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Post by cmow5 on Apr 28, 2008 7:26:15 GMT -6
As I was taking phone call after phone call from my semi-pro players yesterday telling me they cant make it to practice I started to think "is practice the most important in football"?. If you think about the major 3 sports basketball, baseball, football and I guess soccer  I dont think practice is as important as it is football. In basketball you could probably have a good chance of being a good team with a week or so of practice time before your first game. They can also do a lot more by them selves. Baseball they can do some stuff by them selves and you could have your players some what prepared for a game in an short amount of time some with soccer ( I think). Now football you have more players on the field at a time with almost all of them doing something different. With play books on offense and defense, kicking game, techniques and a million other things that need to be taught/coached it is almost impossible to have a team ready in a week or two or three it takes months. I am not putting any other sport down I am a fan of all sports(Is soccer a sport?)  . So I guess I am wondering am I stating the obvious? Do you agree with me? Do you have anything else you could share about this? or am I way off? I know practice is important in ALL sports, but is football the sport that practice is the most important? |
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Post by Yash on Apr 28, 2008 7:39:53 GMT -6
we talking about practice??? sorry i don't know how to use the youtube embed feature.
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Post by mwpilots on Apr 28, 2008 8:41:21 GMT -6
I think it depends on the level of football you are coaching. In little league and High School, I think practice is important. You have to hammer home fundamentals to the kids. When you get to the college level practice is important, but it is only a part of an all encompassing program that includes training table, study table, team meetings, unit meetings, position meetings, medical treatment (if needed), getting ankles taped and in-season lifting. Practice is somewhere in there and don't forget about classes that are always scheduled before 2:30pm so you can be at the "Stadium" on time. In the Pro's practice is regulated by the NFLPA and is probably not as important as it was in High School. But you are talking about Semi-Pro football which is a whole different animal. I have coached Semi-Pro and it is very frustrating when half of your team cannot show for whatever various BS reasons they give you, if they call at all. At that level I think practice,at most 2 days a week, is important but getting these players to believe this is very difficult. Semi-pro players have some of the most dramatic lives that I have seen. It is like they want to play but life and the choices they make won't let them. I had a player who had an argument with his girlfriend over something stupid. She took his football equipment and cut it up into little pieces. It did not matter that the equipment was not his and in order for him to play we had to find him some more. I had another player who could not be without his girlfriend. I should have suited her big butt up. Hopefully, you coach HS as well as Semi-Pro. I used Semi-Pro to sharpen my coaching for HS. I used it to run an Offense that I had not run before and we had mild success. I could go on. Long story short, I would go for a Wednesday or Thursday practice and be done.
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Post by scoresalot on Apr 28, 2008 10:02:09 GMT -6
mwpilots, I agree with you. The higher the level, the less important it is. That being said, I think that the scheme must be completely understood before you can just miss practice. In my experience as a college player, it can be done. I tore my ACL and medial meniscus in practice during week 5 of the season. I was unable to actually practice for pretty much the rest of the season, but I played every game. I would be there, usually in the training room trying to get the swelling down, but during 7on7 and team, I was their to help my back up learn the coverage checks, but I didn't practice. I was still able to have success without practicing. Obviously, it would have been much better if I could have practiced.
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Post by lochness on Apr 28, 2008 11:27:07 GMT -6
In my opinion, practice is EVERYTHING in football.
That's where you work on fundamentals, conditioning, team work, etc.
It is also where and how you put in the game plan, adjustments, schemes, etc.
The game should pretty much run itself if you've done a good job practicing all week.
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Post by brophy on Apr 28, 2008 11:30:10 GMT -6
I understand there is a saying in the professional ranks,
"You get paid to PRACTICE....you play the game for FREE"
what is "semi-pro" about it? You are either paid or you are not.
Adult rec league tackle football might be a little too long, eh?
In basketball, soccer, baseball....how many times do you run coordinated "plays", where everyone is doing the same thing for a specific result?
How often in football do you go out there and say "lets wing it"?
Getting everyone on the same page on each down is why there is practice and why we coach. That is the one and only objective.
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Post by flexspread on Apr 28, 2008 12:04:26 GMT -6
Brophy,
I tend to say this 4-5 times a season...wait...is that not how I am supposed to coach? This could be my problem.
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I dont think practice is as important as it is football. 
. So I guess I am wondering am I stating the obvious? Do you agree with me? Do you have anything else you could share about this? or am I way off? I know practice is important in ALL sports, but is football the sport that practice is the most important? 
