2024/08/06 Journal, Entry 5
Tuesday, 8/6
About to kick off our 8th grade season. Practice plan as follows…

Got some good chute work in with OL and worked on wedge fit and pulling. Did not get to defense tonight as lightning came at the end of practice. 6 absences. 😦

Wednesday, 8/7

We worked through the entire schedule. Tucked some LB chute work in (shuffle steps, drop under the chute then explode face first extending up into the bag-holder). Added 10 minutes of quality wedge reps at the end. Decent practice overall, but I’m a little dismayed by the 6 absences again. Difficult to run anything resembling team with mostly dads holding bags on D. I addressed it by publishing everyone’s attendance with no commentary.

Another team and their parents cut through the middle of our team defensive session. I yelled at them as they strolled through and they threw me their smug look of contempt. People seem to have become so utterly un-self aware of how they affect others… or perhaps I am just grumpy-old-man now. Lol. The utility of publicly chewing their ass was not to get to them so much as it plants the seed within the minds of MY team that me getting nasty on people under certain circumstances is a real possibility. Ha!

Had a long chat with LG about attendance and philosophy last night. I need to work very hard to practice what I preach because I think it is the right path.

My personal priorities are:
1) Do not allow critics to affect me
2) Immediately move on emotionally from any undesired game results
3) Do no overreact to the myriad of inevitable challenges, letdowns, and affronts
4) Listen to my instincts and control my impulses

Thursday, 8/8
Rained out! Called it at about 5:10. Not surprisingly, the weather calmed down by about 6:15. Tough to ask folks to drive in that, but it’s tempting to be disappointed when the skies part and you think you could be practicing. The decision was made with best intent and the best available information at the time. No regret allowed!

Friday, 8/9
Random thoughts before practice:
Been contemplating the creative side of things and the desire to present ideas and offer my experience to others. That’s a big part of what writing the SSSW playbook was about. I would have never made it for public consumption without SP’s prodding, but I’m glad I did. On the other hand, the older I get, the more pointless and even silly it seems to want to share anything unsolicited. There is very little, if any demand. Every coach already knows everything. And those who don’t are bombarded with a tsunami of offerings, many of which are redundant and/or largely ineffective. And so, sharing my football knowledge is really little more than just an exercise of personal vanity. Preparing things for public consumption that will never be consumed does have some utility, however. When preparing items, the exercise forces me to organize my thinking and to blow off all the meaningless mental chaff.

The practice energy was good. Tackling was executed with intensity. The gauntlet drill was performed with great enthusiasm. Practice wound down with a wedge rep session. We started with JL at blocking back. This appeared not to sit well with WK who made some very intense tackles on JL. JL returned the favor and the intensity was as high as I have ever seen it. Coach Bit pulled them both to the side to attempt to contain the hostility to the drill. They are both excellent players and we want them to understand that we need them both on the field at the same time, and that we are not picking one over the other. We don’t want WK to misinterpret it as being unappreciated. He is and has been our best player. Again, everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others. I reached out to WK’s mom about it. Upon reflection, perhaps I should have left it alone… let it breathe and not try to interpret for them or guide their response. I injected myself into a situation where it wasn’t beneficial or necessary. This gets me back to my “less talk, more action” pledge. The fates have set a course for this team. I need to resist them less and focus on my job and what I can control.

Anyway, it was a great week even though we missed a day. We cannot control the weather so I am not going to fret over it. I am a little concerned about the lack of attention I’ve given to team defense. We have spent good reps on pursuit, tackling, and coverage, but we need more team defense work.

Gratitude:
We were sad to lose JE, OK, and RA, but are very grateful for the new players we have added. They have great potential. I am so thankful to be able to be their coach and for being able to coach.

Onward!

Week 1 Overall Attendance = 81%