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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 30, 2023 9:11:44 GMT -6
I'd 1000% rather visit a good HS staff than go to a Glazier. Visited a Slot-T team in April, absolutely awesome. I've heard nothing but good stuff regarding Harding University's clinic if you're a Wings N Things type offense. Bama's spring clinic is neat but the S&C staff was by far the most actionable info I got from it. I like this at well. I usually end up sitting in a room with a staff at the glazier clinic and discussing stuff. The fact that I can go to multiple places for 1 price and the drive is why I think its best. But do agree sitting down with other coaches is where its at.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 28, 2023 10:15:59 GMT -6
Glazier is definitely the most bang for the buck... Understand some of the criticisms mentioned here but to be able to go to all the clinics they offer and access the drive its by far the most info for cheapest price
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 28, 2023 10:12:59 GMT -6
Never give "bonus touches" to other teams best player!!!
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 17, 2023 9:08:42 GMT -6
Kids watch a lot of football on the weekends and don't realize HS rules are different in certain instances. I always like to make sure our DBs understand they can be physical all over the field as it's not PI until the ball is in the air. (They still have the 5 yards only for contact in their heads). Also, 2 pt plays can't be returned by the Defense. Trying to get the QB to understand that a busted 2 pt play is still worth taking a shot to any receiver. It's better than taking a sack since you probably aren't scoring anyway, might as well take a chance since there's no worry about giving up points. THIS!!!!... I hate when I get things called on Friday night that some ref seen called in an NFL game and it is not a rule for us. I do like this idea. However, I agree you have to keep it light and fun. Even though you have to set a standard and a tone in weight room in offseason, it still needs to be fun. 99% of kids we coach won't love it anywhere close to how we love it. You can set standards high and teach toughness while making it fun. It's always a grind, but don't grind them to a nub for sure!
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 2, 2023 8:07:43 GMT -6
I don't mean to pirate the thread at all, but I always enjoy discussing the bolded part. That 40% you label as "choice" I would argue is often determined by the other two. In other words the choices you make are often determined by how you were raised and your DNA. I've gone back and forth on that same idea a lot. I've taught two kids where their dad got their mom deported, then he ran off with his girlfriend and left the kids behind. They still made A's and B's coming in with no food or water and sneaking into the PE locker room to shower (until we found out and got them into a foster care system). I've taught a young lady who was raped by her real father and found her sister who died by suicide, and after rehab made A's and B's and placed at districts in track- after he was some how released from prison after only serving ~36 months. Some people make excuses, others overcome reasons. Is that Grit in their DNA at 50%? Yes. Is that Grit shown in some modeling? Yeah at 10%. But 40% is a Choice. agree.. but I believe their raising helped them do those things by motivating them to change their family tree. We should not let them make excuses bc too many kids have overcame those situations. However, it does explain why some don't... from my experience, a kid in a bad situation... either becomes that situation or they become a complete 180 of it.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 1, 2023 13:46:39 GMT -6
I'm still confused by what is being meant here by "tough". Does tough mean strong and physically imposing? Or does tough mean continuing to do something required of you even though it is difficult- in this case some sort of physical collision? I agree... "toughness" needs to be defined. I consider a kid to be tough based on things like willingness to battle when he knows hes gonna lose some... or willingness to endure pain if it leads to gratification in future. Just because a kid is strong does not mean he's tough in my opinion. I think strength helps because your body is built to not be given as much pain, but I have had some really tough dudes not be able to bench or squat. Vice versa, I have had some muscle dudes be soft on the field.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 1, 2023 9:56:13 GMT -6
I like to set them up in a drill or contest where 98% of time they are going to fail... and see how they react to it. Tough kids will continue to try to succeed at said drill long after non tough kids give up ... thats a way to measure it .. and teaching them how to increase their odds of success makes them tougher... I also like to do things where there is a winner loser and consequences. Too many of our players have never had to deal with adversity because they have been shielded from it. Friend of mine said that parenting books should be titled "You gotta let them fall" ... meaning its ok for kids to fail at things so they can learn to deal with it and adjust or learn
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Post by cwaltsmith on Oct 4, 2023 10:12:30 GMT -6
Cost for these things is a concern... however, to me to start with it might be better to cut spending in other areas to fund this
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Post by cwaltsmith on Oct 3, 2023 8:07:28 GMT -6
If losing doesn't bother you then I am not sure why your in coaching. So to answer your question... if you lose continuously it will drive you nuts and wear you down. However, I believe there are things you can do to improve that I didn't think about early in my career.
1. Provide food for them in the locker room. I am not talking about feed them a meal constantly, but have snacks readily available and push them to eat them... For instance, buy packs of cheese and peanut butter and crackers or the uncrustables or ice cream sandwiches... any thing really that can give them extra calories. I know some may come on here and say that bad calories aren't good. but when your in your situations, those kids aren't worried about getting too fat. calories are calories imho.
2. make them weigh in daily and log it.. make them conscious of their weight and trying to gain. That probably isnt politically correct in some places today but I think it helps.
3. Lastly, and I am sure you already are... make the weight room THE MOST IMPORTANT thing in your program. Even more than practice at first, bc if I am understanding you correctly practice doesn't matter much bc your so out matched.
anyway just my thoughts... hope things get better... our job is draining enough... and it can be brutal if no success.
one other thing... celebrate the gains... in weight and weight room... give kids shirts and clothes and food and they will love it.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Jan 31, 2023 9:11:33 GMT -6
The talk about being tough and being in pads is a mute point. We are more physical in helmets only at the school I am at right now than we were in full pads at my last school. Being physical and tough is something that should definitely be stressed, but IMHO, wearing pads has zero to do with that. Example... we had an 11 on 11 scrimmage with helmets only last summer. They are called OTAs.. I was scared to death going in because I had never experienced it, but it was really good work. There was no tackling to the ground, defense just touched off on the hip of ball carrier, but blocking was live. It was intense.
The deal with no contact day after game is tough one. We have JV on monday also, our JV guys practice and then run grab a sandwich and drink and get ready for their game.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Jan 27, 2023 11:04:19 GMT -6
Our Mon, Tues looks like your traditional Tues, Wed that most people do. It is a normal practice which for us lasts right at 2 hours... sometimes 150 some times 210 but never longer. On those days we have a specialty period for kickers, QBs get arms loose, OLINE do extra indy, then we have prepractice. Then we started year splitting old guys young guys up and doing 5 min of off and 5 of defense (on review or touch on new stuff or set recognition). Mid year we started doing what we called FASTBALL!. Best on best for 5 plays as fast as we could go! Hyped it up as competition of which side could win more plays for trash talking or bragging rights. Then we do indy group team with special teams sprinkled in. Sometimes on Monday Bteam guys leave 5 to 10 min early for there game.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Jan 27, 2023 10:20:59 GMT -6
We started this at our school last in fall of 21... I LOVE IT!!! KIDS LOVE IT!!! Basically wednesday is a mental day... similar to what a lot of teams do on Thursday traditionally. We keep it to around 45 or 50 minutes. We go thru pregame for indy... but don't actually do pregame we use it and a review question period. Then we go straight into a scripted game. We run kick off team out and do a couple of kicks... Then defense... we have scout run scripted plays then punt block team etc... then offense ... until we have covered everything. Then we are done. I feel it has kept us million times more fresh. Regardless of what kind of year your having wins loss wise, by week 6 or 7 its a grind. This kind of practice help avoid that in my opinion. It keeps players and coaches more rested. Then we come back Thursday and do about 90 minutes with a more involved indy period and a more physical game script... and cover all special situations. We do it for the no sweat theory and also, we hit a little on Thursday bc studies show that if you go more than 36 hours without contact, that the central nervous system is more shocked when hitting resumes.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Jan 18, 2023 10:56:07 GMT -6
The mini helmets from the decal company was loved by a group I had at one time... it comes in glass case and can be put on desk or case
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Post by cwaltsmith on Jan 11, 2023 11:40:26 GMT -6
Somewhere in a post that I can't find now, this was discussed, and someone gave there way of determining this and I loved it but cant find it now... so please share yours...
Mine has been... I tell my OLINE that if they had lasers on the edge of their shoulder pads, & were facing forward... would the laser touch any part of the DL... if so he was considered on... Some kids have a hard time visualizing this so looking for another alternative.
What is your way of determining???
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Post by cwaltsmith on Jan 9, 2023 11:28:14 GMT -6
I have had several kids in the past that have been managers that have asked about becoming a coach eventually and I have given them extra info and duties because of the interest... I tried to get a couple at my last stop that would help us in data input(ie maxes, 40 times, etc) but the HC didnt wanna mess with it so we didn't. At the school I am at now, we have 3 kids that were FR or SOPH in college that were kinda like GAs for us. They worked for free, did a lot of the grunt work like setting up practice stuff, and in turn got to sit in and participate in meetings and help coach a position group. We also got 2 girls to be our AV specialists this year. They would come to team events and games and take video and pictures. These would then be edited and used on our social media accounts for hype videos and media releases etc. I personally think its a great way to involve more kids, take a little work load off coaches, and give a kid experience. Give them a credit in school and some team gear and a Title. Recognoze them in program etc.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Jan 5, 2023 10:42:07 GMT -6
Hey Coaches, I am currently a college student pursuing a degree in Secondary Education for English but as you can assume by my presence here, football is something I truly have a passion for. I really want to get into coaching once I start my student-teaching program in about half a year so I just wanted to ask some questions about coaching! -How did you get into coaching and why? -What do you think is the most overlooked aspect of coaching? -What is something you wished you knew before you started coaching / What is something you wish you could tell your younger self? I would really appreciate any guidance, Jon-Daniel. 1. I knew at young age... probably 6th grade that I wanted to be a coach. I drew offenses and defenses constantly even tho back then I didnt know much about it. Another thing that pushed me to teaching was my dad. He was a factory worker...HATED EVERY SECOND he was at work... always instilled into me to pick profession that I enjoyed and had lots of time off. As others have said here, teaching is much different now than when I got into gig, but still pretty good gig. I dont know many jobs in my area that I can make what I make and get 2 months off in summer 2 and half at christmas week and thanksgiving& week in spring. And I know its not completely off bc I have coaching duties but they are not all day. I love having same schedule as kids and getting to experience things with them. Teaching has some terrible things to deal with in some areas but in others its not bad at all. 2. Most overlooked aspect is that the x's and o's is only about 20% of what you do and I am high balling it. dealing with kids parents boosters admin etc is alot of what you do along with grades and discipline. But still a great gig IMHO 3. I wish I had relaxed more when I was young and focused on teaching kids more individually. Developing kids is the single most underdeveloped coaching trait in the job. Don't just rely on the kids talent bc it will eventually run out. As far as the college or high school direction... here is my 2 cents... If you plan to be family man... see your kids alot... hang out with old buddies... high school is the way to go you prolly wont get filthy rich but you wont be poor either. If you want to try and get rich by coaching... go college route.... But understand... time away from family and kids will be drastically more... and you dont get rich over night usually its a major GRIND for 10 to 15 years to get to the money making jobs... I cant say which is best. I personally chose HS, & I love it. Teaching is something I do to get me an in to coach, but its not terrible either. some of it is just like any other job. Good Luck on your journey. BTW coaching my kids is pretty cool!!!
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 9, 2022 8:55:44 GMT -6
I think this totally disrupts what team sports are all about, however money talks B.S. walks, so my opinion is irrelevant. cwaltsmith , do you foresee any recruiting violations coming from this? We're in the same state, and my biggest concern is there is already a massive void between the "have's" and the "have-not's" do you think this makes that void larger? I personally think this will allow those schools with what seems to be unlimited money flow to completely take all the athletes. I mean I have a son who is a Soph. athlete. If a "booster from school offers to pay him $100 a week to " where a tshirt to advertise company X and then under his breath says if he transfers to School A, then it's hard to say you wouldn't think about doing it. On another note, I had a coach say that he doesnt think it changes anything. He said that the scenario I just described already happens, they just called it a "summer internship" or something like that ... now they will call it NIL
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 8, 2022 13:56:41 GMT -6
Just saw where Tennessee became the 22nd state to approve NIL deals for High School athletes... Anyone having any dealings with this yet??
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 7, 2022 13:25:31 GMT -6
OIC... ur talking about defensive script... yes we show the kids cut ups as well... I was confused as to how you would get the cut ups of the offensive script before you run it lol We do it for offense too. The script for XXX offensive play verses YYYY front and ZZZ coverage is in their cut ups. Scout teams SHOULD watch to give best possible look Yes I understand that for scout offense... again just confused thinking how you could show your offense cut ups of the plays your gonna run when you hadnt ran them yet... We do the same for defense and scout off
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 7, 2022 11:48:49 GMT -6
Do you mean after practice? or before hand? And if before hand, where do you get the cut ups from? we get them from the trade film, kids are EXPECTED to watch 5 minutes to know what is coming that day, they are posted by lunch OIC... ur talking about defensive script... yes we show the kids cut ups as well... I was confused as to how you would get the cut ups of the offensive script before you run it lol
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 7, 2022 9:10:17 GMT -6
Early in my career I didn't script... I do know. It is still unpredictable to the kids... they don't know the script. But all the coaches do and we make sure we get everything looked at we post cut ups of the scripts Do you mean after practice? or before hand? And if before hand, where do you get the cut ups from?
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 6, 2022 14:02:14 GMT -6
Early in my career I didn't script... I do know. It is still unpredictable to the kids... they don't know the script. But all the coaches do and we make sure we get everything looked at
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 5, 2022 8:51:50 GMT -6
Knowing the plays does not mean the kid or kids are ready to play varsity football in 9,10, 11th or 12 grade grade. If vertical integration is about learning plays, its missing the mark. then if thats the case....the guys who are like "the MS team MUST run my stuff." are full of it. its one or the other... either its critical that everyone runs the same systems because it creates familiarity.... OR... it doesnt. As said in an earlier post, It is NOT the tell all indicator of success. However, I does help if you have it. If you are at a school with lesser athletes than those that you play against, every single bit of help is needed. BTW i do know several programs that if you asked the incoming freshmen to line up and run a HS play on 1st day they could do it without hesitation. Again, it is not a must, but if your program is one that struggles, that might be a way to help get an advantage over others to narrow the talent gap you have
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Post by cwaltsmith on Dec 2, 2022 10:24:38 GMT -6
I would and have told my players that going to the Y is fine... BUT your gonna work out with the TEAM bc it is more than just working out... IT IS A TEAM!!!!... As said before have meeting to explain this... have data to back it up which you do... and play the kids that show up. I get that some have to work etc... but you are offering 3 different times if I saw correctly, and I am sure you would work with a weird situation if one came up. ITS ABOUT THE TEAM!!! NOT YOU!!! If you wanna go to the Y for extra have at it.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 29, 2022 9:38:04 GMT -6
The best/most successful program I've been a part of also happened to be the one with the most alignment from youth up to high school. Our HC didn't hire the MS coaches, but we did a little mini-clinic for them and they were invited to watch some of the early summer HS practices and ask questions. We didn't dictate everything they could/couldn't do...at a bare minimum we wanted them running power and an odd front defense, but we were willing to give them more if they wanted it. My current school has a middle school AD, but they work in conjunction with the HS AD to make a lot of hires. Basically if the HS AD says "we want this person hired" it usually isn't challenged. So if our HFC had somebody they wanted involved at the middle school level it would be pretty easy to get them there. Another school I was involved with at one point had absolutely no alignment, because there wasn't a middle school, just like a dozen K-8 schools who all had their own teams. That program underachieved for years...they are now a powerhouse and combined the K-8's to make two middle school teams, kind of a chicken and egg situation but I'm confident it helps them. But at every school I've ever been at, the biggest thing we have tried to do is have high school players around and visible to the youth and middle school players. We will have HS guys do the chains for middle school games and sometimes ref for youth games. We also have always had the high schoolers help run the youth camp. I think the most important thing you need from youth and middle school programs is to get kids stoked about football and help keep the numbers up. I really like this 1st paragraph...I have been in several programs ... I give examples of the 2 ends of spectrum... 1st the worst... My hometown had zero alignment for years and were not good at high school level. Then the HS got to take over complete control of the MS. I thought this would help... it did not. While the HS HC had input on who coached and ran program he chose not to put big emphasis on it... middle school had been good in some year but never translated to HS success. Youth program wasnt ever great but usually had decent numbers... the HC had ZERO to do with it (never came to even watch). This school has had maybe 3 winning seasons in 30 years...This is definitely not the way to do things... The school I am at now is a small community but it is connected completely... the HC hires MS coaches and runs the program... He has influence on the Youth leagues and the play and practice on our fields... we have walk thru pep rallies where the elementary kids line hallways and players and cheerleaders and band walk thru halls high fiving the little kids... This program while it has never won a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP in football, it is consistently solid & competitive... I believe like said in 1st paragraph... you dont have to dictate every move of younger levels but there HAS to be communication and cooperation
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 28, 2022 11:22:01 GMT -6
I think communication and cooperation is VITAL for ultimate and maximized success. I dont think you have to do everything identical, but there needs to be a common language, and common way of "doing things" ... program standards should be same... It helps if schemes are close... MIddle school is and should be much more laid back, but it get them ready for high school program.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Nov 14, 2022 9:57:16 GMT -6
I know you cant rep everything every day, but no way am I gonna spend time installing a play and repping it at all & then say nope not "carrying that play this week"... I am obviously going to rep what I think will work best from watching film. However, if I get in the game and something presents itself as possibly working no way I'm gonna not try it. I want to work the majority of my plays or concepts daily... but not all in team. I know some guys that have mindset that if they didn't rep play "x" out of formation "y" then we cant run it that way on Friday. Practices & your system should be set up where players are comfortable running your stuff with a few minor adjustments. If they are not, then your not gonna be very good anyway or you need to adjust how you do things.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Sept 13, 2022 12:40:34 GMT -6
I've lost 3 players... one thing I can tell you that doesn't sound like a lot of help is there is no correct answer on how to handle it. On one occasion I felt like our kids had a hard time moving on bc or things we did to remember him each game. I prolly feel best about the time when that team met talked cried... then focused on remembering him in each's on way. We game jersey to parent at 1st game and didn't do much in our day to day (again some kids individually did but not as a team). Another time we carried the young man's jersey to he coin flip every game the next year. Looking back I believe this made it hard to emotionally have closure. Prayers are with you guys!!. Will say we played the 1st snap on defense of the next season with 10 players & no one in his spot.... picked a pass off and players went nuts... was a great moment.
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Post by cwaltsmith on Aug 31, 2022 6:51:20 GMT -6
we use google docs and put it in a google classroo we set up for the kids to join
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Post by cwaltsmith on Aug 24, 2022 10:23:17 GMT -6
I'm doing this now. My son is a Sophomore and started the last 6 games last season at LB ... He calls our defense this year and plays a little RB. I am the DC and LB coach. 1st off let me say I have looked forward to coaching him my whole career, and it has been better than I imagined. We get to spend so much time together. I was worried like others about all the extra stuff that comes. I am also the Head Baseball coach and he plays. There have been some grumblings of him being coaches kid but that disappeared after he got on the field in games. There is truth to what has been said about him being best or worst makes it easier. I get on him probably way more than I should and way more than others just bc I expect more I guess. I have made a conscious effort to leave it at field. We ride home together a lot and I try to be positive on the ride. correction comes in meetings and field. He will ask me stuff which leads to correction some but that is always initiated by him. I get teary eyed typing this bc I know we only have at most 40 games or so together left. I love that I get to do it and wouldn't trade it for any job in America unless he could come with me.
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