Nice finish to a great season

Very proud of the effort today as 6th grade Orange defeated Germantown Blue 19-13 to finish the season.

For the game, I was very pleased at how the players responded to adversity. We fumbled the opening kickoff and gave up a quick touchdown right after that. However, the players responded strongly and never repeated their mistakes, and got better as the game went on. They also stepped up to the moment in the 4th quarter, picking up a crucial 4th down conversion that enabled us to kneel down to run out the clock.

For the season, I simply can't say enough about this group of kids. We started the season 1-3, and finished the season 3-1 with the only loss during that period being a one-point loss to a very good Lake Country program.

I told the players after the game that they'll always be very special to myself and the other coaches, and that they were one of the best "teams" that I ever coached. I say "teams" in quotation marks because I am not simply speaking in terms of wins and losses, yards gained, points scored, or those kind of things. Rather, this team had great team chemistry and was full of unselfish players that were willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team. They also seemed to get along very well as a group, and we did not have any bullying, cliques, or inappropriate behavior towards a teammate all season long.

This was a great group of good character kids, and not just good players. It was an honor to coach all of them and I can't wait to see how much progress they make as they get older and continue to improve.

A reminder to all players and parents to attend the banquet, the information should be on the website http://www.hartfordyouthfootball.com/. The banquet is always a very fun night for all players to be recognized and honored, and it gives the kids one last chance to come together as a team before next season.

A great thanks to the players, my assistant coaches and team managers (who were absolutely great this season), the youth football volunteers and most importantly the parents for everything you did to make this season a great success.

Thanks again, and I hope to see all of you at the banquet!

Mike

One more to go

The pizza party tonight was a nice way to end the practice season on a fun note. We appreciate the effort that the players have given us all season, and hopefully we will put forth a strong effort on Saturday against Germantown.

Reminder: the game will be behind the high school, not at town hall. Players should wear their black jerseys but bring their white jerseys in case there is a mix-up. Game starts at noon, warm-ups will start at 11:00 as usual.

See you then.

Practice cancelled

As you all know by now, practice tonight was cancelled due to the high winds, wetness of the field, and the fact that the practice was set to be shortened anyway.

I apologize for the late notice in this decision. In fact, I spoke to several parents earlier in the day and told them that practice was going to still take place. As we discussed at our 6th grade parents meeting early in the year, at 6th grade we often defer to what the higher grades are doing (especially 8th) in deciding whether to cancel practice or not. By the time the decision was made to cancel 6th grade, it was in the afternoon and I had a work commitment that prevented me from calling the parents.

Rob Whitemore was kind enough to send out an e-mail to parents, but for those that did not receive it we waited at the high school to notify parents that were dropping off their kids. In the future I hope that these decisions are more coordinated and uniform...that issue may be brought up at the next board meeting.

In any event, I thank you all for your patience and understanding. The pizza party will take place during normal practice hours on Thursday (the players do NOT need to wear their pads and practice uniforms).

Thank you and please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions. See you Thursday.

Practice this week; Germantown Blue on Saturday

Hello everyone,

We now know that our final game of the season will be against Germantown Blue at the field behind the high school this coming Saturday. Hopefully we will finish the season on a positive note...Germantown has played an extremely difficult schedule this year and will be hungry to finish their season strong. Should be a very good game.

Couple of notes....if you have not yet heard, I am sad to announce the passing of Daniel Goodreau, one of the team managers for 7th grade Orange. Memorial Services are tonight, and for more information you can check the web site, http://www.hartfordyouthfootball.com/.

Second, please note two changes to this week's practice schedule. Tomorrow we will be ending practice at 6:00PM to allow the players time to come home and then cheer on the Varsity in their home playoff game against Madison Memorial. In addition, please keep in mind that Thursday will be a pizza party for the players, my treat. There will be no practice on Thursday, but the players should still show up at the practice fields. We will likely use the shed for the party.

Thanks, and I'll see you tonight.

Heck of an effort

Very strong effort today against Lake Country...it was a shame that somebody had to lose that game. It's an even bigger shame that it was us who lost, 7-6.

However, after the game I told the players that I thought they gave everything that they had. Though we came up on the losing end of this one, it was definitely not for a lack of effort. The kids gave us their hearts and played a very physical and tough game. We had a good week of preparation, and a good effort in pregame warmups.

Defensively we knew we would have to be disciplined against the Lake Country offense, and we were. The only points we allowed came after a blocked punt put us in a difficult position.

Offensively, we hurt ourselves badly with penalties. Too often we put ourselves in first-and-15 or first-and-20 situations, and couldn't dig ourselves out. We also had some tough penalties go against us in key situations (such as a 4th quarter quarterback sneak that would have resulted in a first down). Some of the penalties were simply mental mistakes...some of the penalties were confusion about personnel groups....and some penalties were just part of playing the game.

I need to do a better job of having the players prepared for their personnel groups...we had a lot of moving parts today and sometimes there was confusion over who was supposed to be in and who wasn't. It's something that happens at the youth level, especially with all the information we give the kids...but we know that down the road they will get it and be better football players for it.

This will be the final week of practice, with our final game on Saturday. I told the players that if we sharpen up mentally and give the same kind of physical effort that we gave today, next week's score will take care of itself.

For the last week of practice, things will be a little bit different than they normally are. I am going to try to make an effort to meet with each player individually and discuss how the season went. We will talk about the player's positive attributes as well as the things that they can work on going into next season.

Finally, Thursday's practice will be a pizza party courtesy of coach Mike. If they behave themselves, of course.

Thanks, and we'll see you for practice on Monday.

9/21 practice

Last night's pregame practice consisted of the usual formula - offense, defense and special teams - but we also did another "chalk talk" session in the shed. These sessions over the past few weeks have helped the players visualize what we are trying to accomplish on any given play, and I feel that it has been very helpful overall.

Saturday's game is at home against Lake Country at noon, warmups at 11AM.

Also, next week there may be a few changes to the practice schedule. On Tuesday, 10/26, practice will end early at 6PM due to the hartford varsity playoff game. Also, it is getting dark earlier and earlier, and we are ending practice closer to 6:30PM overall.

See you Saturday!

9/18 and 9/19 practices

Back to work this week with the final two games approaching. Last night's offensive practice was spent refining all of the plays, as we are essentially done installing the offense.

Tonight we will start with a "chalk talk" segment in the shed, and follow that up with our usual defensive practice. The players have been begging for "sharks and minnows," and if they behave themselves and work hard, perhaps I will reward them.

Lake Country next - at home

It looks like our next game will be at home against Lake Country Red - IE, the youth program for the Hartland Arrowhead area.

Lake Country always has a very good program and it will be a good battle for our team. Fortunately we get to play them at home, and we have this week to prepare.

Game will be at noon. We'll see you for Monday's practice.

Milwaukee Custer

A great effort by the players today led to a 12-0 victory over Milwaukee Custer.

The theme of the game, as the coaches told the players in pregame, was "time to step up." There were many players missing in today's game due to injury, illness, or otherwise, and there were a number of players who were placed in positions that they would not normally be used to. So we told the players that they had to be ready, at any moment, to have their number called because that is what the reality of the situation called for.

Two moments showed perfectly that the players met the challenge. First, when up 6-0 in the fourth quarter and trying to burn the clock, we faced a fourth and one and converted with some power running. Later that drive, on 4th and 9, we called a run play to the right side (which some players were not used to playing, but had to due to injury/illness) and got a great push from our offensive line, and after our running back broke a tackle we not only converted the fourth down we ended up scoring on the play.

Still was not a perfect game - things could have been a lot different if not for a few Custer penalties - but the players deserve a ton of credit for their effort. They "stepped up" when called upon, won the mental battle, and ended up on the winning side.

Back to work on Monday as usual, acting like our record is 0-0 as we always say. Look forward to seeing you then, and hopefully some of our players feel better and get healthy so that we can finish the season strong.

10/12 practice

Last night's defensive practice was pretty physical and brought out a lot of enthusiasm and aggressiveness from the players. I was happy to see that as we prepare for Saturday's game against Milwaukee Custer.

No practice tonight, pregame practice Thursday...see you then.

10/11 practice

Back to work today, trying to build momentum going into the game against Milwaukee Custer. We began the practice by doing another "chalk talk" session...some good questions and interesting points from the players led to a very helpful discussion. I think these sessions the past couple of weeks have helped clarify what we are trying to accomplish, and helps the players visualize their assignments a little bit better.

Tomorrow will be a tough, physical, defensive practice. Tonight was a little bit more brain work and review...tomorrow will be more brawn and heart.

A reminder that practices will likely start ending earlier and earlier given the lack of daylight.

See you tomorrow.

Milwaukee Eastside

A good effort this morning as we defeated Milwaukee Eastside 32-0.

I liked the way several players stepped up, as we had numerous players miss this week's game and some players were out of position. However, the players resonded to the challenge with our all-around strongest performance of the season.

Milwaukee Eastside deserves a lot of credit - they had a difficult time getting enough players to suit up and their players played hard and never gave up. They had a nice kick return, and a long touchdown run for them was called back due to penalty. So it was nice to see both squads play hard regardless of the score.

The message to the players after the game: just like you cannot get too down when things don't go well, you cannot get too high when you win.

Hopefully we can keep this momentum going into next week. Practice Monday from 4:45-6:45 (although parents may want to start arriving earlier for pickup as it is getting dark earlier and earlier).

See you then.

Pregame practice, Saturday game

Nice pregame practice this evening as we brushed up on everything that we needed to before taking on Milwaukee Eastside at Town Hall.

A REMINDER TO PARENTS: THE GAME IS AT 10:30AM, NOT NOON.

At the beginning of the season I told all parents to go by the AAYFL.ORG website as it contains the official schedule. However, the AAYFL website has NOT been updated, and therefore parents should ignore it for this week. The game will be at 10:30AM, players to arrive by 9:30AM with their black home jerseys.

Thanks, and we'll see you Saturday.

Important note to parents: Milwaukee Eastside

ATTENTION PARENTS:

Our game at Milwaukee Eastside on Saturday 10/9 is going to be at 10:30AM, not at noon as originally scheduled. The website may/may not reflect this, including the AAYFL website. However, the league HAS switched the game to 10:30AM at Town Hall. We're asking the players to be there at 9:30AM wearing their black home jerseys.

Any questions please feel free to let me know. Thank you.

10/4 practice

Last night we started practice by doing a little "chalk talk" in the shed. The coaches wanted the players to see the big picture in terms of what we are trying to accomplish on certain plays. It also gave us a great opportunity for the players to get interactive and ask a lot of questions, which they did.

With more than a couple of players dinged up, it also let us take a break from a more physical practice to sharpen up what we've learned. Nothing new will be added this week.

Tonight's practice will focus on defense and will be more physical than yesterday. See you then.

Tosa East and practice next week

Another tough one this week as we lost to Tosa East 23-0. However, as I told the players after the game, there was no shame in their performance....Tosa East has an excellent football team and the difference in this game was a few big plays that Tosa made that we couldn't match. On the whole, I thought the effort was strong and we just need to clean up a few things to get back on track.

We were caught a little bit off-guard by Tosa's passing game, including a touchdown pass on the first play of the game and a halfback pass shortly afterwards. Those plays caught us napping a little bit, and we have to be more disciplined in our pass defense. But we will not face too many teams that are able to throw (and kick!) like Tosa was, and if we sharpen our game up going into next week everything should be fine.

Next week's practices will be from 4:45PM-6:45PM due to the sunlight gradually changing. The coaches realize that many parents have work commitments and simply will not be able to get their son to practice by 4:45PM, and we will be understanding of that. However, if at all possible, we'd like to start practice at 4:45 for the rest of the season. Please start coming earlier to pick up your son, since it is getting dark earlier and earlier.

Hoping for a strong week of practice to carry over into the weekend. See you Monday.

9/27 and 9/28 practices

Switching things up a little this week with a defensive practice last night and an offensive practice tonight. The coaching staff wants to send a message this week that we need to be much tougher, mentally and physically, if we want to turn things around against Wauwatosa East, and that began with a very physical defensive practice last night.

Pictures are now available; if your son did not come home with pictures, make sure that he gets them from me tonight or Thursday.

See you tonight.

West Bend East

A tough loss today with a team that I felt was very close in ability to us as we lost to West Bend East 20-6.

Simply made too many mistakes, such as losing three fumbles, having numerous penalties, and missing defensive assignments.

The message after the game was for the players to focus on having a strong week of practice, as many of the mistakes we made in the game we were also making in practice this week. We always tell the players that they will play how they practice, and that means both for the better and for the worse.

We will begin fixing things on Monday. Please note that we will end practice a little bit early on Monday due to (1) darkness starting to settle in, and more importantly, (2) a Packer-Bear Monday Night Football game that I am sure many players and parents will want to be home for. We'll probably end about 10-15 minutes early.

See you Monday....looking forward to a strong week of practice!

9/23 practice

Last night's pregame practice ended on the right note. Some mental mistakes early in practice, but the players were pumped up at the end. I was hoping we could play West Bend East right then and there...hopefully they bring the same intensity Saturday.

Game is at noon at home, warmups start at 11:00AM. Black jerseys should be worn.

See you then!

9/21 practice

Last night's defensive practice was more of a review and a focus on execution, since we will not be installing any new defensive formations or plays this week. The players finished off the practice with a strong effort doing "the hill" for their conditioning.

Thursday will be a pre-game practice as usual, and hopefully it is our sharpest practice yet.

9/20 practice

Back to work today with another offensive practice. We told the players to get past last week's tough loss to Brookfield and to start focusing on West Bend. It is an interesting week since we have already scrimmaged against West Bend and have some idea what they do...however, it's important for the players to realize that teams change a lot as the season goes by. We certainly run a lot more plays out of many different formations than we did in the scrimmage.

I was glad to see that most of our injured players were back and healthy for practice today. We'll need to pick it up tomorrow to be ready by Saturday.

Tomorrow will be a defensive-oriented practice.

Tough one

Tough loss today for 6th grade orange as we fell to Brookfield Central 27-0.

We began the game shorthanded as a few players had family commitments, and after the first quarter we had a lot of injuries to a handful of players. We struggled to have all of the rotations fill in the positions properly, and Brookfield Central jumped all over the opportunity. After a first quarter that was essentially a stalemate, the score got away from us before we finally seemed to get it together in the 4th quarter.

The number of missing and injured players today made it difficult for the players to keep track of who was supposed to be in and who wasn't in certain situations. As head coach, this is my responsibility, and I didn't do a good enough job of preparing the players for these possibilities. I'll have to do a better job this week in practice.

In a way, though, this was a good experience for the team to go through. A lot of players got to be in situations that they were not used to, and the coaches got an opportunity to see players play in different groups and at different positions due to the injuries. We saw a lot of good things from players who took advantage of these extra opportunities, and that was refreshing to see. There's no experience like game experience, and I liked what I saw from a lot of players.

Some of the things we did well today included not jumping on our snap count (for the second game in a row, our opponent had more penalties than we did), securing the center/qb exchange without a fumble, making solid tackles at the end (after missing too many tackles in the first half), and securing the outside. Based on past experience against Brookfield Central, our plan was to control the outside defensively, and we did a good job of that for the most part. Brookfield Central has a solid program and they deserve credit for taking advantage of the situations they were presented with.

The message to the players after the game was to put this game behind us, and to get back to work on Monday to get better. We have West Bend East next week, and we can't waste any time worrying about this one. As we told the players after the first game, we have to act like our record is 0-0 and go out and get the job done.

Back to work on Monday to get things fixed. Can't wait for our home opener at Town Hall. We'll see you Monday.

9/14 practice

Tonight's defensive practice was focused on making some minor tweaks to the defense based on our upcoming opponent and some of the things we needed to work on after last week's game. We also reviewed the formations and plays that were added yesterday.

No practice Wednesday; Thursday will be our pregame practice as usual, and hopefully we'll be ready to go Saturday against Brookfield Central.

See you Thursday.

9/13 practice

Tonight we began installing some new plays and formations, and while it was a struggle at first, I think everything started clicking towards the end. Tomorrow we might go through them again just to make sure we have them down before focusing on defense.

No Wednesday practice this week, or the rest of the season for that matter.

See you tomorrow.

It's a mental game

Many times over the past few weeks, the coaches have emphasized to the players that football is often more of a mental game than a physical one. Today, I think the team won the mental matchup against Brookfield East, and as a result we were able to start the season off with a 13-6 win.

Some examples of our team winning the mental battle:

1. Very few penalties. Brookfield East had a couple of penalties that cost them big plays, even touchdowns. We had fewer penalties, and were able to force Brookfield to jump offside numerous times.

2. Not quitting. We scored our second touchdown with just seconds to go in the first half, when it would have been easy to sit back on our heels and gear up for the 2nd half. Instead, we kept pressing forward, and broke a big run just before halftime.

3. Being prepared for the onside kick. Brookfield attempted an onside kick towards the end of the game, and we gobbled it up with ease because we were mentally ready for it.

4. Extra effort when it matters most. We were able to convert a key 4th-and-short situation in the 4th quarter, which allowed us to run more clock. We were initially stopped short of the first down, but strong blocking and a tough runner allowed us to fight for the extra yardage we needed. Six inches could have made all the difference.

5. Never hesitating. We had a few plays break down initially today, but the players have been coached to never hesitate and to simply react to the situation. This occurred several times today, the most obvious of which was when an extra point had a difficult snap and, rather than allowing the play to end, we immediately picked up the ball and threw it in for the extra point.


It's always nice to get a win, but it's even nicer when your team wins the mental battle. Hopefully this results in some momentum going into next week.

We'll see you Monday for practice...enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Pre-game practice; Brookfield East

Last night we had our Thursday pregame practice, and we reviewed offense, defense, and special teams to prepare for tomorrow's game.

Reminder to parents: our game is at noon at Brookfield East. We plan to play on the Varsity field. Please have the players there by 11:00AM, as we will begin warmups at 11:00AM sharp.

Players should wear their white jerseys, but bring both jerseys. They should also bring their own water, even though we should have water at the game. Please make sure all equipment issues have been taken care of, as we will not be able to solve all equipment problems on the day of the game.

Thank you and I'll see you tomorrow.

9/8 practice

Last night was a defensive practice and we finished it off with some pretty tough conditioning. However, I told the players over and over that it was not punishment for anything, but rather just making sure that our team is in good shape.

Last season against Oshkosh our team was winning 6-0 going into the 4th quarter. With only a few minutes to go, we allowed a long run (probably 60-70 yards) for a touchdown, and we finished in a 6-6 tie. I reminded the players that it is important to be in enough shape to play the 4th quarter just as hard as you play the first quarter. You can't always control how tall you are, strong you are, or fast you are, but you can control what kind of shape you are in. It was a good effort and I think the players understood the point.

Tonight's practice will be a pregame practice. We might even get out 10 minutes early or so if the work goes smoothly...

See you tonight.

9/7 practice

Today was an offensive practice, as Mondays typically will be for us during the season. We continue to sharpen up the plays we have already learned, and have not installed any new plays in the last two weeks or so.

I generally liked the way the offense looked tonight, with the exception of a few fumbles that we have to clean up. But none of the players jumped offsides during the team session, which was a plus.

We have also practiced simulating game conditions and having players report from the sideline, just like they will have to during a game.

Tomorrow's practice will be the last Wednesday practice of the season, and it will be a defensive practice before Thursday's pregame practice. See you tomorrow.

Pre-game practice and a little lightning

Tonight's practice was cut short due to lightning being observed towards the end of practice, but for the most part we were able to get some solid work in.

We went through our "pre-game" practice, which we will typically do on Thursdays during the season. While our first game is not until the weekend after this coming weekend, we wanted the kids to get into the grove for our pre-game routine. Still some work to do.

Reminder: Tomorrow is Youth Football night as the Varsity takes on Germantown. Youth players should wear their home (black) jerseys to get in free, and gather near the scoreboard prior to the game.

No practice until Tuesday. See you then.

Special teams; No practice Wednesday 9/1

Today we began working on special teams, and installed our kickoff/kick return and punt/punt return teams. A lot of competition for the kicker and punter positions, which is always good.

A reminder to parents: There will be no practice tomorrow, Wednesday 9/1/2010. We will have practice on Thursday, 9/2.

We will NOT have practice this coming Saturday or Monday (Labor Day). Practice next week will be Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.

This Friday night is also Youth Football night at the varisty game. We encourage all of the kids to show up with their game jersey (home/black jersey) to get in free, and root on the varsity team.

See you Thursday.

8/30 practice and important notice to parents

Tonight's offensive practice was all about attention to detail. The coaches decided that in order for us to make the kind of progress we need to make, it was time that we perfected the plays that have already been installed before we add too many new ones. So tonight the players focused on sharpening their assignments in the plays that we have already practiced several times.

A very telling sign that this group has the proper mindset took place just prior to the end of practice. Before our "team" session began, I told the players that if they went 100% and were mentally sharp for the entire session, we could skip conventional conditioning because their hard work during the session would be our conditioning.

While the team session went well as a whole, there were still a lot of missed assignments and brief moments of loss of focus. Towards the end, I took several players aside and asked them privately whether they thought the effort was worth skipping conditioning. To their credit, each and every player I spoke to said that, while they would obviously prefer to avoid conditioning, they did not feel that they were where they needed to be, and that too many mistakes were made. They wanted to do conditioning.

I was very proud of them for their honesty. That's the right mindset for a team - to do what is best for the team, rather than taking the easy way out for your individual interests. If we keep this attitude the entire season, I am confident that we will be successful.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS: WE WILL NOT BE PRACTICING THIS WEDNESDAY, September 1st. We will have practice tomorrow, August 31, and Thursday, September 2nd. Please e-mail me with any questions.

See you tomorrow.

2nd scrimmage

Our second and final scrimmage was an improvement over the first. Offensively we were able to break a few big plays that would have went for touchdowns, and defensively we forced a few turnovers and generally played the assignments well.

I was happy to see that defensively most of our mistakes were physical mistakes, such as missing a tackle, as opposed to mental mistakes. Offensively we still need to know our assignments better, as not everybody is completely comfortable with the playbook thus far. That's not uncommon at this point in the year, when many players have missed practices due to vacations and things of that nature.

The focus next week will be on hammering down the mental assignments of each play, so that the players can simply act and react and stop thinking out on the field. I tell the players often that hesitation is the enemy, but until everybody is fully comfortable with their assignments, it is hard to avoid some of the hesitation that we are seeing.

Practice Monday as usual...we'll see you then.

8/26 Practice

An up-and-down night was concluded with a nice bomb that would have went for a touchdown and a good effort during conditioning. We have to sharpen up prior to Saturday's scrimmage, though, if we want to be prepared for the season.

One point we have been stressing to the players is that if they don't know what their assignment is on a given play, they should ask the coaches immediately before the play begins. Chances are, if one player has a question, another has the same question. Sometimes it is difficult to admit that you don't know your assignment, but going through them before the play starts in practice is preferable to going through it after the assignment was blown during a game.

The coaches understand that some of the kids have missed practices due to vacation, Hunter's safety, illness, or other reasons. Sometimes the coaches will call a play that was practiced on a day a player missed practice. That player should never feel ashamed to ask the question.

Hopefully we will see progress in Saturday's scrimmage. See you then.

8/25 practice

Some mental mistakes in practice tonight as we added a few new plays and formations. However, the intensity and hitting is still there, and that was the best part of tonight's practice.

One thing we have been preaching to the players is how the margin for error in football is so small that it is important to pay attention to the slightest of details. Any weekend during the football season you can see a wide receiver who just barely drags his toe to make a sideline catch, a pass that barely flies above a defender's outstretched hand, or a field goal that barely hooks in (or out) that can make a huge difference in the game. Keeping our focus on the details will help us move in the right direction.

Tomorrow's practice will be half defense, half offense "pregame" type practice as we prepare for Saturday's scrimmage.

Defensive practice

Today we practiced defense, and it was a very tough and intense practice. The players practiced tackling technique and we went through a few drills that required hard-hitting action. There were a few bumps and bruises along the way, but with picture day essentially voiding yesterday's practice I felt that it was important to get back to working hard to prepare for the scrimmage on Saturday.

Overall, I was very impressed with the players. Sometimes it can take quite a while for new players to get used to hitting, but this group seems to be picking it up faster than most.

Tomorrow will be an offensive practice as we prepare a few new wrinkles for Saturday.

First scrimmage

The 6th grade orange had its first taste of live action against an opponent today with the Cedarburg scrimmage.

Overall, I was happy with the progress we made throughout the course of the scrimmage. Some of the newer players were a little bit overwhelmed at first, and some of the players that played last year were a little rusty. But as the scrimmage went on, there was a lot of improvement and we were able to break a few big plays.

I was especially happy that we were able to get a lot of plays in for many of the players and we got a good look at who fits in at what position. We were also very short-handed today with injuries and absences, and I thank those players who played out-of-position for their unselfish efforts.

A thank you to parents and our team managers for helping the day go as smoothly as a youth football scrimmage can go.

Back to work on Monday...

8/19 practice

We got ready for the scrimmage with a half-offense, half-defense practice today. For the first time, we put an offensive unit up against a defensive unit and had the players going 100% against another unit...though some of the players were out of position and we were short a few players due to absences.

All in all, I thought today suggested a lot of progress and I am looking forward to having the players go up against somebody in a different jersey.

Scrimmage is at Cedarburg on Saturday. Players to arrive at 11:15AM, scrimmage begins 12:15AM. The goal with any scrimmage is to see what kind of progress the players have made as team and to get better. As we told the players, the goal is never to "win" a scrimmage, because that is not the point.

Pictures will be the following practice, Monday 8/23. Parents should bring the players to Gib Mahr Field (the high school varsity field off of Cedar Street) in their black game jerseys and game pants (and pads).

Hope to see you Saturday!

8/18 practice

The scrimmage will be here before you know it. Tonight was another offensive night, and we added a few plays to build on those that we learned on Monday. The playbook is still nowhere near what it will be at this point, but we're getting there.

The players finished the practice on a strong note. Some of the new plays were giving them a hard time and causing a lot of confusion, but with more repetitions I'm sure they will get it down soon.

Tomorrow we will practice 50/50 offense/defense to prepare for the scrimmage in Cedarburg on Saturday. Scrimmage is scheduled for 12:15-2:15, players to arrive by 11:15 for warmups if possible.

Thanks and we'll see you tomorrow.

Defensive practice and Scrimmages

Today was our first defensive practice as the Orange team, and we showed the players our base formation and coverage. There is a lot to learn at this point of the season, but we continue to remind the players that it is important for them to take "mental reps" while practice is going to help them mentally prepare for their assignments.

Parents should be aware that the scrimmage schedule is now posted on the website, www.hartfordyouthfootball.com. We will scrimmage at Cedarburg (high school) on Saturday, 8/21, from 12:15-2:15. We're asking the players to be there by 11:15AM.

Wednesday will be an offensive practice, and we're looking forward to building on the plays we installed on Monday.

Split teams

6th grade is now two teams, orange and black. However, as we always tell the players, we're still all Hartford Football.

The orange team spent most of the day with brain-work, introducing our first few plays in the offensive system. It was a learning experience - everything from getting into a huddle to calling the signals to remembering the snap count was new to many of the players - but they will pick it up fast.

As of right now, it appears that there will be a scrimmage on Saturday, 8/21. Details to be provided.

Tuesday will be the first defensive practice for the orange team...looking forward to it.

8/14 Practice

Today's Saturday practice was a bit unusual in that it started early and we had the parent picnic afterward. However, it was the first hint of aggressive contact that most of the players had, as many of the players now have their hours of conditioning in.

Coaches will continue to emphasize proper tackling technique to help avoid injury.

Teams will be split up by Monday's practice, and the players will then know which team they are on (and parents will know which schedule to prepare for). After the split, each team will get more into specific strategy, as each coaching staff has different things they like to do while operating under the umbrella of the high school system.

We have reiterated to the players that the coaching staffs try to split the teams as equally as possible, keeping in mind that certain players will have to be designated to one team or another based on special circumstances (a sibling on an "orange" or "black" team at a different level, or a parent as part of a coaching staff, for example). However, in no way are teams divided to create an "A" team and a "B" team, and it is important for the players to understand that.

After we split, 6th grade will continue to warm up together and stretch together, but in many ways will be operating separately. If you have questions in the future, they should be designated to the coaching staff responsible for your child's team.

See you Monday!

8/12 practice

In a week full of hot, humid weather, today was the hottest of them all. It was also the first full-pads practice, and for the last half-hour of practice most of the players had enough hours to begin contact.

However, most of practice was spent on discussing tackling technique and safety issues. As has become our custom at 6th grade, we began the first full-pads defensive practice by having the players read the warning labels on their helmets. We spent a large chunk of time talking to the kids about the dangers of poor tackling technique, and made it clear that head injuries are taken very seriously and that they should not be afraid to mention any signs of a head injury to a coach immediately (such as dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, loss of memory, and obviously loss of consciousness).

It is AAYFL rules, and thus Hartford policy, that any player that shows any signs of a concussion will be taken out. We as coaches will always take a cautious approach, and even if a player ultimately does not have a concussion, we will always be careful if any player suffers a head injury.

The weather made today a good day for more teaching and a slightly less physical practice. We gave the players a break from conditioning - they have worked hard all week, and with the heat it was important to make sure that we didn't overdo it.

Saturday's practice will begin at 8:00AM, not the usual 8:30 time, and will end early due to the parent picnic and Varsity scrimmage. See you Saturday!

8/11 Practice

Back to offense tonight for sixth grade, and another hot one had the players running for water frequently during practice. We are continuing to work on the fundamentals and technique - the coaching staffs will start getting into specific plays and the playbook once the teams are split.

For conditioning today the kids went to the hills by the high school, one of the most difficult - but most effective - training techniques around. Players from Jerry Rice to Walter Payton to LaDainian Tomlinson have utilized hills to condition themselves, and the players really worked hard tonight.

Tomorrow will be another defensive practice, and players that have not missed any practice time will be eligible for contact for the final half-hour of practice. We are asking that the players wear full pads to get used to the equipment, whether they are eligible for contact or not.

See you tomorrow.

8/10 practice

Last night's defensive practice tested the focus and discipline of the players...it's always tougher to stay focused with the hot, humid weather we have had lately. But I thought the players responded well as a whole, and it was good for them to get their first taste of defensive fundamentals.

Wednesday will be an offensive practice, and players will continue to build on what they started on Monday. Some may decide to try out a new position.

Hopefully it cools off a little bit, but bring plenty of water!

New season ahead...

After a full offseason, it's that time of year again. Saturday marked our first practice, where players took part in warmups and agility drills and learned a lot about how to wear their helmets. Today was the first offensive practice of the season, and we reviewed the basic positions of the Hartford offense.

It's very humid out there, so it is important that the kids remember to get plenty of water. They shouldn't be afraid to ask a coach if they feel they need a water break.

Looking forward to 2010 being the best youth football season yet for Hartford!