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Poli · 08-23-2008, 09:10 PM

VERY LIGHT turnout for practice today, which was disappointing. We had just 8 to start practice, 5 others trickled in late. Ray was the worst at almost 30 minutes. Layne, David C., Bryce, and Nolan were all absent. Bryce was the only one with an excuse beforehand. Ashanti showed up late and left really early as well. He complained about 'ants in his shoes' and went to his mom. His mom came out maybe 30 minutes later and explained he has a lot of allergies, including...grass. It about blew my mind. He left for the day after that.

So, that left us with 12 at the practice. We had four potential starters missing on offense, two on defense. Flipping fantastic.

With Bryce and his dad out on a boat and the good doctor making rounds at the hospital, I was also coaching these boys solo.

I filled in where I could. Alex filled at left tackle, Nick T took right guard, the world's lightest guard I'd imagine. Jacob filled at left tight end, which I'm sure didn't thrill his dad. Carlos took Bryce's spot at the wing.

Defensively, Alex took Layne's tackle spot. Ashanti filled for Bryce until he went down with the 'allergy'. I used Nick T after that.

I had to try and coach on the fly as well. I almost ignored the defensive line at first since I had worked with them constantly already. I think their job is the easiest to learn. I worked with the backers, ends, and corners for the most part. As I saw things go wrong, I pulled that group together, talked it out, and kept moving.

Offensively, we didn't go individual. Instead we worked as a team and ran through our toss, sweep, and wedge. I would have liked to run counter, but I was running out of time and the boys were losing motivation in the heat.

We finished practice with a "Punt Off" competition. Surprisingly, Hunter was the winner, though Carlos didn't do too bad of a job himself. Jacob, whose dad will certainly complain that Jacob's not the kicker, performed rather poorly. That's despite his 'finishing second' in the local punt, pass, kick. Honestly, I'm wondering what the turnout was for that.

Since there's no rush on punts or kicks, I'm thinking when the need comes for a punt, that we'll punt to our sideline. A parent or coach will head downfield some 30 yards or so and wave. That'll be who I want the ball to go to. We'll spread the field like a kickoff and use our best kids (Ray, Connor, JD, Nathan, and Bryce) on that side of the field and try to cover the ball/returner should there be a possibility of a return. The backside four players won't be slouches either. They'll take an angle to the ball instead of just sprinting straight downfield.

I imagine we may do something similar for kickoffs.

I spoke with Hunter's dad after practice and he's onboard to help us with coaching. That's a big relief.

I got the weigh in results for most of the boys later in the afternoon. Layne AND Nolan made the weigh in, so that really irritates me that they missed practice. Bryce, David, Carlos, and Ray didn't make the weigh in, which requires an original birth certificate. They'll have to miss a day of practice to go to another town to make that next week. If they miss that one, they're ineligible to play this season.

David is my biggest concern. I worry that his dad is an alcoholic. I spoke with him yesterday about practice this morning and David didn't show. When I called this afternoon to check in with him, his dad told me "they didn't have transportation". Now, I've mentioned in the past if a ride was needed I had no problem. I told his dad again I had no problem doing that, and his answer was a very quick, "Thank you very much, Coach." The irritating part was it was like he was mocking me. He repeated that line two more times quickly.

I worry David is our bully. I certainly can't approach his dad with it, either. I may pull David aside and talk about being part of a team and having teammates. I certainly don't want him to feel the wrath of his behavior from a potentially abusive dad. I'm nervous enough about this situation that I honestly wonder how safe David is at home.

Back to the weigh in. Here are the weights off the boys I have right now.

Nick C 79
Nick T 70
Ashanti 98
Alex 95
Nolan 126 (my weight as a 17 year old senior football player)
Noah 71
Nathaniel 74
Connor 80
JD 72
Ryan 151
Jacob 74
Hunter 91
Layne 143

08-23-2008, 09:10 PM	#95
Poli FOFC Survivor Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Wentzville, MO	VERY LIGHT turnout for practice today, which was disappointing. We had just 8 to start practice, 5 others trickled in late. Ray was the worst at almost 30 minutes. Layne, David C., Bryce, and Nolan were all absent. Bryce was the only one with an excuse beforehand. Ashanti showed up late and left really early as well. He complained about 'ants in his shoes' and went to his mom. His mom came out maybe 30 minutes later and explained he has a lot of allergies, including...grass. It about blew my mind. He left for the day after that. So, that left us with 12 at the practice. We had four potential starters missing on offense, two on defense. Flipping fantastic. With Bryce and his dad out on a boat and the good doctor making rounds at the hospital, I was also coaching these boys solo. I filled in where I could. Alex filled at left tackle, Nick T took right guard, the world's lightest guard I'd imagine. Jacob filled at left tight end, which I'm sure didn't thrill his dad. Carlos took Bryce's spot at the wing. Defensively, Alex took Layne's tackle spot. Ashanti filled for Bryce until he went down with the 'allergy'. I used Nick T after that. I had to try and coach on the fly as well. I almost ignored the defensive line at first since I had worked with them constantly already. I think their job is the easiest to learn. I worked with the backers, ends, and corners for the most part. As I saw things go wrong, I pulled that group together, talked it out, and kept moving. Offensively, we didn't go individual. Instead we worked as a team and ran through our toss, sweep, and wedge. I would have liked to run counter, but I was running out of time and the boys were losing motivation in the heat. We finished practice with a "Punt Off" competition. Surprisingly, Hunter was the winner, though Carlos didn't do too bad of a job himself. Jacob, whose dad will certainly complain that Jacob's not the kicker, performed rather poorly. That's despite his 'finishing second' in the local punt, pass, kick. Honestly, I'm wondering what the turnout was for that. Since there's no rush on punts or kicks, I'm thinking when the need comes for a punt, that we'll punt to our sideline. A parent or coach will head downfield some 30 yards or so and wave. That'll be who I want the ball to go to. We'll spread the field like a kickoff and use our best kids (Ray, Connor, JD, Nathan, and Bryce) on that side of the field and try to cover the ball/returner should there be a possibility of a return. The backside four players won't be slouches either. They'll take an angle to the ball instead of just sprinting straight downfield. I imagine we may do something similar for kickoffs. I spoke with Hunter's dad after practice and he's onboard to help us with coaching. That's a big relief. I got the weigh in results for most of the boys later in the afternoon. Layne AND Nolan made the weigh in, so that really irritates me that they missed practice. Bryce, David, Carlos, and Ray didn't make the weigh in, which requires an original birth certificate. They'll have to miss a day of practice to go to another town to make that next week. If they miss that one, they're ineligible to play this season. David is my biggest concern. I worry that his dad is an alcoholic. I spoke with him yesterday about practice this morning and David didn't show. When I called this afternoon to check in with him, his dad told me "they didn't have transportation". Now, I've mentioned in the past if a ride was needed I had no problem. I told his dad again I had no problem doing that, and his answer was a very quick, "Thank you very much, Coach." The irritating part was it was like he was mocking me. He repeated that line two more times quickly. I worry David is our bully. I certainly can't approach his dad with it, either. I may pull David aside and talk about being part of a team and having teammates. I certainly don't want him to feel the wrath of his behavior from a potentially abusive dad. I'm nervous enough about this situation that I honestly wonder how safe David is at home. Back to the weigh in. Here are the weights off the boys I have right now. Nick C 79 Nick T 70 Ashanti 98 Alex 95 Nolan 126 (my weight as a 17 year old senior football player) Noah 71 Nathaniel 74 Connor 80 JD 72 Ryan 151 Jacob 74 Hunter 91 Layne 143 __________________ Cheer for a walk on quarterback! Ardent leads the Vols in the dynasty forum.