Category Archives: Training

July 14, 2012 · 8:33 AM

A Friday October Night Interrupted

You are lying on a bed of green grass on a crisp October night with stars swirling about your head. Muffled music from a high school marching band floats from somewhere near. You smell the Fall in the air; a mixture of fallen leaves with a hint of winter. For a millisecond, life is beautiful.

Then a whistle blows. Your full senses snap back and the reality drops on your chest like a 24 megaton bomb. You’ve just been physically beaten into the ground by your opponent. At this moment a singular thought invades every cell of your being,

“I wish I would have done the work in summer conditioning.”

Do the work. The clock is ticking.

Hard work is the magic.

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May 21, 2012 · 8:09 PM

Anything worthwhile…

It’s that exciting time of the year.  The time of graduations and promotions. The time of one year ending and  a new one beginning. It is a time of optimism and promise. Graduates are ready to take the world head on, while those advancing up a grade, plan for greatness in their “one year older” year. You can even be an old fart like me and find hope for the future in the energy of the time. It doesn’t matter which of the above categories you belong in, it is a time to dream.

But remember, nothing comes easy and nothing is given.  Dream it, plan it, then go out and do the work to make it happen. No matter where you are now, you can be better.

Anything worthwhile is worth working for.

Hard work is the magic.

It is the only way.

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February 15, 2012 · 9:17 PM

The Wingbuster Story Finale: Shut ‘Em Down Boys!

The planning is done, the presentation is done, the preparation is about as far as we can take it and now we’ve run out of time. It’s time to take it to the field.

I could never sleep much the week before playing the double wing offense. Around Thursday night and all day Friday, it was tough to even eat. I’d worry about everything. Did our kids know their jobs? Were they physically, mentally and emotionally ready for how tough this game is going to be? Then the litany of “What if’s”. What if they come out in some funky new offense? What if they spread it out? What if they break tendencies? What if, what if, what if…

But the biggest one, what if the Wingbuster doesn’t work first time and our kids lose confidence? That’s is the question that bugged me the most. If it didn’t work, I would have totally let the boys down. And letting the boys down was always the fear which drove me to go the extra mile as a coach.

So it’s game time. I honestly cannot tell you one detail of any of the days we played Rock Creek. Too nervous, too many different brainwaves fighting in my head. My head is about ready to explode, then Rock Creek lines up for their first offensive play.

Here is a clip on the Toss play from my final presentation of the Wingbuster. It will give you and idea of how dangerous the play can be, followed by how the Wingbuster performs. The bad defensive examples are Rock Creek (Black) vs. Royal Valley (White). The good defensive examples are Rock Creek (Gray) vs. The Tiger Wingbuster (Black).

I can’t tell the emotion felt when we made the Wingbuster work like this. I don’t have the video from the first time we played them in 2004, but the first play was just like the second good defense clip above. Here we were, coming off an 0-9 season, playing this powerhouse of a team, pressure is cranked to MAX and we just knock the living $h!t out of them on the first play. I seriously could have cried right there on the sidelines.

Thanks to all the coaches who I begged, borrowed and copied from to design the Wingbuster. Thanks to my fellow Tiger coaches for holding the line and teaching the skills and duties at such a high level. Finally, a bubba-sized THANK YOU to all the Tiger Wingbuster players, from the superstars, to the role players, to the substitutes and especially to the Black Dog scout team players. Without your belief in the system and without your dedication to learning and performing the system we would have failed. Your tremendous level of individual and team pride would not accept defeat, no matter how difficult the challenge.

The Wingbuster: Every man do their job on every play.

Tiger Football.

EVERY MAN, EVERY PLAY

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February 8, 2012 · 8:53 PM

The Wingbuster Story: Part 3

So, the research is done and the planning is done, now it’s time to go to work. It is time to try and convince 60 young men that if they pay attention, if they listen, if they work their tails off and if they stick together as one, they can beat this challenge.

But, they are teenage boys.  So, I know we have to sell this thing to the kids to get them to buy in hook, line and sinker. For this I turn to the expertise of Coach Paul Lane. Up to this point in my football coaching career, I went from an idiot with a football strength and conditioning book to a football coach who, under the tutelage of Coach Lane, could now walk and chew gum at the same time. One thing I learned from him on getting the boys to buy in to something is to come up with a cool name. I thought and thought of names. The Mustang? No, not the right ring to it. Dam the Double Wing? Nope, too hokey.  Bust-A-Wing? No, too 80’s break dance. Wing Stopper? Not bad, but Wing Stopper needed go talk to the 80’s break dance name. Bust-A-Wing Stopper? Hey, that’s closer. Wing…wing…wing…WINGBUSTER! Houston, we had a name! And a good name it was, too. The kids bought into it, the coaches bought into it. Now time to go to work.

Prep Week

Monday – Show team a video mash up of the double wing running over us in the past. Let the kids see the formation and see the basic offensive plays run at their very best. I wanted the video to scare them; use it to get their attention. I gave a short powerpoint on the WingBuster to introduced everyone’s alignment and assignment, then I talked animatedly about how we were going to shut this offense down. After the presentation, we went out for practice where the focus was on defending the Toss, the basic play in the double wing offense.

Tuesday – The focus was on teaching and getting repetitions on the proper physical techniques at each position. D-Line driving through blocker’s thigh pad to make a pile of humanity, D-Ends attacking a spot 1.5 yards behind offensive tackle, inside linebackers reading wing motion and being a wrecking ball to fill hole, the outside linebackers reading their wing and sifting and the deep corners reading their TE window then reacting to pass or run. The main plays we worked on Tuesday were the counter plays off the Toss, the Reverse and the Spin.

Wednesday – More repetitions on technique. Talk about oddball motions, flat motion for Buck Sweep; quick, long motion for fullback runs and play action passes.  More full speed team reps against scout team offense than technique reps.

Thursday – Review all plays in scout script. Hold back on contact, but try to keep full speed reaction repetitions against scout offense. Talk and ask questions and yell and scream and threaten to get everyone  focused on our EVERY MAN DOING THEIR JOB EVERY PLAY philosophy.

Check back for Part 4 finale, the Friday under the lights experience and my absolute coach-love for those underclassmen scout team offensive players, the true heroes of the success of the Wingbuster defense.

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February 1, 2012 · 9:28 PM

The Wingbuster Story: Part 2

Wingbuster: The Plan

Research – I used two invaluable resources. Former Tiger assistant football coach Wayne Link let us use his double wing offense book. Formations, plays, blocking schemes; this book had it all. It was like taking a college course in the double wing.  Always helps to know the offense as well as possible before trying to find a defensive scheme to stop it.

The second resource I found on an internet search was a coaching site hosted by a football genius, Coach Bruce Eien, from California.  His BC Warrior Coaching site had a plethora of resources on offense and defense. But, there was an obscure little document he wrote called Defending the Double Wing that is football intellect at its very best.  Whatever success we had implementing the Wingbuster defense grew out of the principals in Coach Eien’s article.

THE PLAN

Double Wing Defense  

Alignments

            Mike 4-5-2

            Dog 5-4-2

 

The Jobs 

Defensive Tackles

The main cog in the defense is the DT. He might not make one play all night but he is vital to the defense. He rips through the OG/OT gap trying to get into the backfield. Most likely he will be double teamed.  Both DT’s will cut through the knees of the OL and cut the double team. Drive low and through causing a pile up. The DT on the pulling side should try and cut the pulling OL. Minimally, he needs to impede the pulling OG/OT.

If he does not get the cut, pursue down the LOS looking for cut back. Keep an eye out for the TE blocking down or trying to cut you.

Defensive Ends

The DE lines up in a 9-technique and will cut through the outside knee of the tight end to a point 1.5 yards behind B gap.  Drive through and cause a pile up by taking on the FB or pulling lineman.  The DE must cause the pulling lineman and backs to loop around the pile they create.

Inside Linebackers

Alignment: 5 yard deep over the DT.

Assignment: Cross read the opposite wingback

If the cross wingback goes in motion:

Blitz C gap, wreck havoc, stay low and find ball.

If the cross wingback blocks down:

Drag the anchor and slow pursue looking for cutback right back at you.

If the cross wingback delays

Look for Reverse/Spin to your wingback coming right back at you. Blitz C gap and wreck havoc.

If you can, get a read on direction of the pulling OL helmets, they will take you to the play.

MIKE/DOG

 The MIKE/DOG can play a vital role in disrupting this offense.

As the MIKE, he plays B gap to B gap, disrupting everything in his path.  He will put a stop to the FB running plays and the Wingback on the cutback.  MIKE will need to see the field and learn to read the pulling O-lineman’s helmets.

As the DOG, he might not make one play all night but he is vital to the defense. The DOG plays head up on the center and cuts low through the knee of the center to the play side A gap.  We want the DOG to be as disruptive as humanly possible to the pulling lineman and backs. We determine play side by motion, best back, or tendencies.  He rips through the center trying to get into the backfield.  Depending on their blocking scheme he may come untouched into the backfield. Most likely he will be double teamed.  Minimally, he needs to impede the pulling OG/OT.

OLB

The OLB are the key tackler’s in this defense.  We want to funnel everything outside of the alleys in which they want to run. The design and strength of the play is inside behind a wall of blockers, so any back running outside is by himself , defeating the purpose of the play. The OLB uses a OLE’ technique, like a bull fighter, avoiding all contact.

The OLB needs to read the motion of the wing to their side.

If wing BLOCKS:  Here it comes right at you.  OLE to sift through bodies to find ball.

If wing MOTIONS:  Slow blitz with a tight path and look for reverse or spin.  If no reverse, scrape, looking for cutback. If reverse comes, use the OLE’ technique.

If wing DELAYS:  It is reverse all the way to the other side.  Yell “Reverse” and try to chase play down from backside.

Corners

 The Corner reads his TE.

If the TE blocks: He becomes an alley player, filling the alley and containing RB if RB is forced wide.

If the TE cut blocks inside: Run play is going the other way, slow pursue looking for reverse/spin or cutback.

If he reads a pass release from the TE: He covers the deep ½ jumping a corner route by the TE, staying deeper than the deepest route in zone.

The two corners are the only players on the defensive unit that think:  “Pass first, run second”.

This is a normal Toss play schematic, the toss is the foundation of the Double Wing offense.

Defensively, if every one does their job, this should happen.

We have a RB that has no where to go, running into his line.  He ends up trying to bounce outside or falls over his own man.  Sometimes, the RB bounces out to a open space. While this is usually a problem it is not with a double wing team.

The RB’s in the double Wing are used to running behind people. They are not open field runners. A usual scenario has our line taking out their line and the OLB’s end up making the tackle.

 *Tg and R are OLB’s

 


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January 2, 2012 · 1:46 PM

Fitness New Year Proposal

Happy New Year!
But, please people, hold off for now on the gargantuan fitness resolutions for January 1, 2012. Please. It is January, folks. It’s mid-winter Kansas here;  dark, cold, and there’s more than likely snow on ground. January is not, I repeat, IS NOT, the best time to make fitness resolutions if you want to give yourself the best chance at success with those resolutions.
Instead,  try to accomplish some baby steps forward at this time. Eat a little better and move your body a little more often. Maybe try to learn something new your body can do or perhaps do something it hasn’t done in a while. Take the baby steps, then make a new target date for the big fitness resolutions. A new date when the weather is a little better, when the sun shines a little more and life in general makes the big fitness changes easier. I propose we designate a new date, perhaps April 1 (April Fool’s Day), to be the official date of the Fitness New Year.
So, take those baby steps, build some confidence in your body and what you can do. Lay the groundwork for significant lifestyle fitness changes come April 1, 2012.
Coach Hays
P.S. I am going to try something new in 2012. I will  attempt to post daily  the FamFit and Human Weapon workouts on Twitter under the hashtag #FamFit .  Follow me @coachhays64, if interested. 

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September 26, 2011 · 7:00 PM

Alignment, Assignment, Attack

Coach Lane taught us an awesome philosophy. He used to preach what he called the three A’s: Alignment, Assignment and Attack. This simple method of teaching, planning and playing the game of football can be used for many, many other disciplines in life or sport.

Alignment – Where you line up. It is the physical position you put yourself in. Starting in the right position, in the right spot or in the right frame of mind increases the chances of success.

Assignment – What you need to do. It is your job, it is what your teammates are depending on you to do. In football and baseball, we called it EVERY MAN, EVERY PLAY. Meaning, know what your job is and consistently get it done.

Attack – How you create chaos. It is a way of living, it is your approach and it is how you compete. Create chaos to cause confusion and confusion slows your opponent down mentally and physically, giving you an edge. An attacking philosophy needs hustle and attitude. We wanted to  intimidate through hustle. Always attacking, always coming, always, always, always…

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September 15, 2011 · 7:55 PM

Puzzle Pieces and Patience

After the first few weeks of the 2011 fall sports season, I imagine some are in panic mode about their favorite teams, whether  it’s a grade school,  middle school, high school, college or professional team. Maybe a poor start or some ugliness on the field/court, but it has not been the start of the season coaches, players and fans dreamed of during the preseason. If this sounds like familiar territory, here is one word of advice: PATIENCE.  Give the coaches and the players a chance to find themselves. Give them a chance to establish their footing in the whirlwind disappointing start to the season.

Building a team is a little like making a homemade puzzle.  The coach envisions the team he wants to build from the players he has available. He creates the best picture he can using all the players on the team.  The vision is done and it looks promising. Now it’s time to take the jigsaw to it and cut it into pieces.  A very talented, very experienced team cuts into big easy-to-fit pieces, like a Mickey Mouse preschool board puzzle.  As the raw talent and experience level decreases, though, the pieces become increasingly complex in shape and number.

But, this is not going to be a calm, relaxing Sunday afternoon leisurely putting the puzzle back together. Practice starts and all the puzzle pieces are placed on one of those electric football fields from the kick butt sports game of the 1970’s. The switch is turned on, the board vibrates and all the pieces move around the field.  The team cut into the big, easy-to-fit pieces slides into its place in the big picture easier and faster to make the complete team everyone envisioned.  A team ready to roll. The other teams, the ones with complex shapes and many pieces take more time to aggregate into that team everyone dreams about. They need to put in the work and focus harder on coming together. Unfortunately, sometimes it never really comes together into a picture full of grace and beauty.
If your team puzzle picture never really comes together, don’t be discouraged, don’t raise Cain, don’t fly off the handle, just stay patient and enjoy the parts which are good. Never forget, that although the team did not have the season people dreamed of, those are still some pretty damn important player pieces out there working their tails off.

Finally, remember that in sports, as in life, it is not how you start, but how you finish and compete that is important.

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September 5, 2011 · 7:47 PM

A Simple Coaching Secret

Psst.
Hey.
Hey you.
Yeah, you.
Do you wanna know a coaching secret?
It’s simple. It’s effective. It’s free. It’s easy and it can change the attitude of your team or organization.  I use it all the time but never realized the power of this secret to transform attitudes until late this summer, when I did a couple guest gigs at several high school conditioning sessions.
What is this secret bit of magic? It’s the word “We”.
I told you it was simple. “We” transforms. “We” unites. “We” ingrains common purpose. “We” trains together to achieve goals. “We” suggests a collective, a common thread within a group and a team. Humans are hard wired for small group functionality. We are small group hunter-gatherers from way back in the day. Our drive and ability to work in groups for a common goal have been part of our machinery since the first human stood up on two feet and walked around. We want to work together, but this unity has to be built and nurtured.
Common purpose, common goals, common challenges and common suffering all unite young people to work together. Doesn’t matter how different they are from each other, it doesn’t matter where they come from or where they are planning to go, they can unite under the umbrella of “we”.
For example, instead of saying, “Today, you guys are running six Terrible 20’s”, say, “Today, we are running six Terrible 20’s.”  The “We” example means we are in this thing together, common purpose to work our asses off because we need to get better.  Both examples have me, the coach, telling the players to go out and run something very, very physically demanding. But, there is a huge shift in attitude from the individual players training, to one with emphasis on the collective good of the group working to prepare themselves.
A simple word can make a huge difference in the approach and philosophy of an organization or team. Successful  teams and organizations unite to work toward achieving a common goal. You can’t force unity, it has to happen, it has to be forged through time and common purpose. Team unity happens every day, but not by isolated, contrived team building activities. Kids have well honed BS meters, it is their superpower. They can sniff out the attempts to force unity and then they will resist. This important use of semantics can make a difference when used every day. “We” can get it done .
Don’t believe a simple word, like “We” can have such a dramatic affect? Try it out. Go out next practice or team meeting and throw it out there. Let it rip and see what happens.

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August 25, 2011 · 8:20 PM

Just Do It

Advertising campaigns are mostly fluff. The slogans and jingles may stick in your head initially. But, like a syrupy pop song, they eventually fade into a distant memory. Some have more staying power. Take, for example, “Where’s the Beef?” or “Leggo of my Eggo!” or perhaps, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”  Catchy little phrases, but not much substance.

But, there is one ad campaign that runs deep. One that not only has grown to identify its product at its very sight or mention, it can also evoke a deep philosophy for life.

Just Do It.

You know the company. Not my favorite company, nor my favorite brand of athletic shoes or wear. Even so, I immediately identify the company from these three simple words. Just. Do. It.  Effective advertising, but how does that evoke a life philosophy?

Just Do It. If you want something to happen or something to change, how do you go about making that happen? Simple, just do it. If you want to transform yourself or accomplish a great feat, how do you go about it? Simple, just do it.

I love the saying “Every journey begins with a first step.”  Yeah, that’s good stuff, but how many first steps have you taken that are the ONLY steps toward your goal. One step and done. No goal, no dreams, just standing in the same spot.  I have a million of those.

“Just Do It” is more universal, it is more encompassing.  The total package. It covers all the bases.

Have a dream? Just Do It.

Want to write a book? Just Do It.

Want to be the best coach? Just Do It.

Want to be a better father? Just Do It.

Want to be a better athlete? Just Do It.

A “Just Do It” attitude and hard work can accomplish practically anything.

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