GO VOLS!: A RL Youth Football Dynasty

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Serious question: is there a non-all star team of 9/10 year olds anywhere that have five players who can catch a ball consistently?

I highly, highly doubt it.

But it'd be great fun watching someone try and pull it off.

[Poli]

Thanks for the suggestions. I definitely have some decisions to make. Fortunately, the first day or two of practice won't require rock-solid positions, so I should be alright.

I met with a few parents yesterday at the "team mom's" home (Nick T.'s mom). She's been a real big help as far as experience wise. She's suggested that I hit the practice field early to nab the 'primo' spot, where there's some shade in the afternoon. She's also helped me with where I'm getting my team equipment and things like that.

I'm really, really, happy I picked Nick T. now.

I had hoped to e-mail out our playbook to the parents and have them print it out if need be, but that idea didn't go over well. I understand that not everyone has e-mail, a computer, and/or printing capability, but I had hoped to work around that.

I made calls today hoping to catch a break on a price of about 50 dollars for the total job, and didn't have much luck. 35 dollars was about the cheapest I was quoted. My best friend from high school and her husband now run a print shop in my home town. I tried to reach her, but I didn't have any luck. Down to my last option, I called my brother, Tubby.

"Tubby, who's your 'I've got 20 or so playbooks to print out at about 25 pages per book' guy?' My brother has a 'guy' for everything, as he likes to brag. I figured I'd go "all in" and call him on it.

"Well, I don't know. This for your pee wee football team I guess? Give me 10 minutes."

15 minutes later he calls, tells me to get it on a thumb drive, and he'd have it done in a couple of days for free.

Color me impressed. I may never doubt Tubby again.

[Poli]

One final thing to add today: Bryce has a cousin, Ray, who will likely be playing football for us.

Ray, described by Bryce's dad, is a very big boy and very athletic as well. Ray will be registering tomorrow if we have practice...or on Thursday. Given that we're tied for the fewest players and that Bryce's dad would be bringing both in for practice and games, we're essentially a lock for the boy. Bryce's dad has even said he won't register him at this point unless he's on our team.

Works for me. If he's as good as advertised (and there's no reason to think otherwise, Bryce's dad has a good football head on his shoulders), he'll work in well on the offensive line and as our middle linebacker/safety.

[Poli]

I did get a call last night from the league "commish". He's not exactly the commish or the president, per say, but he's no doubt the guy who makes things happen. His title is league coordinator or something along the lines, and he was the one presiding over the draft.

First, he apologized about the draft. He said team lists had been distributed before he realized the issue with the Bulldogs, in particular. To refresh, the Bulldogs "protected" a player that was of no relation to either of the two 'official' coaches of the team. They then later drafted the second coach's son.

I told him it wasn't a problem, it was a motivational tool.

He also gave me information about Tyler W. Tyler's mom asked me on Saturday and again yesterday if it was possible to trade her son to the Bulldogs or to have a player on the Bulldogs traded to our team. The two boys are neighbors and could then carpool together everywhere.

He told me no, which I'm quite happy about. I'm sure the Bulldogs would love Tyler, since he's about 100 pounds, and would be happy to trade me one of the tiny guys on their roster for him. However, since all parents were notified about which team their son would play for, I was told it would be considered by the board, but the answer would certainly be no.

I could see it now, the Tigers all of a sudden have an entire all star squad based on logistical issues like carpooling, neighbors, live down the street, live down the street from the coach's brother, and kids they go to church with.

I'm happy they told me no, though I hated having to tell the mom.

[Barkeep49]

I think nearly every post in this thread from me is going to be a variation on how the people you're dealing with are everything that's wrong with youth sports. I'm glad this league coordinator guy is finally doing something useful by stopping this latest trade business.

[Senator]

This is great. I love what you have done. The double wing is run by 3/4 of the teams here, so it is not much of an odd thing as there.

I was going to add my 9-10 year old dynasty (TEXAS STYLE) and compare and contrast but I surely do not want to intrude on this already great read.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Senator

This is great. I love what you have done. The double wing is run by 3/4 of the teams here, so it is not much of an odd thing as there.

I was going to add my 9-10 year old dynasty (TEXAS STYLE) and compare and contrast but I surely do not want to intrude on this already great read.

The more youth sport dynasties the better. I feel like I'm a better coach everytime I read one, even if it's in a different sport or at a completely different level.

[Poli]

The playbook's complete, some 18 or so pages about who is where, how we call plays, and diagrams. 2 pages of our relatively simple defense. Off to the press.

I spoke with probably the most knowledgable dad, Nathaniel and Noah's dad, about what type of offenses we'll see. He told me our offense would certainly be unique. Nearly everyone uses an I or Pro set with two tight ends in this league. His son has played for four years and his dad knows football, so I trust and love this information.

I can only hope we play the Tigers in Week 1.

[Poli]

By the way, if you'd like to see the playbook, PM me an e-mail address and I'll shoot it out to you.

I would have really liked to add more. However, I prescribe to the theory of keeping things simple and expanding from there.

[Poli]

I got permission tonight to run a 2 hour practice Saturday morning to make up for the missed practice yesterday. Woot.

[Senator]

I am jealous you are already at it, but we have had a string of 100 degree plus days that would not have made it much fun.

Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals!!!!

[Poli]

Yesterday's practice was interesting for me to say the least, my first as a head coach in tackle football.

As the boys filtered in, I easily recognized nearly every boy by face and called them by name. I didn't know Layne or Tyler, but they were relatively easy to pick out among the other boys. I said a few words to each boy as well before we started.

I introduced myself briefly and then set them up in a ready position, followed by correcting some really bad 3 point stances. That's going to be a lot of work. We completed this routine with 5 pushups. My goal is to have them doing 5 pushups every 10 minutes.

From there we went into our stretching exercises. I don't prescribe to the old-school method of stretching. Instead, we did 20 yard moving exercises like butt-kickers, high knee, and bounding. By the end of this, they were tired, and I got them a water break.

I'm not a water break guy, honestly. I'd rather take the time and use it elsewhere and they can drink water whenever they want to. Couldn't exactly make that work on this first day. However, they cut their own breaks short, so it worked out well.

From there we worked through slow motion tackling (ready position, hit the player, wrap him up, lift and drive through), and on to some blocking.

Believe it or not, Nolan came up crying during this first drill saying his back hurt from the pushups. Nolan's just 9, but he's bigger than most of my 10s. Unfortunately, he's got a mentality of a 7-year old. Despite playing the past couple of seasons, he claimed he didn't know how to put on his pads. I helped him, and then this "injury" came up. So he avoided the "contact" after the first time we slow motioned the tackling.

Next we played something the kid's called "King of the Ring." No surprise here, Layne beat everyone. 2nd place went to Ryan W. 3rd to Hunter J. 4th, for the record went to David C, who likes to be called JD. I was pleasantly surprised about Hunter and JD. Nolan reappeared near the end asking to go into the ring against a "smaller" boy, not someone his own size. I threw Nick T out, he's my smallest guy. He took Nick. I sent out Jacob. He tried, but couldn't quite hold his own. The next boy, David C, who hadn't played before, forced Nolan out of his comfort zone and Nolan was essentially defeated as he BACKED OUT OF THE RING WITH THE CONTACT.

Water break, a little more of the ring, and then we went into 1/2 speed tackling. I paired Nolan with Jacob, so that he'd be more comfortable. Geez! Surprisingly, Nolan didn't get hurt. A lot of kids hit the ground as they went into the "lift and drive" phase.

Last water break before rain closed practice early. I went through a little bit of the offensive setup, and we started walking through the first play. During the walkthrough I was told to shut it down.

Oh well, we've got Saturday.

I'm really happy with the team overall. I've seriously got to figure out how I can hide Nolan on the field for 6 plays per half. He is our one legit liability on the field. He's not going to listen to instruction, I know it. I'm thinking I could use him at a guard position as long as I don't ask him to pull. If I tell him just hit the guy over you or over the center I might make it work.

Finally, we didn't get Bryce's cousin on the team, and he is indeed one BIG kid. Interestingly enough, the Bulldogs didn't mind, but the Tigers complained a little. Ray is going to be GOOD. The kids were jacked about him joining us, which tells me a lot right there.

Bryce's dad is now my official assistant.

[Senator]

I see alot of Coach Dave Cisar in your cal setup and drills. Good start, Poli!

Are you allowed to count kickoffs, KR, punts, ect... as a play? If so, you might only have to consider 2-3 plays a half for Nolan. Another little trick would be to put him on the far side away from the play you are running. Ex - sweep right - load him up at left tackle or something. Even though this is a tell, I have never had anyone ever pick up on it.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Senator

I see alot of Coach Dave Cisar in your cal setup and drills. Good start, Poli!

Are you allowed to count kickoffs, KR, punts, ect... as a play? If so, you might only have to consider 2-3 plays a half for Nolan. Another little trick would be to put him on the far side away from the play you are running. Ex - sweep right - load him up at left tackle or something. Even though this is a tell, I have never had anyone ever pick up on it.

I've only recently heard of Coach Cisar, but I do hear he does similar things. I modified the tackling drills from Coach Wade, but the "King of the Ring" is the same as Coach Wade's "Sumo".

I don't know if special teams count. I sure HOPE so. I plan to kick it onside or at the very least short and to one side of the field or the other. If I could hide Nolan as the last man on the other side of the kickoff unit, for example, that would be great. Left tackle on the sweep is a good call as well.

If I can rotate him once through the guard and tackle spots on defense, I could potentially have him in enough to satisfy the requirement.

Honestly, I'm disappointed to think about these scenarios. I really think I can and will use the other 17 in a fashion where play counts are out the window.

One important edit from my last post: Ray IS on the team.


As for the team, I projected Layne to be the center, but Ryan "Rhino" seemed a little upset about it after practice. I'll have to sell him playing guard for us. I honestly think he'd enjoy it for the trapping and pulling.

Right now, the team offense projects as:

QB Nathan
FB Connor
WB Bryce
WB Nick C.
TE JD
TE Jacob
LT Ashanti
LG Hunter
C Layne
RG Ryan
RT Ray


Jacob is smaller than I remember the last time I saw him, he probably isn't a good fit on the line. I think he could be a decent tight end, but I'm concerned about speed as a back. He's still an option as a quarterback.

Nick T is probably our next TE. He's not very big, but can probably perform that shoeshine decently enough.

Noah is in the mix in the backs, somewhere. I really need to see both Nathan and his brother to make a decision on who goes where.

David C. has a mean streak in him. He'd be a good alternate at FB and maybe on the line, though he's a little undersized.

Alex, Tyler, and Nolan are my alternates for the line. Of the three, I really think Tyler could contribute. Alex may be destined for spot duty offensively and sub man on defense. Similar to rotating Nolan, I think rotating Alex on defense routinely might give the other guys a bit of rest. It might be something where I let Alex take two plays at a time from another guy.

Playbooks were handed out yesterday to most of the boys as well.

[Mike1409]

Originally Posted by Senator

I see alot of Coach Dave Cisar in your cal setup and drills. Good start, Poli!

Are you allowed to count kickoffs, KR, punts, ect... as a play? If so, you might only have to consider 2-3 plays a half for Nolan. Another little trick would be to put him on the far side away from the play you are running. Ex - sweep right - load him up at left tackle or something. Even though this is a tell, I have never had anyone ever pick up on it.

I have done the same in the past. Line him up wide as a receiver and run away from him!

I agree with the kickoff idea. I kicked off towards our bench every time, so it would change each quarter. Put a speedy guy at the end kick from the 40 on the ground to the opposing 40 and out run the other team to the ball. That 2nd row edge is where teams sometimes try to hide their players as well. One game we never took a defensive snap in the first half.

[Poli]

I'd love to line him up as a tight end or receiver and go the opposite way, but I have a strong feeling he's over our ball carrier weight limit of 100 pounds. That means he can't be an eligible receiver on offense.

[Poli]

I did speak to my former head coach about Nolan. He thinks Nolan's looking for attention, which I think we'd all agree is true. He suggested I have him come in before practice if possible to help me set up, and if any setup is needed during practice to have him help. He could also stay after and help pick up the field.

He also told me to give him something he would feel comfortable with and have some success with. That might help give him the confidence he'd need to continue playing this game.

[Senator]

You might find that this is a non-issue, as you have kids get hurt, the wind knocked out of them, not playing very well and need an in-game pep talk, or you are up by alot or down by alot, whatever the case. On game day this will be much less of an issue than you think, as you will see he is probably over the minimum by half a dozen plays every game. That is my experience, anyway.

The real problem is his interruptions during critical practice time, and the rolling frustration that will build from it. I had one player last season that had severe ADD. He was the last kid picked in the draft out of 200 plus kids. His parents would forget to give him his medicine and it would make my life hell. I remember at one point, minutes before a playoff game he ran onto the field with sticks protruding out of his air holes in the top of his helmet. We had to tell him every time where to go, where to stand, and when to come off.

I will say that one game that was close, he may have helped us win. They do not stop the clock for penalties, and he had 4 off sides in a row, because he could not understand not to move until the ball was snapped, despite designating a coach to work with him 3 hours a week all season on just that.

Despite all this, he ended up playing 16-20 plays a game and we managed to still win.

[Poli]

This morning's practice was a little frustrating.

My team mom had to fit most of the boys for their uniforms, which for some reason had to come out of my practice time. We lost nearly a half hour to that. I was forced to cut down our play installation as well as team offense in order to adjust. It was incredibly frustrating to stand and wait while a majority of the boys were taking care of that.

I had two excused absences and two no-shows. I'll give the no-shows a call today and see what happened.

On top of the problems today, we'll have problems at the Tuesday practice as well. The local school is having their open house and some of the boys will be missing because of it. I would love to move Tuesday's practice to Saturday, but I really don't want to take up two Saturdays in a row from the boys and their parents.

I'll have to call Nolan's dad today about coaching his son while we're on the field. I'm technically not allowed to have anyone not an official coach out there with us. I really enjoyed Nolan's grandfather, he was excited about the game. I could use him as a coach for sure.

I had a number of headaches today on the field as well. Layne was a no-show, so fitting Ryan in at center worked out well. I used Alex to fill in the other guard slot. However, Ryan showed disinterest in doing just about anything today.

Ashanti voiced displeasure of playing the offensive line. I'm not sure where he thinks he'd fit in offensively other than that spot, to be honest. Shoot, I'm not sure he'll make the weight limit as a ball carrier.

Ray layed a big hit during our "Eye Opener" drill on David C., David wasn't thrilled about it, sat on the ground out of the drills for about 5 minutes. When Ray came to my group for angle tackling, no one wanted to try and tackle him. I asked Ray to work on his defense and he got upset. He eventually got over it, but I could sense an attitude with him the rest of the practice. He, along with Ryan, didn't display much of an effort early in practice, either.

We finished practices by going through our toss play. I worked with the line, Coach Bryan took the backs. About 10 minutes later we got together to see if we could make it work. For the most part, it didn't.

Jacob's not going to work out at quarterback. He turned the wrong way to hand the ball off first. I re-explained why the play is called toss. He turned tossed the ball and ran behind the back and then followed him into the hole. I explained again what we're looking for, and he did the same thing over again.

It's going to take some work, but once the light bulbs come on I think we're really going to be good.

Right now, with the way my practices keep getting interrupted, I'm thinking we may try to just run our 5 core plays: The Toss, Sweep, Counter, Wedge, and Pass. Shoot, two practices in and I'm having a tough time getting just the Toss in. With just 12 practices left before our opener, we've got to get it down.

[Barkeep49]

Teaching plays is perhaps the area where my teaching is the worst while coaching, so I certainly understand the difficulties you're having.

But, at least in my experience, FUBAR practices are what you need to expect. Not because of your lack of preparation or command of the kids, just cause things always seem to pop up that interfere with the smooth running of practices. And I can say, despite that being my expectation, I am still frequently flustered/upset when these things popup. I hope your remaining 12 pregame practices go well.

[primelord]

Originally Posted by Mike1409

I agree with the kickoff idea. I kicked off towards our bench every time, so it would change each quarter. Put a speedy guy at the end kick from the 40 on the ground to the opposing 40 and out run the other team to the ball. That 2nd row edge is where teams sometimes try to hide their players as well. One game we never took a defensive snap in the first half.

I don't have any experience coaching kids, but this seems absolutely ridiculous. It seems to be completely against the spirit of kids sports. I just can't fathom wanting to do something like that to another group of kids.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by primelord

I don't have any experience coaching kids, but this seems absolutely ridiculous. It seems to be completely against the spirit of kids sports. I just can't fathom wanting to do something like that to another group of kids.

The idea of kicking short and towards your best players is nothing new, to be honest. The Coronado Islanders Pop Warner squad I was an assistant on did it nearly every time.

I cringed the first time I heard that we were going to do that as well.

However, when I saw us practice a normal kickoff and actually use it in a game I understood why. Kicking the ball to the other team's two or three best players will likely result in the ball being in the same spot as a short kick or onside kick, at least that's been my experience in youth football. Some coaches will set up some elaborate returns hoping that you kick the ball deep.

Worst case scenario is that they'll return it for a touchdown. I have never saw the short kick or onside kick result in a touchdown, outside of a video or Cowboys game.

To me, the short kick is the lesser of two evils.

Potosi High School did some short kicking against two schools in particular last year. Both teams had players who had returned multiple kicks for touchdowns. In both situations we looked for a player with a number in the 50s through 70s in that second row and attempted to kick the ball at or near him.

As far as putting a boy in a position where he can do the least damage, I've seen that in youth baseball as well. I've seen coaches rotate two or three kids through right field and second base, depending on their inning requirement; the idea being that they're least likely to see the ball on that side of the field.

Shoot, I think we've all seen it in a rec softball league or three. We'll put the guy we're not too sure about or don't know at catcher, second, or right.

[Poli]

After speaking with my assistant last night, we're going to focus on our core 5 and their mirror plays, giving us 9 plays overall. Our wedge doesn't get mirrored. A wedge is a wedge for the most part.

If we can get the core 5 down cold, we may try to invest a little more time into other plays, but time is a premium at this point.

Besides knowing we can't have Jacob as our every down QB, we've also decided to try and use Carlos in the backfield. He may still end up at tight end, but we'll see how it goes.

Ashanti may end up as a tight end, if he is or can get under the weight limit. While that helps solve a few problems as far as playing time for Alex and Tyler, it would create an issue or two as far as Nick T and Jacob would be concerned.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Rodney you bastard, your latest dynasty 's drawn me back to FOFC!

Can't stay away from the orange though, can you?

[Poli]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

Rodney you bastard, your latest dynasty 's drawn me back to FOFC!

Can't stay away from the orange though, can you?

You're welcome.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by primelord

I don't have any experience coaching kids, but this seems absolutely ridiculous. It seems to be completely against the spirit of kids sports. I just can't fathom wanting to do something like that to another group of kids.

What exactly are you referring to here?

[BYU 14]

Hey Rodney, one suggestion that might help with play installation is to bring a whiteboard to practice and chalk talk a couple of plays a day. I know you made playbooks, but honestly at that age I doubt most of the kids will spend much time studying them. We don't even give the kids playbooks until they are on varsity.

With the JV and Frosh we meet 1/2 hour before practice early on and draw the plays we are putting in that day on the board and go over eceryones rules, linemen in one room, skill kids in another. We then rep them on the field extensively during groupd and team periods. After this we then review everything we have put in prior until we have our base Offense in. I will then tweak/add from there as the Season goes on depending on gameplan needs, execution and the aptitude our kids show for picking things up.

[BYU 14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by primelord
I don't have any experience coaching kids, but this seems absolutely ridiculous. It seems to be completely against the spirit of kids sports. I just can't fathom wanting to do something like that to another group of kids.

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

What exactly are you referring to here?

I don't quite get it either. A lot of teams do this at freshmen level if they can't kick deep and it has the added bonus of regaining posession here and there. I would never try it while up but a certain amount or late in a game we are winning, but use it if we don't have a strong kicker.

In the end, if it is a competitive league/High School game, it is up to the other Coach to adjust his special teams accordingly.

[Barkeep49]

Well I agree with primelord that one should not win at all costs. I'm wondering what he's seeing as ridiculous, as I've thought of at least 3 possibilities, and I think I disagree with him about 2 of them.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Poli

After speaking with my assistant last night, we're going to focus on our core 5 and their mirror plays, giving us 9 plays overall.

Good call IMO. If by the end of the season they (including the majority of offensive reserves) have the core 5 down cold I'll be impressed. Nothing against you or them, I just know my experiences with this age group do not leave me optimistic about teaching 12 of them anything

[Mike1409]

Originally Posted by primelord

I don't have any experience coaching kids, but this seems absolutely ridiculous. It seems to be completely against the spirit of kids sports. I just can't fathom wanting to do something like that to another group of kids.

The point of the short kick is more to control the return as it is to get the ball back.

In youth FB a deep kick right to their best player in open space is begging for them to return it for a TD.

[Poli]

Yesterday's practice had good and bad things happen.

Nolan forgot his cup, so he couldn't practice and went home. I'll let you decide which category that fit in.

Ray, the big boy, had a stye in his left eye. He practiced off and on.

A number of boys were missing early on, and three (Carlos, Ashanti, and Ryan) were no-shows. Ryan showed up with 10 minutes to go in street clothes, though.

I got my first look at Noah. That boy is probably our smallest now. He's at the very least tied with Nick T. He's going to have to be a wing or quarterback. I couldn't possibly have him anywhere else on the field.

[Poli]

I didn't necessarily mean to end there.

Nathaniel had his first practice as well. I could certainly use him at either position, though it might make more sense to have him at quarterback a majority of the time. He was definitely in charge of the offense when we got in a huddle.

The offensive line continues to be a headache for me. Just getting them to line up together properly is still difficult at this point, much less remembering their blocking rules.

The backfield is on point, though. They seem ready to go.

[Senator]

If the line is poor, even if the backfield is on point, won't matter much, but you already know this.

[primelord]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

Well I agree with primelord that one should not win at all costs. I'm wondering what he's seeing as ridiculous, as I've thought of at least 3 possibilities, and I think I disagree with him about 2 of them.

I was specifically talking about the statement:

"Put a speedy guy at the end kick from the 40 on the ground to the opposing 40 and out run the other team to the ball. That 2nd row edge is where teams sometimes try to hide their players as well. One game we never took a defensive snap in the first half."

I read that not as trying to control the retunr, but rather as we can get the ball back every time if we do this. If the short kick is not purely a way to try and get the ball back every time then I see no problem with it. If you jyst happen to have better athletes and can get the ball back at will with this play, then I think it sends the wrong message to do it.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by primelord

I was specifically talking about the statement:

"Put a speedy guy at the end kick from the 40 on the ground to the opposing 40 and out run the other team to the ball. That 2nd row edge is where teams sometimes try to hide their players as well. One game we never took a defensive snap in the first half."

I read that not as trying to control the retunr, but rather as we can get the ball back every time if we do this. If the short kick is not purely a way to try and get the ball back every time then I see no problem with it. If you jyst happen to have better athletes and can get the ball back at will with this play, then I think it sends the wrong message to do it.

Ok that's what I thought you were saying. To me, getting the ball back every time isn't a problem, as long as the score is close. If the score is decidedly in your favor then I think it's wrong. It's the equivalent, in basketball, of not pressing when up by 10 or 15.

[Mike1409]

Originally Posted by primelord

I was specifically talking about the statement:

"Put a speedy guy at the end kick from the 40 on the ground to the opposing 40 and out run the other team to the ball. That 2nd row edge is where teams sometimes try to hide their players as well. One game we never took a defensive snap in the first half."

I read that not as trying to control the retunr, but rather as we can get the ball back every time if we do this. If the short kick is not purely a way to try and get the ball back every time then I see no problem with it. If you jyst happen to have better athletes and can get the ball back at will with this play, then I think it sends the wrong message to do it.

Not what I was saying, but I understand how it could be mistaken. We surely don't have better athletes than other teams in the league.

The game in question, we received and drove the field. we got the kickoff back, with 8 minute qtrs we were already into the 2nd before scoring again. We then got the kick again before running out the half.

[Poli]

Wednesday's practice was a real shot in the arm. We seemingly came together and really got the toss play down well. I think we all left the practice field with confidence.

Thursday's practice was cut short by lightning in the area, which was unfortunate. The 2nd half of the practice was set to be used for defense. The line had a little trouble picking up the concept of the sweep play, but I think we'll have it down next practice.

[Poli]

Yesterday's practice went well for the most part. We had a few problems focusing at first, but I was able to rope them in and get it going. One of the problems was neither of my 'assistants' were there at the beginning. Bryce's dad was at a job site. Nathaniel and Noah's dad was still in surgery 30 minutes before practice. Once he showed up, it allowed us to break into two groups and get some things accomplished.

We went through the warmups and tackling, though tackling looking fairly poor. I believe that was because I had 16 of the boys going through one station, though. Afterward, I broke down our defense, covering the basic principles of each position. That's when the good doctor showed up.

I let him take our corners and backers and work on bump and run while I took our defensive linemen and worked on 4 point stances, defeating double teams and traps. I have to admit, I'm really happy with how they did that. In fact, I think NOLAN may be able to clog a gap. I'm really happy about that.

I noticed we were behind schedule, so I scrapped team defense. We probably need another day of that before I bring them in together anyhow.

We went to 'skill offense' as I call it after that. Skill players with the other coach, line with me. Amazingly, these boys were NAILING what they needed to do for the most part. I explained that counter and toss are the same thing for us, and they were getting it. Still a hiccup here and there, but very positive. I'm even happier knowing I may be able to get by without Nolan on offense. I can let him clog gaps on defense for a living.

Team offense was the last part before we headed out for the night. We ran the toss both ways, the sweep both ways, and the wedge. If all goes well, we can probably have the counter and the pass installed tomorrow.

I'm still having player personnel issues. Bryce, without his dad, was really showing off. He tends to show off from time to time, but he was really having at it last night.

Carlos was complaining that he had a cyst on his side. It appeared to be an off and on cyst. If it involved him running without getting hit, he was healthy enough. If it involved him being touched, that was a different matter.

Ashanti may continue to be a thorn in my side. He's hinting that he doesn't want to play defensive line, but I will not budge on that. He's simply not fast enough to play a corner, end, or backer position for me. He'll have to give up that dream. Shoot, the only reason I 'gave' in on the tight end position is because it's just a glorified tackle in our offense. If he catches five balls on the year I'll be surprised.

[Barkeep49]

Sounds like you're making good use of your time, especially when you have your assistants there.

[Poli]

Yesterday's practice was called for rain, which didn't give me a good vibe about today. Sure enough, an hour in and we're cancelled.

The good news: We are looking better on defense. I think the assistants are now picking up what I'm putting down there. I think we'll be ready for a scrimmage next week.

Tackling was much better. Solid hitting during this practice. We may have a boy or two who still need work, but that's not bad at all.

Bad news: No work on the offense today. Saturday will have to be packed and ready to go.

Half our team was 10 minutes late! I don't know how to get the parents to have their boys on time. I certainly can't dock half the boys their playing time, someone has to be out there. I'm miffed at what to do there.

Tyler W. has quit the team. Apparently we have a bully on our team. I've got one or two guesses. One might be Bryce, the assistant's son, and the other David C., the boy who hasn't played football before. They are only guesses, the mom didn't tell me who was actually picking on her boy. I was just told he was groaning about going, how this boy was picking on him, and apparently there's been a history of this with the bully that the parents are fully aware of. I'm sad to see him go, I expected him to contribute quite a bit at left tackle.

Tyler was undersized, but big enough to get in some of the boys way. That's really all I could ask for.

It gives me a problem or two. Do I move Ashanti T. back to tackle, go with Alex S., or possibly move David C. to tackle. David's short on football experience but hasn't been afraid to hit. He might work out well at tackle.

I'm actually hoping Ashanti comes in over the ballcarrier weight limit so I won't have to deal with it.

Official weigh ins are Saturday morning, we'll be going over as a team after practice...and since no league official will be out there with us, we can practice in the rain all I want that morning.

[Barkeep49]

It always stinks to walk into an existing dynamic. At my previous school they basically didn't change which kids were in what classes starting in 1st grade. This meant by the time they got to me in 4th grade I was walking into a social minefield. It's too bad that Tyler ended up quitting.

[Poli]

Thanks BK for the earlier comment about the use of the assistants. Basically, I don't want to waste their time, the boys time, or my time. I really don't want boys standing around too much.

We'll practice this morning from 8-10. Bryce and his dad are out of town, so I'll get an opportunity to see someone else at wing as well. The official weigh in for the team is immediately after practice at the local elementary school. Bryce will have to make a weigh in next week for another town.

The rain the past couple of days will really make the field wet and the ground soaked. We're probably in for a soggy practice, but we have to get it in. Forecast is for more rain, but as I type this it's not around.

With Tyler gone, I'll have to take a look at David at tackle. I'm nervous about moving him at this stage, but something has to be done. I'll cross my fingers that Ashanti will be over the 100lb weight limit, but at last guess I think he'll be just under.

Offensively speaking, I'm having little problem splitting the boys between line and backs. We don't have receivers to speak of, so there's really not an issue there. I usually put the ends with me on the line, but I'd really like to get them to work with the backs at times as well. I have to find a good mix for them.

Defensively, I'm struggling a bit to get them all flowing properly. Essentially, I have five positions on the field. The tackles, which honestly have the easiest job, the ends, which probably have the second easiest as far as assignment, linebackers, corners, and the monster/safety.

I think I need to break their portion of defensive work into a run defense period and pass defense period, and maybe use a split team at that. With so many moving parts over there, I really want to see it and be a part of that to make sure we're doing things right.

I'm thinking of asking Hunter's dad to help with the line, at least during practice. So far, I believe he's the only dad to make every practice, even among my assistants. He'd free me up to help with the offensive backs as well as the perimeter defenders.

One last thing. I witnessed the Bulldog coaches and their sons practicing 3-4 plays at 5pm yesterday, an hour before official practice begins.

1. That's illegal. I'm sure the league's "Mr. Important" would be pissed to hear that.
2. They did it in front of me. They clearly knew I was there, kept on doing it. So, what's a Poli to do? Hey they took advantage of the time, so did I. I wrote down everything they did.

Basically they're lining up in a straight T. They may motion out a back, but he's likely to get the ball one way or another...pass or he returns to the backfield on a 'reverse'. Their fullback counter might be the toughest thing for my team to handle as it appears to go off tackle. With my ends boxing to the deepest man, he could slide under and the linebacker over there could possibly see flow away and try running for it. We'll have to drill that counter at the backers for sure.

Otherwise, every one of their plays should result in a loss for them. I think our ends will be smart enough to stop those reverses and bootlegs all day.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Poli

1. That's illegal. I'm sure the league's "Mr. Important" would be pissed to hear that.
2. They did it in front of me. They clearly knew I was there, kept on doing it. So, what's a Poli to do? Hey they took advantage of the time, so did I. I wrote down everything they did.

You know what they are going to say here....We were just out with our boys playing around. It's too bad they didn't have somebody that was not one of their kids with them. I think that may backfire on them in another way. Can you imagine bringing your child for the "real" practice and seeing their coaches working with their Kids only? Can't be good for team chemistry.

[Poli]

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

[Barkeep49]

I notice Ashanti just barely made as you expected. I'd hoped that kid had done a box of Krispy Kremes for breakfast. Also all the absences? You've got to roll with them, cause there is no avoiding them. And when you figure out how to roll with them let me know.

[Senator]

It is very hard when you have few players on the team, because you almost have to play them quite a bit. If you can; I would suggest talking or emailing the parents and telling them that they will min play if they miss practices. It may not be practical but it sure solved my problem when I had this. I told them I installed pieces of the offense each practice and if they did not know what to do it would not be fair to anyone to play them. Suddenly, no more missed practices.

[Poli]

Ashanti making weight really hurt in a way. To find out he was just 3 pounds off. Bryce's dad had alerted Ashanti and his mom to the weight restriction. That probably ruined Ashanti's time on the line.

I'll have to get a hold of the parents that had boys miss the weigh in and let them know the next weigh in is the last.

What it does tell me is that Wednesday's practice is going to be very similar to yesterday's. We'll be running around with 12-13 boys again.

[terpkristin]

Man, most of this is gibberish to me.
But what I understand I'm enjoying.

/tk

P.S. A youth league that does a draft like that sickens me.

[Poli]

I kinda got my calendar mixed up. The next weigh in is September 3rd, not tomorrow. That's good, it will allow me to work with David at tackle some more.

Today's practice will hopefully be highlighted by some 8 on 8 scrimmage within the team. I'll be using a center, guard, tackle, and tight end on the line. The full 'backfield' will be involved as well.

The defense will field three tackles, two in the A gaps, the other on the playside B gap. That allows for the center to have someone to block. Our backer will be over the tight end, corners over wings, and a monster.

I'll switch a few players from side to side as we go, but for the most part I want to stick to a left/right side of the offense working together.

This should allow me to see a few things at the same time. On the Toss, our end should box to as deep as the fullback. Does he? Does the fullback go out to meet him and block him out? Are we double teaming the backer like we should? Is the backer fighting through the double team? Who is making the tackles?

We shouldn't be able to run the sweep normally. The end should kill us on it. Is he?

We'll run a counter to check how the defense reacts, and finally throw our first pass as well.