|
Post by s73 on Jul 3, 2014 9:39:09 GMT -6
The worst guys to work for are usually the "I, I, I guys" All you have to do is listen to them talk The ones that constantly use I did this, I did that, instead of WE are guys you have to watch out for I agree w/ one amendment coach. These are the worst guys to work WITH. Doesn't matter if they are headers or not. Tough to listen to these guys talk period.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jul 2, 2014 18:38:14 GMT -6
This just happened last week. Really a massive faux pas rather than a terrible coaching point.
We were introducing our defense as we do every year in the summer and going through how all of our run fits work. I do it the same every year. So, let's take last year for example. Last year I tell Mincie (OLB) that it's his job to force the ball back inside to the ILB's and if they do their jobs then the ball carrier should get a face full of Philips (ILB's last name).
Fast forward to this year - Hansen, it's your job to force the ball back inside and if our ILB's do their jobs then the ball carrier should get a face full of Bush.....That's right one of my ILB's names is Bush. Should have probably thought that one through a little better.
Needless to say our team lost some focus for awhile. The coaches were worse than the players.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jul 2, 2014 8:09:07 GMT -6
You can get riled up with the "dumb and lazy" tag but it is what it is. If you don't script then you, or anyone else, is doing their program an injustice. If you want to defend it, I would love to hear why it is better to not script than to script. I spend hours a day doing it, so I would love to know why it would be advantageous to me to not do this. Coachwilcox, If by scripting you mean do we write down a script in order of our opponents plays so the coaching staff knows what it's looking for ? Then yes, we do that. If by scripting you mean do we practice different defensive calls to a variety of our opponents upcoming plays then the answer would be no. You seem to be looking for a defense to this approach so here is mine: As I stated above we are a very "base defense" oriented team. We run a 3-5 but w/ more of a read and react 3-4 approach. I teach my LB's to read guards and hopefully react appropriately. Likewise, I teach my secondary to read high hat and low hat as well as I teach my DL they have a read key (man they are slanting to) as well as a pressure key (usually a TE who doubles down). Our thoughts are that if our kids do what they are supposed to do then that is a better call then one we could invent. In other words, we expect them to put themselves into a better position than any stunt we could devise. As a result, we are much more concerned about knowing the play before hand so we as coaches know how the players should react before the play is run in practice. Then we simply watch them and correct their reactions as needed. We have very few calls b/c of the way we teach and run our defense. Furthermore, we are not 2 platooned so we need to keep things as simple as possible for time constraints. The few calls and stunts we do have we usually practice in 7 on 7 or group time. This is "my defense" for why we do not "script" in the sense that I think you mean it. We also try to teach our kids a "common sense" approach to things (deepen in obvious pass situations, tighten in short yardage, etc.) We try to focus on details more oriented to fundamentals and base schematics. We have our ups and downs but for the most part this has worked for us.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jul 2, 2014 7:26:10 GMT -6
How many of you script group sessions (Inside, Pass Skelly, and Team) in practice? If not, why not? We strictly script every group period, The script is written by the coordinator. In Inside and Pass the script includes: Play #, Scout Card #, Play, Defense. For Team it looks like this: PLAY # CARD DOWN DISTANCE HASH PLAY DEFENSE COMMENT (Special instructions like "QB scramble) Fantom, I write a practice schedule for every practice that is relatively detailed as to what everyone is doing each session. I do not on the other hand, go into scripted detail such as this b/c we are much more of a "base style" defense and try to stay as such. We are a 3-5 defense & just feel that the nature of our defense alone accounts for a multitude of situations (that's one of the primary reasons I run the 3-5). For example, we have built in rules for alignment as well as the ability to drop 8 or send somebody w/o it affecting coverage. To be honest, I admire your attention to detail and preparation. My brain is too simple for all of that. One thing we do in relation to scripting team D is we run more of a stunt period w/ a general idea of when we want to run our stunts rather than in an actual team segment. We also script the scout team plays in order so we know what we are looking for pre-snap. But that's about it for us.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jul 1, 2014 19:14:43 GMT -6
I've found that self motivation in a team is directly related to leadership. I guess we need more of it. Can't make kids lead though, another thing they have to want As I stated above, I think we as coaches can lead and motivate those who want to be motivated. But, I also believe that our generation of coaches is treading in some dangerous waters here. I personally do not believe it is my duty and or responsibility to motivate a young man who willingly joined the team. IMO it is my duty to coach him to the absolute best of my & his ability, while being careful to develop a program that does not "de-motivate" individuals through burn out, etc. But my expectation is that you WANT to be here. That's why you are here. If I have to start each year with kids showing up and their expectation of me now is "okay coach, I'm here, now make me excited about it".......well let's just say their will be alot more than American FB programs in decline in this country IMO.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jul 1, 2014 18:48:37 GMT -6
Vince Lombardi, obviously one of the great motivators of all time, was once asked "how do you motivate people so well? "
His response was "I surround myself with people who WANT to be motivated".
I never believed this more than this year. Last year I had a group of kids that had I given the greatest speech in the history of sports followed by an Olympic Torch processional followed by a parade followed by the opposing mascot being crushed w/ a giant hammer followed by my head exploding like a pumpkin - in return - crickets.
This year I say practically nothing and these guys are wound up and ready to go. They don't just love football they love the process. Not sure you can do much more about that. If they LOVE it they will come around. If they don't, it is what it is. JMO.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 30, 2014 11:18:30 GMT -6
One of the questions I have for those of you who seem to be kind of "anti-practice" during the summer (not calling anyone out, I believe as much or more than anybody different strokes for different folks) is when do your players perfect their craft?
As posted before we have restrictions on what we can do in Summer.
Philosophically, and maybe it's because of my age, I feel kids need time to be kids. We can help them "perfect their craft" through strength training, conditioning, 7-on-7, camp(s), and especially Two-a-Days.
Practically, I am concerned about burn-out. I have seen good teams who do a lot in the Summer - workouts five days a week, couple 7-on-7s each week and tournaments on Saturdays, multiple weeks of camps - fizzle out come playoff time because a lot of the kids have had enough, just don't want to play Football anymore that year.
Personally, I don't want to start practice in August mad at kids because they missed something in June or July.
"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose.."
BLB & Fantom, excellent points. I am in agreement w/ you. I just edited this post to say what I'm "really getting at". Here's what Im really trying to say. 13 years ago I got my 1st HC gig and like many I took over a bad program and started to do what I thought "you were supposed to do". We used all summer time alotted by the state as well as 2 a days, blah and blah and you know the drill. For 2 years I did this and we were awful. Also, I felt our kids were burnt out. The following Spring I told my staff and admin that we were scaling back to about 60-70% of allowable time and no longer doing 2 a days (b/c let's face it, the 2nd practice always sucks anyway and some knucklehead is always off on the side puking his guts out from eating too much lunch anyhow). Well this is 11 years ago now, and I can tell you this approach was met w/ much skepticism. The AD looked at me all {censored} -eyed, I had a few assistants scratching their heads, and some parents even expressing thier concern. Nobody was willing to say it but, they all were thinking we stink and the idea is to do less? I feel most of them just felt I was getting lazy and maybe even somewhat giving up. Quite the contrary. I just felt practices needed more intensity and enthusiasm. I was after quality not quantity. Well, the 1st season we did this was the schools best seaosn in 13 years. The 2nd year was the schools best season in history. I used these 2 years to get me to a better job that fit me and my family better. Went through some similar reactions at first, b/c we were bad at first, then success came our way and everybody "jumped on board". Here's my point: 10 years ago I was lazy and not doing enough by the extremist "nazi types" who act like they own their players. Now 10 years later I think some of these posts have gone the other way a bit suggesting that if you do much of anything that you might be "stealing a summer". I think I have always been "happy medium". I take issue w/ the extremists on both ends. JMO.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 30, 2014 9:18:00 GMT -6
One of the questions I have for those of you who seem to be kind of "anti-practice" during the summer (not calling anyone out, I believe as much or more than anybody different strokes for different folks) is when do your players perfect their craft?
For example, baseball has summer and fall leagues and countless private sessions for pitching and hitting. Soccer has Spring and fall leagues, basketball ....'nuff said. Volleyball is as bad as basketball, etc.
I've always felt that the summer was really the only pre-season prep we have for our sport outside of lifting (which in our district is open to anybody who wants to use it, so not primarily a FB activity). What's so bad about working the kids some? Personally I feel it's the only time we can really hone their skills and I see nothing wrong w/ keeping HS kids on somewhat of a regulated regimen. I mean they are going to have to be on one through the rest of lives anyway right? JMO.
PS - I openly support other sports programs and extra curricular activities during the summer that conflict w/ what we do as well. I have kids miss due to boy scouts, foreign language trips, etc. Clearly these other entities are not afraid to ask for our kids time. Why should we be? Not looking to brawl, just curious of the thought process.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 29, 2014 20:40:06 GMT -6
We have 12 hours practice in June plus weights. We have 24 total hours in July plus weights and through out the summer we participate in 3 7 on 7's.
I dunno, 36 hours of football over the course of 2 + months doesn't seem like that much to me. We get out of school the last week in May and don't start until 2nd Monday in June. That's almost 2 weeks of nothing. We take off all through the 4ht holiday, that's 9 days with nothing football related, we have our last summer practice 18 days before the season starts and do nothing.
I guess we are 100% or not at all. Just us.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 28, 2014 6:26:35 GMT -6
On Tuesdays we have an 8 play full speed scrimmage. The first offense vs the best available defense. The offense must gain 12 yards in 3 downs. After that, every thing we do during the week is thud. In fact on Wed. and Thurs. (we play Fri. nights) we go out in helmets and shoulder pads. We have found that our kids are fresher at the end of the year, as well as ready to go on Friday nights. This is us to a tee. We hit (thud) but never to the ground. Once we are in full pads, if our kids are practicing well and working hard then by about week 3-4 we start going helmets and shoulder pads only on Wed. Mondays and Thursdays are already shells only. I want them fully padded on Tuesdays so they still get one day of full pads other than the game just to get acclimated to full pads and the heat, etc. The kids kind of know at some point that this is coming during the season, it's just kind of a "feel" thing for me. Kind of a "have we worked hard enough to earn it" type of thing. With that being said, the two rules I have about it is, first don't ask me when we are going to start doing it. If anybody asks me, then we go full pads that day. The second rule is if we don't practice a little harder since we are "lighter and cooler" we are back to full pads the next week for an undisclosed amount of time. With that being said, the first announcement we are going S/Pads only during the season is usually a very enthusiastic practice. In MY MIND I feel like the practice to play ratio for FB is so much higher than any other sport that I need to take SOME responsibility to make practices more tolerable. I know some old timers out their might "scoff" at this notion, but my response to that would be that "back in the day" we weren't lifting year round, we weren't practicing in June/ July, etc. KIds are asked to do more than ever before so to me this is a way to "sell it" to them. JMO. PS - Also MAJOR cost savings on practice pants. They do not get nearly as worn when you do this. No kidding.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 26, 2014 18:11:21 GMT -6
Okay guys. So, I cringe whenever I hear awful coaching from my staff or anybody else's. There's always the infamous "Block somebody!" or "Hit somebody!". I think I finally got those beat. 1) I was at a 7on7 tournament and our DB coach yells at our CB "You're not fast enough! Be faster!" He got burned on a Go because his eyes were in the backfield. Apparently, he's just not fast enough to do that. 2) Same 7on7. Opposing coach's LB was too busy trailing 2 on a slant and wasn't able to expand with 3 to the flat. Coach yells at him "YOU GOTTA BE A BALLER!" What's the most ridiculous coaching point you've heard? This should be fun. The worst thing I've ever said on the football field - here goes. I'm making myself vulnerable men. We are getting our "arses" KICKED all over the field about 10-11 years ago. This one kid who was infamous for making bad decisions is in the game (only had 17 bodies on the team, so save the comments). He's supposed to stalk a corner and the numbnuts think it's a pass and he runs a go and we pitch the ball and the corner CRUSHES our ball carrier. I look at his position coach and scream at the top of my lungs "that kid can't be involved in any plays that involve thinking". My wife was sitting in the top of the bleachers and heard me. She was about 20 feet from the opposing staff and she said they almost Pi$$ed themselves they were laughing so hard. Don't know if it's a coaching point but that's pretty frickin' bad. My wife still makes fun of me for it to this day. Not one of my best moments.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 22, 2014 20:24:49 GMT -6
one rule - get out of your comfort zone & be uncomfortable. you can't control how hard the other guy works - but you can control how hard you work. this is why we say "control what you can control & don't worry about the other guy." therefore, you won't find us saying things like "we're gonna out work them." in reality, we don't know what they're doing and, frankly, don't care. we stress that it's not about being better than the other guy, it's about being better than you were yesterday. "be the best you can be" for the past several years, we have really taken this to heart. our kids understand that you can't compete against the opponent until you learn how to compete against yourself. this allows us - in our opinion - to maximize our potential more so that we could if we focused on a mantra of "out work the other guy." Nice post coach. Many years ago I used to discuss tangible goals w/ my teams, such as number of wins, play offs, conference title, etc. After a couple of tough years at my current school I finally realized the best goal I could set was to try and coach my kids to play to the absolute best of their abilities week in and week out. No real number of wins set or anything like that. Just simply play to our absolute total potential every Friday night and the wins and losses will take care of themselves. That is now our goal each and every season. It's very freeing actually. Takes pressure off of staff and kids. One of the best things from a philosophical stance I have ever done. Also, an impossible goal to meet. But getting close usually means your doing things well. Much better approach for us.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 21, 2014 7:16:49 GMT -6
I don't know about the rest of you guys but- we lift all season and we get stronger through the season- this is particularly important in forcing your awol guys to lift and get bigger, stronger an faster- teaching them how and why. After they get comfortable with the lifting and having to do it in front of others (often those stars are hiding their inadequacies) they will buy in and do it. You do have to stay on them or they will run off to the locker room to play with their cell phones. We also lift all year- we cant force people to do it- we have conflict with ignorant coaches who are stuck in 1960s thinking about lifting but we talk to the kids directly and educate them. We make sure we have coaches that lift and can lead by example and that helps. we reward the heck out of attendance, achievement and improvement, you have to reward all three of those things. our rewards are: tee shirts helmet stickers trophies gear choice captain status we never ever talk about consequences of missing weights other than letting your teammates down, underachieving as a player and as a team and perhaps being beaten out by someone else on the roster impacting your playing time. we choose carefully when to speak about those that are absent knowing that kids talk and itll get around. we publicize testing for weights and speed and agility. we get the buzz going in the building with bulliten and white board posts. we use the morning announcements (and that gets teachers and admins to know whats going on and they can say stuff to the kids) and we use websites to publicize our testing. we have "top 10" boards and those that may be stellar athletes but not lifting are missing from the board. younger kids are in their place. Heres where we say "summer" lifting matters as well- we do our liftathon fundraising then. if you aren't there you don't get the same stuff that the participants get. I have parents call me because I send out a handbook. It really lays out our whole program and the parents want permission from me to take their kids out of town or have them miss for eagle scout week or whatever. they know what is expected. the parents and kids who don't care and don't buy in much- basically never will. I am always looking to replace those guys. A wise coach once said "don't prostitute your whole program for one or two more wins" - that's where the real thinking comes in. When you must play these guys to win, play them. When you can replace them do it as soon as possible. Ie you are up by three scores, play a younger kid. When you are behind by three scores, play a younger kid or more deserving kid. "starting" doesn't mean "finishing" when you aren't on board. youll get fewer raised eye brows from admin and parents and your own kids if you start the "best" kids. Youll get better buy in with throwing hard workers a bone as soon as you can. "coach, I got a helmet sticker today!" You make a great point about guys "getting comfortable" w/ lifting in front of others. For whatever reason, through out my career the basketball kids are the WORST about lifting. It's like pulling teeth. As a result, after they finished this past season of bball and begrudgingly showed up to Spring weights, I pulled several of them aside and addressed the fact that they will not fix the problem of weakness by avoiding lifting. If your weak the others probably already know it. So start at square 1 and make some progress. This seemed to take them from horrible in the weight room to about a C -/ D +. Progress I guess. At least they know that I know they aren't committing like they are expected to. That's good for my own piece of mind anyway.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 20, 2014 19:54:33 GMT -6
Yes, if your summer program is worthwhile.
The old saying about games are won in the off season is actually only partially true IMO. It really should be games are won in a well planned and well designed off season.
If you carefully plan your off season / summer etc. then it should be a large piece to your success puzzle. If it's a good plan and kids aren't their then, yes it should hurt you. Again, JMO.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 11, 2014 7:06:38 GMT -6
One thing I'm thinking about here is this.... What is the jurisdiction of this when it's in the summertime and not during the season or school year? What does your athletic code say about "out of season" or "summer"? I agree with a lot of things said here, but if that picture was taken 2 July's ago and the kid wasn't in school....it could change things. I would offer (without knowing the past transgressions, etc.) that you can suspend the kid for a game or two...but bombing him for the season and beyond could generate retaliation by the parents. Our handbook states that it's a 24/7/365 policy. Now, can our district legally enforce that is probably another question entirely. But since we have districts lawyers, I would assume they were consulted before this was put into print. But you know what they say about assumptions. Personally, my thoughts are that maybe schools in general are over reaching some by monitoring summer behavior. But that is probably a discussion for another time.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 10, 2014 6:27:25 GMT -6
Coach, With regards to what you are saying about the motives not changing that the kid did wrong as well as the ability to check photo manipulation, well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. While I as much as anyone on here (& probably more so than most) do not want kids to be using drugs or alcohol, I am willing to hold kids accountable to our athletic code up UNTIL the point that we become more the MORAL POLICE and less an athletic department. I am not willing to hold my athletes or any others in our building to anonymous pictures being sent in with hidden (and some not so hidden) agendas. But even more so, I do not want to be playing a "gotcha game" w/ kids and their athletic careers. What I mean by that is if this picture was clearly recent and we had proof of it, then I would support a consequence (maybe even if turned in anonymously although I don't like it). But what I signed up for was to uphold our athletic code b/c it's what's best for kids. I cannot honestly look any kid in the face and say "Hey you clearly screwed up 15 months ago, you need to be held accountable for that b/c that's what's best for you". I don't think going back more than a school year to hold kids accountable is in their best interest, but rather becomes more of a vindictive act in my opinion. I don't want mistakes I made over a year ago held over my head and just am not willing to do it to anyone else, my team or otherwise. Again, JMO. Coach, I believe that we are, for the most part, in agreement. I just see these as all separate issues from one another. In the case that you described (this action having taken place months and months ago), I agree w/ you that if this was an issue that was previously dealt w/ (not this particular instance but the issue as a whole), there's no need to punish a kid a second time for past transgressions. Also, based on your description of the picture, I agree that there are certain battles worth fighting and others that aren't. I believe that this would fall in the latter category based upon the infraction and the length of time since you feel it was committed. I also agree that we shouldn't be the gotcha police. I don't think that's any way to teach a lesson. In fact, you're right, it's much more vindictive. As for the anonymity issue, imagine if you and I coached on the same staff, where you were the head coach, and I wanted your job. Even if I followed you around for months hoping to catch you in a compromising position, then offered anonymous, visual evidence of this to the AD, my actions, while certainly questionable, wouldn't mitigate your actions. However unethical my behavior, it doesn't have any effect on your action. Therefore, whether I turn this in anonymously, or put my name to it, the evidence is the same. That's why I would not have any issues w/ information offered anonymously. I would give it the same weight as evidence offered nominally. In either case, I would go to great lengths to verify the veracity of the evidence, but I wouldn't immediately discount it due to its anonymous nature. Coach, I agree that anonymous stuff should be "looked at" but I don't feel it has the same weight as something turned in w/o anonymity solely for the reason that I feel that if you strongly believe in something you should be willing to your name on it. Not willing to do so tells me that you have an unwillingness to stand by it which IMO speaks to credibility. How much so? That's certainly debatable. But I think you make some solid points and I certainly agree w/ some of them. Thanks for the replies.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 10, 2014 5:32:58 GMT -6
The point I was raising was in regard to the actions of the kid in the picture. As to whether or not someone else was drinking at the party and whether or not they're the one who snapped the picture, that's a separate issue. If both acts are violations of policy, they'd both be dealt w/ separately. The analogy I drew, while extreme, was simple in its premise. Whatever the motivations of the person who turned it in, it's a separate issue from what is going on in the picture. In regard to the manipulation of images, there are several error level analysis analyzers online. They allow you to upload a photo in order to detect whether or not the image has been manipulated. There's one available at this link: 29a.ch/sandbox/2012/imageerrorlevelanalysis/This link (http://www.errorlevelanalysis.com/) offers an excellent explanation of error level analysis is and how it can be detected. Coach, With regards to what you are saying about the motives not changing that the kid did wrong as well as the ability to check photo manipulation, well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. While I as much as anyone on here (& probably more so than most) do not want kids to be using drugs or alcohol, I am willing to hold kids accountable to our athletic code up UNTIL the point that we become more the MORAL POLICE and less an athletic department. I am not willing to hold my athletes or any others in our building to anonymous pictures being sent in with hidden (and some not so hidden) agendas. But even more so, I do not want to be playing a "gotcha game" w/ kids and their athletic careers. What I mean by that is if this picture was clearly recent and we had proof of it, then I would support a consequence (maybe even if turned in anonymously although I don't like it). But what I signed up for was to uphold our athletic code b/c it's what's best for kids. I cannot honestly look any kid in the face and say "Hey you clearly screwed up 15 months ago, you need to be held accountable for that b/c that's what's best for you". I don't think going back more than a school year to hold kids accountable is in their best interest, but rather becomes more of a vindictive act in my opinion. I don't want mistakes I made over a year ago held over my head and just am not willing to do it to anyone else, my team or otherwise. Again, JMO.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 10, 2014 5:17:19 GMT -6
I disagree on the anonymity issue. The anonymity of party A doesn't discount this kid's actions, especially if it's agreed that this is, in fact, the kid in question. That being said, it depends what he is pictured doing and what he's been in trouble for in the past. If he was never made to come clean about all past deeds, and it's something minor, I would let it go as a past transgression that doesn't necessarily impede his progress. However, if he was made to account for his past deeds, and he left this out, or if it's a major infraction, I would be less lenient. Well how do you not know the picture was submitted by someone else who was drinking at the party? That has happened before. A parent has sent in pictures of a starter drinking from the same party her daughter was drinking at but not on camera. Coach, I believe the picture was submitted by a parent who has an agenda. I also have very good reason and some decent evidence to base this belief on. Furthermore, I don't want to get into it online but the agenda is pretty twisted. Even more so than what you mentioned above.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 9, 2014 12:50:51 GMT -6
I disagree on the anonymity issue. The anonymity of party A doesn't discount this kid's actions, especially if it's agreed that this is, in fact, the kid in question. That being said, it depends what he is pictured doing and what he's been in trouble for in the past. If he was never made to come clean about all past deeds, and it's something minor, I would let it go as a past transgression that doesn't necessarily impede his progress. However, if he was made to account for his past deeds, and he left this out, or if it's a major infraction, I would be less lenient. This infraction has nothing to do w/ past transgressions. I also believe it stems from a personal agenda. With that being said, I am against the anonymous stuff for a couple of reasons, the biggest being that when it's anonymous stuff from social media who's to say it wasn't photo shopped? Kids are pretty slick w/ technology now a days. BTW, it's a picture of a kid double fisting 2 cervezas. No drinking in the photo. Definitely not expecting any dead bodies to surface (no hard feelings, just bustin' balls coach). Thanks for your replies.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 8, 2014 14:51:33 GMT -6
That wouldn't be accepted at our school unless the person handing in the picture puts their name to it. I agree w/ you. The whole thing feels a bit shady to me, but I'm also close to the situation so I was wondering if I was seeing this thing a bit tainted so to speak. Thanks for the reply.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 8, 2014 7:48:34 GMT -6
For those of you who work at schools that have a prescribed code of conduct I am interested in your opinion on this.
You have an athlete who has a spotty past but really seems to be turning the corner and making a significant change for the better. The last day of school, somebody turns in an anonymous social media picture of this kid to the AD (literally an envelope dropped off in his mailbox, no idea by whom) of him breaking the athletic code. Since he is going to be a senior and has been in trouble before, he is essentially done for his career.
Here's the issue, the picture is clearly old (no date on it) b/c the kid looks younger, smaller and has a completely different hair style. I would guess the picture is at least a year old. My question is, does your school handle things differently if the picture is deemed to be from a previous school year? Or do the rules apply regardless, "Hey he broke the code, who cares how long ago".
Thanks for any opinions you may have.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 7, 2014 9:07:12 GMT -6
If the work wasn't done. If it is, why? Maybe you can give me hope that one day it will all be done. But at this juncture in my career, with the way I do things, I'm not sure I will ever be "done". One of my favorite coaching mantra's is work smarter not harder. Once worked for a guy who "worked for the sake of working". I don't mind working, but the work has to be productive, not just busy time. Just my 2 cents.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 6, 2014 10:29:28 GMT -6
One question I have for any of you willing to answer, how many of you like to schedule stuff through out summer for fear of giving your kids too much down time? AKA them getting themselves into trouble? As a result, you may have them do slightly more than necessary to keep them busy. And please, for the sake of the question, let's give the whole "If you can't trust them to make good decisions then maybe they shouldn't be a part of your program" speech. No disrespect to anyone intended but teenagers make "teenage like" decisions especially in the summer. Just curious, thanks. We go for a total of 7.5 hours a week from June to August. They have plenty of their own time to get in trouble. I've never been a part of a program where anybody has even mentioned practicing more to keep them out of trouble. Fantom, The only reason I bring it up is b/c I have not brought kids in on a Saturday during the season for years b/c in my experience the staff gets more done w/o kids being present. With that being said, I've had more than one coach tell me they only bring the kids in on Saturdays to keep the kids out of trouble on Fridays after the game. Hence, I was wondering if anyone used the same mindset when planning summer activities.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 6, 2014 8:58:09 GMT -6
One question I have for any of you willing to answer, how many of you like to schedule stuff through out summer for fear of giving your kids too much down time? AKA them getting themselves into trouble? As a result, you may have them do slightly more than necessary to keep them busy.
And please, for the sake of the question, let's give the whole "If you can't trust them to make good decisions then maybe they shouldn't be a part of your program" speech. No disrespect to anyone intended but teenagers make "teenage like" decisions especially in the summer.
Just curious, thanks.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 6, 2014 6:42:49 GMT -6
I should also say the 4 1/2 to 5 hours is on the high side. Sometimes our Mondays only end up being around 1 1/2 to 2 hours long. Coach, I agree w/ your mantra here. I should say that we are similar but different. What I mean by that is we do much more in the summer but no 2 a days, and once we meet the mandatory practice schedule for the season we never bring kids in on Saturdays either. We also don't start for the remainder of the week once school gets out along w/ the following week, a dead period in July and abot 2 plus weeks off end of July/August. Different approach but I think maybe similar mindset. I may look at what you are doing a little more closely in the future.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 6, 2014 6:35:53 GMT -6
I'd say about 12. 3 hours a day. 4 days a week. Week after school is out, week of the 4th, and week of the state coaches clinic off. This is just the time with kids doesn't count mowing, field work etc... We are almost identical to this except we take a larger break at the end (about 15 days or so off before the season ends to recharge the players and COACHES battery before the grind). I should emphasize that we have not done 2 - a days in over 10 years, so we try to utilize summers maybe more so than others.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 5, 2014 22:12:00 GMT -6
We take about 10 days off once school gets out, then we go 2 weeks in June open weight room. My expectation is that kids lift 1 hour a day 4 days a week.
The last week in June we have "practice" 9-12. But, really we are on the field until 1030 or so and then they lift. They can leave when they finish workout so many are done before noon.
Then 9 days off through 4th of July week and then we come back for 3 weeks the same as the last week in June.
Then kids have off another 15 days or so until season starts.
So I guess to summarize we are kind of all or nothing. We have 3 large breaks (beginning/ middle / end) w/ some pretty hard work in between.
We also do a lot of 7 on 7 b/c we can compete v. somebody else and the kids seem to like it.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on Jun 3, 2014 14:26:45 GMT -6
I guess we'll have to disagree. I definitely think you can tell if a kid will be a player without them ever playing by their work ethic and attitude. Had a kid who was 5 '11 and 130 about 10 years ago built like Olive Oil. It was my 1st year as a HFC at a different school. I was already thinking hope this kid can run, maybe he can play corner. First few agility drills were ugly. I'm thinking bench player all the way. First day of contact and this kid EXPLODED into his teammates. Started at INSIDE LB for me and led the team to the best season in 13 years. Kid could not even bench 130. NOBODY SAW that coming. Last season had a kid who was 5'10 185 and squatted almost twice his body weight and was an outstanding kid w/ tremendous work ethic. Also ran track and was in one of our faster relays. First day of contact? PETRIFIED!!! Ended riding the bench on a bad football team. You can guess, but you never really know until the pads are on. JMO.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on May 31, 2014 19:47:44 GMT -6
I personally feel that some people are posting extremes here, not leaving room for gray. I posted before that if we lose a game to a significantly better team then I can live w/ it and move on. If we lose to a team that is equal or lesser than us then I struggle w/ that. What has taken me back a bit on this thread is how many people have posted that "they owe it to their family to be over it". Maybe I'm off but I think this is extreme. I can be kind of down about a game w/o it having a detrimental effect on my family. Sure it's a game and life goes on, but disappointment is a natural human reaction and I have a lot of trouble fully buying into anyone who says by the next morning regardless of what happened they are good to go w/o dwelling on any one thing at all what so ever. We lost 3 games last season by a total of 11 points. I think its; perfectly normal and natural to be a bit melancholy and slightly distracted at times through out the season when this is happening and I believe it's no different than any other guy who is having a tough week or 2 at work and goes out to work in the yard to gather his thoughts. I'm just not seeing this as an " I owe it to my family to deny my emotions" kind of deal. Lastly, If you really put your best efforts into something and your not disappointed or it doesn't carry w/ you for a bit then I question are you truly giving your best. Not looking to call anybody out, just simply saying if you really care and your name is stamped on the program and that program is not performing to expectations then I think it's normal, natural and even healthy to have some self reflection and feel some pain through out the course of a season. I don't believe this is short changing your family. I believe this is just life. It happens in all walks and professions. Just have to find balance. JMO. I guess I am just a black or white kind of dude. My four year doesn't know a touchdown from a hole in the ground. The only thing he wants to know when I get home if whether or not I brought home a pack of Juicy Fruit for him. My 14 year old will ask how we did, then say 'Oh okay, sorry dad'. Do I get disappointed? NO. I might be disappointed for the kids and worry about their egos, but I only get a few hours a week to focus on being a dad and nothing else and I am not going to be selfish. Maybe I am a bit jaded. I've been beat by a diamond anniversary before, but they could have scored half a hundred more (and they sure tried). Nothing I did nor didn't do that night made a difference in that game. I am no Chip Kelly, Bear Bryant, Mouse Davis, et. al. that is going to make some fantastic call or have some brilliant revelation that will win the ball game. I never have had that Coach Boone moment that makes the "Run 23 Blast, with a backside George reverse" call. If I am going to get upset about how my safety is playing, how we're lacking effort, that we don't understand the whole game plan, or any of the number of things that cause us coaches to fret; then I am going to do that on Tuesday or Wednesday, not Friday night at midnight. Coaches coach and players play. All reasonable points coach. I'm struggling w/ the above logic b/c we aren't NFL guys. I mean I bust my butt in season. I also work hard out of season, but based on some of your guys posts you act like your putting in 120 hours/ week year round. I mean come on fellas. The in season lasts 3-3.5 months. In that time if we're lucky we play maybe 10-11 times. Really lucky maybe 1 or 2 more. In that time if you lose 3-4 games and let's say 1 or 2 of those you should've won, then maybe I'm bummed around the house and distracted maybe 2 weekends in 3 months? The rest of the year I run the weight room and am home by 5. I spend a TON of time w/ my family in the summer (more than dads that don't have summers off that's for sure). Not seeing the problem guys. Heck, by some of the above logic, why are some of you guys on here? Isn't that time you can commit to family? Could be hanging w/ the kids instead talking to schmucks like me. I know that sounds silly. but IMO those who feel they are short changing their families b/c they get distracted occasionally in season sounds just as silly to me. No offense intended to anybody. Just not seeing this angle boys.
|
|
|
Post by s73 on May 29, 2014 7:56:39 GMT -6
I personally feel that some people are posting extremes here, not leaving room for gray. I posted before that if we lose a game to a significantly better team then I can live w/ it and move on. If we lose to a team that is equal or lesser than us then I struggle w/ that.
What has taken me back a bit on this thread is how many people have posted that "they owe it to their family to be over it". Maybe I'm off but I think this is extreme. I can be kind of down about a game w/o it having a detrimental effect on my family.
Sure it's a game and life goes on, but disappointment is a natural human reaction and I have a lot of trouble fully buying into anyone who says by the next morning regardless of what happened they are good to go w/o dwelling on any one thing at all what so ever.
We lost 3 games last season by a total of 11 points. I think its; perfectly normal and natural to be a bit melancholy and slightly distracted at times through out the season when this is happening and I believe it's no different than any other guy who is having a tough week or 2 at work and goes out to work in the yard to gather his thoughts. I'm just not seeing this as an " I owe it to my family to deny my emotions" kind of deal.
Lastly, If you really put your best efforts into something and your not disappointed or it doesn't carry w/ you for a bit then I question are you truly giving your best. Not looking to call anybody out, just simply saying if you really care and your name is stamped on the program and that program is not performing to expectations then I think it's normal, natural and even healthy to have some self reflection and feel some pain through out the course of a season. I don't believe this is short changing your family. I believe this is just life. It happens in all walks and professions. Just have to find balance. JMO.
|
|