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Post by coachjm on Jan 24, 2015 18:38:09 GMT -6
Coaches: One thing I have been thinking a lot about is hosting a "Mom's Football Night" Here we would teach mom's the basics of the game--rules--position names I am curious if: a. anyone has done this already--feedback b. if so, do you have an outline My wife led a program with our moms like this twice... She did built a Curriculum for it (yes she is that over the top sometimes). Note we only did it twice the reason is we did not feel there was any real benefit beyond some positive publicity. We have a Moms group now and they love to help us with different things but the agenda of this group is in support services rather then us educating them. It actually has been a great thing as they can feel included and part of the program (as they should) and do the the things they like doing most (cook, generate spirit, organize, ect.) I would recommend going this route if you are debating how to get more parental involvement. Our moms club meets the week after our spring meeting the Senior mothers are in charge of this and they decide at the end of their Junior year who will take this responsibility. They organize all team dinners (weekly), road snack packs (road games), fall picnic (we have a great picnic the sunday prior to practice starting), signage on our walkway to the field (all the players have large pictures displayed in a different way each year), and our banquet. There have been years when they have organized pep rallies and other events as well. It is a great thing, there are times where their may be an individual or two who oversteps their bounds but generally we take care of those individual cases when they happen.
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Post by coachjm on Jan 24, 2015 10:47:06 GMT -6
At all of our stops we have had pretty good success improving numbers. Current location small school (250 kids) our first year we had 53 kids playing from 7th through 12th grade this past year we had 84. Previous stop in bigger school (just shy of 1,000) we had 64 9-12 and 120 7-12 in year 4 our final year there we had 111 9-12 and 221 7-12. The procedures we have used have been pretty consistent and seems to lead to a fairly positive experience.
1. Our premise is kids in lower levels want two things, to be able to play and attention from their coach and peers. We make sure all kids who participated get an opportunity for meaningful playing time at the appropriate level we will maximize our teams splitting them pretty much anytime we get 30 kids.
2. We host a big pep rally each spring to engage kids and get them excited about summer camp and signing up to play.
3. Immediately after the sign-up we send out a mailing to the parents giving them all the information about summer camp start dates, our spring parent meeting, and welcoming their family notifying that their child has chosen to sign up to play football.
4. Summer camp is a big deal, we want a huge turnout we want nice gear we want a positive environment in which every kid has a blast last year we had 154 boys at our summer camp there is only about 350 boys in the entire district.
5. Weight room is all incentive based if they come we reward them if they don't we encourage them to but we try not to push to hard we want it to be their choice to want to improve themselves not a coach pushing them into it. Our 10-12th grade athletes generally have all but 1 or 2 kids who attend more then 75% of the total lifts and typically almost the entire Varsity is over 90% attendance.
6. Lower level coaches call and invite every boy out right before equipment handout trying to get a few more to give it a try.
7, Our coaches tend to be patient teachers we avoid hiring guys who are going to be loud just to be loud.
8. We try to make sure every kid has a role and purpose that has significance.
9. We try to create a culture that is built around brotherhood and selflessness not star players (this is good for numbers but not typically what the preceived start players parents will want this philosophy has gotten me fired).
10. We practice and compete hard but try to remain and appropriate balance between work, play, and rest. We are not all football all the time all year round even though my mind tends to be that way I believe most kids that is too much for them.
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Post by coachjm on Dec 31, 2014 8:33:59 GMT -6
lonestarqb
Grind and work passionately with a commitment for excellence in everything you do. 21 years ago I was in your shoes I remember reaching out to the coaching fraternity to learn more about it and how to get into it. Here is what I learned.
- Your work ethic determines a lot in life and there is great carryover to your work ethic in school/sport as there is in coaching. - Invest in your current program you are building a philosophy right now as your mentors (your current coaches) teach you what they know about football that information and knowledge will be invaluable as your knowledge goes. - Playing will be your only practical experience, good coaches have an understanding what it is like to have played in the game, do this as long as possible as when it is done you will have more theoretic experience but no more practical experience. - Football and Coaching is a tough profession, do tough things now to become a tougher individual to make yourself as discipline as you can to be as successful as you plan. - Keep an open mind, I went to college to be a politician within my first semester I decided to be a college coach after a couple stints in college I decided to become a educator/coach. Not as I had planned but in hindsight I would have been a HORRIBLE politician!
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Post by coachjm on Dec 29, 2014 8:31:37 GMT -6
We have zero coaches on campus (it STINKS), we are a small school and I'm not sure how we would manage if we weren't (although I have a buddy in a nearby school that is pulling it off and it is a large school). There are some things we have going for us:
1. A large staff so there are lots of guys with lots of different relationships with different kids. 2. Coaches involved in other sports and activities at the school so they are more connected. 3. Many of us get to as many school events as possible to see the kids 4. I have two parents on staff which have strong relationships with the kids around their kids age both good men who understand the coach/parent role. 5. The HS PE teacher is a good guy who is on the same page with us when it comes to strength training and developing kids.
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Post by coachjm on Dec 29, 2014 7:15:34 GMT -6
A big key to all of this, and probably more important in 2014 then any other is maintaining proper balance for yourself and for your players.
This is probably the toughest component for me as a Coach and I have to constantly fight myself to keep things in perspective...
Many, many Coaches are great motivators, hard workers, and natural leaders if they weren't they would not have gone into education/coaching to begin with and if they weren't these things they probably won't last very long in this highly competitive field. However, many (including myself at times) forget that we are coaching a game for the greater development of our society for our teenage boys. Without a proper balance we will have less boys participating and/or lower motivation levels.
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Post by coachjm on Dec 27, 2014 11:25:47 GMT -6
One change we make is starting in week 3 we cut one period a week each day until the end of the season if we are a playoff team we do sometimes add a period or two back on as the opponents we are generally not as familiar with. Additionally, we have less contact days each week as we will taper our Wednesday to 1/2 pads, then eventually Monday we will go just helmets and eventually we will go Wednesday just helmets. We try to keep Tuesday a full padded practice all year but by the end of the year that is it. We have felt our kids are fresher and more prepared for practice and games by doing this. Additionally, we only condition the first week of the season after that we feel it generally does more harm then good, we do have very uptempo practices with very little down time that we feel conditions our players.
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Post by coachjm on Dec 25, 2014 8:02:25 GMT -6
I think you will find your prep time will not be much different from what you had in Ohio, you will have to become a bit more efficient but ultimately there is only so much a kid can handle on any given day. I do think the bigger challenge coming from Ohio is the limited amount of practice dates prior to the first scrimmage/game and the fact that you only have one scrimmage. This really crunches what you can implement and to me really makes your summer camp that much more of a priority.
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Post by coachjm on Dec 21, 2014 7:25:10 GMT -6
2 Years as an assistant 1 at D3 College (line coach) 1 as OC at HS that I would get first HC job at. Currently have 12 years as a HC one additional assistant season after getting let go prior to the next gig (NAIA Co-OC). I really enjoy being the HC, I like managing all the challenges from motivating kids, dealing with admin/parental challenges, organizing infrastructure. I hardly ever personalize that stuff and tend to view it at as logistics (helps father was a coach for 40 years so I have watched that stuff my entire life). I'm fortunate to have a very loyal group of guys I work with that are great coaches and don't want to deal with any of those things. We make a good team.... Due to us having a good Team of guys we are having a lot of fun..... Other stops the Team (of coaches) hasn't been as united we didn't have as much fun regardless of record.
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Post by coachjm on Dec 16, 2014 17:21:34 GMT -6
1.Politics 2.Nepotism 3.Sycophantism 4.Hard work Wow Brophy, Sycophantism?!?!?!? Thanks for forcing me to dust off my dictionary.... On a side point I'm looking to purchase a Wooden book or two for my next couple reads are there any specific ones that folks would recommend?
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Post by coachjm on Dec 13, 2014 18:53:12 GMT -6
Rooster,
Although my insights aren't likely what you are looking for I do know your situation well, both from having similar opportunities and from walking that path. My view is that you are really in a win/win situation. You have a good resume after a successful run as a HC, you have stable employment to ensure you continue to feed your family but just as important you are able to be selective on the next HC position you take. The college position is with a good staff of people that are honorable and passionate and likely will continue to win, the HS position being one that could easily make another run with a HC who is well connected and has the ability to build great programs. Ultimately, to me it is about what path you want to go, I love coaching HS football, I love the age of the kids and how they are yearning for mentorship, I love the role that we take as HC in the community, I love the competitiveness of working against friends and peers in the profession. I like the fact that I can have a little balance in life as a HS coach (although this is always a battle). Growing up with a Dad in the college profession and intially choosing that route I quickly learned that I was more fulfilled in aspects of teaching/coaching rather then recruiting/image aspects of college. Teaching Football at any level is fun and working with a bunch of hard working athletes at the local college is very rewarding so ultimately either path will be another experience that you will enjoy and make a difference in.
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Post by coachjm on Nov 23, 2014 5:56:15 GMT -6
The goal in HS football is to build programs vs. teams... Programs are stocked deep in talent because it is the thing to do in the school the top athletes all participate and sacrifice in the offseason and are developed as football players by the staff. This is a long slow tedious process that takes many small steps over a period of years to achieve. The first step is generally taking a team that is not competitive and staying in games. Some places this is nearly impossible to do as the necessary steps to go through is too timely for you to maintain support.
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Post by coachjm on Oct 30, 2014 3:49:53 GMT -6
Every year at the end of the season we did a Basketball tournament, set it up with a draft, followed by "practices" in which different fundamentals had to be mastered (i.e. the pick and roll, box out session, ect.) kids loved it and it coincided with the start of the NBA/College Hoop. After the first semester ended we did a dodgeball tournament this wasn't as long but it was great. In march, at the conclusion of wrestling we did a bunch of strength challenges including some light wrestling in the wrestling room. Then in the spring we always do a softball tournament. Some great memories from this stuff!
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Post by coachjm on Oct 27, 2014 18:47:54 GMT -6
Glazier Staff has many good people to work with. I have had fun doing it and always made a few new coaching friends.
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Post by coachjm on Jul 17, 2014 21:46:34 GMT -6
We are at a small school now although I have coached at both large and small schools. Our first year at this school we had 17 JV and 17 varsity players. We are now currently at 27 Varsity players and 26 JV players and it almost feels like we have too many, not as much individual attention, harder to find roles for all kids, ect.
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Post by coachjm on Jul 9, 2014 7:02:55 GMT -6
We have gone a staff retreat the last two winters. We go to a house on a lake that one of our Coaches own in the middle of the winter. We get there Thursday night meet over summer schedule and Kick Game, Friday morning we start meeting on our schemes, we take a break for Lunch and spend a few more hours meeting. Saturday we meet for 3 or 4 more hours then head home early Saturday afternoon. It is a good time for discussion and teaching as we are removed from all other distractions.
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Post by coachjm on Jun 27, 2014 6:30:01 GMT -6
We run 1 or two periods (5 minutes) of full speed live contact a week the rest we generally try and focus on technique and fundamentals, pursuit, or go full speed vs. bags.
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Post by coachjm on Jun 12, 2014 20:15:06 GMT -6
Bottom line is the relationship of the parent and coach are conflicting by its very nature. The parent is responsible for supporting, advocating, and helping their child. The coach is responsible for supporting, advocating, and helping the entire team. Many times those things align many times they don't. Bottom line, show and effort to communicate well, listen when necessary and continue to make the best decision for the TEAM and let the chips fall where they may. No easy answers when the wishes of a few are in conflict with wishes of many.
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Post by coachjm on May 11, 2014 7:28:30 GMT -6
We do set goals on the first day of the first moment of the first practice. We have all the Seniors brainstorm out what they would like to get out of their Senior season and Their team. We right all of these things on the board and then have the entire team vote for the 3 items they value most. After this we define how we are going to measure each. We place them on a bulletin board and leave them up for the entire season and talk about what we need to do in each day to reach these. Last year our goals were to:
1. Have Fun 2. Win our League 3. Qualify for the playoffs
The last two are easily measurable, the first we defined as having 9 team activities organized by the players that the players wanted to participate in. One was they went to a road volleyball game as a team, one they went to Taco Bell on a Tuesday night, they came up with them and did them.
I think goals are important, I think it is good to know what your kids want to get out of their season and their experience.
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Post by coachjm on Jan 27, 2014 17:14:05 GMT -6
Nice that you had a JV in a school with 300 kids. Also, were are in an 8 team conference with 7 schools ranging from 260-390. 1 school has around 160. Every school except the school of 160 had a JV team. So it's not anything magical that we're doing around here. I think part of what helps is we're realistic with the number of fall sports. Boys at our school have the option to play football or run cross country. There are a couple schools in our league that have soccer in the fall as well. Most coaches would say that doesn't matter, you would only get a couple of them anyway. Probably so within the first couple years of it not being an option. But long term, if the boys grow up know they will eventually play football then I think it becomes part of the culture in the community. Our boys here play football at this school. Or we get the majority of who we should have out at least. It's my understanding that there have been a few in past years at this school who have dual sported playing football on Friday night then running a cross country meet on Saturdays.This culture here is so much different than where I came from. We've won almost as many games here as I did in 5 years at a historically losing program. The program I was last at from 2007-2011 had only 4 winning seasons since 1976 when I took over. When I took over the program was 5-40 the previous years under 3 different head coaches.I was the 4th head coach in as many years. The year before I took over, the varsity season was cancelled due to low numbers and injuries. The team was 0-9 forfeiting the last regular season games. So the situation was extremely challenging to say the least. Not to mention this was a school that for years had soccer as an option in the fall. Boys did not necessarily play football there. I'm still convinced had they eliminated that sport that the football program would've benefited long term. If they come up in a culture where "boys play football" then you're going to get a lot more earlier. Keep it fun for them and they stick around until they realize they love it or at least like it enough to keep playing in H.S. Numbers are up. I think sometimes coaches are quick to take credit for increases in numbers at small schools. A clean slate has a way of creating enough curiosity but ultimately a culture will dictate long term what those numbers look like on a yearly basis. Just my opinion from two vastly different experiences as a head coach at two different schools over a 7 year span. Very good post... Variables like soccer in a small school, certain demographics ect. have a huge impact on numbers and long term culture. The other point that is right on IMO is the fact that coaches think the impact stems from what they do and the reality it is all about the KIDS experience, if they have a positive one they are likely to keep playing if they have a negative one they will likely stop playing regardless of their level and age. As Coaches we can impact this but there are lots of variables that are sometimes well out of our control.
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Post by coachjm on Jan 26, 2014 21:33:10 GMT -6
coachjm, was your experience at a school/schools that were always struggling for numbers or a program that had a record of success? I do not doubt there are and always will be programs that just keep on keeping on every year, but it seems that a lot of places struggle to keep the numbers up. I agree 100% with your statement about increasing numbers, but the reality is that there is a large number of coaches out there that think everything associated with High School football is about sacrafice and misery and what ever other barrier you can put up at a kid. There are a ton of choices a kid can make other than football, and if football equates to drudgery, you can count that kid out. 4 of the 5 were coming off of losing records. 1st one I was an assistant at and became the HC, the school previous HC was a great coach and we had a good program. 2nd was 1-27 the three previous seasons with virtually no recent success. 3rd one was 2-7 the year before previous coach had some solid seasons a few year prior but not a traditional strong program since the 60's 4th one had 3 1 win seasons in previous 4 years (with a 3-6 season additionally) no real tradition here either. Current school was 4-5 the year prior historically a competitive program in league but hasn't won a league title since 94' so I wouldn't classify as a real power although they do have their share of solid seasons. In this time we have followed some really good coaches too that were having tough seasons for numerous variables. My point has much less to do with these experiences then it relates to why numbers go up or down. There are several steps we have put in place at all of these places to get kids out to play at all levels and in turn for the most part numbers have improved. When they have dipped I have been able to relate it back to me making some meathead decision that truly wasn't in the best interest of our kids. These decisions have generally been because of my lack of patience and my personal pride/ego getting in the way of the kids experience...
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Post by coachjm on Jan 26, 2014 19:27:14 GMT -6
Do you hear that noise.....that clanking sound is the sound of the first lug nut coming off of the tires of high school athletics. It wont be long until the wheels come off. I truly don't want to sound like chicken little here, but almost every coach that we played last year had lower numbers than the year before. This site is full of posts from coaches talking about the low numbers and player-school-community apathy towards football and athletics in general. At our school, we went from a record breaking year to approximatly a 30% drop in numbers. And it is not just football, baseball coach is saying he can't get anyone interested in getting in the weight room or doing off season stuff. Some sports we barely have enough to field a team. Ask the other coaches at your school what their participation is? I bet they are working their butt off to get players to get involved. My theory is this, the programs and schools that have a long tradition of winning/competing will have the occasional blip of lower participation, but they still stay strong. The problem is for the programs that haven't made it over the hump to be a competitive/consistent program, or they are constantly "rebuilding". Kids just don't seem inclined to put in the extra effort when the chips are down to do what has to be done to get the program going in the right direction. I hear it all the time, "Were just going to suck so why try". They don't get that in order to "not suck", every body has to get on board and do the work needed. No amount of t-shirts and rewards is going to get the kids out at these mid to low level programs. Throw in community apathy, and the reality is you would be better off putting your energy into looking for another school to go to. Hate to sound cynical, but I see so many things pushing kids away from sports (hard work, bad economy, pay to play, lack of mental toughness, mommies afraid of injury, NFL concussion coverage etc.) that I don't see this trend changing any time soon. I don't buy this... Our school had the highest number of participants that they have had in about 5 or 6 years this past season. The year before was the second best. Last year we had two middle school teams for the first time ever. In being a HC for 5 different HS there have only been two seasons where there wasn't an increase in numbers from the previous year. The first was I was new to a school and came in with the attitude of "changing the culture" this was mistake as really all I did was alienate a handful of boys that probably could have helped us. I learned having a certain structure, certian expectations, and a specific philosophy of discipline has nothing to do with culture through time the culture may change due to these aspects. The second time was in a year we decided we needed to increase expectations we ran 6 a.m. workouts all offseason again there was a negative impact as our varsity numbers dipped by about 10, although the total program numbers increased (they did not do the 6 a.m. work). Increasing numbers Ensure kids get to play when it matters at all levels Make sure you have coaches who teach/insipire vs. rep/discipline Make sure football isn't a year round "grind" these are KIDS playing a sport Have Fun as coaches with coaches and with players nobody wants to spend 12 months a year working out and playing for people that are miserable if you and the kids aren't enjoying it likely they aren't going to keep doing it. Laugh, smile, and cheer the boys on! Place the kids and other coaches interests in front of your own, keep it about them, their growth, their experience, their memories. We always say it is the Seniors team, everybody only has one Senior year and we as coaches already had ours so this is yours, we start the year with that each year and we end it with the Seniors leading speeches at the banquet, it is their team, we as coaches are there to guide their experiences, we dictate our schemes (we have more experience in this area), practice structure (to ensure safety and development), and playing time (and we make a good faith effort to give everyone opportunities in this area).
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Post by coachjm on Jan 10, 2014 8:50:42 GMT -6
Most kids are looking for three things out of sport.... 1.. Hang/Play with Friends 2. Approval of adults they respect (Coach, Dad, Teacher, townspeople) 3. They want to have fun, fun=a positive experience. If you provide these things for kids kids will participate, now you may have a couple of groups that have been lost at this point that you can't get back. Our focus (school of 250 as well) is always ensuring these things happen at our middle school and JV levels. At those levels we work very hard to make it attractive to the majority of the boys so they have friends playing, we try to get adults to coach that are very encouraging, supportive, and respected wether they be young guys right out or popular teachers, and we know that it isn't much fun to not play so we try to have as many teams as possible so that everyone is needed and coached up this gives the kids a purpose in playing and the coach a need to instruct all the kids not just the best players. Treat the kids with respect always welcome to come out for the team and coach them up to be as competitive as you can be each season.
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Post by coachjm on Jan 8, 2014 7:59:28 GMT -6
I love watching Big Ten football and certain teams in the rest of the country pretty much any flexbone team or power off tackle based program that runs a lot tight sets like Stanford or Pitt this year. I am a fan of the Detroit Lions, and try and watch or DVR every game, I watch with the same emotions of any moron fan out there, I try to go to a game each year (when our season is over) and I have a great time. I really enjoy taking a different perspective with this team. dcohio I'm pretty certain the Lions have tried your pass on every down theory and it has not worked as they have a hard time converting on short yardage plays and have had so many costly turnovers that have prevented wins..
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Post by coachjm on Jan 3, 2014 18:38:40 GMT -6
Six years of coaching CFB taught me that being a "grinder" doesn't help you win. It just makes you perpetually tired and irritable and frequently unhealthy, none of which contributes to efficiency. That's why Bob Stoops sends his coaches home after practice. Coach, Your honesty and straight forward approach really enhances this site. I just read a couple of your responses to my wife who of course spent a year or two next to your classroom as we both rolled through one of our stops and although I'm sure you don't need my encouragement I wanted to post and point out that your perspective on things and wisdom through experience is appreciated by many of us young pups who hope to be able to do this thing as long as you have....
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Post by coachjm on Jan 1, 2014 8:32:13 GMT -6
A thing that has helped my perspective is by looking at losses as a growth opportunity. Essentially every hardship I have faced in life I believe has helped me become better in some capacity. So losing exposes our weaknesses and in turn allows our coaches, players, and team to identify the area's we have to get better at. The harder part in my mind is convincing many of those around (kids, coaches, and some passionate fans) that we are not defined by that loss but instead it merely shows us what we have to get better at.
Success yields confidence, failure allows growth! Growing is a good thing!
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Post by coachjm on Dec 28, 2013 15:19:46 GMT -6
Coach Davis,
It doesn't have much to do with wether you are rural or urban, Mendon, for example, I'm sure has many qualified coaches that could coordinate and that is very rural. There are several examples that I can think of that is like this. We have been blessed to almost always have great staffs, there was one stop that we had in which we were very short on coaches with experience I found myself doing much more then I could handle and began placing people who lacked experience in roles they were going to have a tough time with it did not end well but many of those guys are still coaching with me now in the next stop and have really grown into those roles and do a great job. I have been loyal to them they have been loyal to me. We have 9 coaches in 9-12 and none of them are looking to move on. Much of this has been us trying to empower people maybe even before they were ready as the HC I believe my major role is creating a vision for what everything is gonna look like and then empower others to lead specific parts of it based on their skill sets. Our schemes are that our schemes they continue to grow and evolve and our coordinators influence this process. Our OC calls plays through me and I'm heavily involved with this but his input is extremely valuable, our DC is our DL coach, I coach LB, and our DB coach talks to our DL coach on the phones if we were to lose the DC our DB coach would be the new DC without difficulty, our assistant DL coach is our special teams coordinator our Head JV coach could be our head varsity coach or coordinate either side, I first met him in 2007 when he was coaching youth football and was doing a great job teaching and I asked him to coach in our MS program he did a great job there as well and is the JV coach because he takes pride in leading kids.
Bottom line:
The goal is to have an entity that is not driven by anyone person including yourself. This is done by welcoming anyone and utilizing them for their strengths and gifts Empowering people maybe even before they are ready so they have to learn and grow and get better. If their name is on the outcome (OC, ST, or DC) they are going to be more vested in the outcome of their responsibility and the result of that specific area. All you have to do is be willing to listen and incorporate some of their ideas that fit with your existing philosophy (they will have good ones that help)
Positions we currently have: Offensive Coordinator Defensive Coordinator Special Teams Coordinator JV Head Coach JV Defensive Coordinator Fundraiser Coordinator (results on this matter a great deal to us) Summer Camp Coordinator (mainly responsible to ensure marketing and numbers at camp are where they should be) Director of Middle School Operations Equipment Coordinator
Would love to add a Strength and Conditioning Coordinator and will find one in time but do not have one as of yet.
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Post by coachjm on Dec 9, 2013 19:33:22 GMT -6
Our parents organize the entire function, video's, pictures, food, ect. We (coaches) set up the awards presentation. We tell the parents it is entirely up to them on how formal or informal they want the event to be that we will handle the awards in the same manner either way. We have 7-12th grade football and cheerleading there. We inform everyone at the beginning that the night is about honoring our seniors and that when the your son has earned this they will be honored in a special light as well. We have each HC 7th, 8th, JV, and me for Underclassman on the varsity come up talk briefly about their season then hand out award by calling up the whole team and then each individual name. Then for Seniors each position coach introduces and honors each senior, the Senior then does a Senior speech 1-2 minute presentation about their experience. This is by far the best part of the whole thing, kids take pride in it, parents want to hear their children talk not the coaches, and coaches get to relive some fine memories from the kids perspective...
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Post by coachjm on Nov 30, 2013 15:42:09 GMT -6
Inside Trap Drill:
All frontside lineman (we will do right side for 1/2 the period left side for the other) the center, trapping G, and FB. Generally we will bring down a FB/TE for 1/2 the period then switch them for the back-up FB and another End for the other 1/2 so they get reps at both pass game and trap game. We work against every inside run front we could see so we always have 3 DL and 2 or 3 LB many times we use coaches at LB we generally do this drill with shields and dummies as I'm more concerned about angles and path then I am the contact.
Prim Run Drill: This is frontside line with a full backfield Defensively we have an OLB/CB/ILB/DE the key to this is we shift in and out of all of our formations from the line and give our edge every look imaginable with hard edges/soft edges/blitzes
Both of these drills we do from the line and maximize our reps.
Monday we do scouting report, kick game 3-4 periods of tackling, blocking, pass catching, followed by fit/blitz period, We teach outside run/inside run so the drill is ready to go for Tuesday and it allows our kids to see their base plays we generally only get a rep or two in these drills after we instruct, followed by defensive scouting report and plays against shields. Practice is 12 5 minute periods with the last one taking as long as we need it to (plays on bags generally 15 minutes)
Tuesday is our defensive emphasis at the beginning of the year it is 20 5 minute periods, 2 periods is kick game, 12 defensive and 6 offensive, 1 hour 40 minutes once you include water and some transition time it ends up being just under 2 hours Wednesday is our offensive emphasis at beginning of year it is 20 periods 5 minute periods 2 kick, 12 offense, 6 defense. Thursday we go full pad walk through, all kick game, offense plays on air defensive scout talk start of year this takes about an hour.
As the year goes on and we get more efficient we shorten practice down basically starting in about week 2 we start dropping one period per week until we get down to 14 periods which is essentially the end of the season. Our Thursday walk through ends up being about 40 minutes at the end of the year. We also Go half pads on Monday as the year progresses we go 1/2 pads on Wednesday then eventually no pads on Monday and if the season extends long enough and fortunately it did this year we will go no pads on Wednesday as well in the playoffs. We do this to try an minimize injuries and both the mental and physical grind. We will still go all blocking/tackling drills just with shields.
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Post by coachjm on Nov 28, 2013 18:38:34 GMT -6
We typically have 16-20 Varsity players and outside of specials we are entirely apart from our Junior Varsity team who typically has 15- 20 boys as well
A couple things that I would note as important to us. We try and train up 3 kids for each position, 3 DE, 3 DT, 3 CB some of these kids may get trained at two positions some just one it all depends on the depth we have. One goal is EVERY kid who comes out is in one of these 3 man rotations on at least one side of the ball. Our objective is to ensure we rotate them into the game in the first half of every game typically if we do a good job of this early in the year it keeps us rested and by mid season we have more one way kids because the back-ups develop and become better then the other boy going two ways.
Practice Plan Defense- Here is our basic plan although we do run 5 minute periods with no downtime. Gap Fill Blitz we will create moving gaps (zone right zone left) and the DL will work blitz and base with moving gaps. Tackling technique Position specific tackling Indy Fundemental technique and fills/coverage Inside Run (DT/ILB) Best two inside run play defense Prim Drill (DE/OLB/ILB) sometimes secondary sometimes not always work opponents best two run plays and 1 pass play always to right or left 7 on 7 if we don't have enough kids we go 3 on 4 which is 1/2 line 7 on 7, if we can go 7 on 7 we will even if a few lineman are running routes. Team typically 1/2 line we will have coaches stand in for alignment at certain spots if that allows us to go full team, if we go 1/2 line we typically rep conflict plays two or three schemes that may cause us issues.
Offense varies a bit more by day but Typically we go indy Group: Run inside trap drill and Pass set at same time, Prim run, Pull drill (BS lineman and backfield working on meshes and aiming points behind pullers) Red Zone (ball on 5 tell the d players the play and let them line up where they want to simulate unconventional looks and creating power at the point of attack in short yardage) or Pass vs. Blitz Team, typically we will do a periods emphasizing different things, pass, run right, run left, inside run, prim run ect. The defensive staff lines up and sets up the defenses to fit the plays that we are running the best they can.
By midseason we only go full pads one day a week and we really try our best to limit full speed hitting. We feel we need one good day of it to help us keep improving but too much we wear down and start to have injuries.
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Post by coachjm on Nov 20, 2013 20:56:35 GMT -6
It is all dependent on the rest of the schedule. You want to make ensure a solid group of kids who play to their potential have the opportunity to feel success. If the rest of the schedule is a bear and your lucky to get a win on it you need to ensure you get a couple victories in the games you can select. If the schedule has some games you feel are safe bets on it is wise to bolster those other games to better prepare the team for when you have big games.
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