BLACK

Expounding on earlier posts about the STICK CONCEPT, more examples of Y Stick being utilized (mainly just posting video examples). If I get more time in the next few weeks, I'll provide more detail to my favorite 3-step concept.

While no one wants to destroy or hinder their own players (counter productive to coaching), often times we do. What are some of the things you've witnessed, done, or have heard about that directly diminish a player's drive to succeed?


Sometimes the best things to learn are the things NOT to do.....
We mean well, but there may be times when we unknowingly sap production from our team via the words we say, the way we treat people, or how we 'coach'

A few off the top of my head are;

Talking about how much a player sucks: not challenging or pressuring a kid to get better, but just berating his abilities in off-hand comments, that his team mates buy into (the real issue). The player will find himself alienating himself from the staff and his team mates (see the third example) in a vicious-cycle of defeatest attitude.
Best player excuse :here directly avoiding challenging a player to develop past himself or accepting flaws simply because he's just better than everyone else (therefore, even with mistakes, the kid is better than whats behind him). This emotional coddling inhibits self-pressure and growth.
Deliver all emotion, and no substance : hyping up a drill or responsibility through emotional transference (yelling and screaming), but not providing a clear direction in which to do accomplish what you want. "Throw Harder" / "Block somebody" come to mind.....telling the kid to improve his performance but not explaining HOW he can go about doing it, causing him to further doubt himself and begin sharing your frustration with him (only causing more errors for the player).
Demanding immediate production with no investment: prodding a kid into loading up the bar with plates, but does not have the motor skills developed to perform a squat. Sure, its pussified to have anything less than 225lbs on the rack, but if we haven't taught how to breathe, stand, sit, and explode (contract)....we end up cultivating an unsurmountable fear and trepidation to a major building block of success. You have to crawl before you can walk, and many times we will put kids in positions to have to be masters of 4-5 different skill sets, without affording them the time to gain mastery in one.

More feedback here;
http://coachhuey.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=33652&page=1

Having fun trying out the new Opera mini browser (v5.0) still in beta testing.

Some great tips are found here

Non-touch users, don't forget Opera Mini's one and two-key shortcuts;
1 – Context Menu
2 – Scroll Up
4 – Scroll Left
5 – Zoom
6 – Scroll Right
8 – Scroll Down
# then 1 Enter URL
# then 2 - Search the Web
# then 3 - Find in Page
# then 4 - Start Page
# then 5 - Bookmarks
# then 6 - History
# then 8 - Settings
# then 9 - Saved Pages
# then # - Forward
* then 1-9 - Launch Speed Dial URLs 1-9
* then 0 - Reload Page
* then # - Toggle Landscape
* then * - Toggle Full Screen
* then Up - Open a new tab
* then Down - Close current tab
* then Right - Next tab
* then Left - Previous tab

After slidding around the field on Friday, we pulled out a win on the 2 yard line in the final 4 seconds of the game, finally being able to stop their flexbone offense.

Much respect to Northwood's Jamarcus Johnson (#6) and Mike Williams (#30) who dominated the night with competitive play and leadership.



Defense 10/23 @ Yahoo! Video

Congratulations to the Iowa Hawkeyes and their battle against Michigan State this weekend. As they climb the BCS rankings this season, take note of former Oline coach, Kirk Ferentz's bread-and-butter running play, Stretch (Outside Zone).

Ferentz and Oline coaches, Reese Morgan and John McLaughlin ( no, not THAT guy ), stress key fundamentals for gaining leverage on defenders. The system they have used since Ferentz’s arrival in Iowa City has consistently featured a dominant run game (regardless of talent).

Their teaching progression for gaining leverage is as follows;

• Get underneath and inside
• Eyes on Target
• Flat Back
• Pad under chin
• Elbows in
• Hands Under
• Knees under chest

They stress the Olinemen to attack low-to-high, deliver an initial punch and then get the defender on his toes.

Once locked on to the target, if the defender tries to get away, they should accelerate their knees (and run over him). When the defender attempts to run away, that’s when guys get flattened because the inertia and combo blocking is too much to overcome.

The first step of the Olineman is a tight reach to the defenders' playside number. It doesn’t really matter if it is 3” or 6”, it all is relative to the athlete’s ability. The second step should be placed to put the lineman’s knee in the crotch (center of balance) and get vertical by driving his feet. From there, leverage is something they fight for with every step, looking to overtake the defender with movement.

Hawk Run Game @ Yahoo! Video

Here we see their stretch run game utilized heavily throughout the game from various formations (both strong and weak). The following clips coming from their last drive in the game.

hawk stretch @ Yahoo! Video
and of course, the exciting last minute play (just basic 3-step slant-shoot concept) in the final 2 seconds is worth seeing again....

10/24/09 Hawk @ Yahoo! Video

Having coached one, and also against five Hawkeye starters, I don't feel so bad about my situation now.

Watching the Hawks battle the Spartans this weekend, there were quite a few vicious hits taking place. Two of which took out two phenomenal players (whom I've had the displeasure of trying to defend in the MAC), Brett Greenwood (#30) and Colin Sandeman (#22).

sandeman @ Yahoo! Video

In the clip below, Sandeman gets blindsided with what would appear to be an other wise innocuous hit, but the neurological impact can be clearly seen. In light of the recent research of brain trauma and the long-term degenerative impact, this may amp up how these injuries are dealt with by training staffs.

But more importantly (for coaches), as Head Coach Mark Dantonio protests, defensive back, Jeremy Ware, was flagged for a 15 yard penalty of unnecessary roughness. From how we coach form tackling, Ware was in textbook position and presented his chest as the tackling surface.

shoots @ Yahoo! Video

eye opener @ Yahoo! Video
It just so happened that his helmet made contact with Sandeman's helmet. From a technique standpoint, I am unsure what Ware could have done to consciously prevent the injury (as his head naturally dips in anticipation of the hit as the chest makes contact).

See Malcolm Gladwell on Brain Injuries in Football , Brain Injuries and the NFL , Concussions Management in Sports

Further commentary here;

http://coachhuey.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=33694

West Ham United 2: Arsenal 2 25/10/09 Premiership result

This match was almost three quarters finished before West Ham finally turned up. In the first half Arsenal totally dominated with Van Persie and Gallas both hitting the target. However a Carlton Cole goal in the second half kept the Hammers' hopes alive and they managed to equalise with a controversial penalty just before the 80th minute. Wenger was understandably furious that for the second time in 4 days, the Gooners threw away a lead and ended up with 1 point rather than 3. He may have a valid point that questionable refereeing decisions led to both West Ham goals (awarding a free kick to West Ham which resulted in the first goal and then giving West Ham a penalty for the second) and he may also believe Arsenal should also have been awarded a penalty, but the fact remains that if Arsenal want to win silverware this season, they need to consolidate their leads rather than thrown them away.

There is however some comfort for Gunner fans that Man U and Spurs both lost this weekend. However overall West Ham fans will be the happier as their team showed the sort of spirit that is needed to put distance between themselves and the relegation zone. They are still however still chasing their first home win this season so further improvement needed.

Today's 2:0 result must have boosted the Anfield faithful, not least Rafa Benitez. Claiming a Manchester United scalp not only ended Liverpool's run of 4 straight defeats, but should also help alleviate the pressure on Rafa, who has been coming under fire for creating a team which may believe relies far too heavily on Torres and Gerrard. It was however Torres who beat an unconvincing Ferdinand to score the first goal in the 65th minute. Torres was then substituted for David Ngog, who in stoppage time calmly slotted the ball behind Van der Sar, who did well to keep Kuyt and Aurelio out earlier in the game.

The run of form of both clubs going into the match could not have been more different, with all the sensible money being put on Manchester United. And that is why football is such a great game and why the Premiership is such a fantastic league - form and stats mean nothing when two big clubs and bitter rivals clash. Liverpool vs Man U is always fascinating and the 2 red cards handed to Vidic and Mascerano demonstrate how emotive the contest is. Today's fixture had an extra ingredient with the return of Michael Owen to Anfield in a Man U strip and Owen must have been bitterly disappointed not to silence the Anfield boos.

There was little to separate the two sides at half time but Torres' pace and brilliance in the second half meant that Liverpool deserved their win ... the question of course remains - can Liverpool do the job without Torres (and Gerrard).

STREET FIRE - COPENHAGEN CUSTOM SHOW 2009
30th of October to 1st of November 2009


The CO2 E - Race and friends spent 3 days at Bella Center, showing the biggest skeptics of the Electric Car, that they also can be sexy..click on image for a closer look! The LYNX Electric car was selected to be part of the "Best in Show" competition where people could SMS their vote X Factor Styles.



More about Street Fire HERE

AZ Alkmaar 0 Arsenal 1 Champions League 20/10/2009

Arsenal threw away a one goal lead 3 minutes into stoppage time against Dutch team AZ Alkmaar with a great hit from Mendes Da Silva.

The Gunners had a great early start to their away Champions League fixture with a well worked team goal finished by Cesc Fabregas in the 36th minute.. AZ Alkmaar were caught in possession by Arshavin but then the Gunners punished the home team superbly with a well timed Van Persie cross to captain Fabregas who made no mistake.

In the second half AZ Alkmaar gradually came into the match with a couple of subsitutions adding a bit more pace to their game. They still lacked the potency needed to penetrate Arsenal but gave the Gooners a few problems on the edge of the 18 yard box with one great chance to bring it back to 1-1 which came to nothing.

Arshavin and Van Persie both looked great but this was a professional performance from Wenger's men. AZ Alkmaar played the match quite physically, probably due to being frustrated by Arsenal's ability to smoothly retain possession.

Just when the game looked wrapped up AZ Alkmaar applied some late pressure, the ball fell nicely for a volley just inside the box for Da Silva who hit the back of Almunia's net with some venom, the home team grinding out a great Champions League result

A bitter pill for Wenger's boys after bossing most of this Champions League tie.

Fulham 2 Hull 0 Premiership result 19/10/09

No, not a real rivalry....just ribbing a New York Giant fan in Louisiana.

All last week, I had the pleasure of torturously antagonizing a co worker as the NFC battle of unbeatens approached this Sunday.

Below are pics of that ritualistic abuse;




Transforming Giants Stadium into the Superdome;

er....um...........YEA!

Getting OFF of blocks is not exactly intuitive, especially at lower levels.
The get-off, separation, and escape have to be conditioned into defenders as the rhythm in which they operate....if they are STILL ENGAGED with blockers after the 5th step, you have problems. Those offensive linemen / blockers don't have the ball!
There shouldn't be any thinking involved in this equation at all though. The WAY they are supposed to be playing the position should require very little mental processing, because it should be the same every snap;

• Align
• Stance
• Get-off
• Punch / separation
• Leverage
• Escape

Anything more than that, and its a waste and inefficient (Olinemen don't carry the ball). The Oline's job is to tie up, get in the way, block the defenders.....why are we wanting the Dline to block the Oline, who are blocking the Dline?
Escape requires no more thinking than a hand strike block in Karate.....that's all this is....muscle-memory response

Also, we should be conditioning them to accomplish each movement in coordinated footsteps. This isn't unmetered "free time", it is a choreographed dance they need to be working with. They should be making contact on the first step, seperating/leveraging on the 2nd step, etc....just teaching get-offs on air has really no game time application. Getting them from the coiled hips (stance), to contact, to extension (seperation) is what is going to determine the line's success on game day

Just be sure the DL is gaining separation from the Oline at the snap. Getting off and into Olinemen is not what you want. Once they have uncoiled their hips (after get off) they are already beat (there is no way to work an escape if the hips are not coiled). If they do this, then it just becomes a wresting match of fatties (common at lower levels). Dline should keep their hips away from the oline at all times, and only close that distance when they are working an escape (and then push their hips tight past the Olineman's hips).

Probably the most crucial game of the year for us last night ended in a 35-28 last minute loss to Haughton. There were some good moments and some moments of questionable competitiveness as we continue to mature towards a better team.

ELECTRIC CAR EVENTS IN COPENHAGEN FALL 2009


Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard at Copenhagen Design Center's exhibition "Smart Use of Energy"


Director of Danish Design Center Christian Scherfig



COP Kreativ lecture talking about the sound of Electric Cars



It's a Small Small World - the Electric Fiat and Tesla outside of Danish Design Center



Danish Transport Minister Lars Barfoed holding a speech




Click on image to enlarge and read

CO2PENHAGEN - the world's first CO2-neutral Festival


Katrine Vejby from Co2penhagen on the LYNX Electric Scooter


Mikael Simpson giving the eye


Szhirley singing


The legendary ARRIVA bus driver and scuba diver

As the Red Raiders prepare to invade Lincoln this weekend, the defensive fingerprint of Bo Pelini is becoming apparent (averaging 8 ppg and only 273.4 yards total per game) and setting up an exciting matchup between the prolific Texas Tech offense and this new generation of Blackshirts.

As the Huskers press on to an inspiring turn around season, one can appreciate the hustle and determination Pelini instills in his players. Today's offering is Pelini speaking of his approach to building and coordinating defensive units (showcased here at the peak of his tenure at LSU).

Bo Pelini Defensive Philosophy Clinic (pgs 15 -18)
( located at http://sitekreator.com/brophyfootball2/main_page.html )

Audio of the lecture
( located at http://sitekreator.com/brophyfootball/main_page.html )

One of the joys I've had the pleasure to experience this year, was making the acquaintance of one of the hardest working players on our team, Kevin Pitre. Pitre is an extremely well disciplined competitor and despite his size, he is the strongest player on the team.

After dedicating himself to practice and weight sessions, Kevin finished the summer with a 235 lbs power clean, 355 lbs squat, and a 265 lbs bench. Those numbers are staggering.....then you have to keep reminding yourself he is only 16 years old!

Now into his Junior year, Kevin has become a dominant force on the defense, and is a violent, offensive eraser on the perimeter.

Looking to study broadcasting after high school, he is improving his now cumulative 2.5 GPA to set himself up for continued success and achievement.

World Cup Group 6 Qualify group result : England 3 Belarus 0