Coaching Process Wins

The statement, "What hill are you willing to die on" is also referred to "pick your battles". A coach is faced with many decisions outside the thoughts of X's and O's, some of them are worth the battle and the hard ache, and some of them have to be walked away from. The morale of this story? Don't fight them all, because there will be a lot of them. But, the few you choose to go to the "wall on", ask yourself two things: Can you win the battle? What are the consequences if you go all the way? More on the Morning Walk-Through about this important topic. Click to go to the Vault WE LOVE FOOTBALL That’s why we built this incredible resource We’ve partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won’t find anywhere else!  

I confuse the difference between what an objective is and what a goal is. I want to really hone in and define an objective. Why? I believe it's a huge factor when improving your team. Simply put, clearly defined objectives for an athlete, a unit, and a team leads to improvement and ultimate success. Objectives ‘“ has the word ‘object’ in it. Objects are concrete. They are something that you can hold in your hand. Definition of Goals and Objectives Goals ‘“ are long-term aims that you want to accomplish. Objectives ‘“ are concrete attainments that can be achieved by following a certain number of steps. Objectives ‘“ can be measured. Simply phrase your objective in the form of a question. For example, ‘I want to accomplish x in y amount of time’ becomes ‘Did I accomplish x in y amount of time?’ This can easily be answered in a yes or no form. Examples of Goals and Objectives Goals ‘“ I want to be a better ball player. I want to learn more about Chinese history. I want to maximize my professional performance. Objectives ‘“ I want to memorize the periodic table before my next quiz. I want to increase my sales by 10% this month. I want learn to play ‘Freebird’ on the guitar. Borrowed from and credited to: differencebetween.net   Click to go to the Vault WE LOVE FOOTBALL That’s why we built this incredible resource We’ve partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won’t find anywhere else!

A free style feeling of the best day of the year

Coaches can be proactive in growing the game of football when they share stories like Larry's and how the sport can make a life changing Impact. The story of Larry is what it's all about Team IMPACT is a national nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children with serious and chronic illnesses, and the college athletes who support them. Founded in 2011, Team IMPACT matches children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses, ages 5-16, with local college sports teams for a two-year partnership. Children are “drafted” to the team and participate as full-fledged members, attending practices, games, team dinners, events and more—serving not only as teammates, but as inspiration. How you can get involved? see below The outcomes of the program are three-fold: Children will have an improved quality of life as demonstrated through their increased optimism, confidence and feeling of belonging, which will help them to better accept their medical circumstances and be engaged in their daily social interactions. Families will feel connected and supported, giving them a sense of normalcy and an overall lessening of stress for the entire family unit. Collegiate student athletes will have a deeper insight into and appreciation for the challenges faced by others and they will be civic-minded regarding their roles and responsibilities in their communities in the future. In just 6 years, Team IMPACT has drafted more than 1,200 children to college athletic teams on 450 college campuses in 46 states. There are currently more than 1,000 teams waiting to be matched with a courageous child, so we appreciate your help in spreading the word! For more information, or how to get involved, visit: www.goteamimpact.org. #BeTheIMPACT     Click to go to the Vault. 10% of your Staff Membership is donated to Team Impact. Every member of your staff (5 or 15) will have full access to the Vault! WE LOVE FOOTBALL That’s why we built this incredible resource We’ve partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won’t find anywhere else!

When you put it into perspective, and realize you're not alone you can deal with these frustrations a lot more positively.  

I almost made a major mistake today. I got justifiably upset with a player at practice. When practice was over I got distracted and almost let the young man leave to go home. Thankfully I got to him and we were able to talk. The experience reminded me that it is imperative that no one should leave the experience of my coaching feeling dejected in any way. The day may have been bad, the player may have messed up, but he deserves to know that it's not a personal thing. No matter what, it's my job as a coach to "coach up" my players. They always need to leave knowing I care about them as a person. They should never feel as though I only think of them as an athlete.

Don Shula was the first coach that I heard and read about that placed a period in practice to coach, drill, and emphasize a small phase of the game he deemed "The Winning Edge". That Edge could be anything he felt his team would need to have the difference making mentality to earn victory. At any point, known only to him, during practice he would blow his whistle and shout "Winning Edge!" He then would give an emphatic instruction for that phase he wanted to emphasize carried out on the spot. Both players and assistants had to be prepared both physically and mentally to jump into that  phase of the game immediately and with out hesitation. This episode details some ideas to incorporate this concept into any practice. Examples: No time outs. F.G. team has to rush onto field for an end of half kick with time winding down from 15 seconds. Offense just fumbled at their own 1 yard line. Defense has to jump into sudden change mode and make a goal line stand. Kickoff team just recovered an on-side kick at mid field. With no time outs the offense needs to move the ball into field goal range for a game winning kick

You will never know if we won or lost by the way I coach next Monday An old coach told me something that I've always taken to heart, "If I change the way I coach after a loss then there must be something wrong with the way I coach after a win, so I coach hard all the time". Win or lose, our players should expect our approach to always be consistent. A coach shouldn't change due to either a win or a loss, thus letting mood dictate style. There has been many a coach lose next week's game due to his carry over of the lingering mental battle of last week's game. We can't let that happen. Always coach the plan and the process. Move forward and coach with consistency.

I had a conversation today with a football coach that admitted he had forgotten a certain facet in the teaching of a scheme. Automatically the following came out of my mouth: "You know the game has a way of humbling us, the moment you think you've covered everything is the same moment you realize you forgot that one thing that can ultimately get you beat." And, as is often the case, that one little thing is where you get exploited, and losing because of it is often the result. I've found that a thorough checklist is always the best thing to have for every facet of the game. This episode details having those list thought out and at the ready. A few examples of categories to make check lists for: All equipment needed for a road game Depth charts for every situation Pre-game sideline/press box check (head phones) Go for 2 chart When to take a knee to end the half or game chart     Click to go to the Vault WE LOVE FOOTBALL That’s why we built this incredible resource We’ve partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won’t find anywhere else!

Todd Gongwer pretty well sums up what a coach does and is in 40 characters or less

Yes, our game of football is under attack. Yes, the main "villain" is the concussion topic. And yes, because of head injuries our game has become safer and is definitely taught better today. Proponents of saving our game keep pointing to the verbal defense of better and safer teaching tactics. Thus the argument goes: "A safer game leads to a better game, and football is saved!" I propose an offensive tact in promoting and growing our game. How about using the game to show how our country can come together. How about espousing the almost non-existence divides and differences that go into and come out of a successful football team. I've never been a part of a good or even an average team that had factions like we do now in our country. Factions like race, class, politics, and gender. We as coaches need the light of positiveness shown on our programs that the rest of the country can emulate. Our country needs what our teams exude - a common goal, togetherness, encouragement, and brotherhood. Our country needs what our teams suffer through - sweat, hard work, and discipline. Our country needs to see what American football exemplifies - dedication, selflessness, and service. When the country sees what a football team stands for and what a football team produces the game won't be under attack, it will be emulated for what is achieved by a simple thing like a huddle. "The Huddle" by Bill Curry “The football huddle is a metaphor of our culture; imperfect like all metaphors. In that huddle are a bunch of folks that are black, brown, white, red, yellow, liberal, conservative, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu. We are slim, fat, short, tall, fast and slow. We are analytical people, and we are impulsive people. We have some of the finest men on Earth, and heaven knows, we’ve got a few rounders(?). “We have been through the fires of Bear Bryant and Bo Schembechler, or some such coach that knows how to extract every ounce of our energy. Americans see all of that, and they resonate with it. They crave it. They take it and us into their hearts. The men who have earned a place in the huddle have experienced the miracle of a team. The training camp experience is unbelievable. It is day after day, week after week, two-a-day, three-a-day practices in the heat, often with 14 pounds of equipment. Many drop out. Numbers thin, and everyone starts thinking about quitting. Trust me, everybody. “For those who do stay, there is the opportunity to participate in the greatest team sport ever devised. It is the only sport in which every player needs every teammate on every play just to survive. We learn ever so slowly that our differences do not matter in the huddle. After we trudge in after every interminable workout, we know that sweat smells the same on everybody’s body. When we get busted in the mouth, that blood that trickles is the same color. Everybody’s tired. Everybody’s hurt. “It is in this process that the miracle occurs. Men who have been raised to hate each other’s guts become brothers. I’ve seen racists reformed. I’ve seen the most unlikely hugs after victories or losses. I’ve seen inner-city kids invite country boys to the mountains to go home with them for Thanksgiving Dinner, and I’ve seen those invitations accepted and reciprocated, thus affecting parents’ lives. Our players become brothers for life. It is what America is supposed to be, could be and might be in our best dreams.   Click to go to the Vault WE LOVE FOOTBALL That’s why we built this incredible resource We’ve partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won’t find anywhere else!

The Webster's definition of a work-around: of a plan or method to circumvent a problem (as in computer software) without eliminating it. Another way of putting it: Impromptu procedure developed to counteract unanticipated problem or shortcoming in a process, program, strategy, or system. According to the Urban Dictionary: The term "workaround" implies that there should be a quicker, more efficient, or otherwise better way to accomplish things. But also that such improved methods are unavailable due to some circumstances beyond the control of those directly involved. A workaround is a method, sometimes used temporarily, for achieving a task or goal when the usual or planned method isn't working. In information technology, a workaround is often used to overcome hardware, programming, or communication problems. Once a problem is fixed, a workaround is usually abandoned. Every football coaching staff in America has a problem they are currently dealing with.. As the season grows nearer and nearer, problems are becoming more and more magnified (injury, a poor punter, a young offensive line, etc). It's not if you're going to have a problem, it's how you're going to solve it. Think outside the box, solve the problem, use the work-around method. This episode details problem solving ideas using the work-around method.   Click to go to the Vault WE LOVE FOOTBALL That’s why we built this incredible resource We’ve partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won’t find anywhere else!

The quote in the title seems it would be suited for a Vince Lombardi  like comment in a motivational speech. If I closed my eyes and closely listen to the words in the quote I would imagine they are referring to the practice rituals performed from of a team long before game day and the glory of competition. The words are actually from Anne Sullivan, Hellen Keller's teacher. Anne can be an inspiration to coaches and teachers in that she taught in an age where there was little hope for not only a little girl, but a little girl who was deaf and blind, and unfortunately considered hopeless. She took this "hopeless "cause" and mentored and taught a woman who was to become an icon of American history. People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved—Anne Sullivan The following provides a few of Anne's strategies that proved successful in bringing out the greatness in Hellen Keller: (Taken from Terry Lee Marzell  - Chalkboard Champions, Recognizing and Celebrating Great Teachers) Anne read every bit of published material available in her day about the education of handicapped students. Knowledge of pedagogy is the first step to effective practice. In addition to this, Anne had the “advantage” of personal experience, as she herself had wrestled with severe vision impairment as a result of trachoma. I’m sure at one time or another, we’ve all met an educator who is particularly effective at working with students who are facing the same challenges the teacher himself faced as a youngster. Comment for coaches: Be a learner and find a way to empathize with the struggle your athlete may be dealing with both emotionally and physically Second, Anne was a keen observer, and she made it a point to watch the normal processes of language acquisition. She then replicated those processes as best she could to fit the particular circumstances and needs of her student. Today, we would probably call this strategy recognizing brain-based learning, and coordinating teaching strategies to fit the way the brain naturally learns. Comment for coaches: Create drills that simulate the physical acts of the game. The old "bull in the ring" doesn't necessarily equate to anything performed in a contest, whereas an inside drill of 9 on 7 does. Also, experts generally agree that much of Anne’s success in teaching Helen language was attributed to the fact that the teacher always communicated to her student with complete sentences. Concrete nouns such as water or spoon, verbs such was pump or run, or adjectives such as hot or smooth,  may be easy to convey. But abstract ideas such as beauty or truth, or certain parts of speech such as pronouns and some prepositions are much more difficult to impart to an individual unable to see or hear. Comment for coaches: always communicate. Don't assume a football player knows what a 3 technique is. Find words and phrases that create a sharp mental image in the way of a "word picture" that equates to proper technique and performance. Fourth, Anne was especially adept at incorporating experiential learning into her lesson plans. The effectiveness of “learning by doing” has been well documented, but in a day and age when most instruction consisted of rote memorization without necessarily comprehending, Anne’s insistence on teaching through constructed experience was truly innovative. Wading through the creek water, climbing the tree, holding the chick as it hatched from the egg—experiences like these were the staples of Anne’s instructional program. Comment for coaches: Again, find ways to simulate the actions that take place in a game. Click to go to the Vault WE LOVE FOOTBALL That’s why we built this incredible resource We’ve partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won’t find anywhere else!

Hellen Keller would have been a heck of a coach. I hold onto her words and thoughts and what she was able to achieve in the face of long odds against her. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. Life is either a great adventure or nothing. Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. - Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. - The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. - Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

Ed Orgeron sums it up pretty well. “I’ve never thought that coaching was a job. I’ve dug ditches for Lafourche Telephone Co. I’ve shoveled shrimp. THOSE are jobs.” If you've coached very long, and have been doing it for the right reasons, you've probably come to the same conclusion - Coaching ball isn't really work. Click to go to the Vault We Love Football That's why we built this incredible resource We've partnered with some of the top high school and college coaches in the game to bring you a video collection you won't find anywhere else!

If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope.  If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are opportunities to  change things, then there is a possibility that you can contribute to making a better world—Noam Chomsky

Character Wins! —A Football Journey with Darrick Ware An athlete's journey to winning character Every week  The Coaching Process Wins podcast will devote its time to diving deep into the previous #TXHSFBCHAT. Always keep up with the latest in updated football talk at http://txhsfbchat.com/ and tune into the Chat and follow TXHSFBCHAT at https://twitter.com/txhsfbchat  – Twitter handle is @txhsfbchat Questions asked in this Chat (8/2/17) The Chat questions Coach Ware covered Q1: How do you hold kids accountable for classroom behavior? Q2: How do you monitor and hold kids accountable for classroom grades? Q3: How do you teach character and leadership? Q4: What team building exercises do you do? Q5: How do you create team rules and hold kids accountable? Q6: When during the week do you teach character / leadership? Do you focus more on it in the fall or spring or all year around? Follow Darrick on twitter: @darrickware  Learn all about materials and lessons in A Football Journey by clicking here Coach Ware's Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtoaxrf3ch0&feature=youtu.be     - Have you checked out this resource for coaches? We developed the idea of All-22Vault.com while we were trying to think of new and unique ways to help coaches spread their ideas and learn from one another.

We are never going to live life in the future — but we can plan We are never going to live life in the past — but we learn Present. Life is a Present — We DO live there Psalm 23 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3  he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk     through the darkest valley,  I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me     in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil;     my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me     all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord     forever.

THE MORNING WALK-THROUGH #49 – “The idea that hard work always equals success is simply a myth”—Will Muschamp

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