40 minute read
4TH DOWN: A MENTALITY BY CHARLEY DRUM - CANYON LAKE HS
FOURTH DOWN: A MENTALITY
BY: CHARLEY DRUM
Athletic Coordinator/Head Football Coach Canyon Lake High School, Comal ISD
After years of being a defensive assistant and later as a defensive coordinator and having the “misfortune” of trying to defend several incredibly good slot-t teams, we made the decision to switch to this offense in 2012, The one thing we were looking for in an offense was an identity and a mentality. One thing that always intrigued me about this offense, besides the intricacies and discipline, was the willingness to go for 4th down at any time and at crucial times in football games. In recent years all the analytics have started to point to all the advantages of going for it on 4th down. Of course, everyone thinks of the factors involved. The simplest thing is the yardage to gain. Secondly, the time and score in the game. Finally, your offensive skill level versus the opponent's defense. Every Head Coach must take this into account when making this critical decision. Ten years ago, rather than rely on percentages and analytics we decided to try and instill a mentality within our team about 4th down. I would love to say it had an immediate impact, but it took some time to get everyone to buy in to this philosophy, including myself. Looking back, it took 3 groups to buy into this way of managing the game. The players, the coaching staff, and myself, the head coach.
Anything that is successful in high school athletics, your players need to buy what you are selling. We preach the mentality daily that we are going to be aggressive on 4th down. Especially, if it is 4th and short. After years of not only talking about it but executing and converting a high percentage on 4th down, our kids love the fact that we seem fearless when it comes to deciding to go for it. On most Friday nights, you will see our offensive kids on the field, looking over to us and pleading the case to continue the drive along with the defensive guys and backups. There is not a better feeling than seeing your offensive lineman get all lathered up about 4th down and then converting it. We do practice these situation various times during our workouts throughout the week. But as everyone knows, it is hard to simulate the intensity, drama, and physicality that occurs during these tense moments on Friday nights. Instead, we continually talk about the fact that this is “Who We Are”
The second group is the coaching staff. We all know it does not take much for an offensive coordinator or offensive assistant to say, “Coach, we can make it, just let us run this play.” The key I have learned is to have the entire staff buy into this mentality. I am sure a lot of coaches around the state have been on staffs that are divided. When I say divided, that does not mean coaching one side of the ball. I am talking about the offensive staff and defensive staff are not all on the same page regarding game management and philosophy, etc. I passionately believe that our defensive staff has bought in to this philosophy even when we do not convert. This mentality has spilled over to our defensive coaches and players. On the occasions we are not successful, more times than not, our defense will make a huge play or stand. This does not happen by accident. Our defensive coaches talk continuously about quick changes with turnovers and failed 4th down conversions. A fitting example happened this past year in the 1st round of the playoffs. We received the second half kickoff up 21-7 and faced a 4th and 1 on our own 39. We did not convert but our defense and defensive coaches did not complain or throw their hands up, they went to work and dialed up a sack and two incompletions and our offense was back in business after a punt.
Obviously, the Head Coach makes the key 4th down decisions during Friday nights. Years ago, I would have more than likely went by the book and punted with a double-digit lead in the playoffs. But as players and coaches we are not going to change who we are or what has gotten us there in the past years. Although it might sound like we are going for it all the time. We of course do punt when the situation dictates. As a head coach I have looked for those opportune times that can get you back in the game, put the game away or just swing the momentum in your favor. We are more aggressive in some years than others. The kicker, punter, and offensive and defensive personnel all play factors in this decision. Factors that have made it easier for us to live with these decisions are time of possession and the explosiveness of offenses in the last decade. We have never been known for our explosive athletes but being able to control the clock and in some cases demoralize an offense with 4th down conversions has made us more competitive, especially against superior athletes on the other side.
This mentality is not exclusive to the Slot-T, Wing T, or any other run heavy offense. This philosophy is a great fit with any offense. The key is getting all parties involved on board just like with anything you do as a team and staff. Also, the confidence gained by the young men on Friday night is priceless. We have squared off against some of the best teams in the state in years past, and even though we have lost our share of those games, our kids never felt overmatched or intimidated by the opposing team. That is what makes high school athletics the very best. Instilling a winning mentality in a group that feels like they can play with or beat anyone they line up against regardless of their size, speed, or strength.
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WIDE RECEIVER PLAY
ben moran, Assistant Coach, Frisco Independence High School
Currently, I am coaching the quarterbacks here at Independence High School. Before that, I coached at Alvarado HS and at Austin College for four seasons, with most that time being spent coaching the wide receivers. It is a great honor for me to share what I have learned in my few seasons about the wide receiver position. I have had many great coaching mentors over the short time I have spent in the profession, and have had some great wide receiver coaches pass on what they know to me. Yogi Gallegos formerly of TAMU-Commerce, and John Heavner formerly of Southeastern Oklahoma were gracious enough to speak to me early in my career about wide receiver play, and much of what I used as a starting point in my position room came from those men. I also would like to thank Loren Dawson of Austin College, for believing in me early on, and giving me a chance as a young coach to contribute and ultimately “learn by doing”. I am by no means an expert, but everything here that I have assembled has been tried and tested in the field, and has been refined over my time as a coach. My hope is that you can gain something usable about playing the wide receiver position, and if nothing else, I hope that you can utilize the set-up of the different categories to help jump start your own position manual, whether it be for the wideouts, quarterbacks, or any other position. When we discuss what makes a good and bad receiver, there are three distinct things that I always come back to. Catching the ball, playing confidently, and playing as quick as possible. The interesting thing is that these three things tend to be very intertwined rather than independent. A guy who is quick and catches the football can play confidently. A guy who is quick and confident will get open more times than not, and have enough belief in himself to go get the football when it comes his way. You can see where this goes on. I try to arm my WR’s with enough tools in their tool box that they can go into each game with the mental clarity that they can play quick, confident, and will catch everything in their reach.
The great thing about the WR room is its diversity. I have had the luxury in my seasons to coach kids on every end of the spectrum, including all the labels and categories that people want to assign. The common, unifying trend with all of them, I have found, is that the best ones among them all want the ball on most every play. Managing that type of “ego” has it’s challenges, but I have found that using that desire to be on the forefront of every play makes them respond very well to tactical coaching. They want to learn things like press release and STEM techniques, because ultimately they want the ball! A point of personal proud of is my WR’s development as blockers. They understand that they are the “Playmakers” of the offense, not only in the passing game making a big time catch, but as blockers in our running attack. Almost all of our big runs have had a guy downfield winning a block, and I want my wideouts to want to be that guy. From this understanding and taking ownership of big plays in our offense, they have really taken to being blockers. The receivers I coach will always have it in their brain that they control the offenses ability to make the big play happen, and they own the failure if it isn’t the case in that given game.
The way I break this down is from start to finish. From the snap to the end of the play, this position breakdown covers the keys to each piece. I have included “buzzwords” (Usually in quotes and in parenthesis) of techniques to allow you to coach fast, as well as provided general pointers for each category. If you ever need anything from me, please reach out, I would love to elaborate or clarify anything that you want. I am a selftaught guy, and I am an open book!
I. Stance and Start
Overview: Our main objective in coaching the WR stance and start is to maximize efficiency. Regardless of your offensive scheme or philosophy, a great stance and start
ensures a couple of attacking principals are accomplished by the position. Great vertical pressure off of the line of scrimmage forces defenses to honor the over the top threat first and foremost, but it also sets up your route tree to be as deceptive as possible. When everything looks like a go, “Until it isn’t”, it allows your WR’s to be more deceptive and forces DB’s to be at their best. Furthermore, when we discuss WR/perimeter blocking, a good stance and start can also force a secondary player to respect pass on a run play, giving you as the WR, more space to operate and decreasing the likely hood of a free runner coming down to make a big tackle. We create a successful stance and start by beginning in a body position that allows us to burst off the line at the snap without any “false steps” or wasted movements. It is important as the coach to recognize the main false steps in the stance and start to maximize the feedback and appropriate changes you need to make in your players stance.
Keys in teaching a successful stance and start:
• Your players understand why the stance and start is important - We always want to sell a Go route in all we do, it sets up our blocks, and all of our intermediate passing game. • “Track Stance” relation, imagine you are coming out of the blocks at a track meet. • Hand placement within the stance is not super important to me, some like the hands crossed, some like them inter-lapping, the big key is that they cannot be down in press. • Proper front toe vs Improper front toe, do not let your guys pigeon toe. It creates an automatic false step off of the line (“Toe Turn”, and a “Dip”). I don’t get the rationale behind turning the toe inward, it only slows you down on your first step, because you naturally turn it back straight as you fire off the ball. • The idea of weight distribution vs giving a %. It is hard to gauge body % (70-30, 50-50), so I tell my guys to get enough weight forward that they can pick up their back leg and put it down. This seems to give a more tangible way to get in a front foot heavy stance. • Identifying false steps and their remedies (listed below) • Difference in off coverage vs press coverage (specifically weight distribution and hands)
Stance and Start
• Stance: “Track Stance” - Good Knee Bend with Knee over toe, Toe pointed Straight ahead, Hips down, Shoulders pressed, Weight loaded on front foot, Hands in “Run Ready” Position - Inside foot up for outside guys, outside foot up for inside guys - In “Off “ Coverage > Instead of %’s, again, have enough weight forward where you can pick up your back leg - In Press Coverage > Balanced , Relaxed, A Stance to allow for release to both sides, i.e., be able to take a left foot step or a right foot step depending on desired release departure - Eyes and Head Must be Up to see ball for snap and see the defender over the top of him. - Hands crossed over front leg is fine with me, most guys find it the most comfortable while still being explosive • Start: “THE TAKEOFF” strive for the “GTO” or “Great
Take Off” - Explode out of stance with eyes downfield - Drive off of front foot and bring elbows with you - Think the classic example “Push the Car” - Come off the line low and fast enough to push a truck that’s run out of gas - Sell Vertical as long as you can, we want to always be a deep threat
What to AVOID:
- False Steps (Toe Taps, Toe Turns, Knee Dips, Hop Backs, Etc), we define and show how to fix each for the kids with film. - “Melting” off the line of scrimmage, you must have vertical urgency
II. Release
Overview: The way I teach the releases today, compared to when I started as a first year coach is night and day. I taught many of the often heard clichés like “break wrist and punch through”, “have a plan”, “double move / single”, etc. For a season and a half I was constantly frustrated by why none of these seemed to work effectively, even though I had seen what seemed like dozens of clinics and teaching tapes conveying these messages. After analyzing what I had been doing (unsuccessfully), I stumbled upon Coach PJ Fleck’s Nike Coach of the Year Clinic. What a light bulb moment!! So much of what he discusses in terms of release is not only an answer to what I was looking for as a change up for my guys, but it also really put the player perspective back in mind. Ultimately, releases, like anything we do as WR Coaches,
should allow our guys to play confidently and as fast as possible. This system of releases not only modernizes the way they are taught, but allows them to think less and be much more fluid and reactive, rather than slow and methodical.
Keys in teaching a successful release:
• Coming to balance on the snap, but not allowing pads to pop up • Eliminate any cushion between you and DB, make the break on his toes, (“Nose to Toes”) • Knowing the difference in off man / press man, and being able to close the gap between you and the defender without getting too high of pad level • Being physical with hands (“Wipers”) • Jabs should controlled and within the body frame, just like a crossover dribble, or a skier going down slopes • NEVER GIVE UP THE CHEST • Always look to Stack (“Hip Capture”) as soon as you can, don’t be afraid of contact • “Go Win Now” or “Vertical Express” step is there, meaning you do not bubble around a guy that you have just released on. You take the most direct path vertical that you can
Release
When I coach the WR’s on release I divide the body into lower and upper techniques. Mastery of the release includes putting them together as one. Lower Body: We have adopted the “Stick System” of footwork as opposed to teaching planned double moves/ triple moves, etc. The jabs should be within their frame, and should mirror a basketball player crossover dribbling or a skier skiing. The receiver should be balanced, and work to stick with the opposite leg outside his frame. Like a cross-over dribble, they want to stay low and athletic, and not over stretch themselves. Keys are patience and balance, more than a huge exaggerated jab step. They will use a single jab first, and if needed, based on DB leverage, use a 2nd jab before they release up the field. (this looks similar to the classic double move). After the WR releases, we want him to capture the near hip of the DB and work vertical right now. Some people, including Coach Fleck, refer to this as the vertical express step. The concept is the same. We do not want the WR to bubble his path and allow the DB to get back in phase. There should be some contact as you capture the hip, no contact tends to mean you bubbled your path too much. Upper Body: Like mentioned before, we really struggled with the old break the wrist, punch thru, etc. We adopted the “Wipers System”, which has allowed us to keep our chest from being exposed, our hands to be as violent as possible, and our guys don’t have to think too much. They simply react more. Without seeing it on film, the “Wipers” would similar to a car wiper blade. Both hands in the same direction knocking water off. Naturally my guys will still get a good dip rip when they capture the hip, but the initial contact is knocked off by the wiper hands. (Shock and Shed like). Biggest key here is that you never let a DB get his hands on you first, so you have to have your eyes up and hands ready for him to strike.
Some Additional Tools (after guys are good with the above mentioned): • “Hesi” Jab Release = Hesitation off line with Stick
System • Power Skip to Jab = Off man situation where we power skip to eat cushion, using the single jab at the top, sometimes works as a good change up. • Throw By = - Most effective on In breaking routes, like slant, dig, post , etc., but can be used with an inside stem on in breaking routes - Idea is to sell a back shoulder fade to force DB to turn his back to the LOS in a full run. Use at least three steps, will only work if DB is in a run facing away from the LOS. Must get his momentum up field. - Once his back is turned, use your inside hand to “throw by” the DB and undercut him using either a dip or punch - Key: Many defensive coverage players are taught to squat as soon as they feel a hand on their back, so avoid doing this part of the release until the last second. Get his momentum going up field, hard stick with outside leg, then throw by. • After the guys have great sticks and wipers, they can have the freedom to work to more variety, but if they can’t master good initial hands and feet, then more is futile, and tends to slow them down.
III.STEM
Overview: The “STEM” portion refers to the stem of the route. Like the stem of a plant or trunk on a tree, this is the portion in between our release and the top of our route. In my opinion, the Stem is one of the most undercoached portions of WR play, and in reality, is one of the most important things in a WR’s tool box of getting open. The STEM coaching includes how to attack defenders sitting at the top of our route, avoiding collision defenders
underneath the hard deck, getting rid of man defenders who have attached to us, and the understanding and use of “leverage” within a route.
Keys to Coaching STEM:
• Getting rid of a man defender mid route (“Meat
Grinder” with hand, keep hands active and never let a DB latch on) • Avoiding Collision Players, with low shoulder avoid technique (“Grab the Towel”). Use kickstand and release to desired side, like you are grabbing a towel off of the ground. • Leverage and how to attack using angles, “the High
Five Hand” • Know your mandatory side releases (MOR, MIR, “No
Fly Zones”) • Using a DB’s body weight against him, “Lean-Ins”, keeping hand down to avoid penalty • Attacking a Cover 2/Cloud corner based on desired leverage
IV.Break Points
Overview: The break on a wide receivers route (often referred to as the top of the route) is what, in my opinion, separates good wide receivers and wide receiver coaches. A great break can make an average WR good, a good WR great, etc. When I watch other WR’s play, it’s the first thing I look for. The old saying in coaching is that the WR is most open at the top of his route. This is a very true cliché, and coaching and repetition of this portion of the WR tool box will create the more open throws than any other portion of what we coach, in my opinion. Being able to have a good break requires the most physical mastery of any other technique. This takes not only time, repetition, and drill work, but the WR must be able to consciously understand his own body. This portion requires coaching on film, walk thru reps, and mental focus. You have to be patient and deliberate at the same time when coaching breaks. It is not an overnight thing, but over time, it can separate a player among his peers, and maximize his athletic abilities.
Keys to coaching the “Break”:
• The different breaks include: - 45 Down (Comebacks / Curls) - Hard 90 (Outs / Digs) - Kickstand (Post / Slants) - Speed Cut (Sail) • Great Body posture and running with a forward lean, what we call “Shoulder Press” is key to breaking in three steps or less. Making great breaks to me is all
about the pad level. The taller you play, the closer your feet are to each other. • The closer the feet are, , the harder it is to change directions quickly and fluidly. If you are too high, you must add steps to your break in order to change direction, because you need steps to lower your body back down to an athletic position. More steps you take as a wideout = More time a defender has to react • Proper position of the head and shoulders on the break, is what I refer to as “SOS” or Shoulders Over your Stomp. We want a forward lean, we want to be able to put our shoulders over our knee on the last step of the break. • “Drum Pound” vs “Elbow Acceleration” - We never want to “ pound the drum” because it is a “tell” to the defense we are breaking. Instead, lower yourself and change direction by an acceleration of your natural running motion, i.e. what we call “Elbow Acceleration”. What I am saying here is don’t change your running motion to make a break. If I run up and down, but change my hands to side to side, I am creating a tell. Simply accelerate whatever your natural running motion looks like to get to a break position. This is much more deceptive, and becomes a much more fluid break over time. • Learning to be full speed out of the break, and repping it often in practice • We never want to bubble any of our routes. Hard angles as much as possible. Bubbled routes, and drifting, allow DB’s to undercut our path and get between us and the ball. Avoid at all costs! “Bubbled
Routes Get Undercut” is something I have said over a hundred times it feels like. • 45 down breaks happen in three steps (Curls, Stops,
Comebacks) - Think “Stick, Rip, Whip”. Stick the outside leg, rip open the arm, and whip the backside leg across your body as you speed back up to a full run. This really helps with giving the three steps some meaning, but also the whip portion really helps guys get back to full speed quicker. • 90 breaks happen in two steps (Digs, Outs). Step slightly outside frame on first step, which is your plant step, then “rip and whip” open on second step. Focus on staying flat. I like to work these on a yard line because it gives a visual cue of if they are rounding the cut.
• “Kickstands” (Posts, Slants) should still allow you to be maintain full speed while causing a freeze or hesitation in the DB. When you kick, keep the kick as close to inside your frame as you can. A big exaggerated step will slow you down ultimately, because you have to add steps to get your feet back underneath you and get yourself back to running full speed. This allows a DB a chance to recover, defeating the purpose of a great kickstand. The best kickstands are violent , abrupt movements, within the frame of body, so you can come out of kick running full speed at a full stride. • Speed Cuts should happen without slowing down.
Plant your leg, rip open, and whip your leg, similar to the 45 down cut. Be careful to avoid drifting up field.
Sometimes it helps guys to tell them to almost run back down toward the line. This helps them stay flat.
V. Catch
Overview: One of the first things to consider when coaching the catch portion of the route, is understanding how most drops occur. I chalk talked with Coach Gallegos at Texas A&M Commerce the year before they won the D2 national title, and he had done a study on all of the plays in which they dropped the ball over the previous three seasons. Over 80% of all drops occurred when the receiver simply did not see the ball hit his hands, or he didn’t follow the ball into the tuck portion with his eyes. Simply put, one of the best things you can teach and emphasize when coaching this is emphasizing catching the ball with their eyes and seeing the ball into the tuck. You can hear me say this a ton at practice, and in our individual drills. “Catch with your eyes” or “Nose to Nose” (Nose of ball to your nose), are great buzz works to help train the eyes. Over emphasizing this technique is great for pre practice drills, like a settle and noose, on their own with tennis ball, or in a low impact time during practice. If they can develop great eyes, they will catch more passes. Giving them the physical tool of great vision will give them more confidence and allow them to play faster as well.
Keys to coaching “Catch”:
• Catch the ball with your eyes, you should be able to take a screenshot of it with your eyes. (“Take a
Picture”) • See every ball into the tuck, watch for the players chin to hit the chest during ball drills • Daily ball drills that emphasize great eyes on ball, such as freezing the ball for 2 seconds with eyes on, then tucking it • Ball above waist = “Diamond or U” hand placement
(thumbs together) • Ball below waist = Pinkies together • Work a contested or contact catch drill everyday if you can
VI. Blocking
Overview: The first thing you must revisit when talking about WR blocking is the idea that this group controls the big play ability in the run game. Almost all runs of 20+ have a receiver downfield making a block happen on a secondary player. Ownership in this creates a culture of guys who want to block. At the end of the day, most human beings do not want to lose a physical battle. WR’s are the same. “No block , no rock” is something we’ve all heard, but ultimately I think the physical challenge of beating another human and the idea that big plays happen with the WR’s, gives you plenty of ammo to motivate a guy to block. The biggest key we will discuss is patience. The worst perimeter blocking misses come when a WR is too aggressive down the field and a DB spills him or undercuts him. We want our guys to explode off the line for two steps, then engage in a creep to their man. They always want to stay within a half of a person away width wise, so in case the DB plants his foot and comes downhill we won’t get spilled. Within 5 yards of a defender you want to creep, keep low pads, active feet, active hands, and match path. When you engage you want to keep hands flexed (not extended) and take DB where he wants to go. I never teach my WR’s to take a side on leverage, because I don’t want them take a risk and get crossed up, I’d rather see a ball carrier be able to cut off of an engaged blocker, then have “perfect” leverage.
Keys to coaching WR Blocking:
• Explode off ball for 2 steps, Sell the go as long as you can. • Never let a defender get a “full man” outside of you in your creep, keep him within a “half a man” away from you when thinking about width • Work the Creep within 5 yards or less of DB, sooner is always better than later • Keep active hands and feet the entire time, you want a good base in case the defender triggers right now.
I tell my guys all the time they should destroy the grass they are on creeping to make a block. • Engage the defender in the middle, don’t attack for a leverage. This is different than some people, but
I believe this is key to helping your kids not “whiff” in open space. The goal is to give a ball carrier something to cut off of, so engage the man and stay
on. • Maintain flexed elbows (never extend), just like we are maintaining a steering wheel on a car • We want to stay engaged as long as possible and give ball carriers a chance to cut, that is a successful perimeter block, no matter where it happens on the field. • Run off a press man corner, but convert if needed - If he turns to the ball to go make a play, throw inside and convert to a block, we call this our “Conversion Block”
VII. Ball Security
Overview: Biggest thing we emphasize, along with seeing the ball all the way through the catch, is carrying the ball properly. We always want 5 points of contact (Fingers, Palm, Forearm, Bicep, and Chest) between the ball and our body. We want the wrist above elbow, we don’t want the ball to swing, and we want our guys to keep the ball “High and Tight”
Keys for Ball security:
• “High and Tight” at all times • 5 Points of Contact between body and the football 1. Middle Finger (Stronger grip when we “fork” ball, than when we use index finger) 2. Palm 3. Forearm 4. Bicep 5. Across the chest • Don’t swing the ball • Biggest point of contact they will lose is the ball up against their chest, we see more fumbles with guys coming from underneath the ball thru that gap than any other way. • Cover the ball up with off-hand on contact
VIII. Favorite Drill
My favorite Wide Receiver Drill:
In lieu of going through all the drills I do / have done, I think a better approach is giving one unique drill I do that hopefully you can take with you. Every coach has drills that they love or that they believe gives them the winning edge. For me, when discussing wide receiver fundamentals, my top drill is what I call my “Command Break Drill”. The purpose of the drill is that it forces the athlete to run at the optimal pad level for the break they are about to make. Because they do not know where they will have to break off their route, they must keep their pads down and have a slight forward lean as they progress down the field. This teaches them to run at the optimal body position for either a 2 step or 3 step break. Again, one of the biggest issues athletes have in making these types of breaks is that they are too tall (their feet are too close together as they try to break, forcing them to add steps as they attempt to stop). When you are too tall, you will have a 5 step break as opposed to 3 step break, because you have to lower your body back down to an athletic position. When doing that, you miss out on the ability to create good separation. The command break drill allows you to work each of your top of routes (90 degree, 45 Down, Kickstand, etc.), without using cones or landmarks, but rather a command to stop. You will start the athlete by saying “Go”, then break them off by saying “Break”. I like to deliver a ball after the break so you are incorporating all of your catch principles. It could be 5 yards, it could be 20+ yards, mix it up so they are clued into the cue and not trying to guess. You will be amazed at how much more crisp some of these breaks are, just by making the focus on pad level and running position. Don’t be afraid to make this a “50%” type drill in the beginning, just so your guys get a feel for the posture first, before trying to go all out full speed. To me, body posture and the ability to run with a lean, allows players to become great top of route guys, without simply just working the technique around a cone. You can do one line, or spread them out like I have in the diagram, based on numbers and how many reps you want. Either way, you can work all three major breaks using this drill. I like to put a PVC chute at the start so they have a great takeoff, and you could also add some chutes in the STEM (one say at 5 yards, one at 10 to force pads down as well). Hope this helps!!!
Contact Info: If you ever have any questions, or would like to contact me, please do not hesitate to reach out. I am always open to discuss anything and everything related to the game. I have coached the QB’s and WR’s now going on five years, and I am always looking to grow my knowledge. My twitter is @Coach_BenMoran and my email is benmoranac@gmail.com. I would love to connect!
A look inside: student coaching seminar
On October 5th 2022, the Thornton-McFerrin Coaching Academy (TMCA) partnered with the Texas A&M Student Coaches Association (SCA) to host their semi-annual Student Coaching Seminar. The seminar was a full day event held at the Texas A&M University Student Recreation center in College Station, Texas and included 125 student participants plus chaperone-coaches and administrators from 19 different Texas High Schools. Seminars such as these hosted by TMCA are intended to introduce fundamental coaching principles to high school juniors and seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in coaching, athletic administration, or athletic training.
The Student Seminar was organized and facilitated by TMCA staff, and SCA student members, Texas A&M Challengworks and various other volunteers. Throughout the day, attendees participated in team building activities, coaching stations, interactive discussions, and attended Texas A&M Varsity practice sessions for track and field, soccer, and volleyball.
To start the day, students participated in an Icebreaker Activity conducted by Texas A&M University ChallengeWorks. The mission of ChallengeWorks is to provide organizations and groups with action-based experiences to build interpersonal effectiveness by teaching the importance of communication, leadership, and teamwork. After the icebreaker activity, TMCA Program Manager, Kelli Campbell, delivered a welcome message and introduced the day's focus topic: “Communication in Coaching ''.
Following the welcome message, students were grouped with their table members and prepared to begin coaching station activities run by TMCA Program Coordinator, Rashard Thurston. During registration, students were asked about their participation in selected sports and based on these responses, students were grouped by similar interests in the following sports: basketball, track & field, soccer, volleyball, and football. Students knowledgeable in these sports were assigned as “coaches” and given the opportunity to coach other students in the basic development of sport specific skills as they rotated between stations. As students “coached” their peers, the coach-chaperones were asked to observe and evaluate the student coaches in their ability to effectively communicate fundamental skills. The overall objective of the coaching stations was to allow student-coaches to learn about the importance of effective communication and catch a glimpse of some of the daily challenges experienced by their own coaches.
After the coaching activity, attendees participated in a working lunch where they were asked to recap their coaching experience through table discussions with their peers and coachchaperones. As the students finished lunch, they participated in an interactive discussion on effective coaching communication strategies. After lunch the students and coaches attended varsity practice sessions, including Women's Volleyball at Reed
Arena, Women's Soccer at Ellis Field, and the Men and Women throwers from the Track & Field team. While attending practices, students were provided with the opportunity to hear from varsity coaches and observe coach-athlete interactions at the collegiate level. Coach G. Guerrieri, Varsity Coach for the Women’s Soccer Team, provided participants with a practice plan and a quick overview of the day’s practice followed by an interactive session at the end. SCA and TMCA leaders pointed out coaching strategies and organizational techniques demonstrated by these Texas A&M coaches and athletes. After returning to the Recreation Center, students discussed their practice observations with their peers and table leaders and heard closing remarks from TMCA Director, Mike Thornton, who recapped the day and provided students with key takeaways.
Based on feedback received after the event, a majority of the participants enjoyed their experience and commented on how they were able to think about coaching from a different perspective. The success of the Fall 2022 Student Seminar can be attributed to TMCA staff, SCA student volunteers, the students and their coaches from the participating high schools, as well as many volunteers, and program donors. This event has encouraged future coaches to develop and embrace their coaching skills, and created lasting relationships that will help them succeed in their coaching career.
We are now accepting nominations for the R.O.C.K. mentoring program class of 2023! To nominate a mentee for the incoming class, please complete the nomination form in the THSCA Member Portal Online. You will need to login and then locate "Browse Open Competitions" under the Awards tab. Find the R.O.C.K. Mentee Nomination Form and select it to ENTER NOW.You will complete the nomination form for each potential mentee and submit it along with a one-page letter of recommendation and copy of the mentee’s resume no later than December 1st. Please feel free to nominate more than one coach!
Please ensure that your nominee meets the requirements and expectations below before proceeding with the nomination: • Mentee must be an active coach employed by a public,
UIL sanctioned school (middle/junior or high school). • At the time of nomination, mentee must have 1-5 years of coaching experience, but NO MORE than 5 years of coaching experience. (age not considered) • If not already a member of the THSCA, the mentee must be willing to register as a member and maintain that THSCA membership throughout the 2-year mentorship term. • Mentee must be willing to commit time and effort to the 2-year mentoring program. • Mentee must be ready and willing to take in valuable information and grow from it, then share that information with their peers. • Mentee must be willing to stay in close communication with mentor on a weekly/monthly basis.
Mentee must attend the following events:
• Mentee must attend his/her Regional Meeting on the 1st Saturday of February, where the mentee will be introduced and recognized by a THSCA Board Member. • Mentee must attend Mentoring Workshop in Arlington on March 26-27 2023, where mentee will meet his/her mentor. • Mentee must attend and stay 3 nights at coaching school during his/her first year in the program.
