This was a very interesting year of coaching. I thought this year might be a lot like last year, all Coco's team and none with Caz's. But I was hopeful that it might be different. I was hoping that I might be able to take an active part in Caz's football season.
Caz was in his new league. No only am I a head coach in the "other" league, but an active Board member as well. I had inquired into attending the Board meetings of Caz's league, just to get sense of what goes on and how things are handled. I didn't end up going but I did make it clear that I intended to support my son and his team in his league, just as much as I would for my youngest son. So the first week of preseason, I made my pitch. Oh, and did I tell you that Caz's head coach was also the President of the league. If ever there a man that had a lot of reasons not to accept my pitch.......I offered to hold tackling dummies and keep my mouth shut, whatever he wanted. As I pointed out in my preseason blog, I was very impressed with the early practices. I thought he ran good practices, and motivated the kids well. He instilled discipline and was tough, but he reinforced with positive teaching. It was my mentor, Coach Lenny, that started my involvement with the team. He beckoned me over, when I was hanging out, watching practice. He had me help out on Defense, like we did in the old days. At the end of practice, Caz's head coach, Gino, has each coach speak to the kids. He saw me helping out Lenny, and asked me to join in on the end of practice talk. He accepted my pitch. And he was very gracious about it.
From there, I helped out as much as I could. I could make at least one practice a week and parts of others. I just jumped right in the old routine with Coach Lenny. I think the first game, really solidified my role on the team. Fortunately, Caz started one week earlier that Coco, so I had no conflict with Coco's practices or games. I could concentrate only on Caz and his team for a weekend. It was a really exciting game. We led the entire game, up until the last 2 and half minutes. Then the wheels came off. But in the process of the game, I established a niche for myself with the kids and the other coaches. I was there to stay.
I really had a lot of fun coaching this team. Certainly, there was a lot less pressure, since I was not the head coach. They were also kids older that I had coached. These kids had a bit more understanding that what I was used to. But I just flat out loved being with this team. I found the joy in coaching again. And for that I am thankful. So I owe a lot to Gino. The man had every incentive and right to send me packing. But he took me in. I think that is a good start for the leagues. Both leagues should have a good repoire. It is supposed to be about the kids. If both leagues and work together, then all the kids win.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tale of Two Seasons
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
Football really took a toll on by blog production this year. Coaching both kids teams left me very little free time. I couldn't even get in my weekly game summaries. I was finally able to watch a game on TV for fun. It was for the boys, so it was all worth it. But life was hectic this season. For everyone.
I am normally a stickler (OK, anal) for getting a certain amount of posts in each month. But rather than trying to draft, edit, and post a series of entries retroactively, I will just create this one time catch up post. I hope to encapsulate the entire season in one entry:
I should probably start with the oldest child. As I eluded to in my preseason posts, this was a turnaround season for Caz. He was re-introduced to football. The right way. Caz found joy in playing football again. That is something that I will be ever grateful. He actually looked forward to playing each week, and going to practice. His first school assignment was all built around a football theme. He took Coach Flintstone's mantra's to heart. He wrote that what he liked about himself most was that he was a "good all around player." He promised to give his every effort to work hard to improve in all areas. I really got a kick out of seeing that assignment at Open House during the first few weeks of school. Such a turnaround from last year.
It may be coincidence but some important parts of the sort clicked for Caz this year. He has always been fast. This year, he was clearly the fastest on his team. He's always been above average in athletic ability and coordination. But there are intangibles that you can't flick a switch to start, coach, cajole, teach, or will to happen. You can only encourage aggressiveness and instinct. Then you have to be patient. Either it will happen or it won't. I know my first year of playing football, I was very tentative and cautious in games. I was that way in practice to an extent, but more so in actual games. (No doubt about where Caz got his yeoman's share of the caution gene)
This year, right out of the gate, Caz was attacking on defense with his tackling. He was hitting. He was running with purpose and running hard. In his first game, he made a couple of bone jarring tackles. I took to showing him some videos of Walter Payton and Earl Campbell before his games. I was illustrating how they ran hard, didn't hesitate, and delivered a hit, even while running. They were aggressive and hard hitters, but on the offensive side of the ball. It really resonated with Caz. This was reinforced by one of Caz's coaches, who kept teaching him how to stiff arm defenders. Caz was able to takes this coaching and put it to use on the field. He really ran hard. He punished defenders. He had the longest runs from scrimmage on the team this year. He had a 45 yard TD run and a 65 yard run that set up a TD. (Since the team only scored 3 TD's all season, he accounted for 33% of the scoring). Unfortunately, I didn't see either of them. But that is a story for another post.
On defense, Caz started the season at CB. That is a key position for this age. Since there is not a lot of passing, I am not billing him as the second coming of Neon Deion. But if a RB gets outside and to the sideline at this level, it's a sure fire TD. So you need a disciplined kid, that will stay home, and hold the edge of your defense. While as a parent, I might debate his level of "discipline", he does do what he is told. He actually does listen to his coaches (yes, even including his old man). He really played the positions well. So well in fact, that with his new found size and willingness to hit, he was moved to DE. This is the other key position on D for holding the edge and containing the other O from getting outside. His first foray into the position was decided on game day, by my mentor, Coach Lenny. He got a 5 minute tutorial before the game, on how to play the position. It was totally unfair to have any expectation of sustained success. But that first game, he looked like a natural. He really played a monster game.
I can't say enough about this season for Caz. It was really fun for all of us.
Moving on to my youngest son, I can tell you that he still loves playing the game. Even with his old man as full time head coach this year, he still had fun. Coco remained a solid tackler. However, he seemed to become a bit cautious this year. Yes, it may mean that he was fighting his old man's genetics. But it may also be a function of his strategic thinking. Instinctually, he is a fighter. He attacks on D. But he's really a strategist too. It may be, that it was taking too long for him to process and decide his strategy. I may have play the "football is a thinking man's sport" card too often.
Coco played a number of positions for us on Defense this year. He played CB, DE, OLB, and ILB. Though he's a skinny kid (takes after his mom), he's tall for his age (hoping again he gets the height gene from Demi's side). So he was able to play DE, with not too much problem. But his speed allowed him to play CB and both LB positions as well. He also does what he is told. He had the discipline to hold the edge and contain. For some reason though, he didn't seem to be able to kick it into that extra gear to track down a runner, like he had in the past. I have some theories on that but will save that for my post on my season of coaching. Coco was versatile. And he knew it. He was proud of it. Rightfully so. I knew that I could call his name and insert him anywhere on a moment's notice. I didn't have to explain much. He'd get it instantly. It was a nice luxury to have.
On offense, again, Coco was a renaissance man. He played TB, FB, WB, TE, and G. He ran hard. He was one of the few, and actually maybe the only kid, to run to the hole and not to the QB to get the ball. He hit the hold hard and fast. He ran North/South very well. In the past, he's proven to be very instinctual and shifty. It may have been circumstances (the overall team blocking was suspect) but he wasn't able to be elusive. There was one run against the 4th grade team that stood out, but that's was really it. He knew all the plays though. And he knew where everyone should be on each play. That I can tell you for certain, he gets from his Dad.
Overall, Coco's season was successful. He wasn't flashy, but that is just fine. He was solid. He got the job done. He improved each week. And he had fun. That's really all I can ask of him.
People always say that the winning is not important at those ages. But then they always seem to ask your record. So Coco was 0-7-1 and Caz was 0-8. Both teams struggled on Offense. Both got shut out often. Caz's team scored 3 TD's all season. Coco's only scored 2 more than that. I would guess that Coco's team had a lot more first downs and total yardage. Defensively, both teams would point to that as their strengths. Coco's team was probably stronger on D. Both teams struggled from bouts with poor tackling and lack of aggressiveness. Both teams seemed to start games slowly. So while there were no wins, the kids shrugged that off. I wish I could say the same of all the parents. This kids got better each week. And the kids had fun. I declare both seasons a success.
Football really took a toll on by blog production this year. Coaching both kids teams left me very little free time. I couldn't even get in my weekly game summaries. I was finally able to watch a game on TV for fun. It was for the boys, so it was all worth it. But life was hectic this season. For everyone.
I am normally a stickler (OK, anal) for getting a certain amount of posts in each month. But rather than trying to draft, edit, and post a series of entries retroactively, I will just create this one time catch up post. I hope to encapsulate the entire season in one entry:
I should probably start with the oldest child. As I eluded to in my preseason posts, this was a turnaround season for Caz. He was re-introduced to football. The right way. Caz found joy in playing football again. That is something that I will be ever grateful. He actually looked forward to playing each week, and going to practice. His first school assignment was all built around a football theme. He took Coach Flintstone's mantra's to heart. He wrote that what he liked about himself most was that he was a "good all around player." He promised to give his every effort to work hard to improve in all areas. I really got a kick out of seeing that assignment at Open House during the first few weeks of school. Such a turnaround from last year.
It may be coincidence but some important parts of the sort clicked for Caz this year. He has always been fast. This year, he was clearly the fastest on his team. He's always been above average in athletic ability and coordination. But there are intangibles that you can't flick a switch to start, coach, cajole, teach, or will to happen. You can only encourage aggressiveness and instinct. Then you have to be patient. Either it will happen or it won't. I know my first year of playing football, I was very tentative and cautious in games. I was that way in practice to an extent, but more so in actual games. (No doubt about where Caz got his yeoman's share of the caution gene)
This year, right out of the gate, Caz was attacking on defense with his tackling. He was hitting. He was running with purpose and running hard. In his first game, he made a couple of bone jarring tackles. I took to showing him some videos of Walter Payton and Earl Campbell before his games. I was illustrating how they ran hard, didn't hesitate, and delivered a hit, even while running. They were aggressive and hard hitters, but on the offensive side of the ball. It really resonated with Caz. This was reinforced by one of Caz's coaches, who kept teaching him how to stiff arm defenders. Caz was able to takes this coaching and put it to use on the field. He really ran hard. He punished defenders. He had the longest runs from scrimmage on the team this year. He had a 45 yard TD run and a 65 yard run that set up a TD. (Since the team only scored 3 TD's all season, he accounted for 33% of the scoring). Unfortunately, I didn't see either of them. But that is a story for another post.
On defense, Caz started the season at CB. That is a key position for this age. Since there is not a lot of passing, I am not billing him as the second coming of Neon Deion. But if a RB gets outside and to the sideline at this level, it's a sure fire TD. So you need a disciplined kid, that will stay home, and hold the edge of your defense. While as a parent, I might debate his level of "discipline", he does do what he is told. He actually does listen to his coaches (yes, even including his old man). He really played the positions well. So well in fact, that with his new found size and willingness to hit, he was moved to DE. This is the other key position on D for holding the edge and containing the other O from getting outside. His first foray into the position was decided on game day, by my mentor, Coach Lenny. He got a 5 minute tutorial before the game, on how to play the position. It was totally unfair to have any expectation of sustained success. But that first game, he looked like a natural. He really played a monster game.
I can't say enough about this season for Caz. It was really fun for all of us.
Moving on to my youngest son, I can tell you that he still loves playing the game. Even with his old man as full time head coach this year, he still had fun. Coco remained a solid tackler. However, he seemed to become a bit cautious this year. Yes, it may mean that he was fighting his old man's genetics. But it may also be a function of his strategic thinking. Instinctually, he is a fighter. He attacks on D. But he's really a strategist too. It may be, that it was taking too long for him to process and decide his strategy. I may have play the "football is a thinking man's sport" card too often.
Coco played a number of positions for us on Defense this year. He played CB, DE, OLB, and ILB. Though he's a skinny kid (takes after his mom), he's tall for his age (hoping again he gets the height gene from Demi's side). So he was able to play DE, with not too much problem. But his speed allowed him to play CB and both LB positions as well. He also does what he is told. He had the discipline to hold the edge and contain. For some reason though, he didn't seem to be able to kick it into that extra gear to track down a runner, like he had in the past. I have some theories on that but will save that for my post on my season of coaching. Coco was versatile. And he knew it. He was proud of it. Rightfully so. I knew that I could call his name and insert him anywhere on a moment's notice. I didn't have to explain much. He'd get it instantly. It was a nice luxury to have.
On offense, again, Coco was a renaissance man. He played TB, FB, WB, TE, and G. He ran hard. He was one of the few, and actually maybe the only kid, to run to the hole and not to the QB to get the ball. He hit the hold hard and fast. He ran North/South very well. In the past, he's proven to be very instinctual and shifty. It may have been circumstances (the overall team blocking was suspect) but he wasn't able to be elusive. There was one run against the 4th grade team that stood out, but that's was really it. He knew all the plays though. And he knew where everyone should be on each play. That I can tell you for certain, he gets from his Dad.
Overall, Coco's season was successful. He wasn't flashy, but that is just fine. He was solid. He got the job done. He improved each week. And he had fun. That's really all I can ask of him.
People always say that the winning is not important at those ages. But then they always seem to ask your record. So Coco was 0-7-1 and Caz was 0-8. Both teams struggled on Offense. Both got shut out often. Caz's team scored 3 TD's all season. Coco's only scored 2 more than that. I would guess that Coco's team had a lot more first downs and total yardage. Defensively, both teams would point to that as their strengths. Coco's team was probably stronger on D. Both teams struggled from bouts with poor tackling and lack of aggressiveness. Both teams seemed to start games slowly. So while there were no wins, the kids shrugged that off. I wish I could say the same of all the parents. This kids got better each week. And the kids had fun. I declare both seasons a success.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Reading Continues
Both boys have started to read the Artemis Fowl book series. They have really put in large chunks of time into reading. As a result, I was happy to go out and buy 3 of the books in the series. They really seem to be sharing those well. And since they are both reading so much, they are both keeping pace to be able to switch books and not have to wait on the other. It is a good series. The classic kid genius tale seems to have that universal appeal with children. I have read this series as well. I guess that makes me a big kid. But that is nothing new.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Things Are Looking Up
Caz seems to really be enjoying himself in his new league and on his new team. Not only that, but he seems to be thriving. He seems to have decided to put his physical skills to use. He has always been fast, but speed will only get you so far. He is on the taller side for his grade. While his weight may be on the lighter side, he is using leverage. Caz has also made a conscious decision to hit. That is just something one cannot teach.
I do like the coaching he is receiving. This years head coach is firm and preaches discipline. He also does this in a positive manner. He demands the players' full attention, respect, and effort. But he also encourages and provides both positive and constructive feedback. The team really seems to respond to this, and Caz especially has taken it to heart. I really hope this trend continues. This is starting to be such a better experience than last year for Caz.
I do like the coaching he is receiving. This years head coach is firm and preaches discipline. He also does this in a positive manner. He demands the players' full attention, respect, and effort. But he also encourages and provides both positive and constructive feedback. The team really seems to respond to this, and Caz especially has taken it to heart. I really hope this trend continues. This is starting to be such a better experience than last year for Caz.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Summer Turns to Fall
How does summer end in mid-August? Sign your kid up for football. Equipment was handed out over the weekend and practice starts today for Caz. 4 days a week of football practice for the next 3 weeks. Preseason can really take its toll. At least there are not double sessions. Coco gets his equipment this weekend and the head coach (yours truly) scheduled the first practice for the Monday following. The Mites and parents are in for a bit a rude awakening. This is not Mighty Mites anymore. We have league rules and moved up a division this year. They thought we played big towns and kids last year. They ain't see nothing yet. At least there is a weight limit this year. That should help level the playing field a bit from last year.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Last Hurrah
"Start spreading the news....."
One final weekend at Mom's on the Island. Family road trip. Demi's mom is finally selling the house and moving full time to FL. It was only a matter of time. I know this will be hard on Demi. There are a lot of great memories in that house. The boys will miss it too. Even though we have been spending more time staying with Demi's sister while on Island, the boys have spent a lot of time there at Mom's over the years. It has been the site of many Christmas festivities and family events.
The boys are really traveling well these days. No movies. No constant stopping. I think we stop more for Demi and Gizmo. The wee wee jug gets used here and there but for the most part, the kids are champs at holding it. We use the third row seating so each kid has his own space. They fall asleep halfway into the trip. And better yet, they wake up enough when we get there to walk into the house and crawl into bed. We listen to the Sox on the radio. They play Nintendo DS for a bit. Demi and I still limit their electronics. It's not all video games and movies the whole way. We haven't even packed the DVD player on a few recent trips. Caz does have an IPod nano that has video capabilities. He has a season's worth of Mythbusters on their to keep him busy. The kids have always been decent travelers but they are really pros now.
One final weekend at Mom's on the Island. Family road trip. Demi's mom is finally selling the house and moving full time to FL. It was only a matter of time. I know this will be hard on Demi. There are a lot of great memories in that house. The boys will miss it too. Even though we have been spending more time staying with Demi's sister while on Island, the boys have spent a lot of time there at Mom's over the years. It has been the site of many Christmas festivities and family events.
The boys are really traveling well these days. No movies. No constant stopping. I think we stop more for Demi and Gizmo. The wee wee jug gets used here and there but for the most part, the kids are champs at holding it. We use the third row seating so each kid has his own space. They fall asleep halfway into the trip. And better yet, they wake up enough when we get there to walk into the house and crawl into bed. We listen to the Sox on the radio. They play Nintendo DS for a bit. Demi and I still limit their electronics. It's not all video games and movies the whole way. We haven't even packed the DVD player on a few recent trips. Caz does have an IPod nano that has video capabilities. He has a season's worth of Mythbusters on their to keep him busy. The kids have always been decent travelers but they are really pros now.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Reading Challenge - Update 7
Coco is now done with the series. He read 600 pages in a little more than a day. He told me when I got home that he was done. He also told me that he wanted to read the Tales of Beetle the Bard. He finished that one after dinner. I really do marvel over what he has done. The amount of reading he has done is truly astonishing. We had a little wrap up quiz and discussion about the last book. Coco really had good insight into what he was reading.
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