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DOB

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Everything posted by DOB

  1. 4A-D2 not as much as 4A-D1 ... although not much change in East Texas area, the rest of the state has a lot of moves coming .... Although some choices are easy to make, some are very much still up in the air. Common sense is seldom used in the same sentence with the UIL.
  2. I remember coaching against them starting in the Seventies and thereafter ... and they always had good looking kids every year. I truly hope that all the changes made will be a good fit for both the school, the kids, the coaches, and their community fan and power base. I also desire that the changes made will be dealt with patience for those involved … change, by its own nature, can be difficult for some – especially those whose vision lies within the confines of their own personal tunnel. In looking at most situational reality, Coach Shakespeare once wrote, “Not all that glitters is gold.” In that vein, I hope all decisions made this spring by the parties involved will be fruitful - for someone wiser than me said “We are always one decision away from a totally different life.” And that can be good or bad. Only with time can it be revealed if the Ghosts of Seasons Past will win or lose out to the Ghosts of Seasons Future.
  3. Don't know ... really not many movers and shakers in our neck of the woods at this level ...
  4. Hard to hold a fish fry without any fish ... but there's always someone somewhere who thinks they're smarter and better than the ones who tried and failed ... more often than not, they, too, end up in the cut bait bucket.
  5. By the time I came around in HS in the Sixties, Quarterbacks spent a lot of time off the field learning how to read and attack defenses because we called about 95% plus of plays during the game ... of course defenses were more standardized then, especially in the secondary (4-deep Cloud with occasional Sky, and Three-deep) ... most people ran the Okie 5, a few the 4-3 27, and an occasional Split or 7-Diamond ... learned a lot calling my own plays. Helped a lot during in my early coaching days ...
  6. In visiting over the years with the early wristband folks, the purpose was primarily for use of no huddle and up tempo ... now a few multi-flips even have assignments/routes on them .... but heck, I'm old enough to remember Army's "Lonesome End",
  7. Not much innovation seen this year ... everybody waits until someone else has the brains and guts to do something different and then they steal it. More and more folks are ending up with a collection of plays INSTEAD of an offense. I think wristbands are limiting adjustments during the game ... if some people see a weakness in the way a defense is aligned, but that play in that set in that situation is not on the wristband - therefore they can't signal it in and run it - means that you are sacrificing effectiveness for efficiency ... and there is a big difference between the two. To borrow a Doomer quote - "Tru Storie" ... case in point: One Friday night a few years back I was at a game ... it was halftime and I ran into a young offensive coordinator I know coming down from the press box. I said, "They're throwing a lot of stuff at you." He said, "They sure are." I replied, "It's really kinda simple. They're just playing your sets and reading your mail." I walked with him for a bit to the field house. I then said, "If you put your set back and H-back to the same side away from Twins and run a post with the inside receiver, they're unsound and there's no way they can cover it." He replied, "Maybe so, but we don't have that play." I said, "You don't run a post route?" He said, "Yea, but not it that set." I said, "Why don't you just call one." He said, "Can't, it's not on our wristband ... and if it's not on our wristband then we can't signal it in." I told him "Good Luck, and good to see you" and went on our separate ways. WOW ... things sure have changed ... I guess the days of taking what they give you are over. Times change, but in the old days I wasn't about to lose a ball game (which they eventually did) over a wristband. Anything was possible with coffee and chalk until they invented an erasable whiteboard. I figure the days of seeing coaches at clinics drawing on table napkins while eating breakfast are gone. Innovation often comes from new minds that think outside the box. Before you can innovate, you have to at least understand the "now" and then the "why" ... that learning for understanding is never achieved if you are the last one to show up and the first one to leave. It's always been that way - and always will be.
  8. Glossary: Spreadist - one who spreads Not to be confused with followers of Lavelle Edward's vertical and horizontal "Stretch" called Stretchies ,,, Including others, but not limited to a Wingist or a Slotist. Tark Shedist - teams with multiple players entering the Transfer Protocol
  9. Where did you think all these offenses evolved from? Their DNA can be virtually all traced back to Pop Warner ... with a little Rusty Russell and Dutch Meyer mixed in to leave a trail of breadcrumbs for the spreadists to follow ....
  10. Young coaches/DCs often struggle in dealing with with the non-spreads because they didn't cut their teeth on having to deal with them ... in today's world, probably the quickest place to learn (the non-spreads have somewhat evolved, too) is find a team that runs that non-spread and get film (or video - showing my age here) where they played somebody who also runs that non-spread ... they will give you clues and an idea on a way to defend it. But remember, some people run it with HOSSES and some people run it with SHOW PONIES ... there's a big difference. Point Two: It is obvious that if you have built your defense to stop the spread, it's is hard to adjust in one week ... that change comes with many problems and asking kids to take on responsibilities that they are not accustom to ... confusion and doubt can turn a 4.5 into a 5.5. There's an old adage that says if you do something different but are used to it ... you force the other guys to have to change not you. Deception in the game is a lost art, and way underestimated. I see it on defense with blitz packages, but not much on offense. Sometimes it's easier just to plow around a stump. Point Three: If you find a place that's successful in a non-spread - you'll also find a solid defense. LH & Franklin both had defenses that yielded less than 10 points a game ... it's often hard to come from behind in tighter sets ... but never forget, that the two go together in another way - the non-spreads run the clock***, work hard on eliminating mistakes (if you play a four-to-five-yard per scheme, you can't afford a first and fifteen), and play keep away from the sometimes superior offensive talent just standing around and watching on the other sideline. Nothing helps a defense more than their own offense having the ball (And when all else fails - on third and long run the quick trap or 8-Hole Reverse ... lol) ***A lot of Wing teams like to speed up the game, or it appears so in some cases as they break the huddle in a sprint and set ... for a few they really do speed up / for most they break the huddle late and then sprint ... Why? Because an often used tool in the Wing is a change in sets - especially using unbalanced - the quick rush gives the defense less time to adjust to the change and confusion. From a defensive perspective THAT is hard to duplicate in practice.
  11. After a cycle as an independent, it appears that Cross Roads ISD is getting back into the UIL football mode ... or at least they turned numbers in - which could be taken either way - yes or no ... just an observation ...
  12. One last thought moving to the next alignment ... I have long accepted the use of the four per system, but I can argue both sides because there are two sides to every decision made … and I am certainly not criticizing the UIL for its work, although its logic sometimes escapes me. There are problems because there are aberrations to every issue and this is no exception. None is more obvious than 4A-D1, where they are only 19 teams in the western region and 16 of those enter the playoffs – including two districts that only have four members (the other regions have either 27 or 26). Now I do understand that west Texas is in itself an aberration due to the mileage issue, but I don't necessarily believe that it is universally applied in other cases – so balancing district numbers appears to be just as important. An example – Argyle and Ranchview having to pass through the Dallas district to get to the rest of their district mates. And this is only one example – I'm sure they had their reasons. So the real question is what do they do with the new alignment because it just got more complicated. The 4AD1 El Paso area, who had five members, lost three of those who went down. While it is likely that another El Paso school (Irvin; and possibly Bowie and Austin if they don't opt up - EP newspapers offer different accounts) could join to up the total to more than three if their final decision is not to opt up to remain where they are. The next district over (with only four in the last alignment) San Angelo LV, Andrews, and Big Spring lost Fort Stockton, who is also moving down. So where does the fourth member (if you are a four-team district is acceptable kind of person) come from? Lubbock Estacado, moving up, could be an option … but they relatively closer to the Panhandle district (who had five but facing Canyon Randall joining them moving down). If not Estacado, then Brownwood would be the next domino to fall that way – but the distance from BW to Andrews is astronomical, just like the distance from Andrews, BS, and SALV is to El Paso. Rule around here is that you never point out a problem without a possible solution in mind. Why not put the El Paso area district together with the Andrews, BS, and SA district. Don't roll your eyes yet, cause I'm not finished. This would then allow you to create another district to help balance the unbalance between the regions. Now back to the previous combining of District 1 & 2 – allowing this “new district” to “Zone” themselves – playing only those teams closer by. Leaving the last week of the regular season “open” to have the #1s in both zones to play for Seed 1 & 2 … and the #2s in both zones play for Seed 3 & 4 (the other teams – not finishing 1 or 2 – could play if they chose in order to have a 10 game schedule). Before you fall out of your chair, remember this … I'm older than most of ya'll, so I can tell you this is NOT a new concept. Back in the day before 5A & 6A were ever invented, zones were the cat's meow in 4A – each district had too many teams to play a round-robin – so each district was arranged in zones, usually by chosen by geography thus minimizing travel. The zone playoffs were actually equal to the first round of the playoffs. The question is ... can the UIL think outside of the box? Just a thought from an old coach in his final year in the education bizness ... 46 is enough.
  13. Here's an ornament for your tree ... and yes, I was once a member of the Mafia in the early years of its evolution.
  14. Good question ... looking back, they did not have a eastern Texas winner in only two other seasons in this century. In 2012, despite having three representatives in the finals (Tenaha, Daingerfield, and Gilmer), ET came up empty AND in 2000 with Tyler, WO-S, and Burkeville being in the finals - all three lost. So if your looking for a trend or pattern, you might say that it happens about once every ten years. So like DirtyBird said, "it's more like a cycle" than a trend ...
  15. Research usually shows that the team from a school with a higher enrollment wins about 60% of the time … looking at the champions this year, that still holds true … in this years finals, the team will the most enrollment (based on the most recent tally in Oct) won six of the ten games. Of the 10 state champions, four will be moving up … and from what I understand, you might as well make it five, as LBJ has chosen to opt up. Over the two-year UIL cycle, those four movers show: Katy Paetow with a whopping increase of 48.6% Stratford with an amazing increase of 24.8% Franklin with an increase of 16% China Spring with an increase of 6.4% And those others who lost out in the Semis: Mansfield Summit and Flour Bluff in 5A-D1 will be headed down to 5A-D2 Abilene Cooper will go the other way from 5A-D2 to 5A-D1 Celina, with a substantial increase of 17% in enrollment, will move from 4A-D2 to 4A-D1 Lago Vista, with a booming increase of 25%, will move from 3A-D1 to 4A-D2 So how did DC's Texas Football do with their pre-season picks? Westlake at #1 Franklin at #1 Shiner at #2 North Shore at #4 China Spring at #7 Lorena at #8 Stratford at #8 Katy Paetow at #13 Oak Cliff at #13 Stephenville at #18
  16. I remember coaching HS baseball against him in the mid-1970's ... he could coach anything and well.
  17. Will definitely help SS ... better days, maybe? ... they return their QB (1200+ yds), both of their leading rushers (almost 900 yds between them), and one of their two leading receivers (46 receptions) ... but somethings gotta happen to change giving up almost 46 points per game ... I saw them play early in the year and they have a soph RB that could be really good. And I didn't know SS / P had been separated by that many seasons - P may finally get to play at a dist game that's almost close - lol PS - I think the biggest question in the district right now is whether Celina comes east or goes west ... and whether Nevada Community, on the bubble, goes up or stays down.
  18. Never take success for granted ... if you do, you tend to forget what it took to get to the point of success in the first place. And once the "granted" takes hold, success can slowly and stealthy slip away. And most people never notice until it's too late.
  19. Young people, like old people, make choices ... some good - some bad. Every program, like a business, has standards and expectations - some minimal ... some more demanding. Some people find it difficult to live and work within those standards. And there lies in the choice. When I was a young coach I had an old coach tell me this and I never forgot it: "There's no program worth more than one kid ... and there's no one kid worth more than the whole program. Finding that right balance can be challenging, but it must be determined on behalf of both that one kid and for all the other kids. We're in the teaching business, so the goal of discipline is not necessarily just to have discipline ... the goal of discipline should be to teach self-discipline." I have always strongly believed that there's a reason the sport is in the curriculum and it's more than just a scoreboard. Lose sight of that and the lessons that could be taught will never be taught. Those lessons are important and in today's world it may be the only place left for young people to learn them. And therefore it all boils down to choices ... some good - some bad.
  20. Nothing explains things better than this statement - "Five-Star Recruits vs Five-Star Culture" ...
  21. From what I've seen, I don't think they play football in Austin anymore ... Sark's just happy that LBJ ain't on their schedule.
  22. hope u and ur kids had a good TG ... good luck to our brethren the Eagles ... like most things at this level, it's turnovers and who makes the kicking game mistake ... and while it may be hard to understand if you never watched the situation unfold from the sidelines, but what often makes a difference late is when one group begins to focus and be satisfied on what they HAVE accomplished over the course of a season rather than what is left to be accomplished; you can learn a lot about the complexities of a young mind standing on a sideline and looking into their eyes - you can tell for sure how they're dealing with things taking place between the hashes ... the problem with being in the playoffs has always been that there's only one team left that's really happy. Stay safe. As for this old septuagenarian dad, just waiting on realignment and hopes for being around for another year of Friday nights in the fall.
  23. You're asking the wrong person ...
  24. Legend? He did coach there as assistant under Long ... considering the community power structure he could be a real possibility if interested. It is interesting to note that a lot of assistants, from junior high up, under Long went on to become rather successful head coaches elsewhere.
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