'Changing the Game' for Young Athletes

I enjoy articles and information about youth sports, and a great website with thoughtful information and resources is Changing The Game Project by John O'Sullivan. The site includes his blog with some great topics that parents, coaches and athletes will appreciate. One blog that O'Sullivan recently wrote was titled, Are Your Kids Mentally Weak? He went through five points that should be considered and can be the difference between kids being mentally weak or strong.

1) Struggle is Good--Surround yourself with people who will challenge you.
2) Let them fail--Do not fear failure. Learn from failure.
3) Praise Effort--Do not "over-praise" but praise work effort and the things that will help improve.
4) Strict is a good thing--It will be appreciated in the long run.
5) Stress is good--Learning to deal with stress in sports will lead to lifelong success.

I think that O'Sullivan's points and comments are right on. He does a great job of stressing that with each point, there is a line that parents can push but not cross, and with a thoughtful approach, parents can really help their kids. O'Sullivan talks about letting kids fail, but then is quick to point out that parents and coaches need to make sure that communication is established with kids and explaining that 'failing' is part of athletics which leads to improving, working harder, and learning many valuable lessons. Emotional toughness can be very difficult to instill, and O'Sullivan points out that there will be some struggles and tough times as the athletes and parents work to achieve this. Parents have to be willing to help their kids find the right mentors and coaches that will push their kids in a healthy way and not always pamper their kids.

I would add my own thoughts to O'Sullivan's points:

1) Our staff at Riggs Premier Football is experienced in challenging athletes and working with them through the challenges. Good coaches make a huge difference!
2) We want challenges, and we want to set high goals. Goals are something that we continually strive for, and we will face failure as we try to reach our goals. If the goal is easily attainable, then it will not make the athlete any better. Athletes must experience failure as they strive for their goals, and they must learn how to improve from that failure.
3) Create a mindset that allows athletes know they are doing good things, but don't 'overpraise' them for every little thing. Make sure that athletes know that your praise has a meaning and is not just constant wasted verbiage.
4) Coaches that create discipline are the ones that athletes will remember. They will not like the change at first, because things will not be easy, but it will pay off in the long run. Along with discipline there must be good communication. A coach can create an environment where they have certain standards, but it's important they explain why they have these standards.
5) Do not allow everything to be easy. Athletes need to feel the pressures of different stressors from competition. The stressors that they face in athletics are the same stressors they are going to experience when they are at school and work. Learning to face these types of stress and then overcome them will only make them better.

It is a great reminder that we need to work together to provide a solid, supportive environment in which kids can learn to succeed! That is a lesson parents and coaches should always keep in mind.

Quarterbacks to Watch in NFL Week 6

Here in Week 6 of the NFL season, there is plenty to evaluate with quarterback play. We are seeing some excellent performances and some struggles for the players in this high pressure position. These are my thoughts on three who seem to be getting a lot of the headlines at this point in the season:

Matt Schaub, Houston Texans
Athletes in every sport have periods of struggles and difficult losses. Baseball players may not get a hit in multiple games, basketball players go through hot and cold shooting streaks, and golfers miss easy putts. Football players are susceptible to making mistakes and hitting a rough streak at times too.

Matt Schaub is going through one of the most difficult struggles of his football career. Schaub’s team is on a three-game losing streak, and Schaub has thrown nine INT’s on the season, taken 12 sacks, and thrown INT’s for Defensive TD’s in four consecutive games. Many have questioned why he is still the starting QB for the Texans. Coach Kubiak has demonstrated faith and confidence in Schaub, stating that Matt is the starting QB for the Texans. As a coach, he can demonstrate faith and confidence, but Schaub has to be on a very short leash. The Texans have Super Bowl aspirations, and a stretch like this can make or break their season.

Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans play the St Louis Rams this week at Houston. Look for the Texans to try and establish a run game, with short, higher-percentage passes early in the game. When a QB makes mistakes early, he begins to press and evaluate every throw. That can lead to more mental errors and poor QB play. Coach Kubiak wants to take all the thinking elements out of the game and let Schaub trust his instincts and just play.  Look for the Texans to get a win this week against a gritty Rams team, and Matt Schaub will come out of his slump with a strong performance.

Geno Smith, NY Jets       

Geno had many doubters when he was drafted by the Jets and most recently answered those doubters with a big win at Atlanta on Monday night. The true question is what can the rookie QB do on a short week preparing for an 0-4 Steelers team that will be very hungry. Geno is going to see some very difficult coverages with the Steelers defense. The Steelers are going to try and keep the Jets in passing situations and then mix up their coverages to confuse the rookie QB. When Geno has taken care of the ball and played smart football, then the Jets have been a solid football team. If Geno decides to press the issue and make plays when they are not there, then he will put his team in poor situations with bad field position and turnovers.

Look for Geno to make some mistakes today as most NFL QB's are prone to against the Steelers defense.  Can he keep his mistakes to a minimum?  His team's success will ride on that as the Steelers will capitalize on any mistakes Geno gives them.

Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
Everyone knows of Peyton Manning's QB talent, but what we have been watching in the first five weeks of the NFL season is truly amazing. Manning is on a record pace with the stats that he has put together so far. Manning seems very comfortable with any look a defense shows him, he knows where his WR's are going to be, he is showing confidence in all skilled players to throw to them at any time, and he is showing confidence to give the ball to their running backs when the defense is dropping back into coverage. The Denver offense is clicking on every cylinder, and that is great credit to Manning.

Eventually a team will find a way to get pressure on Manning with their front four defensive linemen, and they will challenge the QB. That will not happen this week against Jacksonville, but it will be interesting to see if the Broncos and Manning are able to stay sharp against a team they should throughly dominate.

There will be more ups and downs for all of these quarterbacks during the rest of the NFL season. It will be interesting to see how the story lines play out for these three who are at such different points here in Week 6.  

Practice to Succeed

It is hard to believe we are already winding down the regular football season and preparing for playoffs! As the season starts to wind down, the drive to keep pushing new ideas and skill development can be lost and practices can sometimes become very boring and repetitive for coaches and athletes. Some coaches will fall on the poor habits of talking for long periods of time, having endless practice time of running plays, or requiring continuous tackling to the ground to “toughen the kids up.” Practice, even at this stage of the season, is the most important element of skill development and it is critical to strengthening the interest level of athletes to want to continue to play the sport. Coaches should look at this late season practice time as the most critical time for athletes and future development of their team and program.

Structuring a practice can help coaches prevent the long sessions that drag practice out and lead to athletes losing interest and possibly getting hurt. Another option is to continually mix in new drills to keep a high interest level. USA Football does an excellent job offering practice plans and drill suggestions to help with creating practices that will keep the coaches and athletes excited about football. I used some of USA Football's suggestions and came up with this sample practice:

1)  Warm-up (15 mins) Air

2)  Team Talk/Water (5 mins) Air

3)  Offense-Indy work (10 mins) Air

4)  Special Teams (10 mins) Air (should be incorporated every practice)

5)  Water Break (5 mins)

6)  Tackling Circuit (15 mins) Air (Do not need to take to the ground and use more than one drill. Have the circuit that keeps the kids moving.)

7)  Water Break (5 mins)

8)   Defense-Indy work (10 mins) Air

9)  Group Time (offense) (10 mins) Wrap

10) Group Time (defense) (10 mins) Wrap

11) Goal Period (5 plays) (5 mins) Wrap

12) Team Conditioning---(10 mins) Pads off—Flickerball in a smaller space. Competition, while
       conditioning.

In my experience, a combination practice that keeps young athletes moving through fundamentals, skill development, conditioning, and competition, strikes a great balance.  Kids also remain more motivated during practice when they know there is competition at the end.  They always enjoy Flickerball! Conditioning doesn't have to be part of every practice, and coaches can certainly use drill/practice time as a way to reinforce conditioning.  The key is to keep things varied and moving along so that they are learning, working, and maintaining a high interest level.  It isn't always easy, but there are plenty of resources available to assist with structuring practices.  We are also available to consult with teams who need advice or assistance.

Best of luck to all our athletes and teams as they end their regular season and head into playoffs!  We look forward to seeing some great playoff football!