Highlands's Spring Game

[Mr. Reality]

Coach Dale Mueller and the Bluebirds put on quite a spectacle at their Spring Game a couple of weeks ago.

 

#1 offense vs. #1 defense- offense drives some, defense stops

 

On sprints-

 

#2 offense vs. #2 defense- offense moves it a little

 

#1's back on; this went on for about an hour with about 50 kids getting reps.

 

How many other teams in the state are this organized; someone said Highlands is better right now than a lot of teams are in November!!!

 

I hate to admit it, but they are probably right, and I root against Highlands in virtually every game they play. But I certainly respect them and know that Coach Mueller gets more out of his players than anyone in the state.

[freshstart]

Coach Dale Mueller and the Bluebirds put on quite a spectacle at their Spring Game a couple of weeks ago.

 

#1 offense vs. #1 defense- offense drives some, defense stops

 

On sprints-

 

#2 offense vs. #2 defense- offense moves it a little

 

#1's back on; this went on for about an hour with about 50 kids getting reps.

 

How many other teams in the state are this organized; someone said Highlands is better right now than a lot of teams are in November!!!

 

I hate to admit it, but they are probably right, and I root against Highlands in virtually every game they play. But I certainly respect them and know that Coach Mueller gets more out of his players than anyone in the state.

I disagree that DM gets more outof his players than anyone in the state. However, he may have more players on the field during Spring practice than anyone else in the state. A lot of school may only have 25-30 players during Spring practice. How many does Highlands have. Some teams don't even have a QB because of baseball or track.

[OldCamelNewBird]

I disagree that DM gets more outof his players than anyone in the state.

 

I have never heard anyone say that before.

[HHSballer19]

I disagree that DM gets more outof his players than anyone in the state.

 

 

I don't.

[katbird]

I have never heard anyone say that before.

Me either:confused: :confused:

[quickslick]

I disagree that DM gets more outof his players than anyone in the state. However, he may have more players on the field during Spring practice than anyone else in the state. A lot of school may only have 25-30 players during Spring practice. How many does Highlands have. Some teams don't even have a QB because of baseball or track.

 

To piggy back on to this--I think that anothe way to put it is that Highlands certainly isn't hurting for athletes. Therefore--it is hard to say that Dale gets more out of his players.

 

If they were a bunch of no talent hacks--then I would agree. But Highlands has the one thing that CAN NOT be coached--SPEED. That gives Dale a lot more options than most schools.

 

In his day--I would say that Mike Yeagle got a LOT more out of the Beechwood kids than Dale has at Highlands. And there are a lot of coaches who do a great job coaching up their kids.

[HHSballer19]

You can't negate what Coach Mueller does because he has athletes. That's doesn't disprove that he doesn't get the most out of his players, I think it is a irrelevant, superficial point.

[Run To State]

You can't negate what Coach Mueller does because he has athletes. That's doesn't disprove that he doesn't get the most out of his players, I think it is a irrelevant, superficial point.

I think one thing Dale doesn't do very well is utilize all of the talent he has, he seems to have tunnel vision in this area. Jordan Bridgett comes to mind.

[HHSballer19]

I think one thing Dale doesn't do very well is utilize all of the talent he has, he seems to have tunnel vision in this area. Jordan Bridgett comes to mind.

 

Playing certain players is a little different than your ability to get the most out of your players, although they are closely tied.

 

I don't agree with the Bridgett example though....Got any others?

[75center]

I would say when you're talking top tiered coaches one doesn't get more out of his kids than another. You don't get to the top by getting anything less that maximum effort from what you have to work with.

[Run To State]

Playing certain players is a little different than your ability to get the most out of your players, although they are closely tied.

 

I don't agree with the Bridgett example though....Got any others?

Hurt, Schrode, Koester, Daniels, Theiss are just a few more.

[HHSballer19]

I could see how this could be a touchy subject to some, so I don't really want to comment further on that, but developing and teaching your players to be the best they can be is something Coach Mueller excels at.

[Run To State]

I could see how this could be a touchy subject to some, so I don't really want to comment further on that, but developing and teaching your players to be the best they can be is something Coach Mueller excels at.

I've never denied that, I stand firmly on my comment of how I think he sometimes lacks good utilization of his players.

[leatherneck]

To piggy back on to this--I think that anothe way to put it is that Highlands certainly isn't hurting for athletes. Therefore--it is hard to say that Dale gets more out of his players.

 

If they were a bunch of no talent hacks--then I would agree. But Highlands has the one thing that CAN NOT be coached--SPEED. That gives Dale a lot more options than most schools.

 

In his day--I would say that Mike Yeagle got a LOT more out of the Beechwood kids than Dale has at Highlands. And there are a lot of coaches who do a great job coaching up their kids.

 

 

But do you think the Highlands kids are just born with speed? What are they genetically different that the other teams' players?

 

Of course not. That speed comes from some rather intense conditioning and a training emphasis placed on speed. Overweight, out of condition players don't see the field and Dale makes that very clear to the players. I know that for a fact: he made it very clear to my son his sophomore year that if he wanted to see the field, it was lose weight, get faster and quicker, or forget about it. Because my son did it, he started last year. If you observed the Birds spring football you would have seen how intense it was and the premium placed on conditioning.

 

Lots of teams have some quick kids on their team. Dale seems to have more because of his emphasis on quickness in the way the Birds condition and his tendency to use quick small players over big, slow players. We had big, slow players on the team last year, but they did not start.

 

I won't comment on whether he gets more out of his players than any other coach because it simply a statement that cannot be proven or for that matter disproven.

 

I likewise won't comment on whether Bridgett etc weren't used to their full potential. Again, those statements are sort of silly in my opinion and nothing more than conjecture. Sorry if that hurts, but its the way I feel. Furthermore the only way to refute them is to point out players "imperfections" which I will not do on here.

 

Dale's not going to keep every player and even fewer parents happy which will result in second guessing and sour graping. We all think our sons' are the best thing since sliced bread. And I'm as guilty of it as the next guy. But I rationalize my "issues" by telling myself that every coach has bad games now and then, and all and all, Dale had done pretty dang well coaching at Highlands. He sure has a better record coaching than I did in the Ft. T Junior League:banana: And the Birds went a lot further this past year than just about everyone not a Birds fan thought they would go.

 

Back to spring practice, I thought it went very well. Draper looked very good running the offense. All and all I thought the d looked better, but I attribute that in part due to the fact that defenses are normally ahead of the offense at this time of the year, in part to the fact Dale was breaking in a new qb and in part to the fact that Dale concentrated more on passing (which makes sense trying out a new qb) and less on running the ball which will be the Birds strength this year. Mr Reality, glad you enjoyed watching the Birds and were impressed. Now if we could just get you to start cheering for the Birds, it would be a good day.

 

And finally Quickslick, I totally agree that there are a lot of coaches that do a great job of coaching their players.

[quickslick]

The quickness part can be improved (you are correct with that point). That can be improved through drills, weights, etc. I also agree that the quickness advantage that Highlands has had in the past should be attributed to their offseason program.

 

Speed on the other hand--is genetic. Whether you think it is or it isn't--there is no getting around it. You can improve your mechanics, running technique, etc to see an improvement in your overall output (not to mention proper training to maximize speed)--but it CAN NOT be improved or changed (the best way to put it--so it is explained with separation--is that the "speed that a person is born with" can be maximized. Thanks to the usatf for that level 3 certification!). There is plenty of scientific data surrounding that.

 

To answer your question--yes--Highlands has a large number of players who were "born" with speed. I have no clue how that has happened (and quite frankly--I don't care). Whether you agree or disagree this isn't the most common thing in the world. But it also happens in other areas, locations, etc. To your point--they do a lot of things that may improve their quickness.

 

(Leatherneck--the part below isn't about responding to the rest of your post--it is for anyone who wants to read it:)

 

As far as the rest goes--Highlands does a great job. But they are not the only program in the state that does things the right way. And I think that it would be hard to quantify one versus the other.

 

As far as Dale goes (and the way that he handles his players)--it sounds like he is just like every other coach I have ever heard of. He makes decisions that others may/may not agree with. I think that is probably why he is paid to be the coach. You would think that people would quit questioning his thought process after the amount of success that Highlands has had.

 

 

But do you think the Highlands kids are just born with speed? What are they genetically different that the other teams' players?

 

Of course not. That speed comes from some rather intense conditioning and a training emphasis placed on speed. Overweight, out of condition players don't see the field and Dale makes that very clear to the players. I know that for a fact: he made it very clear to my son his sophomore year that if he wanted to see the field, it was lose weight, get faster and quicker, or forget about it. Because my son did it, he started last year. If you observed the Birds spring football you would have seen how intense it was and the premium placed on conditioning.

 

Lots of teams have some quick kids on their team. Dale seems to have more because of his emphasis on quickness in the way the Birds condition and his tendency to use quick small players over big, slow players. We had big, slow players on the team last year, but they did not start.

 

I won't comment on whether he gets more out of his players than any other coach because it simply a statement that cannot be proven or for that matter disproven.

 

I likewise won't comment on whether Bridgett etc weren't used to their full potential. Again, those statements are sort of silly in my opinion and nothing more than conjecture. Sorry if that hurts, but its the way I feel. Furthermore the only way to refute them is to point out players "imperfections" which I will not do on here.

 

Dale's not going to keep every player and even fewer parents happy which will result in second guessing and sour graping. We all think our sons' are the best thing since sliced bread. And I'm as guilty of it as the next guy. But I rationalize my "issues" by telling myself that every coach has bad games now and then, and all and all, Dale had done pretty dang well coaching at Highlands. He sure has a better record coaching than I did in the Ft. T Junior League:banana: And the Birds went a lot further this past year than just about everyone not a Birds fan thought they would go.

 

Back to spring practice, I thought it went very well. Draper looked very good running the offense. All and all I thought the d looked better, but I attribute that in part due to the fact that defenses are normally ahead of the offense at this time of the year, in part to the fact Dale was breaking in a new qb and in part to the fact that Dale concentrated more on passing (which makes sense trying out a new qb) and less on running the ball which will be the Birds strength this year. Mr Reality, glad you enjoyed watching the Birds and were impressed. Now if we could just get you to start cheering for the Birds, it would be a good day.

 

And finally Quickslick, I totally agree that there are a lot of coaches that do a great job of coaching their players.