As we head into the start of the offseason, the luxury of
doing work without a weekly deadline (with the exception of this blog!) is
nice. I’ve begun looking at everything I did last year and seeing where we were
weak and where we may have been strong but could do better. There is no sense
of complacency in any area. I’m especially looking at my own communication
skills to improve in that area. In that regard, I would highly recommend
Proactive Coaching (www.proactivecoaching.info
or you can find them on Facebook). I think you’ll find their material
interesting and thought-provoking.
I’m excited to announce (95% sure of his attendance) another
great guest coach for our camp in November – Head Coach Rick Rasmussen from the
Utah Falconz. Rick brings a diversity of knowledge and experience. He has some
great ideas on leadership, along with the wealth of knowledge he brings in the
area of option offense. If you’ve seen any film at all on the Falconz, you’ll know
he had their offense running on all cylinders, which was very impressive for a
first-year team.
Coach Rasmussen will join the other previously announced
coaches from around the country: Matt Russell, Angel Rivera III and Billy
Hughes, Jr. from Dallas; Ed Williams from Kansas City and Lori Locust from
Pennsylvania.
We’re hoping to have a host hotel announced soon – that is
our next priority. Also, I’ll be creating a Facebook page as another avenue for
information. If anyone feels like letting their creative side come out, we’re
looking for a simple logo. Just contact me at kmring@gmail.com.
****
Now the reflection…..I received a very sad piece of news
from the men’s side of the game today. A player that I coached against the last
couple of years sustained a severe neck injury during a game a couple of weeks
ago. He was paralyzed, but seemed to be fighting through it. I heard Monday
that he passed away from cardiac arrest Sunday night.
He was a defensive lineman and apparently tackled the RB on
a simple dive play. I have not seen the play on film, all I know is it seemed
routine and that the RB is carrying around an awful lot of guilt.
This type of tragedy should serve as a reminder for all
coaches, but especially women’s coaches whose players probably don’t have the
neck strength of their male counterparts, to emphasize head up tackling and
blocking. See your target! The head should NEVER be the initial point of
contact in any block or tackle.
I think a lot of times, proper tackling form is taught in
preseason, perhaps in shorts only and then forgotten about – there are more
pressing items, with games coming each week and all the adjustments that need
to be made and all…..but we all have a responsibility to keep our players as
safe as possible. Things may still happen – football is a dangerous game – but
we have to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to teach, emphasize
and remind our players of proper, safe technique. If you as a coach have any
questions about how to do that, I would highly encourage you to contact USA
Football at http://usafootball.com/headsup
for more information.
Also, I heard about the passing of Veronica “Ro” Gazzillo of
the Chicago Force. I never met her, but we used to banter back and forth on
Dion Lee’s message board. She seemed like a wonderful person, and the news
saddened me greatly. I lost a very dear friend the same way a few years ago, so
know exactly what those close to her are feeling. So please….if any of you are
ever feeling alone or with no way out, please, please reach out. Let’s all do
whatever we can to lessen the chances of any more tragedies, on or off the
field.
Be good, be safe….see you next week.
(PS - next week's blog will be out on Thursday, as Coach Suggett and I are meeting on the camp Wednesday night)
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