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Post by WB22 on Oct 9, 2007 12:27:35 GMT -6
We lost a heartbreaker Friday night. The kids gave effort, but we had too many fumbles/dropped passes to win. What are your thoughts about starting off a practice this week with something fun & different. I remember something about some Shula quote regarding morale being the most important thing. The loss knocked us out of playoff contention & the kids might be a little flat this week. Any thoughts or suggestions ?
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 9, 2007 12:29:49 GMT -6
My suggestion is to work hard at fixing something first. then you can do something "fun" as part of conditioning at the end of practice. (warp speed football for example)...but get the serious work done first.
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Post by wingt74 on Oct 9, 2007 12:35:34 GMT -6
I've had two straight like this. Lineman vs Backs passing contest. Take all your yellow hats / jerseys and put them in a pile. All lineman get in a line All RBs/WRs/TEs/QBs in another. Each "team" one at a time runs a fly route, you throw the ball to the kids. If they catch it they were a hat. Lineman try to outduel the skill positions. Now, naturally, you throw the deep balls to the backs and the cupcakes to the lineman Other "drill" Circle the team up, laying flat on their stomachs. Start with one kid. He "runs" around the wheel, stepping between each player until he arrives back at his starting spot where he has to lay down. As player 1 passes over player 2, player 2 gets up and does the same thing. And player 2 passes over player 3, player 3 gets up and goes. Works a little footwork too...my kids love it.
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Post by wingt74 on Oct 9, 2007 12:36:38 GMT -6
My suggestion is to work hard at fixing something first. then you can do something "fun" as part of conditioning at the end of practice. (warp speed football for example)...but get the serious work done first. Ouch! Brutal coach!! You're probably right though...
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 9, 2007 12:42:16 GMT -6
winning is fun
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Post by coachd5085 on Oct 9, 2007 13:17:08 GMT -6
Rookie..I think it is a really good idea...we did that a few times. Games like "hide a bag" Or even some high intensity oklahoma drills...just someting different.
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Post by Coach Huey on Oct 9, 2007 16:50:13 GMT -6
wouldn't classify this as a "fun" drill ... but sometimes we will open practice with something like No Huddle Team (vs air) and rep out plays moving down the field ... or Team Screen vs air or bags ... these are done for 1 period (5 minutes) and are up-tempo, up-tempo, up-tempo ...
don't do it every week, but sometimes we will use it to "change the pace" or simply to do things just a little different rather than the same 'ol mundane
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Post by coachbw on Oct 9, 2007 17:07:45 GMT -6
We start all of our practice with a 5 minute Oklahoma/DB-WR 1-on-1 Period. Each kid gets 1 rep. We like to get the competitive juices flowing right out of the gate.
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Post by phantom on Oct 9, 2007 18:36:20 GMT -6
We lost a heartbreaker Friday night. The kids gave effort, but we had too many fumbles/dropped passes to win. What are your thoughts about starting off a practice this week with something fun & different. I remember something about some Shula quote regarding morale being the most important thing. The loss knocked us out of playoff contention & the kids might be a little flat this week. Any thoughts or suggestions ? Thinking like this is completely foreign to me. Let them know what they did wrong and work at getting better. If they're flat that's your responsibility. You, as a coach, don't have the luxury of being flat. Playing games sounds like a reward for screwing up.
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 10, 2007 6:29:38 GMT -6
As I said, id work hard in practice, reward them for the hard work not for the loss...one way to condition the kids that is alot of fun...
"hard time dodge ball"- divide your team up, seniors vs underclassmen is a good way to get it done in a hurry, ...kids play dodge ball (helmets only) and if they get hit they go see "coach pain" in "prison" where they do "hard time" (pushups, situps, 40s, updowns, hills, steps, jump rope or whatever) for a set time period (2 minutes is good) and when they complete their sentencing they get back into the game. fun, hard work and team building that breaks the monotony and also seems to CURE BOGUS INJURIES that appear after a tough loss (trust me we have about 5 kids limping around after losing 10-7 on friday night)
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danimal23
Freshmen Member
Polk High, 4 tds in 1 game
Posts: 44
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Post by danimal23 on Oct 10, 2007 8:08:26 GMT -6
I don't get some of these no fun rules coaches are going by here. I mean really, what bad could come out of taking 10 minutes to do a fun competitive drill, especially when you've just been knocked out of playoff contention? I AM NOT saying to do it for 2 hours, or to start practicing like a soccer team, but a little bit of screwing around at some point in the week won't make your team self implode into a 7 turnover, 15 penalty night on friday. An example is Pete Carroll. Well, bad example this week but he's still has 2 national titles, and seems to have fun doing it. Why did everyone here start coaching? I know I do it because I enjoy it and have fun. If I believed in the all work philosophy, I would be an investment banker.
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 10, 2007 8:35:49 GMT -6
I think the PRIORITY has to be on PERFORMANCE not on fun, that is, fix what cost you the playoff spot, then have your fun. If you come out and clow around it will be tough to refocus the kids and teach and rep stuff. just my opinion.
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Post by wingt74 on Oct 10, 2007 8:40:27 GMT -6
I don't get some of these no fun rules coaches are going by here. I mean really, what bad could come out of taking 10 minutes to do a fun competitive drill, especially when you've just been knocked out of playoff contention? I AM NOT saying to do it for 2 hours, or to start practicing like a soccer team, but a little bit of screwing around at some point in the week won't make your team self implode into a 7 turnover, 15 penalty night on friday. An example is Pete Carroll. Well, bad example this week but he's still has 2 national titles, and seems to have fun doing it. Why did everyone here start coaching? I know I do it because I enjoy it and have fun. If I believed in the all work philosophy, I would be an investment banker. It's kinda like the accountant running the company. One guy needs everything to count towards to bottom line. Anything fun is taken out. Suddenly your company isn't efficient and turnover is high. A coach above said, "Winning is fun". Dam right. But losing sucks. When you're winning, you work the kids harder than ever. When you're having a tough season, you need to change things up to keep morale up. 40 minutes working on blocking fundamentals, or 30 minutes working on blocking fundamentals with a 10 minute morale increasing drill. I bet strategy two will result in kids who are now better blockers.
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Post by coachd5085 on Oct 10, 2007 8:41:55 GMT -6
But calande---it is week 5 or 6 now. It is easy to say "Fix" something, but that sounds very much like coach speak. You have been working on catching inseason for 9 weeks now. You threw/caught all offseason. You dropped balls this weekend. How do you "FIX" it....shouldn't that have been what you were doing all along?
I really think it is a great idea. Nothing major, no grab ass... and it can actually accomplish work. I think the FUn is inthe enviornment you create...not the drill itself. Seniors now know they're time is looming. The kids are down, no shot at the playoffs...why bother playing? BECAUSE IT IS FUN. Remind them of that.
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Post by amikell on Oct 10, 2007 8:43:10 GMT -6
what about something that works skills and is fun. we start every tuesday with either a board dril (line 2 players up on a board and see who can drive the other one off) or 4 corners (players align at the corners of a square. the coach tosses one person the ball, his partner, the guy beside him, blocks for him while the other try to tackle.) I think these works skills, build toughness and are fun. if the kids don't like hitting people it's the wrong sport for them. 4 corners in particular can help with fumbles and catching the ball. also good for wrapping up, tackling, open field blocking, and setting up blocks.
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 10, 2007 9:12:14 GMT -6
But calande---it is week 5 or 6 now. It is easy to say "Fix" something, but that sounds very much like coach speak. You have been working on catching inseason for 9 weeks now. You threw/caught all offseason. You dropped balls this weekend. How do you "FIX" it....shouldn't that have been what you were doing all along? I really think it is a great idea. Nothing major, no grab {censored}... and it can actually accomplish work. I think the FUn is inthe enviornment you create...not the drill itself. Seniors now know they're time is looming. The kids are down, no shot at the playoffs...why bother playing? BECAUSE IT IS FUN. Remind them of that. you cant be serious. would you NOT practice foul shots if you missed free throws in a game? would you not practice tackling if you missed tackles in a game? ..there is ALWAYS SOMETHING TO FIX!!! its very doubtful that a team plays 100% in performance even when winning! losing teams certainly have SOMETHING TO FIX. what it comes down to is this...practice isnt to entertain either players or coaches, practice is what it is, its a work week. the game is the PAY DAY. does that man you cant have fun at practice? of course not, but my point was made clear, work first, play second. too hard to come out and be silly and then try to refocus the kids. been there, tried that, still have the 4-4 record and team picture on the wall to prove it. knowing WHAT to practice is what makes good coaches separate from average coaches.
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Post by coachd5085 on Oct 10, 2007 9:16:10 GMT -6
But calande---it is week 5 or 6 now. It is easy to say "Fix" something, but that sounds very much like coach speak. You have been working on catching inseason for 9 weeks now. You threw/caught all offseason. You dropped balls this weekend. How do you "FIX" it....shouldn't that have been what you were doing all along? I really think it is a great idea. Nothing major, no grab {censored}... and it can actually accomplish work. I think the FUn is inthe enviornment you create...not the drill itself. Seniors now know they're time is looming. The kids are down, no shot at the playoffs...why bother playing? BECAUSE IT IS FUN. Remind them of that. you cant be serious. would you NOT practice foul shots if you missed free throws in a game? would you not practice tackling if you missed tackles in a game? ..there is ALWAYS SOMETHING TO FIX!!! its very doubtful that a team plays 100% in performance even when winning! losing teams certainly have SOMETHING TO FIX. what it comes down to is this...practice isnt to entertain either players or coaches, practice is what it is, its a work week. the game is the PAY DAY. does that man you cant have fun at practice? of course not, but my point was made clear, work first, play second. too hard to come out and be silly and then try to refocus the kids. been there, tried that, still have the 4-4 record and team picture on the wall to prove it. knowing WHAT to practice is what makes good coaches separate from average coaches. Havent you been practicing free throws all along? I don't think the guy is saying have a free day. In fact, he specifically said just staring practice. Now you talk about "pay" day being game day. That is all fine and good, and we can pontificate all day long on what the kids SHOULD be excited about...BUT in reality, there can be situations where it just doesnt matter. Hey we are out of the playoffs..that was our goal..can't achieve it now... bllah.
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 10, 2007 9:20:15 GMT -6
time is the most precious of all commodities. I cant see wasting one second of it, if youre not practicing and teaching FOR THIS YEAR then do it FOR NEXT. develop the future by giving more time and attention to those kids in practice.
theres always something to improve upon:
short yardage package two minute drill gimmicks and tricks/smokes and mirrors fundamentals such as shedding, pursuit, blocking, tackling scheme work, walk thrus, coaching details, blitz and stunt pickups personnel and substitution issues that may have come up
etc. you can do just about anything and make it worth while while keeping things positive and WORTH WHILE. I think there must be a million creative ways to make conditioning fun.
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Post by Coach Huey on Oct 10, 2007 9:24:01 GMT -6
"a good employee is a happy employee"
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Post by coachd5085 on Oct 10, 2007 9:29:33 GMT -6
calande--my concern here...is that you automatically assume FUN = not worthwhile....
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Post by phantom on Oct 10, 2007 10:42:12 GMT -6
I'm not against having fun at practice. I'm just against wasting time. I agree that the fun comes from the environment, a quick joke with the kids and such. Like Abe, I feel that there is a time and place for making a drill competetive instead of the way that you usually drill it. We just did it last week with our tackling drills.
I just feel that non-football related activities are a waste of practice time.
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Post by tribepride on Oct 10, 2007 11:26:02 GMT -6
Do a some sort of drill or conditioning activity that has some fun in it. Kids like to have fun. I like to have fun. It won't kill the rest of practice/season if you take 10 minutes out of the 8 or so hours of practice time for the week and have some fun.
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shs06
Junior Member
Posts: 288
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Post by shs06 on Oct 10, 2007 11:39:41 GMT -6
Why would you be so set against doing a drill that changes up the pace or that is fun. Last year we had a problem with interceptions and big returns off of them in our games. How do you get Oline to make the stop on the corner going for 6. You have fun during blitz pickup and throw the ball to a guy not expecting the football and starting yelling PICK PICK PICK. The first time I did it the kid took off and scored after that when ever I would do this we would crush each other.
Three weeks later we through a pick and my RT crushes the all state safety and forces a fumble that got us the ball back. Was it a waste of time? Maybe? Did it cause him to make the play in the game? Who knows? Did they have fun doing the drill? Yes. Did it let me have a little more fun during a season where we were rebuilding and having a tough few weeks? HELL YES!
Some of the best memories that I have of playing football are the fun things that we did during practice, both at the high school and college level. I really think that you can push the kids and work them a lot harder if they are having fun.
Is winning fun for me? YES!
Do you have to be winning to have fun? Not always, I really think that overcoming a down year or tough season and still finding ways to come out everyday and push the kids is a very important aspect of our jobs.
Just my thoughts on the subject, but what do I know?
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 10, 2007 11:56:50 GMT -6
calande--my concern here...is that you automatically assume FUN = not worthwhile.... no, why would you assume that I assumed that? I suggested working hard at fixing something and then doing a fun drill that was for conditioning.
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Post by darebelcoach on Oct 10, 2007 12:21:00 GMT -6
Along the lines of what CoachCalande said, earlier in the year we had a tough loss, came out on Monday and worked the kids tough during practice and focused on what we needed to work on, then for conditioning, we spread the 5 varsity coaches out around the practice field....on the whistle, the kids had to run to whatever coach they wanted to...once there, for 3 minutes, they had to perform the conditioning exercise the coach decided on. Each time, one of the 5 coaches would let his kids just stand around and watch the others. So now, when we blew the whistle for the kids to go to a new coach, the kids were trying to figure out which coach would be the "easy" coach for 3 minutes. Kids enjoyed it, change of pace, but still got conditioning in and still got a lot of work done during practice.
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Post by coachcalande on Oct 10, 2007 12:33:17 GMT -6
Heres a sample of something that is FUN and very much worth while for conditioning and football skill.
double team competitions on the sled. kids pair up, can pick their own partners as long as everyone has one. they dont know what drill we are doing...then we take them to the sled, two men on each end pad of the sled get down in stances, fire off and double team the sled for 12 seconds or so (your choice), they compete with the other double team to see who drives it furtherst and turns the sled toward the other team, the winners stay on teh sled, the losers see the "coach pain" who gives out conditioning...
similarly, we do king of the boards, winner stays on teh board until he loses, losers get conditioning...great fun and totally worthwhile, nice change of pace.
the "A drill" as posted on this site is another fun drill that is completely worthwhile, fun and teaches useful stuff.
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Post by gunslinger on Oct 10, 2007 14:32:31 GMT -6
I am enjoying the feedback (pro and con) on the "should we have fun" question.
I can see both sides.
Here is a little story from me.
I took over a program that had won 5 games the previous six years. They did not win one game the previous year. In fact, they didn't score a single touchdown.
None of the kids had ever won more than two games in a season from the 7th grade on.
Was there plenty to fix? You bet.
However, beginning with the summer program we made the focus, pride and enthusiasm.
We did something fun everyday. Sometimes it was a silly game, sometimes it was a silly consequence for losing the silly game.
I'm talking about a short period 5-10 minutes.
The kids started to take pride in the program and better yet, themselves.
They started PLAYING with enthusiasm (it is a game).
Did we work hard outside of the "fun" stuff? Absolutely.
Those kids worked as hard as any that I ever coached.
We started off 5-0 and only lost two games that entire year.
Can you have fun and still get better? I say yes.
Bottom line...do what is best for your program. Don't worry about what someone else thinks.
However, remember that coaches are judged by the discipline that their teams demonstrate, the effort that they play with, and how many games they win.
So, after your fun...get to work!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2007 19:26:13 GMT -6
Good example of this just today for us. We're sitting at 0-7 now with only two games to play. Pretty lethargic practice yesterday. Our kids love Oklahoma so we started practice with that today. Good practice for us today. We had a thread earlier that debated the usefulness of Oklahoma, but we ask our lineman to one on one block at times so it is useful for us.
I agree with one coach above--it seems like a lot of coaches on this thread are equating "fun" with wast of time. I don't think starting a practice with something the kids enjoy is a bad thing, esp after a bad loss.
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Post by jraybern on Oct 10, 2007 20:02:01 GMT -6
Our kids also love Oklahoma. We also came off a very bad loss - played our worst half of football all season in the second half. We lacked toughness against a very tough fullback and he kicked our butts all over the field. So we had 20 minutes of Oklahoma scheduled for practice (that is usual for our Tuesday practice). We went for 45 minutes. We almost never vary more than a few minutes from the schedule. The kids were really getting after it. I like to do a lot of variations of Oklahoma. We put 5 on offense and 3 on defense. The defensive group stayed on for several plays in a row. We put our starting LBers out there at the same time and they had to get a stop (4 downs) to get off. They really did well and hopefully fixed problems.
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Post by midlineqb on Oct 10, 2007 20:25:36 GMT -6
There have been several people talking about the Oklahoma drill, I've talked to other coaches and each have different ways of running this drill. How do you guys run it?
When I ran it we placed to 2 dummies on the ground about 1-2 yards apart. Then put a defender at one end of the dummies and a blocker at the other end of the dummies with a ball carrier about 2 yards behind the blocker. The coach would place the ball on the ground between the 2 down people and toss it to the ball carrier. The blocker would try to drive the defender from between the dummies and the defender would try to create a pile in the hole and the ball carrier would try to gain yards staying between the 2 dummies.
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