Week 3 update: we're making progress. We've had problems with getting kids to practice -- very similar to some of the things that the other coaches mentioned on here. Power is looking pretty good... so good that when we go half line scrimmage the Mike, Sam, and Reaper sprint straight to the off-tackle hole. When our TB said he didn't know how to bounce it outside, I jumped back at tailback and showed him how to do it. Somehow, an overweight coach running the ball at full speed fired them up (Good thing I've been doing Coach Lar's running regimen since the summer). The offense took the next two to the house.

Jamboree is next week. Hopefully, we'll continue to make progress and have a good showing. They get better every time out, so I'm cautiously optimistic!

Week 4 Update:

The answer: Coach TPJ and Steve Spurrier

The question: Name two people that had memorable visor throws.

Last night was just an off night. I had the other coaches run the first 30 minutes of practice, since my soccer team was playing 30 minutes away. The middle school coach was there, so they were in good hands. After that, I thought we'd go through the play list one time because we did very well on Tuesday.

It was a disaster. The kids weren't hitting their tracks. The fullback wasn't getting to the end man. The center put the ball on ground. I was beyond frustrated because these are things we work on every single day (hence, the visor throw). I guess the bright spot is that the linebacker that kept blowing up stuff is on our side -- he looked like Jefferson from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Our Jamboree is Tuesday. I hope that I have something positive to report on both sides of the ball. We start the season Thursday against a team that's played together since they were at 6U. What could possibly go wrong?

Posted by: @terrypjohnson

I had the other coaches run the first 30 minutes of practice, since my soccer team was playing 30 minutes away.

^ Bad idea.

--Dave

@coachdp - Negative experiences can be a great teacher. That's one mistake I won't make again!

The Jamboree was tonight. I can't remember a time where I walked into a contest where I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

The first scrimmage went well. We were missing several kids on defense, but the kids that we plugged in picked up the slack. Although we did give up a big pass (e.g. the Dog didn't drop into coverage), we forced a turnover on the next play. On offense, the pre-shifted Double Wing worked pretty well. We ran 28 Toss for a score and 32 Dive for a score when they moved out to stop the Toss. "They don't got but two plays" -- I heard that said more than once. We ended up winning 14-0... should've been 21, but the RB fumbled at the goal line.

The second scrimmage was a little bizarre. We started on offense first. Not surprisingly, we had a few mental mistakes because there wasn't a very long break in between. Our top two RB's got dinged up and apparently our assistants set the wrong kids out (I was on the field and had no idea who they put in). When I saw who we sent out, I ran NoMo 4 Go. The smallest kid on the field made catch and we got stopped at the 1 before time ran out (was kept on the field, so we didn't know). Defensively, we looked pretty sharp, but one of the banged up kids usually plays Dog (we call that one Bauer) was out. The backup did well except for one play where the dog just missed the tackle. We lost that one 7-0 -- however, that could've gone either way. Hopefully, that'll make us more hungry!

All in all, I'm pleased with how things went. Sure, there's stuff to clean up. However, given that we were missing a few people (including my best lineman, who was sick!), it was great to watch the other kids step up and make plays.

The moment of truth comes Thursday when we play the best team in the league. I saw them play Monday... it'll be a very tough one!!

We opened the season against the top team in the league.

Simply put: it didn't go well. I'd heard rumblings that this was the equivalent of a "select" team, but didn't want to believe it because my son played for that team last year. Select team or not, I wanted the kids to go out, execute, and win the ballgame. That's what several of the mentors out on Dumcoach do every week -- even if they're outmanned.

It didn't work out that way. Bob Davie always said that "it's not always the X's and O's, but the Jimmy's and the Joe's". I felt that last night. The front six did their jobs, but their QB got the ball off a half step before getting hit. The defensive backs were in position to make the plays, but just couldn't win the 50-50 balls. Switching to the Killer Bee slowed them down a little bit. On offense, we hit a few big plays (nearly scored at the end of the first half), but still missed our tracks on Power and Sweep in the first half (before I gave a spirited demonstration at the break). I ran 32/33 Dive 15 times in a row in the fourth quarter. Got stopped on downs inside their 10 before time expired.

Even though it was the worst loss of my career (margin-wise), I'm still pretty upbeat about things. We've played each opponent in our division and did well against the first two. I think the next time we play them, we'll be in better shape with the Killer Bee. We might not beat that team, but we'll make them earn it!

I'll check back in after Monday's game!

As promised, here's my Monday update.

It was a very different game from our last one. The other team hit a quick pass early to get inside our 20, but we recorded three straight sacks. After that, we ran two sweeps and went up 14-0. They loaded the outside after that series, so I ran 32 and 33 dive over and over. Ended up winning 32-0 (sorry about the missed PAT's... was auditioning kickers in case I need a two-point conversion later in the year).

The only real issue we had tonight we're still having kids arriving late. Because they arrived late, we had too many kids confused about whether or not they should be on the field. I spoke to a few of the parents about it, so that should change on Thursday!!

I coached two games tonight (football and soccer), so I'm wiped out. But, I wanted to make sure I shared the good news as soon as possible!

Nice work. Not that I'm anyone to give advice on attendance. We are literally in crisis mode over kids showing up for practice and it's 100% on me. But on game day, I have it in my policy that if you arrive after warmups are over, you will miss a quarter. If you arrive after kickoff, you will not play.

Last night was so terrible (officials, dirty play, among other things) that there's no reason to record it here -- it'll be etched in my brain for a long time. I can't remember a time that I was more disappointed when I left the field. 

I will say the 11 left standing at the end are warriors and should be commended.

Posted by: @terrypjohnson

Last night was so terrible (officials, dirty play, among other things) that there's no reason to record it here -- it'll be etched in my brain for a long time. I can't remember a time that I was more disappointed when I left the field. 

I will say the 11 left standing at the end are warriors and should be commended.

Shouldnt be like this....ever...but it seems to happen all too often. 👎

Tonight's game was better than the last one, but we still ended up on the wrong end of a blowout.

It started out pretty well as we hit a big run early to get it to 7-6. Then, they broke it open with a few big plays (e.g. CB had great coverage but the WR was able to outjump him, Contain man bit on a fake, etc).

In the second half, it was a different story. We switched to the Killer Bee and kept them off the scoreboard. Unlike previous teams I coached, these kids do better with "Spill and Kill" for contain. On offense, we moved the ball, but came up a couple of yards short when it counted. All in all, I was proud of how we battled in the second half.

The good news is that it's all rec teams from here on out. Thursday's game will determine whether we play for first place or for third place. I'm hoping that we turn in a good effort!!

Coming into this game, I'd received a handful of not-so-constructive texts about how awful my team was and how it was all my fault because "that old school crap doesn't work up here".

Tonight, probably silenced them for a few days. As I'd noted previously, we were playing another rec team and the winner would likely finish in second place (games versus two of the select teams didn't count).

Simply put: it couldn't have gone much better. We hit a big sweep to go up 7-0. After they got on the board to make it 7-6, we returned the kickoff to go up 13-6. We got on the board one more time before halftime and then had the ball almost the entire 3rd quarter and part of the fourth quarter to go up 26-6. That was the final score.

What I was most happy with wasn't that we won, but how we did it. Tonight, we were without three of our top defenders (concussion, illness, and a WTF?). Despite using a defense we hadn't run much (42 stack -- necessary because we only had "blue stripers" available on defense) with some kids playing out of position, we held three great RB's to just six points. One of my happiest moments as a coach.

Posted by: @terrypjohnson

Coming into this game, I'd received a handful of not-so-constructive texts about how awful my team was and how it was all my fault because "that old school crap doesn't work up here".

LOL.

--Dave

Game 7 - This contest determined who would play the top team in our local Super Bowl.

It didn't start out well. We shot ourselves in the foot a few times. In fact, the other team held the ball the entire first quarter and most of the second.

After that, it was all Broncos! We hit a few big sweeps to go up 12-0 at half. We hit another big play to go up 20-0 (we actually hit a kick!!) and recorded two pick sixes. They hit a big pass play to cut to 32-6. I tried to run out the clock by running straight up the gut, but our back broke it for a 65 yard score. On the following point after, I gave the ball to a kid that had never run the ball before. He looked like a kid in a candy store... I'll never forget his smile as long as I live.

TL DR, we made it to the Super Bowl, which is a heck of an accomplishment considering that some of these kids didn't win a game last year. I don't know that we'll win it, but I'm pleased that we got there. While it's impossible to finish with a winning record (best we could do is 4-4), I feel like I've learned a heck of a lot. I hope the starts align just right so I get to coach my middle son next year!