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"Let me explain the system. I coach in the 12-14 level. These gives me 3 age levels to which we give a value. The younger kids (12}will be with us for the next three years so that has added value so we give these kids 10 points. The 13's 5 points and the 14's 0 points. We give the 14's no points because the learning curve is longer than their time at this level.

We then take the speed component and weight and divide that up to get what we call "hit power ratio". This is just the kids 40 time converted to MPH multiplied by his weight then divided by 100. So a kid that runs the 40 in 5.0 seconds and is 145LB has a ratio (16.36 mph x 145lb)/100= 23.722 This can be compared to a kid that runs the 40 in 5.0 seconds and weighs 100 pounds (16.36 mph x 100)/100= 16.36

Here comes the subjective component. Talent is something we all as coaches can see by the way the kid runs, passes, catches, his aggressiveness, and his smarts. You can make your own list but you must give it a number value. Lets say that you rate them at each of the above levels with excelent=2, good=1 and unsatisfactory=0. This means that a kid with excellent as his talent level is a 10 out of 10.

In this system we have you have 3 values to be considered. The age, the hit ratio, and the talent. So in my case this kid is a 13 so he gets 5 points and a 10 in talent. The same hit ratio as above. His rating is 5 + 23.722 + 10= 38.722 This can be compared to a 14 year old that has the same speed and talent 0 +23.722 +10= 33.722. The higher the number the most benefit you get from him. "

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Alex Gibbs, while not the architect of zone and stretch, certainly became the patriarch of the most productive run concept in the past three decades.  Since “officially” retiring with Atlanta, but doing heavy consultation work with Houston and Seattle (and we can clearly see his thumbprints there), Alex Gibbs has remained an integral part in advancing the art of the run game.

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A newer offense that has been developed utilizing the Pistol formation is the Ski Gun (or Skee Gun, as it was originally developed by a High School in Muskegon, Michigan).  The core idea behind this "Ski Gun" runs a version of the triple option as its base play.  From the looks of it, it is the Wing-T with the QB in the backfield.  Hence, the Pistol formation can be unitlized with almost any existing scheme.

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The Receivers and the Running Backs get the call from the sidelines.  The Quarterback echos the call to the Offensive Line.  For Tulsa's signals, a color will tell players whether to look at a play-call number on the board, or to look at the signal guy.  One of them is always a dummy.  Right and Left will confuse the players, so they use "Spread OVER THERE or OVER HERE" to indicate the sideline or boundary to go to.

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We require our receivers to block in space. Quite a few years back Coach Calande helped me with stalk blocking and Jacks mirror drill is key.

We start out with our mirror drils with hands behind their backs and mirroring defenders actions while taking good angles and slowly attacking. This is non contact train the brain in open space. With their hands out of the equation they then rely on their feet...then when you allow hands and full contact they are good to go.

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To be a complete back, a back must block. Each back will be heavily involved in run and pass blocking. One thing that sets apart a good RB from a great RB is his ability and desire to block. Run blocking is not a skill that is hard to master. Instead, it is just a matter of attitude and pride. An excellent coaching point to give players in blocking is to make contact with your hands but block with your feet.

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Of course, the set everyone is focused on is the infamous “Diamond” formation, first used by Dana Holgorsen at Oklahoma State but now in use by about a dozen other teams. It’s a good formation: It’s a power set, keeping nine men offensively in the box; doing that should give you individual matchups on the outside; and you get most of the advantages of motion as described above. Oklahoma used it at the end of last season, as the below image shows (h/t Offensive Breakdown):

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Tips to Help Athletes Reach their Potential

1. Finding ways of making practice fun and coaches that do this, as well as teaching the values of teamwork and sportsmanship, are priceless examples of positive parenting and coaching in sport.

2. Learning the correct fundamentals is priceless for athletes. Having players receive professional, fundamental instruction, when access to a capable coach is not available, can make a big difference in an athlete's physical and mental development, and well worth the cost of the instruction.

3. Parents, who can patiently reinforce a knowledgeable coach's suggestions, instead of insisting on doing it their way, are the most helpful.

4. Finding programs that promote fun and fundamentals are ways of keeping players' interested, educated, and sharp. This is especially important when players have had a negative coach.

5. Preseason training, with a gradual increase in practice, is necessary to avoid injury, ease a player physically, mentally back into a sport, and prepare them for success.

6. Sport specific training aids, which players can use at home, are good.

7. A few weeks of post-season practice, when athletes have the sport in their mind, can be beneficial for the following season preparation.

8. Rest periods and off-days are necessary for youth in order to avoid burnout and remain physically and mentally sharp. Parents should avoid over- scheduling kids with too many sports, or teams, which take away all of their free time to be kids.

9. Teaching game strategy at an early age can go a long way to staying ahead of the competition. A great way to do this is by attending higher-level games of sport, so kids can observe the correct way to do things. Pointing out strategic and fundamental aspects of the game is good, positive coaching.

10. Bigger, stronger, and faster athletes advance the furthest, so having young athletes perform age-appropriate speed and strengthening programs is beneficial to long-range success.

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SN: What’s the most critical age for development?

Paul Currie: Well, the textbook answer would be that the Golden Age of learning is between 11 and 14. That’s when you can absorb the most information.

If you think about it, you can’t really talk to most 7 or 8 year olds for more than a couple of minutes because they get easily overloaded and blank out.

So I think they are right about the Golden Age. I think U11 is when you can assimilate information a little bit easier.

And then I think the best players at U14, generally speaking, are the best players U16, and the best players U18 and the best players at U20. This is not always true but in general.

SN: So you can tell at U14 who is going to be great at U18? 

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Dr. Jim Taylor, a psychology professor at the University of
San Francisco, put it best when he wrote in the Huffington Post about parents and their roles in developing or supporting a child's athletic prowess.

"If your objective is to turn them into champions, the odds are that you're wasting your money and time and your children's happiness. Sports are metaphorically littered with the scarred psyches of children whose parents tried and failed to do what Earl Woods and Richard Williams succeeded at doing. Your goals as parents are for your children to have fun, learn life skills to succeed later in life, value health and fitness, and develop a love of sports. If by some freak chance you give them world-class athletic genes, they love the sport enough to work incredibly hard, and they get the right kind of support from you, and they become professional or Olympic athletes, then
that's just icing on the cake."

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