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Post by coachdawhip on Jul 6, 2006 11:19:47 GMT -6
I love this site, my favorite site to go to and it has giving me an idea. I am thinking about starting an article site, like coacheslearningnetwork, americanfootballmonthly, but more like chris's smartfootball.blogspot.com, you won't have to play and it would be two article's a month, really like an extension of the subjects we talk about here Where twice a month, we I'll post a 2-3 page article on a subject on the site. Like.. Huey's cougar package, brophy's how you defend the wing-t, tog's jet sweep, lochness how we run the double dive, etc.... Basically like the clinic's we were doing, I think the only draw back to posting a question and getting an answer is, 3 people post similar ways of doing one thing and we go off into atagent and never really clearly see what one person's thought process is because of all the post on the subject. Basically, I would ask coaches on the site do they want to write a article, 2-3 pages long, if they have a pdf I'll upload it, or you can e-mail, snail mail or fax me the write up and I will scan it and post it. It wouldn't start until August 1st and I would write the first article. What do guys think? Good idea, bad idea, you would be interested in writing an article, etc?
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Post by tog on Jul 6, 2006 11:30:13 GMT -6
why not just start it here?
we can make an articles section, people send huey the article and then we can post it and lock it here
if they then have questions about it they can ask on another section?
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Post by lochness on Jul 6, 2006 11:32:01 GMT -6
I'd love to write an article for whoever would be interested. Guys keep me posted, that would be cool.
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Post by spreadattack on Jul 6, 2006 12:57:23 GMT -6
I think the move is a Coach Huey's X's and O's blog, and have several contributors who post and talk about football and have a comments feature. Then you can have guest bloggers too. Each would kind of bring their own specialty, and respond to each other. It'd be more timely. It doesn't have to be the kind of repository of clinic articles that an AFM is, it's just a running commentary about football, strategies, real life, etc. It'd also be different than the message board because you'd post the longer posts, whereas the message board is more about the short two line answers or a link or two. It also avoids "the bottleneck guy" who's job it is to edit and post everyone's articles. Bruce Eien tried to do that with his chucknduck site and it's not easy. The blog is as instant as a message board, but more formal. I just feel like it'd be a natural extension of the board, but wouldn't crowd out it's usefulness (probably most of the blog posts would be like "check out this thread here"). The group blog has been very effective in other areas, like politics, law, etc. Some of those sites get hundreds of thousands of hits every day. I think it'd be good because you'd get some bit of news and you'd get commentary from each other and readers. It wouldn't crowd out the board because instead of just posting a line or two about an idea, you would write out an article or at least a few paragraphs about whatever interests you, but it's not so formal as a site about articles. It's always a bit daunting to have to write about the origin of the R&S or explain the whole wing-t philosophy, this would just be more structured thoughts. The key is to have people who regularly contribute. I just have my site since I'm long-winded, but I don't update it near enough. You can set it up to share all advertising revenue (and I think a well-read blog can make more money than this site's current format, not that it's about the money at all), but I can assure you it's barely candy money until you start getting thousands of hits a day (I barely make anything on my site). I think it'd be an amazing idea though, think about all the smart people on this site, posting about their specialties, while the blog format is still casual. I think the problem with the articles site is everything is so formal the submissions are infrequent. Also, blogspot (owned by Google) makes it very easy to add images in--often easier than the image hosting sites we currently use. Blogspot also does not charge. Here's a couple examples, none are sports related though so just look for design and all. Some of these sites gets hundreds of thousands of hits every day. www.concurringopinions.comwww.volokh.com/www.marginalrevolution.comwww.becker-posner-blog.com/
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Post by brophy on Jul 6, 2006 14:22:38 GMT -6
Huey's blog.....not a bad idea....
I did a big write up a while ago on the 42 and defending wing t, but it is no where near as intelligent as Chris' smartfootball.blogspot.com write up....thems some good stuff/
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Post by coachdawhip on Jul 6, 2006 15:41:39 GMT -6
We should start that idea here then tog, Huey where you at???
I think exactly what Chris said would work, an article section does seem like the next best progession.
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Post by coachdawhip on Jul 10, 2006 18:54:25 GMT -6
I'm going to host the blog from my website at first and I guess we can progress from there after a month or two. I want to have 2 write-ups a month Like on the 1st and 15th. Anyone want to volunteer, I will PM people to see if they would be intrested as well.
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Post by spreadattack on Jul 10, 2006 19:52:56 GMT -6
Thanks for taking the initiative. Check out blogspot, they have a lot of fullservice features and make it really easy for posters.
If you want I wouldn't mind cross-posting some of the stuff I put on my site on your blog as well. I would just get it going and solicit others, you can suggest ideas to them maybe as well. Best of luck.
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Post by Coach Huey on Jul 10, 2006 21:42:44 GMT -6
while that seems like a great idea ... i fail to see the major benefit we would get? the logistics on this forum are set up for one to post whatever they wish, already. new threads don't have to be "questions" they can be in the form of written articles. in fact, way back (last summer) that is what we started out doing. someone posted an "article" about a topic ... others then weighed in within that thread. keeping everything on 1 central site (with a search function) makes it easier on the user to find something specific without having to do alot of surfing or "bouncing" among various pages or sites. if we feel we want a specific "article" section, then we can create one. can have them simply as threads people read (can have them "locked" so no replies are added to them -- which may keep them more as articles and won't get "cluttered") or can keep it in the "open forum" category. only difference would be that they would be in there own section of boards ...
example: new category called "member articles" with sub-categories under them such as "offense" , "defense" , "special teams" , "training" , "miscellaneous" (coaching repsonsiblities, staff breakdowns, handling booster clubs, parents, etc.)
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Post by Coach Huey on Jul 10, 2006 21:47:50 GMT -6
example of an "article" that was posted earlier by me .... i didn't write this article but placed within our board and gave credit to the author Game Planning by Bill Walshwe could have a specific board for articles, like i mentioned, with various categories within. members can place them on the site.
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Post by spreadattack on Jul 11, 2006 8:20:49 GMT -6
Huey, I see what you're saying but I think they are different sides of the same coin. To me, the message board is about discussion, give and take, bouncing ideas, and trading theories etc. A blog or an article site is about posting more polished works.
There's some simple math involved: The Bill Walsh article you posted has been viewed 180 times. The typical article on my site gets viewed about 500-600 times a day, and since I don't post often enough this aggregates to a large number over time. Also, the article site could be more accessible to a wide audience.
(When I say polished I essentially just mean pared down. The baord has almost more information than a person can handle--which is why people tend to repost the same questions and responses--an article/blog would pare it down to three to four major topics a month and go more in depth on them.)
I guess my question is, when you go to see what news is out there, do you read the newspaper or go to a news website? Or just go to a news message board? Sometimes the more polished side can be effective.
I understand the concern: the message board format works great, why are we messing around with other stuff? But I think an article/blog would actually enhance the board, since it would be targeted at a slightly different audience, in a different style, for a different purpose. I post here more than I do on my own site, but my posts and my articles look very different.
I just think this board has lots of coaching talent and brains and it'd be cool if it worked. No worries if it doesn't or people aren't interested. I do think the board and the article site should be closely tied together.
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Post by tog on Jul 11, 2006 9:35:37 GMT -6
I think if those articles like that were not "lost" in the main board, and they were in their own prominent section where people can access them, it would essentially be the same thing
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Post by brophy on Jul 11, 2006 9:44:42 GMT -6
I believe spreadattack (chris) has made a good point....especially in his last post. The baord has almost more information than a person can handle--which is why people tend to repost the same questions and responses--an article/blog would pare it down to three to four major topics a month and go more in depth on them.)
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Post by tog on Jul 11, 2006 9:56:33 GMT -6
personally, I like the message board format, I can get direct answers and multiple ways of thinking about something that can help me shape what it is I am trying to figure out. I don't want stuff how someone else does it, and just take it "as is" I want to find what works best for me.
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Post by brophy on Jul 11, 2006 10:03:33 GMT -6
you also like RUSH, tog....which makes you......nevermind.
lol
the smartfootball blog is a neat site that is "polished" presented in a way that LEADS to offline discussions.
THIS message board serves a dialgoue purpose of exchanging ideas in general fashion. I suppose this would be a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, but a good idea, nonetheless.
If I want to know about Oline play, I could pm kw and ask him questions......he could create a brief article and have people respond to questions (then get buried in a week)......OR he could create an in-depth article where he explains what and why they do what they do with illustrations or pictures for web based archive and viewing (off of search engines).
There is more than one way to skin this pig. neither is better than the other, but I really enjoy reading chris blog stuff because of how it is presented - no slight on how much time I am on THIS board, though.
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Post by tog on Jul 11, 2006 10:12:35 GMT -6
that's what I am saying though, your main beef is that it gets lost
if we put articles like that in a specific article section that is prominent (say, above the general section) then first time users that don't really know how to search, or are too lazy to search can just look there and then start the dialogue
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Post by los on Jul 11, 2006 10:37:20 GMT -6
This is a great forum as is to me, you can get instant feedback at the whiteboard or more in depth info elsewhere, just gotta look around a little. And there are so many good coaches and football minds on here its like one stop shopping for info! Thanks Huey and Tog, good job!
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Post by spreadattack on Jul 11, 2006 11:26:27 GMT -6
I certainly don't want to mess up or divert attention away from a good thing. I would like it if Huey/tog made a forum for longer articles/posts. Kw in particular has some great long pieces that tend to get washed away in some of the natural clutter.
I'd say if there are people who think a separate site/format would be helpful then I say maybe start it up and cross-post the articles to this board and to the website, then after a few months you can look at the traffic (and cross-traffic, is the site bringing new people to board?). If it proves unnecessary then stick with the forum. I certainly wouldn't hurt to have the same info in both places and it really doesn't take any more time.
Also, one thing I'd like to see is a kind of "Greatest Threads" for those really good threads that can be forgotten about. I remember some great defensive threads about the zone blitz and some others that I only saw because someone posted a link to it in another thread; there's been some good passing ones too. Because not all threads and posts are created equal, it'd be a way to put some of the best ones in a single location so that when new coaches come to the board they can quickly and easily see lots of past wisdom. Only referring to search is hard if you don't know what you're looking for.
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Post by tog on Jul 11, 2006 11:31:34 GMT -6
ok
1. a seperate forum for article style writings that people can then ask question specifically about
and
2. a hall of fame section for just awesome threads?
Huey can answer this better than I can, but if the hall of fame section is in both that section and the run game section for example, would replies in one go in the other as well? or just move those really good threads to a hall of fame kinda deal? How do we decide which threads go into the hall? Huey, is there like a "rate this thread" option, or a vote for this thread to get into the hall of fame option?
Just seeing if I am hearing what you guys are coming up with and throwing out ideas that can help answer this.
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Post by brophy on Jul 11, 2006 11:37:15 GMT -6
this is starting to sound like Chicago math......
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Post by brophy on Jul 11, 2006 11:42:16 GMT -6
It SOUNDS like .......(take for example)
TOG (articles) ------------------Tog's way of run Gun Zone Read ------------------Tog's way of running a 2-3-6 defense ------------------Tog's special teams package
Coach Huey (articles) ------------------Huey's guide to influencing officials and bribing administrators ------------------Hueys run game philosophy and game planning ------------------Coach Huey system of weight training for athletes on Anadrol
"Articles" where you set the table, "HERE IS HOW IT IS...." just presenting a topic of conversation of information. MUCH LIKE how we had folks specifically presenting whiteboard clinics on Thursday nights "back in the day", only in text form.
It is not so much the DIALOGUE that was shared, but the information that was presented - a one-stop-shop for information on a subject by a particular presenter.
Imagine Aztec explaining his fire zone blitz package on one page, rather than reading people's conversations to get what you want.....
** I would think that would lead to FURTHER message board discussions where Steve Calande and I can argue over what the h3ll Knighter was writing in his article on the double wing.....lol
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Post by Coach Huey on Jul 11, 2006 11:48:01 GMT -6
if we started with an "articles" section, we would set it up in such a fashion that no one could post on the article once it was posted. lock it, this keeps the amount of reading and such down. there would be a limited few that could post ... as in a user would be given access for a short period of time to post his work ... it becomes a "read only" section. if a person has a question about the technique or scheme of the article, he can pm or email the user. if, several people seem to have many of the same questions, that author would be able to go in and add to his original post with a follow-up response in the same thread. limit the articles section to maybe 1 each (off, def, special teams, "misc") month .... due offense the 1st week, defense the 2nd week, etc.
i would have to look at the details involved about getting the board setup so that a person can only post on there when they have been given "access" .. otherwise, someone may accidentally post in there and we get into the whole "lost" thing again.
with doing it here, people already know how to use the various functions (ubbc code) to change font size, bold, underline, put in images, etc. .... whereas, with a blog you may have to use some html code for certain images (would depend on the type you had) PLUS, everyone would need rights to all the details of adding to the blog --- could be a headache their. the other option would be to send all articles to one person and that person put 'em up on the blog. that's a lot of effort for one guy. here, i simply say, , , "brophy, could you put up that article about LB play in the 4-2-5 this week?" i then make it so that brophy has the ability to post in the defensive section that week while all others are still read only. after the article has been posted, brophy is back to "read only" like the rest of us ...
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Post by tog on Jul 11, 2006 11:52:44 GMT -6
how about if they just send it to you, then you post it and lock it that way you won't have to mess with the access issues? put a little deal on there about "if you have questions, ask so and so in the run game section" I would always like to see those conversations rather than have someone pm someone else or email them. Nothing I hate more than "if you have questions, email me or pm me" What? The rest of us out here are not good enough to read that stuff? Some of you know what I am talking about. lol
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Post by brophy on Jul 11, 2006 11:54:42 GMT -6
did I misread something, or did Chris Brown solicit articles for his smartfootball site?
That, to me, would work....if he wanted to, or a "Huey" blogspot account (free) was opened up.
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Post by phantom on Jul 11, 2006 11:55:27 GMT -6
You could eliminate the clutter by having an articles-only board with all articles locked to replies. Any questions or comments would have to be posted in a separate thread on the appropriate board. No non-article threads would be allowed in the articles board. A warning to that effect should be posted at the top of the articles board and moderators should be aggressive about either moving non-article posts or removing them altogether. Repeat offenders should be warned then banned. That would eliminate the clutter. Articles are not going to accumulate THAT fast so there wouldn't be as many pages. When pages do accumulate, the fact that everything there is an article would encourage people to look back several pages. Exceptional articles could be pinned, am Article of the Week, or Article of the Month. To me this seems simpler than starting something new.
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Post by brophy on Jul 11, 2006 11:58:31 GMT -6
help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1070free blogspot account just provide a link from this message board and you're golden (I'm thinking) OR Just use a sitekreator account to host links to these created articles that are hosted on Huey's site.... Just thinking (cheaply) outloud
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Post by Coach Huey on Jul 11, 2006 11:59:43 GMT -6
how about if they just send it to you, then you post it and lock it that way you won't have to mess with the access issues? put a little deal on there about "if you have questions, ask so and so in the run game section" I would always like to see those conversations rather than have someone pm someone else or email them. Nothing I hate more than "if you have questions, email me or pm me" What? The rest of us out here are not good enough to read that stuff? Some of you know what I am talking about. lol i think what people were saying is that use the articles as the "major" pieces of literature (eh?) in their own section. these "major" issues would then spawn smaller discussion topics in the various sections ... which, would be like what you are saying AND what the others are asking for in an articles section ... major pieces of "clinic talk" type stuff that doesn't get cluttered up, makes for easier reading & referrencing since it doesn't get lost or buried by tons of replies or other threads in that section. giving access to a poster is a matter of clicking a button .... i've already begun the process of setting that up. really can't screw that up ... i'm going to set up some stuff and we can see how we like it. if, this doesn't provide us with what we are looking for, we can always go with plan b .... any objections?
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Post by spreadattack on Jul 11, 2006 12:00:08 GMT -6
I would think that for the greatest threads section you would pick threads that had been out for awhile and exhausted who was posting on them (for example when a great thread winds up on the second or third page) and then just lock them to prevent future posting (someone could PM a moderator if they had something important to add and needed it unlocked).
I don't think you need an exact ratings system (though one could work) but just within the discretion of the moderators. The idea wouldn't be it's a greatest thread the moment the thread appears, but once this board has been around for years upon years if you count up threads from 4-5 years prior that still resonates it'd be a great resource.
Huey: It should work fine here but I will say the blog is pretty easy. You just set up users by name and give them certain rights (most would only be allowed to add/edit/delete their own messages) and all the bold, italics etc comes with buttons--it is no harder than a word processor. Then you just hit "post" and it goes up. The quality control comes with the fact that the moderator can fix things but also the poster himself has his name on it so he doesn't want to post sloppy things. The only issue is it'd be a separate site so you'd have to just cross link them.
Anyway, I'll reiterate I think someone should spearhead the articles initiative and see if others are interested in writing--that's the important thing--and get to work. I'm for anything that gets good coaches going into detail about what they do. I can always learn something, and it sparks discussion.
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Post by tog on Jul 11, 2006 12:01:45 GMT -6
help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1070free blogspot account just provide a link from this message board and you're golden (I'm thinking) OR Just use a sitekreator account to host links to these created articles that are hosted on Huey's site.... Just thinking (cheaply) outloud The problem with this (at least for me) is, I want a one stop deal. I want it all to come from right here. If I click on an article I want to find it right here, in the same format. This is football central. I don't want to be redirected to some other site and have to find my way around it. I know may way around here. Even for novice users this site is easy, and the more we can "hook" them on the site the better. More conversation, more info being shared, better coaching. Phantom is getting warmer I think.
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Post by brophy on Jul 11, 2006 12:11:29 GMT -6
can I copy & paste an ESPN article about zone blocking and get in the Hall of Fame?
I know Gary Zastiduil!
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