Football is not a contact sport, it's a collision sport. We can't play the game without getting bumped or bruised. For most of our young men, it is the first time involved with football or organized sports. But football is hard. It tests our intestinal fortitude and our will to compete.
The last couple of days, we had three players hurt their fingers and one was hit in the stomach during practice. All of them quit and gave up on the task at hand (no pun intended). It is my job as the coach to teach mental toughness and how to deal with adversity.
Last night I was watching a show on the NFL Network about the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers. QB Ben Roethlesburger spoke about the last drive of the game and all the adversity facing him and the Steeler offense. He cited a poem he thought about before taking the field on what would be game winning drive:
"Success is failure, turned inside out.
The silver lining with clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It maybe near, when when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight, when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worse that you mustn't quit."
Life is about competition and we mustn't quit. I'll be sharing this with our players today before practice...
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Photos of PHHS vs. WHHS
If you folks have any game photos you would like to share, please e-mail them to me at
ldailey@pd.sandiego.gov and I will put them on the Blog!
LeRoy
Not Everybody Gets a Trophy...
A couple of months ago, I went to my daughter Samantha's 2nd grade assembly at her school. She was receiving a reading award for being the top reader in her class. As I sat and waited anxiously for my daughter to get her certificate, I watched as teachers hand out awards to students like "Social Butterfly Award" and "Use of the Most Colors in a Painting".
I shook my head in disbelief. I thought these awards might help the self esteem of the recipients and their parents but at the same time it cheapened the Academic awards kids were getting for hard work and achievement. Heck, it made me wish I could have made the Dean's List for "Pencil Sharpening Technologies".
We live in a society where everybody gets a trophy. Personal achievement, hard work and dedication is overlooked for receiving an award for just showing up. This is not a realistic view of the real world.
After Thursday's victory over Westhills, a parent was upset that her son did not play. (He did play the 5th Quarter) She wanted to know why her son wasn't playing in front of the other player and she thought he needed to be a starter over the incumbent.
My policy is not to discuss playing time with parents. It is the responsibility of the player to come to me and discuss what is on their mind. I am trying to teach our young men to be responsible and have a say in their future. This parent refused to listen to my reasoning and insisted since she was the parent, she had the right to know.
The voice in my head started to play, "Everybody gets a trophy." Her ill tempered outburst ruined what would have been a night of celebration for me.
So I will pass on the following information for everybody. My personal goal is to play everybody as much as I possibly can. We have 81 players and we can only put 11 on the field at one time. But if a player does not know his assignments, he will not play. It is not to punish him, it is to insure the safety of the other 10 players on the field.
Also, a player has to earn the right to play in the game. Merely showing up to practice is not enough. Our players need to show their coach during the individual and group periods of our practice that they can compete and earn that right to be on the field.
I shook my head in disbelief. I thought these awards might help the self esteem of the recipients and their parents but at the same time it cheapened the Academic awards kids were getting for hard work and achievement. Heck, it made me wish I could have made the Dean's List for "Pencil Sharpening Technologies".
We live in a society where everybody gets a trophy. Personal achievement, hard work and dedication is overlooked for receiving an award for just showing up. This is not a realistic view of the real world.
After Thursday's victory over Westhills, a parent was upset that her son did not play. (He did play the 5th Quarter) She wanted to know why her son wasn't playing in front of the other player and she thought he needed to be a starter over the incumbent.
My policy is not to discuss playing time with parents. It is the responsibility of the player to come to me and discuss what is on their mind. I am trying to teach our young men to be responsible and have a say in their future. This parent refused to listen to my reasoning and insisted since she was the parent, she had the right to know.
The voice in my head started to play, "Everybody gets a trophy." Her ill tempered outburst ruined what would have been a night of celebration for me.
So I will pass on the following information for everybody. My personal goal is to play everybody as much as I possibly can. We have 81 players and we can only put 11 on the field at one time. But if a player does not know his assignments, he will not play. It is not to punish him, it is to insure the safety of the other 10 players on the field.
Also, a player has to earn the right to play in the game. Merely showing up to practice is not enough. Our players need to show their coach during the individual and group periods of our practice that they can compete and earn that right to be on the field.
Friday, September 4, 2009
PHHS 28 Westhills 26
Congratulations to all the players and parents on the win yesterday against the Wolfpack. There were many highlights to go around and I might miss a play or two. But there were several players that earned their "PH" for their helmet for their hard work, hustle and sacrifices they made for the team:
DT Tysheen Webster for his QB pressure and interception for a TD.
WR/P Brady Esterbrooks for his Mike Scifres imitation of punting the ball down inside the Wolfpack 5 yard line.
RB David Ringgold for his hard running as he barrelled over a DB on a sweep play.
SS Brandon Salgado for his 3 tackles for loss on defense.
OT Alex Giles for his blocking on the line and creating huge holes.
RB Travis Gubbe on his hustle, great attitude and long TD reception.
LB Tucker Caddy for his long snaps and forcing a fumble.
FS Arron Rocha for thinking of others, helping fellow players and coaches.
I had 1 goal for all the players for this 1st game... And that was to COMPETE! In life, everything is about competition and our players did just that, COMPETE! Nobody stood around, everybody hustled and everybody gave their best effort. That is what life is, giving the best effort!
There was a huge crowd for the game and I hope everybody enjoyed themselves. It was a good start but we have a long way to go and a lot of work we still need to put in to do well for the remainder of the season.
I gave the players a well deserved 4 day Holiday weekend and I will see them all on Tuesday at practice. Our next game will be at Pt. Loma HS on Saturday 9/12/09 at 10:00 am.
DT Tysheen Webster for his QB pressure and interception for a TD.
WR/P Brady Esterbrooks for his Mike Scifres imitation of punting the ball down inside the Wolfpack 5 yard line.
RB David Ringgold for his hard running as he barrelled over a DB on a sweep play.
SS Brandon Salgado for his 3 tackles for loss on defense.
OT Alex Giles for his blocking on the line and creating huge holes.
RB Travis Gubbe on his hustle, great attitude and long TD reception.
LB Tucker Caddy for his long snaps and forcing a fumble.
FS Arron Rocha for thinking of others, helping fellow players and coaches.
I had 1 goal for all the players for this 1st game... And that was to COMPETE! In life, everything is about competition and our players did just that, COMPETE! Nobody stood around, everybody hustled and everybody gave their best effort. That is what life is, giving the best effort!
There was a huge crowd for the game and I hope everybody enjoyed themselves. It was a good start but we have a long way to go and a lot of work we still need to put in to do well for the remainder of the season.
I gave the players a well deserved 4 day Holiday weekend and I will see them all on Tuesday at practice. Our next game will be at Pt. Loma HS on Saturday 9/12/09 at 10:00 am.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The 5th Quarter
Freshman Football is a developmental program throughout the State of California. The goal is to introduce players to football and prepare their future to compete not only at the JV level, but if they are physically able to do so, the Varsity level.
My goal is to play everyone during the game. We currently have 81 players on our roster and we will be hard pressed to do so.
After the end of the game, with the permission of the opposing coach, we turn off the score board, put 10 minutes on a running clock and we play all the players that did not get an opportunity to play in the regulation game. It's an instructional session to give players a change to play against an opponent and it will be supervised by coaches and referees.
Our Athletic Director, Coach Lococo, gave us permission to play a 5th Quarter for all out home games and the PHHS Athletic Department will furnish the extra fees for the use of the referees.
My goal is to play everyone during the game. We currently have 81 players on our roster and we will be hard pressed to do so.
After the end of the game, with the permission of the opposing coach, we turn off the score board, put 10 minutes on a running clock and we play all the players that did not get an opportunity to play in the regulation game. It's an instructional session to give players a change to play against an opponent and it will be supervised by coaches and referees.
Our Athletic Director, Coach Lococo, gave us permission to play a 5th Quarter for all out home games and the PHHS Athletic Department will furnish the extra fees for the use of the referees.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Is There a Web Site to Teach Me About Football?
This is a common question with Freshman Parents that have not been involved in football before. Randy Farley, our VP from the PHHS Booster Club, sent me this site that could help you in understanding football.
Enjoy!
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-football-game-play.html
Enjoy!
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-football-game-play.html
What Time Will Pactices Be Once School Starts?
Once school starts, we will be practicing 2:30pm to 4:30 pm Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Our games are on Thursdays. The 4:30 end time ensures those players enrolled in the VEEP will make it to the bus before the 5:00 pm departure.
Those students that have 6th Period PE (1:15 to 2:15 pm) will be with me on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will be holding study hall in Coach Lococo's Room and I will be taking roll everyday. I want our players to take advantage of the study hall to get homework assignments done before practice starts. This makes life a little easier for our student-athletes and lightens their workload once they get home. I will also offer assistance with homework if needed. Goofing off in study hall will result in "Flipping the Tire".
For the same 6th Period Freshman players, we will be introducing our players to weight training on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Parents have been calling to see what they can do to enroll their sons in 6th Period PE. I gave a roster of our players to the Athletic Director, Coach Lococo. He took that roster to the Counselor's office to adjust the schedules for football players to have 6th Period PE. The priority for 6th Period PE will be as follows: Varsity players, JV players and then Freshman players. If you have any questions, please call your son's counselor at PHHS.
Remember, Faith, Family, School all come before Football. Without grades, there is no football!
Those students that have 6th Period PE (1:15 to 2:15 pm) will be with me on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will be holding study hall in Coach Lococo's Room and I will be taking roll everyday. I want our players to take advantage of the study hall to get homework assignments done before practice starts. This makes life a little easier for our student-athletes and lightens their workload once they get home. I will also offer assistance with homework if needed. Goofing off in study hall will result in "Flipping the Tire".
For the same 6th Period Freshman players, we will be introducing our players to weight training on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Parents have been calling to see what they can do to enroll their sons in 6th Period PE. I gave a roster of our players to the Athletic Director, Coach Lococo. He took that roster to the Counselor's office to adjust the schedules for football players to have 6th Period PE. The priority for 6th Period PE will be as follows: Varsity players, JV players and then Freshman players. If you have any questions, please call your son's counselor at PHHS.
Remember, Faith, Family, School all come before Football. Without grades, there is no football!
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