Most football coaches I know, and for that matter most men I know, love their wives and families. That's never a problem. The problem sometimes becomes "How do we love our wives?" What does that look like? The Bible says that men are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. And just what does that mean? Author Steve Farrar put it like this, "He is willing to get hurt for his wife. He is even willing to die for his wife, if necessary. But in most cases his love will mean sacrificing anything in order to care for his wife." I like that. Have I always done it? I have failed miserably many times in my 41 years of marriage, but I go back and try again. There are many little things we can do to love our lives and here's just one example. This is one I worked on myself.
I know that we are to build our wives up, to build their self-esteem, not tear it down or "deflate" so to speak their confidence. So, think of the term "air hose". Any time you make a cutting remark, put down, or use a sarcastic tone, particularly in front of others, you're cutting off her air hose of self-esteem and confidence. So don't do that. Compliment her; praise her, especially in public or with others. Now I wish I could take credit for this, but I heard the concept of “air hose” from one of our elders in church one Sunday as he was delivering the message. He shared that this was a concept that he had been working on with a friend. When they were together with their wives, if either would say anything remotely or blatantly unflattering of their wives the other would simply say, "Air hose". It was a way for them to be accountable to each other for loving their wives properly. It was a reminder from one friend to another.
Of course, there are many other ways we can love our wives, but this is certainly one we can all work on. I've got a long way to go but I keep trying to improve. So guys don't step on her air hose.
www.chiefpigskin.com
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Hidden Yardage
I was reading the newspaper the other day on the new football coaching staff of the Fighting Illini. One of the areas of concern to address is special teams. Now, this isn’t a story about Illinois Football but just an example to show how important special teams are. We all know it. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.
Several important thoughts were pointed out as I was reading. The Illini ranked near the bottom in most special teams categories. Their kickoff return teams average was so dismal that they didn’t even average enough to get back to the twenty yard line. They were actually better off when they COULDN’T return. The kickoff coverage was bad, allowing opponents to begin with good field position. The punt team cost them one and probably two games. All in all it was miserable. And I know they worked hard on special teams, but for whatever reason they were consistently bad. And they were bad not just this year, but the last several. It was estimated that Illinois’ special teams cost them about one hundred yards per game compared to the average. That’s a lot of hidden yardage that doesn’t show up in the box score.
So, what does that mean for us high school coaches? Well, again it’s a reminder of the importance of special teams. As I look back perhaps we as a staff could have done more to be better. Not that our teams were bad, but where could we have done a better job? Some suggestions might be:
1.Explore innovative ways to improve your special teams by learning from others. Chiefpigskin has videos available for a unique punting system at this very time. Take a look, you’ll enjoy learning about it.
2.Identify strong punters and kickers at an early age, maybe 11 or 12 years old through youth camps. Develop them so they’re ready to be strong varsity kickers/punters.
3.Spend appropriate practice time everyday on special teams.
These are some of my thoughts. How about yours? I’d love to hear of your suggestions and ideas.
Several important thoughts were pointed out as I was reading. The Illini ranked near the bottom in most special teams categories. Their kickoff return teams average was so dismal that they didn’t even average enough to get back to the twenty yard line. They were actually better off when they COULDN’T return. The kickoff coverage was bad, allowing opponents to begin with good field position. The punt team cost them one and probably two games. All in all it was miserable. And I know they worked hard on special teams, but for whatever reason they were consistently bad. And they were bad not just this year, but the last several. It was estimated that Illinois’ special teams cost them about one hundred yards per game compared to the average. That’s a lot of hidden yardage that doesn’t show up in the box score.
So, what does that mean for us high school coaches? Well, again it’s a reminder of the importance of special teams. As I look back perhaps we as a staff could have done more to be better. Not that our teams were bad, but where could we have done a better job? Some suggestions might be:
1.Explore innovative ways to improve your special teams by learning from others. Chiefpigskin has videos available for a unique punting system at this very time. Take a look, you’ll enjoy learning about it.
2.Identify strong punters and kickers at an early age, maybe 11 or 12 years old through youth camps. Develop them so they’re ready to be strong varsity kickers/punters.
3.Spend appropriate practice time everyday on special teams.
These are some of my thoughts. How about yours? I’d love to hear of your suggestions and ideas.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Last Championship Game
At last the college games are over, I think. I love watching college ball and I would watch more but my wife gets a little frustrated at times at the amount of games that are on TV. Here is typical conversation the last 4-5 weeks.
Wife: What game is this?
Me: This is the championship game.
Wife: I thought those were on New Years Day.
Me: This is D3.
Wife: Oh, OK.
The following week I’m watching another game.
Wife: What game is this?
Me: The championship game.
Wife: I thought they played that already.
Me: This is the D2 championship game.
Wife: Oh, Ok.
A week later.
Wife: What game is this?
Me: The championship game.
Wife: You watched that last week.
Me: That was D2, this is the FCS.
Wife: Oh, Ok.
New years day.
Wife: These games are?
Me: The big bowl games. You know, Orange bowl, Rose bowl, etc.
Wife: Oh, Ok.
January 9, Monday night.
Wife: What game is this?
Me: This is the championship game.
Wife: They already played those.
Me: No, this is D1, the big game.
Wife: I don’t believe you.
Me: No really, this is the last one.
And so it goes. Actually I think it does get drawn out too long. The games used to be over by New Years day but now they’ve stretched it out another week and a half. Do these kids ever go to class? I guess it’s all about TV and making more money. Anyway, the games are over and I’d better get some quality time with the wife. Oh, the pros are still playing! www.chiefpigskin.com
Wife: What game is this?
Me: This is the championship game.
Wife: I thought those were on New Years Day.
Me: This is D3.
Wife: Oh, OK.
The following week I’m watching another game.
Wife: What game is this?
Me: The championship game.
Wife: I thought they played that already.
Me: This is the D2 championship game.
Wife: Oh, Ok.
A week later.
Wife: What game is this?
Me: The championship game.
Wife: You watched that last week.
Me: That was D2, this is the FCS.
Wife: Oh, Ok.
New years day.
Wife: These games are?
Me: The big bowl games. You know, Orange bowl, Rose bowl, etc.
Wife: Oh, Ok.
January 9, Monday night.
Wife: What game is this?
Me: This is the championship game.
Wife: They already played those.
Me: No, this is D1, the big game.
Wife: I don’t believe you.
Me: No really, this is the last one.
And so it goes. Actually I think it does get drawn out too long. The games used to be over by New Years day but now they’ve stretched it out another week and a half. Do these kids ever go to class? I guess it’s all about TV and making more money. Anyway, the games are over and I’d better get some quality time with the wife. Oh, the pros are still playing! www.chiefpigskin.com
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Hittin' the Rock
It's a good thing they didn't have video games and computer games when I was a kid, I'm afraid I would've been playing them all the time. Not that they're a bad thing so much, it's just that it would've taken away my time that I played hard. You see, I've always enjoyed playing games. That's probably part of the reason why I love sports so much. Oh, I did play a lot of board games back then, but that was mostly when it was bad weather outside. I invented a lot of games that I could play solitaire. If I couldn't find some buddies that were playing a game of football, baseball, or even a war game, then I would make up a game. One of the games I invented was called "hitting the rock".
Before I talk about my game of, "hitting the rock", how many of you old-timers out there remember the electronic football game? The game consisted of a large football playing field that had 22 football figures that you put on top of the playing field. You would set up your offense and defense just the way you wanted and turn a switch and the board would begin to vibrate. The vibration caused the players to move and you could watch the play unfold before your very eyes. We thought it was pretty cool, but the drawback was that it took a long time to set up for the next play. Or how about the old All-Star baseball game by Ethan Allen? That game consisted of player cards that you could put on a spinner and would determine whether the player got a hit or made an out. I used to play an entire 162 game schedule with my team. I kept all the stats for every player, batting average, hits, home runs, and RBIs. You can see what kind of gamer I was.
I don't know how I came up with my game of throwing a football at the rock but here's how it went. In our yard we had a big rock that was about 3 feet wide and 2 feet high. I would get into my quarterback stance at the other end of the yard about 15 yards away. At the snap, (to myself)I would either drop back and throw at the rock or rollout, bootleg, scramble, whatever. If I hit the rock it was a complete pass and a 10 yard first down. If I missed the rock it was simply an incomplete pass and I would go to the next down. In this way I could drive the ball down the field by simply playing my passing game of hitting the rock. I would try and make it difficult by scrambling and throwing on the run and making it very real. The best time to play this game would be in October or November when the weather was a little cooler. I did a lot of running around and broke a good sweat. Do you believe I could play that game for a couple of hours? I would have Ohio State versus Michigan, or Alabama versus Penn State. I would usually decide that the first team to a certain score would be the winner. So if I decided that the first team to 28 would win, then I would play until someone reached that score. Any of you out there ever do anything as crazy as that? Or am I the only guy that if I didn't have a game to play would just make one up?
Looking back, I can see why I was always in shape. I never stopped playing. Of course, I still had my Little League games, my high school sports teams and other organized activities. But I think I had just as much fun in some of those board games and crazy made-up games. And you know what? To this day I still love to play games. www.chiefpigskin.com
Before I talk about my game of, "hitting the rock", how many of you old-timers out there remember the electronic football game? The game consisted of a large football playing field that had 22 football figures that you put on top of the playing field. You would set up your offense and defense just the way you wanted and turn a switch and the board would begin to vibrate. The vibration caused the players to move and you could watch the play unfold before your very eyes. We thought it was pretty cool, but the drawback was that it took a long time to set up for the next play. Or how about the old All-Star baseball game by Ethan Allen? That game consisted of player cards that you could put on a spinner and would determine whether the player got a hit or made an out. I used to play an entire 162 game schedule with my team. I kept all the stats for every player, batting average, hits, home runs, and RBIs. You can see what kind of gamer I was.
I don't know how I came up with my game of throwing a football at the rock but here's how it went. In our yard we had a big rock that was about 3 feet wide and 2 feet high. I would get into my quarterback stance at the other end of the yard about 15 yards away. At the snap, (to myself)I would either drop back and throw at the rock or rollout, bootleg, scramble, whatever. If I hit the rock it was a complete pass and a 10 yard first down. If I missed the rock it was simply an incomplete pass and I would go to the next down. In this way I could drive the ball down the field by simply playing my passing game of hitting the rock. I would try and make it difficult by scrambling and throwing on the run and making it very real. The best time to play this game would be in October or November when the weather was a little cooler. I did a lot of running around and broke a good sweat. Do you believe I could play that game for a couple of hours? I would have Ohio State versus Michigan, or Alabama versus Penn State. I would usually decide that the first team to a certain score would be the winner. So if I decided that the first team to 28 would win, then I would play until someone reached that score. Any of you out there ever do anything as crazy as that? Or am I the only guy that if I didn't have a game to play would just make one up?
Looking back, I can see why I was always in shape. I never stopped playing. Of course, I still had my Little League games, my high school sports teams and other organized activities. But I think I had just as much fun in some of those board games and crazy made-up games. And you know what? To this day I still love to play games. www.chiefpigskin.com
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