Saturday, April 16, 2016

High School Football Coach - Grading Players

Grading Players

The topic of grading players came up this Thursday at DCHS.
The Offensive and Defensive coordinators are trying to come together to have similar grade sheets for the kids this season.  The goal is to give the kids something that they can understand if they are involved on both offense and defense.  It's also a way to point out why certain kids are paying and why others are not.
The topic reminded me of an olds John Wooden speech in which he touches on the subject of grading students and measuring success.

Go here to watch the speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s_hlvhwmvg
It's worth your time.

Flag Football Coach - Practice 4

Much better this time out.
I was right.  It was the coaches fault.
IE - ME
I shook off the ill feelings I had toward my kids and set out to make this week memorable for my players.
Our practice plan looked like this.

Pre-Practice
Warm-up/ Stretch - Get loose and test their focus.
Flag Pulling Session - Sharks and Minnows
Relay Race - Around cone and hand off to teammate (push-ups for the losing team)
H20
Intro Passing fundamentals
Passing drills - Include as many fathers as possible.
Flag Pulling Session - Duck, Duck, Goose
H2O
Intro Formation
Intro Misdirection
Scrimmage

Some things I tried this week to keep the kids interested:
Silly String - The kids don't seem to grasp why it's important to listen where to stand... So I bought three cans of silly string and (literally) drew their spots on the grass.  There were now visual clues as to where to line up and where to run during our play.
I could also spray the kids who weren't paying attention in a fun and engaging way.
Also, I offered the best listeners the opportunity to get the silly string cans after practice and spray me, IF THEY DID THEIR WORK.
Deck of Cards - This was how I taught "misdirection."  I did a magic trick and then told the kids how it was done.  (The Alliance would be livid)  I did this to illustrate how offensive plays work.  The offense it literally trying to misdirect the defense to achieve their goal of moving the ball.

It seemed to work. The kids focus and overall enjoyment improved.
It's a step in the right direction for next week.