Читать книгу Football 101 - Michael Ashley - Страница 4

VYI founder Tom Cooke (left) and Ruthie with their grandson RT. Pops Berry is on the right

Kids may not remember who their math teacher was when they were 13, but they will definitely remember their football coach. Football coaches have an impact on kids that far exceeds the football field so combining character traits with football skills is job 1.

Football coaches need to have four elements to be a success:

 Technically sound, which only comes from studying under great coaches with solid systems.

 Ability to communicate with parents, players and coaches.

 Ability to inspire and lead.

 Great work ethic.

If coaches are missing one element, the season will be a struggle regardless of the record.

How important are communications? I coached a high school team one year. I yelled at the outside linebacker to “Watch the flat”. The QB threw a pass to the flat. The linebacker was nowhere to be seen. I yelled again and the QB threw to the flat again, no linebacker. I pulled him out of the game and yelled at him for not listening and following instructions. He said: “Coach, I don’t know what the flat is”. Note to self: Before you get mad at someone for not performing a task, ask yourself: Did we tell him where the flat is?

BTW: The flat is the area of the field from the hash marks to the sideline and from the line of scrimmage (LOS) to about 10-12 yards deep. See “Pass terminology” in the Offense chapter.

When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team.

- George Raveling (Basketball GURU)

Are football coaches nuts? We were having our last practice before the County Championship game. The weather was very bad. We consider all bad weather Steeler weather. A mother came up and said a tornado set down in Falls Church, the next town over. We really needed the work so I asked, “East Falls Church or West Falls Church?” East Falls Church gives us at least 10-15 more minutes. She looked stunned, called me an idiot, put her kid in the car and drove off. I would call that “special focus”, so it really depends who you ask.