Evaluating Players

I am enjoying watching the Little League World Series (LLWS) again this year.  I love watching these kids play their guts out just for the love of the game.  What I find striking is the difference in size between 12-13 year old boys. The size difference can range anywhere from 4'8" - 6'3" ...playing on the same team.  Of course, the bigger kids seem to dominate the smaller kids at this age, but does this size-difference domination transfer over to the gridiron?  Not necessarily.  

 "A Good Small Kid is Good, But A Good Big Player is Better"

....Coach Billy Livings (1986)  

I heard Coach Livings say this several times in fact.  But just because a kid is big, it does not mean he is going to be a good football player.  More often that not, a kid who grew faster than their piers were often physically throttled by their superiors at an early age...out of fear of hurting their friends.  These type of kids often were too big to play in their local football leagues (weight controlled leagues) so they often played baseball or soccer instead....if they played anything at all.  Often, the bigger kid just dominated their piers on physical strength alone.  That works just fine until the rest of the kids get a little older (12-13-14 years old) ; then, puberty kicks in.  Often, the big kid quits growing so fast, and the rest of the kids catch-up in size.  Sometimes, a big kid is just a big kid forever.  But that still does not make him an athlete.  

"I Bet You Can't Wait Until The Big Kid Plays Football"  

Personally, I don't get too excited about any kid until I see him walk or stand.  I have been looking at kids for over 30 years now, and my rules have not changed too much.  I know this sounds funny, but consider the following:  

Slew Footed 

If I see a kid standing, walking, or running with his feet placed like this like, I know we have a lot of work to do.  I like to look at his shoe laces.  If they are tied on the side of the shoe, this is because they are often too lazy (or unable) to bend over and properly tie them, so he bends one leg over the other and ties them on the side.  This type of kid is often flat-footed, and when he runs, you can hear him coming..clop,clop,clop clop etc.  Look at his shoes, they will often start wearing on the outside; yet the heels are almost perfect.  This is because there is little heel-to-toe walking or running in his life. These type of kids generally have their calves more elongated, naturally placed lower on the leg.  Their calves are rarely balled up or developed (at this age) because they have not been taught how to run....or they have not seen a weight room yet. However, these type of kids often have nice thick upper  leg development and potential for power.  If they spend some time in the weight room, and perhaps work with the track coaches, then there is some potential there.  These  kids are rarely skill position type kids; however, they do make good powerful interior lineman if they are willing to work at getting better.   

  Feet Pointed Straight 

If a player stands or walks with his feet straight, then that excites me.  (I once watched one of my former players ...Zach Finnegan...walk down the isle at Walmart when he was just a 8th grade puppy....perfect walk and perfect calves) This type of kid maybe has both feet pointed very slightly inward. Their shoe laces are always tied on top of the shoe...not off to the side.  I look at his calves...always high on the lower leg because of the way he walks...heel to toe)  When this type of kid runs, it is almost silent...heel to toe.  Often, their shoes are worn down on the heels, and the toes may have scuff marks.  When I meet this type of kid,  I like to throw something at him (It can be anything...a tennis ball, a crushed paper cup, wadded-up piece of paper, etc....)  and watch him catch the item.  Most times, he will snatch the projectile right out of the air....perfect!  Kids like this have fast-twitch muscles, so they tend to be pretty quick.  This type of kid was probably a good athlete from the beginning of his young life, so I looked at them for skill-positions offensively and defensively.

 My Grandson GRICE:  Hey, I'm just Saying!  

These are generally my rules-of-thumb I used during an initial evaluation.  Sometimes kids will change my mind on the field...but my rules are pretty close most of the time.  Tony Perry (a coaching colleague and Head Track Coach at SRHS) was great at initial evaluation of kids as well.  I loved comparing notes with him about certain kids, because they were generally dead-on-balls to mine.  Of course, Coach Wilson (Football and Track Legend) was the master at taking a project player and working him until he found a place the player could help us.  I was always awed (and humbled) by his vision.  I don't know everything...I just think I do.  

Later.  

Tragedy on the Field

William Shogran Jr.  

I would like to start by offering my condolences to the family of William Shogran Jr.  This 14 year old young man died unexpectedly on Wednesday, August 14th, 2014  while attending the Sebastian River High School (SRHS) Football  camp in Northern Florida.  Please keep his family in your thoughts.  

William died yesterday while attending the SRHS football camp at Ft. Blanding in Northern Florida.  I do not know this young man at all.  I do not know his family.  I really do not have any idea about the cause of death, nor do I have any idea about the circumstances surrounding his death.  Early reports state that the unbearable Florida heat and humidity contributed to his death....I don't know if this is true or not.  Here is a link to the story surrounding his death.  You can make your own judgment:  http://www.wptv.com/news/region-indian-river-county/sebastian/wiliam-shogran-jr-sebastian-river-high-school-football-player-dies-during-practice

Assuming the reports are correct, the player could have died from heat exhaustion or perhaps heat stroke. In my previous blog www.coach-george.blogspot.com   I talk extensively about the issues with heat and humidity, and I also talk about the prevention measures we take (as coaches) to help the players deal with the potentially deadly combination.  Hydration is the key, and hydration must start days (if not weeks) before practice ever starts.  Things sure have changed since I played ball.  

My Iced Down Water Coolers.....On the field....Everyday.  

Back in the day, we were lucky to have any type of water on the field at all....ever.  In fact, most times we did not.  Maybe...ocassionally, an old garden hose would be used if there was a water spigot around.  Bottled water did not exist back then, so it was drinking from a garden hose or nothing.   The old-school thinking was that denying a player water during practice would make us tougher during a game.  Coaches or trainers gave us salt tablets instead....and they were awful.  Salt seemed to be the answer for everything.  Gatorade did not exist back then, but I do remember some sort of sports drink being available during games....but it was loaded with added salt.  It was terrible, and to this very day I still can't stand any type of sports drink.  However, I still love garden-hose flavored water.  

I remember throwing up quite a bit back then...when it was hot.  We would throw up our liquid, suck on the salt tablets and keep playing.  Again, old-school thinking was that if you were throwing up, it meant you were fat and out-of-shape....so we kept running.  I remember that if one of us got hurt, the coaches or trainers would wrap our injuries in iced down towels to keep the swelling down.  The other players used to steal the injured-players iced-down towels and suck the water out of the fabric...which tasted great....sometimes like iodine, but great nonetheless.  Back then, our helmets did not have vent holes in the top, so we used to fill our helmets with water out of a hose (when available) and either drink the water, or throw it over our heads before practice.   We cramped like crazy...but mine was generally stomach cramps, not the leg cramps which plagued many players.  We never admitted cramping....it was a sign of weakness.  Never once did we associate cramping or vomiting to dehydration.  I think back on those days now, and its no wonder why so many of guys ( from my generation) have kidney problems, or perhaps cognitive issues.  Its no ones fault....It's just the way it was back then. It is quite different today.

                             

Fred and Wilma  

I BUILT these Battery-Powered Water Cows

Now days, a player is never denied water....ever.  We really have to monitor this for our players...especially with the advent of caffeine and ginseng in the energy drinks so popular today.  These drinks will actually dehydrate ones body, so regular water becomes so important.  Not soda.... not sports drinks....regular water.   We used to tell the kids to start hydrating on Monday for a game on Friday.  If you wait until game day to hydrate your body....its just too late.  During the summer, we used to tell the kids to drink at least a gallon of water a day...everyday.  Sweating is important, for this is how a body cools itself.  If a kid is not sweating, then you need to start worrying.  I love to see a kid drenched in sweat....then I know he is safe. Also, I tried to make sure a player was not wearing dark clothing under his pads.  A plain white tee shirt or Under Armour is perfect in my opinion.  You will stay cooler wearing WHITE....sorry, but its a fact.  These are just a few tricks to surviving in this hot box of Florida.  It was our job to educate the kids of this fact.  

 Coach Randy Bethel.  

Coach Bethel surrounded himself at SRHS  with people he could trust.  Randy put me in charge of water.  It was my job to make sure there was always water available for the players anytime we hit the field.  I took this job very seriously.  Anytime athletes were on the field, or on the track, I made sure there was always unlimited water available.  Me, Coach Wilson, and Coach Brown were adamant about the water...it was that important to us.  Bethel never had to worry...water was taken care of....always.  We never denied a player water....ever.  If he needed water, he got water.  We took our mandatory breaks during practice.  Our trainer Hilary made sure of it.  No arguments, no questions...we just did it.  True, sometimes players will try and hang out at the water cooler, but you can usually spot these guys.  A quick blast of the whistle usually cleared them out.  We also monitored a player's weight during two-a-day practices.  Each player would weigh in before every practice, and after every practice.  If they lost too much weight during the first practice, he would sit for the second practice.  Hilary posted a urine-color chart on each urinal in the locker room.  A dark colored urine is bad: a clear colored urine is good.  So, when a player pisses, he looks at his urine color and compares it to the posted chart.  Results are reported to Hilary.  Dark urine means dehydration.  Appropriate action is required.  Bottom line is that if Hilary said to sit a player....guess what?  He sits.  

Again, I have no idea what happened at the SRHS football camp.  If it was heat-related,  I am just sharing some of the preventative measures Coach Bethel's staff took to help prevent accidents like this.  Most parent do not realize how hard we worked to protect the kids.  Afterall, they were our babies as well.  

More to Come Soon!

"Coach" George Zaleuke