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Post by lochness on Feb 9, 2017 10:53:47 GMT -6
Knowing what we know now, I would pick Brady. He has won more titles than Manning, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. College coaches talk all the time about liking players who won in high school, so I look at it the same way for this. Yeah, but how much of that winning was him and how much was his team? I mean Jim McMahon has more rings than Dan Marino... Why would you want to draft a player who is an individual talent vs. someone who has proven through a career that they are the most adept person in sports at making your entire roster better? Remember, the debate here isn't "who is a better QB at their position based on individual capability"...it's "who would you want QB'ing your team?" Big difference....BIG difference.
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Post by lochness on Feb 9, 2017 10:51:59 GMT -6
Brady unquestionably.
Nothing to do with rings or stats, either. The guy is simply the best leader and "force multiplier" I've ever seen in any sport. He elevates the ability, mental toughness and dedication of everyone around him, and always has. THAT's what you want on your team. Not just "a great player," but a guy who makes everyone else great. He is also a big part of why everyone "buys in"...sure a lot of that is Belichick, but having that player in the locker room who is in lock-step and tells everyone, "stick with it, because we f-ing win" is SO critical.
Also- I always find it kind of funny when people say "yeah but Brady had a better defense / cast around him." Seriously? The defense has always been a bunch of over-achieving no names (obviously there are individual exceptions) and the offense has not had a superstar caliber player in the entire run (with the exception of Moss).
He makes guys better.
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Post by lochness on Dec 31, 2016 9:15:31 GMT -6
Are you talking about like summer camp practices (what used to be 2-a-days) or practices you have throughout the summer? When I was in HS we did 2-a-days at 6 am, but we were in the desert and heat regulations forced our hands. If you are referring to summer long practices then I've done 8 am and 9 am starts; I think 6:30 is ridiculous. I get it, we want kids to sacrifice, work hard, and dedicate to the team; but asking them to consistently show up that early is too much. Let them at least sleep in during the summer for a few weeks. I realize my post is assuming summer practice for you means 4-5 days a week for 4-6 weeks. I'm talking the summer camp where we lift, run and do agility. The reason we like the early start (630?) id because it allows kids to work, SAT class, etc. I think formulating an answer largely depends on the duration and frequency of this "camp."
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Post by lochness on Nov 16, 2016 11:53:08 GMT -6
It is the time of year when most of us are done. We are looking at the off-season, the longest nine months of our lives. One of the things we have done is an off-season character and leadership program. I am sure many of you have done the same in an effort to create, teach, and coach more leadership. My question is this: Is it actually effective? To some extent your alphas are your alphas aren't they? If the alphas are idiots no amount of reading books, talking, and listening to speakers if going to help is it? Last year we had one of our most organized off-season programs to this respect. The group was not populated by many seniors. If the alphas have turds as parents, and they are turds, and they lead the team to turdville did the character development program do any good or were the kids just going through the motions so say yeah I was there. In cases like these, your efforts may not have the desired short-term impact on your program, but it may have tremendous long-term impact on some of the individuals you've invested the time in.
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Post by lochness on Nov 4, 2016 15:45:44 GMT -6
I get more than a little irritated when I see the same tired self-righteous answers blaming the culture that the coaches have or have not built for crappy behavior of players. I've been doing this for 24 years and yes, the coaches have a say in how the culture is shaped and how committed the kids are. No question.
But- you don't always have control of all of it as the HC. School culture is one thing. The culture of the other sports the kids play is another. Administrative support is huge. Player leadership is huge. Parent culture is a big BIG part of it. You can say "just cut all those kids" or "you get what you tolerate" or whatever, but when you only have 30 or 40 guys, and cutting the douchebags kills the chances of the good guys you have, that's a tough call.
It's never that simple or one-dimensional. I don't mean to offend...but it just isn't. I get really irritated when I see coaches blaming the perceived lack of leadership of other coaches with a canned "change the culture" lecture. Lots of good men with great leadership skills have suffered through bad seasons with a crop of payers who aren't committed, despite pouring their hearts into all the right things. Calling out the coach on a message board without more information is no different than being a parent yelling from the stands.
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Post by lochness on Nov 4, 2016 8:20:22 GMT -6
Call it
The Liberace Fabulous Inferno Dee Facemelt THIS, Visorboy! Razor Bearclaw Stinger 1001 Blitzes Banjo Coverage with Blue and Rip/Liz Is AWESOME Please Don't Run the Double Wing at Us MAKE THE TACKLE!!!!11!!!!
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Post by lochness on Oct 31, 2016 20:14:29 GMT -6
Our state athletic association makes this very easy. Our rules say if you miss a school sport for a non-school sport, you are ineligible for 2 games as a result. I make sure everyone knows that every year.
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Post by lochness on Oct 27, 2016 8:35:20 GMT -6
Visors were nice in the FL heat until my hairline disappeared like the Snowbirds at the first sign of warm weather. Now, I look like Lebron and his sweatband if I wear a visor. I wear my hat backwards, something about a brim and stadium lights bugs me. My doppelganger is on our staff, he's 10 years younger than me and wears his backwards as well, just to show how cool he is. My MIL couldnt tell the two if us apart from the stands, she made him turn his hat forward. I lug my iPad around games now, as we have Hudl Sideline and an endzone camera. I still havent found a comfortable way to hold on to it. It's a game-changer, but really awkward. GameChanger right here, Ipad.. or pizza.. either way. I'd strap a slice of pizza to my belt loop. Now THAT would be Facemelter.
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Post by lochness on Oct 6, 2016 12:03:50 GMT -6
I doubt teams are dropping down Varsity players to ensure a win on JV. It could be for any number of different reasons, but I HIGHLY doubt that's one of them.
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Post by lochness on Aug 7, 2016 19:53:06 GMT -6
Does anyone have any familiarity or experience with this organization? I've had a few parents ask. I'm typically very skeptical, but I'd like to give these folks a legit answer. www.ncsasports.org/
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Post by lochness on Aug 7, 2016 10:44:48 GMT -6
We get out at 2:30. We have them clock back in at 4:30 for pre-game meal. Then we tape, chalk talk, position meetings, relax, etc. before we go out at 6:15 for specialist warm-ups. I can't imagine keeping them all day.
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Post by lochness on Aug 2, 2016 19:56:50 GMT -6
First day of practice today. Got a guy out that I've never seen before. He's huge and a sophomore. We get outside and into our front side down blocks drill. He's with 2nd group left side of the line, at the center position, and we are just working down blocks. Im getting him going, stance and snap and stepping to protect backside a and once the drill is going he can not snap the ball at the right time. I swapped him out and found out that he didn't know what 'on 2' meant and he pretty much understood nothing from our introductory chalk talk. He never played football til today, never watched it either. I talked to him about how this will be a tough learning experience for him and that just athletically he has huge potential to be a player. My immediate reaction was to start working him at defensive tackle instead of o line but I'm not sure if that's the best way to go. At least until he has an understanding of some football terminology better. Any advice or resources? The best resource to teach him the basics: you. Yesterday was our first day and we started from Point 1. Even though we have a veteran OL we teach the basics from the very beginning. We act as though they know nothing. The first thing that we teach is stance. Then we move on we teach snap count, splits, alignment, hole numbering, everything. Every block that we teach is taught from the very beginning. starting at the purpose then each step of the technique. You can't assume that they know anything, from veterans to complete newbies. If has as much potential as you say how can you not work with him? I think that's right. If you have a smaller program, and this giant Christmas present just got dropped in your lap- you drop everything and coach him up from ground zero. You don't worry about leaving other guys behind...you coach to your slowest learner in this situation. Trust me, no matter how "veteran" your OL is, they can still use foundational fundamental work. And...can you afford NOT to develop this kid?
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Post by lochness on Jul 27, 2016 18:03:57 GMT -6
ESU Timberwolves all the way
"Darnell! ESU! We Just want to welcome you!"
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Post by lochness on Jul 26, 2016 21:34:48 GMT -6
I'm sorry, but West Cannan was LOADED that year.
Lance Harbour Jonathan Moxon Charlie Tweeder Wendell Brown Billy Bob
Darcy Sears as your head cheerleader!
Plus Bud Killmer at the helm...13 district championships don't just happen by themselves, gentlemen.
Coyotes by a landslide.
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Post by lochness on Jul 15, 2016 15:22:36 GMT -6
When I first saw the title of this thread, I thought it said "Athletic Feces."
I'll get back to my beer now.
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Post by lochness on Jul 13, 2016 20:49:24 GMT -6
2 hrs and 15 min max on any given day. By the last 1/3 of the season, it's usually an hour and 45 mins. We do not platoon.
Mon: Film, weights, install game plan, conditioning/circuit work Tue: Defense with 10-15 min offense Wed: Offense with 10-15 min defense Thurs: 1 HR 20 min max run through Fri: Pay day No practice Sat or Sun
In the last half of the season, we will give them Wed off this year if we have a Saturday afternoon game. Fresh legs and minds for the stretch.
Less is more. I truly believe this now.
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Post by lochness on Jul 12, 2016 20:02:11 GMT -6
We've done just about everything under the sun. Sometimes just having a touch football tourney for 25 mins or playing kickball / whiffle ball is the simplest and most effective team building activity. They just let loose, have fun with each other and (amazingly) compete hard. Good stuff.
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Post by lochness on Jul 11, 2016 19:53:22 GMT -6
We break our dynamic warm up into position groups to start practice. I think this causes kids to focus up more. Small group. Tougher to hide. Then we get into competitive edge for 5 min. This is full go. Competition fires them up. Then we throttle down for a few periods. Tempo is always up but I think there needs to be an ebb and flow to the intensity. Level 3-5-8. We try to spend most of the time at level 5 so speak. What's "competitive edge?"
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Post by lochness on Jun 30, 2016 13:02:01 GMT -6
2 in the last 3 years, actually. One kid decided he wanted to play at equipment hand out as a senior (night before first practice). Started both ways for us and won our highest-honor coach's award. Other kid showed up after the first three days had already passed. Ended up working his ASS off in drills, winning the sportsmanship award (voted on by officials at each game) and started both ways. I ain't turning someone away who is a good dude and will help is just out of stubborn commitment to my own summer program. Ridiculous. Best guys with the best attitudes play. Summer helps you develop that. Miss it at your own risk. God bless if you can be a stud without it. I am very surprised with this thread. Much more acceptance of missing summer practice than i thought. In a lot of ways I am glad to see so many other peoples thoughts on this and you are still letting them come out to play. I am having such a hard time accepting that. How do you justify this to the other players? Someone who is there all summer gets their spot taken by a guy who never shows up. This is a lack of discipline in your program and i do not see how you could ever be really good if your players miss all the time I'm sorry that you feel that way. We don't, and it's worked just fine for us. I don't think it's appropriate for you to judge my program's "discipline" just because you don't agree with our summer philosophy, by the way. That's an extremely immature perspective. Every community and every program is different. Solutions vary based on a number of factors. Having a "hard time accepting that" is simply another way of admitting you are closed minded on the subject. Unfortunately, the world's not black-and-white, particularly where the state's athletics association dictates that nothing can be mandatory until a certain date in August. So, WTF am I supposed to do, arbitrarily bench a great kid and a great athlete just because they didn't show up to my non-mandatory workouts? Bull$hit. Our players want to win and have fun with their friends. The phrase "Nobody is owed ANYTHING" cuts both ways. Just because you come all summer doesn't entitle you to a role. The only thing that entitles you to a role is being the best. How you achieve that is interesting but not relevant. I'd love it if you achieve it by working with us all spring and summer. If not, good on you. Our motivation is to prepare to beat other teams, not win roles. That gets plenty of our guys to workouts and mini-camps. That's how we want it.
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Post by lochness on Jun 22, 2016 19:49:37 GMT -6
When I worked at the high school level everyone always wanted to know how you were going to get the kids out there. When I became a head coach everyone wanted to know how I was going to get the kids out there. So I hit the hallways, I met the kids, I talked to the parents, I did everything I could think of short of paying them to come out there. So we get to spring ball and we have a ton of guys out there... Sadly there weren't many football players. I spent more time dealing with injury reports, kids getting in trouble, parents and their issues, than I did coaching that first spring. I hated it. The demands of a legit summer program and making them attend x amount of work outs before they could play ended up cutting that group from around 120 to 35. One of the major school board guys says, "Coach what happened I heard you had great numbers and now you have less than the last coach did?" I told him "I don't need more players. I need better players. Guys who want to work hard and be a part of something that is bigger than them. I don't want guys out there who are just playing a sport to get their dad off their back. Those guys can play other sports and get a letter and a jacket. I want kids who want to be here and want to work." We did much better than the year before and continued to grow. Sometimes I wish I would have stayed long enough to see that Freshman class through and now I know I won't take another HC job unless I am ready to settle down and see my guys through. One of my good friends who was a D1 coach at the time came through and saw some kids in the hallway and he kept asking does that guy play for you? I replied no he doesn't I wish he did. He finally asked why not? I told him "Sadly all I'm offering them is the hot sun, a weight room with no A/C, physical contact, and a chance to be great. However, they'd rather sit home in the A/C play video games, do social media, drink kool-aid, and eat snack food. Most of them have either come out and quit, refused to put in the time, don't have the grades, and a few are going to graduate before the fall." Lord knows I kept trying to get them out there, but if they wouldn't do it I couldn't make em. The ones who came out had a pretty good time, got a chance to experience new things, and a number got an opportunity to play at the next level. For the life of me I can't figure it out because when I was a kid I loved football. I played all kinds of sports growing up, but I was all about football. This is a fantastic post. I read it twice just to let it sink in. Nice job coach.
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Post by lochness on Jun 21, 2016 11:56:34 GMT -6
And the other (more ominous) question is...what do you ultimately do? Do you step down, saying that obviously you weren't selling the program to / reaching the kids and it's time for someone else to come in and try a different approach? That would sadden me...but if I'm not a good cultural fit, I'll move on. I don't want to be the reason kids aren't playing. Boy I hear you for sure loch but that would be one tough inner conversation. Another thing to consider is the kids themselves. While I agree with blb on his 2 reasons MOSY kids play I think a few play for other reasons. Some play for personal glory. Some play because they feel like they have to by parents, peers, coaches, or community. I think you'll find different levels of love for the game on every team. Now if you have almost an entire team full of it, I'm guessing it's because they've never won, it was never fun, and they don't care about each other. And that all starts way before you get them at the high school. True enough. I just feel badly. It's hard not to take it personally sometimes. The saving grace is that every class except this one has been steadily better (we've improved from 2-7 my first year taking over the program), and our rising juniors (and seniors) are off-the-charts good dudes. I just feel bad for them that there's no "backup" behind them.
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Post by lochness on Jun 21, 2016 11:11:46 GMT -6
And the other (more ominous) question is...what do you ultimately do? Do you step down, saying that obviously you weren't selling the program to / reaching the kids and it's time for someone else to come in and try a different approach?
That would sadden me...but if I'm not a good cultural fit, I'll move on. I don't want to be the reason kids aren't playing.
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Post by lochness on Jun 21, 2016 10:35:14 GMT -6
We have a weird situation that falls into this category...and I'm not sure how to deal with it.
We have a rising junior class of 23. They started out as 15 freshmen. The kids in that class LOVE football...love playing for us, love our systems, love the off-season. The core has gone out and recruited more guys, telling them how much fun it is etc. They're tight and committed and regardless of our record over the next two years...I know we're going to have fun because they are a tremendous and tight group. We have a rising sophomore class of 6. It started out as 12 freshmen last season (really 13, but one kid quit in August when I told him we couldn't afford to keep him as the 3rd string Freshman QB on a team of 13 kids). We only got 5 of them back, and we have one transfer. Same group of coaches, same systems, same expectations, etc. Now granted, the 5 we got back were the 5 best in that group...but to lose more than half a class is troublesome to say the least. I've seen classes who are not bought in and who suck in my time...but never have I seen any single group just execute a mass-exodus like this.
All the typical excuses: "Need to focus on academics" "Don't want to get hurt" "Want to be a Pro Lacrosse / Baseball / Basketball / Water Polo / Equestrian Athlete"
We had a very good varsity season last year (playoff team, 8-1 regular season, etc), and went undefeated sub-varsity.
I have no idea what happened, and neither does anyone else (leaders, returning peers, coaches, etc). They just "don't like football" is what everyone is saying. So, do we just have a "dead class?" I don't know. If I were losing my seniors and juniors (as opposed to growing those groups), I'd be very concerned about our culture...but we're not. We had fun with our frosh groups last year. They got varsity-level indy instruction, practiced team and group on their own, etc. They played good ball for us, everyone contributed and we won all our games. We typically got them out of practice early and we gave them days off when appropriate. Just can't, for the life of me, figure it out.
But, like jlenwood said, I've been pondering it since sign-ups and it's eating at me, because as "healthy" as our program is over the next 2 seasons...we'll die a quick death after that. I can't imagine that we did anything to run these guys off...and I can't imagine taking a hard, long look at our culture when our upperclassmen are all loving what we do and growing the participation numbers. I'm a pretty intuitive guy, and I'm pretty sure we have an inclusive, fun, safe and respectful culture. And, I'm not going to lower my expectations or change what I do just to make these guys happy. I don't think that's right...particularly where it's WORKED for our other groups.
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Post by lochness on Jun 17, 2016 19:52:14 GMT -6
I Don't want to be misinterpreted here either. Like everyone else, I'm hoping every kid in the program sees value In our summer stuff and works out. Nothing would make me happier. But- I have no control over that and the rules reinforce that fact. I tell kids to go, we talk about the benefits, we talk to the parents, we sell sell sell. But, I don't harass or look down upon those who chose not to. They're all on equal footing on the first day of practice in terms of earning a role in my eyes.
A lot of the difference in approach probably depends on what area of the country you coach in, and I understand that. But, it amazes me sometime that we are surprised that less and less kids want to play football. You can play baseball or lacrosse (actual games) all summer or go to the beach or bang your lady...and we get all self-important when some poor 16 year old doesn't necessarily want to spend 3 hours in a stale, smelly weight room 3 days per week during the glorious days of summer.
All things in perspective, men. They aren't ever going to care as much as we do...and the more you push that, the more you push them away.
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Post by lochness on Jun 17, 2016 17:57:31 GMT -6
Back to the original post - how many of us have had kids who did not come to ONE Summer activity - lifting, conditioning, 7-on-7, et al - and make a significant contribution during the competitive season? 2 in the last 3 years, actually. One kid decided he wanted to play at equipment hand out as a senior (night before first practice). Started both ways for us and won our highest-honor coach's award. Other kid showed up after the first three days had already passed. Ended up working his ASS off in drills, winning the sportsmanship award (voted on by officials at each game) and started both ways. I ain't turning someone away who is a good dude and will help is just out of stubborn commitment to my own summer program. Ridiculous. Best guys with the best attitudes play. Summer helps you develop that. Miss it at your own risk. God bless if you can be a stud without it.
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Post by lochness on Jun 17, 2016 7:59:55 GMT -6
This is where I have changed the most as a coach. I don't go all berserk on this stuff any more. We encourage it, we market it, and we work like heck to improve the kids and get them having fun in the off season...but we don't lose our minds when someone doesn't show.
Nothing can be "mandatory" for us until August first day of official practice. So, it's not. And I don't enforce some secret code about "well, you can be on the team, but you won't play if you aren't around all summer" because my job is to field the best team I can week in and week out. Period...end of discussion. That's my job.
So, if some kid rolls in on the first day of official practice in August, is a great teammate, is coachable, and can help us, I'm going to play him in September. Why the hell else wouldn't I? It's High School football. These kids aren't under contract. Some go away for the summer. Some of my best players are doing summer baseball or lacrosse all summer, traveling around the country. Some have to work full-time to support a single parent family. Why would I want to stop them from doing that if they can still help our team during the season? Just to serve my ego about how important our summer activities are?
Summer activities are opportunities for kids to get better and to gel as a team. As it happens, most guys who work out all summer end up starting, not because we favor them over those who don't, but because they've got a distinct advantage. We work with whoever shows up, and we're happy we're making those kids better. If a dude can show up first day of practice and beat someone out after taking all summer off...well $hit more power to him I guess.
We have good attendance. Not great. Not everyone. Good. I want them to get better and build respect with each other, but I also want them to continue to have lives and be kids...and I want them to be fresh and hungry all season, not feeling like they've been playing football for 8 months.
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Post by lochness on Jun 11, 2016 17:11:26 GMT -6
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Post by lochness on Jun 10, 2016 18:26:50 GMT -6
I'm thrilled that someone resurrected an "analytics" thread.
No, really.
I am.
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Post by lochness on Jun 2, 2016 21:00:49 GMT -6
We take the scout team aside in pre-practice and show them the basics. It's really just offense that you need to do it with.
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Post by lochness on May 31, 2016 16:29:13 GMT -6
I felt about this like I did when I was coaching CFB and recruiting. Present your program with confidence and enthusiasm, show what "is in it" for the kids. But do NOT talk any one into playing for you. It's got to be their idea or their heart won't be in it enough to do what's necessary to be successful, and they'll feel like you owe them something without having done anything to earn it. Find those kids who do want what you-Football have to offer. "Want to" can make up for a lot of deficiencies. Don't worry about kids who aren't playing for you, in your school or others. There's nothing you can do about them, and it takes your attention away from ones you should be spending your time on - YOUR players. Abso-FREAKIN-lutely, dawg.
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