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Post by fkaboneyard on Jan 14, 2019 9:54:47 GMT -6
Kids getting "offers" from D3 schools...hmmmmm. Kids are starting to make fun the whole "offers on twitter" thing which I think is a step in the right direction. I try to advise as many kids as I can about the realities of small college athletics it's really hard for these kids to imagine life without being athletes, it's been their entire identity since they were like 7 years old, so it's scary for them to think about just going to college and being a regular student but the reality is that typically, they will spend a couple of months in the middle of nowhere Kansas playing football in front of a roaring crowd of 7 people, going into debt to attend a private university, while all of their friends are partying at a state school having a blast because they are surrounded by thousands of other young people with actual stuff to do. not saying it's a bad decision, many kids go on and thrive at these places and really enjoy their time......but the majority don't stick around past a year or two. I know this first hand because I went to play in the middle of nowhere as a 19 year old, we had like 85 freshman and 8 seniors, it was a worse attrition rate than navy seal school, not one single guy that I got to know over the course of that year graduated from that college..not one
We had a kid that recently did the “blessed to receive an offer from Dogpatch Tech…” (a NAIA school) and he got a great reception from a bunch of the other kids. That caused a landslide of “blessed to receive…” tweets, some were downright cringey like the kid that tweeted “blessed to receive an offer to attend the XYZ Camp at a 20% discount.”
The kid that plays 3rd base for me is an absolute gem – all-league player, academic stud (probably will be valedictorian this year), super hard worker and just a great kid overall. He has had a ton of interest from D2 and D3 schools (has even had interest from some bad D1 schools). He absolutely hates his teammates doing the twitter thing so he’s taken to clowning them. Some of his recent tweets:
“Blessed to receive a two for one offer for large pepperoni pizzas at Little Ceasar’s.”
“Blessed to receive an offer to attend the Bill Buckner Balls Between the Legs camp”.
And the one he posted Saturday night (which I told him to delete) “Blessed to receive an offer of a BJ from a girl I met at a party”.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Jan 7, 2019 21:40:11 GMT -6
And have you considered the logistics of a properly done test? They have to ensure chain of custody the whole time. That means some dude is watching. Not just at a glance, it’s not like The Program. It means teenagers getting fully naked and standing face to face with the tester. The whole time. Is this the hill on which you would like to die? I'm not sure it Has to be like that. I work construction as a side gig and I had to take a drug test. I went in the bathroom by myself and came out with a sample. I signed a piece of paper and was in and out of the testing facility in less than 10 minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. I'm sure if we went on a crusade to stamp out all drug use, we would do it in the extremely thorough way that you are describing. I don't want that I just want a tool to act as a deterrent to the use in the first place. If a kid wants to go to extreme lengths to beat the test, then those drugs must be very I mportant to them and they have other issues. My district is a billion dollar a year operation. They spend $187,000 every time it snows to plow the parking lots. They can turn the AC off in the summer (which they already do for a week) for an extra day and find money for this. As a general rule, I don't die on any hill. I'm a soldier and will morph into whatever I need to be to keep this job because I have bills to pay. There are lots of things I would change if I was czar of my district, but things that bother me the most are when we throw common sense out the window because admin is afraid to have difficult conversations.
So kids would just start getting Whizzinators. I don't get the idea that a school would spend a huge amount of $$ on such a small target audience. There are certainly areas where schools could get a better return on their investment. That's my $.02.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Jan 6, 2019 13:02:24 GMT -6
IMO, most schools will fold their sports programs before they take on the expense and headache of testing kids.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Jan 2, 2019 10:49:04 GMT -6
Don’t do 2 a days. 3.5 hours is a really long time. Do y’all not have summer practices? Or is that counting a lift before practice as well?
If that question was to me - 3.5 is our summer practice time which includes lift and everything else.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Jan 2, 2019 1:52:09 GMT -6
We don't do 2-a-days and I haven't been involved in a program that does for a long time. When I asked why (I'm old school and always did them) I was told that it's not good for the kids to have an intense workout, a break, and then an intense workout. I'm not the chief, I'm just an indian so I didn't question it. Our total summer practice time is 3.5 hours - this includes a lift, offense, and defense. Our total in-school practice time is 3 hours and includes the above but we add in special teams.
I'm not taking a shot at 2-a-day guys, just sharing my experience. For stuff like this I stay in my lane.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 26, 2018 17:00:38 GMT -6
What Are your “rolls”? I’ve seen different things. We have two. If one doesn't work the other usually does. Head rolls are just forward rolls every 10 yards. Hot dog rolls are on their side rolls
They are very effective. We had the team bad ass cry then vomit then cry some more when he had to do them. While the team watched and a lot of them laughed. While it was going on I was thinking, "We're gonna swing for this for sure, that kid's parents are going to be at the school calling for the head of every coach." But kid didn't squeal to his parents and he never missed another practice.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 20, 2018 11:13:04 GMT -6
IMO - moving it just because "none of the players here today have even heard of the event much less could have known the player" is not a good idea. If you would like to move it because a renovation of some kind is happening and you have a new spot for it that's one thing, but moving it because it happened before your watch is not a good reason. If you decide it bugs you that much and you move it, be prepared for the slight possibility that it could blow up in your face in spectacular fashion.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 13, 2018 14:15:22 GMT -6
If he gets on well with the full time OL coach this could work well. He can break down film - game and practice - for your o-line. Having a second set of eyes on the line was a great help to us. One guy would watch the left, the other the right, and it made it much easier to make adjustments when the line came to the sideline.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 6, 2018 8:26:12 GMT -6
I'm not opposed to this per se but most of this stuff is totally unrelated to football and should not be done by a football coach. In my opinion our job is to help make them reach their full potential as football players and, while we do that, help to influence them to be men of integrity. I make myself available to kids outside of practice, and even outside of the season, to help them with personal struggles if they need it. The stuff you list above should largely be done by the guidance/career counselor's office. That said, I always have a discussion re: the responsible use of social media because poor choices can easily affect the football program in a negative way.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 4, 2018 10:30:57 GMT -6
On Saturday mornings we do a lite dynamic stretching session followed by a very lite lifting session and then lite cardio. Total time to do that is about 45 minutes, then we go through previous night's film and upcoming opponent film.
Monday - walk through opponent O/D and then it's indies & team offense Tuesday - offensive indies, team O, defensive indies, team D. (this day is offense focused - 60% of time focused on offense). Wednesday - offensive indies, team O, defensive indies, team D. (this day is defense focused - 60% of time focused on defense). Thursday - walkthrough, D skill guys stay longer to go through coverages
We spend about 15 minutes doing special teams at every practice.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 4, 2018 9:46:01 GMT -6
I attached a piece of fabric to the back top edge of ours and folded it over the front when we weren't using it. It has the added benefit of not needing an eraser, I can just use the cover to wipe it off.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Dec 3, 2018 10:20:20 GMT -6
I coached at a small private Christian school where every coach except the HC and the OC was a volunteer and the only thing we were given was a gameday polo. We'd all wear our own stuff to practices & pregame - so it ran the gamut from very professional to very unprofessional. At one particular practice the O-line coach was wearing a Raiders tank top with jorts, a Corona Extra cap and flippies, while the QB coach was in a UA shirt with khaki shorts & turf cleats - everybody else was somewhere in between. After practice a parent approached the HC and said, "Some of your coaches don't dress very professionally. Why?" The HC said, "They're all volunteers and the school doesn't provide anything for them. I can't ask them to give up 500 hours of their time and then complain about how they dress." The guy said, "Oh, okay". He went to his car and came back with a check for $2,000. He said, "Here, got get your coaches whatever they need. If this doesn't cover it let me know." Great family to have in the program.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 29, 2018 21:06:52 GMT -6
That story is insane. I guess it makes it easier to get all your kids in, though.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 29, 2018 9:15:30 GMT -6
Not all of our kids play in every game and playing time is certainly not equal. At the varsity level the best players play. If it's a blowout we put benchwarmers in but they have to be kids that actually show up to practice and work.
We had a kid new to the program this year (had actually never played any organized sport, anywhere) that was absolutely terrible but he showed up to every lift and every practice. He got a few minutes of playing time in a couple games. We had another kid that played as a freshman, took 2 years off then came back for his senior year. He was not a good football player but the fact that he missed a lot of practices, oftentimes had to leave early, twice forgot his game pants, and often had "injuries" made him even worse. He never saw the field this year. His dad was an absolute turd, accused the HC and the O-line coach of bullying him. Oh yeah, he never paid his participation or spirit pack fees. And now the HC has to stand up in front of everybody this Friday night at the banquet and say something nice about the kid.
I understand the "get everybody in" philosophy but the other side is that a lot of kids are trying to make all-league selections so they want the playing time to get their stats up. If you're on a good team where the game is decided by halftime and the bench is in with a running clock in the second half it puts some kids at a disadvantage. This has happened on teams where I've coached more than once. Like Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, he gets half a game and then sits out. I've heard more than one say, "He hasn't even played a whole game, how can he win a Heisman?" I realize a Heisman vs high school is night and day but not to some of these kids that are knocking at the door trying to go to the next level.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 26, 2018 22:44:07 GMT -6
A lot of times our JV plays before our varsity. The jv games start at 4:00 when it's hotter than heck. I wear shorts and last year's polo through the jv game and through varsity warmups, then change just before the varsity game. It's a comfort thing - I don't want to spend the varsity game in sweat soaked clothes, I want something semi-fresh.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 24, 2018 1:49:01 GMT -6
I never understood how this was some kind of way to show respect. We do it but only because we don't want the headaches that come with not doing it.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 14, 2018 11:06:59 GMT -6
It has been a battle in our program but after a couple years the vast majority of players have gone from watching zero film all year to 1-2 hours per week. It's not hard to tell who is watching film and who is not, it becomes very evident very quickly during practice.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 13, 2018 23:26:25 GMT -6
Anybody every punt from their own 28 yard line on 3rd and 2? Asking for a friend.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 13, 2018 12:08:02 GMT -6
Panic.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 12, 2018 12:12:00 GMT -6
A couple of space heaters on the sideline - back behind the benches so somebody doesn't get tackled into them. Keep the big coolers near them so the spigots don't freeze. A blanket or some kind of pad for the bench - especially if it's an aluminum bench.
About a million of those handwarmers.
Sounds goofy but a wool blanket you can drape over your QB when he isn't in.
For coaching, nothing beats battery powered socks. Ahhhh
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 9, 2018 0:07:06 GMT -6
you need to copyright Power of the Pear and protest pear, I got a feeling this is going to be the next big thing this offseason Maybe there is a deeper meaning behind all this. Through the use of pear pressure, he is trying to convey his dissatisfaction with the program
rofl
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 8, 2018 11:16:06 GMT -6
Just thinking about some guys that I think would be fun to have in office - Mike Ditka, Mike Leach, Bobby Knight, Jim Mora and, of course, Jerry Burns. Pressers would be awesome.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 7, 2018 23:36:49 GMT -6
I coached for a guy - he was a single guy in his late 30's - whose mom would bring him a big hoagie and a giant mason jar full of sweet tea everyday during summer practices. He'd sit in the shade with his mom, pounding his sandwich, while the rest of us coached. When he was done he'd rejoin practice still drinking from his mason jar. He was a heck of a coach but everybody thought he was nuts.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 7, 2018 18:17:42 GMT -6
like drinking a coffee during practice,just not something I think is professional. I could see a visor guy doing something like this....one of those guys that stands on the sidelines most of the practice and is upset that that the HC doesn't listen to any of his ideas...eats his pear and talks way to familiar with the kids...."for sure bro if I was calling the plays we'd be feeding you that rock" but you said long time assistant which means that this is a guy who has been around and knows the deal, maybe he's frustrated with the direction of the program and its a protest pear.....either way this is a big issue that definitely needs to get sorted out...I never seen a guy drink coffee at practice either but that would be weird too....I think if he wears a tank top and does all of this you gotta fire him for cause
This is no ordinary pear, it's a protest pear. Fear the pear!
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Post by fkaboneyard on Nov 6, 2018 14:36:22 GMT -6
Won our last game against a winless team 54-7. No playoffs. We finished 4-6, 2-3. Still pretty sure I’m going to resign. Going to speak with the AD again and ask him to clarify what he thinks about how much power the coaching staff and I have for separating varsity from JV. Also going to go the the principal again and ask her how much she’s going to support me for having a no nonsense attendance policy. Like am I going to be able to tell a kid he ain’t playing if he comes to me at the 11th hour Monday before practice saying he can’t make it because he has homework? What other things do you think I should ask? Or even just bring up. This school could be pretty good in football with the right culture and enforcement of rules. There are some promising under classmen at almost every position but it’ll be a crime against humanity if they’re allowed to sink into the cool guy apathy this year’s seniors had. And it’ll be impossible to win if I don’t have admin’s backing. Not asking for them to kiss the program’s ass. I just want assurance I’m going to be able to run the program as I see fit and not have to worry about being called into the AD’s office because a couple players are mad I yelled at them for skipping practice. That’s really all I want at this point. Got good assistants who want to return, the right kids, the right facilities and the right teaching position. I've always been told, by my father, growing up and i hold on to it to this day. Don't ever make a big decision from a position of weakness. What he meant by weakness, how I understood it, is the emotional drainage from your situation the lows of your struggles. Step back from the situation now and take some time to breathe and really gather your thoughts. Ask some mentors their thoughts and then understand, ultimately, in order to get the culture you want and the standard raised to where you want it there are going to be struggles and problems and are you willing to deal with those problems? And yes, also the support from the admin makes that easier or harder and they play a big roll in how fast you get it turned around and if you can get it turned around. Good luck coach don't let the first year at historically bad team deflate you. Remember that job is not a Microwave job its a slow-cooker and going to take some time and sweat equity!!
This is excellent advice. A little time gives some perspective, you owe yourself to take it before you make any big decisions.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 31, 2018 0:29:52 GMT -6
I'm at a relatively small school so our JV & varsity practices together. Once we hit playoffs (like now) we release the JV kids that aren't interested in continuing. Those that want to stay with the team have to really work or they get counseled out.
Our practices become more mentally focused on learning opponent's offense/defense and indy time. We do not do a lot of contact and beat the tar out of each other - we can't afford an injury because we are so thin on numbers.
Try to do something fun at the end of each practice - lineman punt return, etc.
Re: multisport kids, in my experience, the kids that check out in one sport are the kids that check out in all sports. I coached a 3 sport kid and before our first playoff game I overheard him in the locker room say "Man, if we win we have another week of practice. I just want to get to basketball." His basketball coach told me the kid said the same thing when basketball was about to make their run and he wanted to get to baseball. I coached him in baseball and he was really good for about 80% of the season, then he lost his will.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 29, 2018 10:58:25 GMT -6
One game - win or lose - does not define you. Emphasize fundamentals this week, keep them loose and focused on the prize, have fun and finish strong. Make them want to come back next year.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 23, 2018 10:41:32 GMT -6
If band kids weren't performing only a handful would go to the games - those are kids that actually like football or the social atmosphere around it. If not forced, only a couple (if any) football kids would go to the band performance. I think forcing kids to show what great guys they are is stupid. When I coached middle school way back in the day the cheerleaders would do their halftime routine and then pick up their stuff and leave, sometimes walking across the middle of the field while we were doing the warmup. The middle school AD was also the middle school cheerleading coach and saw nothing wrong with it. She demanded that the football players go to the cheer competition to support the girls. This is the same crazy woman that mistakenly ordered a small bus for an away game and then said that her cheerleaders would board first and any leftover seats could be filled football players. She was the kind of crazy you read about in books but when she walked by in yoga pants your head would explode.
When you force kids to attend those things they just end up clowning each other for it the following week at school.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 23, 2018 10:04:11 GMT -6
Then I'd take that as a win for the night.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Oct 18, 2018 20:21:14 GMT -6
The only cursing I do is like, “and if he comes across the middle you knock his d!ck through his a$$hole,” never would use fuk even though I use it constantly in normal speech and would never cuss a kid even if he stepped on my toe in cleats
This is hilarious on several levels and I personally don't use profanity.
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