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Post by amikell on Dec 27, 2005 21:32:45 GMT -6
we're at a very academic (non-athletic) school. the kids are used to performing with their minds as opposed to their bodies (non-keniesthic (sp?) learners), so I'm thinking that focusing on the mental aspect of the game would help our young men out more. We started cuting down on practice time for film study and gave out more detailed game plans and scouting reports. I think we had a good thing going.
so, how much of a scouting report and/or gameplan do you give to your players each week?
What is your plan for implementing the mental side of the game? By that I mean formation tendancies and watching film and your offensive and defensive schemes for the week.
do any of you give your guys a "test" on how to react to the various defenses and what plays teams will run out of their offensive formations?
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Post by mugz on Dec 27, 2005 22:03:39 GMT -6
Coach.
I can tell you we give out a very detailed scouting report. This consists of what kind of team they are ( pound it or air it out style ). Tendencies, sometimes individual tendencies are found on film and added to the report. The type of QB and his favorite receivers/backs dose he like to give or dose he like to keep it and run. What they have done against other opponents. we put in names and their positions and jersey numbers. Special teams and whos on them. On the particular one Im looking at as I write this has 23 of their plays drawn up from watching the film and finally defensive alignments they run. I coach with Lockness (another member on this site) and he is the one that puts together our reports and spends 3 to 5 hours putting them together. We feel they are a very valuable part of what we do. We do not test the kids but by the way the "LOOK" team runs our opponents plays during the week they know them as well as they know our plays. (unfortunatly sometimes better.. HA HAAA). We also make several copies of not only our films but films of our opponents and we have the kids sign them out to take home. I would keep doing what your have been doing if it works. If you want to talk more contact me Mugzy48hawk@yahoo.com........... Good luck.
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Post by brophy on Dec 28, 2005 7:16:46 GMT -6
I've done in the past that the kids like (and OUR kids ARE NO WHERE CLOSE to being 'cerebral'...) is provide a video cutup of our opponent based on D&D and formation. This has worked best in the first two weeks, because we've had more time to prepare and it breaks the monotony of camp.
The cutup freezes two steps after the ball is snapped. The kids (or if we divide them up, the TEAM) to answer where and who the play is going to. We've gone as high as 28 plays....The winner gets candy / treats.
We also, in season, go over all the 'mental' stuff (checks, tendencies, formations) on Monday....so Tuesday and Wednesday is for banging. When we practice, we practice off a script and go over D&D with the kids prior to the play as well as field position.
So before the plays starts, we'll be screaming, "It's 2nd and 4.....they are coming into our 38 yard line!!!". Based on the formation, they should recognize the most likely play. Mental / physical conditioning....so when Friday rolls around, they know what to do (won't be thinking).
Our LBs and some DBs always take film home on Tuesday night (they ask for it).
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Post by Mav on Dec 28, 2005 12:07:09 GMT -6
We provide a simple written and video scouting report/game plan for the players that includes:
1) a small paragraph synopsis of the opponent (eg I power offense, aggressive 4-4 defense)
2) Name, number, size, and any special comment (eg 2 year/2 way starter, all league, quick, strong, etc) for each position (including important subs) We display them in their offensive and defensive positions.
3) We've found teams either run a base set of plays from different formations/motions or different groups of plays from certain formations (ie series). We then draw up their offense by series or formation, always noting situational tendencies. This is coordinated with a video (vhs or dvd) that gives live cutup examples of each play from 2-3 games. We do this for only the plays we expect to see the most, always trying to keep it as condensed as possible -- 5-7 mins offensive cutup, 2-3 examples of each play. Of course, we make our scout team play cards to match. Defensively, we write up and show on video, fronts, line stunts, blitzes and coverages. Again always noting situational tendencies(goaline, passing down, etc).
4) We thne present what we expect to focus on to beat our opponent.
5) We wrap up with a motivational paragraph and usually a quote.
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Post by Mav on Dec 28, 2005 12:21:54 GMT -6
btw - we continously quiz the players throughout the week on scouting info. Who are you up against, strengths/weaknesses, base plays by formation, situation, etc. A great to to do this is during stretching and form running. You'll know when someone hadn't put the time in to study. We give extra conditioning at the end of pratice for players who don't know the answers. They're usually very good about being prepared. I think because they don't want to seems like non-team players in front of their peers. We don't do any official written quizzes -- we try to keep the tone of the quizzing fairly light.
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Post by brophy on Dec 28, 2005 12:23:56 GMT -6
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Post by los on Dec 28, 2005 13:00:19 GMT -6
They use to post stuff like that in the locker room when I played as well Brophy! They had it posted really big and conspicuously against a wall where you couldn't miss seeing it! Plus the final score of the previous years game(especially if we got whupped!) Being a huge 175lb. OG and NG, I always appreciated seeing( a week in advance), the sizes and all-conference/all state credentials of the other teams players. NOT!!!!!!!! After the first couple weeks of each season,I'd purposely ignore the "Big Board" and wouldn't even look at the other team during pre-game warm-ups and just play who lined up against me! Just got tired/nervous when you see the oppositions fullback is bigger than you every game! Don't even want to talk about the linemen! Ha!!! ("But Mr. President, He'll see the Big Board")
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Post by brophy on Dec 28, 2005 13:06:20 GMT -6
I think near HALF of what we do in term of 'mental' preparation is a way of duping the players confidence, if you will.
I doubt much of it sinks in (though I have been surprised at how much they DO pick up), but the other factor is getting the kids to believe that we, as coaches, have done our homework, have prepared and know the opponent better than they do - so they can TRUST and depend on the calls we make.
With the question-everything society and Sports Writers, this is a factor that shouldn't be, but is. Sometimes you can present an aura that you know more than you really do by presenting a lot of information. This can give your team a lot of confidence and belief in what they are doing.
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Post by amikell on Dec 28, 2005 13:15:37 GMT -6
well said brophy. we have to deal with what's in front of us, not what should be in front of us. like I said before, the more we can help our athletes out mentally, then maybe they'll transition that to the playing field.
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Post by los on Dec 28, 2005 13:20:18 GMT -6
Its still a great question and I would hope some of the players that look at this board would tell us how they get ready mentally to play a game/individual opponent? I guess everybody gets ready in different ways! As a coach, I find myself asking my linemen during the early stages of a game Can you beat/block your man pretty easy or is it a stand off or what? You know stuff like that, then I can relay this to the HC for future play selection during the rest of the game!
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Post by brophy on Dec 28, 2005 13:33:08 GMT -6
here is a thread that deals with the 'other' mental training; coachhuey.proboards42.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1134998811but to stay on topic - I think the power of the COACH over his athletes by developing / nuturing / cultivating / inspiring a thought process in his athletes is not unlike the great leaders of warfare. You have to equip you guys with the tools they need but also get them to believe that , "Hey, we KNOW these guys....we KNOW EXACTLY how we are going to beat them!" There is a HUGE psychological advantage to knowing the plays / knowing what you are up against rather than just going in 'cold' or seeing a completely different offense / defense. Telling your guys what the opening series is going to look like.... they are going to run FB dive, then Power, then toss....One thing you can do, is go from broad, general approach and fine tune it. An old Vietnamese proverb used by Ho Chi Minh in that conflict was "How does a Tiger eat an Elephant? .......one piece at a time"meaning, we can take a look at our target and make it easy to digest by focussing on simple concise elements.
"Our opponent runs such and such offense. They are most comfortable running jet sweep and trap. Once we take away those plays, they have to rely on plays they are not good at running. We can put pressure on them by recognizing when and why they run these two plays....here's how we're going to do it..."
As a player - whatever the coach MADE me do (physically), I did. Getting it to digest into my head where I saw everything would've taken a brain transplant. I'm not saying it can't be done, but these kids (16 - 24 year olds) do not have the experience nor have the years of trial and errors that we have built our frame of football reference from. I can get players to parrot what I want them to say, but getting them to get the comprehensive understanding of what's going on - to see it how I see it - takes a LOT of patience and time. |
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Post by los on Dec 28, 2005 14:32:59 GMT -6
Yes sir! Good prep should equal confidence! Think about this too Brophy, if a kid nowdays starts playing real football at 7-8 yrs old and plays straight thru to high school with no layoff, he could theoretically have 10 years or more of football experience(practical know how) by the time he's a junior or senior in high school. Thats a pretty good knowledge base to build on there, don't you think? Twice as much as I had in my total career, if you don't count playing in the yard! Hopefully his coaches at the lower levels practiced the patience and time thing well enough so you guys at the varsity and college level get a fairly well rounded football player? What do you think?
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Post by brophy on Dec 28, 2005 14:49:54 GMT -6
works for me.....but then again...you haven't seen OUR feeder programs!!
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