by Jason Strunk
Lubbock High School Head Football Coach
Follow @WestTXCoach
Start of Day 3
We now find ourselves smack dab in the middle of week one! It’s going quick. But, today we face the dreaded Wednesday practice of Week One.
By far and away, historically, the first Wednesday of every fall camp is the worse practice day of the year. In 21 years, I have seen this happen constantly. The players are now fully sore; waking up is a drag; the excitement of something new has faded a bit. Today is the day when feeling sorry for yourselves sets in.
Oh yes, the dreaded Wednesday.
But, this is where the three things you can control sets in: Attitude, Effort and Conditioning. We can still win these three phases today and we plan on it. We are going to kick the to the curb. This is a different bunch. Everything I have seen in two days indicates this crew is not going to have a let down today. I just don’t see it happening!
To all coaches out there, good luck today! DO NOT let Wednesday get the best of you! Fight on!
The Bands
Lubbock QB’s working to improve foot work.
Our QB’s are going to do some rubber band work today on the field. Not the kind of rubber band work where we are loosening and stretching shoulders, either. These bands are going to wrap around their ankles.
As a QB, you need a solid base to throw off of. You can not over extend your legs when throwing. It decreases arm strength and throws your shoulders out of whack. So we need to focus on keeping our feet under us, thus creating a solid base to throw from.
Westerner QB’s wearing rubber bands around their ankles for their Day 3 workout.
The bands will be double looped across their ankles. When they go to throw, their lead foot cannot extend too far out. The bands won’t allow it. This will allow us to throw from a strong base and get the QB’s to see and feel where their strongest base is.
All good drills are stolen! I stole this one from Purdue when I was coaching the OL there with Shawn Clark.
Can’t wait to see how this goes today!
*UPDATE*
Lubbock HS head coach Jason Strunk believes the rubber bands allow his quarterbacks to
throw from a strong base and get the QB’s to see and feel where their strongest base
is.
The bands were great today in practice. Our QB’s loved the idea and could feel the difference in keeping a strong base. We were able to accurately show them the significance of the drill. QB Coach Tyler Lloyd did a great job with this today! Loved it!
Mental Health Tip
This should go without saying, but pull an assistant coach off to the side and let him know how much you appreciate him and the work he does. Complimenting someone else is good for your own mind. You can see the words you use positively impact one of your coaches. It makes you feel good to see that you may have just made your coaches day.
Find little ways like this to keep your mind healthy! It is important for coaches to take mental healthy seriously!
Randomness
-Is it hockey season? Can use a Penguins game right about now to make up for the lackluster Yankees.
-Assistant Coach David Moody continues to coach as if he is 25 years old. The seasoned veteran shows no signs of let up. Coach Moody has coached at Rice, Texas Tech and Angelo State, just to name a few. His knowledge of the game and the passion he has for it is infectious to our young coaches.
-We open at Seminole on August 26th. I will force Seminole High School HC Kent Jackson to buy me dinner at the Southern Rose following the game.
–Tom Brady turned 39 today. He can probably go another five years. He is incredible. Takes care of his body. Fierce competitor.
-I ate Kimchi this summer. Yeah, you need to know that.
-Jaime Ortiz, HC at San Clemente High School in Southern California, is the master of the GIF. He has a GIF for everything and will surely have one for this mention.
@WestTxCoach @HSFBamerica rut roh! pic.twitter.com/gf3s7F18XO
— Triton Football (@Tritonfootball) August 4, 2016
-A whale is a mammal, not a fish. Important info here when rescuing a beached whale with an obstructed blowhole.
Great first week so far!
FIO.
