kids will allow for needed adjustments as the season progresses. This has to be intentional through practice and game reps, and as kids grow, so do their reps to allow another to become more of a 1-way.
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 1, 2019 13:47:58 GMT -6
Who is planning on attending these? It would be great to meet some of the Huey members and network face-to-face.
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Post by coachlesko on Jan 22, 2019 14:03:37 GMT -6
For me, I use pregame drills to loosen the kids up and try to relax them through familiarity of what they are doing. Provide a routine that they don't have to think about anything so they can just be loose and ready to play.
When I coached WR, I would work through "line drills": line or WR on SL and they would 3/4 run to the hash. I would deliver a ball to them for them to catch at various angles/body locations Straight ahead 3x - (Coach in front) Chest high catch, ankle high, jump ball Across- In front (2x), behind (2x) Fade (2x)
RBs- 2 lines handoff drill (1 line on GL, 1 at 10) - working hand offs on each side of RB holding Footballs (at least starters/immediate backups) Start on GL on the SL and use hash ticks for markers. We would go 5 yds with a small 5 yd burst - 10 yds total - 1 foot in the hole - 2 feet in the hole - Jump cuts Rapid fire mesh/pitch drill. Each RB gets each to both sides
CB backpedal/foot fire in multiple directions/degrees (zero/straight, 45, 90, 180) Shadow/Catch/Wrong Arm Phase (In & Out) Drill
Regardless, try to keep the pace uptempo to a point. Don't want them to be tired after pregame. Just want their muscles warmed up and ready to play a game; so minimizing standing around is big. 55-75% intensity with any running.
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Post by coachlesko on Dec 24, 2018 9:23:35 GMT -6
I definately agree with much of what has been said already: stay on topic, talk about the topic in the title, don't spoend much (if any) time talking general philosophy un;less it ties directly into your topic. "How does this play fit into our philosophy?" or "This is our base play/coverage/etc. because..."
I would spend a moment asking yourself: what would I want to take away from this topic if I were attending? If I were just learning about this topic, what would be important for me to know to be successful? I think speakers sometimes forget that the clinic is for the attendees, not the speakers. If you write your presentation from the aspect of the people sitting in the seats, it lends to a better presentation.
And please, don't read Powerpoint slides word-for-word.
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Post by coachlesko on Dec 4, 2018 8:25:34 GMT -6
Another Triple Option Coach would be Wade Lang from Wofford College, been running it for years and is very willing to share as much as I have known him.
Some assistants that might also be good on that topic: Sheil Wood at Ga Tech, Aaron Johnson at Wofford. Both played in the system and have also coached it. Wood was at Wofford and GaTech.
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Post by coachlesko on Dec 3, 2018 14:49:51 GMT -6
All of the coaches and players on the team get a new t-shirt each week of the season. They all usually have a different saying or motto that pertains to that week. Players get cotton ones to wear during warm ups, coaches get dri fit to wear during warm ups and the game. Needless to say after a few years their my closet is getting full. Lol Man, we usually get a T-shirt and Polo for the year from the money we raise from the little kids summer camp, but a new shirt every week is pretty intense.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 26, 2018 13:39:59 GMT -6
I'll be honest, I am one of the coaches you speak of; I usually come out for warm-ups in a team t-shirt and shorts and then change into the game day attire when we go back into the locker room.
For me, I do it mainly for comfort and somewhat practicality. I am in charge of all Specials, so I am usually out long before everyone else, setting up the field and then moving around to check on the different specials. Then I have an offensive and a defensive Indy warm-up as well. I often work up a little sweat during all of this and I mainly want to start the game in dry clothes and I want them to look crisp and clean and not chance getting them dirty before the game.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 21, 2018 7:12:12 GMT -6
In your defense, it highlights the problem with having bad rules: They don't get enforced. Not any different than the RPO. How many times should flags be thrown for an illegal player being downfield? Often. But it seldom gets enforced. And that lack of enforcement encourages coaches with a highly flexible definition of sportsmanship to get away with stuff that is clearly against the rules. The recent surge of RPOs and the resulting illegal man downfield issue is a great example for the OPs initial question; its a very grey area and is honestly, nearly impossible for referees to get right all the time without missing something else. I personally get the sense that those guys who run RPOs and KNOW that the play will probably result in illegal men downfield but say "make them call it" are probably beginning to cross the line from gamesmanship to cheating. They know they are probably doing something against the rules but since there is a penalty associated with it, they want to put the responsibility on the refs to call it rather than on themselves to keep their players within the spirit of sportsmanship themselves. However, there are sometimes when an illegal man downfield is an honest mistake: broken play, bad design, etc. It really comes down to intent, and that really isn't able to be "policed" by the men in stripes.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 15, 2018 10:03:08 GMT -6
Kids just now understanding how to block veer.... our rule is first thing to the left or right (there’s a more advanced rule, but we don’t play any stacked teams). We randomly block the wrong way and get people killed in the backfield. Finished 3-6 with a low seed playoff bid, but now that we understand our rules idkkk what could happen. Glad it took 12 weeks for someone to understand the first thing to their left or right. Been there, still don't understand why. Son, are you seriously telling me that you're 16 years old and don't know your left from your right? One year we literally wrote R and L on a young JV lineman so he could know which way to go during the play. Thankfully, we didn't need to do that for long, but still.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 7, 2018 12:16:47 GMT -6
Would anyone's opinion change if he was eating an ice cream cone or a hot dog? Is a slice of pizza ok? How about other activities? What if he was smoking cigarettes during practice? Is the action taking away from practice? Is it distracting the kids or hindering the coach's ability to do his job? I think these are really the main questions in these scenarios. I've seen coaches eat during practice and never thought anything of it; usually something small like candy or a piece of fruit. Didn't inhibit their coaching or take away from practice. Especially during a session they might not be as involved in (Specials, Warm-up/stretch, etc) and they are not in the middle of everything, I don't think its a big deal.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 7, 2018 12:10:24 GMT -6
If they are comfortable and can execute, let them wear what they want/need to (as long as within rules) Every kid/coach is different when it comes to weather and last thing you want is for that to be on their minds during the game rather than taking care of business.
Set some guidelines of what you consider (in)appropriate for them to wear and let them figure it out from there.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 7, 2018 8:30:54 GMT -6
I misunderstood what you wanted. You are looking for dummies that insert into the ground? I was thinking you wanted something that had a detachable base. The ones I mentioned have a base, but everything is above ground.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 7, 2018 6:47:46 GMT -6
Shaddow man are blow-up types that we use
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 1, 2018 9:57:20 GMT -6
I treat team as an opportunity to polish off, get full field reads, and go full speed tackle. I understand where the OP is coming from- and I think its a question we all should ask: what is the purpose of team period? Just as we ask what the purpose of any period and drill is. Carookie makes a good point and I think is the real purpose of team: to take all the teaching that has occurred and put it together as a whole. Team really shouldn't be about teaching- that was what the rest of practice was for. But it is an opportunity to put all the pieces together including: huddling, personnel groupings, communicating, etc. All of these are rehearsed during team session. Now, this isn't to say that some "cleanup" might be necessary during team: address a mis-read that now looks different 11v11 versus during group or perhaps an issue arises that wasn't thought through in full during game-planning. Often, team time is when I have found we make adjustments to the play because we see that what we had designed just isn't practical for one reason or another. I remember having a coach who would put us in the worst possible scenario defensively during team practice. That was his goal- to strain us a little and see how we reacted/adjusted on the fly. I think the OP is right though: if you don't go into team session with clear objectives that you (the coach) want to accomplish, it ends up being a waste of time for everyone.
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Post by coachlesko on Nov 1, 2018 5:52:00 GMT -6
We did half-line this week for our defense to rep defending I option. Our kids thought that the other team ran a formation with 2 footballs on opposite hashes. One of our kids thought he was playing a new position. It was interesting. This is hilarious...and a little sad
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Post by coachlesko on Feb 10, 2016 15:32:09 GMT -6
2010-2014 20-30 min drive 2015-Now 5 min drive and loving it!
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