New Colonel

Yes, it is. It feels like tiny gravel almost. Turf already causes most concussions, this would cause even more. There is no give to it like the fields with the rubber crumb fill. It reminds me of how hard astro tuf was, except you can wear cleats on this.

We appreciate it. I still hate the surface because of how hard it is, but this is good for Ludlow as the school and community.

It is wild. And it's confusing for the kids and their families. Many of these kids also think that any coach that talks with them is a scholarship offer. They are always on Twitter or other social media saying, "After a great conversation with Coach So-n-So, I'm blessed to have been offered a scholarship at XYZ University." They always end it with some ridiculous hashtags too like #blessed #D1bound #hardworkpaysoff. Those are not scholarship offers. Those are conversations like you said. And many times, the kid mentions a D3 school who can't even give athletic scholarships. Unless there's paperwork sent to you, there is no offer.

That's awesome to hear. I was wondering how the fill would actually hold up under flood conditions.

I haven't seen or heard of this book. I'm definitely gonna track down a copy.

Cincy has plenty of programs for what you mention, as does just about every major city. The issue is, it doesn't prevent crime. Criminals do criminal things and don't care about those types of programs.

Price Hill was definitely a thriving community when Elder was built. Just look at the actual houses in Price hill..... the vast majority are 3 stories with grand porches and many have elaborate architecture. That was where the professionals moved 100+ years ago..... you got more house, you got a yard, and a driveway to park your new car(s). It was still a decent working class area even into the 90s, there were some rougher areas definitely, but plenty of nice families still lived there. It went WAY downhill when Cincy cleaned up and gentrified the Over the Rhine neighborhood. It seems all the crime moved to Price Hill and a couple other places. Price Hill is starting to recover with some gentrification of it's own, but it'll be a long road if the neighborhood ever gets back to what it used to be.

Right, it was a very frustrating offense when you are the opposing defense. My point was his offense had wing t origins, just out of gun. The counter and their waggle action off of it just shredded opponents and buckled LBs for years. It was fun to watch though. And his blocking schemes were difficult to explain to your DL and LBs on what to expect because nobody else did it.

So, Dale Mueller's offense that won him a crap ton of state titles.

Not sure who his targets will be. Keeping him protected will be key. His mechanics and arm strength last year were extremely impressive.

I'm going on a limb that there's a different Patrick Burke as their DL coach than Dixie's Patrick Burke?

Yes, it sure can be. Especially depending on the type of Defensive Coordinator you are playing against. Those aggressive, pressure type guys can make this situation feel un-nerving. But, IMO, the type that it's the worst is the DC that self scouts so well that he doesn't have a true tendancy. He doesn't tip his hat. So you have no idea what you are going to get.

Defense. There are teams that use a read technique where guys on defense are not assigned gaps. It makes things an absolute cluster.

Woah, that's a lot bigger of a footprint than I was expecting. I'm eager to see the final product when it's finished.

You are right, many kids do transfer because of your old system or do not play. Now, this is me probably being a crusty curmudgeon, but I'd let them walk or not play..... If a kid is going to bounce on you because of whatever system you are running, they aren't truly in it anyway. And you will definitely have issues with that kid(s) down the line..... He's not getting the ball enough, you aren't doing this or that right to set little Timmy for success. I don't care if it's boring, because if it's boring, defenses many times don't take it seriously. Your job as a coach is to put kids in the best positions for the team to be successful, even if the kids or their family don't like it. It's a team sport, not a me sport, and right now we are definitely in the me era of sports. I'd let that kid go be someone else's headache personally because I don't want the drama that'll undoubtedly plague the season.

Well said, especially with the part you mention about the defenses. I never understood people who don't utilize GAP schemes on defense. I will also add, that coaches must pick whatever scheme fits their players and gives them the best opportunity to win. I don't care what the system is. But so many teams run terrible spread offenses, I'm surprised we don't see more old school type offenses as defenses typically have fits with them since most teams are spread based on offense.

Everyone is different in what they want or need on a sheet. My favorite are the guys that don't need it, it's all in their head. That's super impressive to me.

I know most people I know that live in Beechwood Schools have been beyond disgusted with his salary since it's an incredibly small district with 1 building. The total number of students for about 1500 and his salary was 250k. That doesn't seem to coincide with the market, anywhere. Cincinnati Public Schools superintendent makes less and is in charge of over 35,000 students and over 60 school buildings. What's the justification for that salary? How is he responsible for the upgrades for the school? Did the school board have nothing to do with it? Everyone I've talked to who lives or works in the district doesn't seem to like him and questions what he does. I'm not trying to be difficult, but why does a district that small even need a superintendent? I'm genuinely curious what his function is. There's a school board, to run the district itself and is in charge of major decisions like financials and personnel. There's a principal for both the elementary school and high school to run the day-to-day operations of the building. It comes off as odd that you have a district with such a low population that has a super with such an exorbitant salary. I know Ft. Mitchell is a wealthy neighborhood, but when you're nowhere close to the highest paid district for teachers in NKY, it kind of sends the wrong message to the public. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with both statements above. If it were up to me, I'd really use spring ball as experimentation and to mix things up ...... This is some of what I mean.... 1. Try out those new schemes/wrinkles that randomly come to you at 3 am. Try them out when there is no game to prep for. Find out what it looks like at full speed. It could be a gadget play, special teams makeover, new coverage concept, different way of blocking a certain play, or a pressure package. This would be a great time to get those creative juices flowing and try out some of those things that maybe you've always wanted to do. Get your assistants involved too. There's no pressure or game prep to worry about during spring. It would also get the kids pumped and what a great way to break up the monantony of practice. 2. This is also a great opportunity to try kids out at different positions. Maybe you have a backup LB and you want to try him out at safety, to see if he can get the job done there. Whatever it may be, move those kids and give them an honest and fair shot and honest assessment. 3. Have some fun with the boys but in a productive manner that conditions them. An example would be having all the OL/DL participate in a Big Boys 7 on 7. Have the skill guys do 1 on 1 pass rush drill. Hype it up. Kids eat that stuff up. It helps with comradery, team chemistry, and buy-in. Make the kids want to be a part of your program. 4. Amp up the competition. Make the boys compete in as many things as possible during spring ball. Tug of War, relays, wall-sits, ball security/strip drill, etc. Use your imagination, have them compete their tales off and keep score. Have teams of 5+ kids depending on the size of your program and get Tshirts made for the winning team (2025 Spring Ball Champs). The Tshirts will cost you 100-150 bucks, but your kids will be amped out of their minds to get one. 5. One day should be purely a crazy day of conditioning. Give it a cool name... I've seen teams use names like "Braveheart," "Dog Soldiers Day," "Iron Man," or "(Mascot Name Day)." It's just a grueling 90 minutes to 2 hours military style physical activity designed to test the kids' resilience and fortitude. Rotate through stations of body squats, pushups, partner carries, tractor tire flips, hitting a sledgehammer on a tire, plyometric box drills, hills, etc. Again, get creative. Make it thru without quitting, get dog tags or T-Shirt that says something like "I survived Iron Man 2025." Again, something cheap but will mean a lot to the kids. You will get invaluable information about your team as a coach with something like this. You will find out really quick who your mentally tough kids are and who your quitters are. You will find your leaders. Who is encouraging their teammates and who is mad and complaining? You will find out what kids are in great shape and what kids need to work harder on strength and conditioning. You will find out how the older players treat the younger ones..... Do they build them up or tear them down? You will also find out a ton about your staff during this. Do your assistants just dog the players during this? Or do they help them reach new heights and do things the players never thought they were capable of. Anyways, that's my 2 cents on this topic. I think Spring Ball should be about building up the program and finding ways to experiment and really increase your buy-in, team chemistry, competition, and work ethic. So, coaches, use the spring to step out of your comfort zone a bit and you will probably be really surprised how beneficial it'll be to your program.

Awesome to hear. Hopefully it keeps the talent in house.

So, that sucks that it happened, but it's violent game and injuries are part of it. If a kid gets thrown into a RB carrying the ball, that ball carrier is doing a pretty bad job with spacing. With the LB, nobody calls crack block at the youth level, heck most corners miss the call on Friday nights to their LBs..... play with your head on a swivel. Unless those kids are missing practice or have disciplinary issues, every kid at the youth level should play every game. In the NKYFL they are supposed to play 8 plays a game. The coach should do a better job of "hiding" that kid.... put him at WR and have him stalk block or run a go route and run away from him. Put him at safety on defense or MLB. Get those kids in the game, they deserve it.

Was he LaSalle's DC last year? They had a pretty solid defense last year.

Who doesn't let 6th graders play for the middle school that the kid goes to? And that would be even dumber for the small D3 schools as their numbers are low anyways. Having a 12 year old play with 10 year olds is dumb, period. It's all about player safety until it's not.

Which is just a moronic rule IMO.

Those are my absolute favorite stories!