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To get good, it's helpful to be willing, or even enthusiastic, about being bad - until you improve to be declared good. Baby steps are the royal road to skill. Remember, repetition is the mother of skill. "Every great & commanding moment in the annals of the world is a triumph of some enthusiasm," Emerson.

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Deep practice isn't a piece of cake: It requires energy, passion, & commitment. In a word, it requires motivational fuel, the second element of the "Talent Code." Coyle refers to it as ignition. Ignition supplies the energy while deep practice translates that energy over time into forward progress.

Ignition is a hot mysterious burst, an awakening – lightening in a bottle. It’s a sudden moment of realization that “I can do this thing.” Or, “If he an do it so an I” like when Bannister broke the 4 minute barrier, once an insurmountable wall that Roger turned into a stepping stone. The right butterfly wingflap was causes talent hurricanes. And it’s really a butterfly wingflap not some earth shattering event. Two personal examples: I was never a very good little league baseball player, never really learned to hit the ball to hit the ball till I was coaching baseball & found out it really was not that difficult. Anyway, the day I went to pick up my first Sox baseball uniform, I went to my coach’s house up the street & picked it up. I was walking on cloud 9. As I tucked it under my arm & walked off the front porch, I heard coach say to his assistant, “There goes the biggest uniform on the team & he isn’t worth a shit,” not exactly putting lightening in my bottle. And then there’s a time years later that my high school football coach pulled me aside & told me that I was “the best lineman on the team & he expected me to be the Captain of the line to help everyone execute their assignment properly.” Two different experiences = two different results. Often tiny, seemingly insignificant cues can, over time, create gigantic differences in skill. 

As with everything, our attitude determines out altitude, from the beginning starting with commitment. With the same amount of practice, long-term-commitment groups outperform short-term-commitment groups by a whopping 400%. The long-term-commitment group, with a mere 20 minutes of weekly practice, progressed faster than the short-termers who practiced for an hour & a half. When long-term commitment combined with high levels of practice, skills skyrocketed. 

Just think about this, I live in Oregon. Kids grow up heir entire life either a Duck or a Beaver wanting to put on the uniform, especially those of the Ducks, & play. Again, especially at Autzen Stadium for the Ducks; or play for the Beavers & beat those Ducks on Autzen. That is a long-term-commitment. Sadly, over 90% of the players for both teams are scholarshipped players from out of state, mostly CA kids who grew up wanting to play for USC, UCLA, CAL or some other school closer to home. They never gave Eugene or Corvalis a thought until they got rejected by the CA schools & Oregon came a’calling. Fast forward to the level of play when these teams get behind, especially a CA school. You can just see them “give in” – all their live they have been told how much better these CA schools were than those rejects up North. After all, if they were any good, they would be playing for the Trojans. My theory is that if say, 40-50% of the players on those Oregon teams were from Oregon with their long-term-commitment, life-long, fighting to the end would be more evident. Bob Devany would do this at NB which has even fewer players & opportunities than here in OR. Kids would grow up chanting “Go Big Red” their whole lives, generations even. NB once had the absolute best walk on program in the country. Every year I think 3 scholarships would go to those players who participated in the walk-on program which always had nearly 100 kids in it. Going that route to the playing field certainly demonstrated very long-term-commitment. And giving in was not an option. After all, the more you put into something, the harder it is to hang it up. 

Coyle reports that coaches can instantly connect players to a high0octane fuel tank of motivation, which powers deep practice. What powers the players is a vision of their ideal future selves, a vision that oriented, energized, & accelerated progress. This motivation originates in the outside world. Another personal example: When I took over the Ranger football program, they had been to the playoffs once in 50 years & had never won a conference championship, ever. They had averaged 1.75 victories a year. It was where football coaches went to “die.” The first night I met with the Seniors & the team, I took those Srs aside & said, “Listen, there’s going to be all kinds of talk about ‘rebuilding’ & how things might be better for the Rangers in the future. That I said was bullshit. They would never hear it from me. This was their Senior year & I would do everything possible to make their Sr year the one they had been reaming about their whole lives – to dress down in the Ranger uniform & run onto the field inside the hedges.”  Long-term-commitment, right? It was fortunate that these kids were sick & tired of being tired & sick. They went to work. It didn’t hurt any that we went over to the 6^th ranked team in the sate and defeated them in the last 26 seconds of the game. That just made them work harder, and if it were not for a tipped pass in the last quarter of the last game of the season, they would have made the playoffs with their 6-3 record. The next year, because those Srs kicked opened the door of victory, saw the team go undefeated, conferences champs, & off to the playoffs which we were in every year after that. Coyle goes on: these kids were not born to be football players. Their wanting came from a distinct signal, form something in their family, their homes, their coaches, the set of images & people they encountered, certain primal cues that sparked an unconscious response that manifested itself as an idea – “a wanting to be.”

Being highly motivated, when you think about it is a slightly irrational state. One forgoes comfort now in order to work toward some bigger prospective benefit later on. Each signal is the motivational equivalent of a flashing red light: those people over there are doing something terrifically worthwhile. Each signal is about future belonging. 

Future belonging is a primal cue: a simple, direct signal that activates our built-in motivational triggers, funneling our energy & attention toward a goal. The ability to achieve is already there, but the energy put into that ability goes through the roof. It’s not strategic; we don’t think of it being useful because we are not even thinking of it at all. It’s an automatic response. Ignition is a hair trigger connected to a high-voltage power plant & is determined by a simple if/then proposition, with the then part always the same – better get busy. See someone you want to become? Better get busy. Want to catch up with a desirable group? Better get busy. Remember, the unconscious mind is able to process 11,000,000 pieces of information per second while the conscious mind can manage a mere forty. Thus making primal cues so very important; this disproportion points to the efficiency & necessity of relegating mental activities to the unconscious - & helps us to understand why appeals to the unconscious can be so effective.

Certain patterns of targeted behavior build skill. Making progress is a manner of small steps of advancement or failure coupled with modification and changes in behavior till you get what you want. Coaching has been called the process that "eliminates mistakes." You point out behaviors that could be improved, how to, and help move the individual & team to better performance that will lead to achieving goals. Done properly AKA the 'Talent Code' this process is called "Deep Practice." Each day as a coach you should structure practice to move the individual & team to choose behaviors just beyond present abilities; to target certain struggles. Thrashing blindly about doesn't help achieving desired behavior. Reaching does. It is your job to provide the proper focus & direction.

The Ultimate Success Formula

Coyle's "Talent Code" first identifies 'Deep Practice' as the first, essential ingredient to going where you want to go, doing what you want to do & having what you want to have. It's all there - It's all available. You just have to be willing to pay the price. Deep Practice is a major part of the price. Deep Practice, to me, is the result of applying 'The Ultimate Success Formula' to what you establish the goal as being. Points follow - First one being: How long should you try? Jim Rohn provided the answer, "Till." Till you get what you want.

How long is that? Studies by Erikson make this a true statement: It take 10,000 hours & ten years. Therefore the requirement is: If you want your children to perform their best & to compete at the highest levels as an 18 year old Senior in high school, training has to begin at age 8 & that is not just training on the club soccer team. It is developing all the skills necessary to compete at the highest levels. Soccer players have to run, so proper running technique is a requirement of training. Soccer players have to jump, so strength exercises & teaching kids how to jump are necessary. If you soccer players can jump higher in front of the goal on a corner kick, is that an advantage?

Soccer players must kick the ball, so leg strength is vital. A corner kick is no good if it does not get in front of the goal. Just like shooting foul shots in basketball. If the player does not have enough strength to get the ball to the hoop on a foul shot it is not worth shooting. Or if you cannot field the ball at 3rd & throw the guy out at first before he gets there, you team is in trouble. Every sport has certain fundamentals particular it. You must master them. You are an Athlete first. In order to be athletic, you have to be as big, as fast, as strong as the best athletes for your age group. Then you have to work on your skills.

Charles Darwin said:" I have always maintained that excepting fools, men did not differ much in intellect, only in zeal & hard work." The zeal you exhibit & how hard you work are personal conscious decisions that you make. Genetics are not the determining or limiting factor.

If you don't love it [whatever your IT is] you'll never work hard enough to be great. Struggle is not optional - it's neurologically required: in order to get your skill circuit to first optimally, you must by definition fire the circuit sub optimally; you must make mistakes & pay attention to those mistakes; you must slowly teach your circuit. You must also keep firing that circuit [use it or lose it], i.e., practicing in order to keep 'building your circuit.'

We each have more potential than we might ever presume to guess. We are all born with the opportunity to become Lords of our own Internet. The trick is to figure out how to do that. AND that is our jobs as coaches; to bring it out of them; to get them to reach down & discover the ability they thought they never had & to practice & perfect those skills.

It is our job as teachers & coaches to develop programs that allow kids to express themselves. Everyone whats to be somebody special; & everyone wants to be somebody's special somebody: academically; musically; in theater; speech & debate. Most of you who are reading this are fortunate to be coaches and develop programs where kids express themselves athletically. Sadly, our present society the adults of whom are the children of the 'ME' generation who learned their lesson very well, have & continue to be shortchanging their kids' development. We no longer offer the programs for kids to express themselves that we once did - not JHS athletics - No Marching Band - fewer electives - larger classes. It is my belief that in the not too distant future that if you want a breathing educator to head your child's class, you will have to go to private school & pay extra because public school is head to a virtual classroom where lessons are delivered by computers making athletics & activities even more essential.

Game Changer

Just saw Richard Sherman "Pick6" to tie up the game. That's a game changer. On every defensive play, you have the opportunity to 'change the game around.' You must position yourself to be that kind of player. To do that you must be FUNdaMENTALLY sound:

More Secondary FUNdaMENTALS online at:

http://www.addy.com/coachfree/Secondary.html

Secondary FUNdaMENTALS

Basic Information for Defensive Backs

More Than Ever, Games Are Won or Lost on Pass Defense

Primary Objectives:

1.     Maintain perimeter - never allowing an offensive play to get outside or behind us.

2.     Prevent the score - stop the TD.

3.     Intercept - cause the offensive turn-over.

4.     Tackle - make the sure open-field tackle.

Must Know For All Defenses:

1.     Call - coverage/force and secondary force.

2.     Alignment - must be exact.

3.     Stance - inside foot up, knees flexed, arms relaxed, head up.

4.     Flow - direction of backfield and/or ball.

5.     Eligibles - key for run/pass pattern recognition.

6.     Responsibility - execute and pursue.

7.     Tackle - square up - eyes on the ball. Get under him. Explode up and through. Wrap him up - knock the ball out.

Things We Must Accomplish:

1.     We must: play team defense.

2.     We must: play the ball at its highest point and intercept.

3.     We must: recover fumbles.

4.     We must: prevent the “bomb”.

5.     We must: use our hands to ward off blockers.

6.     We must: score on defense.

The Value of a Be An 11! Team

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.

Lifting Standards

STANCE

Watching pop warner football yesterday & even the "Pros" today reminds me how important a player's stance is. Every play begins with a stance. How is your team doing? Here is a link to what we have posted previously on S T A N C E:

http://footballfaxuals.blogspot.com/search?q=STANCE

GO HAWKS!

DO YOU THINK THIS 12TH 'MAN' WILL BE IN THE STANDS TONIGHT?

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

How might you be a better servant this week?

Everytime I try to do something on this page . . . they change up the format & I have to learn new ways of doing things. It's tough being an old fart.

Here is what I put up on this BLOG about Blast 34, including a vid of a goal to go situation. This single play accounts to more than 25 TDs each & every year along with countless First Downs. I recommend it to you highly.

http://footballfaxuals.blogspot.com/search?q=blast+34

BLAST 34

This from our friend Coach Chuck Hartman after his huge win to open the season, "Well, we used your FB Blast play a lot Friday." I answered: It is a great play when you are in a short yardage situation & needed to pick up another 1st Down or a TD.

If your team is in need of converting - this is the play that will KEEP THE DRIVE ALIVE - OR end it with a TOUCHDOWN!

Here is what it says in our playbook about Blast 34: http://www.addy.com/coachfree/FullbackBlast.html

SECONDARY KEYS

Every sport, every position has its FUNdaMENTALS. If you can get your people, especially your secondary to line up where they should be according to the defensive call & get them to 'Read Their Keys' and make their proper move according to what their key does, you have a good chance of success for that particular play. The sections of the playbook that deal with secondary play is especially good. Your secondary play is very important to your success: http://www.addy.com/coachfree/SecondaryKeys.html

UPdate

I have been lax in posting on this blog as I have put up things on other sites like Facebook, etc. I promise that I will be doing better at keeping current here. However, one of the concerns I have is that I am the only one that says anything - there is no interaction which I had hoped for. Let's do better in the future.

There's a possibility that the EQualizer might be brought out of the closet and be put into action this fall. That would be exciting.

A B C = Always Be Coaching

What many people especially coaches do not understand is that everything counts. There's no exception. So when coaches preach against drinking & drugging to the team during the week, but then go out & party and make a big scene of it - like posting & boasting about their escapades on Facebook, etc; what is the actual message that is given to the team?

All relationships are based on a foundation of trust. Can I trust you/Can you trust me? made famous by Coach Holtz. Since everything counts, it only takes once to lose the trust and respect from the team, parents, community, the press.

Like Frank Luntz is famous for saying: Say what you mean, mean what you say. Walk the walk & talk the talk of a Champion. You are their role model.

EIGHT POINTS OF SPRINTING

EIGHT POINTS OF SPRINTING

1. HEAD: The Head should be level and unwavering. Anything else is out of alignment saps strength.

2. EYES: Always “On Target” – Eye level straight ahead.

3. BACK: The back should be upright & slightly arched – Always run tall – top speed is produced with forward lean within 18 meters. Run tall after that.

4. ARMS: Rotate vigorously with elbows fixed at 90 degree angle. Thrust elbows back.

5. WRIST: Relaxed wrist emphasizing a ‘whip’ action – Never clench hands – Simulate hold a soda cracker between thumb & forefinger

6. LEGS: Move leg forward and up on each stride – The knee should rise & be parallel to the hip, each stride.

7. FEET: Contact the ground directly beneath the hip – Foot should never drop - Keep toes and foot high as possible.

8. KNEES: Speed is achieved with Full Extension of the Hip, Knee, and Ankle – Speed is determined by what happens “Down & Behind” you – Fully EXTEND the knee.

PURSUIT

Deep down inside, What's your Heart's Desire?

START TODAY