To those of you who follow me on my coaching journey....I will be coachign in pop warner this year...7-9 yr. old mighty mites max weight of 90 lbs. I have to assistant coach this year since head coaches have already been selected but Im hoping to open the doors for season to come.
I have also been kicking around the idea of doing a football training camp for kids age 5-12 ...basic drills and conditioning for the upcomming season....I have a few coaching friends and some personal trainer contacts as well as some friends who play at the college level .....as well as friends and family willing to help out...not saying im going to be aboe to pull this off this year but definately in time for next season....I really hope to see some of you guys there.
In other news...this year I got my CPR and first aid card renewed as well as my USA Football Coaching Certification level one and by the end of the month i will have my level 2.....meaning I can coach at any level in any state of this great country...exciting times...
Im looking forward to seeing you all....i have already been in touch with a few of you but for those of you I havent been able to get in contact with I will see you on the field ....Looking forward to a great season guys and girls....
GO COWBOYS!!!!!!!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Football begins soon!
we are nearing the end of the school year....that means another season of fun in the thalia-malibu flag football league is about to start......be ready for this year as it is rumored to bring in new areas to combine with ours!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
2 of 3
I am glad to report that in my final game as a head coach in the thalia malibu flag football league...my cowboys were not just victorious...they were dominant....giving up a lone score in the second half and not even allowing the extra point....my cowboys played a stellar game. 24 to 6 as the final. some of the highlights ...... an interception for a touchdown....a 50 yd TD run on a 4th and 20 direct snap play....a 7 yd touchdown pass and what seems like 200 yds on the ground...and thats just the offense...the defense payed better than i have seen before...we gave them a new scheme the night before the game...a one safety set with two blitzing linebackers as well as the corners blitzing....leaving our safety on an islnd....but as expected the raiders ran the ball 99% of the time (1 pass play resulting in a pick 6) and we shut them down....great game boys...great season...and thanks for the great memmories...you guys couldnt have sent me out in a better way.
Monday, October 27, 2008
the infamous Aaron rule
in my first season coaching the offense and the defense had to have 5 guys lined up on the line directly across from one another .....after that season it was decided that the center was getting hurt too much or just beaten too easily so we would move the defenie player acros from the center off the ball by 1 yard ...moving the nose tackel back 1 yard from the center you effectively made him a linebacker.....so now a center who was srtuggling with blocking a kid comming at him from a standing still position now has to block a kid who has a 1 yd running head start.....it honestly never made sense to me to do this as it ultimately seemed less safe to me but that was the new rule.
Since I am a coach who likes to do the unexpected (ie...shot gun...passing...running up the middle...all things other coaches swore couldnt be done) instead of putting my big kid on the line and forcing him to try and battle the line men for a chance at a flag....i placed him at this new "NOSE-BACKER" spot.....and he took to it like a fish in the water....in the first game he started there he was "Crashing "the middle and sacking the QB literally every other play!!!!! well he got soo good at it he started timing the snap and getting back ther so quick that one tiem he pulled the flag of the QB right as he got the ball! Needless to say this crippled other teams offensively and helped us mount our comeback from last to 2nd place....no other team seemed to exploit this new rule and new position the way we did......
So at the beginning of this season when new rules were being put in place the VERY FIRST new rule was to say that nobody on the defense can now go through the center gap......a rule designed specifically to stop my defense and my player from dominating ...once again to keep it safe!!!!! so we went from 5 on the line to nobody can come up the middle....in the name of safety...i think its more in the name of we cant stop this.....
OH yeah the kids name....Aaron Wheeler.....Aaron is the only kid in the league with a rule made against him because he was too good at what he did......I certianly hope that inspires him to stick with the sport!.....and send me superbowl tickets when you get there bud. lol.
Since I am a coach who likes to do the unexpected (ie...shot gun...passing...running up the middle...all things other coaches swore couldnt be done) instead of putting my big kid on the line and forcing him to try and battle the line men for a chance at a flag....i placed him at this new "NOSE-BACKER" spot.....and he took to it like a fish in the water....in the first game he started there he was "Crashing "the middle and sacking the QB literally every other play!!!!! well he got soo good at it he started timing the snap and getting back ther so quick that one tiem he pulled the flag of the QB right as he got the ball! Needless to say this crippled other teams offensively and helped us mount our comeback from last to 2nd place....no other team seemed to exploit this new rule and new position the way we did......
So at the beginning of this season when new rules were being put in place the VERY FIRST new rule was to say that nobody on the defense can now go through the center gap......a rule designed specifically to stop my defense and my player from dominating ...once again to keep it safe!!!!! so we went from 5 on the line to nobody can come up the middle....in the name of safety...i think its more in the name of we cant stop this.....
OH yeah the kids name....Aaron Wheeler.....Aaron is the only kid in the league with a rule made against him because he was too good at what he did......I certianly hope that inspires him to stick with the sport!.....and send me superbowl tickets when you get there bud. lol.
I need to vent
ok....If you know me or have read this blog then you should know I try to teach a little bit of life lesson and honesty with football. I honestly set out to teach the kids how to play ...have fun doing it and if we win good..if we lose...there is always next time. Sadly ...this season I feel as though I may be the only one who thinks this.
In this season I have seen some thigs that disturb me and I need to let them go....
1 I saw a coach I really respect tell his kids to make a fist and slam it into the knuckles of the kid trying to block him...in order to deter the other child from blocking him again.....I was shocked its not dirty and its not clean....if you argue this technique...you will hear ....they are going to be tought way worse...or its football toughen up....or something equally dismissive...it honestly hurt to hear him coach that....he is a friend and i respect him as a coach...further more he is better than that....he was comming off of a two game losing streak for the first time since i met him so im sure it was out of frustration but even still....I cant help but feel like if i was cought doing that ...there would be another "Aaron Rule"
2 I had another coach jump all over me because of the score board and my parents cheering! we were up 34 to 6 in the playoffs and I was making an effort to keep it from getting too bad...i was letting everykid touch the ball.....kids who arent even sure what way to run got to run the ball....basically the game was in the bag so i was scaling it back ...unlike what any other team does.....and we managed to break off an amazing touchdown run by one of the smaller guys in the league....when the play was over the parents cheered loud...as they are encouraged and should... then one of the parents changed the score....the next thing i know i have an angry coach yelling at me about showing the score on the board and telling the refs to have the parents STOP CHEERING.......thats just laughable....we should not cheer for our team because the other team doesnt like it! we obliged anyway because we are good sports ...and I personally changed the score board to show the other team wininng......... earlier in the season against the same coach, I accidentaly left my QB in durring our 2 min ...safe play...all he did was hand off the ball to a smaller guy and stand there....the other coach pitched a fit about me leaving him in so in an attempt to rectify the situation not only did i take the QB out for the next three series when i didnt have to...i took out all of my big guys and let the little guys match up against the big guys.....didnt have to...but i did it any way....never mid the fact he left THE BIGGEST KID IN THE LEAGUE IN THE GAME BECAUSE HE WAS 7 and the rule is 8-9 year olds out first then biggest and most aggressive....my QB has a 1 in 50 shot of hurting someone durring safe play as he is one of the smaller kids on the team but he is 9 so i was wrong.....his kid hurts the biggest kid on my team every time we play but thats not "agressive" so by letter of the rule he is 7 and can stay in and hurt kids while my 9 year old is out for an entire quarter for handing the ball to another kid.
3 in one of our last regular season games we would be facing a tough opponent and we were without 3 of our guys...that meant we had to bring in 2 guys who dont normally play durring "safe time"....and instead of making the decision on who to bring in.....though it is ultimately my choice....I let the other coach decide who HE wants me to bring in as an attempt to keep it fair.... Not every coach does this as i would learn, because, he turns to me and says oh yeah....my big guy is in anyway so bring in "Player 1" ....18 points later player 1 is tired from all of the extra play time and needs a break....i let the other coach know im going to change him out for player 2...he says to me " dude whatever, its not like it matters now" this was in the first quarter...well at half time we are up 25 to 0.... The other coaches by this point are complaining about the refs on EVERY play.....even when the play was a better result than the penalty...they would still complain....I chalked it up to anger....and simply just kept playing.....in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter the other coach starts yelling about my player breaking the Aaron rule even though he scored on the play...when i take the field he yells at me for it like i could prevent it from happening from the sidelines....i ignore his obvious frustration and go about winning the game......After the game I am helping the the refs clean the field while the other coaching staff is huddled up talking....when im done cleaning the field...i notice the other coaches are talking to the league president.....I go up to see what they are talking about....the other coach is upset with the outcome of the game and is trying to get the game thrown out and replayed!!!!!!!!!!!!! screaming about how he was cheated by the refs and they should be fired and the game is unfiar....I told him about how the season before i lost 5 straight games and attributed more than half of those to close calls that didnt go my way.....so when that was met with opposition he accused me of CHEATING!!!!!!! saying that i have been breaking the Aaron rule all season long and i did it 3 times in that game alone.....I explained to him that...I coach the players to play by the rules and if that 3 times in that game a rule was broken I am sorry....sorry the refs didnt catch it or think it was being broken and that if 3 times in one game a 8 year old gets excited and runs to a part of the field he isnt supposed to I can tphysically be there to hold his hand and stop him......he responded with "MY Kids don't do it"...and I responded with " well congratulations....your a better coach than I am" luckily the kids were not there to see me get heated and he walked away before more damaging words were thrown...... Now in this game i never brought up the fact that his small kids were not on the field at the alotted time or that some of his kids physically threw a puch at one of my kids or were choking my kids instead of blocking to the chest.....nonw of that was complained about....on top of that the refs told me they were wy more lax on the other team in the second half as far as penalties go because of the 25 point lead in the first half......plus I scaled back our offense...I could have just stuck to the plan and scored 50-60 points but i pulled back to play nice.....
There are many many more things that bother me about the season these are just my big three....the biggest is this...it happened before the season even started....the "Aaron Rule"
I will explain in nother blog the reason behind it and why i like it...just know its aimed directly at preventing my defense from using a specific player to dominate the line and its chalked up to a "safety" rule.
I know there are two sides to every story so please understand the other teams most likely felt like they were right to do these things, but these things and more REALLY bother me so i had to get it off my chest. I dont want the parents and kids thinking I was a cheater... or rough coach ... or the type of coach who verbally attacks the refs....though i have seen all these things happen I do not approve of these things nor do i want to be remembered as participating in any of them.
In this season I have seen some thigs that disturb me and I need to let them go....
1 I saw a coach I really respect tell his kids to make a fist and slam it into the knuckles of the kid trying to block him...in order to deter the other child from blocking him again.....I was shocked its not dirty and its not clean....if you argue this technique...you will hear ....they are going to be tought way worse...or its football toughen up....or something equally dismissive...it honestly hurt to hear him coach that....he is a friend and i respect him as a coach...further more he is better than that....he was comming off of a two game losing streak for the first time since i met him so im sure it was out of frustration but even still....I cant help but feel like if i was cought doing that ...there would be another "Aaron Rule"
2 I had another coach jump all over me because of the score board and my parents cheering! we were up 34 to 6 in the playoffs and I was making an effort to keep it from getting too bad...i was letting everykid touch the ball.....kids who arent even sure what way to run got to run the ball....basically the game was in the bag so i was scaling it back ...unlike what any other team does.....and we managed to break off an amazing touchdown run by one of the smaller guys in the league....when the play was over the parents cheered loud...as they are encouraged and should... then one of the parents changed the score....the next thing i know i have an angry coach yelling at me about showing the score on the board and telling the refs to have the parents STOP CHEERING.......thats just laughable....we should not cheer for our team because the other team doesnt like it! we obliged anyway because we are good sports ...and I personally changed the score board to show the other team wininng......... earlier in the season against the same coach, I accidentaly left my QB in durring our 2 min ...safe play...all he did was hand off the ball to a smaller guy and stand there....the other coach pitched a fit about me leaving him in so in an attempt to rectify the situation not only did i take the QB out for the next three series when i didnt have to...i took out all of my big guys and let the little guys match up against the big guys.....didnt have to...but i did it any way....never mid the fact he left THE BIGGEST KID IN THE LEAGUE IN THE GAME BECAUSE HE WAS 7 and the rule is 8-9 year olds out first then biggest and most aggressive....my QB has a 1 in 50 shot of hurting someone durring safe play as he is one of the smaller kids on the team but he is 9 so i was wrong.....his kid hurts the biggest kid on my team every time we play but thats not "agressive" so by letter of the rule he is 7 and can stay in and hurt kids while my 9 year old is out for an entire quarter for handing the ball to another kid.
3 in one of our last regular season games we would be facing a tough opponent and we were without 3 of our guys...that meant we had to bring in 2 guys who dont normally play durring "safe time"....and instead of making the decision on who to bring in.....though it is ultimately my choice....I let the other coach decide who HE wants me to bring in as an attempt to keep it fair.... Not every coach does this as i would learn, because, he turns to me and says oh yeah....my big guy is in anyway so bring in "Player 1" ....18 points later player 1 is tired from all of the extra play time and needs a break....i let the other coach know im going to change him out for player 2...he says to me " dude whatever, its not like it matters now" this was in the first quarter...well at half time we are up 25 to 0.... The other coaches by this point are complaining about the refs on EVERY play.....even when the play was a better result than the penalty...they would still complain....I chalked it up to anger....and simply just kept playing.....in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter the other coach starts yelling about my player breaking the Aaron rule even though he scored on the play...when i take the field he yells at me for it like i could prevent it from happening from the sidelines....i ignore his obvious frustration and go about winning the game......After the game I am helping the the refs clean the field while the other coaching staff is huddled up talking....when im done cleaning the field...i notice the other coaches are talking to the league president.....I go up to see what they are talking about....the other coach is upset with the outcome of the game and is trying to get the game thrown out and replayed!!!!!!!!!!!!! screaming about how he was cheated by the refs and they should be fired and the game is unfiar....I told him about how the season before i lost 5 straight games and attributed more than half of those to close calls that didnt go my way.....so when that was met with opposition he accused me of CHEATING!!!!!!! saying that i have been breaking the Aaron rule all season long and i did it 3 times in that game alone.....I explained to him that...I coach the players to play by the rules and if that 3 times in that game a rule was broken I am sorry....sorry the refs didnt catch it or think it was being broken and that if 3 times in one game a 8 year old gets excited and runs to a part of the field he isnt supposed to I can tphysically be there to hold his hand and stop him......he responded with "MY Kids don't do it"...and I responded with " well congratulations....your a better coach than I am" luckily the kids were not there to see me get heated and he walked away before more damaging words were thrown...... Now in this game i never brought up the fact that his small kids were not on the field at the alotted time or that some of his kids physically threw a puch at one of my kids or were choking my kids instead of blocking to the chest.....nonw of that was complained about....on top of that the refs told me they were wy more lax on the other team in the second half as far as penalties go because of the 25 point lead in the first half......plus I scaled back our offense...I could have just stuck to the plan and scored 50-60 points but i pulled back to play nice.....
There are many many more things that bother me about the season these are just my big three....the biggest is this...it happened before the season even started....the "Aaron Rule"
I will explain in nother blog the reason behind it and why i like it...just know its aimed directly at preventing my defense from using a specific player to dominate the line and its chalked up to a "safety" rule.
I know there are two sides to every story so please understand the other teams most likely felt like they were right to do these things, but these things and more REALLY bother me so i had to get it off my chest. I dont want the parents and kids thinking I was a cheater... or rough coach ... or the type of coach who verbally attacks the refs....though i have seen all these things happen I do not approve of these things nor do i want to be remembered as participating in any of them.
Hardest part
You want to know the hardest thing about coaching.......
Its not making the first call to the parents or the first practice where you introduce yourself.... its not the extra work that goes into researching tactics and plays then changing them into something a 5 year old can both comprehend and execute....its not comming up with a defenseive scheme or an offensive playbook....its not even planning the practices or coaching the games....... its making the big decisions...... Now I am a HVAC foreman in the commercial world and everyday i make decisions that can cost people 100s of thousands of dollars but I make those all day everyday...they are no biggie...the hard decisions are things like do i punch in a qb sneak for 1 point or go with that pass play we struggled with all week for 2..... do I start my qb on both sides of the ball of let him sit on "D"....... use the reverse or the sweep....blocking drills today or flag pulling.....sprints or laps...... believe it or not these decisions make a difference in the outcome of the football season and in return effect the memories of the kids involved.
Everytime I step out onto that field be it practice or game I have that thought in the back of my head. These kids are going to be like me oneday and wonder what ever happend to my first coach...hows he doing....does he remember me....did i play up to his expectations....did i earn his approval....LOL was he screaming at me or encouraging me :-) Its because of these possibilities that I try to be careful both of wht I say and what i do......
I dont want the kids to remember me as a win hungry anger first type coach....what i want is to be the coach that instills a love of the game in the kids....so that when the kids think of football the think of how fun it is....how good it makes you feel when you work hard all week in practice and you use that hard work to carry you into a a win on friday night....I want the kids to see how fired up I get when they perform well....I want them to notice how we shake off bad plays and carry on....how we work together to form one unit and accomplish a single task by working together. At the end of the season when i walk away from coaching these kids I want to feel like i made an impact in thier lives.....and hopefully oneday when they have kids....maybe they will remember they smiles on my face and the fun that i appeared to have...the pride I had in them....and that will encourage them to do what i am doing....touching lives and teaching lessons....
There are several times in my coaching career that i have seen the impact i have on these kids. I hve had talks with kids about everything ranging from things on the field to grades in school...and how to handle anger and nerves..... I look forward to those moments where i can impact the kids life and thats honestly what keeps me comming back..... I just want the kids to have fun playing for me and carry that feeling and hopefully a lesson or two with them in thier life.....I know they are going to have plenty of coaches teach them how to hit...catch...throw...run...and win....they will have coach after coach preach winning above all...and get tought tactics that are dirty but accepted and therefore not "cheating".....I want to be the one guys that says "Do it Right, Do it CLEAN, and have fun"
Its not making the first call to the parents or the first practice where you introduce yourself.... its not the extra work that goes into researching tactics and plays then changing them into something a 5 year old can both comprehend and execute....its not comming up with a defenseive scheme or an offensive playbook....its not even planning the practices or coaching the games....... its making the big decisions...... Now I am a HVAC foreman in the commercial world and everyday i make decisions that can cost people 100s of thousands of dollars but I make those all day everyday...they are no biggie...the hard decisions are things like do i punch in a qb sneak for 1 point or go with that pass play we struggled with all week for 2..... do I start my qb on both sides of the ball of let him sit on "D"....... use the reverse or the sweep....blocking drills today or flag pulling.....sprints or laps...... believe it or not these decisions make a difference in the outcome of the football season and in return effect the memories of the kids involved.
Everytime I step out onto that field be it practice or game I have that thought in the back of my head. These kids are going to be like me oneday and wonder what ever happend to my first coach...hows he doing....does he remember me....did i play up to his expectations....did i earn his approval....LOL was he screaming at me or encouraging me :-) Its because of these possibilities that I try to be careful both of wht I say and what i do......
I dont want the kids to remember me as a win hungry anger first type coach....what i want is to be the coach that instills a love of the game in the kids....so that when the kids think of football the think of how fun it is....how good it makes you feel when you work hard all week in practice and you use that hard work to carry you into a a win on friday night....I want the kids to see how fired up I get when they perform well....I want them to notice how we shake off bad plays and carry on....how we work together to form one unit and accomplish a single task by working together. At the end of the season when i walk away from coaching these kids I want to feel like i made an impact in thier lives.....and hopefully oneday when they have kids....maybe they will remember they smiles on my face and the fun that i appeared to have...the pride I had in them....and that will encourage them to do what i am doing....touching lives and teaching lessons....
There are several times in my coaching career that i have seen the impact i have on these kids. I hve had talks with kids about everything ranging from things on the field to grades in school...and how to handle anger and nerves..... I look forward to those moments where i can impact the kids life and thats honestly what keeps me comming back..... I just want the kids to have fun playing for me and carry that feeling and hopefully a lesson or two with them in thier life.....I know they are going to have plenty of coaches teach them how to hit...catch...throw...run...and win....they will have coach after coach preach winning above all...and get tought tactics that are dirty but accepted and therefore not "cheating".....I want to be the one guys that says "Do it Right, Do it CLEAN, and have fun"
3 for 3
Well here we are one season later...I have found myself in a familiar spot...its championship week and we are playing for the title. Whats different this time? well for one we arent playing the steelers this year....we are playing the raiders....we have beaten the raiders 2 times already this season but not one of those games came easy.....the preperation for each was tremendous.....the week priorto playing them....i focused on keeping the kids level headed and letting them know we can be beat....to play hard and work hard....both games were very tough and in fact we almost blew a 25 point half time lead the last time we played them.... to make matters worse the raiders coach is....well....lets say he has a much different attitude towards the league in years where he is winning than when he was losing......sadly its not for the better.....This makes a lot of the other people in the league really want me to take it to him.....i have had everyone from other coaches and parents from other teams all the wy up to top league officials say they want to see me "stomp" him and his team...... the pressure of winin this game...is already kinda there but in a fun way....however this year its there with the added pressure of expecting to win and being expected to punish......it honestly has kept me up a couple nights already and I even find myself losing focus at work over it.....If this is at all what a real NFL coach feels like before a big game ...Im glad i just work in construction.....I want my kids to play thier best and hopefully we will win...no of course my assistand coach and I have designed a totaly new defense....infact 2 new schemes...and I have been hard at work creating new plays as well ...but ultimately I just want the kids to win for them....not for me or for "teaching someone a lesson"..... I dont want anyone to be let down either but...I will sure be glad when this one is over.....as long as we win LOL!
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