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Post by coachwoodall on Nov 6, 2020 22:54:58 GMT -6
Coaches, we've all had to deal with..... stuff this year. We've all had to adjust our schema of what a football season looks like. I'm sure we all are quite ready for things to return to a sense of normalcy. I know we each have our own hurdles even in a regular year, and we each have our own situations because of circumstance, state/league rules, budget, etc...
Here's my question:
Based on what your particular situation has been and what your particular changes that were implemented; which ones would you like to see STAY in place when (if) football and the season returns to normal?
Mine are these:
1- Change the end of season
Normally we have 5 rounds of playoffs; 32 teams per classification (in SC we don't have enough teams for 5 but that's another thread). Most classifications have 7-8 regions that vary from 5-8 geographic teams. MOSTLY top 4 region finishers qualify for playoffs. There are a couple of at large for the 7 region classifications, but you get get the bracket: 32 teams and 5 rounds. We play 10 games in the regular season and the playoffs are 1/2 of that.
THIS YEAR: same regions, same classifications (shortened season overall) but only the TOP 2 region finishers qualify for the playoffs and the playoffs are 4 rounds. BUT teams that don't make the playoffs can schedule a +1 game.
Now you don't have the teams that only won 1 region game make the play offs in the tiny 5 team regions. We actually last year had a region where EVERYONE in the region made the playoffs b/c it only had 4 members that fielded football teams. If this years system was in place in a normal year: you have only really good teams in the playoff (your region is loaded... well go be top two and you don't have to make the 'what/if' argument) AND everyone else can still get the extra game and it can be whatever you want it to be.... reward the seniors who don't get to play much, be an extra early spring game/get ready for next year, etc....
2- Just Play Ball
There's no way to implement in 'normal' times but we had a cancelation a week before hand, tried to find a game but no luck... and keep looking, practiced all week for the team we were to play the following week, and on Thursday of the cancellation game at 3:30 we signed a contract to play another team to replace them. We basically had a walk through on Thursday to play a team the next day. NO film study. NO scout team. NO 'watch for #2", 'they like Stick on 3rd & 5".... NOTHING. We just got on the bus the next day and went to play football. We lost, but it was kind of refreshing to think in just pure football terms: we need to block, tackle, hustle, and hit.
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Post by norcaldiaz on Nov 7, 2020 9:50:12 GMT -6
I plan on continuing to use zoom meetings with my staff once the pandemic ends. I never even heard of zoom before this, but I think staff members who live 45+ minutes away (we have a few) really appreciate saving the drive time for meetings that have no need for us to physically be on campus.
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Post by wolverine55 on Nov 7, 2020 12:55:42 GMT -6
I'm guessing I'm in the minority on both of these, but I loved the fact everyone made the postseason in Iowa and even more so, I loved not having to do the post-game handshake line.
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Post by center on Nov 7, 2020 16:03:36 GMT -6
We did not play this fall in Illinois, might not play at all.
But from the stories I have heard from other states and the scrambling for games, you wonder how much preparation and practice you REALLY need?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2020 17:20:40 GMT -6
We did not play this fall in Illinois, might not play at all. But from the stories I have heard from other states and the scrambling for games, you wonder how much preparation and practice you REALLY need? This is a good point. In HS football it usually comes down to fundamentals and raw talent. The good teams have both, the terrible teams have neither, and the ones in the middle usually have one or the other. I’ve heard of good teams who only practice 3 days a week. Some of the better teams in my state don’t do anything for a week during the middle of the season because their system shuts everything down for fall break. It doesn’t seem to hurt them. This ain’t the NFL where you need to find a dozen new ways each week to get your slightly faster and taller stud WR matched up on their mediocre nickel back if you want to have a chance. If you run an unconventional offense like veer or SW, you rarely get the defense you thought you were going to see, anyway. |
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Post by poundit52 on Nov 7, 2020 20:40:47 GMT -6
I plan on continuing to use zoom meetings with my staff once the pandemic ends. I never even heard of zoom before this, but I think staff members who live 45+ minutes away (we have a few) really appreciate saving the drive time for meetings that have no need for us to physically be on campus. Here’s a link to a great article that was posted on High School Football Scoop about Zooming and using time wisely that was posted awhile ago: footballscoop.com/news/a-system-for-you-and-your-staff-to-take-back-your-weekends/ |
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Post by poundit52 on Nov 7, 2020 20:45:46 GMT -6
Coaches, we've all had to deal with..... stuff this year. We've all had to adjust our schema of what a football season looks like. I'm sure we all are quite ready for things to return to a sense of normalcy. I know we each have our own hurdles even in a regular year, and we each have our own situations because of circumstance, state/league rules, budget, etc... Here's my question: Based on what your particular situation has been and what your particular changes that were implemented; which ones would you like to see STAY in place when (if) football and the season returns to normal? Mine are these: 1- Change the end of seasonNormally we have 5 rounds of playoffs; 32 teams per classification (in SC we don't have enough teams for 5 but that's another thread). Most classifications have 7-8 regions that vary from 5-8 geographic teams. MOSTLY top 4 region finishers qualify for playoffs. There are a couple of at large for the 7 region classifications, but you get get the bracket: 32 teams and 5 rounds. We play 10 games in the regular season and the playoffs are 1/2 of that. THIS YEAR: same regions, same classifications (shortened season overall) but only the TOP 2 region finishers qualify for the playoffs and the playoffs are 4 rounds. BUT teams that don't make the playoffs can schedule a +1 game. Now you don't have the teams that only won 1 region game make the play offs in the tiny 5 team regions. We actually last year had a region where EVERYONE in the region made the playoffs b/c it only had 4 members that fielded football teams. If this years system was in place in a normal year: you have only really good teams in the playoff (your region is loaded... well go be top two and you don't have to make the 'what/if' argument) AND everyone else can still get the extra game and it can be whatever you want it to be.... reward the seniors who don't get to play much, be an extra early spring game/get ready for next year, etc.... 2- Just Play BallThere's no way to implement in 'normal' times but we had a cancelation a week before hand, tried to find a game but no luck... and keep looking, practiced all week for the team we were to play the following week, and on Thursday of the cancellation game at 3:30 we signed a contract to play another team to replace them. We basically had a walk through on Thursday to play a team the next day. NO film study. NO scout team. NO 'watch for #2", 'they like Stick on 3rd & 5".... NOTHING. We just got on the bus the next day and went to play football. We lost, but it was kind of refreshing to think in just pure football terms: we need to block, tackle, hustle, and hit. I totally agree about just playing. We played another pretty successful program this season where the game wasn’t set until 10 AM on the day of the game and it was kinda stressful to think out about it, but once we got to it it was just like every other game. It was actually refreshing and incredibly fun. |
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Post by bignose on Nov 7, 2020 21:01:09 GMT -6
I totally agree about just playing. We played another pretty successful program this season where the game wasn’t set until 10 AM on the day of the game and it was kinda stressful to think out about it, but once we got to it it was just like every other game. It was actually refreshing and incredibly fun. Y'know, this kinda reminds me of when I began coaching, mid 1970's. We would have one or two hand written paper scouting reports at most. No film, no Hudl, no nothing. We'd show up and coach on the grass. We may be onto something here. |
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Post by coachwoodall on Nov 7, 2020 21:41:40 GMT -6
We did not play this fall in Illinois, might not play at all. But from the stories I have heard from other states and the scrambling for games, you wonder how much preparation and practice you REALLY need? This is a good point. In HS football it usually comes down to fundamentals and raw talent. The good teams have both, the terrible teams have neither, and the ones in the middle usually have one or the other. I’ve heard of good teams who only practice 3 days a week. Some of the better teams in my state don’t do anything for a week during the middle of the season because their system shuts everything down for fall break. It doesn’t seem to hurt them. This ain’t the NFL where you need to find a dozen new ways each week to get your slightly faster and taller stud WR matched up on their mediocre nickel back if you want to have a chance. If you run an unconventional offense like veer or SW, you rarely get the defense you thought you were going to see, anyway. I've been part of and know of other really good teams that plan on 'taking the week off' versus the weak sister in region play. Now these are top tier teams playing notoriously bad teams. Coaches didn't meet/bring in players over the weekend. Didn't really break down film other than just watching it. Other than making sure there were no surprises alignment wise, just worked on getting better during the week of that game.... no game prep at all. Mostly these end up being ho-hum games... fans may wonder why they weren't bigger blowouts, or why said bad team was in the game until half-time, etc..... Now as far as prep and being successful.... I think you all know the answer. If you work and know the math problems, then you pass the math test..... The game we got 24+ hours to go, we ended up losing. We should have won. Now there are several factors that play into that, but bottom line we shouldn't have lost that game. But given our situation with a new HC and new system and kids not believing they can go and win... we didn't win. BUT it was refreshing to just get on the bus and go play. In fact it felt really weird setting up our sideline video equipment. The whole time I'm thinking that we don't even know what to be looking for as coaches much less the kids.... I was kind of approaching the game like a subvarsity game.... We kind of think how they line up and run things, but have to be ready to adjust on the fly. |
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Post by silkyice on Nov 7, 2020 22:23:08 GMT -6
COVID sucks!!
Coaches box to 10 yard line - AWESOME! Hope this stays. I have argued for this for years and never understood why we were limited to the 25. Made zero sense.
No handshakes at end of game sucks and is good at the same time.
But the one big win of all this is a pretty freaking great deal.
NO PEP RALLIES!! Let’s go!! Huge win!!
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Post by Defcord on Nov 8, 2020 6:59:32 GMT -6
COVID sucks!! Coaches box to 10 yard line - AWESOME! Hope this stays. I have argued for this for years and never understood why we were limited to the 25. Made zero sense. No handshakes at end of game sucks and is good at the same time. But the one big win of all this is a pretty freaking great deal. NO PEP RALLIES!! Let’s go!! Huge win!! We can have players to the 10 but coaches still can only go to the 25. Is this a state by state or fed ruling and do have we just misinterpreted it? |
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Post by silkyice on Nov 8, 2020 7:25:21 GMT -6
COVID sucks!! Coaches box to 10 yard line - AWESOME! Hope this stays. I have argued for this for years and never understood why we were limited to the 25. Made zero sense. No handshakes at end of game sucks and is good at the same time. But the one big win of all this is a pretty freaking great deal. NO PEP RALLIES!! Let’s go!! Huge win!! We can have players to the 10 but coaches still can only go to the 25. Is this a state by state or fed ruling and do have we just misinterpreted it? They have allowed us all the way to the 10 in Alabama. |
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Post by coachsticks on Nov 8, 2020 8:58:49 GMT -6
2- Just Play BallThere's no way to implement in 'normal' times but we had a cancelation a week before hand, tried to find a game but no luck... and keep looking, practiced all week for the team we were to play the following week, and on Thursday of the cancellation game at 3:30 we signed a contract to play another team to replace them. We basically had a walk through on Thursday to play a team the next day. NO film study. NO scout team. NO 'watch for #2", 'they like Stick on 3rd & 5".... NOTHING. We just got on the bus the next day and went to play football. We lost, but it was kind of refreshing to think in just pure football terms: we need to block, tackle, hustle, and hit. This. The recent shift in HSFB, where coaches feel it necessary to mirror college-level preparation, to me, is very unhealthy. HSFB should be about three things: 1. Accountability 2. Skill Development 3. Fun Would love to see the development of a national association that prioritizes these three things and allows kids to be kids again. Maybe I am in the minority. I don't know. It just saddens me to see more and more schools take on a win-at-all costs mentality. End of the day, this is a game. Would be refreshing to have a week like coachwoodall just had. |
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Post by coachsticks on Nov 8, 2020 9:37:59 GMT -6
This. The recent shift in HSFB, where coaches feel it necessary to mirror college-level preparation, to me, is very unhealthy. HSFB should be about three things: 1. Accountability 2. Skill Development 3. Fun Would love to see the development of a national association that prioritizes these three things and allows kids to be kids again. Maybe I am in the minority. I don't know. It just saddens me to see more and more schools take on a win-at-all costs mentality. End of the day, this is a game. Would be refreshing to have a week like coachwoodall just had. It’s either or. It can’t be accountability and kids being kids. Accountability is for adults. Which is a coaches role to teach to kids to play within the realm of football.
I think you are misunderstanding my comment on allowing “kids to be kids.”
This has nothing to do with the on-campus football experience.
This is about allowing high school football players opportunities beyond the game.
Clubs. Jobs. Internships. Volunteering. Another sport. You name it. Who has a program that allows for these things? I’ve coached at four programs in the past decade—doesn’t happen.
I played CFB at the Division 1-level. At my last two stops, the amount of time required to play football is not dissimilar to my college experience.
This should never happen.
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Post by jturner on Nov 8, 2020 10:50:59 GMT -6
No handshakes at the end of the games were nice. I’m all for sportsmanship, but the majority of the “brewhahas” I’ve seen between players or coaches has happened during the hand shake line. Not having to mess with this was actually pretty nice.
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Post by s73 on Nov 8, 2020 11:03:19 GMT -6
Zoom meetings for sure. Kids can go home much earlier and we can do film w/ them from home.
I've definitely reinforced the idea to myself about working smarter not harder.
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Post by jturner on Nov 8, 2020 11:29:29 GMT -6
Zoom meetings for sure. Kids can go home much earlier and we can do film w/ them from home. I've definitely reinforced the idea to myself about working smarter not harder. What’s the longest amount of time you’d take to do this? Just curious about doing it next year or during the spring |
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Post by s73 on Nov 8, 2020 13:28:27 GMT -6
Zoom meetings for sure. Kids can go home much earlier and we can do film w/ them from home. I've definitely reinforced the idea to myself about working smarter not harder. What’s the longest amount of time you’d take to do this? Just curious about doing it next year or during the spring I assume you mean how long are the meetings? No longer than 20 - 30 minutes. We haven't gotten to play this year but were able to have limited practices so we filmed practice and zoom met ( actually we used google meets) afterwards. Since we are not in season, we were practicing twice a week and we would meet once to discuss. My plan going forward for in season is to give kids the day off on Saturday. Coaches meet & get everything broken down and ready by Sunday evening. Then we google meet for 30 min w/ kids to share the scouting report / game plan. Monday longest practice of the week b/c kids haven't done anything since Friday & should be well rested. About 2h40m, no goggle meet due to length of practcie. Tuesday practice 2 hours & google meet 30 minutes to review practcie Wed 2 hours 30 min goggle meet Thursday 2 hours & 30 min google meet review of opponent. friday WIN & start all over. I'm hopeful this will be a welcome change for all. less time at practice for kids & coaches, more time at home. |
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Post by jturner on Nov 8, 2020 13:30:33 GMT -6
What’s the longest amount of time you’d take to do this? Just curious about doing it next year or during the spring I assume you mean how long are the meetings? No longer than 20 - 30 minutes. We haven't gotten to play this year but were able to have limited practices so we filmed practice and zoom met ( actually we used google meets) afterwards. Since we are not in season, we were practicing twice a week and we would meet once to discuss. My plan going forward for in season is to give kids the day off on Saturday. Coaches meet & get everything broken down and ready by Sunday evening. Then we google meet for 30 min w/ kids to share the scouting report / game plan. Monday longest practice of the week b/c kids haven't done anything since Friday & should be well rested. About 2h40m, no goggle meet due to length of practcie. Tuesday practice 2 hours & google meet 30 minutes to review practcie Wed 2 hours 30 min goggle meet Thursday 2 hours & 30 min google meet review of opponent. friday WIN & start all over. I'm hopeful this will be a welcome change for all. less time at practice for kids & coaches, more time at home. That’s what I meant coach. Thanks for the detailed reply |
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Post by larrymoe on Nov 8, 2020 17:32:58 GMT -6
I enjoy people staying away from me.
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Post by fballcoachg on Nov 8, 2020 19:21:27 GMT -6
Hate everyone in the playoffs...this was the first time our state did it and I hope only time
Hate losing the locker room, I mismanaged by not getting creative in the absence of having a locker room for kids to kind of hang out and BS some of them felt like it was a job. Show up, put your gear on, practice, leave immediately. Some bonding was lost in that alone.
Outside of the stress of cutting the roster for game night, I kind of liked having a limited Friday night roster (we could only have 60).
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Post by Defcord on Nov 8, 2020 20:16:51 GMT -6
We can have players to the 10 but coaches still can only go to the 25. Is this a state by state or fed ruling and do have we just misinterpreted it? They have allowed us all the way to the 10 in Alabama. I’m going to give it a shot this week |
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Post by Down 'n Out on Nov 9, 2020 6:32:40 GMT -6
VA plays this Spring(does February count as Spring?) but im hoping the concept of a year round "grind" goes away. How much on field drills and 7 on 7 is really necessary? Hopefully things go well in a few months and we learn that a lot of that is unnecessary.
For the playoffs the VHSL did away with 1 round and went back to 4, but added a +1 game where teams that didnt make the playoffs can schedule a game with whoever they want as a bowl type game. So instead of traveling hours away and getting your brains bashed out in round one, some of those teams can play a competitive opponent close to home. Imo that's a MUCH better option.
It seems in some ways football has reverted back to just playing football and isnt so serious. Important yes(as it should be) but not life or death.
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Post by IronmanFootball on Nov 9, 2020 6:47:39 GMT -6
HS football needs to shorten the season and shorten the playoffs in most states. Seeing HS kids play as many games as college players makes ZERO sense.
Zoom meetings, less meetings, less practice time is a must-have. Hoping #GrindSZN is dead (doubt it)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2020 7:00:02 GMT -6
HS football needs to shorten the season and shorten the playoffs in most states. Seeing HS kids play as many games as college players makes ZERO sense. Zoom meetings, less meetings, less practice time is a must-have. Hoping #GrindSZN is dead (doubt it) I think grind is fake. Most people don’t have a clue as to what that means if done correctly. |
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Post by justafbcoach on Nov 9, 2020 8:43:57 GMT -6
I have seen it a few times but the coaches box going from the 10-to-10 has been amazing. I never want to lose that
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Post by wolverine55 on Nov 9, 2020 9:04:46 GMT -6
Our players got to go to the 10, but coaches was still the 25. Honestly, it was still nice though because you didn't have the mass gathering between the 25-30 yard line when we were in the redzone.
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Post by rsmith627 on Nov 9, 2020 9:11:56 GMT -6
I'm guessing I'm in the minority on both of these, but I loved the fact everyone made the postseason in Iowa and even more so, I loved not having to do the post-game handshake line. You can count me in as a part of this minority. We missed basically the first three weeks of games, so everyone scheduled 6. A team in our conference is a D2 school (second biggest division) while the rest of us are D1. They're good, but couldn't compete this year in conference and went 0-6. Now that they're playing back down in their own division level they're lighting teams up and ripping through the playoffs. |
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Post by nicku on Nov 9, 2020 10:59:39 GMT -6
Coaches box to 10 yard line - AWESOME! Hope this stays. I have argued for this for years and never understood why we were limited to the 25. Made zero sense. This will not stay, unfortunately. The officials hate it just as much as the coaches love it. Every crew this year has mentioned it. I hope we get our way, but I doubt it. I'm in the box anyway so idgaf really, but it's nice during subvarsity games. Can't believe I am about to say this...I kinda miss em! 1) Cuts into class time. 2) Doesn't really feel like a game day without em, especially for the big games. I just returned to my alma mater after coaching somewhere else the last 3 years. We have a pretty solid crosstown rivalry game and there just wasn't the same buzz around school with only half the kids in the building and no chatter. 3) Yeah, it cuts into class time. |
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Post by wolverine55 on Nov 9, 2020 11:16:16 GMT -6
I do kind of agree with the second point there. We are on a hybrid schedule and by luck of the draw, most of our football players attended school Tuesday/Thursday. Not much of a "Game Day" feel on Fridays this fall.
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