WHAT OFF SEASON?
The Mrs., our sons and Yours Truly
WHAT OFF SEASON?
Coaching is a year round job and if you want to run a competitive program, you better be prepared to work twice as hard as your players. We push ourselves as hard as college coaches with the only difference being that we don’t get paid nearly what they do. Heck, I am thrilled if I get reimbursed on gas money for taking a group of kids to a combine.
High School football coaches have seen their list of duties and the times needed to complete each one multiply in recent years. Unofficially, we are equipment managers, recruiting coordinators, facility managers and strength and conditioning coaches. Nobody said the job was going to be easy. At least they didn’t say it to me.
I’m okay with all the responsibilities, if I wasn’t, I be playing in a softball league or sipping a cold Coors Lights during happy hour somewhere. Not bad options either. But I’m a coach. And as a coach I have come to accept the fact that there is so much more to running a quality program then just what goes on after the coin flip.
The post season has gotten longer, with playoff growth in California (CIF) including more teams and extending the season. Then there is the offseason, which has swelled to include seven-on-seven passing leagues and tournaments, individual combines to measure athletes’ strength and speed and the never ending process of college recruiting.
But for all this hard work stepping back on the field for the start of a new season always invigorates me and makes it all worthwhile.
Vince Lombardi once said, “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”
Giving up the little things and going for the big things in life is easy to say but many times hard to do but when I have an ex-player return to thank me for helping him get into college, I think that perhaps I’m getting paid too much to do this job I love.
Go Big!!!!
Dave Ricci
TOUGH LOVE
What we say, when we say it and how we say it.
We coaches are constantly reminded about our behavior by parents, players, athletic directors, media, etc. To me, coaching is a sliding scale. A team is not a group of robots or clones. Each athlete requires different communication techniques. And it is up to us to know the difference.
I once had a player of mine tell me how worried he was that the Head Coach was all up in his grill every practice and I told him that he should start worrying when the Head Coach isn’t yelling at him, because that’s when he’s in trouble, meaning that the Head Coach gave up on him.
One of the most important things sports teach us is how to be tough without crossing the line. That’s why we have rules. Any loudmouth jerk with no regard for others can scream at his players. That’s why we as coaches have unwritten rules.
This reminds me of a story of when I was playing Pony league baseball and we were in extra innings against our rivals. Just as I was about to step up to the plate, I looked back at my coach with youthful bravado and confidence and said I was gonna go downtown. Without hesitation he looked me square in the eyes and said, “Oh yeah, on what bus?”
As I stepped into the batter’s box my head was spinning. Does the coach not have confidence in me? STRIKE ONE! Is the coach using reverse psychology on me? STRIKE TWO! Or maybe the coach is just a dick. STRIKE THREE! We lost the game and the coach lost me. The next year I played Lacrosse.
The point is we are not building teams but building character. And character begins with respecting each individual athlete and understanding what makes him tic. And that, my friends, is tough. It’s this measure of respect between coach and athlete that brings out the best in teams.
In closing, I am inclined to discuss the events of last weekend and properly equate them to coaching.
When Obama was addressing the question of giving Osama a proper burial at sea and keeping the photos private he said, “We don’t need to spike the football, that’s not who we are.” We coaches know exactly what he’s talking about.
God Bless America
Dave Ricci
“Do What You Love, Love What You Do.”
As a father of two terrific boys, a husband to a wonderful woman and a coach at a competitive high school, I often get pulled in many directions. One would think the last thing I need to be doing is launching a new company. But truth be told, it is all the aforementioned tugging that has brought me to GameFilm360. I recognized a need as a coach, husband and parent to simplify my life. Hence, the genesis of creating a website that just flat out makes life easier.
I once had an old coach of mine when I was playing college football tell me, “Do what you love and love what you do.” Well, it’s taken me about 40 years to finally say that is the case for me. I am neither a salesman nor a get rich quick dreamer. Heck, who goes into coaching to get rich? I flat out dig working with athletes and fellow coaches.
One of my good friends is a screenwriter who has written a lot of sports movies. He once said to me that sports are a metaphor for life. I absolutely agree with him. Nothing is more fulfilling then helping a young athlete set his sights on goal and then accomplishing it. I live by the credo that sports don’t build character, they reveal it. As a coach it is up to us to set a standard that must be reached and if the athletes fails, then we fail. You see it’s not so much about wins and losses as it is about effort and perseverance. These are the things kids take into adulthood.
When legendary coach, Bo Schembechler was asked by a reporter one year how the team looked that year, his response was, “Ask me that question in twenty years when these young men are husbands, fathers and productive members of society and then I will tell what this team looks like.”
So come check out GameFilm360 and let us help you accomplish your goals. Gotta run now, boys got lacrosse practice, wife needs me to mow the lawn and I gotta finish up spring football schedule. There’s that pulling again and I love it!
P.S.: Don’t forget that this Sunday is Mother’s Day. A happy wife is a happy life!
Ready… break!
Dave
Basketball is on fire right now
We’ve had ALOT of boys and girls high school basketball teams sing up over the last month. It really shows how great GF360 is for time-starved, competitive coaches. With the 15-Day Free Trial there’s nothing to lose.
Thanks to the WBCA
Just wanted to say thank you so much to the WBCA – we had a great time and met some very cool coaches. Best of luck to all of you this season!
Boys and Girls High School Basketball is up and running…quickly!
Gamefilm360 is proud to announce the launch of both Boys and Girls High School Basketball sites. We are very excited to now have 4 different sites helping young athletes GET BETTER and GET RECRUITED.
We’ve just launched Youth Football Site.
Gamefilm360 continue with the changes to bring easy and secure game film sharing to new sports and levels!
It’s on in IDAHO!
Gamefilm360 has teamed up with Idahosports.com to bring On-Demand Game Films to Idaho – what better way for the coaches to promote their players to college recruiters! Don’t worry – Basketball and Volleyball coming soon.
Lovin’ Wisconsin!
Gamefilm360 is excited to announce their partnership with Wissports.net – a fantastic high school sports site for the state of Wisconsin. Football is up and ready…stay tuned for Girls Volleyball and Boys and Girls Basketball.
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