What do you say?

Here's the situation: Game is tied, late in the 4th Qtr @ 2 minutes to go. THEY have the ball on like their 35 yard line, 65 yards away from paydirt.

What do you tell the secondary?

Did you see the game last night? All that tremendous effort by Reggie Bush wasted by the Saints secondary. These guys are pros, right? What I would tell out secondary is to "stay deep, keep your feet, KEEP EVERYTHING IN FRONT OF YOU!"

How in the world did that receiver get behind the secondary to draw the interference call? Even at that level, they go brain dead. Amazing! Guess it is things like that which will keep them out of true contention and others in, right?

Those guys must have been told, "Don't let them get behind you." What is the picture that is lest in your mind with that statement . . . . . . that's right, getting beat deep. One of the things we stress in the Be An 11 Class is to say what you want, not say what you don't want. The mind does not work on the reverse of an idea.

Think about it. Which coaches would be the worst at this? . . . . Yes, baseball coaches because they have all that time on the bench to think of things going wrong, "Don't let that ball go through your legs - Don't swing at those high pitches." It start at a very young age. And how many baseball coaches are coaching the secondary in schools across the land.

You have to be very careful about the pictures your words are conjuring up in their heads.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DENT

Coach's wife Jacquie at the orphanage with the kids.

SERVICE: Is the rent we pay for living.


You can't live a perfect day
Without doing something for someone
Who will never be able to repay you.
John Wooden

These kids would never be able to repay you but would be eternally grateful; lives are forever altered with this program.

Members of our little church fellowship have connected with an orphanage in Honduras. The stories that have come to us about conditions there are just heartbreaking.

For example, there were some orphans that were living in cardboard boxes in a back alley next to a dumpster behind a pizza place. If there was a piece of pizza picked out of the dumpster, the boys would determine who had not eaten the longest and that child would get the pizza.

My tipping point was a story about grandparents who were parenting 12 children, trying to keep them alive on 3 boiled bananas a day. One little girl slipped into a coma, was taken to the hospital but did not survive. The other children went to the already overcrowded orphanage.
I have resolved to do something about it. I am asking you to help.

Steve Jobs of Apple once said, "I want to put a dent in the universe." And with the ipod, the iphone and itunes he certainly has. I am asking you to join me in putting a dent in another universe, the universe of childhood malnutrition.

To combat conditions in the area the Tegucigalpita Children's Village was built with donations administered by World Wide Heart to Heart. The orphanage is making a difference for kids in the area. To read about the work done, please log on to http://www.wwh2h.org/ .

We are organizing an effort to send NSE VitaMeal packages (each package costs $22.00) to the orphanage to put a dent in malnutrition in the area. The orphanage will organize an outreach program to distribute packages to the most needy in the area, and the need is great.

Each VitaMeal package provides month's worth of proper nutrition for another child that would normally have to fend for themselves on the streets and in the dumps scouring for bits of food to stave off starvation. Learn about the NTC at www.maxcast.com/feedorphans be sure to watch the video to get a quick overview of the program.

I encourage you to invite others at school, the office, or at your church to donate as well. When I was coaching, I would collect "spare change" in the lunchroom once a week from the students and staff and also had a collection jar on my desk for daily contributions. We were able to sponsor half a dozen kids this way. Jacquie and I will conduct 'noisy collections' at church asking members to donate monthly VitaMeal packages. If you ask them, they will contribute.

Please let me know how you will help with this program so I can inform Brent Goddard, NTC Director, of the number of VitalMeal packages that should be sent to the orphanage. Learn more details about the program at http://www.nourishthechildren.com/ .

Please send your monthly noisy collections to Jacquie & Roger Freeborn, P.O. Box 1616, Estacada, OR, 97023. Or you may send them to Worldwide Heart to Heart Ministries International Headquarters, P.O. Box 372, Carson WA 98610. Make sure you mark it for "nourish the children."

Together we can make a difference and make a dent in this universal problem. I'm asking you to help. Our spare change will make a difference; Blessings to You,

Roger Freeborn

The Be An 11! Quote of the Day 10.06.08
Catch the Fever Be An 11! BELIEVER!

The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else.
The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Question of the Day?
How are you better today because of yesterday?

How will you be better tomorrow because of today?

Greetings from Ohio!

We are here to help with things surrounding my mother-in-law's concerns following a severe stroke last week. The Beatles had it right when they sang "What a drag it is getting old." She is 92 this week, retired P.E. teacher and is today starting "aggressive physical therapy!" Not too many at her age in her condition ever make it to that wing of the hospital. It will be, however, a long road out. After seeing her, battered, bruised and all, it's a wonder she is here, and nothing is broken.

Sorry about the quote of the day being slow, but internet service does not read to her place in the country; she lives on ten acres, mows 5, all by herself. Amazing! That of course will have to change in the future. There will be lots of changes, not all of them easy to take.

Take care of your loved ones, especially those advancing. You never know. As the leader of our fellowships reminds us often: no one is ever guaranteed another day here. Let them know you care. Better yet, go see them or make arrangements to go see them.

Can you believe Vanderbilt? Vandy? Undefeated, beating Auburn - our friend Lance from AL former strength coach for them and whose wife is an former cheer leading is not a happy camper. He sent me this note: The O-Line just got a job at Olive Garden as sieves. Things are in turmoil in AL, especially now that the Tide has been whipped into Sabin shape.

The Estacada Rangers posted a Homecoming Victory over an undefeated team and took another step to making the playoffs for the second straight year. They are getting really close. Coach Baker and staff have done a good job in getting the kids ready to play.

Last SAT I went up the Columbia River Gorge (beautiful drive, especially this time of year) and talked defense with a staff there. They are about to play a double wing team and they wanted to look at what we have done.

Interestingly, they are a DW team themselves. It will be interesting to see the result. They liked what they saw. The key factor will be selling the kids on it in a week. "DW Defense in a week." Maybe we can market that.

Since I put that post up on the Mega Clinic defensive board, I have had hundreds of people ask what we do . . . you would think that with that kind of traffic on their board they would ask me to speak on it at some of their clinics. Not so. Goes to show you how they are all in bed with one another.

So much of what you see and hear at those clinics are not applicable to the high school setting, especially on defense. Most of the guys that talk are college coaches - when was the last time they had to defend the double wing offense - or the wing T offense? Never! I remember attending a clinic years ago before many of you were a gleam in your father's eye. The coach was talking about his defense and the duties of the DE in his scheme. He hd them doing so many different things, rush here, drop there, cover this, stop that, very impressive. After going through all that, he put up a slide of his defensive end in the weight room: Randy White! Yes, if I could have Randy White play on my high school defense, I'm sure it would be good, right?

BTW - who can remember and name his college coach? No peeking.

Additions

I'm learning about this new BLOG thing.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, I was able to add an ESPN College and NFL Scoreboard - NEAT!

If you want to know the scores, just log on to the EQ BLOG!




Also Note: If you click on the score you get a report on things upcoming and if the game has been played, you get a game summary . . . for all you fantasy guys out there.

Motivational Football Story

I have subscribed to a service that gives us all kinds of information on who is visiting the EQualizer web site and how they got there.

The two most popular search coming in are (1) defensing the double wing, and (2) motivational football stories.

Interesting.

For all of you out there interested in a truly motivational football stories, I recommend you get Dr. Shepard's book, Dream The Biggest Dream. It's a story about a coach, a team, and a season. You will love it and so will your athletes. I have turned more kids on to reading with this book than any other. Kids who have never read a book from cover to cover, read this book in 3 days - or less.

When you get your copy, be prepared to stay up all night to finish as it is a page turner. You may order it up at:

http://www.bfsonline.com/details.asp?pID=901&category=0&subcategory=0&size=0&search=dream&page=

My recommendation is that you get two books. One for your coaching staff and one for your leaders. Give this to your team leaders to read, sign and then pass along to their teammates. It will make a difference.

Good morning America, it's Friday! Game Day!! Friday is my Favorite Day!!! Good Luck to everyone on their games this weekend. GO RANGERS! KSA!!!

EQ Quote of the Day: 10.03.08

Even when you’ve played the game of your life,
It’s the feeling of Teamwork that you’ll remember.
John C. Maxwell

Question of the Day?
Three questions:
1. Without looking, what was the score of the 6th game of your Junior year?
2. From front to back; list the names of those people in your Senior English Class;
3. Who played next to you on the line, in the backfield, on your team?
TEAMWORK WINS!

This month, belikeve it or not, I will go back to Gibsonburg OH for our 45th reunion. Where has the time gone. I cannot tell you, even though we had only 72 in our class, who sat front to back in that English class; nor can I tell you what the score of that game was (I can tell you that we won it as we went 9-1 losing the opener).

But I can tell you that Carl Fisher and Dan Henry played guards while I played center on offense. I snapped the ball to the best man at our wedding (as you can see, 10.2 it's been 42 years), Mark Newcomer; Wade Smith, rest his soul, played fullback, Billy Bell played HB, Lupe was the WB, Walt played end, Kim played tackle along with Paul, Dickie the other end.

My brother found some old 16 mm film of us playing our JR and SR years, got it digitized and made a DVD out of it and gave it to me for Christmas last year. You can bet I will be taking it back with me to the reunion. I have a clip of that film up online. You can view it - see the old coach in action: www.maxcast.com/freebchronicles.

The clip is from a promo we use for our online video exchange program, hence the naration: www.maxcast.com/videoexchange.

We will not be able to lie about how "great" we were - I'll have proof!

While you are there, take a look at Keeghan playing his first takle football season for the Dominators. FreebChronicles is a family channel where we can upload video and share it with people everywhere. With grandchildren in 4 states, Grandma can, however, upload a bedtime story and Jack can watch it in IL, Yani in WA, Kaija in ID and Kade in OR - on demand.

We have bunches of people who are reading this blog - no one making any comments. Feel free to share you thoughts.

Be 11!

RF

EQ Quote of the Day: 10.02.08

As the challenge escalates,
The need for Teamwork elevates.
John C. Maxwell


Question of the Day?
What plans do you have this week to elevate your teamwork?

Here we are halfway through the regular fall season and half the teams out there are half way up the mountain, clawing their way to the top.

As the Highlander says, in the end, "There can be only one." As the quote states, every week there is an increased need for greater teamwork and unity. What teamwork exercises will you engage in this week?

Great chemestry and great teamwork is not a sometimes thing. It's an all the time thing. As coach Osborne (retired Nebraska) satated, "75% of winning takes place before the season starts." Great teamwork is built year round.

Enter BFS I wrote this article for the BFS Magazine a few years back. It is true today more than ever. Using BFS on a regular basis lifts your program up. You will always be in position to challenge for the Championship. But you must commit to using the Total Program as designed as the base for your teamwork program. That would include both the strength and conditioning part of the program as well as Be An 11.

Once you get the program on track, and it may takes a year or two to "catch up" to the competition, you'll be there - one of, if not, the top team(s) in the league every year.

Use the BFS program as a springboard. One of the truly great aspects of BFS is the fact that it is so adaptable to any situation that you may have. It is the foundational cornerstone of teamwork and building. It puts you in "position to." I remember that quote after ready a book about "The General," Bobby Kinght at IU. He said that after winning a few tough games, "All this has done is put us in position to."

That's your job. It's what you were hired for - to put your team in position to. BFS is your greatest helper in fulfilling that role.

WHY BFS SCHOOLS WIN

For the past 30 years BFS schools have been dominating. Why? Here is a quick explanation of why BFS schools win.By Roger FreebornPublished: Fall 2001

Traveling coast to coast conducting BFS Clinics translates into lots of seat time on planes and, yes, delays at the airport. Far from a totally bad thing, this time enables us to catch up on our reading.

Coach Lou Holtz maintains that the major determining factors between where you are now and where you want to be in the future are:
(1) The books that you read; (2) The people you associate with; and (3) The dreams that you dream.

Recently, I finished reading “What it Takes to be #1” by Vince Lombardi, Jr., a book about his father’s leadership model. It’s a great book about Vince Lombardi, the Packers, and the role of a coach. I also just finished “Failing Forward” by John Maxwell, a book about turning mistakes into stepping stones for success. Here, in part, is what they have to say:

Every major difficulty you face in life is a fork in the road. You choose which track you will head down, toward breakdown or breakthrough.

In the face of pressure and tension, unless you have developed the habit of discipline, you will quit, surrender, fail to rise to the occasion. Stress and tension, when not moderated by discipline and a strong sense of duty, cause us to compromise and take shortcuts. Instead of doing things the right way, you choose to do it your way. All-Pro guard Jerry Kramer once commented, “from all Lombardi’s sermons, this one hits home the hardest. I’ve found in business that only 15 or 20 percent of the people do things right all the time. The other 80 or 85 percent are taking short cuts, looking for the easy way, either stealing from others or cheating themselves. I’ve got an edge, because whenever I’m tempted to screw off, to cut corners. I hear that raspy voice saying, ‘This is the right way to do it. Which way are you going to do it, mister?’”

While Vince Lombardi Jr. was describing the essential ingredients that created the Packer Dynasty of the 60s, he was also delineating the reasons BFS schools are successful.A great deal of it has to do with discipline. Discipline is a much maligned word these days. The definition of discipline states:

1. Training that is expected to produce a specified character or pattern of behavior, especially that which is expected to produce physical, moral or mental improvement.
2. Controlled behavior resulting from such behavior.
3. A set of rules or methods as those regulating the practice of (athletic) training (such as the BFS absolutes and axioms).
4. A branch of knowledge or of teaching. verb: A. To train by instruction and control. B. To punish or penalize for the sake of discipline control. Today’s society thinks discipline is all about punishment and not about instruction, all about control and not about freedom. A man once took his son to the beach on a windy day and launched a kite into the breeze. The boy asked his father what keeps the kite in the air. His father told him that it was the string that keep the kite in the sky. His son said that could not be; the string was holding the kite down. His father replied, “If you believe that, let go of the string.”

You see the very things that we believe are holding us down are the very things that empower us to go where we want to go. Teenagers spend far too much energy fighting the rules when they should be embracing them. The rules actually enable us to get where we want to go.
When a teen jumps into the car and is headed to Suzi’s house for the big date, he gets there because he follows (most) the rules of the road. By following the rules of the road, he gets to where he wants to go.

So it is with other areas of life. Life is rule-governed behavior. Once we learn the rules, we have the power to go where we want to go, do what we want to do, be what we want to be, have what we want to have.

It’s much like your score on the SAT test. Your score does not indicate how intelligent you are. Your score, especially your math score, indicates how many of the necessary rules and skills needed for successful behavior in college you have mastered. It is a skills test.

One example we use in our Be An 11 Seminars is that in order to find the square footage of a room you must know the formula (rules for determining the area) A = L x W: The area is equal to the length times the width. It is a simple rule that most people know. It works in all cases. But in order to successfully determine the area of the room, we must bring in lots of other skills and rules. We need to be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide.

So if we know the right rules and can demonstrate the right skills we will be rewarded with a high SAT score and have more college doors open for us.To learn these necessary college skills, we must discipline ourselves to learn them. It is this discipline of training, investing those countless hours of practice, that leads to mastery. It’s a processing activity. It’s hard work.
Hard work is a discipline: the focused training that develops self-control. Discipline helps you make the hard decisions. It helps you embrace and endure the pain associated with change. It helps you stay on track despite stress, pressure, and fear. It is what leads to breakthroughs instead of breakdowns.

And we have to do it together. It is the relationships you forge with others, your teammates, that are going to get you through the tough times, the challenges. It’s where you find the energy and strength to do what has to be done; the energy that moves your teammates beyond ordinary to extraordinary performances. It’s where the superhuman, unbelievable efforts emanate from.

Engaging in the BFS Program everyday, working hard, encouraging your teammates to do their best, that’s discipline. Challenging yourself to break eight or more records a week makes you rise to the occasion on a regular basis. Everyday the BFS athlete has to reach down and find the inner strength to break his record, raise the bar, to do more than he has ever done before. His teammates encourage him. They do it together. Weeks and months later when the team is challenged to come from behind, they respond in a positive way because they have trained themselves for this occasion.

Winning on the fields of play is a natural extension of winning everyday in the weightroom. Their efforts are labeled superhuman, unbelievable or extraordinary because ordinary people are not willing to work that hard, dedicate that much or commit to that extent. So the mere mortals marvel at what winners accomplish.

Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down. Ordinary people do ordinary things. Championships are won by those who are willing to do the extra things to become extraordinary. Like Kramer says, BFS athletes have the edge because they have practiced doing things the right way day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. We have a saying at our school: At Estacada High School, the Home of the Rangers, Winning isn’t everything; it’s just part of what we do!”

While other athletes are looking for the shortcut or the easy way out, while they are off doing who knows what, screwing around, cutting corners, BFS athletes are disciplining themselves to lift and run and jump their way to prepare themselves for the challenges ahead. So that when faced with the pressure and tension associated with game night, a big game, or having to come from behind to win, they can rise to the occasion and deliver their best performance. That’s what they are trained to do.

That’s what BFS athletes and teams do everyday. Break records. Reaching down and finding the energy to go beyond the ordinary, to the extraordinary.

That’s why BFS schools win. They train to win everyday, they discipline themselves to complete their workout, they break records. They know that every record they break is another step toward winning the Championship. They know that they are on a collision course with success, the only variable is time.

In All That You Do, Be An 11!