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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 12, 2017 23:40:03 GMT -6
My experience at a public school - none of the parents show up for practice, some kids are lucky if their parents come to the games.
My experience at a private school - a bunch of the parents of freshmen and first year players come to the first few practices and then stop coming when they realize their kid isn't going to die. Midway through the season there is always a dad or three that is mad that his kid lost or never got a starting position so he stands by the field, arms folded, glaring at the coaching staff. That lasts for a few weeks and then the dad goes away.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 11, 2017 13:01:19 GMT -6
At a private school where I coached the AD never came to practice, only came to games and never spoke to the team. He did the same for the basketball and baseball. Other sports he didn't even bother with.
Public school where I am now the AD is very involved - comes to practice a time or two per week, even during summer. Comes to every game. After walkthroughs on Thursday he talks for 30 second and says things like, "You make me proud to be an administrator at this school, your hard work reflects well on me, you're going to be great men in the workforce someday, etc." I can tell the kids actually feel it is sincere and appreciate it.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 10, 2017 13:31:37 GMT -6
I worked at a school in a large metropolis that serviced the homeless community. I would say the living condition for many of these families was that they would get a few families together, pool their money, and rent a motel room for as long as they could. Then bounce around between this situation, a shelter for a few days, another motel, etc. Despite this I would have students be absent many times due to similar situations (mom went to the casino and din't get back until early in the morning was a common one). I think of those parents every time I read posts about "kids these days"- most of those parents were born in the 60s and 70s and yet look how they behave. Kids these days comments are coming from coaches. 90% of us coaches were the "model" players. Not that we were perfect, but we were the guys that made workouts, didn't miss practice, studied football, knew our assignments, really cared, etc. Coaches compare the average kid to themselves and forget their friends/teammates who missed practiced or blew assignments, etc. Good post. I don't know about you guys, but the kids that drive me the most nuts are the kids that are exactly like I was.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 28, 2017 12:42:52 GMT -6
Starting RB - "I can't come to practice, my dad is having hemorrhoid surgery and my mom wants me to be there."
Coach - "Are you performing the actual procedure or are you just watching?"
Starting RB - "I don't know, just watching I think."
Coach - "*sigh*"
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 27, 2017 12:41:05 GMT -6
Some years back we're in the middle of practice when a non-football playing kid walks up onto the field and says something to one of my players. My player has a shocked look on his face and they start jogging off the field together. I holler at him, "What's wrong with you, where are you going??" Kid turns around, jogs backwards and says, "It's opening day of quail season." I told him, "If you leave for the quail opener you're off this team." He called my bluff, said, "Okay" and they broke into a sprint. He returned his gear a few days later. To make it even crazier he came back the following year to play and was very good. He went on to play at a D2 school.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 25, 2017 9:05:28 GMT -6
In all seriousness, dcOhio's "Even Jesus only got 11 out of the 12" ranks pretty high up there.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 21, 2017 14:04:48 GMT -6
Our JV rolled an opponent 63-0 last week. Our team is that good, their team is that bad. After the game in the handshake line one of their coaches said, "That was really classy running up the score on us like that." I said, "Coach, we pulled our starters after the 1st quarter, what else do you expect me to do?" His head coach stepped in between us and said to me, "Coach, it's not your fault, we need to coach our kids better." I thought that was very classy of him.
Bottom line, you can only do what you can do. There will still be people that disapprove. You need to get your kids ready for playoffs, I wouldn't hamstring them just to spare another team's feelings.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 21, 2017 8:54:52 GMT -6
I love it when you witness a blatant foul and you holler at your line judge and he goes, "Oh, hell yes, that was terrible, but that's his part of the field, I can't throw a flag for that" while the other official isn't paying attention.
Played a JV game last year where I showed up to the school early and saw an official sitting in his car. He ended up being our line judge. I always try to keep it light with officials so I was joking around with him, "I saw you napping in your car, what happened, did the old lady kick you out last night?" He says, "No, I've never done this before, I was reading the rule book" and he was dead serious. He said he had moved to America from Uganda earlier in the year and thought learning American sports would be a good way to learn the culture. Incredibly nice man. And I pretty much made every call for him.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 20, 2017 13:27:53 GMT -6
A DT in college got out of the drunk tank, drive straight to school 45 minutes late to morning workouts, power cleaned 365 in the pants he'd worn out the night before, muttered "im going to bed" and walked out of the weight room. He somehow never managed to keep it all together to be eligible, but was one helluva off-season kid!! My first year as a GA at a D3 school.. The two GA's were always the coordinators/HCs of the JV team. So we hop on the bus on a Sunday morning (after a huge homecoming win vs our biggest rival) and it smells like a bar.. 5 kids throw up on the way to the game (luckily it was a coach bus with a bathroom). We were missing 1 RB when we loaded.. We get out there and start warming up.. Guys are clearly hungover, and sluggish so we chew their a$$es because this is a terrible team we should crush. Halfway through warmups, the missing RB comes running up in jeans and a polo shirt with his equipment in his hands. He drove himself the 2 hours to the game.. when I asked where the hell he was.. "Coach, I got picked up for public intoxication/underage last night, spent the night in jail, and got out 5 minutes after the bus left but I didn't want to miss this game!" I told him to not bother suiting up... I woulda suited that kid. Makes bad decisions but he's down for the cause.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 19, 2017 23:12:13 GMT -6
Man, weird kids are the best.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 19, 2017 10:50:55 GMT -6
We had our would-be starting QB tell us the the 1st day of practice last year that he was transferring to a private school to play baseball. He made the decision in early June but waited until Day 1 to tell us... Kid was not missed though. Bad leader. Addition by subtraction.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 18, 2017 22:11:19 GMT -6
I agree with those that say you have to create a culture. There's those guys that are going to be linemen no matter what. Then there's the guys that could maybe see a couple plays in a skill position but are much better suited to the line. Those are the guys that need convincing. Let's be honest, practice for linemen can be pretty boring. During water you'll see them looking longingly at the fun drills the skill guys are doing. Sure you have to go through first steps and technical blocking but you also have to make it fun for them. My guys love to hit so I reward them with nasty hitting drills at the end of indy time.
We have three line coaches but only I am the full time guy, the other two show up when they can and they know I'm committed to them. I'm also a jackass that likes to have fun so we relate well. I treat them like my own sons. I laugh and joke with them, they know they can count on me if life goes sideways outside of football. I have great credibility with them and they will run through walls for me.
The team is a family but the linemen are a family within the family and I try to cultivate that. Nobody is going to eff with them. Try screwing with one and you're quickly going to find out what the inside of a locker or a trash can looks like.
That's my $.02.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 18, 2017 15:32:14 GMT -6
If you're not the HC and the HC isn't committed to fixing these problems it's not going to be fixed. Ultimately, its not your deal it's his and you have to support him. If you are unhappy then you need to find another gig.
Last year I was at a school where the HC and I struggled to get on the same page. I had many objections with how he runs his program (as did the other assistant coaches). The members of this forum helped me realize that my job is to support the HC, even if he is wrong. Once I learned that I was much happier (as was the HC). When the season was over I split (that's another story). I'm now at a school where I feel good giving the HC my full support, even when I disagree with him.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 13, 2017 14:14:01 GMT -6
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 13, 2017 12:57:19 GMT -6
Take a look at the “That’s racist!” thread and see if you feel that those kids have a “right” to do that. The kids are doing something that many find extremely offensive on their own time, away from the school and showing no connection to the school or the football team. But they should be tossed from the football team. Now you’ve got kids kneeling during the national anthem – something that many find extremely offensive. And they’re doing it during a school sponsored activity as a representative of the school and the football team. What’s the difference?
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 13, 2017 11:18:16 GMT -6
Our DC, who has been the DC for the past 4 years, literally said, "Give me the 11 worst kids on the team, I'll stop your 11 best on offense all day, every day." Which would be great if it were true but it's not. We literally have to score north of 42 every single game or we're going to lose. Most of the teams we play sling the ball and our defensive backs are just terrible. How do I handle it? I don't, I ignore it because he's the HC's father in law and I just do my job.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 11, 2017 13:34:27 GMT -6
Good grief, a 14 year-old kid taking a knee during the national anthem and I'm supposed to be okay with that? I know I'll get flamed for this but IMO that is total bs. That kid has no idea what he's doing other than some SJW garbage that he learned from watching the pros on Sunday.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 11, 2017 11:19:30 GMT -6
The statement that I read from at least one kid's parents didn't have them defending their kid at all. They acknowledged that he made a terrible mistake and they are working with him to repair the damage as best he can and learn from it.
I'm 99.99999% sure that none of my sons would do something like that but kids can be absolute morons so I'd never say 100%. And if one of my kids did that I'd be heartbroken. I would feel deep down inside that I had failed them as their father but I would not defend their actions. I would do anything in my power to help my son learn from it and be a better person from it.
If I were the HC I would not want those boys on my team. I don't associate with people like that and I wouldn't want to coach them. The flip side is that those kids need men in their lives that will teach them about what it means to be a real man. Like I said, kids can be total morons. I grew up without a dad and I cringe when I look back at some of the things I did as a teenage boy, trying to prove how tough I was. I am absolutely ashamed nearly 30 years later. Thank God my coaches didn't give up on me.
Just a terrible situation all around.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Sept 5, 2017 11:24:37 GMT -6
Leaving a kid behind in his skivvies to fend for himself in a high crime/drug area? Suddenly syrup body shots don't seem so bad.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 30, 2017 20:23:26 GMT -6
This past Friday we were playing in the heat. Our JV middle linebacker was cramping so he started pounding pickle juice. On his first play back in they ran a dive and he was there to meet the ball, just flatbacked the runner. And then promptly vomited pickle juice right into his face. It's moments like those that make me enjoy coaching JV football.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 30, 2017 11:35:03 GMT -6
If you're on the older turf (not astroturf but still older) that is in bad shape the chances are good that the turf isn't being properly cared for or cleaned. So players should clean with hydrogen peroxide after practice and give it a decent scrubbing (as much as you can a wound like that) to prevent staph. Then put neosporin on it and cover. You have to keep it covered in practice or it will just keep opening up. Seems like a gauze pad followed by lots of athletic tape is all that will hold it in place.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 30, 2017 11:27:02 GMT -6
You're the next @sshole in her life. Run while you can.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 29, 2017 11:15:30 GMT -6
Rage for me is a JV head coach that thinks it's his job to win the JV league championship instead of preparing kids to play varsity. So he installs his own plays and tweaks the varsity playbook to what he knows (or thinks he knows).
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 25, 2017 12:30:35 GMT -6
I'd just tell my kids that we're all business. It doesn't matter who we're playing we just do what we do. We only worry about what we can control.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 24, 2017 22:52:03 GMT -6
It's easy for me to feel as I do because I'm not a full time coach whose livelihood is on the line, I'm a guy that coaches out of love for the kids and the sport. But that said, I take all comers. Kids that need football are my soft spot and I'll do what I have to do to keep them in the program - if that means getting them to practice, taking care of fees or whatever. I've had a few tell me that I made a real difference in their life.
Long ago when I was coaching middle school we had a fat kid come out that got winded just getting in a 3 pt stance. Dad wasn't around, mom was a tattooed mess and great-grandpa (a 90+ year old lunger) was his only male influence. The middle school HC wanted to cut the kid because each kid had to get 10 plays a game and the HC thought he couldn't win with the kid. I was able to talk him into keeping him and he was terrible, damn near cost us the championship. He stayed in the program and went on to play high school ball. He was terrible all the way through and probably played about 20 snaps his whole high school career. It made a difference in his life, though, just being on the team and being one of the brotherhood. He tracked me down last year, he's in college and is going to make a life for himself, said he couldn't have done it without the lessons football taught him. That's my $.02.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 22, 2017 22:11:58 GMT -6
My son goes to a private school and he has a teammate with a rich dad - the type of dad that has more money than he knows what to do with. Anyway, he signed up his son (never played football before) to play on the team and then promptly went out and bought him the best gear money could buy (including these pads). The kid went to three practices and then decided he didn't want to play. The kid's dad showed up at practice yesterday and said to my son, "My son said he doesn't want to play anymore. He said you're a nice young man. I'd like you to have these". He handed him a duffle and walked away. Inside were the pads & a Riddell speedflex helmet.
These pads are freaking impressive. My son said it just feels like he's wearing a compression shirt, light as a feather. Said they're also more shock absorbing than the Douglas pads he had, said he barely feels hits. He looks a lot less imposing in them than he did in the Douglas pads, they are significantly smaller. As much as my kid is raving about them I'd probably buy them if they weren't given to him.
Anyway, that's my experience, worth what you paid for it.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 22, 2017 14:27:58 GMT -6
In Kentucky almost all the coaches wear shorts, the refs even wear shorts. With some of the hard core old school guys it's a point of pride to wear shorts the entire season and in the playoffs in November it's cold and can have sleet or snow. On our staff we heckle a young coach that goes pants too quick when it's merely chilly, coaches over 60 get a pass and can bundle up. Yeah, but that's Kentucky. Rumor has it that a coach left Kentucky and went to Texas, he raised the average IQ in both states.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 21, 2017 12:57:16 GMT -6
If you or your staff wears shorts on the sidelines at a varsity football game, you have no credibility. You need not reply. Chuke Williams (Kentucky HS Coach) wore flip flops on the sidelines. They rolled people in the 90s. Who cares what you wear? I like to dress nice myself on the sideline but to say someone has "no credibility" because they don't wear pants on the sideline is ridiculous. Come on! High school football, especially varsity, is SERIOUS business.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 21, 2017 9:57:15 GMT -6
Our kids never have their heads up anyway, they'll be fine.
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Cramps
Aug 18, 2017 0:19:06 GMT -6
Post by fkaboneyard on Aug 18, 2017 0:19:06 GMT -6
We have our kids take two salt tablets before and two salt tablets after each practice. So, during two-a-days they're getting a total of eight. Then, they took two before going to bed for a daily total of ten. This allows us to limit their water intake at practice so that we're not wasting a lot of time with water breaks and stuff like that. This is what a post would have looked like if the internet was around in the 1960s. Lol, I picture all the kids with flat top haircuts and wearing Converse All-star sneakers.
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