Post by CHD on May 6, 2005 20:53:47 GMT
My 6th grader is in Spring drills for a 7th grade team. This is his second year playing for this program, which also fields 6th grade teams in a highly-competitive developmental league. He's not very good at this point and has been moving around. Last night, he was at right guard during a scrimmage.
A defensive lineman broke through the line and tackled the QB. He hit the QB so hard that the kid was injured and may have broken ribs. The defensive line coach was livid. (Yes, it seems that the offensive line coach should have been upset). He told the OL that if that happened again, he'd have the OL stand one at a time and let the DL pummel them.
My son told me about this on the way home from practice. I didn't give it much thought, and told him that (1) the coach was just trying to scare them into blocking better and (2) would never follow through on a threat like that. I think I even said I'd have done the same thing if I were the coach.
Today my son came home from school all upset. It seems that two of the other OL players were blaming him for the QB injury, saying he let his man through. Actually, the DL had shifted and my son blocked another player who lined up directly in front of him. Another OL admitted to my son that he missed the block.
Anyway, this is probably no big deal. However, looking back now, I think that the coach's explosion magnified the incident to the point that the other OL were mad and looking for someone to blame. It seems that this is not a good way to promote team unity. On the other hand, maybe it's a good thing for the players to get onto one another when they think someone has made a big mistake.
I'm emotionally involved because my son was targeted, so I'm not thinking clearly. There are 11 guys out there, and singling out a guy for missing a block, which they all do at times, just doesn't seem right. Also, I'm wondering if the coach realizes that these are 11 and 12 year old kids.
Last year my son was a 2nd team LB. Players on the second team rarely got any playing time. The coaches would leave the atarters in if they were up 24-0 with 2 minutes left in the game. While I admit that my son is not starter material, I think a good coach would substitute liberally when the game is in the bag.
A developmental league, in my thinking, should focus not on winning but on developing the boys' skills and hopefully teaching them to love the game. I feel that this coaching staff does a disservice to the game, because kids that never get to play become discouraged and abandon the sport. These boys are not in puberty yet; today's star may be too small to play in high school, and that lethargic benchwarmer could be a 6', 220 LB, 4.5 forty type of guy in 5 years who doesn't play football in high school because he had a bad experience as a 12 year old.
Coaches, am I right, or have I let my emotions overcome me?
A defensive lineman broke through the line and tackled the QB. He hit the QB so hard that the kid was injured and may have broken ribs. The defensive line coach was livid. (Yes, it seems that the offensive line coach should have been upset). He told the OL that if that happened again, he'd have the OL stand one at a time and let the DL pummel them.
My son told me about this on the way home from practice. I didn't give it much thought, and told him that (1) the coach was just trying to scare them into blocking better and (2) would never follow through on a threat like that. I think I even said I'd have done the same thing if I were the coach.
Today my son came home from school all upset. It seems that two of the other OL players were blaming him for the QB injury, saying he let his man through. Actually, the DL had shifted and my son blocked another player who lined up directly in front of him. Another OL admitted to my son that he missed the block.
Anyway, this is probably no big deal. However, looking back now, I think that the coach's explosion magnified the incident to the point that the other OL were mad and looking for someone to blame. It seems that this is not a good way to promote team unity. On the other hand, maybe it's a good thing for the players to get onto one another when they think someone has made a big mistake.
I'm emotionally involved because my son was targeted, so I'm not thinking clearly. There are 11 guys out there, and singling out a guy for missing a block, which they all do at times, just doesn't seem right. Also, I'm wondering if the coach realizes that these are 11 and 12 year old kids.
Last year my son was a 2nd team LB. Players on the second team rarely got any playing time. The coaches would leave the atarters in if they were up 24-0 with 2 minutes left in the game. While I admit that my son is not starter material, I think a good coach would substitute liberally when the game is in the bag.
A developmental league, in my thinking, should focus not on winning but on developing the boys' skills and hopefully teaching them to love the game. I feel that this coaching staff does a disservice to the game, because kids that never get to play become discouraged and abandon the sport. These boys are not in puberty yet; today's star may be too small to play in high school, and that lethargic benchwarmer could be a 6', 220 LB, 4.5 forty type of guy in 5 years who doesn't play football in high school because he had a bad experience as a 12 year old.
Coaches, am I right, or have I let my emotions overcome me?