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Post by tiger46 on Mar 12, 2010 17:10:49 GMT -6
We used to bearcrawl when I was in elementary all the way through HS. We bearcrawled in the Army. I absolutely hated it. But, this thread is the first that I've ever even heard of anyone being injured due to bearcrawls.
I'm a youth coach and don't have the luxury of off-season conditioning, weights, etc... I definitely make my players bearcrawl. Although I don't use it as such, bearcrawling is also a legitimate line tactic on both sides of the ball at the youth level.
I use bearcrawls because I couldn't believe the absolute lack of coordination, strength and flexibility of the hips in many youth players- not to mention little upper-body strength. Some of them are abysmal. And, it's not just the fat kids, either. We bearcrawl for 10yrds, give a short rest and bearcrawl back at every practice.
I'm old and fat. But, I still will get down there sometimes and crawl with my players to teach them bearcrawls require a certain mental toughness as well as physical. i.e.... If a Fat Freddy starts whining, "I can't do it, coach!", I'll get down there and bearcrawl with him while our team claps us in. If it's a fast kid that thinks he's special because he bearcrawls faster than Fat Freddy, I get in the line-up and beat him at it to show him that he can always push himself harder. I even use bearcrawls when evaluating players. Bearcrawls eliminate a lot of cheating. Most youth kids won't gain as much from push-ups because they don't know the proper forms. Coaches have to constantly be on them to do them properly. Too many will also screw up cariocas. I hate carioca, anyway. But, bearcrawls give me a better picture of what that kid can do. At youth level, puberty hasn't yet entered into the equation. A small, strong and agile lineman will beat the crap out of a big fat, slow and sloppy lineman.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 27, 2010 11:07:04 GMT -6
Now, THAT was funny. I don't care who you are.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 20, 2010 14:43:31 GMT -6
I had to go with making an open field tackle. I have a slight chance of doing that since I'm short and very slow. At the speed an NFL player moves, he may not see me in time and just run me over, trip and fall.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 18, 2010 14:49:35 GMT -6
"I couldn't come to practice because my mom is out of town and I had to stay home and watch my sister."
My player was 10yrs. old. His sister was 14. He had a 16 yr. old brother(complete thug). But, apparently, he was the only one that his mother could trust with keeping his sister from going out and getting in trouble, drunk, drugged up, pregnant or, all of the above. So, my 10 yr. old TB and his 7yr. old little brother had to miss practice. Geesh Louise....
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 6, 2010 13:29:05 GMT -6
I would've had a 1 on 1 conversation with the kid. Try to make him understand what it is to be on a team. Since the team already knew what he'd posted, I'd have let them decide whether, or not, to strip him of being a captain and his position on the depth chart.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 6, 2010 12:52:25 GMT -6
I got the same news just earlier this year. My 7th grade DB coach (best coach that I ever had) passed away a few years ago in Kosovo. I didn't even know. I never took the opportunity to say 'well done' for the amount of work he put into making me a better player and person. My 7th Grade DB Coach: www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,360004,00.html
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 6, 2010 12:22:17 GMT -6
Dubber, I'd contact Dave Cisar. He's a youth coach that has ran his own business and a large football organization. He posts on this site fairly regularly. I don't think he's the only youth coach that does this, either. In fact, in about 2yrs I may be joining their ranks if everything goes well for me.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 5, 2010 8:41:46 GMT -6
Weird, a friend of mine just sent me a vid of that Sills kid this morning. I don't know why. It's not like he's coming to play for my 9>10yr old youth team.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 2, 2010 20:37:13 GMT -6
BLB, It was paragraphed. I put spaces in to make it easier.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 2, 2010 14:46:20 GMT -6
There's always going to be a communication problem in internet discussions. You can't always gauge a person's demeanor, context or frame of mind through text. Add to that the different levels of operation between youth coaches and HS coaches and, yeah.... some egos may get rubbed the wrong way.
Another thing, it’s usually safe to assume that a coach knows nothing about HS football program just because that coach is an experienced youth coach. But, it is often assumed –sometimes, very mistakenly- that any coach that is a HS coach knows how to run a youth program.
I'm a youth coach. There are times that I've had to ask moderately sophisticated questions or, explained something that is on that level and have a HS coach immediately jump in with, "How you gonna get 10yr olds to do all that, coach?" or, "You shouldn't focus on stuff like that. Just coach the fundamentals and a few basic plays."
That can be irritating for some youth coaches. If I weren't sure that my players were sharp on their fundamentals or that they had no reasonable chance of learning or doing what I was posting about, I'd never had posted. I've had a 9>10yr old team that was more fundamentally sound and ran more sophisticated schemes than I've seen at the local middle school. It wasn't that I was so much better of a coach as the 7th grade coach. But, I had coached some of my players in lower levels. By the time they were 10yr olds they had basics and fundamentals down. They could move on to more sophisticated things. 7th grade ball is 'one & done' with your players as far as seasons go.
On the other hand, this season I've had to post a basic question like, 'How do I get my OL to stay low?" It wasn't because I didn't know drills or work on it in practice. It was because I just wasn't getting through to those boys. I was looking for new ways to communicate what I wanted them to do. And, answers varied from very basic tips on how to coach to more detailed answers from coaches that took it for granted that I knew what I was doing more or less.
LOL, and I know that youth coaches can wear on a HS coach’s nerves. Youth coaches can be super-fans and asking questions on how to install the Green Bay Packers offense. That’s no exaggeration. Had an AC want me to run the 10 plays that he saw the Packers run. And, there’s many other issues that youth coaches can have. But, that’s probably not a whole lot different than the variety of HS coaches that you could find.
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Post by tiger46 on Feb 2, 2010 2:12:54 GMT -6
All players should be held accountable no matter what their position is on the depth chart. However, I realize that I can't expect to reasonably rely on players in a game if I don't let them play the game. If it was already the middle of the 4th quarter then it was probably too late in the game to bench them for awhile and then let them have another chance. But, that's probably what I'd have tried to do..... right after I'd given them a world class a$$-chewing about ball security.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 30, 2010 16:34:15 GMT -6
TDM, I doubt that you really need to waste your energy and pit your will directly against some 15>18 yr. old punk(s). Keep doing what you do. Keep building a program and those types of little a-holes will just fade away into the background. But, you know your program and school environment a lot better than I ever will. If you feel that it is an area that you really need to spend a little time and energy there, you just need to define what type of problem you have on your hands with these types of kids. In the military it is called psychological warfare. Johnny Cancer is waging a war against your program, the school and, probably society in general, using unconventional weapons. But, he’s using old weapons. He’s not saying or doing anything that you haven’t seen, heard or, dealt with before. He just thinks he is. It sounds like you're not fighting back but, that you want to. You're letting Johnny Cancer 'win the minds & hearts of the population.' Start fighting back if that’s your choice. Again, I know these may not be the best answers. But, I just hope that they give you ideas on ways to counter Mr. Cancer.
Do you have art students? Get them involved. Ask them to make a series of laminated posters that show Johnny Cancer in a variety of situations. 1. JC on the sidelines in football gear (or, in a weightroom) saying, "I hate lifting! Lifting's stupid. Why do we have to lift so much?!" In the background you can show an opposing team muscling over JC's team.
2. JC whining about schoolwork. JC receiving an 'F'(for those schools that still actually give 'F's). JC graduating at the bottom of his class or, not graduating at all. JC(still complaining about schoolwork) flipping burgers after HS.
3. JC complaining about hard work. JC getting fired from his menial job. JC (still complaining) standing on a street corner begging for spare change.
4. JC complaining about discipline. JC getting expelled from school. JC vandalizing property. JC (still complaining) standing behind bars.
I wouldn't directly quote any one kid- unless they said something general. I'd put the posters in places like the weightroom and fieldhouse. Places that JC can't get to so that he can rip the signs down without directly facing his opponent. Bullies hate that.
Basically, turn JC into a joke. JC is just a bully. I bet there are players, kids and girls (most important to HS boys) that don't like him nearly as much as he thinks they do. They just need a catalyst to help them stand up to him. JC will always have his little clique of losers. Nothing you can do about that. But, at least they'll be confined, contained and not spreading sedition all over the place.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 29, 2010 23:53:28 GMT -6
TDM, First let me say that I know that this is not a direct answer. It's not even a complete problem solving answer. But, it could be another weapon in your arsenal. Have any of you HS coaches ever considered making an inter-league/conference/whatever weightroom highlight film? Anyone remember that LSU hype-up vid that was posted here a couple seasons back? It showed the players in the weight room as well as the field. I'm wondering if coaches from competing schools in the same conference collaborated on a highlight film that featured plenty of weight room and classroom shots if it would help their players get motivated about what they need to do to be winners? Hell, you could make it look like an NFL highlight film. Just focus weight room, two-a-days, etc... more than actual game footage. I mean, if you coach the Little Giants and part of the video showed the Mighty Ducks grunting and straining through squats couldn't that motivate your Little Giants squad to say, "Oh, sh!t! They're serious. We're going to have to be just as serious." The Might Ducks could reap some benefits, too. "Oh, crap. I saw one of those Little Giants benching 300lbs on that vid! Time to go to work"! I know the difficulty would be in getting that kind of cooperation between rival coaches. But, no one is giving up trade secrets. It would just be a hype-up video that says to all players, "This is what it takes to compete in our league, baby. Go hard. Or, go home."
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 23, 2010 11:40:57 GMT -6
I would love to take my players to a college practice more than I would a UT game. But, it would be fun to take them to a game after they saw the blood, sweat & tears that goes into being game ready.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 22, 2010 20:39:31 GMT -6
the school I coach with has never had a good relationship with the pop warner league teams. I am trying to change that. We have been hosting a combined youth camp the past two years and prior to that the hs has put one on. So it is moving hopefully in the right direction. We meet with their coaches as a group in the summer this year. I have invited them to our preseason and in season practices, but not have taken the opportunity. My hope is to get them to feel like they are part of our program and that if they teach the skills and terminology it will transition into the middle school program and then to us. We run a option based offense and a base 4-3 defense. Our biggest problem is they are hesitant to get involved and are quick to talk bad about us and that has been the problem for over 20 years and one that 8 head coaches have tried get fixed. So I am looking at other ways to maybe get them on board. These types of threads always crop up. Youth coaches usually plainly state what types of things will help forge relationships and, it seems that whatever they post is ignored or countered by HS coaches with arguments and viewpoints that don't really mean sh!t to a youth coach. Yeah, I know that sounds harsh. But, there it is. Coach, sounds like you have a great opportunity here. Before you meet with those coaches this summer, I'd suggest that you get to know your audience. If you want to know how to relate to youth coaches, I’d go to a youth football site and get familiar with their culture. About the best youth football site that I can think of is: www.dumcoach.com/. Whatever you want to know, need to know or, ought to know about youth football has been covered there. I wouldn’t go to a meeting with youth coaches with the approach that I’m ‘bringing the light’ to the unwashed masses. I would approach with the attitude that I’m trying to get my garden to grow. Sounds like some of the HS coaches in the past planted seeds in the garden but, didn’t do much to nurture it. Not surprising that they didn’t get much yield from their efforts. You may have to give up some of your terminology in exchange for getting the kids to execute the action. This post is long, as it is. I won’t try to give out a thousand different examples. But, for example, you may have to give up the term ‘up & out’ route. Who cares? Let the kids call it a dipsy-doodle as long as they are being taught the correct way to run the route. I have no doubt that your staff can educate youth coaches. You and your HS staff are (hopefully) spending time preparing to educate some youth coaches this summer. But, how much time have you spent preparing to be educated by youth coaches? Many youth coaches spend a lot of time breaking down higher-level football terminology & schemes into concepts & techniques that their players can understand. You may have to ask them questions and listen to what they have to say to get their players to the point that you want them to be in the future when they become your players. Not only listen to them but, you may have to follow it because it’s the best way to get the job done at youth level. Is your staff prepared to possibly listen and learn from youth coaches? Lastly, 8 different HC’s in 20yrs may not inspire a lot of youth coaches to take your HS program overly serious. That’s a new HC with new ideas, philosophies, schemes, etc… every 2.5yrs. I’m one of the ‘baby’ coaches in my league. Next season will be my 5th with my youth team. I feel that I am just now hitting my stride. But, I will have matched two of your HS’s HC’s in terms of commitment to the program and the kids. Show those youth coaches why they should view your program as different. Better yet; prove to them that your program IS different. They’ll come around and you’ll reap the benefits.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 20, 2010 15:00:51 GMT -6
Headtrip pretty much covered it. Screw the schemes, and X & O's. Start with player camps and coaches clinics. Youth coaches don't need HS X & O's nearly as much as they need to know things like practice organization(HUGE!!!), clock management, effective drills, etc... Community outreach. Ask to be invited to observe a practice. Donate an old tackle bag...whatever. If you take a look at johnknight's & gacoach's posts; you'll get an idea of why there can be such a rift between youth coaches & HS coaches in some cases. Although, I would like to ask what type of O & D do you run, fbcoach74? There is probably a youth version of them and, at least, one successful youth coach that uses either of them. You said that you've been met with resistance. What approaches have you tried? I think there are definite ways to forge a relationship between HS & Youth coaches. Do you speak fluent bobble-head? If you don't; learn how. Some of your ideas, coaching methods, etc... may be great. But, if you can't translate them- or, show a youth coach how to translate them- your program may get rejected.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 4, 2010 19:48:43 GMT -6
Being a youth coach, I may have too many. But, here are a few: Block with your feet. Hustle every play. It takes no talent to hustle. It takes 11 tigers to make a tackle. Win your own battle; then HELP your teammate win his. You play how you practice. Look back at any play. Ask yourself, “Was that the absolute best that I could do?” A flat-footed defender is a dead defender. Can’t whup me! Only one person at a time can carry the football. The other 10 have to block. So, that’s why I (HC) coach the O-line. If you can’t block; you can’t carry the rock.
EDIT: Can't believe that I forgot about this one. I probably say it more than I say anything else.
"Hit 'em with your belt buckle." Teaching 10yr olds to thrust their hips when tackling.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 4, 2010 9:09:05 GMT -6
Dave, When did you come to Austin? Not that it matters now, I guess. I remember when you were scheduled to be in San Antonio. Unfortunately, a family illness prevented me from attending. In any case....It's Texas. Heck, I'd imagine that you could visit repeatedly to any of those cities and still get great turn out. Hmmm....maybe not Austin. As far as Texans go, there's something a bit weird about these people. It's even their city motto: 'Keep Austin Weird.' Of course, you know more about running your clinics than I do.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 1, 2010 9:07:32 GMT -6
Los brings up a very good point about 'football ignorance'. When we started playing football in 7th grade, the DB's were taught man press coverage. Only, the DB coach didn't have a fancy name for it like 'man press coverage'. He just called it 'this how you cover WR's.' That's pretty-much all we used in 7th & 8th grade. When we got to 9th grade, the 9th grade DB coach(varsity basketball HC) thought he was teaching us zone coverages just by saying, "Okay, this is Cover X. You do this. And, you do that. Blah, blah, blah". The truth was that we didn't understand 'Cover 3' from 'Cover Girl'. But, we were too scared to let the coach know that. So, our defensive huddles sounded about like this: CB1: What do we do in Cover X? CB2: Hell if I know. FS: Play zone. Just back off of 'em some. CB1: How far? FS: Sh!t. I don't know. I ain't a CB.
It really didn't matter what the coaches called. We were either in 'zone'(back off of 'em some. How far we backed off depended on how fast we thought the WR was. Could be anywhere from 5yrds > 10yrds.) Or, we we pressed the hell out of them. For awhile, I didn't even know that pressing was called Cover 0. So, at best, we either played 'loose man' or press. It didn't matter what the coaches thought they were calling; that's what we were really doing.
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Post by tiger46 on Jan 1, 2010 8:03:19 GMT -6
Bret Musburger and every other guy out there: Jet Sweep= End around or reverse Agreed! My wife knows very little about football terms. She's learned some things in the past few years since I started coaching youth. She saw a jet sweep and went, "Oh! Look at him Jet!". The announcer said something like, "There's so-and-so on the end around." My wife went, "Oh, I thought that was called a Jet." I said, "It is, honey. You're right. The announcer is just stupid." I don't know as much football as most of the people here. But, I know enough that I watch with the volume turned down. It helps. I have a friend that is quite knowledgeable about football, too. Neither of us think we are football gurus. But, we find it more enjoyable for us to watch games with the volume down. We talk about way different things than the announcers. And, we answer questions from our sons and wives as the games go along.
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Post by tiger46 on Dec 18, 2009 22:41:55 GMT -6
UT doesnt recruit, the select LOL. True.....True. Heck for that matter; they may even just 'interview hopeful candidates' applications for the position'.
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Post by tiger46 on Dec 17, 2009 0:15:26 GMT -6
Congrats, Coach!
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Post by tiger46 on Dec 16, 2009 16:27:40 GMT -6
Ours is, "All EYES ON ME........YES, COACH!!!
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Post by tiger46 on Dec 10, 2009 19:17:18 GMT -6
I'm a youth coach. Seems that tackling is much more of a major subject on youth football boards. Or, at least, it comes up much more often; whether it's Wyatt's, chestplate tackling, screws to the ball, etc... The in's and out's of tackling is a source of high drama for us.
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Post by tiger46 on Dec 8, 2009 21:01:38 GMT -6
Out of pride I have to post; it's UT not tu.
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Post by tiger46 on Dec 8, 2009 21:00:14 GMT -6
Late to a good discussion once again.... However, this topic crops up repeatedly. I don't think it will ever be resolved. It's true that some dads should not coach their sons. They can't focus on anyone else besides their son. But, there are plenty of dad coaches that can be objective enough to coach their sons and any of the other players on their team. You can never know until you give them a chance.
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Post by tiger46 on Nov 21, 2009 7:39:07 GMT -6
"I want the flat out truth....."
Hmm....this thread probably isn't going to turn out well. There can only be other coaches' opinions. There can be no 'flat out truth' because there is no way to back up any opinions with facts over that large a number of coaches dispersed across the country, coaching different positions, levels, etc...
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Post by tiger46 on Nov 3, 2009 9:02:52 GMT -6
Defensive players are always getting nailed when they do something dirty- rightfully so, in this case. The suspension should be a full game, imo. But, it seems offensive players almost never get the hammer dropped on them when they play dirty. Anybody remember this incident?
That o-lineman should've been ejected at the very least.
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Post by tiger46 on Oct 30, 2009 16:46:53 GMT -6
Student Body Right Off-Tackle Power Mushroom Cloud Flea Flicker Hook & Lateral Bump & Run The 'Ol Fumble-Rooski
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Post by tiger46 on Oct 30, 2009 16:43:47 GMT -6
I posted this a long time ago. One of my favorite 'proud father moments' about my son and football:
"......My 9yr old son got speared in the back and then had his ankle trampled by a fat kid. His ankle was badly twisted. He jumped up and hobbled after the RB that he was chasing. The runner was long gone and had already made the TD. But, my son refused to quit and hobbled all the way to the endzone in pursuit. Everybody looking at him like he was nuts. The play was over. By the time that I (HC) got to him, the ankle was already swollen. I tried to take him out of the game. He absolutely refused. Later, after the game, I asked him why did he keep trying to chase the runner and he said, "You told us to never quit or give up- so, I didn't." He played the rest of that game. I took him to the Dr's office. She told him to stay off of it as much as possible for a couple of weeks, at least. He stared her down. Told her, in no uncertain terms, "I play football." And, he hopped off the table. He finished the season, on that ankle, never missed a practice, didn't miss the last four games and, never complained once about it even though the whole team knew how much it was hurting him. "
My son is 12 now. He still loves football.
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