Hope - Faith

Life of Reilly
By Rick Reilly
There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels better than winning.

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."
Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

Coaching Question

Got this question from a coach today:

Christopher E. Shaull wrote
Is there material out there that deals mainly with the overall theory of defenses. What I would like is What is the purpose of the 4-3 or 4-4 or 5-2? What is the strength and the weakness of each over the other?. How do you shift the secondary for protection. What do you look for on offense to key these changes and how do you break it down to teach in only two practices a week. I have done ok focusing on just two major factors a year. As 10 year olds they learned technique and gaps, as 11 year olds we focused on Containment and pursuit angels and as 12 year olds we focused on different techniques for the front five and the the secondary cover two and three. We had problems with the cover three and ended up dropping it for a nickle package. As 13 year olds I want to focus on the 4-3 and 4-4 but I'm having trouble understanding how to teach zone coverage with the LB's which I have come to learn means reading keys.

So . . . I put together the following answer . . . and feel free to help out a guy who is asking us for help:

This is strictly from my experience as a coach over a 50+ year experience as a player, coach and student of the game. Early on . . . defense was geared to stop the single wing, so the old single wing Ds were things like the 6-2-3, 6-3-2, 7 Box, 7 Diamond, and Gap 8.

The Split-T is a formation used by the offense in football games in the 1940s and 50's and a variation on the T formation. Developed by Missouri Tigers head coach Don Faurot, the Split-T was first used in the 1941 season and allowed the Tigers to win all but their season opening match against the Ohio State Buckeyes and in the 1942 Sugar Bowl versus Fordham University[1]. It is most well-known for helping the Oklahoma Sooners win a record-setting 47 straight games and two national titles between 1953 and '57.

With the advent of the Split T, and Wing T formations, play action passes, etc., along came the 5-2 Oklahoma Defense. It is a good defense against the run and also provides for covering the increased passing game that came with T formation football.5-2

A 5-2 defense is a defense with 5 defensive linemen and 2 linebackers. The defensive linemen almost always line up to the weak side, with the backside lineman on the outside shoulder of the end man on the offensive LOS.Because the extra defensive lineman makes this a strong defense against the run, it is more popular in leagues (or specific situations) that favor the running game. Thus, this defense is most often used in middle school and little league, and occasionally in different looks and variations in the NFL or college. The 5-2 used to be more popular in college football, when the running game was much more prevalent; for example, teams in the 1980s would often employ the 5-2 to combat the extremely run-oriented offenses of the time. From the mid-1950s until the early 1990s, the 5-2 was the base formation for most teams in the Big Eight Conference, due to the powerful rushing attacks of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Oklahoma Sooners, and later in the 1980s, the Colorado Buffaloes. Currently, the Arizona Cardinals use this defense regularly, in addition to their base 4-3.The benefit of having a 5-2 is that it adds size to your defense by replacing a linebacker with a defensive lineman. This helps in short-yardage situations where you want to stall the line of scrimmage and not give up the inside run. The disadvantage is in pass coverage -- most 5-2 teams will rush all 5 defensive linemen leaving only 6 pass defenders. In some circumstances a 5-2 team will drop one of the linemen, typically an end, off into coverage. But this is primarily a situational defense, and not often used in situations where downfield pass coverage is a significant concern.

As it developed, the 5-2 added slanting defensive fronts which really became popular in the 60s: the angle 5 defense was combined with the "Monster" which really was a strong safety that would align to the strength of the formation determined by the Flanker or slot back. With the dead T or single wing, there was not much need for the monster, but as people started to split people in the formation, the monster help with run support and flat coverage to strong side. A wise secondary coach once told me that if you do not want to get beat deep, make sure you have those three deep defenders which can be achieved with this alignment. Then things really began to change in the 70s and especially the 80s. The wishbone was really popular which meant that the 50 and 60 fronts would stay in place. But the development of the one back systems begin which cause havoc with defensive coordinators because the offense is spread 4 defenders across the field and you just cannot adequately cover them with a 52 defense.

Early on, coaches (including me) would drop of a DE into what was called a 'robber' position to take away and cover one of those receivers. The only person that got robbed was me because I was trying to take someone who was not used to playing pass coverage, the DE, and making him cover one of their best players, usually the Tailback who got split. So . . . I had to give up the 52 defense in order to get better pass coverage and so did lots of other 52 diehard coaches. But when teams come our in shotgun (instant pass protection), no backs and call the play at the LOS, you are not going to be able to play any kind of 52 defense. You will get killed.

We experimented with a 44 look for a time. I tried to incorporate 52 monster-angle defense into a 44 look. Work for a short time against pro style attacks but not the one back spread systems of the 90s. So we adapted to a 4-3-4. We feel that we can adjust out of this alignment better than any other. By that I mean we can get ourselves to a 50 D or a 30 defense faster, easier, with as little a disruption to other members of the defense as possible. For Example, when we have to go up against a Double Wing offense, double tight-double wing, we shift into a 50 look by placing the MLB'er down over the center to take away the inside game, disrupt the pulling linemen, and force inside out sideline to sideline. EVERYONE else on the defense plays their regular position. That equals little disruption.

We can also move to a 30 defense and play a 3-5-3 by removing one DT, having the other DT play over the center and everyone else plays their regular position and responsibilities.We have 7.25 coverages that we can choose from at any time. Basically we have 3 running defensive alignments (mostly 52), 3 passing defenses and coverages, a goal line D, and that .25 defense, the prevent which we would use only on the last play of the half or the game and at no other time. My son calls it 'the prevent winning' defense.

If we are playing a running scheme, we will practice the running defenses and coverage more that week. Next week we see the wide open shotgun no back people, we would practice the passing defenses and coverages. But they all would be ready at any given time because we have practiced them all season, each year, every year.

So . . . that's a bit on how and why things developed and are played according to my experience.....and the experience of many others.

New Year's Eve Games

Happy New Year!

Five Games on tap for today! I remember how we would wait for New Years Day because that would be one day during the year when we could get 3 games to watch. THREE GAMES! Course now with NFL Ticket and such, people have those packages that enable a guy to watch what, a dozen or more games in a day?

I remember years ago taking to the kids in history class about how some day, in the future, there will be a convergence of technology with the phone, the TV and the computer all coming together into one unit, Like what my yuppie son has with his iPhone – I WANT ONE ALONG WITH A NEW MACBOOK PRO like my yuppie nephew has.

Join us on the EQualizer Group discussion board: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=59835380816 during the day. The site offers us a better venue to post and discuss things in real time while watching the game.

Five games is a bit much for me or anyone for that matter I would think, but I’ll be watching some of AFA, OSU obviously, and GA Tech for some.


Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Houston vs. Air Force Fort Worth, Texas Amon G. Carter Stadium
Dec. 31, Noon ESPN

Brut Sun
Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh El Paso, Texas
Sun Bowl Dec. 31, 2 p.m.

CBS Gaylord Hotels Music City
Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
Nashville, Tenn.LP Field Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. ESPN

Insight
Kansas vs. Minnesota
Tempe, Ariz.Sun Devil Stadium Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m. NFL Network

Chick-fil-A - Eat more Chiken
LSU vs. Georgia Tech
Atlanta Georgia Dome Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ESPN

NFL Playoffs

Here's a link to the Bracket: http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/standings/playoffrace/bracket

Which team has the best shot of making it? Certainly is a strange year . . . Pats out AZ in. Anything can happen!

EQuote of the Week

EQuote of the Week:
12.28.08

You've got to get the FUNdaMENTALS down,
Because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work.
What Randy learned from Coach Graham in Pop Warner Football
Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Question of the Week?
How FUNdaMENTALLY sound is your 'Game?'

-----------------
Dying prof tackles final dream -- the NFL
By Allison M. Heinrichs

(FreebNote: Before Randy passed recently, he was able to achieve another childhood dream; this is the account of the day, 10.04.2007.)

It wasn't quite playing in the National Football League, but to Randy Pausch it was close enough. The Carnegie Mellon University professor who became a worldwide sensation last month after giving his "last lecture" about achieving childhood dreams, achieved his last dream on Wednesday: He practiced with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"This is great," said Pausch, 46, grinning from ear to ear as he sprinted out on the Steelers practice field in the South Side to catch some throws from wide receiver Hines Ward.
Pausch, who co-founded Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center and created free software to encourage girls to get into computer science, expects to die in the next several months.

The father of three young children learned last year that he has pancreatic cancer and began a grueling treatment regimen. In August, he learned that the cancer was back and there was nothing more the doctors could do.

On Sept. 18, he told a capacity crowd of almost 400 people who gathered in Carnegie Mellon's biggest auditorium the story of how he went about achieving his childhood dreams of being in zero gravity, authoring an article in the World Book Encyclopedia, being Captain Kirk, winning the big stuffed animals at amusement parks and working for Disney. He also told about his dream of playing in the NFL.

"I did not make it to the National Football League, but I probably got more from that dream and not accomplishing it than I got from any of the ones that I did accomplish," he said during his lecture.

He went on to explain the lessons he learned from playing football as a kid -- chief among them that it isn't always bad when the coach is yelling at you because "when you're screwing up and nobody's saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up."

Before the speech, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review chronicled his good-bye to friends and colleagues. Since then Pausch has been inundated with e-mails -- so many that Carnegie Mellon is hiring a temporary worker to help sort through them all.

"They range anywhere from people just wanting copies of the (speech), some wanting transcripts, to some people just wishing him well," said Cathy Ribarchak, a senior administrative associate at Carnegie Mellon who has helped process some of the e-mails.

"They're coming from all over the world. There are some e-mails that are probably in Chinese or Japanese -- I can't even read them."

Among the comments:

• "This man makes me want to be a better person. I feel humbled."
• "I think the question we all have been asked, 'If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be?' Without a doubt, I would choose the professor."
• "If I can just change someone's life like you have changed many, I will be thrilled."

Never in his wildest dreams did Pausch expect all the attention. In fact, he made a bet with friends that he wouldn't even be able to fill the 350-seat auditorium.

"It's very flattering and embarrassing," he said.

Beneath sunny skies yesterday, Pausch jumped and dove to snatch every single pass from Ward out of midair. Clad in a No. 86 jersey and navy blue shorts that showed off his skinny legs, he looked every bit the professor, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said his moves were respectable.

"You know, Hines doesn't have to worry about his job security, but (Pausch is) impressive," Tomlin said, adding that he, too, was inspired by Pausch's story.

After practice, Pausch visited the Steelers offices, where he met Chairman Dan Rooney and team President Art Rooney II. He spent a few quiet minutes with the Steelers' five Vince Lombardi trophies.

"I'm glad you came down," Dan Rooney said. "I saw you outside with all the guys -- you were great."

They chatted about Carnegie Mellon, the integrity with which Pausch believes the Rooneys run the Steelers organization and the Steelers' chances for a Super Bowl win this season.

"I'll make you guys a promise," Pausch said. "You get into that Super Bowl, I'll live to see it."

FreebNote: To see Randy's Last Lecture go to http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5700431505846055184

The Facebook Thing

The Facebook thing is out of control. I had no idea! It's unreal. It is amazing how the thing grows. People just fall out of the sky on to your page from years past.

I can really see how the kids can get lost in what they are doing and spend FAR TOO MUCH TIME online going back and forth with people on Facebook or MySpace - or both!


It is amazing how the thing grows.

We have started up an EQualizer Group there for coaches. I think it has great possibilities for interaction with discussion boards, ability to post up video, and make comments. Check it out. I'm thinking to join it, you will need to send me an email: coachfreeb@bfsmail.com and ask to be on, then I send you an invite from the board, you confirm and you are in.


Also, you have to see this video of my Grandson Kade sledding . . . it's a hoot!


Enjoy!


Be11!


RF

Facebook

I have joined my children doing the Facebook thing. Here's the deal. The program has the ability to form a discussion group that would be just for us. We could use this forum to exchange information and interact online.

While we are watching a game on TV, we could be making comments about the game and 'talking' to each other. They also have a message board where we could post up discussions and such.

You are invited to join in. I am new at this so perhaps we can learn together. We can post pictures and video. For example, Martin could post up some video of his undefeated championship season (maybe of that TE screen he keeps talking about) and we all could learn from it.

Or you could post up some video of a problem that you have and others could look at it and maybe help.

So . . . join up with The Facebook thing and add me as a Friend if you are not on Facebook as yet; those of you that are, I'mguessing that you know how to add me already. I'm learning.

Be11! RF

DailyDose - FreebFactor

The DailyDose:

Have you visited the DailyDose?
http://jvm.com/coachfree/1DailyDose.html

The idea behind The DailyDose is that we have gathered motivational thoughts and stories from across the web that relate to the Quote of the Week, most of the time they relate.
Each one is designed to be copied, pasted into your word processor, duplicated (one page front and back) and given out to the kids right at the end of class, enough time to get started reading it, not enough time to finish so they would pull it out later in the day to complete.

Here is a thought from one:

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are,You would never think a negative thought."Peace Pilgrim

TheFreebFactor: Thoughts rule the universe. Everything there is was once a thought, conjured up in someone’s mind, a vision, a picture of a better tomorrow due to your thoughts of today. Think of thoughts that have altered the course of human history: We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . ; I have a dream . . . ; Ask not . . . ; The only thing we have to fear . . . ; And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus. The greatest Story Ever Told changed the course of mankind for eternity. Factor this: Bad thoughts can never produce good results; Good thoughts can never produce bad results and neither can exist while thinking the other. Your future is determined by what you're thinking today. We have our walking papers: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Philippians 4:7-9

Greetings from perpetual Springtime! That's what I tell everyone about where I live . . . However, we have had a good old fashioned 3 days of snow. The most I have ever seen here was about 3 inches like four years ago . . . we have two feet out in the yard now. Amazing! More on the way Christmas Eve!

Can you say White Christmas?

And it keeps on coming . . . That picture I posted last night? It's incomplete - there's and additional 5 inches of snow . . . wnd it is snowing rather heavy as we speak.
I am one of those people who go out on Christmas Eve and shop . . . there will be a lot more people with me this year because people have not been able to get out or get to work for the past 3-4 days.
It really is beautiful and the thing that makes it bearable is knowing that next week it will all be gone when the rains will wsh it all away. Not like it is back East. Daughter Lindsay lives west of Chicago. Wind chill there is -33, that is C O L D; and back there you know it is going to drag on for months.
I can put up with a few days, right?

We has another round of snow and ice toady. It is piling up. Very rare event - right now we are at a 30 year event. And they say it is going to last for a few more days.

PDX canceled all flights; Amtrack stalled out on a bridge; and I-84's been closed for 2 days.

Lots of people are stranded.

Looks like a White Christmas.

The idea that we need “time off”
Comes from working for another,
To fulfill another man's dream.
If your life is directed
Toward fulfilling your dream,
Why would you want to take
“Time off” from that?
by CoachFreeb

Are you engaged in a job or a career? A job is something that you do to make some money so that you can maintain a certain standard of living. High School students bag at the food market, flip burgers at the fast food establishments, bus tables in restaurants to make a few bucks to buy some stuff. Making a career out of, “Will that be paper, or plastic?” however, is not what anyone would visualize themselves doing ten or fifteen years down the road.

A career is what you do, not only for money, but there are a great deal of other “intangibles” that are involved such as: rewarding, satisfying, fulfilling, actualizing. James A. Michner paints a good picture saying, “The Master in the Art of Living simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he’s always doing both.” When you are in the active pursuit of making your dreams come true, why would you ever want to take time off from that?

People have been criticized as workaholics. Are they really workaholics or do they just love what they do? When you love what you do, are absolutely enthralled, so totally engrossed in the task at hand that you transcend time, how can that be considered work?

Is this totally transcended state of being a rare occurrence in our society? Not if we look at our children who become infatuated with the latest computer or arcade game. They can sit and play that game for hours and hours and never tire of it. Parents have a hard time understanding how their kids can spend so much time with the same game. It’s not too big a stretch to say that the same type of misunderstanding may exist when those people engaged in “work” view those who are on a career mission.

Many of us have to rekindle those feelings of youth when we were enthusiastic, dedicated, committed, and absolutely determined to succeed. Determine what you want to be, do and have; summon up the courage to follow that dream and attack it with the freshness of youth.

Quote of the Week: 12.21.08

A lot of people want a shortcut.
I find the best shortcut is the long way,

Which is basically two words: HARD WORK!
If you work more hours than somebody else,
During those hours you learn more about your craft,
Making you more efficeinet, more able, even happier.
Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Kiley, 2007 BFS Female Athlete of the Year,

Works hard to gain a competitive edge.
And will live the rest of her life as a CHAMPION!

As will the athletes at the 2006 BFS

High School of the Year - Logansport Indiana

Question of the Week?

What would it take for You, Your school,

To develop such a Competitive Edge?

SNOW!

For you guys back East . . . this is nothing new, But for us, this is an event. WE have not had snow like this at our house since it was built - 10 years ago.

We are supposed to get six inches or more this weekend. There hasn't been six inches of snow in town since I have lived here, almost 15 years now.

And Jacquie wants to go shopping! "We need some things."

I do have a GMS Safari Van equipped with studded tires that goes like a tank so we should be OK...of course, that does not take into consideration the other crazy people on the road.

Value of Being An 11 Team

The Quote of the Day for today reminded me of something I wrote a while back on the Value of Being an 11 Team. First the Quote:

The Be An 11! Quote of the Day: 12.19.2008
Catch the Fever Be An 11! BELIEVER!

The single most intimidating element of competition,
Aside from raw talent,
Is a Team working and playing hard for the entire game.
“Here they come again! These guys just keep coming!
What are they going to do THIS time?

What are We going to do this time?
Coach K

THE ELEVEN ATHLETE

Rest & Nutrition
Year Round Training
Record Keeping
Sprint Training
Agility Training
Endurance Training
Flexibility Training
Plyometric Training
Strength Training
Skill Training
Mental Training – Be an 11

All of these things go together. It is a synergistic system. Leave one of the components out, and one achieves far less that what’s possible.

To understand the importance of synergy, I have written the following to try and clarify:

The Value of Being An 11 Team
by CoachFreeb

John C. Maxwell in his new book, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork,
writes:

As much as any team likes to measure itself by its best people, the truth is that the strength of the team is impacted by its weakest link. No matter how much people try to rationalize it, compensate for it, or hide it, a weak link will eventually come to light That’s the law of the Chain (#5).
Weak team members always take more of the team’s time than strong ones.
One reason is that the more competent people have to give their time to compensate for those who don’t carry their share of the load. The greater difference in competence between the more accomplished performers and the less accomplished ones, the greater the detriment to the team. For example, if you rate people on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best), a 5 among 10s really hurts the team where an 8 among 10s often does not.
Let me show you how this works. When you first put together a group of people, their talents come together in a way that is analogous to addition. So visually a 5 among 10s looks like this:

10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 5 = 45

The difference between this team and great ones with five 10s is like the difference between 50 and 45. That’s a difference of 10 percent. But once a team comes together and starts to develop chemistry, synergy, and momentum, it’s analogous to multiplication. That’s when a weak link really starts to hurt the team. It’s the difference between this:

10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 = 100,000

and this:

10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 5 = 50,000

That’s a difference of 50 percent! The power and momentum of the team may be able to compensate for a weak link for a while, but not forever. A weakling eventually robs the team of momentum – and potential.

Now, what would happen if each of those team members committed to Being An 11? Is that possible? Can ALL team members choose to Be An 11? The answer is, CERTAINLY! Being An 11 is an attitude, an expectation, a commitment. When all team members develop an 11 approach the effect on the team would look like
this:

11 X 11 X 11 X 11 X 11 X = 161,051

That’s a difference of more than 61%! The whole IS greater than the sum of its parts. The power and momentum of the team is accelerated beyond what was previously thought to be possible. Members of the team no longer have to compensate, in fact, they feed off each other and their efforts multiply. The dream, the goal, the vision is achieved in an unbelievably sort period of time. It is the development of this BFS, Be An 11 Attitude that is responsible for those remarkable turnaround seasons that are chronicled in this BFS Journal year after year.
As BFS Clinician Jeff Scuran points out the answers are simple but not necessarily easy, “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.” Not everyone is willing to put self aside, to make those sacrifices that are necessary, to adopt that BFS Attitude of:

No matter how long it takes;
No matter how hard it is;
No matter how much it costs;
No matter what I personally have to personally sacrifice;

I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve our goals.
It’s going to be because of me.
The Best is yet to be!

When you can get a bunch of people together willing to make that kind of commitment, as a group, then you have the makings of a Championship caliber team.

STREAK PASS

Streak Pass

This from the online playbook at www.jvm.com/coachfree: The streak pass is what some people call the fade route. The way we call this play is pro right 100 double streak, y-6. This pass is a spot pass. If the ball is on the hash or the middle of the field, we are throwing to a spot that is 22 yards downfield and 3 yards in from the sideline. This is where we want the receiver to catch the ball. A shorter pass will not allow the receiver to maneuver; a longer pass will give the defense too much time to adjust while the ball is in the air.



Either with the call from the sidelines or the pre-snap read, the QB determines which side of the formation he will throw to, and the QB has one read on this play. Focusing on the deep defender, the QB will deliver the ball to the outside receiver if that defender’s hips are pointing at the QB. If the QB can see both hip bones, he delivers the ball on a three step drop. This play must be practiced everyday. The QB and the receiver must have faith in each other. The QB must have faith that the receiver will be at the spot in position to catch the ball at 22 yards. The receiver must have faith that the ball will be coming down at the spot.

This pass must be a rainbow pass, up and over the defense. It must have a lot of air under it. It is the job of the receiver to keep the defender on his back. When the ball is snapped the receiver will break off the line driving at the outside shoulder of the defender who generally will be in some sort of a back peddle position. At a depth of 10 yards the receiver will widen approximately 5 yards and increase speed looking for the ball as he continues his route. It is important that the receiver only turn his head to look for the ball. His shoulders must still be square to the goal line or his speed will be diminished. At this point the receiver will be @ 5 yards in from the sideline. The ball will be coming down 2 yards to his outside shoulder. Staying 5 yards in from the sideline keeps the defender inside and on the receiver's back. The only person who can catch the ball is the receiver. In order for the defender to get to the ball, he would have to go through the receiver to get it, and that, of course, is pass interference. It is important for the receiver to catch the ball at the highest point possible. Get both hands up to catch the ball above the shoulders. Waiting for the ball to come down to you invites troubles that we do not want.

--
The thing I failed to mention there is that if the defender has turned his hips to run with the wide receiver, the QB should come off him and deliver the ball to the TE running the Curl route. To do this, the QB should take another 2 steps on the drop and scan back to locate the TE on his route. Stride to the receiver and deliver the ball.

This is the same ‘read’ we use on the “Wheel” route. Say we are in a doubles or doubles wide formation and call a wheel route. The outside receiver runs a Curl route and the inside receiver runs an out and up. The QB takes a 5 step drop. This is a timing thing. We want the QB making the read, and the receivers to be in the proper position to make the read. The QB reads the defender’s hips. If the defender has both hip bones pointed to the QB, usually means he is locked on the curl route and we want to deliver the ball up, over, and to the outside on the out and up route.

The steak pass must be one of those routes that the kids practice on their own, like before practice. When we run the drill in practice, we take 4 scrimmage vests and make a 2 yard by 2 yard square 22 yards down field and three yards in from the sideline for the QB to throw to and for the receiver to run his route to. If they want to throw and catch this pass in the game, they have to practice it on their own before and after practice to get it right.

For us, the mark of a good receiver is the ability to adjust to the ball while in the air. This is becoming more of a lost art as kids are inside playing more and not out playing ball: football, basketball, baseball. All those involve tracking a ball in the air, and you do not get that ability staying inside and playing Wii. Remember, it is the job of the receiver to make the QB look good in the passing game.

We get a great deal of 2 Deep coverage which means that the deep safeties are playing inside the split receivers a great deal of the time. During the course of the game, they have a tendency to get further inside to tackle the FB who is gaining yardage and first downs. That will leave that dead zone in coverage open to throw to. If you try and throw deeper than the 22 yards, coverage will get there from that inside safety. So the timing has to be right, and the ball needs to come down on the spot.

A gifted receiver will be able to look over his outside shoulder for the ball. Of course the QB has to be able to drop the ball on that shoulder. Most receivers, however, will have to look inside and pick the ball up earlier. It took me quite a number of years to get it threw my brain that most receivers do not have the ability to look over their outside shoulder. It is a plus if you have one.

Over the years, we do not throw a ton of these passes. In fact, we do not necessarily throw that many passes during a game, usually around 12-15 is the teams are somewhat evenly matched – sometimes up to 20. The reason is that we are usually ahead, moving the ball down the field with the running game, controlling the clock. If you are ahead by 2 TDs or more running the ball, is there a need to pass?

One year we went to play a team that had made the USA Today list for offensive stats, you know, that Honorable Mention list that comes out on TU’s. Anyway, he had passed for over 500 yards and 7 TDs the week before our game. That’s a challenge. Our two key ingredients were: (1) control the ball and the clock offensively. We wanted to keep him on the bench while we were making first downs, taking time off the clock, and eventually scoring more points; (2) He was a dropback QB who was great at read the defense and hitting the hot receiver, but he did not want to scramble unless absolutely necessary. So . . . we devised a 5-Under Man scheme to take away all those short, hot receivers, and made sure we got a controlled rush on him in the pocket. We covered for 3-4 seconds which was enough time to get to him. He tried to force the ball into coverage because he was frustrated by being on the bench while our offense marched the ball down the field and we were able to make a couple picks.

Later on in the game, about three minutes into the 4th Qtr., they punted the ball to us; it went out of bounds like on our 12 yard line. Time for the offense to take over. We put together on of those 15 play, grind it out drives, took maybe 7 minutes off the clock, scored to go up by like 9 points . . . game over. I do not think we passed the ball during that drive. It was a sweet victory.

NO EXCUSES!

No excuses: Any excuse for non-performance, however valid, softens the character. It is a sedative against one’s own conscience. When someone uses an excuse, he attempts to convince both himself an others that unsatisfactory performance is somehow acceptable. He is, perhaps unconsciously, attempting to divert attention from performance; the only thing that counts is his own want for sympathy. The user is dishonest with himself as well as with others. No matter how good or how valid, the excuse never changes performance.

The world measures success in terms of performance alone. No man is remembered in history for what he would have accomplished. History never asks how hard it was to do the job, nor considers the obstacles that had to be overcome. It never measures the handicaps. It counts only one thing - PERFORMANCE. No man ever performed a worthwhile task without consciously ignoring a plausible excuse.

To use an excuse is a habit. We cannot have both the performance habit and the excuse habit. We all have a supply of excuses. The more we use them, the lower our standards become and the poorer our performance. The better we perform, the less plausible our excuses become.Next time you want to defend your sub-par performance, say instead (at least to yourself), “NO EXCUSES!’

CoachM's comment about talking to his kids reminded me of the above passage from our 'Be An 11! Guidebook For Success.'' To it I would add that "The major reason for failure in life is giving up what we want most (to run faster, jump higher, be more explosive and successful in the future) for what we want at the moment (all those things that his kids are making excuses about).

Everything one does counts. Whatever you do takes you either closer to or farther away from reaching your goals. There is no neutral ground. Even if you are "stay neutral" for a couple days (like out here we are having a 30 year weather event and schools have been closed for several days, more snow for some areas today), probably no more school till JAN 5th. That would be 3 weeks with no lifting, UNLESS, a coach and his players made special arrangements to get their workouts in.

Do you think there are some teams that are figuring out a way to get in their workouts? Think about it, YOU may have to play them. Bottom line is: You either get your workouts in - or you don't. The world doesn't care about all the mitigating factors that you might have to overcome. In fact, as we have said many times, the obstacles and hurdles are put in your path to see how much you really want what you say you want. It is there to test your mettle, your grit, to see if you really deserve it.

And let us not forget what Lombardi said about all this:

"Each week after the battle, one group savors victory; another lives in the bitterness of defeat. The practice and the hard work of the season seem a small price to pay for having won. But there are no reasons that are adequate for having lost. For the loser there must be one hundred percent determination and dedication to win next time."

100% Dedication leaves no room for excuses. The clock is ticking . . .

I just took a look at stats on the page. Some of you have been on the BLOG here for 25, 50 even over 100 times and have never posted a question or comment.

What's up with that?

Certainly there has to have been something put up there that you have a question about or want to comment on . . . Join In! The idea here is that we would have an ongoing discussion about coaching. To date it has been pretty much Martin, Coach M, and me. . . mostly me. And that's not the way it is intended to be.

Next up on the board - The EQualizer Streak Pass.

63-63-63: My number in football was 63; I graduated from high school in 1963; Today I turn 63! Man, where has the time gone. There's been a great deal of water flow under the bridge during that time.

As they used to say on TV, "Let us return now to those thrilling days of yester yerar" look at the old coach playing football back there in the 60s (the video is part of a company promo to help coaches with film exchange). I played center on offense and defensive left tackle-what do you think? I recently ran into a classmate who said, "You look good enough to put on the pads and lay Friday night" - I think not:

To see this video, go to www.maxcast.com/FREEBchronicles. Since we have another video posted on the Streak Pass, we had to take this vid down off this site.



I am reminded of the old joke, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper - the closer to the end you get, the faster it goes.

Here we are, a week before Christmas (wasn't Labor Day just a couple of weeks ago?), I have done very little thinking about Christmas, much less bought any presents . . . of course, I have always been one of those guys who hit the store on Christmas Eve to shop. How 'bout you?

Dad lived to be 92 while some of the same afflictions that he passed on to me, and we have much better medical technology than back in the 50s when he went under the knife. So I'm figuring to stay around for a few more decades.

We will keep the web pages going, and I am staying very busy with BFS. I have four gigs in JAN: CA, MO, and two in OR.

Plus trying to keep pace witht he 11 grandchildren in four different states will keep you on your toes.

You all keep on Being An 11!

RF

25,550 Days
by Andres Ponciano

So I guess there's a point in life or perhaps a couple that make you stop and ponder things. It seems the older you get, the more you start to notice and fully comprehend that once you are born you also begin to die. Whether it is a morbid thought or not it is true. Whether we like it or not, it is still true, and unlike math two true's don't make a false, or is that backwards?
Doesn't matter. Math doesn't make sense. The point is its reflection time. Here's food for thought: Did you know how many days there are in the average lifespan? 70 years= 25,550 days. 75 years = 27,375 days. 80 = 29,200 days. 90 = 32,850 days. I read that in an article some time ago and it really jumped out at me. I thought to myself, damn that isn't very much. Especially considering I've lived 8700 of those already. So that is about a third of an average life span.

So the question is what now? How will you use your time? Time is the only thing that doesn't offer you a second chance in life. Once it is gone, it is gone. Definitely puts things into perspective. It seems life is really short as they say. Although I've never agreed with that statement I can understand it.

Are you living life to the fullest? Are you taking advantage of all the opportunities that come your way? Are you aware that most opportunities usually disguise themselves as hard work? Have you realized that most things worth fighting for are always difficult? Have you done what you planned to do? Have you gotten what you wanted? Have you left something for the next generations? Have you left your mark? Have you met all the people and visited all the places?

There is the story of the boy who said "I've got places to go and people to meet". That is what he did. So my friends, without much subtlety I say "don't let time pass you by without getting the most out of it." Take care of your health; take care of your relationships, whether with family, friends, strangers, God, loved ones and kids.

Take care of your work and invest time in becoming better and better and if possible even better, develop your talents, whether they are in art, music, sports, or any other aspect of life. And most of all instill a sense of love and gratitude for everything in your life. For in due time, unfortunately most things whither and die, but there are few that do remain. Those are entirely up to you!

And to this I would add . . .

Here we are; the New Year is approaching. If you are a fall sport coach as most of you are, the Seniors are graduating in June - or before; seems like we are having early graduation more and more as people are trying to hurry up their life. That means that those Sophs who were sitting on the bench most of the fall will be counted on to start next fall as Juniors.

How much time do they have to get ready? With games starting in August with increasingly regularity, here in the Northwest, we still hold out for first games after Labor Day, but that is eroding. So less than eight months till the first game (say August 14). . . .

From and including: Thursday, January 1, 2009

To, but not including : Friday, August 14, 2009
It is 225 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date
Or 7 months, 13 days excluding the end date
Alternative time units, 225 days can be converted to one of these units:

19,440,000 seconds
324,000 minutes
5400 hours
32 weeks (rounded down)

Now, how many of those days/weeks do you actually have to get ready? If your team is going to work out 5 days a week, that means you have 160 days. Do I have to tell you how hard it is to get kids to be there for every workout? Like today, we are having a RARE snow day on the western OR slopes. For most, that would mean a 'lost' day. Then you have Holidays (six major Holidays during that time); vacation (how many people vacation ONLY for two weeks anymore?); then you have doctor and dentist appointments; spring break; part time jobs; other sports; camps to go to, and on and on and on.

Of those 160 days, you would be lucky to get in a hundred days for every kid on the team, average. Of course you are going to have some that would never miss a day; but there are those who will hardly make a day:

YOU HAVE 100 DAYS! AT BEST!!

Most people, kids as well as parents, think here in the dead of winter, that the next season is way off into the distant future. But you have 100 days! How many days do you have in the weightroom? Well, you know that you should lift no more than every other day so the body can recover from the previous stress: so working out 5 days a week, lifting every other day would give you something like only 60 days. What does that translate to in terms of pounds lifted? Well . . . on the average, you would be looking at numbers like this: that Soph who is struggling to bench 200# is going to probably bench around 250 by the start of the season; if he is squatting 250 now, he will be lucky to squat 350 (true parallel). And that is only if he makes the workouts! Miss a workout - you can takes poundage right off the top.

Remember this: LOST TIME IS NEVER FOUND!

We would run our lifting program in the morning, before every school day. Very, very few conflicts at 6:06 AM. In the summer we would have a 5 day a week program in the mornings and would come back 3 days a week in the evenings so that everyone would have a chance to get their workouts in. During vacation time, we would have a time during the day opposite the time that the sport in season would have for practice so that everyone could make it. Every 5 years, we would take the family trip back to Ohio. If the boys did not work out for that two week time period, they had a very difficult time when they returned to the weight room. One son actually could not walk up the stairs upon return because he got so busy on vacation that he did not get his workouts in . . . take it right of the top. He had to spend time getting back to where he was before he left . . . Lost time is never found:

YOU SIMPLY CANNOT MAKE UP A LOST WORK OUT!

Bottom line: you have 100 good workout days to get those Sophs physically ready for the rigors of the season. Make Them Count!

Be11!

RF

God's Coffee

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything."

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups...

Enjoy your coffee!

BEWARE OF THE GOOD CAPTAIN

WHERE THERE IS NO STRUGGLE

THERE IS NO STRENGTH!!

At the beginning of the 1900's, North Florida was not the tourist Mecca it is today. However, some people began to discover the beauty and attraction of the area. Conch Island is located on the very North - East corner of Florida just north of St. Augustine Beach and just south of St. Augustine Inlet. Actually Conch Island is part of Anastasia State Park.

There was a specific breed of Gull that lived on Conch Island that people called the Conch Island Sea Gulls. This particular breed of gull was different than the gulls we see along the beaches today. The Conch Island Sea Gulls were much larger gulls, they had a much larger wingspan, broader chest area and had a majestic dignified appearance, some people likened them to eagles. In short, they were the largest most beautiful breed of gull.

These gulls lived, nested and raised their young on Conch Island. They would fly out for miles into the Atlantic Ocean, feed on the sardine beds, then return to Conch Island to feed their young and nest.

At the turn of the century the shrimping industry grew in that area. The shrimp boats began to harvest the rich crop of shrimp off the coast of Conch Island. Just before dawn one day, a shrimping captain, we will call him the GOOD CAPTAIN, saw and admired the beauty of the gulls. The CAPTAIN, wanting to do something nice for the gulls decided to dump the remains of his catch (fish heads etc.) on the shore for the gulls to eat. The gulls began to awaken, and people say you could almost understand their body language, they were extremely happy about the CAPTAIN doing them a favor. Now they did not have to fly 50 miles or so out in the ocean for food, they literally had BREAKFAST IN BED! Other Captains saw the gulls feeding on the catch remains, followed suit of the GOOD CAPTAIN and dumped the remains of their catch on the beach for the gulls to eat as well. This went on for a good period of time.

After harvesting the area pretty well the shrimp boats moved on to other shrimping areas. One day the gulls awoke to find no BREAKFAST IN BED! People witnessing the gulls reported they were very unhappy. The gulls began to fight among themselves, they ran around in frustration, swalking and flapping their wings. After an extended period of time, gulls began killing each other and each others young. Witness said some gulls began to try to rise up and fly but could hover only for a short time and began to tire. Other gulls tried to fly out to the old feeding grounds but had aged or had grown to heavy and died in flight. Others made it all the way to the old feeding grounds but were too exhausted to make it back and died returning to Conch Island. The remaining gulls could not find a significant amount of food on Conch Island so they began to die in large numbers. Eventually, all the gulls died out and this breed of gull became extinct!

One question and a moral to the story:

1. Why did the gulls die?

Answer: Because of the GOOD CAPTAIN, being nice to them was not what they needed.

Just because someone is nice to you does not mean they are your friends. Teachers, coaches, employers who do not challenge you are NOT your friends.

Moral of the story:

BEWARE OF THE GOOD CAPTAINS IN LIFE and

WHERE THERE IS NO STRUGGLE THERE IS NO STRENGTH!!

FREE TIME

Success is not a result of luck.

It is a result of how you spend your free time!

A few months ago, my friends and I were having dinner. The topic of success came up and I remained silent. I wanted to hear what they had to say. Someone who had been my friend for over 20 years spoke to the group, however, I knew his words were meant for me. He boldly proclaimed, "Success is all luck...luck...that is all it is!" He then looked at me as if to say, "You are a lucky man and that is it."

I didn't say a word, however, I confess that it hurt. He was one of my best friends and although it wasn't a direct quote -- he was telling me that he didn't respect my success because it was all luck. In other words, he could have done the same if he was just as lucky.

I mulled this over for a few days and then let it go. What could I do?

Then about two weeks ago my truck window broke and I had to park in his garage for the day to stay out of the rain. I was stuck at his home for six hours. During this six hours, I watched five of his friends come over and they all watched the comedy channel and consumed adult beverages for 5 hours. It was driving me up a wall! I wanted to go for a run, write, read a book, goal set, strategize or spend time with someone that I loved. Instead, I wasted 6 hours watching the comedy channel.

I am not suggesting that watching television or the comedy channel is a waste of time. Most certainly not. However, it was obvious that this was their daily routine. Then it hit me!

Success is not a result of luck.

It is a result of how you spend your free time!

by Ron White

Quote of the Week:
12.14.08

Adjusments are not unusual, They are usual.
So a coach's ability to think in his feet - to react accordingly
To do things without instruction, to react to voices on the court,
And to think outside himself - Is of paramount importance.
Mike Krzyzewski


And this from John Maxwell:
Great Leaders see things that others do not see;
And they see things before others can see them.

Question of the Week?

What are you seeing?

Is what you are focus on in alignment with your goals?

Affirmations

Here is another great passage from Maxwell's CD:

Affirmation is a statement of truth you make firm by repetition. Affirmations help other believe int heir Dreams. Belief is essential.

THEIR DREAMS MUST BECOME MORE REAL THAN THEIR DOUBTS!

Affirmations are like lifting weights - a mechanical process that helps build strength (Belief) in their Dreams.

WoW! Do I really like that! You are in the Dream Making/Dream Keeping business. You are the 'Keeper of the Flame' that kindles the Dreams that Fire up the team, school and community.

And when the Dream becomes more real than their doubts and fears, great things can happen.

And in our society today, we have to teach them that it is all right to Dream Again.

Be11!

RF

RANGER FREEZE – Quick Pass #4

RANGER FREEZE – Quick Pass #4

The last pass in the Quick Pass Series is another combination route. This is another one of those things you want the ‘eye in the sky’ or coach on the field to be scouting out. When the defensive safety starts playing the inside receiver to the inside, we want to throw the ball up and over to that receiver running a quick corner or flag route.

Again: If that defender is aligned to the inside and takes those patented ‘read steps,’ that action will put him on the back of the receiver running that quick corner route. That route is run as follows: the receiver breaks off the LOS, on his third step at around 5 yards, he breaks it deep and to the corner of the end zone.

The QB puts the ball up and over everyone making the receiver extend himself to catch the ball. The defense cannot get to the ball unless they go threw the receiver which would be defensive interference and a penalty.

The defense is really caught in a bind here with the RANGER FREEZE QUICK PASS OFFENSE. They still have to defend the run which will keep at least 6 people (usually) in the box. Then we have 4 receivers spread across the field which have to be covered at the snap. That makes 10 defenders tied up at the snap.

At the snap, the defenders are taking read steps and the receivers are running their routes into the seams and holes in the defense. Practice the Quick Pass Offensive enough and you will be able to advance the ball.

I now work full time for Bigger Faster Strong. BFS is the best strength development program for high school athletics because we have a group of clinicians with over 600 years of practical experience that have taken those experiences and built a program. It is a system developed by high school coaches for high school coaches – not some watered down college program.

Take the BFS stretching program. Are there better ways to stretch? Of course. Just go to the gymnasts; they know how to stretch. They spend two hours a day stretching. In a 55 minute class period, does the strength coach have that kind of time for stretching? Of course not. The genius of the program is to draw on those 600 years, determining what works – what gives you the best results that transfers to the field or court - in the time you have available and structure a program that produces results. The program is designed to grant the most results in the time you have available.

So . . . this is the same philosophy that we are talking about with the EQualizer. Just how much time do you have with the kids to get ready for Friday night Lights? Once the season starts, you only have so much time during the week. Offensively, you will get only around 4-5 hours at best to work with the kids on offense. Remember, you have defense, special teams, FUNdaMENTAL blocking and tackling drills, scouting reports, and more that also have to be included in the practice plan.

What can you get done in the time available, that will be more easily mastered, produce results and be able to match the skill set of the athletes you get year in, year out?

The first option off quick pass #4 is one of the easiest passes in football to complete. It is a short pass, the receiver is coming in toward the QB and you do not need a huge amount of pass protection to get the job done.

The outside receiver has to run a disciplined route, just as he did on quick pass #2. Only this time he is running a ‘Loop In.’ Running a proper Loop In route gives the inside receiver to run his route and clear out the defenders creating a huge hole to the inside to run your route. At the snap, the receiver drives off the LOS. On step four the receiver plants his left foot (if he is on the right side of the formation) and takes a step to the sideline with his right foot. He follows that with another sideline step with his left leg which acts as a plant step off of which he drives back to the inside of the formation. Get your head up and catch the ball in your hands out in front of your body.

Once you catch the ball, break upfield into the seam and get as many yards as you can, advancing the ball far enough for another Ranger First Down, or maybe more. You can view quick pass 4 online at www.maxcast.com/EQUALIZER. Just scroll down the play list till you get to quick pass 4.

Emerson Wrote: Success

To laugh often and love much,

To win the respect of intelligent people,

To earn the approbation of honest critics,

And endure the betrayal of false friends,

To appreciate beauty,

To find the best in others,

And to give of oneself,

To leave the world a better place

Whether by a healthy child,

A redeemed social condition,

Or a garden patch . . .

To have lived your life with enthusiasm

And to have sung with exaltation,

And finally to know

That one life has breathed a little easier

Because you have lived,

THAT is to have been Successful.

Good Day America; It's Friday! Game Day!! Friday is my Favorite Day!!!

Yesterday while traveling to a school near Salem, I was listening to a John Maxwell's DVD covering the topic "Truth's About Leadership" - good stuff there I want to share with you.

First is this thought:

People don't change much.

Don't waste your time trying to put in

What was left out.

Try to draw out what was left in.

That's hard enough.

And:

When we help people get in the right circumstances to maximize their God-given talent, provide them whatever tolls and support they need to be successful, make certain theire is a clear understanding of expectations, share with them honest and open feedback, and finally allow them to be accountable and responsible for their own destingy . . . only then will we have led people successfully.

And I would add -

Encourage them to do their best, and they will exceed beyond all expectations.

What great advice for coaches. If you are trying to get guys to do well what they aren't really capable of doing well, you are in for a long season. This year I watched a football team that during warm-ups looked like they would beat the other team by a couple TDs. But when the game started, they tried to run the spread offense . . . only they did not have the Talent to run the spread. Not only did they not have a QB with the run/pass talent to execute the offense, neither did they have the receivers to catch the ball. Now if you do not have the QB or R'ers to run the spread . . . why are you running the spread? They had a talented line, and a couple good running backs. But they tried to make one of those running backs into a receiver because the spread only has one running back. What a shame. They got beat by a team with inferior talent. It wasn't necessary. Not only that, they won only 2 games all year . . . but they had the talent to win 6 or 7. So, instead of trying to put in what was left out . . . they would have been much better off developing the talent that was there. Right?

Be11!

RF

Top 25 Coach's Poll

Have you seen this?

Here is a great link to how the college coaches voted in the final poll. Move your cursor over the coach to see how he voted and then move it over the school to see where everyone had that school placed.

Interesting link:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2008-12-08-final-coaches-ballots_N.htm

RANGER FREEZE: Quick pass 3

RANGER FREEZE: Quick pass 3

This from the EQualizer Online Playbook at www.jvm.com/coachfree:

The idea of quick pass three is to hit the man open in the seam/crease of the zone at eight yards in full stride to the goal line. The receivers are to "split" the coverage area of the secondary. The TB and SE are to run a streak-stop route with a cut at five yards on the outside of the HB. The TE is to run a streak inside the SS and between the SS and the FS. The TB is to split the seam between the CB and the free safety. It is important that the SE and the WB align fairly wide in the pro set to stretch the defensive zones of the secondary.

View Quick Pass #3 at www.maxcast.com/EQUALIZER. Scroll down the playlist till you get to Quick Pass #3.

We are a running offensive team 75% of the time, sometimes more. When we get ourselves into a passing situation, we will get ourselves into a passing formation much of the time. Just as we would get into a goal line formation on 3rd – 4th & short . . . we get into a passing formation on 3rd and long, wouldn’t you?

The object here is to get 4 receivers across the field and run combination routes to free up a receiver, especially on in the seam. If they are going to play cover 2 . . . that means we can get a receiver in between the deep defenders. If they are going to play 3 deep, the FS cannot cover both receivers going deep if they run the right routes.

Very often with motion, an inside receiver gets ‘lost’ by the secondary because they are so concerned with the man in motion. We can get as many as 7 people to change position in the secondary with the right kind of motion often leaving receivers uncovered just after the snap, especially if we put the FB in motion opposite trips. We have even put the QB in motion! Try that. We even got flagged one year because the official had never seen it done before. Gotta love those officials.

I like to run this pass from a doubles, doubles wide or 1-back pro set – as well as trips with motion back to one of the above sets. For example, if we get into a trips right set and then run some Liz motion by the TB, we get four receivers across the field: SE and WB to the right side in a slot set with the TE and TB to the left side of the formation in a Flanker/TE Pro set.

At the snap, the receivers run their routes. At 3rd and long we see lots of 3-Deep zone coverage. The WB runs a route that takes him between the CB and FS to his side, up the seam. The TE releases off the ball and also runs a route between the FS and CB to his side. The outside receivers run 5 yard stop routes.

The QB looks at the FS. His rule is to ‘throw opposite free.’ If the FS cheats over to the WB either before or after the snap, throw back to the TE. If the FS moves over toward the TE with the motion of the TB, throw to the WB opposite.

What if the FS does neither and drops straight back at the snap of the ball. In that case, hit the WB because the FS cannot get there from the middle of the formation, especially after taking those dreaded ‘read steps.’ He just cannot get there if the ball is delivered on time.

The three samples of the Quick Pass 3 cued up at www.maxcast.com/EQUALIZER are great examples of how the quick pass series should be run. Notice, especially on the second pass, the DE is not blocked, but it just doesn’t matter because the ball is delivered to the TE on time and “That’s another RANGER First Down!” keeping the drive alive on the way to another score.

Best Quarter Ever: First Series

Hey! I have learned how to embed the videos into the BLOG - Old Dog, New Trick.

So, here is the first series of the best quarter the EQualizer Offense ever executed. Notice how many defenders are within five yards of the LOS. When executed properly, "It just doesn't matter."

To view the rest of the quarter, go to www.maxcast.com/EQUALIZER. This Maxcast viewer is a great way to communicate with everyone. Contact me to set up your own webcast channels.

New Video - Best Start Ever

I have posted up a new video at http://www.maxcast.com/EQualizer. It is a video of the first quarter of a game that saw the best execution of the EQualizer Offense at the beginning of a game ever.

I have also posted this on the EQualizer Homepage: http://www.jvm.com/coachfree/

Be11!

RF

College Football Bowl Schedule

2008-09 College Football Bowl Schedule

EagleBank Bowl
Wake Forest vs. Navy
Washington, D.C.RFK Stadium
Dec. 20, 11 a.m. ESPN

New Mexico
Colorado State vs. Fresno State
AlbuquerqueUniversity Stadium
Dec. 20, 2:30 p.m. ESPN

magicJack St. Petersburg
Memphis vs. South Florida
St. Petersburg. Fla.Tropicana Field
Dec. 20, 4:30 p.m. ESPN2

Pioneer Las Vegas
BYU vs. Arizona
Las VegasSam Boyd Stadium
Dec. 20, 8 p.m. ESPN

R+L Carriers New Orleans
Southern Miss vs. Troy
New OrleansSuperdome
Dec. 21, 8:15 p.m. ESPN

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
Boise State vs. TCU
San DiegoQualcomm Stadium
Dec. 23, 8 p.m. ESPN

Sheraton Hawaii
Hawaii vs. Notre Dame
HonoluluAloha Stadium
Dec. 24, 8 p.m. ESPN

Motor City
Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
DetroitFord Field
Dec. 26, 8 p.m. ESPN

Meineke Car Care
West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Charlotte, N.C.Bank of America Stadium
Dec. 27, 1 p.m. ESPN

Champs Sports
Wisconsin vs. Florida State
Orlando, Fla.Florida Citrus Bowl
Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m. ESPN

Emerald
Miami (Fla.) vs. California
San FranciscoAT&T Park
Dec. 27, 8 p.m. ESPN

Independence
Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
Shreveport, La.Independence Stadium
Dec. 28, 8:15 p.m. ESPN

Papajohns.com
NC State vs. Rutgers
Birmingham, Ala.Legion Field
Dec. 29, 3 p.m. ESPN

Valero Alamo
Missouri vs. Northwestern
San AntonioAlamodome
Dec. 29, 8 p.m. ESPN

Roady's Humanitarian
Maryland vs. Nevada
Boise, Idaho Bronco Stadium
Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m. ESPN

Texas Rice vs. Western Michigan
HoustonReliant Stadium
Dec. 30, 8 p.m. NFL Network

Pacific Life Holiday
Oklahoma State vs. Oregon
San Diego Qualcomm Stadium
Dec. 30, 8 p.m. ESPN

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Houston vs. Air Force
Fort Worth, TexasAmon G. Carter Stadium
Dec. 31, Noon ESPN

Brut Sun
Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
El Paso, TexasSun Bowl
Dec. 31, 2 p.m. CBS

Gaylord Hotels Music City
Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
Nashville, Tenn.LP Field
Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. ESPN

Insight
Kansas vs. Minnesota
Tempe, Ariz.Sun Devil Stadium
Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m. NFL Network

Chick-fil-A
LSU vs. Georgia Tech
AtlantaGeorgia Dome
Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Outback
South Carolina vs. Iowa
Tampa, Fla.Raymond James Stadium
Jan. 1, 2009, 11 a.m. ESPN

Capital One
Georgia vs. Michigan State
Orlando, Fla.Florida Citrus Bowl
Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m. ABC

Konica Minolta Gator
Clemson vs. Nebraska
Jacksonville, Fla.Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
Jan. 1, 2009, 1 p.m. CBS

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi
Penn State vs. USC
Pasadena, Calif.Rose Bowl
Jan. 1, 2009, 4:30 p.m. ABC

FedEx Orange
Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
MiamiDolphin Stadium
Jan. 1, 2009, 8:30 p.m. FOX

AT&T Cotton
Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech
DallasCotton Bowl
Jan. 2, 2009, 2 p.m. FOX

AutoZone Liberty
Kentucky vs. East Carolina
Memphis, Tenn.Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Jan. 2, 2009, 5 p.m. ESPN

Allstate Sugar
Utah vs. Alabama
New OrleansSuperdome
Jan. 2, 2009, 8 p.m. FOX

International
Buffalo vs. Connecticut
TorontoRogers Centre
Jan. 3, 2009, Noon ESPN2

Tostitos Fiesta
Ohio State vs. Texas
Glendale, Ariz.University of Phoenix Stadium
Jan. 5, 2009, 8 p.m. FOX

GMAC
Tulsa vs. Ball State
Mobile, Ala.Ladd-Peebles Stadium
Jan. 6, 2009, 8 p.m. ESPN

FedEx BCS National Championship Game
Florida vs. Oklahoma
MiamiDolphin Stadium
Jan. 8, 2009, 8 p.m. FOX

RANGER FREEZE: QUICK PASS PATTERNS - #2

RANGER FREEZE: QUICK PASS PATTERNS - #2

Quick pass #2 is a short very effective possession type pass. It is a pass play that makes great use of motion by the offense.

Many people do not understand the effectiveness of utilizing motion to get people on the defense to move, get themselves out of position, or open up a huge throwing opportunity/window to make another first down and possibly more.

Often we get a defensive safety over top of the #2 receiver with a flat defender lurking in the area as well. But when we motion wide, past #2, one of those defenders goes with the motion man. When you, or your eye in the sky, notices that the deep defender stays on top of #2 and you need 6 yards for a first down, Quick Pass 2 is your easy play to keep the drive alive.

At the snap, the #2 receiver drives off the LOS. He has an option route. At a depth of 5 yards, his option is to sit down, turn away form the defender that is covering him. Now most of the time when the defense is playing zone, with the motion to the outside of him, there will be a huge hole for him to sit down in, get his head around and look for the ball.

The reason he is usually open on this route is because the defense plays lots of cover 2 zone and the cornerback widens with the motion leaving the safety to that side to cover #2. And, of course, at the snap of the ball, that safety is conditioned to take those read steps.

So, the defender aligns 8-10 yards deep, takes at least 5 ‘read steps’ at the snap of the ball, and deepens even further when the receiver drives off the ball. That means the defender is 12-15 yards deep when the receiver turns to receive the ball – he’s wide open.

The outside #1 receiver breaks off the LOS at the snap and is to run a loop-out pattern. It is very important to run the route properly to get open. The receiver must not rush the pattern and must literally step inside before breaking out to get the defender to bite on the in route. Young, inexperienced receivers tend to rush the pattern and just pivot the pattern not giving the defender enough time to bite.

The steps for the proper pattern are (for a receiver to the right of the formation): Drive off the ball the outside foot. Plant of step number three and take a square in step with the right leg on step 4; Continue to step to the inside with the left foot on step 5; Step 5 becomes a second ‘plant step;’ Step 6 with the right foot is back squarely to the sideline thus completing the loop out. Run this way, the receiver is almost always open.

We want the QB to deliver the ball to the receiver covered by the deep defender, to the shoulder away from the defender covering the receiver. It becomes an easy pass to complete. Remember, you have scoped out how they are going to cover the receivers with earlier secondary reaction to the called formation and use of motion.

RANGER FREEZE: QUICK PASS PATTERNS - #1

RANGER FREEZE: QUICK PASS PATTERNS - #1

QUICK PASS #1: This pattern is perhaps the second most run pattern out of the Quick Pass Series probably because we see so many two deep secondaries because of the run support that they are trying to generate.

First, I want to talk about receiver stance. Every play begins with a stance. You can read about stances for every position in the online playbook at www.jvm.com/coachfree. You can also view cut ups for these plays at www.maxcast.com/EQualizer. For our split receivers, we want their inside foot up, two point stance. The main coaching point here is that the receiver ‘break’ the knee of that up foot and squat over that knee. This helps with his start and also helps keep him onside. How many times have you seen those wide receivers roll forward and be offside for no real reason? Breaking that knee helps with that.

At the snap, the receiver is to run a three step pattern at the outside shoulder of the defender on top of him with the idea of getting that defender’s hips to turn. On the third step, R’er plants and breaks to the inside getting his head around to see the QB running a pattern at a 45 degree angle or so to the post. The ball will be in the air on step five or six and we need to see the ball and get our hands in the proper position to receive the ball. Ideally we want to catch the ball and then break upfield to the goal line. Split the defenders and race them to the goal line.

Running the pattern properly will place the defender on the back of the receiver. We believe that if the defender is on the back of the receiver, he is open and we can deliver the ball, complete the pass, make the first down and keep the drive alive. And as you can see in the videos, even more on occasion.

As with all quick pass patterns, we run the same pattern to both sides of the formation. While the split receiver runs his three step skinny post, the inside #2 receiver to his side runs an immediate out. By that I mean, from his receiver stance, he takes one step with his back leg toward the sideline and “runs around” it with his left leg, get his head around ASAP – the ball might be coming immediately.

The idea is that this inside route will influence the flat defender to cover him immediately and that clears the throwing lane to the wider split receiver. It is important that the inside receiver execute an immediate, quick out. He does not run upfield for three steps and then break out. There is not enough time for him to do that and the flat would not be cleared in time.

AS with all passes, it is the job of the receiver to make the QB look good and catch everything thrown his way. If it is in arm’s reach, it should be caught, right? Then get as many of those yards after the catch as possible.

If as the QB reads the play and the receiver routes and sees that the flat defender is hanging there in the flat, it is easy for him to come off that 1 route and hit the out. That receiver catches the ball, puts it on the sideline and turns up to run on the outside and make another first down.

Quick Pass One is as easy a pass to execute as we have. It is the first pass we introduce in pre-season drills. In fact, this would be our 3rd practice of the day during the pre-season. We would conduct our regular 2-A-Day practices as usual, but we would come back after supper for a 3rd practice where we would install the passing game for the receivers. The line would go to the weightroom for 45 minutes while the backs worked on passing game. After 45, the backs and receivers would go to the weightroom, and the linemen would come out to work on pass protection and footwork.

So . . . for the Quick Pass Offensive drill, we would establish 4 lines of receivers across the field, outside and inside receiver line to both sides of the field. We would then have 4 QBs near where the ball would be snapped. On command, all receivers run the called route: 1-2-3-4 and the QBs throw the ball to the R’ers on time. We are able to get lots of reps in this fashion.