mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jul 26, 2019 20:48:10 GMT -6
We are similar. 5:50 we met and make sure everyone knows what special teams they are on and who the backups are on each special team. Kickers and specialists/skill go out at 6:00 and stretch and throw routes. 6:15 OL comes out and stretches and then we come together to form run at 6:20-6:25. We then water and go to defensive group until 6:40 and run a couple of plays and get in the locker room before 6:50. Play at 7:00.
Predecessor use to come out 3 hours before the game and do a walk-through on game-day, brutal. Kids despised this, kills all energy. We want to get out, ready stretched and get after it.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jul 18, 2019 20:56:09 GMT -6
During the summer, not a lot of conditioning. We want our kids to mainly add mass, power, and explosiveness through weight training. Summer work includes: - We will have the kids play ultimate frisbee, linemen vs. backs 7v7, and other “games” that promote quick twitch and sudden movements. This is after lifting. - We do at least 2 foot quicknesss/coordinations drills, plyometric drills, etc. so these include, ploy boxes, dot mats, ladders, broad jumps, one leg jumps, jumping rope, etc.as part of our warmup before lifting. - We do have a preseason camp where some conditioning is embedded through Indy/group period and defensive footwork stations - The week before we begin we do stations with several of the aforementioned warmups along with bullet belt sprints and parachute sprints
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jul 18, 2019 14:52:06 GMT -6
We don’t even go this far. We do nearly everything mimicking game conditions. Our staple is coming out of the chutes and sometimes vs. heavy 96:bags. We will try to get 20-25 reps per session at the end of practice. It has to be off a QB count (multiple) or off ball movement. We do this because this is what you do in games. We are a small program 35 kids 9-12 and believe most of your conditioning should take place through individual period . Our skill kids condition through going full speed through routes, carries, coverage work, etc. This coupled with some preseason sprint interval (walk for :05, jog for :05, sprint for :05, jog for :05, repeat) gets them in shape fast. Running anything in terms of sprints that takes over 4 seconds is utterly useless in my opinion. Watching teams run 100 yard sprints I see kids do nothing but going half speed and conserving energy. Timing them doesn’t help as football them is just made more miserable. With 7v7’s and summer basketball our skill kids are usually in excellent shape, big boys only take around 3 weeks to get ready for a game. Too much hardo stuff still left in high school football, it is changing for the better as coaching is turning to actual evidence based practices that support conditioning programs. We live by the idea of training and treating players like racehorses not plow horses.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jun 24, 2019 5:49:17 GMT -6
Don’t do Saturdays or Sundays. The advent of Hudl means we now put all the work in late Friday night. I break down film and send it too the whole team and coaching staff and our positional coaches each do their group and send comments. It often means staying up past 2:00am, but the benefits of the kids sleeping in and healing up is immeasurable. Many (60%+) of our kids work on the weekends as well as they need money for various things and some need the money for their families. Our staff will conference call everything on Saturday afternoon, if not before through text chain to go over film and then put the next weeks opponent game plan together. The next weeks opponents film goes out Saturday evening. The truth to is I have 4 kids and while much of my does does not, they are mostly older guys with a wife and responsibilities. The idea of grinding 7 days a week with kids at the facility is really a false narrative. Work smarter and more disciplined as staff, prepare impeccably. Kids need a break from coaches and time to be teenagers. We switched over years ago and our staff clearly recognizes that our kids are fresher and seems to like football a lot more. No dread of coming in on weekends.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Sept 13, 2018 21:42:28 GMT -6
That school's insurance policy just went up dramatically.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Apr 2, 2017 21:50:24 GMT -6
I could really care less if kids dress the same in the weightroom....only care if they show up. They have plenty of gear but I am not chasing shirts and what if they come into the weight room without school issued gear? Are they sent to the gulag? Respect and am impressed by school that have people that launder shirts and the such and it must be nice to have 100 kids and dump kids for not wearing shirts to weight room. We got 35 kids cant lose any to dress codes, just work nothing else.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Feb 24, 2017 20:56:17 GMT -6
It is no different with the Patriots than any of the great high school programs who you see that beat people with similar talent. Call it culture or what you want, but it is program over player and lets be honest he doesn't give a F*** who you are. He aced out out Jamie Collins, arguably one of his best 2 or 3 defensive players, midyear because the guy could not do what he was been asked to do schematically. They struggle with edge rush last year but get rid of their best edge guy in Chandler Jones, again guy doesn't follow the program and gets walking papers...loud and clear message to everyone else. Know a guy that was a positional coach in the NFL (now back in college) and he mentioned that a lot of coaches at that level cater to players idiosyncrasies, needs, and high maintenance behavior because they feel like they need those players to win, survive and not get fired. Belichick has many rings he will never have to beg a guy to work hard or cater to whiny stars. Belichick is all about the organization. They have everything in place to be great: - Winning culture - Tremendously supportive, non-intrusive owner - Greatest QB in NFL history who works his ass off and sets the tone - Great OC/DC who have been in the system for some time - Created an offensive system that don't need a superstar WR to thrive...system is predicated on WR intelligence, toughness, quickness which allows them to get castoffs or unheralded guys (Welker, Troy Brown, Edelman, Hogan, etc.)
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jan 21, 2017 22:54:24 GMT -6
I understand what some of you are getting at about emotional investment and having tight relationships with kids, but Again as educators coaches should be teaching kids to prioritize things that cause them to be so emotionally attached that they cry over wins and losses or performance. Football is not on the top hierarchy of things kids should get emotional enough about that the bawl after a game. Going off many of your premises, kids are invested and emotionally attached to girlfriends...should they cry when that relationship ends. Teaching coping skills and how to create success blueprints after losses and/or poor performance should be what we aim for in the coaching profession. This is equitable to failure at work; don't dwell, get emotional, use the failure to fuel success. Emotional investment is understood, but please stop crying. If a kid cries after a tough game, it doesn't mean he is an emotional wreck who won't be able to handle challenges in the future. That's just a stupid statement. There's plenty of guys who post on this very website who have cried and are successful adults. Not sure about "stupid statement". Again your kids want to cry wonderful. I think coaches need to explain to kids spill your guts, but if your kids are crying about losing a regular season game (I get last game of career stuff) there is something wrong there. We just explain there are other things a lot more important to be shedding tears about. I think most coaches will tell you a lot of the crying is fake emotional stuff from kids for attention or because they "are so dedicated". Sorry I offended your sensitivity delta but as a teacher and coach the last thing kids needs these days is to think becoming overly emotional after games is fine because football is the singular part of a kids life and being. Balance.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jan 21, 2017 16:35:47 GMT -6
I understand what some of you are getting at about emotional investment and having tight relationships with kids, but Again as educators coaches should be teaching kids to prioritize things that cause them to be so emotionally attached that they cry over wins and losses or performance. Football is not on the top hierarchy of things kids should get emotional enough about that the bawl after a game. Going off many of your premises, kids are invested and emotionally attached to girlfriends...should they cry when that relationship ends. Teaching coping skills and how to create success blueprints after losses and/or poor performance should be what we aim for in the coaching profession. This is equitable to failure at work; don't dwell, get emotional, use the failure to fuel success. Emotional investment is understood, but please stop crying.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jan 18, 2017 21:04:46 GMT -6
I'm sorry but I don't buy some of these answers. It really ins't OK to cry about a poor performance or losing a football game. What kind of shi* is that? It has NOTHING to do with toughness or the fact a kid "sold out" or "worked so hard", kids need to learn that crying is OK when family members die, seeing little kids struggle with cancer, family issues, etc.... not freaking football or any other sport. And please don't start with "maybe you and your kids don't value winning or take it seriously enough". Our program has won multiple titles at the highest level and I truly believe one of the reasons is our kids understand football is NOT life and death. Our kids play loose and aggressive. They do prepare like it is the most important part of high school in the winter, summer, and fall. It is important, but never worth crying over. Teach kids that if making mistakes or losing makes them mad enough to cry, they need to evaluate what they can do better in terms of preparation to perform better and win next time. Take the anger and frustration and channel it the right way instead of "letting it all out".
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Oct 30, 2016 16:52:42 GMT -6
Good to know you get the slappies up at that level/country too. Our DL coach is just a yeller for the sake of yelling. He likes to make real long drawn out speeches too before, during AND after all games. He kept the JV DL for about 15 extra minutes last night after our final game while the rest of the team cleaned up the field. Every school has to have that guy: former OL/DL guy, weights 300+, bench press 300+, never does legs, loves visor and and when you cant run on offense cant understand why the team doesn't throw, and when we throw wants to "punch them in the mouth"
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jun 25, 2016 20:14:39 GMT -6
While I did not comb through every response on this topic, I will say this: evaluate your your off-season program. So many schools now not only lift, but run kid though a agility drills and/or straight conditioning. It adds up quick to 1 1/2 to 2 hours....Well hell Skippy, when I was 16-18, like most of you I would much rather chase poontang, hang out with friends, or work for cash in the summer, not run after lifting for 4-5 days a week. With plyometric warm-ups, our average time a lifting session should take is 50 min-1 hour max, 4 days a week. Another key point: 90% of our kids work and make good money (resort area) in the summer so we open at 7:30-10:00 in the morning and 4:30-7:00 in the evening, a stress to our staff but convenient to our kids, no excuses at that point and they know we are selling out for them because we think it is important.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jun 24, 2016 10:57:52 GMT -6
While I believe leadership can be developed, leadership in a football program is largely dependent upon your best players being leaders. If your best guys and ancillary players are great kids and leaders that is wonderful, but to have a great program, your best players and seniors have to be leaders.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jun 22, 2016 22:10:57 GMT -6
I also wonder about the "winning cures everything" especially at the small school level... from 08-11 we had some of the better years we had ever had at our school and after that the bottom fell out and has not come back yet. at small schools unfortunately you are going to have some classes that have a lot of kids who like football and some that don't... I also think sports are not as important to some kids as they used to be. I think the reason some kids don't play football now is there is not instant gratification that they are looking for and they are not patient enough to wait for the pay off. For instance you don't get instant gratification from off season lifting or grinding out a week at practice you have to wait for only 10 Fridays during the fall and a lot of kids don't think its a big enough pay off... I don't have a problem with doing things/ drills that are "fun" occasionally but I think the "fun" part of football should be being with your friends, Pushing yourself to get better, hitting people, the sense of accomplishment of making it through practice or a game, playing under the lights, and ultimately winning a game.... I think the word fun is what actually causes some of the problem... For me playing football was the most fun thing I have ever done. However it is not the same type of fun you have as going out to parties or playing video games all day. Maybe winning isn't a cure all but it helps a lot of situations. Kids want to be a part of something, and if it's something where they can feel like winners, even better. Interesting take on the small school scenario. You have far less control over who you get when your student body is a few hundred as opposed to nearly 3,000 kids in the high school like we have. In a down year we are still going to have 50 on the frosh team, 50 or so on the JV, and 70 on the varsity. To contrast that I have also been in places where we barely had enough to field a competitive team compared to the rest of the conference. The athletes would say they don't play because losing sucks, but we wouldn't have lost if they would have just played and brought a few buddies. It is tough to get a program out of that kind of funk. If it were really as simple as saying just win games, why don't more guys just win games? Bingo. You are very correct on small programs. Unless you are lucky enough to be in a community where it is old school blue collar, value minded "middle America" winning may not change your numbers. We have been blessed with some real good athletes for a school of less than 500 kids, our staff works hard has been together for years, teaches the game the right way and treats kids positively, we have a lot of fun, and have won two state titles in the past six years....yet each year after we have won a state title our numbers have actually gone DOWN. Question is WHY? I have done a lot of thinking on this. The answer is probably a couple of reasons: 1. Kids do not buy into team nearly as much today as in the past decades. With the proliferation of AAU, 6 year old All-Star teams, and one day camps, etc. it is no wonder kids and parents want to know what is it the program can do for them and not the other way around. 2. We are a no BS outfit in football and do not coddle. Kids know they are trated fairly and will get better when we coach them up, but they know we are going to psuh, have high expectations, want them in a weight program, and demand hours. Kids today want to be coddled and made to feel special and in a small school this is even more pronounced as kids believe they have greater leverage and can hold the coach and program "hostage". At larger programs these type kids gets their nuts cut off and it is next man up; at a small program some coaches worry the next guy up might be a freshman who is not ready and will be a safety issue to himself and to his teammates 3. Multi-sport kids are pushed to play out of season and fall baseball and basketball hit at football rosters much harder at small schools. Baseball and basketball are sports kids enjoy because they see them as more "fun", much of that is because they have greater control and lets be honest it is less physically and mentally taxing. 4. Kids do not like to compete and want things handed to them. When kids think we might be down, we actually get more kids to jump in because they feel like they can see the field without a lot of competition. All true, had a player of ours said his buddy, a very good athlete, did not come out because he would have had to win a spot and did not just want to "play special teams". 5. Kids are just softer today in general and have not developed a lot of testicular fortitude or grit. Passive school administrations, new parenting styles, and a me and handout society may all be culprits....
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Apr 3, 2016 19:02:48 GMT -6
Biggest thing for us was limiting contact to basically one day a year. We get live in the preseason with 1v1 and some Bama drills and that is it. We are much more focused on form tackling. We also don't do anything on weekends, we never really did for kids anyway, includes coaches now We are still demanding in terms of hours guys put in to the program as it relates to practice time, weight room, and 7v7, etc.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Mar 27, 2016 6:38:03 GMT -6
Those pads are only used on picture day so guys can looked jacked up. Opponents that wear the oversized shoulder pads, cowboy collars, and forearm pads have become mythical figures to us known as Pad Monsters
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Mar 26, 2016 20:14:50 GMT -6
Year of the Bull...the documentary on Miami Northwestern. Awesome look the athletic talent and insanity of the kids and coaches of South Florida and in particular inner city football Did enjoy the whipped cream scene in Varsity Blues, kid needed to man up and go get it.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Mar 20, 2016 19:00:05 GMT -6
Trainers white tape
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Feb 20, 2016 20:55:16 GMT -6
When I was a "grinder", it was because I was very involved in the Xs and Os of the game. I learned to focus on: a) Their personnel. We watch film to see who is going to cause us problems and who we can attack. We work many of our adjustments around that. b) How fundamentally sound they are. I, personally, don't see the point in pouring over hours of film, watching a team that can't execute for a crap. We'll game plan the way we usually do but we're only going to watch a game or two to get some scout cards done. If a team is very sound (i.e. DEs that use block down/step down rules) we'll need to get more turns at various skills (i.e. logging said DEs) during the week. c)Not chase ghosts. In the past, we dig and dig through film if we saw a team do something odd once or twice in a game. For example, a pretty standard Air-Raid team lined up in the pistol once in a game and ran some veer. We watched every game film we had of them to see if we'd see it more. It was a waste of time; we knew how to defend option anyway so we tossed it into the scout cards and got a few more turns at it. d) You won't need to be "as prepared" if your offensive and defensive schemes are simple and well-coached. You'll already be "prepared" because you've been smart with your scheme. We don't need to spend hours game planning around what defensive fronts we're going to see because our blocking rules already account for them and the kids have gotten a ton of turns at it. We won't keep watching film on the off-chance that we might see some different formation or alignment on defense because our base package has already accounted for it. People say that "knowledge is power" which is true but there's also no need to be redundant. Throw down the mic big man...this is a perfect post is so many way. The scouting part is on point and a must for young coaches that try to worry about how what play is run from what hash....all about being fundamentally sound the other teams Jimmy's and Joe's
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Feb 18, 2016 21:35:24 GMT -6
Understand that the Grind is real....with football the grind is year round. That is what makes it so labor intensive. If you are the head coach you are the holder of the folder. I am at a program of 35 kids 9-12, and we have done it for some time and are efficient, but the hours do add up. I am in at work around 8:00 (as AD) and through football M-W do not get home until 7:00 at night. Smaller programs have many kids play both ways which really extends practice. Add this to the 7v7 (which we host), the weight training (mornings and evenings in the summer because so many of our kids work), the college recruitment piece during the school year, film breakdown, putting together practice plans, banquet/meetings, coaches clinics, and many other tasks and you have the recipe for big hours and an angry wife. It takes its toll on your relationship with your wife, your kids, makes you fat, and makes you tired all fall,,,but as most of you who were competitive, it is that competitiveness and pride in wanting to be great and run a top notch program that keeps you putting in the time. We have been blessed to have coached some tremendous kids and athletes and have won titles at the highest level. The guys i respect he most are those who have little to work with and put the time in and fight and scratch against better teams to compete. Good luck telling those coaches preparation and extra hours don't matter. American culture, and especially football coaching culture, worships at the alter of the Dick Vermeil and Bill Belichick and those that put in huge hours and sleep in the office. We bash coaches that are seen as not committed and lack preparation because we believe that they have not put in the time to get their troops ready. High school culture is not a lot different.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Feb 16, 2016 19:34:58 GMT -6
Things we have shed: - Hitting, except for week 1 at the end of the week (we tackle a lot- locking up) - Any weekend practices (see Fantom) - Wind Sprints/Traditional Conditioning - Pursuit drill - PAT's the last 4 year (converted 73% of 2 point conversions) - A longtime line coach who did not buy in completely - Losing mentality - Read and react mentality defensively - Noting offensively- 21 personnel and punch you in the mouth mentality -
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Feb 12, 2016 23:31:40 GMT -6
Get rid of that MFer. Have your ducks in a row, signed behavioral forms and the such. But someone always needs to be the Marine Corp example. Set the tone when you are in charge. Honestly we have done it very few times and it is a life altering wake up call for some kids.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Sept 26, 2015 11:31:50 GMT -6
As with most coaches, I do not like homecoming at our school a whole lot, but... We love going into someone else home and beating them senseless at their Homecoming. We have been pretty good over the years and take offence when someone schedules us for their Homecoming, easy motivation. Nothing better than ruining a schools Homecoming weekend, we feel like an invading horde of Vikings or Visigoths pillaging a happy little hamlet.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Aug 24, 2015 21:59:54 GMT -6
Easier said than done. I only have one other guy on staff that works as a teacher, every other guy has a job that is year-round and it takes them into long hours during the summer. Reality is that if I do not run our youth or team camp it will not be what it needs to be. Maybe an old-school guy in a lot of ways but I still believe that when you are a head coach you have to be the guy putting in huge hours and in charge of anything that takes place on your campus in terms of football. Really do want passingly but again I started that I'm in charge of that in the area so it's tough just to leave that. Still get to spend time with my kids during the day vacations during the summer or not an easy thing to pull off. Kind of sad in a way, but in many ways success has set a poor standard in terms of work expectations.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Aug 23, 2015 19:19:56 GMT -6
AD/Head Coach here and as stated between the camps, passing leagues, and weight room along with AD duties and 3 young kids, there is no time for vacations. Dreaming of making it to 65 and living down south and eating shrimp and going crabbing- that is the vacation view. Though I will admit, a good bottle rum and cold beers makes for a vacation at home on certain summer nights
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Aug 23, 2015 19:10:22 GMT -6
It only gets better as now not only do helmets have to be reconditioned every year, shoulder pads are every 2 years....as someone mentioned earlier baseballs/softball helmets and lacrosse helmets will be starting on a reconditioning program in 3 years here. Went into the wrong business.....should be a Riddell or Schutt guy
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Aug 17, 2015 12:11:11 GMT -6
Our state athletic association, like I'm assuming many others, has a policy when kids violate chemical health guidelines. We have policies on other issues in terms of discipline and suspensions The more interesting part is what Coach Jenkins put in his response about suspending with pending criminal charges. It becomes a very slippery slope when kids are suspended when charged with a crime that they tell you they didn't commit. You have the issue of innocent till proven guilty piece and there are issues if you don't wait for adjudication. We had a case of the neighboring town suspending an athlete for two seasons- fall and winter- because he had a domestic assault charge against him (girlfriend). Proved to be completely false and the parents sued the school district and then settled out of court for a large sum of money. I still think you have to spend those kids are charged with crimes, but in our society especially very liberal states, these things are become coming more common
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jul 29, 2015 10:02:42 GMT -6
Was in that position when we started out. You will have people on this board that say" Cut them loose, set the example".......That is the worst thing you can do. Reality is if you let them go a couple things are going to happen: 1. You are going to put younger kids in who are not physically ready and may get hurt, not good for the program, and those kids may not be willing to play the following year. 2. Your 3 best kids in a small program get jettisoned and you will get you azz kicked and program morale goes in the gutter. 3. The juniors have 2 years may turn around with success, and get two solid seasons from them; get rid of them and that will be a 2 year decision. 4. Other talented kids who are hoop guys first or lax kids, etc. see that you get rid kids like this and they will never step into your program. Use those kids who are marginally invested and get out of them what you can. Let the other kids know without telling them that you have more respect for those that work by doing the following things: 1. Never let the kids that didn't show up represent your program as captains or game captains 2. Get gear only for the kids that worked. 3. Workers get grist choice of helmets and shoulder pads. 4. Week 1 tell the kids at the end of practice that they have 15 sprints and then give the kids that worked out less sprints, a lot less, stagger it by how often they worked out. The younger kids get the message real quick about summer workouts when the non-workers run all 15 the 1st week.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jul 28, 2015 22:52:13 GMT -6
We have a school of less than 500 and draw OK, but like others on this thread, it is frustrating as we put a ton of time in and have had a lot of success; 75% win percentage and a undefeated state title season. Apathy is an issue. We only get big crowds when we play a much bigger school that borders us or when we play for a league title. The bandwagon is always full during special seasons. I will say this; our town is around 13,000 people and we had an estimated crowd of 5,000 on our side at a state title game.
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mhs99
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Post by mhs99 on Jul 26, 2015 14:13:30 GMT -6
We have come into the stadium to all kinds of stuff over the years: Some of the best: 300 Violin Orchestra- Drake remix (clean)- kids come out at the gunshot Rock- Hells Bells- AC/DC Thunderstruck- AC/DC Boom- POD
Hip Hop/Rap- Lets go- Trick Daddy Throw it Up- Lil John Red Nation- The Game (instrumental version)- big school in our area comes out to the song with a huge students section all in red going nuts Till. I Collapse- Eminem
We use the Halloween theme as well for games on or near Halloween
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