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Post by somecoach on Nov 23, 2020 22:43:32 GMT -6
As both a player and coach, one really nice tradition we had was our "senior circle":
- On the last day of camp the entire varsity team would stand in a circle with the coaches in the middle
- Each Coach and Senior would get the chance to speak on "what is their why?" and what the program means to them.
- It was always a real tear jerker as players and coaches would delve into their personal life struggles, some kids would talk about how if it wasn't for football they would probably be in jail, other would talk about how their parents marital problems effected their mental health and how football is what saved them, and the Rudy's of the team usually had a heart warming story about how this is the first time they felt a sense of belonging in their entire life.
-Overall it always brought the team together and created an unbreakable bond and brotherhood
upon talking to a friend he said they did something simular at his higschool where they burned their practice cleats on the last practice of the season before the playoffs/senior day ... another talked about how in college they coaches handed the senior a piece of wood to burn but revealed something about them (specifically for my friend his college coaches said they did everything in their power to replace him because he was undersized but he beat every transfer or larger freshman they put in front of him)
So my question is how common is having a tradition like this? What did your senior circle/fire look like?
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Post by larrymoe on Nov 24, 2020 7:34:09 GMT -6
upon talking to a friend he said they did something simular at his higschool where they burned their practice cleats on the last practice of the season before the playoffs/senior day ... Hope they didn't win that playoff game... |
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Post by bulldogsdc on Nov 24, 2020 8:29:17 GMT -6
upon talking to a friend he said they did something simular at his higschool where they burned their practice cleats on the last practice of the season before the playoffs/senior day ... Hope they didn't win that playoff game... "They keep steppin on my toes, Coach!!" |
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Post by wolverine55 on Nov 24, 2020 8:49:21 GMT -6
As both a player and coach, one really nice tradition we had was our "senior circle": - On the last day of camp the entire varsity team would stand in a circle with the coaches in the middle - Each Coach and Senior would get the chance to speak on "what is their why?" and what the program means to them. - It was always a real tear jerker as players and coaches would delve into their personal life struggles, some kids would talk about how if it wasn't for football they would probably be in jail, other would talk about how their parents marital problems effected their mental health and how football is what saved them, and the Rudy's of the team usually had a heart warming story about how this is the first time they felt a sense of belonging in their entire life. -Overall it always brought the team together and created an unbreakable bond and brotherhood upon talking to a friend he said they did something simular at his higschool where they burned their practice cleats on the last practice of the season before the playoffs/senior day ... another talked about how in college they coaches handed the senior a piece of wood to burn but revealed something about them (specifically for my friend his college coaches said they did everything in their power to replace him because he was undersized but he beat every transfer or larger freshman they put in front of him) So my question is how common is having a tradition like this? What did your senior circle/fire look like? What we do isn't this grand of a ceremony but we do a "senior talk" every Thursday practice. One or two seniors will talk at the end of each Thursday practice. The start of it is scripted questions each senior gets each week, but then it delves off into them getting to say what they want to. The most interesting question, I think, is "What underclassmen impresses you and why?" The choices on that one are normally surprising and surprising in a good way. |
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 24, 2020 11:51:54 GMT -6
When I was a HC at my previous school, we did a "Family Meeting" every Thursday night after our pre-game practice. Every kid was asked to turn their phone off and put it in a box in the front of the room. The lights were dimmed so all you saw was the person speaking at the front of the room (I found this helped other kids talk from their seats). It was based on a theme for the week, and then 2-3 seniors would talk about their "why" and every kid would chime in on a question I would pose to them about the theme for the week. In the first meeting, I would tell my story and some things I have been through to bring down the walls. I would invite other coaches to speak if they wanted to, some did, some did not. We would end it by reviewing the game day schedule and any other logistics, sometimes end by showing a video but in the end it brought our team together every week. One of the most important things we did. Anytime I had a new coach on staff, or someone visiting, they would always comment on how they were amazed what this did.
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Post by wingtol on Nov 25, 2020 8:13:43 GMT -6
upon talking to a friend he said they did something simular at his higschool where they burned their practice cleats on the last practice of the season before the playoffs/senior day ... Hope they didn't win that playoff game... Practice cleats...we have a box of used cleats in our locker room for kids who don't have cleats to to take and wear for the season. |
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Post by larrymoe on Nov 25, 2020 9:11:49 GMT -6
Hope they didn't win that playoff game... Practice cleats...we have a box of used cleats in our locker room for kids who don't have cleats to to take and wear for the season. So they burned someone else's cleats? I guess I'm confused. For me, I didn't have two pairs of cleats. I wasn't burning crap. |
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Post by wingtol on Nov 26, 2020 8:43:02 GMT -6
Practice cleats...we have a box of used cleats in our locker room for kids who don't have cleats to to take and wear for the season. So they burned someone else's cleats? I guess I'm confused. For me, I didn't have two pairs of cleats. I wasn't burning crap. That was my point. We don't have practice cleats, we have to keep old cleats around for kids to wear cause some of them can't afford them. Can't imagine burning them. 99% of our guys have the same pair from July to November and possibly the next season as well. |
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Post by CanyonCoach on Dec 1, 2020 9:51:18 GMT -6
We did the circle/ fire on our last Thursday practice of the regular season. We had an athlete reveal to the team that he was homeless and that he was living in his car behind the school. Most of the kids thought he was kidding and were pissed at him for lying during the meeting. Long story short- one kid followed up and stalked the kid for a few days found out he was telling the truth and brought him home until Christmas (homeless kids parents came back to town).
That homeless kid is now a realtor in town and the other kid runs a hotel that has set up a program for homeless and displaced youth at the hotel. Great people.
Not sure this plays out without that circle meeting.
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Post by somecoach on Dec 1, 2020 10:18:06 GMT -6
We did the circle/ fire on our last Thursday practice of the regular season. We had an athlete reveal to the team that he was homeless and that he was living in his car behind the school. Most of the kids thought he was kidding and were pissed at him for lying during the meeting. Long story short- one kid followed up and stalked the kid for a few days found out he was telling the truth and brought him home until Christmas (homeless kids parents came back to town). That homeless kid is now a realtor in town and the other kid runs a hotel that has set up a program for homeless and displaced youth at the hotel. Great people. Not sure this plays out without that circle meeting. Thanks for sharing coach, that's an AMAZING story! |
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Post by CanyonCoach on Dec 1, 2020 19:13:59 GMT -6
We did the circle/ fire on our last Thursday practice of the regular season. We had an athlete reveal to the team that he was homeless and that he was living in his car behind the school. Most of the kids thought he was kidding and were pissed at him for lying during the meeting. Long story short- one kid followed up and stalked the kid for a few days found out he was telling the truth and brought him home until Christmas (homeless kids parents came back to town). That homeless kid is now a realtor in town and the other kid runs a hotel that has set up a program for homeless and displaced youth at the hotel. Great people. Not sure this plays out without that circle meeting. This was only six seasons ago. |
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Post by kylem56 on Dec 1, 2020 20:14:17 GMT -6
We did the circle/ fire on our last Thursday practice of the regular season. We had an athlete reveal to the team that he was homeless and that he was living in his car behind the school. Most of the kids thought he was kidding and were pissed at him for lying during the meeting. Long story short- one kid followed up and stalked the kid for a few days found out he was telling the truth and brought him home until Christmas (homeless kids parents came back to town). That homeless kid is now a realtor in town and the other kid runs a hotel that has set up a program for homeless and displaced youth at the hotel. Great people. Not sure this plays out without that circle meeting. for every coach on here thinking stuff like this is stupid, its stories like this that are worth doing stuff like this. To each his own opinion wise but thats why I believe in it |
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Post by Yash on Dec 1, 2020 20:56:40 GMT -6
Ours is not unique to us, as I know many have this same type of tradition...
But we a giant rock by our practice field. We stole this from UW- Whitewater-- but each thursday 4 players swing at the rock. When we get to the point in the season where it could be the last game so either playoffs of week 9 when we still have to win to qualify, every senior swings and we tell them "Don't let it be your last swing"
This year Wisconsin didn't have playoffs, but had a 2 game mini playoff-- no state championship. The last week of the season we knew it was our last week, which was a really unique feeling as I've never been in that spot before where you knew it was for sure the last game. But since there was no parents night, no mom's breakfast, no dad's night in the locker room like we have had in past years, I invited all senior parents to the rock for to watch their son's last swing. I gave a banger of a thursday night speech and then the kids swung. It was an awesome way to wrap up the season. We went out the next night and put 50 on the board to win our last game of the season. It wasn't an ideal season, but given the circumstances it was an awesome ending.
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Post by somecoach on Dec 2, 2020 8:22:59 GMT -6
We did the circle/ fire on our last Thursday practice of the regular season. We had an athlete reveal to the team that he was homeless and that he was living in his car behind the school. Most of the kids thought he was kidding and were pissed at him for lying during the meeting. Long story short- one kid followed up and stalked the kid for a few days found out he was telling the truth and brought him home until Christmas (homeless kids parents came back to town). That homeless kid is now a realtor in town and the other kid runs a hotel that has set up a program for homeless and displaced youth at the hotel. Great people. Not sure this plays out without that circle meeting. for every coach on here thinking stuff like this is stupid, its stories like this that are worth doing stuff like this. To each his own opinion wise but thats why I believe in it 100% many preach "football is more than a game" but this is literally it! |
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Post by somecoach on Dec 2, 2020 8:23:26 GMT -6
Ours is not unique to us, as I know many have this same type of tradition... But we a giant rock by our practice field. We stole this from UW- Whitewater-- but each thursday 4 players swing at the rock. When we get to the point in the season where it could be the last game so either playoffs of week 9 when we still have to win to qualify, every senior swings and we tell them "Don't let it be your last swing" This year Wisconsin didn't have playoffs, but had a 2 game mini playoff-- no state championship. The last week of the season we knew it was our last week, which was a really unique feeling as I've never been in that spot before where you knew it was for sure the last game. But since there was no parents night, no mom's breakfast, no dad's night in the locker room like we have had in past years, I invited all senior parents to the rock for to watch their son's last swing. I gave a banger of a thursday night speech and then the kids swung. It was an awesome way to wrap up the season. We went out the next night and put 50 on the board to win our last game of the season. It wasn't an ideal season, but given the circumstances it was an awesome ending. I dig it coach! |
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Post by somecoach on Dec 2, 2020 8:35:45 GMT -6
Ours is not unique to us, as I know many have this same type of tradition... But we a giant rock by our practice field. We stole this from UW- Whitewater-- but each thursday 4 players swing at the rock. When we get to the point in the season where it could be the last game so either playoffs of week 9 when we still have to win to qualify, every senior swings and we tell them "Don't let it be your last swing" This year Wisconsin didn't have playoffs, but had a 2 game mini playoff-- no state championship. The last week of the season we knew it was our last week, which was a really unique feeling as I've never been in that spot before where you knew it was for sure the last game. But since there was no parents night, no mom's breakfast, no dad's night in the locker room like we have had in past years, I invited all senior parents to the rock for to watch their son's last swing. I gave a banger of a thursday night speech and then the kids swung. It was an awesome way to wrap up the season. We went out the next night and put 50 on the board to win our last game of the season. It wasn't an ideal season, but given the circumstances it was an awesome ending. What do you have them swing with? |
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Post by Yash on Dec 2, 2020 8:49:01 GMT -6
Ours is not unique to us, as I know many have this same type of tradition... But we a giant rock by our practice field. We stole this from UW- Whitewater-- but each thursday 4 players swing at the rock. When we get to the point in the season where it could be the last game so either playoffs of week 9 when we still have to win to qualify, every senior swings and we tell them "Don't let it be your last swing" This year Wisconsin didn't have playoffs, but had a 2 game mini playoff-- no state championship. The last week of the season we knew it was our last week, which was a really unique feeling as I've never been in that spot before where you knew it was for sure the last game. But since there was no parents night, no mom's breakfast, no dad's night in the locker room like we have had in past years, I invited all senior parents to the rock for to watch their son's last swing. I gave a banger of a thursday night speech and then the kids swung. It was an awesome way to wrap up the season. We went out the next night and put 50 on the board to win our last game of the season. It wasn't an ideal season, but given the circumstances it was an awesome ending. What do you have them swing with? Sledge hammer. One of our parents patented an unbreakable sledge hammer. We have been using it for the past 6 years. It’s been awesome. We broke 2 Home Depot ones prior. |
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