The Year in Review--The Year Ahead

Well, with a cool title like that, you would have to expect a really professional account of what has happened this last year and what to expect this coming year, but instead you will have to settle with what I have written...if you continue to read.....OK, thank you for continuing to read...here we go.

FOOTBALL 2011
Since part of the purpose of this blog is to update on my football experience here in Sweden, we will begin there. This season was one that can be described best as a launching pad for the future. Here at Arlanda we have made a serious effort to focus on building a football team and club and make it as good as we can. Notice I didn't say "better than everyone else" because that is not the focus. Our goal is not to build a team/club that prides itself on saying "we are better than you" it is as truly simple as building an organization that provides a positive experience for all its members. That is what we took the first steps in doing this year. Keep in mind, that this blog is mine and these opinions are mine, but I am comfortable that what I type here reflects the general attitude of your club...if not, there is a comments section and it cost nothing to start a blog :-)
Now this in itself can be an enormous topic, but I will relate it like this:  What I learned (or was reminded of) from football this year:

1. Working with Rik Parker is fun. Rik is a guy that I knew pretty well before he came to Arlanda, but after spending this past season coaching with him, I have to give him a lot of credit for really getting me recharged in regards coaching. I had reached a spot in my life that being here (Sweden) year around and just about run it's course. But working with Rik has been refreshing and I truly believe we are on the right course.
2. Concentrate and focus on what is important to your club, your team and start with your practice. This is a great start. What we have tried to do is make each practice moment the best it can be. I will not lie to you and say that at every practice, everybody was there. I cannot speak for other teams, but in all honesty, I would be surprised if any team averages more than 75 to 80% attendance at EVERY practice. So, what we did is make every practice special and routine. Sometimes people had to work "out of position", but the thought process was each practice is a game day, so if today was a game, who would play where. This may seem  strange, but this did a lot for building team unity. I mean, if I had to say, "we have three lineman...who will fill in. We can't run a play until somebody is in there." Somebody would jump in. Maybe it wasn't the guy that I would want in there on the Saturday, but it was a guy that was saying through his action "OK Coach, I'll do it because it has to be done." "I'll do what helps the team." "I am tough enough to do this." With that type of thinking and mentality, we have taken a huge step in the right direction. Any activity we run with the Sr team is guaranteed to be a good experience, an opportunity to work hard and a chance to get better along with having fun doing it.
3. Don't mess with things that take time and energy and provide little satisfaction. Since I have been in Sweden, I have found myself always trying to do as much as I could for football. There is apart of me that still would love to be out there doing everything I can for everybody, but it just is not possible. So, what I did this year was to focus on those things that I deemed worthy of my time. Sound a little egotistical...maybe, but it's the way you have to be sometimes.
4. Stop worrying about the other guy. I came to the realization that it is not my job to decide what is right and wrong in coaching or running a club. I grew up under the guise that your job was to win the game and do it with class. Part of class was having a lead and running the clock out, not trying to run the score up. Now this hasn't happened a lot, but there have been three times that I have personally felt that guys went out of their way to get one more touchdown in a game that was out of reach...it happened in the infamous SM-Final in 2008 when SMM went for two up 68-32 late in the 4th qtr. This year it was CC staying in no-huddle trying to get a young kid some carries and scoring on a run (that yes, we should have stopped) as time ran out in a game they were up several points...TRC took their opportunity to get one more TD in a game that they had under total control with around 2 minutes left...Now I will admit that I wasted no time in letting the coaches (all who I considered friends and still do) know exactly what I thought about what happened....BUT...that complaining I did was all wasted time. I told them all how I felt about what happened with no hidden words....well, upon further review...why waist my time and energy...nobody "did it on purpose"....so maybe those are just things that happen. I realized this summer while spitting some wood, worry about my guys, my team, my club...that's it. With that attitude, the second half of the season, was truly enjoyable and I have wasted very little time with concentrating on things that, at the end of the day, really don't matter.....except the occasional bad call by a referee....
5. Defining simplicity. Keep it simple stupid. I have been working on defining simplicity. I have not finished, but I am getting close. It really doesn't mean that you line up in the "I" formation with one TE and 2 Wr's. What it means is that everything you do revolves on executing the play with the best fundamentals of blocking, tackling, throwing, catching, running or even kicking that are possible. Many of us coaches will stand in front of the a whiteboard and say "Well, we will do this and this..." Have you ever heard a player describe what went right on a play..."I pulled and he never saw me and I trapped the crap out of him!!" or "I filled my gap and plugged the entire play up."  A player's descriptions of what happened usually start with the word "I..." remember that coaches, the players are the ones doing what we draw, make sure they are equipped to perform.

That is my 2011 year in review...now what about 2012?? Well we have started back in October, meeting twice a week and doing a program where we train on running fundamentals, change of direction, plyometrics and lifting where we focus on movements that will make us better football players. The guys have been coming in, sometimes more than others, but every Tuesday and Thursday night somebody is getting better.
As many people have heard, we are bringing back Aki Jones for the entire season. I think Aki will be a serious force to reckon with on the field. I think to most teams his presence was felt on the fieldlast year. But what people don't know is how good he works off the field too. He does a great job working with the kid in the National Idrotts Utbildinging program and helping coach the other youth teams in our clubs. He is also fantastic at school visits. Last years offensive import Nick Danielsson will be missed. He did a great job for us. He is currently back in the U.S. looking to get into coaching. I hope that happens for him because I know he'll do a great job. We plan on adding an American QB this year and are in the process of getting that done. But as of this update it has not been finished.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION FOR 2012:
Go back and read the resolutions for 2011...I think I'll just shoot for them in 2012...I didn't accomplish them in 2011...or 10..or 09...so we'll stick with the same for 2012...

WHAT WAS GREAT ABOUT GOING HOME TO OKLAHOMA IN OCTOBER:
Seeing the family is always the best. Seeing my oldest boy, Jonathan and hanging out with him and being in awe of the man he has become is always a blast. Seeing my two younger brothers (and thinking they are starting to look old) laughing with my Dad and hearing stories about the good old days and nothing is better than a hug from Mom...
Then there is going back to see a college football game. Nothing like the environment of a college football game and especially going to see The University of Oklahoma play. I didn't go to school there, but I grew up a fan. Of course I would have gone their and played football it I had just been...bigger, faster, stronger and a better athlete...so damn close...anyway..one game in Norman and then we made the trek down to Dallas for the OU vs Texas game. That should have been a blog post or two on it's own..but here is a few pics from the trip:

Here is the pregame tailgate snack: The shiskabob(that's how I spell it) a big thick piece of toast...a twice baked potato...a jalapeno wrapped in bacon and stuffed with creme cheese...water chestnuts wrapped in bacon and soaked in a spicy sauce...and a cold beer...of course that was only round one on all aspects....courtesy of Uncle Mike Arbuckle...

This put a tear in my eye...O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A

another band shot...don't know why the Texass fans booed here...

Here is my brother Mike and son Jonathan...throwin' down the horns at the cotton bowl!!

and we'll finish with a pic of my son Samuel at the OKC zoo..yes..he's the one on the left....don't even...

Well...thats it for a quick update on a little bit of what was 2011 and what will become 2012...a little bit of a rambling update..but as you know..my new years resolution is (insert Lee Corso's blooper here)...if you don't know what that is...look it up on you tube...

And Now we have another bye week

Been busy, but having a good time. Came back from vacation and we are getting ready to crank up the school year. Spent a great day in Skvöde, Sweden watching some youth football. Mostly U-15 & U-17. It was a great feeling to walk around and see those young kids and their coaches getting after it on the football field. Fun stuff. The Dukes Tournament is a really special time and I hope that even more teams will begin to make it a must do on their yearly calendars.

Hard Times:
Anybody that follows football here in Sweden knows that we are having what can politely be described as a "crappy year". We have lost all games, with the exception of the one we tied and after a 7 week break in the season, we opened up with a loss to the Carlstad Crusaders and dressed only about 16 guys and finished with 13 by the final whistle. If you are on the outside looking in, you will come to your own conclusions or be one of the experts in the game here and be able to predict the demise of the Arlanda Jets. This is however not the case. What we are doing is taking the guys that want to play and trying to do our best.  We are quite simply short on numbers. Now, we as a club must address this, because if you are short on numbers it means that not enough of your U-19 players are making the move up to the senior team after their time in the junior program. This has been a problem at Arlanda since I started coaching here. It is a problem for all sports in Sweden and a problem in our sport of American Football. We have two rather large (physically and numbers) generations that will be eligible to move up the next two years and we will be working hard to keep those guys in the club.  So hard times now, yeah-forever, no way. There are a lot of things that we are doing right that will get and keep us competitive in the future and I mean very near future.....

Warriors:
That is how Rik and I feel about the guys that gutted it out on Saturday and the guys that keep coming to practice and trying to win games. These guys are laying it all on the line each week. The reporter asked me if we are really this bad. I told him basically that we are not a bad football team, we just are not winning right now. We have some good football players, but we have way too many that are forced to play both ways. Also, when you play with too few, you end up putting some guys in the game who have not practiced much if any at the positions that they have to go in and play. But they go in and do the best they can. Now, if we were to win a game in that situation, we would be called tough, hard nosed, gutsy or maybe even great. But winning in that situation is not the norm. You have a chance with "iron man" football, if everybody you are playing is also playing "iron man" football. But when your opponent switches 11 new guys in to play offense and you have one guy jog off the field and one guy jog on to put your D on the field....well you get the point. You're going to get worn down. The point I am trying to make is that at least these guys are trying. They are fighting to the very end, they are not feeling sorry for themselves and they are trying to make some good things happen on the football field. For that, I am proud of them. They are warriors in my eyes for taking their situation and trying to make the best of it....

Learning from mistakes:
I so wish that I was one of those people with great for-sight. A person who could always now when everything was going to turn out good or when something shouldn't be done, but unfortunately I learn most of my lessons from mistakes. This past year we talked a lot about starting a B-team in our club. The proposal was made and their seemed to be a lot of guys interested in a B-team that would be "less serious" than the A-team and also serve as a place for older rookies to try a little American Football and see what they thought. I was one of the guys that thought that it was a good idea. I truly believe that there is a place for a B-team in a large club and it can serve a very good purpose, but when I look back and see how our situation is now, I can see some things that need to be fixed.
Here is my suggestions for anyone that wants to have a B-team:

1. DO NOT make it two seperate teams. Make it one team and some of the guys play on gameday with the A-team and others play on game day with the B-team. I say this because in most cases you are not going to have "too many" players  in your A-team to begin with. Nobody in Sweden has too many A-team players.
2. If you are a club that has a B-team, remember you will be playing in a league where many of the teams have the goal and ambition to move up to the Super-Series and will not be out there to be "less serious" or "to have a little fun." They will be playing hard and they will be playing to win.

Those two ideas are a must if you are a club that has a team that competes in the Super-Series and also wants to have a B-team. They are my opinion only--but after all, this is my blog so I can print my ideas.

When you look at it this way:
I have lived and coached football in Sweden for 9 years now. I have done everything from discuss to argue the idea of this split season. I understand that the sport is American Football and we are living in Sweden so there could be some differences and of course there is. But the difference should not be in how the game is designed to fit into the calender. I will never understand the idea of playing a season like this: One game in April, 3 games in May, 2 games in June, 2 games in August, 2 games in September. That is this years Arlanda schedule broken down by games per month. The sport is designed  to play a straight through 10-12 game scheduled followed by some form of play-off system. That's it. I do hope that someday we can have it that way in Sweden. I hope that someday, we can have a season that is played straight through and ends in early July. Then I hope that the best players will then play in whatever National Team game or tournament is in late July. Then I would wish that all the clubs would start an organized strength and conditioning program in Mid-August through September. Then have some form of "fall ball" in October to introduce the game to any rookies and also have some fun with the old guys then continue with their strength and conditioning programs in November-March. Then in Mid-march start organizing pre-season practices. You could have what the old NFL used to call OTA's scattered throughout the year to work individually by position or as a unit or even team to introduce and work on the fundamentals. That's my dream scenerio here in Sweden. I may never live to see that, and I hope to live a long time, but that is the way I would paint the picture if I could. In the mean time, I'll keep doing the best I have with what I got and try to make it a good experience for all those involved. Anyways, we just played last Saturday so now we have two Saturdays in a row off......(yawn)....

Defining Fun:
This post's last rambling thought is to try and define the term I have heard talked about a lot in my time here in Sweden. "They guys need to have fun" or "let's make this fun." The problem I have with this is what is fun? I thought that coming to practice was fun. To meet up with my buddies and go through take-offs and block progression was fun. To block, tackle, run, catch and throw was fun. To try and be good or even great at something...That is fun. Also, fun is how what you are doing is presented to you. If the Coach (leader) is up beat, serious, gives you attention, uses energy and enthusiasm...you are probably going to have a good time. For me, those things are fun. So, if anybody ask me if my practices are fun, I am going to say "hell, yeah" because I have a blast. And I am having a blast whether I have a smile on my face or not, whether I am telling you good job or encouraging you to give more effort. All that is because the two funnest things I know is winning and trying to be the best you can be at something. That is my defintion of fun.

Well that's this post. Until next time remember, when protecting the quick passing game, don't move forward, don't move back, don't chase, stay firm.......

Cup of Coffee and birds chirping

Gotta say that it is a great way to start the day by sitting on the old front porch with a cup of coffee and the sounds of nature all around. Off in the distance, toward town, I can hear the bells to the old church ringing at 07.00. Sounds pretty cool. Most likely, unless you live right next to the church and wanted to sleep in..plus it's Monday morning...anyways here are some thoughts for the blog today.

Breaking it down to the simplest thought:
I have the goal of developing some really good offensive lineman from within our club. I have had this goal for a long time, being usually the only coach on offense it makes it challenging to put a ton of time into every position. I am an avid studier of "The Annual Offensive Line Clinic" videos and I really like Jim McNally and how he teaches OL play. But, truth is, you cannot dump too many things on to young players or "new" older players. I have come up with this simple...and I do mean simple teaching progression for OL play.

1. Rule number one is this. Put yourself between the defender and the ball carrier or QB passing the ball.  Yes it sounds simple, but you have to make sure each lineman understands exactly where the ball is suppossed to be run or where the QB will set up to throw the ball. He has to know where to "put himself." If he can do that, then I tell them to get between the defender and the ball and make it take as long as possible to get beaten....step one...
2. Make sure your stance allows you to move the easiest and quickest way to where you want to go. I used to be one of the guys that taught the "universal stance" but I have changed somewhat into teaching how a lineman can adjust his stance to get the job done. Now this will be a little harder to write, but I will give it a try. Let's say it's 3rd & 8 and everybody in the stadium knows you are going to throw the ball. The DE aligns up in a very wide, rush the QB position. As the OT, why should I set up in my "normal" stance? Go to a two point, narrow my feet a little, sit back and put myself into a better position to cut-off DE's rush angle...and yes...it could still be a draw. Another old trick to eliminate the false step in your footwork is to curl the toes on the foot you want to push off of. In doing this, you actually shift a little weight and take a quick step with the opposite foot. There are a ton of little changes you can make, and they do not appear obvious to the defense.

These two concepts are what I start with in introducing OL play. How does it get more advanced? Once a young lineman or the classic "new" old lineman begins to understand these two concepts, they will begin to get better. The hard thing that I have noticed is that a player that is not sure what he is doing, wants to be told what to do. I want the player to figure out that by understanding, for example, "we are running outisde there, and if I am supposed to put my body between the ball carrier and defender, the defender is going to run out there to where the ball is going...I might have to pull around here and cut-off his pursuit angle to the ball." When I see the light start to come on, confidence comes with that also.

So that's this mornings thoughts. Two basic ideas for the OL to master. Putting yourself between the defender and where the ball is going...adjusting my stance to get there the fastest and smartest way....and by the way, when you get there...be aggressive...

Until next time...see if you can get two blocks on one play....

Early Morning Thoughts

Up early this morning, sitting on my front porch, thinking about football...and having some coffee...

A Good Read:
Just finsihed reading Pete Carroll's book "Win Forever." I would suggest this book to all young (and old) coaches for that matter. I would not say that there is earth shattering revelations in it or even things that you might have not heard before, but the book takes the reader on a journey of self discovery that is very interesting. Of things that stood out in the book, the idea "to do things better than they have been done before" stood out the most. That statement hit home the most in our little football community here in Sweden. I can assure you that you will here about "how good it was back then" or "things were better then" or "we should do like we did back then" in just about any conversation. I would say why don't we say "Let's do this BETTER than it has every been done before." That is not to say it wasn't good "back in the day" or put any disrespect on the pioneers of the past that have built the sport up here from scratch. It is putting our chin out there and saying, "OK, now is the time for us to build this sport and do it better than it has ever been done before." It would sure lead to some exciting times. How do we do that? In my world it is simple. We start as individuals doing our jobs in our clubs and trying to do them better than they have ever been done before. The more people (clubs) that do that, the stronger the "team" of American Football will be. Sound simple..it is..will there be set backs and bumps in the road..there will be...will it be worth it in the long run...yes it will.
So, read the book for a little inspiration. I get no kick back from Coach Carroll. I don't know him and the chances of him coming over to Sweden to say hi are slim to none..but it is a good read. By the way, it is NOT an X's and O's book. The X's and O's are the easy part of coaching. The book is about developing a philosophy and building relationships. Check it out...

A Quick Apology to Mrs. Ritchey and Mrs. Lewis:
Here is a thought that has been on my mind since I started to try and write a blog. I must apologize to the two English teachers I had growing up in Blanchard. Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Ritchey were my english teachers from grad 7-12 at good old Andrew J. Terrell High School in Blanchard. I am openly apologize to them for my sentence structure and potential spelling mishaps. Sentence structure is just something we are going to have to live with.. The spelling will get bettter when I figure out how to get the setting on my spell check off of Swedish and on to English....anyways, ladies...my apologies..but it if fun to right stugg....I mean write stuff....

What's happening in Football:
SAFF just relased the names of the players called to the Juniour European Championships. This is an exiting time for those young men and it shows in their facebook status when they post about how excited they are that they saw there name on the list!! Great to see young people fired up about the upcoming tournament. You can read the names on the roster here: http://www.amerikanskfotboll.com/110729jem_slutlager.pdf
The Jets have 4 young men that have made that roster and I am quite proud of them and happy for them. I know they are serious and will have a great tournamnet. Two from my Elite program in American football have been picked. Markus Grip and Mark Rosenqvist. They are very hard workers and have done quite well in developing in the weight room and on the field this last year. Mark is one of only two young athletes that was born in '94 that made the roster. Best of luck to Team Sweden at the Junior European Championships. Work hard Coaches and players and build a great memory!!
The other big tournament that will actually kick off in a few days is the Senior World Championships. I had the honor of being the Head Coach for Team Sweden in Kawasiki, Japan at the World Championships of 2007. We finsished in 4th losing to Germany 7-0 in the Bronze medal match. USA beat Japan in overtime to win the gold. This year the tournament is in Austria and you can follow along at the following website:
http://www.americanfootball2011.com/en/ I can assure you that it is an ubelievable event to be at. Football players, coaches and fans from all over the world there to cheer their country on...maybe even NFL Network will cover it since there isn't too much happening right now with the lock-out. My predictions...USA vs Japan for the gold USA wins...surprise team for the tournament Austria takes on Mexico for the bronze......can Austria upset Mexico?? Wait, where's the Germans....will be fun to follow the tournament...some day I hope to get the opportunity to coach in it again....

Other good blogs:
Here are some blogs to keep in touch with about football in Sweden..some are in Swedish, but there is googl translate now..
http://coachingforpizza.blogspot.com/
http://leobillgren.wordpress.com/
http://bogorans.blogspot.com/2011/07/juniorsatsning.html?spref=fb
http://lirresblog.wordpress.com/
http://thecatch.se/sebastian/
http://thecatch.se/om this is a page that is the main communication in the our little world (besides the main SAFF sight)

Until next time...when you pull right...hit with your right shoulder...when you pull left hit with your left shoulder.....

Halfway through the year

Well, since we are at July 1 and 2011 is on the "way out", I thought it would be a good time to update the old blog again. We'll start with the official report on 2011 New years resolution:

• Update blog every two weeks--Result--there's always next year...
• Learn to play the guitar--Result--there's always next year...
• Have a date night with my wife each week--Result--need a better definition of date night...
• lose weight--Result--am down 13kg's but seemed to have hit a plataue--maybe I have found my ideal weight???

Here's is what's happening so far this year:

FOOTBALL WITH THE JETS:
To say that we are struggling would be an understatement. We have tied one game and lost 5. The guys are  playing, but we just can't seem to put it all together. On offense we have some serious struggles. The biggest challenge we have is that we have about 25 guys playing so a lot of players have to play both ways. That is ok if your opponents are having guys go both ways, but when they are not, the advantage goes to the opponent later in the game.
The thing that I can promise is that we will keep having good practices, we will keep working on the fundamentals and we will get better.
I am totally convinced that if we could combine our "B" team and our "A" team we would be more competitive. The "B" team is a good idea, but, in hindsight, I have to say it all happened a little early. We'll see what we can put together for the second half of the Season...You know, the season where we have played our last game on June 11 then we will play our next game on August 6th...then we play again on August 27th...Anyways, Coach Parker has a BBQ party scheduled on Monday the 25th of July. So we'll kick things off for the second half of the season....

Youth Football:
We are on summer break for our U-11 & U-13 age groups also. We had an end of school camp on June 20-22. It was not as well attended as we had hoped, but the kids that came had a good time. We will keep doing this camp at the end of the school year and again before schoo starts. The next camp will be scheduled to be the 17-19 of August. It should be a fun time.

I might finally get it:
In my 9 years I have been involved in American Football here in Sweden, I have been in a million conversations, emails, committee meetings, disucssions over a beer, phone calls and forum posting meetings regarding how to make football better here in Sweden. There are as many ideas and opinions as there are days in eternity. That is somewhat normal, when people are passionate about something. Finally, I have come to the realization that the best use of my time and energy is to concentrate on where I am at and try to do what I do better than it has been done before. This is the secret to making football great. Sure, we need those people with the ideas and vision to push the sport forward here in Sweden. That, of course, is essential to growth, but if more time was spent by us trying to make our clubs as professional and good at producing football players as we could be, then the game would improve. Committ to getting out to the local schools and recruiting kids to come and try some football. Committ to going to the local hockey, soccer, handball and basketball clubs and see if there are some players that want to play two sports. More importantly, find those that have been cut or stopped playing and get them to try something completely new and fun, like American Football. Committ to not just saying we can "play some kids up" when you don't have enough U-13 guys to make a team and you want to move up some U-11 kids so you have a team. Go out and find enough players in that age group. It is not easy and it is not easy for us at the Jets. It takes a lot of work and not by just one person to make it go and keep it going when the numbers are low. I can't say it enough...If you want football in this country (Sweden) to grow, then make it the best it can be where you are at: That, my friends, is the secret...In my opinion anyway...if you don't think I am correct, then just keep watching...but don't invite me to one of those meetings where we all sit around and have coffee and brainstorm about what needs to be done...because that is the slowest way to get something done...wait..if you have good pastry & coffee....yeah...then invite me...lunch included..could get me there also....

Senior National Team:
Things are starting to get rolling for the Senior national team. They are having a "combine" type camp at the end of July. This is a great idea, in my opinion and it gives the coaching staff an opportunity to take a look at what is out there and an opportunity to set standards (which has been done in the past via Niclas Carlsson) to show the players where they should be physically. I hope that all the guys that are serious about football take the time to go to the camp and show what they have. I have met and spoke with John Konecki and he seems like a really good coach and he is excited about leading Team Sweden to the next European Championships. I would also encourage any coach that wants to be apart of this camp to show what they can do and help work the camp and meet with the coaches currently on staff to contact Patrick Lundqvist and see if more help is needed.
A few people have asked me about me roll. As of this moment, my roll is to be a fan. I cannot committ my free time right now to the national team. I am full up with the Elite gymnasium program, school visits, u-11 and Senior team football...and when you are employed by a club, there is an "other duties as assigned" clause. But someday, somehow, I hope that I can be involved to some degree. I truly enjoy the idea of international play, The European Chamionships & The World Championships.
Here is a link with information regarding the Senior National Team camp: http://www.amerikanskfotboll.com/110728senior1.pdf

Vacation in Sweden:
I have four (4) straight weeks of vacation. As an American, I can say that I think this is really cool. But now as the owner of  a summer stuga I can say that it means that for 4 weeks, I do a different kind of work than what I do on a regular basis. But all in all, I love being at "The Kennedy Compound". Lots of projects going on and a few visitors coming by, before we head back to the big city....

Well until next time, and you know I can't promise when next time will be, I hope all your blocks are pancakes....also keep in mind that all the things I write here on the blog are my thoughts on how things are and are not intended to represent Arlanda Jets or SAFF ect...

Life over here

First post for 2011, puts me a little behind my New Years resolution of updating every two weeks, but as we say in Sweden "sante livet" (Such is life)...if I spelled that correctly...
Here is an update of what is going on.

Football:
Rik Parker has settled in here and taken over as Head Coach for the Senior Team. Rik and I work together with the High School guys in what is called National Idrotts Utbildning in American Football. So we start each morning with a quick cup of coffee then walk over to the gym and work with the players that are in the school program. After the work-out we head back to the office and plan out that next practice. It has added a little skip in my step so to speak, because it has been along time since I had time to spend with another coach during the "normal" work day hours. We have started our "pre-season" practice and are practicing outside Tuesday and Thursday nights while having theory meetings every Wednesday. So far I can say that every practice has been good. The guys are working hard. We are not many so that will force us to be creative, but last time I checked it is still only 11 on the field at a time.
What we are trying to do is be good at what football is about. As Coaches we are often amazed with ourselves at our "new" ideas or our special schemes we like to run. It is a very solid feeling to see a QB step back and hit the seam quick, when the flat defender breaks to the flat. Looks good on paper and even better when it happens on the field. The thing we have to remember is that the ability to throw the ball, run the route and read the defender have to be able to be executed by the players. So, in this example, the better the QB is at throwing mechanics, footwork, decision making abilities...the better that play will be. Also it will be tied into the receivers base fundamentals of understanding route running, take-off, reading the defenders movement and actually to get it all done, he has to know how to catch the ball. In a nut shell that is what we are trying to work on those five basic things that every football player has to do--blocking, tackling, catching, throwing & running. It's that simple. It will not be a system that wins, it will be a group of athletes that can do the things that each offensive, defensive or special team system requires to be done. The thing to remember is that everything can be traced back to one or more of the five fundamentals of football. Don't get me wrong. Coaching your system and the keys things that are involved are very important. Matching what your system is to what the talents of your players are is the key to developing any system in football...again, simply in my opinion. I have coached in Pro-style, Wing-T, Flex-Bone, Wish-Bone, Spread and Single Wing systems...they are all good systems but to win in the system, you need the athletes that can perform the special athletic skills required by each system.
What we are going to trying do is play a fundamentally sound style of football that matches the strengths our athletes possess. It is that simple. What will happen? We will see....

Youth Football:
On the youth football front I am running full speed ahead. I know have over 34 school visits booked between now and the end of the school year. Our U-11 & U-13 teams have started outdoor training so we are expecting more and more to start showing up. I have some tremendous leaders in our youth programs and I expect an increase in those numbers.
On Sunday April 3rd, 13.00-15.00 at our field, Midgårdsvallen, we are conducting a big "prova på" (try-out) day for our U-15, U-17 & U-19 teams. This is a project to have our active players bring a friend to try out some football and see if they like it. We will also get some advertisement out in the schools and also in the community by handing out flyers. If every active player brings one friend then we have a chance to double in size right away. If nothing else, we expose the game and club to more people.

5 Things to do from each formation:
1. Run inside
2. Run off-tackle
3. Run outside
4. Pass (including PAP)
5. Screen

5 Things for a lineman to do every practice:
1. Stance and first 2 steps
2. Pass set and punch versus various alignments
3. Working on putting hands, feet & head together with every block. (by head I mean where it should be aimed)
4. Recognize alignements of defenses and understand who (most likely) has what gap.
5. Keep your body between your assigned defender and the ball for the entire length of the play. (If you are not good at any of the first 4, adhere to this principle at all times. If you are good at the first 4, this will be easier to do)

Until next update...just keep coming off the ball low and hard...Keep a postitive attitude between you and the challenges you face everyday...