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Post by kylem56 on Nov 15, 2009 20:29:09 GMT -6
1.) What lessons do you believe a young person (male or female) can learn from sports that extend beyond the playing field? How can these lessons be lessons taught in the context of a team sport? Teamwork, sacrifice, value of a good work ethic, being accountable for ones actions, mental toughess, and many more. The nature of the game itself requires teamwork and accountability in order to operate. For those who achieve success on the football field, you will find kids with a great work ethic.
2.) Which do you personally place a higher priority on: When I first started coaching, I thought winning games was the bottom line. As I matured, I realized it was more about preparing young men for life. Teaching life lessons. I read a great quote in Bill Walsh's book "The score will take care of itself" which says 20 years from now you will not be remembered for the wins and losses but for the impact you made on the young men you coach. Winning games is great but when that player is grown up with a family and he endures adversity, whether he won that district title his junior of high school isn't going to help him persevere. Like in the book Seasons of Life, when someone asks Coach Joe Ehrman if the season was successful, he answers I don't know, we will find out in 20 years when these kids are fathers and husbands. If I lose and they fire me, ok fine, because if I am any good of a coach I will find somewhere else.
3.) What obstacles stand in the way of a current HS/MS coach in being a mentor to young athletes? From my experience, Negative parent influence. Parents who tell their sons when they come home Friday night after a game "your coaches don't know {censored}" or let them do the wrong things off the field.
4.) Have you ever found yourself assuming responsibilities for your players that you believe should have been handled by a family member or a teacher (walking with them on senior night, giving them rides to and from school, etc.)? Oh yes many times. Ive had to help kids fill out college applications, numerous rides to and from practice, give them money for lunch, gand even buy some kids clothes so they dont have to wear the same shirt and shorts every single day.
5.) How can a coach-player relationship "go bad" and actually have a negative impact on a young person's life? Have you seen this happen? Coach-player relationships can go bad when you stop critcizing their performance and start demeaning the player. Also being inconsistent with demands can also lead to a relationship starting to go bad. You have to be willing to build them up as much as you may break them down.
6.) What are the greatest "success stories" you've seen involving players' lives being improved by their participation in sports? I have only been coaching for 5 years now but I cant describe the feeling when I see a kid who comes in as a freshmen with little talent, and then you work with them, develop them, and by the end of their senior year they receive an award or scholarship.
Sorry if the anwsers are brief, make sure to send me a copy when its finished, I enjoy reading papers like this.
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 12, 2009 23:45:57 GMT -6
Coach I wouldnt worry about it to much. Kids will be kids. I mean I think we can all think of a time in high school were we thought to ourselves "coach x is such a jerk bla bla". In almost any job, someone is going to critcize you and second guess your decisions. Especially in our game where if you play Madden and watch football on the weekends, your pretty much qualified to be a head coach:). Now say these 3 young men are in your classroom (you didnt seek them out). I would imagine if you sat these kids down in a non-threatening manner and just let them vent out to you it would be resolved and done with. Kids are immature and say stupid things, especially at that age. At your next team meeting, I would bring it up to everyone in general that you are the boss and if you can't buy in to the TEAM philosophy, then maybe you should think about playing another sport.
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 11, 2009 19:18:07 GMT -6
LAWS OF TEAMWORK
These laws are necessary to understand and develop teamwork within your organization.
John C. Maxwell
LAW OF THE BIG PICTURE Everybody on the team must contribute to winning. Everything starts with a vision – You have to have a goal. Winning teams have players who put the good of the team ahead of themselves. They want to play in their areas of strength, but they’re willing to do what it takes to take care of the team. They are willing to sacrifice their role for the greater goal. If the vision for achieving the big picture is embraced by everyone in the group, then those people have the potential to become an effective team.
LAW OF THE CHAIN Winning Attitude – you have total control of your attitude. Be positive and be enthusiastic. Team Matters More Than The Individual – No one player is more important than the team. As much as any team likes to measure itself by its best people, the truth is that the strength of the team is impacted by its weakest link. Allow for differences in lifestyles. Everyone on the team must take the journey – put aside all personal agendas and attitudes – everyone must be on the same mission.
LAW OF THE BAD APPLE Attitude – To win at a consistent level it takes talented people with the right attitude. Good attitudes among players do not guarantee a team’s success, but bad attitudes guarantee its failure. The winner’s edge is in the attitude. Attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team; there are plenty of talented teams out there who never amount to anything because of the attitudes of their players. This is always true – bad attitudes are the result of selfishness. Get out of yourself and into the TEAM!
LAW OF ACCOUNTABILITY Accountability – Teammates must be able to count on each other at all times. Character + Competence + Commitment + Consistency + Cohesion = Accountability When all team members embrace each of those five qualities, within themselves and with one another, they can achieve the accountability necessary for a team to succeed. Accountability begins with character because it is based on trust, which is the foundation for all interaction with people. If you want your teammates to have confidence in you, where they know they can count on you day in and day out, then you must be consistent. NO EXCUSES!
The strength of a TEAM lies in its trust among teammates. You need to know for certain that you can count on your teammates and they need to know that they can count on you!
LAW OF THE PRICE TAG Pay The Price – Every team member must pay a price. There is no substitute for work. It is the price of success! There are no victories at bargain prices, if you want to reach your potential, you can never let up. To improve, change, or keep winning, as a group the team must pay a price, and so must the individuals on it. There is a cost of being part of a winning team Sacrifice, Time Commitment, Personal Development, Unselfishness, and Open Communication between players and coaches.
LAW OF THE PLAYMAKER (Catalyst) Always compete – It takes no skill, speed, strength or ability to be a 6-second competitor. A 6-second competitor is an attitude and a habit! Not every man can start or make All-American, but everyone can compete 100% of the time. Develop great work habits. Practice and play as fast as you can. All the time! We need a locker room of 6-second competitors. Focus on your work ethic, not others – all you control is the commitment that you are making. Make things happen – Winning teams have players who make things happen, that is why a team that reaches its potential always possesses playmakers! Every team needs playmakers if it wants to win consistently. Playmakers have these common characteristics: Communicative, Passionate, Talented, Responsible, Generous, Committed, Accountable and Influential.
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 11, 2009 19:15:34 GMT -6
The One Percent Solution by Philip E. Humbert, PhD
Many years ago, someone told me that the key to success is not doing something big or spectacular, but doing the little things extraordinarily well.
When we think of Olympic athletes, it's tempting to pretend that they are somehow "different". We tell ourselves they were born with incredible strength or unusual talent, or had training that we could never get for ourselves. We look at Michael Jordon in sports, or we compare ourselves to Barbra Streisand as an entertainer, and say, "I could never do that."
While there is truth in acknowledging their incredible talent, there is also a lie in pretending that because we don't have their genetic gifts, we are somehow excused from the necessity of doing our best. That is simply not true! The vast majority of highly successful people, in any area of life, are simply those who worked a bit harder, stayed a bit longer, and did a bit more.
The highest paid people in any industry earn many times more than the average income. Is that because they are 100 times smarter? Are they 50 times more ambitious? Do they work 20 times harder or do they have more hours in a day? Of course not!
The highest paid, most successful people do the little things extremely well. They remember the details, acknowledge their friends, and they keep their promises. They return phone calls on time. They remember to say "Please" and "Thank You!", and they smile. They get to work just a bit earlier, make one or two more calls or stay just a bit later at the end of the day. The simple truth is this: They go the extra mile, and it makes a difference.
They take care of the "little things", and the difference is reflected in their paychecks!
What opportunities do you have to improve your performance by just 1 percent this week? It's call the "1 Percent Solution", and over time, it makes all the difference!
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 11, 2009 19:07:20 GMT -6
would you have done anything different? I wish I would have utilized filming practice more than I did. I only did it a few times and it was invaluable for the players. I wish I would have tried more off-field position group bonding (like going bowling or getting pizza). I felt that we had some talented players but we ever did really gel as a unit. I also need to do a better job with adding more levels of difficulty to some drills we do everyday (i.e. combo drill, trap drill etc). I would have also gone back and added more fundamental periods (on both sides of the ball) throughout the season.
Would you have been more successful/efficient doing something else? I think we would have been more successful on offense if we did not panic when a play wasn't working well for us. We repped veer all pre season and then during game 1 it got shut down. For some reason our staff decided to scrap it after that. Bottom line is we did not stick to our plan when things werent going well.
What are the lessons learned for yourself and as a staff this season? I have learned that you cannot win unless every kid in the program buys into the team concept. We had same talented kids this year who would miss once a week for a BS reason and it showed on Friday nights. I have learned that I would rather lose a game with 11 kids who may not be that talented who are dedicated than win with some kids who are not all-in for the team. I have also learned that I take it to personal when one of my position group players make a mistake or when we lose. I do not enjoy the wins enough because I automatically switch into gameplanning mode for the next game. We have been done for 2 weeks now and its just now starting to sink in how valuable a 2-8 season can be in regards to facing adversity. I am a competitive person and I hate to lose but as I look back and think about the seniors who are done, I can't help but be proud of them because I had a part in helping them develop into a man.
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 10, 2009 20:50:13 GMT -6
We don't do it during regular season but during pre-season camps and 2-a-days I will give a written quiz once a week on blocking schemes against various fronts. Also for defense, I will draw up a formation and quiz them on their alignment and assignment based on a defensive call. I mean it isn't going to decide playing time but its just another way of teaching the scheme.
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 10, 2009 20:48:16 GMT -6
I took a class on it during my undergrad. Basically it involves filling out alot of paperwork and sometimes writing an essay. The questions aren't difficult but it does get tedious and time consuming. Also, most of the time, grants aren't advertised. You have to do your homeork and research for them. I know NFL Youth Football use to offer equipment grants for programs.
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 8, 2009 20:44:10 GMT -6
heres one other brochure that might help you with fundraising details
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 8, 2009 20:42:01 GMT -6
Heres a pdf file I found with some good information
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 8, 2009 18:52:13 GMT -6
Also check out The Complete Handbook Of Clock Management by Homer Smith
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 8, 2009 18:43:03 GMT -6
- when 2 of your starting receivers/DBs call 10 minutes before the bus leaves and says "hey I don't think were gonna be able to make it tonight, we got alot of homework"
- A team puts their best athlete at QB for a direct snap, busted play, scrambles and manages to hurdle, juke, stiff arm, or out run all 11 of your players on defense
- your kicker sprains his ankle on a chest bump
- We are playing a double tight wing T team. We call 5-3 Cover Zero and our 2 corners blitz instead of covering the TE and WING who release on a play action, TE catches it and runs 80 yards for a touchdown. HC asks the corner what the hell he was doing and he replies "I thought cover 0 mean't 0 people were covering anyone" (being completely serious)
-An I team is running toss and instead of coming downhill on the play, our Will backer drops into coverage. We yank him out and he says "I was watching for toss pass"
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 8, 2009 18:24:10 GMT -6
I agree with cc, 4 years unless the talent is light years ahead It took us 3 years to close the gap physically with the other teams in our league. Reasons being, before our staff came in there was no organized weight program. Besides our program and volleyball program, there still is no organized weight lifting program in our school so that doesnt help. We changed absolutely everything we could to remove anything that was from the previous regime. New logo, new jerseys, shirts, repaint the lockeroom. We made everything first class as possible. Another thing is getting kids to play and enjoy football again. We had no jv/frosh team our first year. 2nd year we had enough to play a 6 game JV schedule and this year we had enough for a full one.We hosted a free youth mini camp twice a week during this season for K-2 students (they cant start playing football untill 3rd grade here) where all the drills were fun. We have a list of every boy in the elementary and middle school's birthday. When it is their birthday, we send them a birthday card with all the team's signatures in it (photocopied). www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091021/NEIGHBORS05/910200308Anyway to get to the original question by coachweav88, heres a timeline of our objectives year by year as we were rebuilding this program. Keep in mind, every team is a different situation and we inherited a rough one (8-85 last 10 years before our staff, 1 league win in 10 years, kids didnt even know what a 3 point stance was yikes!) so we had our work cut out for us. Fortuantly for us, we have a great AD and Administrators who are behind us 100%Year 1: Lay the foundation. Establish culture of discipline, work ethic, and learn to compete. Focus on finishing ball games no matter what the score (both coaches and players). Start to introduce football terminology to players i.e. "Johnny draw up a 3-3 with a 0 tech NG, 2 4 tech DTs, and stacked backers. Cut out any cancers, play the best players regardless of class. (ended up starting 5 freshmen, 6 sophmores) Year 2: Continue to hammer out the thought of TEAM and discipline. Learn to win games. Win the non league games and win a league (ended up winning 2 league games that year). Emphasize competing no matter who we are playing. Continue to constantly talk "in football terms" to our players to increase their football IQ. ie. "Coach they are lining up in a 2 tech and then pinching A gap ". Continue increasing #'s Year 3: Learn to win games that you're suppose to. Compete in the games where we won't win (against superior oppoents, keep in mind we have the kids convinced they can win everygame but we -coaches- know deep down the other team is just better). Win 1 game against one of the top teams (we came close, lost by 6). Continue to increase their football IQ. Continue working on increasing #'s . Year 4: Become winners (winning record). Win the games your suppose to. Win 2 of the games against top teams. Compete at a high level in every game. Continue to increase football IQ at every level 8th, 9-12 Im sure theres more we could add to each one but I did that off the top of my head
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 8, 2009 17:51:18 GMT -6
hlb2 This past season I was pretty much told the same thing by the HC I work for. His point was "they will never want it, have as much passion for, or take it as serious as us". Us coaches take alot of pride in what we do and we are all competitors who hate to lose. Im a young coach whos only been coaching varsity ball for 5 years now and this topic is one of the most frusterating to me. You gotta remember you arent the one who misses blocks, misses tackles, or drops balls. If you did your best as a coach, you gotta learn to live with it.
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 6, 2009 10:28:30 GMT -6
Varsity staff coaches the "JV team". Our JV consists of younger kids and those who didnt play more than a quarter on Friday night
Varsity OL / DL - Head JV and OC, D-Line Varsity RB / DC- DC, Running Backs Varsity DE / Special Teams- Special Teams Varsity DB / WR- Secondary and Wide Receivers
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 6, 2009 10:23:19 GMT -6
Definently C or D . Go where you can learn and see how a winning program operates
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Post by kylem56 on Nov 2, 2009 11:07:48 GMT -6
Coach There realy isn't any magical quote, story that will make them play better. We were in this situation alot this year and when we played a team we know was alot better than us, we spent the whole week focusing on US rather than them. I told my guys "we can't control how they will play, but we can control how we will play". I would focus on our execution, and emphasizing that the team that makes the least amount of mistakes will win. Also, make sure to tell them to have fun, its the playoffs and not everyone gets a chance to be there. Good luck
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 28, 2009 19:05:39 GMT -6
A bunch of my players have them. I have 3. 1 on my back and 1 on each arm. They are all covered. I cover them because I didn't get them to display them and they all have signifcance to me. In my opinion, theres bigger battles to be fought then someone having a tattoo
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 24, 2009 19:27:48 GMT -6
I would put together a what if checklist of sorts: for example:
Run and Pass game if muddy field/downpouring rain/snow Offense plan if starting QB gets hurt 2 minute offense in bad weather Defense vs Hail Mary play
just some ideas
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 24, 2009 19:01:13 GMT -6
We have between 30-40 in our program 9-12 and we will do:
Team MVP (Sometimes Offense MVP and Defense MVP) Lineman of the Year Scout Team Player of the Year Big Hitter Award Coaches Award ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At my alma mater we did it like this
Team MVP Coaches Award Golden Helmet Award (Best Defensive Player) Jack Castilogna (legendary former coach) Award (High Achievement both on the field and in the classroom) Paul Kelley (former player) Leadership Award Touchdown Club Superfan Award (usually goes to a senior's parents who have done alot for the program)
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 22, 2009 19:58:57 GMT -6
This is a great thread from 2006 I found while digging through archives before I was a member. Figured I would ressurect this thread since its an old one but good one. Some great responses here
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 13, 2009 21:16:43 GMT -6
We got pretty lucky this year Our returning all league senior QB was ruled academically ineligible just before the season began so he is our scout team QB . Man are we lucky At least we get a decent look
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 12, 2009 21:48:45 GMT -6
I use to have that problem as well for 2 point / short yardage situations. What helped me was sitting down the night before and having a script for the situation based on What If's
for example 2 Point Conversion Plays: If they are stopping the run _____________ If they are double covering our best receiver _______________
It helps take the extra thinking out of it for me at least
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 8, 2009 21:09:03 GMT -6
Monday: 2:30-3:45- Study Hall 3:45-4:00pm: Oppoenent Special Teams and Offense 4:05-4:15: Flex 4:15-4:45: Special Teams 4:45-5:45: Offense 5:45-6:30: Defense
Tuesday: 2:30-3:45- Study Hall 3:45-4:00pm: Oppoenent Defense Film 4:05-4:15: Flex 4:15-4:45: Special Teams 4:45-5:45: Defense 5:45-6:30: Offense
Wednesday: 2:30-3:40- Study Hall / Free time (Dr. appts, haircuts, etc) 3:40-4:00pm: Oppoenent Offense Film 4:05-4:15: Flex 4:15-4:30: Special Teams 4:30-5:30: Offense 5:30-6:30: Defense
Thursday: 2:30-3:30- Study Hall / Free time 3:30-3:45pm: O and D Gameplan Meetings 3:45-4:00: Film 4:00-5:00: Walk Throughs 5:00-6:00: K-2 Youth Mini camp 6:00-6:15: Special Teams Meeting 5:45-6:30: Defense
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 8, 2009 20:59:57 GMT -6
I would like to see articles on: Game planning Breaking down film Offensive Line technique More special teams articles Defensive schemes used to stop ________ program building articles are always good career advice (resumes, applying for jobs, etc)
as far as potential candidates for videos go (assuming the length and quality improves): Monte Kiffin (defense vs. "the spread") Wofford Offense staff Air Force offense staff Joe Bugel Jim McNally Applachian State offense staff Urban Meyer program building Grand Valley State Univ passing game Steelers defense
give spreadattack his own section and ill sign up for a lifetime membership
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Post by kylem56 on Oct 1, 2009 9:34:18 GMT -6
We do a free youth mini camp for K-2 every Thursday night for an hour after practice. The players wear their jersies and run the drill stations. Each kid gets attention from the players and the parents love it.
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Post by kylem56 on Sept 26, 2009 17:49:46 GMT -6
just keep chopping wood. anyone can coach the all stars probaly the best quote of the week . Im sure theres alot of coaches on this board who need to hear that
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Post by kylem56 on Sept 23, 2009 15:29:34 GMT -6
Hey everyone, hope your seasons are going well. I am doing a project for my Sport Event Planning class. We have to design an event proposal including logistics, budgets, etc. The event I want to do the project on is a coaches clinic. If theres anyone who could send me any information or if I could ask them questions I would greatly appreciate it
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Post by kylem56 on Sept 19, 2009 13:48:35 GMT -6
I think it depends on the status of your program really When Iwas in high school, we were very successful and didnt lose to many games. Our coaches played down all that stuff and called it b.s.
My first year of coaching @ a pretty successful school. It depended on the oppoenent. If we were picked to win by alot, we usually downplayed it and claled it bs. Against a good team, we used it as a source of motivation
Were I am coaching now, we are in a building process (2-8, 3-7 first two years), we try to use any sort of bit of motivation we can. We try to explain the people usualy don't know {censored} but at least plant that seed of fire in their heads
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Post by kylem56 on Sept 19, 2009 12:58:31 GMT -6
I have dealt with many people who have bi polar disorder. If the kid isn't on meds or seeing a therapist on a regular basis and he is a problem, you should look into getting him into seeing the school counseler because without any help he can be a ticking timebomb. Now I will say this too,I have had kids, and know people who once they were on the right medications and seeing a therapist, they were just as good as a "mentally healthy" kid for our team. Hell sometimes they made great defensive players I wouldn't kick him off the team though since you are probaly saving his life giving him some sort of structure
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Post by kylem56 on Sept 19, 2009 12:45:10 GMT -6
I will do this if I have some extra time during the week. I am all for getting ahead on a team. We don't do it as a staff though.
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