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Post by Coach Bennett on May 1, 2009 7:18:03 GMT -6
If I'm not all wired into the paypal world, is there an address I can send a personal check to for donation to the site?
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Post by Coach Bennett on May 1, 2009 7:16:21 GMT -6
Pardon the pun, but I think that there are even different degrees of fire according to the number of posts. Maybe fifteen sets the folder on fire, above "x" posts incinerates it.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 30, 2009 10:51:09 GMT -6
Nothing's better than a game vs. your rival, especially when there's a trophy or jug or...to play for.
Besides playing for pride, wins, etc., do you have an object that gets passed to the winner?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 30, 2009 10:47:35 GMT -6
Would you agree that nothing is more important than your family? If so, do you feel comfortable in saying "family first"? If that's the case, it's critically important, in my humble opinion, to make time for you and yours.
Easier said than done, I know. My wife loves to remind me how great it is to be a teacher with the summers off and then quickly, smuggly reminds me that "we" don't have summers off because I am at the school 3-4 nights/week.
That said, my buddy and I (we are on the same staff) have made it a point to make time for our families...yes, even in the midst of preparing for the fall.
I guess that's why it's important, if not critical, to have a staff that you trust and can work with. If I take a week off and get away with my wife, I don't need to be wondering if the ship is sailing smoothly. I know it will be.
If my buddy/d-coord. can't take a week off during early July to spend time with his wife and three kids, his family suffers.
We talk about football giving us a larger community, a brotherhood, a family. If that's the case, I want to make sure my "family" is rested and having appropriate time with the ones that are closest to them.
This, of course, is all predicated on the fact that when the wheels start rolling, it's all football.
A little off topic, but one thing we've talked about for the future is having our families get together on our Sunday meeting nights for a bbq where the kids and wives get to hang out while we spend a few hours game planning, etc.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 30, 2009 6:41:44 GMT -6
Fishing is a nice way to get the mind off life though Just slayed 5 brown trout last night! Funny thing is, as I was fishing, I was running how to block veer vs various fronts in this little cabeza of mine!
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 29, 2009 11:38:47 GMT -6
It is important to be "fresh" for your players, your wife, your family, etc. Within moderation, there's absolutely nothing wrong with some "me time."
Chances are that if you're on this board, you're dedicated to the profession and work your tail off to make it happen for your kids and your program.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 28, 2009 8:34:02 GMT -6
Obviously, getting and keeping as many kids as possible in your program is a top priority...... I disagree with that statement. We want kids who are good students, good kids and have a good work ethic... I am not a BIG numbers guy... My experience at other schools is sometimes having large numbers can cause problems and headaches... I like quality over quanity. I agree. Raw numbers have never been a high priority for us, at least at the varsity level. I am kind of puzzled by the question. Once the kid has quit he's out of the program. What can we do to him, grace period or not? Some schools have a policy that if you quit a sport in one season you can't tryout for another the next. I'm on board one hundred percent regarding the framing of camp, talking about how hard work isn't punishment, it's about getting better, all that jazz. I guess I was just thinking of programs that I've read about where kids essentially said "no thank you" after a few days b/c of the intensity of practices and providing an out to those that "try and it's not for them." Every year camp seems to weed out a few that didn't quite know what they were getting into, etc. and, frankly, it was probably better for all that they did bail.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 28, 2009 7:17:58 GMT -6
Obviously, getting and keeping as many kids as possible in your program is a top priority. And, we know that quitting anything makes it easier to quit again given the next difficult task.
That said, do any of you have a grace period at the beginning of camp where if a kid goes out for the team, they can say they tried it and leave without penalty or losing face?
In your mind is this a crusty can of worms not to be opened or a chance for dead weight/those not interested to remove themselves from your program?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 27, 2009 11:08:59 GMT -6
What if you had a weak JV program/staff? Would you pull up any sophomores that could walk and chew gum?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 27, 2009 10:21:48 GMT -6
We had a very simple one that you could just add your school name to from the t-shirt rep.
It said our name above and then "Fortified with Iron" below
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 27, 2009 9:44:20 GMT -6
ojw: in retrospect, what, if anything, would you have done differently?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 27, 2009 7:12:34 GMT -6
This is ridiculous, I always said I would never coach girls athletics, I would be sued for butt taping without thinking. What' butt "taping"? Probably should get sued!
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 27, 2009 7:06:04 GMT -6
Hypothetically, of course...
Let's say you have a talented athlete with prep schools knocking on his door. I've always been of the mind to offer feedback if asked and let the kid make the best decision for himself.
This weekend I was thinking that if I was a prep school coach, I too would be out getting all the athletes I could which led me to think, is it immoral to recruit a kid to stay?
Let me preface this idea with the assertion that if a kid has an opportunity to attend an institution with rock solid academics and a legitmate chance to play, I'm all for it.
That said, is it wrong to recruit a kid to stay?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 23, 2009 10:07:34 GMT -6
you could acution off coaches in a raffle for a date with the women in the community. Have you seen our staff? We'd raise 50 cents
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 23, 2009 9:57:07 GMT -6
there is a difference between 'statistics' and 'tendencies'... avg yds per gain on 1st down is a statistic calling inside zone from 4 wide on 1st down is a tendency further .. is my poor 3rd down conversion rate due to bad 3rd down calls or because i had poor calls on 1st down and 2nd down that didn't net enough yards? is my turnover ratio due to calling the wrong play or bad decision making or wind or defensive pressure or...? statistics are what they are ... but, there are so many variables as to the actual cause and trying to determine how they connect to each other plus how i can correct it or reverse them to my favor. tendencies are important.... study them like crazy. statistics are important - but should the guide what you do? if so, do you make better 1st down calls or better 3rd down calls? Coach Huey, I think one of our greatest writers had it correct: "Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself...There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." ~ Mark Twain
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 23, 2009 9:47:33 GMT -6
Silky, I was just about to say the same thing - Paralysis by Analysis. We look at Scheme and Personnel, and we also look for tendencies. But just because you "chart" a tendency something doesn't mean its going to be useful on Friday night. Information is good but too much information is worse than no information at all. fbdoc: you beat me to it!
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 23, 2009 9:45:13 GMT -6
What does interest me however is how on one hand you hear coaches saying they won't spen a minute practicing somehting if it is going to be used in a game. But they are quite happy spending hours gathering information that they won't use in a game. And on the flip-side, what about those that crunch too many numbers and suffer "paralysis from analysis"? Anyone ever feel they have too much information?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 23, 2009 6:53:49 GMT -6
Along the lines of BBQ and tourneys: whiffle ball!
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 23, 2009 6:37:34 GMT -6
[as the plane prepares to take off]
Hanging Lady: Nervous?
Ted Striker: Yes.
Hanging Lady: First time?
Ted Striker: No, I've been nervous lots of times.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 23, 2009 6:31:15 GMT -6
Thanks coaches. One of the reasons I asked the question is because I'm looking at different software for editing film and, as you know, potentially using programs that accompany it for breaking down stats.
One of the biggest questions I'm struggling with right now is simply watching film 5-10 times in a given week or watching less film by dedicating time to inputing stats.
In a perfect world, I would do both but I'm trying not to kid myself here..."Denial" just ain't a river in Egypt!
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 22, 2009 12:44:16 GMT -6
Analysis helps with D&D and how it relates to where they attack. If on 2nd & 4 or less, they run to Strong B or sweep Strong D 80 % of the time, I am going to try and take that away while still being as sound as possible everywhere else. If on 3rd and 7 or more, they roll the QB to field side 80% off the hash or to his throwing arm from the middle of the field 95% of the time, I am going to have someone there waiting for him or making him run instead of roll. Or if on 3rd & 7, #85 is the intended WR 80% of the time, we'll try and kick his a$$ at the LOS to disrupt timing. IMO, its almost impossible to guess what PLAY they run in certain situations. In small school, that changes yearly according to what position they have their stud at. I am basically trying to understand what they are good at and how I can make it tough for them to do. atalbert: with the stats that you listed above, will you break down film to know that 80% they roll field side if 3rd and 7+ or, having watched film ad nauseum throughout the week, "know" that they roll to field "80%" ie. nearly all of the time?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 22, 2009 10:50:47 GMT -6
I think you have be data driven at some point. If nothing else, its a great excuse to watch 6 hours of gamefilm each week. I think data works in the first part of games. After that its all about adjusting to their adjustments-which comes from the gut. When you're watching film, are you constantly taking notes thus creating data or generally understanding the flow and rhythm of situations? On the analysis side of the ball, how many of you record down and distance and play for all of the film you have on a given opponent, and then feed it into a program that flushes out tendencies?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 22, 2009 7:08:35 GMT -6
We'd probably all agree that part of being a good coach is about doing your homework, identifying tendencies, watching film, etc. Likewise, part of being a good coach is about trusting your gut, inspiring your players, etc.
Given the above, as a coach, are you more intuition or data driven? For instance, have you broken down your opponent's defense to know that on 3rd and +7 they tend to run "x" defense so you'll run "y" play from your script or are you the coach "feels" the nature of the day's game and calls plays accordingly?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 22, 2009 7:03:03 GMT -6
Coach,
One thing we're considering doing this year is having a schoolwide punt, pass and kick competition. Put an announcement on, tell kids that it's open to anyone and everyone, not just football players...who knows, even if you connect w/one kid, he could be a difference maker.
Is there an amusement park or water park or something of that nature that you could take your core kids to? Honor their commitment by bonding outside of football in addition to all the things you do that are football related.
Create a buzz, build the vibe.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 15, 2009 7:10:45 GMT -6
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 8, 2009 11:36:53 GMT -6
One thing that has helped me to recognize patterns is to not look at the ball when watching college football. As an o.c. I actually find myself looking more at the defense than the offense, regardless of who has the ball. Obviously, your vantage point is limited on television due to focusing on the football/qb/rb but I love the split-second recognition of a particular front or stunt or coverage and think "what would I have done" given the scenario. It's both humbling and encouraging when you get to view the replay and see how on or off you were. Sometimes, I find my friends telling me to pipe down as I call run or pass before the snap after a quick identification of "the box" or coverage. Come to think of it, I have been getting less invites to watch games...
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 7, 2009 15:48:22 GMT -6
When I was at the Gator spring game last year, they had a race between the fastest Gator and a handful of kids from the student body. With student populations as big as these schools, there's got to be an overlooked diamond in the rough when you have thousands of kids attending these institutions.
Anyone know of schools actively searching for kids that either got overlooked or perhaps never played the game but have the size and speed to find a spot?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 7, 2009 12:34:31 GMT -6
I saw a lot of under center twins/TE-flanker one back sets w/lots of playaction.
Ran some option from under center w/slot running orbit motion as pitch man...not sure if it was triple or not.
Definitely some one back gun but seemed like they went to this more on passing downs than running zone read. Maybe they just didn't want to grind up their qb's.
As with most scrimmages, defense looked way ahead of the offense. O-line looked rough around the edges.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 7, 2009 8:07:37 GMT -6
"Advanced PE" was what we called it. You're right, it's a whole level up and year round down there. 20 days of Spring practice, jamborees with other schools at the end of Spring practice and you'd better bring your game. Yeah, it seems it! Little different than northern NY Are there 7 on 7 tourneys all summer down this way too?
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Post by Coach Bennett on Apr 7, 2009 8:05:50 GMT -6
Which school did you visit? Spruce Creek
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