Heart Guts and Playing for Glory
By Coach Kip | August 25, 2008
I can’t stand when coaches say players need to play with heart. What is that exactly. They need heart to play better? Do they need to play from the heart? I just don’t get it.
I prefer to say that teams and players need to play with guts and play for glory.
Playing with guts simply means playing better than you thought that you could play. Playing with guts means being afraid but still doing what you are supposed to do. Playing with guts simply means that you play beyond what you are capable of.
There is a lot of glory in sports, especially in football, at all levels. Playing for glory does not mean that you point at the opponents and taunt, but you simply play to be the best that you can be. You play for nothing more but winning. You play for the applause. You play for your teammates. You play to be the best that you can be.
I guess that playing with heart means that you put everything you have into your game. I prefer playing for Guts and Glory. However you put it as a coach it is important for you to get your team and your players to be the bets that they can be.
How do you motivate your team.
Digg
del.icio.us
Netscape
StumbleUpon
YahooMyWeb
Reddit
TechnoratiTopics: Coaching | No Comments »
Olympics
By Coach Kip | August 10, 2008
There is nothing like the Olympics. I love it (I think that they should do away with professional athletes but that is another story).
I was at a party yesterday and they had the preseason football game on. Although I was interested in how Washington and Buffalo was running their defenses, I really wanted to watch the Olympics. So what is the attraction?
I think that the big attraction is that it is only every 4 years, it is very important to the athletes, and they are competing for their country.
The every 4 years thing gives it a bit of a scarcity factor. Business people know all about the scarcity factor. It certainly raises the awareness of the games, it attracts people from all over, and in this case it puts you in the position to be the champion for 4 years. No one can say that they are the champion the next year.
It is important to the athletes. That is a big factor. Everyone knows Michael Phelps. He was so dominant yesterday in the 400M IM. It was amazing. I watched the preliminaries and he was half a body past the World Record before he shut it down. The finals? If you have not seen it got to NBC Olympic site. You can watch all the raw footage there. He was an entire body ahead of the World Record, and way further ahead of everyone else. So far ahead that it looked unfair. Did he just suddenly become able to swim that fast? No way! It was the fact that he was in the Olympics and pushed himself further than he ever thought was possible.
I love being able to root for my country. I love the USA. It really is a great country and for those of you who think not, quit whining about something you don’t know. I have travelled a lot, and I love the USA. OK off my soap box now.
I love rooting for the USA. I don’t care who is competing. I don’t care about the pros that are playing. I don’t care about the names. I am interested in them, but what I really want to see is the Red, White, and Blue standing on the podium. That is why I think that the professionals should be outlawed. It does not matter. I don’t care to watch the professional basketball players. I would be far more interested in watching our best amateurs go against the world’s best. We never had a problem before (except that little episode with Russia in the 70’s).
It is also refreshing to root for the team. Why do you think that fantasy sports are so popular? It is because the athletes switch teams so often today. They switch for money (I don’t blame them), they switch due to personality conflicts, and they switch for god knows why. I like just rooting for a team. That is why I prefer college to the pros, and high school to all else. They play for pride, and they play for the team and not much else.
So kudos to the Olympics. I hope that they can maintain the excitement for years to come.
Topics: Articles | No Comments »
How to Defend the Spread
By Coach Kip | August 2, 2008
What is the best way to defend the Spread Offense? Athlete to Athlete? I don’t think that is a very effective way to defend the Spread. It seems that there is a lot of talk about matching up athletes to defeat the spread. With a good O coordinator I think it makes it easier for the Offense to exploit mismatches.
We ran the spread for the last two years and it took me a little while to realize that when the defense was trying to play man on my receivers it was to our advantage. I loved it, my guys knew where they were going and most of the time they could beat their man on a digg route or a slant. It is quite easy.
I think that the best way to defend against a spread team is to play a tight zone. What I mean about that is to have maximum coverage by your linebackers at 5-10 yards off the line of scrimmage. At the snap of the ball have them drop into the passing lanes at 5-10 yards depth. Don’t sit but take a good read from there, knock down anything that comes into the zone , but DON’T CHASE. That first level, the linebackers and sometimes corners, have to play very solid discipline pass defense. That first level can make a big difference.
The second key is to send at least one linebacker on a blitz every play, even if you think that it is going to be a run. You will get burned sometimes, but that is the spread, it is designed to burn a defense. You will be able to wear them down. Offenses, especially the linemen, can’t pick up every blitz. Get to the QB a few times early and he will start to think about that pass rush. If your defense can get in the head of the QB you are close to tearing apart the whole offense.
The third key is never let the QB go unaccounted for. Take Tim Tebow at Florida, Vince Young when he was at Texas, or Pat White at West Virginia. If you let them go, they will be able to burn you. You don’t need to spy, but always know what the possibilities are for the QB on every play. They usually have the option to keep the ball and run.
That is it. Three coaching points, I don’t care what defense it is that you run, if you keep these three in mind you will have some success.
Topics: Coaching, Defense | No Comments »
The Forum Is Here
By Coach Kip | March 27, 2008
Be one of the first to register and post at the EZ Playbook Forum. This forum will be dedicated to youth coaches in a variety of sports including Football (of course), baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, and what ever else is needed.
At this point you may post your own playbooks, or simply join in the discussion and debate of what is the best techniques and practices for your sport.
Be sure to check out all the forums. I think that you will find that many of the tips and techniques that work for one sport will translate very easily to any other sport.
Thanks for your support. We have had a very successful first year of operation. Look for more playbooks soon.
Topics: Articles, Coaching, Lingo, Personnel, Systematic Approach, practice | No Comments »
We are talking about Practice.
By Coach Kip | December 19, 2007
Has there ever been more haunting words for a coach?
“Practice? We are talking about Practice. - Allen Iverson”
I was going around my class yesterday trying to get my students to understand the difference between an in class assignment, and doing a study guide for the exam. They just did not get it.
The whole day they would ask, is this going to be graded?
No. It is practice for the exam.
Then why would we do it?
It was infuriating. What was I going to do. Then these words came out of my mouth
“You don’t win a Championship just by practicing. But, you can’t win a Championship without practice.”
I smiled a little smile to myself. That is good I thought.
So how do you teach that? How do you get your students, or your players, to understand that practice is not only needed, it is necessary. I have always said no one gets better at anything without practice but it just has not seemed to work very well yet.
Let us know what you do to motivate your team to practicing well.
Topics: practice | No Comments »
EZ Playbook Re-design
By Coach Kip | December 8, 2007
We have good news! In just a short month and a half EZPLayook will be relaunching with a brand new image, a brand new blog, a forum, and opportunities for you to join our growing community of coaches.
Check back often, or give either me (Coach Kip) or Coach P an email asking to be added to our list. We will then send you the proper information on how to be one of the first members in this growing community.
Thank you for all your support and your readership. We really appreciate it and we are very excited for the new look and design.
Best of Luck
Coach Kip.
Topics: Coaching | No Comments »
Lorenzo Neal
By Coach Kip | December 7, 2007
Lorenzo Neal is a 15 year NFL veteran. Not many people have heard of him. He plays Fullback, an old position that is quickly being done away with. Our football team for the last two years didn’t have one, and had no need for one.
Lorenzo is currently on the San Diego Chargers. His role on the team. Block for All-Pro running back Ladanian Tomlinson. And he loves it. He is greatfull everyday, he respects the fact that he was given an opportunity that not many people ever get. He loves the fact that he plays a kids game, and gets paid for it.
Yesterday I heard an interview with him on Nashville radio. The Chargers are headed to town to play the Titans this Sunday. During the interview it was clear that this was not just another football player. This was a guy who gets it. This was a guy who knows a thing or two about life. This is a guy who anyone can look up to with respect and admiration. He left the interview with this quote
“Love Everyone,
Trust Few,
And Power your Own Canoe.”
A somewhat silly quote but one that will stick with me for a long time.
- Love Everyone – We all can take a little from this quote. We as a Nation seem too stressed, to tense, to quick to get in each others faces. I have said it before and I will not be debated out of it. We live in the greatest Country with the greatest opportunity. We can do everything and anything but we have to remember to work together. Love your competitors, love your countrymen, love those less fortunate. Love everyone.
- Trust Few – It may seem cynical at first but it helps you tremendously. People will take advantage of you. People will try to do things that will take advantage of you. But the statement is much more deep than that. It means take care of yourself. Take care of your belongings. Take care of your future. If you look for someone else to do so it is unlikely to happen. You have to take care of yourself.
- Power Your Own Canoe – You are the only one who is going to make it for yourself. You are the only one who is going to create your future. You are the only one who controls your destiny. So do so. If you don’t get out the paddle, who knows where you will end up. Take out your paddle and start going somewhere.
If you have the time this afternoon go online to 106.7 the Fan in Nashville. At 3pm central time they will be replaying the interview. It does not last long, but it can make a big impression.
Topics: Articles, Personnel | No Comments »
Article to look at
By Coach Kip | November 27, 2007
I just want to give a quick update. We are working to add more interactivity to the site along with some more features. We appologize for not updating much but the site has only been around since October.
I have an article about the force of a tackle in the NFL. I have a background in science so I find it facinating. Hopefully you will find it as useful as I did.
Football Physics: The Anatomy of a Hit
Researchers are using new tools to study the science of a football fundamental: the tackle.
Topics: Articles | No Comments »
Playoff Time
By Coach Kip | November 8, 2007
Sorry it has been a while since the last post but it is Playoff time. I was just talking with Coach P about how great it is to be playing in November. It is just a great time of year. The air is cold and crisp, the days are short. We even have to practice under the lights.
We are also working on big changes at EZ Playbook. We will still bring you our personal playbooks along with some new interactive opportunities. Stay Tuned!
Oh and how about Michigan? Comeback, or just total disappointment from the first few games?
Topics: Coaching | No Comments »
Trinity College
By Coach Kip | October 28, 2007
It happens again. It is never over until it is over. Check out the video clip.
Topics: Articles | No Comments »