A look at what we have

I thought I would show a little about our field and facilities which are result of this clubs 21 years of working their tails off. Last year at the 20th anniversary of the start of the Arlanda Jets, they showed some pictures of the first practice...on a gravel field. This club has a strong tradition of getting things done and this is a picture blog of the things that have come to pass over the last few years that I have been here. But don't get the wrong idea. These were not done because of me. The spirit and leadership in the club has been working hard for many, many years to get these things accomplished....
This picture is a picture of our new press box that will be up and running for this season. Not sure if there will be a big buffet served up for the "press" but it will certainly serve a great purpose and most importantly, it has a second floor which will provide a great film angle for the side shot...that's most important to me.

Here is a shot from across the field at the Bleachers and new press box. The field is 3rd generation turf and seems to be holding up fantastic. You can see that there is plenty of snow piled up on the sides, but that is postitve. Our Kommune, local municipality, does a great job in the winter plowing the field off as the snow comes down. Since it is not heated underneath, keeping the snow off, helps the field thaw quick and also gives us the opportunity to work-out on it as much as we can. If the weather cooperates, we can play just about year around. Usually, December, January and Feburary are a little chilly in this area of the world, but there have been mild winters, where we were able to have outdoor practice and not freeze at those times...this year...was not an option...

Here is the weight room that is under the bleachers. This is all started as an idea when we moved the current bleachers from the old field to this place. The bleachers used to rest on the ground at the old field. When we moved to this new field, the idea about moving the bleachers came up. Then the idea to raise them up, followed by the "what will we do with the space underneath"---and the weight room was born....it has been a long process and not quite finished in finality, but we have 4 plat-forms with 150kg per platform. We train using the general idea to create movement---create strength--create power and speed....sounds fancy to write...bottom line is "hard work works." Simple...but true.....

This is the last project left in the wieght room. In the space you see there, we are working on getting some rubber flooring and 3rd generation turf put in on top of the rubber flooring. This will give us a unique opportunity to have an 15 yrd long and roughly 10 yard wide space of turf to work on everything from plyos to take-offs to individual techniques....it will feel very good if we get that done....

So that is a quick lood at our facilities we have at the Arlanda Jets. I don't post it to brag, just to give a look at what has been done. To any of my American friends who read this the thing to understand is that there is no organized school sports like we had when we grew up. No athletic department to buy stuff...every sport is a club and the people who want to have a football team put it together...What we have is a true credit to the committed people within the club that heard many "NO" responses, but hung in there and slowly the NO's turned to "Yes" and it seems to be non-stop right now.  I would also have to mention that we are not the only club in Sweden with a promising future. There are other clubs that are working hard and are developing and educating good football players. As an American who grew up in School sports and coached College football for 15 years, it is amazing to see the hard work that these people put into making the sport work and their clubs work so that our sport can grow....
Until next time...as a lineman remember....To win the battle, you have to have leverage...to get leverage you have to be able to sink your hips...what exercises help you do that??? Do them....

Late night bloggin

Well it's another late saturday night that has been mixed with some great family stuff along with a nice "earth hour" which left me thinking, thank God I had my cell phone!! March is winding down and here in the thawing tundra of Sweden that means that football is getting closer.
What's on the agenda:
Later today (because it is after midnight when I am typing this) we have the big meeting to plan our pre-season camp. As I have mentioned before, I am trying something new out. We will have practice starting after Easter. We will go 4 days a week for 3 weeks. We'll leave the weekends free and try to get things done during the week. We'll see how it goes, but I have very high expectations. One of the key factors in doing this is to extend the time the guys have to work-out prior to starting the season. So we'll see what happens...
Daily Vitamins:
One of the things I have started working with the coaches in our club is a program I call "Daily Vitamins". It is a list of 10 things that each position needs to get done at each practice. I have asked each coach in the club to come up with the 10 things that they feel like their position needs each day. Why 10?? Because that is the way I learned from my old boss Tony Demeo and when you put a number on something it makes people really think through it. The responses have not poured in from the coaches, but I am sure they will come in over time.
O-Line Daily Vitamins:
Here is an example of a list for my OL:
1. Stance and Start
2. Base block/Cut-off
3. Release to second level (for mid-line and veer)
4. Combo Block
5. Cut-block (first and second level)
6. Pass set and Punch
7. Counter pass rush moves (Speed, Bull, Swim & adjust to scouting report)
8. Blitz and Twist pick up
9. Communication (line calls)
10. Second effort drills
So if I am a smart practice planner, I will keep that check-list in mind when I plan my practice and see that I get those things in for my lineman at each practice. If we "take our vitamins" we should be alright...that's the theory behind it anyway.
I would gladly take any other coaches list of 10 daily vitamins for their position. Feel free to list them in a comment or email the directly to me at bdkfbcoach@gmail.com no reason to ever stop learning...
5 suggestions if you are coming to Sweden as an import player:
1. Bring a jacket and some long pants...it will be chilly when you get here..it will warm up and  beautiful in the summer...and it will be chilly again in September.
2. Make sure you have a computer on it and get Skype...easy way to keep up with those in the mother land.
3. Enjoy Mid-summers weekend. If the boys on the team take you to a Mid-summers party...take a camera so you will remember what all you did...
4. If your contract gives you a meal at a resturant, try the Swedish food...it is good....
5. When you have your first pizza here...you will re-define your definition of thin crust...but it is still good...I should know...
The last 5 songs I listened to while typing this update:
1. Jerry Jeff Walker---Life on the Road
2.Willie Nelson--Always on My Mind
3. Creedence Clearwater Revival--Who'll Stop the Rain. (might be the theme song for a bad swedish summer)
4.Carrie Underwood--Don't Forget to Remember Me (Always makes me think of home)
5. Ice Cube--Cold Places
Gotta love "Shuffle" on the Iphone.....
Until next time...take your vitamins...look 'em in the eye...then cut 'em.....The Linemans Dream.....

Update

Well as always, it's been awhile, but since I am sitting up listening to a duet with Willie Nelson and Paul Simon singing "Homeward Bound" it only seem natural that I take a little time and update the old blog...
Back in the middle of Feburary we had planned a FUNdamental camp. The planning was great but the weather wasn't so cooperative. At the first practice it was -12 celsius which translates to COLD...we got through the first practice and then the snow came down. We didn't feel like we could do what we had planned, so the the evening practice we divided the guys up into 4 different teams and went out and played the first annual Snow Bowl. The main point was that the guys had a good time and played some ball and got to bond a little. We used the sunday for some team building workshops and called it good....
Breaking the rule of teaching progression:
We started with Theory meetings back in January. Installing the very basics of our offense and defense. Mostly all chalk-talk type settings. We hadn't really planned on doing much more than that until we start with pre-season camp after easter. Then a good friend and coach Leo Billgren, called me and wanted to scrimmage. We set up two times in March. One indoor scrimmage at Bosön in Stockholm and then this last Thursday at our place. Now, that is two scrimmages without any practice. Not sure what I was thinking, but we did it anyway...Now alot of people back home ask me what coaching in Sweden is like and I say that there is never, ever a dull moment---and you can never have too much imagination. These two scrimmages were just that. We ran 2 run plays---3 different pass plays and that was it...we drew a couple up in the dirt, but these guys went out to scrimmage and could actually execute a few things. Now, not much was really pretty, but the fact that we could see that there was a level of understanding to what we want to do was a positive sign.
Give--Keep--Pitch:
We are going to the Option game this year. 100%. In my playbook we have 4 different ways to run a triple option concept. We have the "normal veer", we have veer with counter motion, we have veer where the motion man becomes the dive and the FB is the pitch and we have the "inverted" veer where the QB becomes the "Dive" runner. We will most likely add the Mid-line to the the series also. We have a basic quick passing game, 3 step (from shot-gun, so it's 5 step routes) & sprint-out. Of course we will have a nice Play-action game and also a screen package. It will be fun to see what happens when we start practice....
No Easter Camp:
I've mentioned it before, but I have decided not to have a pre-season Easter Camp. Now for those of you at home that may not understand how it works in Sweden, Easter, in the football world is reserved for a weekend long camp. Alot of clubs will go somewhere and pracitce at an indoor facility. Dedicate the time from Thursday night through Monday of the easter weekend for football practice. There are two and sometimes 3 practices each day and then always a good party at the end. It is without a doubt a good time. The only problem I have seen is that it usually costs the guys extra money, because you have to pay for everything here, and secondly, the week after that camp is usually not the best practices of they year. Another reason this year is our late start of the Season. We kick off in the middle of May. What I am trying this year is an official pre-season camp. We will start the week after easter and go 4 days a week for 3 weeks and get all our installation and preparation done. I have had this idea for a few years now. We will see how it works...So for the first time in 21 years of existance our Sr team will not practice over easter weekend and for the first time in 7 years I will spend easter with my family. We will head out to Vänersborg to visit my wife's parents for the easter holidays...
5 Things that might give us a chance this year:
1. We have purchased a video editing subscription from http://www.hudl.com/ this should give us a unique opportunity to watch film and get film to our players. Should be a big plus as long as I can figure out how to work it.
2. Combining practice with our U-19 team. We do not have a big staff, so combining practice with our U-19 will give us a better practice staff and ensure that each group is getting some good individual coaching.
3. Finding the right position for all the players. This is key in football and extremely key in my experience in Sweden. It is easy to get into the situation that guys just play the position they have been playing. We are going to try to do a good job in evaluating where each guy should play to give us the best chance to be succesfull.
4. FUN...you gotta find a way to have fun. Of course winning is an easy way to have fun, but when you are coming off a dissappointing season, you have to really make an effort to keep energy levels high and focus on what will help you get back on the winning track...
5. Pride...the fact that we have decided to be "all Swedish" will hopefully fuel the enthusiasm and pride of my swedish players and they will rise to the challenge...

Well that is it for this update...as I always promise..I'll try to update sooner each time...hopefully that will go well....