Player Evaluation

One topic I have been thinking about for a long time is the topic of player evaluation. In my opinion, this is one of the most important topics that a coach must do. It is more important than research for new ideas and crucial for a coach if he wants to measure his ability to communicate, educate and motivate his team.

Definition of Player Evaluation:
For me, player evaluation is two phases. First is to measure the player to find out at what level of athlete he is. This is done more often than any other evaluation. This is measuring his size, speed, strength, speed and explosive abilities. We do this in the Bench Press, Squat, Power Clean, L-cone, Broad Jump, Vertical Jump, Pro-Agility, 40 and/or 20 yard dash among many other tests. This gives us an idea of where each player is as simply an athlete. When we accumulate this information, it will help us determine whether or not a player has the desired physical abilities he needs to play football. This information can be compared by position and by "standards" that have shown up in other research. Here in Sweden, we have all this information filled in on a portal the player reports to and are able to rate a football player's results. Each player can be compared to the team standard for international competition or the world standard. The portal allows a National Team coach to go in and review the results of a player over a period of time and also to compare those results to other international averages. It is a great way to identify athletic ability. It is also clear as to where an individual is in regards to his physical abilities. I mean a 5.0 forty-yard dash is exactly that. If a player can rep 100kg (225lbs) 15 times then that is what he can do. Club teams can use the same evaluation process and put together a battery of tests to measure the athletic ability of their players in Speed, Strength and Explosiveness. Compare to the other players on the team or the same standards at the national team. One super important key is to then monitor these results to see a steady rise, a platue or a dip in results, then  manage that situation correctly.

The second phase of the evaluation is all football. Now, I will interject this here. I learned this grading system from Tony DeMeo when I worked for him as his OL coach at Washburn University. So I give all credit to this idea to Coach D. Of all the different football grading systems I have used or seen, this was the one that I truly believe is one of the best I have every used. You can read more about Coach Demeo at his website and also more about the "Gun Option" along with thoughts on leadership and coaching http://tonydemeo.com/ That is simply giving credit where credit is due...
What we did basically is Coach wanted us to define "Effort." When you think about each position on the field, we wanted to give the players examples of things they could do that would show extra effort. It is so much better for a player to understand what the definition of effort was than to just hear a coach say "come on, you just gotta give me more effort" or "Try harder." By having a definition of what extra effort was, the player would have a clear picture of what it was we were looking for. Now, when a player was in on a play he would be graded simply with a + or a - based on whether or not he did his job on that play. We will say that on the play we are talking about, the player executed his assignment correctly and used good technique. So he did his job. He would get a "+" on that play. Now in order to get a "E" or effort point on the play, he had to do one of the things that were defined as extra effort on that play. Here is a sample of what an offensive lineman could do on a play, that if he earned a +, he could have the opportunity to earn an extra effort point:

• Pancake: Blocking a defender and planting that defender directly on his back.
• Heel Shot: A second level of the defense block where he cut blocked a defender and the defender went down to the ground, usually head first with his heels flying high into the air.
• Road Kill: What we called Lineman's block on a DB where he runs over him like a Mack Truck hits a deer.
• Wired: A pass block where we pass set and stick the guy right on the line of scrimmage and he gets no rush at all.
• Knock Down: I used this one for anytime an offensive lineman knocked a defensive lineman to the ground on a pass play.
• 2 Blocks on a play: Any time an OL blocked more than one defender on a play.
• Blitz Pick-up: Picking up a blitz by the defense.

There were few other things, but this will serve as a good example of what we defined as "Extra Effort". If we look at the examples you can see that if a lineman is doing these things, they require more than just blocking your assignment. We were looking for guys that "can play the game with passion" or guys that "had a fast motor." I will interject this...my own opinion based on my work on many different levels of National Teams here in Sweden along with 11 years worth of club coaching, is we need this type of performance evaluation in our clubs and national teams. Here in Sweden we have this "krav" (standard) we want players to be at physically in order to play at the National Team level. Niclas Carlsson is the mastermind behind this and I do mean mastermind in a good sense!! He has information based on the physical testing where we can  evaluate if a player SHOULD be able to physically compete on an international level. Those physical tests are compared with other national teams that take the same tests and the World Team. The first thing we as coaches usually say, is "old Sven is a hell of a player but he doesn't meet the standard so we can't look at him." This is where we need to be open and have a system where we can evaluate old Sven as a football player. Then if we see that he his an "effort" player, then maybe we can work with him on the physical part, which in turn will make him a better athlete and raise his level of play even further. At the same time, this gives us a chance to evaluate Björn, Sven's brother, who is one of the best "testers" but can't seem to block a pee-wee player. If we evaluate Björn we can work with him to develop his football playing technique and then he will become better at playing football, because he already has all the other tools...So back to the "Extra Efforts" you can see that a player who grades out at 95% with 3 EE's in 10 plays is a solid performer. He is doing his job good and he his giving extra effort about 30% of the time.  Now, if the other guy is grading out at 80% and getting 6 EE's in 10 plays, I would tell you to evaluate that boys mistakes and get him to do his job correctly at a higher percentage, but get him on the field. He is giving you a 60% Extra Effort quotient...he is out there knocking people off the ground, picking up blitzes, getting two blocks on a play...he is performing the game at a level that is great.

Now let's take a step back and evaluate the minus. If a player made a mistake on a play, meaning he did not do his job. Then we would not just write - on his grade sheet. We would identify the minus. Coach DeMeo had a system we used where the minuses were broken down into 4 areas:

• "A" was assignment. The player simply did the wrong thing on the given play.
• "C" was concentration which was technique. The player was not able to do his job on the play because he did not use the proper technique. Coach used to say that in order to use the right technique you had to "focus on the task at hand."
• "E" was a lack of effort. The player did not get his job done because he loafed. He didn't give effort. If this accord, it would most likely occur on the backside of a play. Isn't the backside of the play important to cut off the defensive pursuit? I will add here that the first two mistakes, are easily corrected by coaching. This mistake was simply not tolerated. This player needs to be set down an talked to as to what the problem is.
• "S" was a synergy mistake. In other words the player did not do anything to help the team on that play. Most usually was a penalty on a play.

So we would take all the minuses and see where the mistakes were being made. This is an extremely useful tool for a coach, because it is your report card on how you are coaching. Here is an easy example. You look at a game and you see that the majority of your minus A's (assignments) are happening on a certain play. Well that tells you as a coach that you need to get those guys together and work out what they don't understand in order to run that play. If you see that the majority of minus C's (concentration = technique) is on your pass sets on your 5 step game, then you need to spend some more practice time teaching the players exactly how you want the pass set executed. This allows you to really keep tabs on how to improve your players and get the most out of them and also allows you as a coach to evaluate the job you are doing.

Wrap up and Confession:

I know this has been a long one and I have had this on my mind for a very long time. I am a true believer that we are headed the right direction here in Sweden in most clubs and at the national team level. I also believe that if we are going to have a physical standard, we should also have a football performance standard. A system where live scrimmages, insides runs and 7-on-7 drills are graded at a camp, then you as a coach will really find who is the best player right then and there. I mean if you have a new guy that shows up at a camp and he is grading out higher than an old favorite. He is getting more effort points, then you have to get that player on the field. Now, time for the confession part...I was never able to totally use this grading system when I coached here in Sweden at the club level. It is a little bit time consuming. Back in the day when I was at the WU, I could come in on a Sunday morning after a Saturday night game and sit in my office and grade out every lineman that played in the game on his own individual sheet. It would take from about 8:00am to noon to get done.(Then me and the DL coach would go get a bucket a KFC and start getting ready for the next week). I had planned on using this grading system in preparation for the World Championships in 2007. I went as far as go through with the entire staff how it should work. I was not available to be at that camp because my new born son was in the hospital and the grading didn't get done like I wanted. But I think in a situation nowadays where you have film systems like Hudl and film after a practice is readily available, something like this would be extremely important and effective to develop players to their max and help coaches find the best players for the given game or tournament. At the club level, to be one or two coaches grading all the players, well it's tough, but it is do able. Some clubs do have bigger staffs and I think it would be able to develop those players to reach their potential faster. And don't forget that the players grades are also a report card to you as a coach on how well you are communicating your expectations.

Oh yeah, one more thing:

This system is built on the "Reward the behaviour that you want" philosophy. We would keep a chart of EE's throughout the regular season on a big board so every player could see how many EE's everybody else had. It increased the competition to be the "Effort Leader." We also had a standard set for each positon that if they graded out at or above a certain percentage and at or above a certain number of EE's they were awarded a certificate on Monday's practice following the game. We used unit EE's. Example, anytime the offense had a penalty on a drive, but over came that penalty and got a first down to keep the chains moving, everybody on the field received and extra effort point. It rewarded the behaviour we wanted. I could go on all night here, but this has been the most I have every written since I did my Senior English paper back in 1982. I hope that you find it useful, I hope that it is something that you can use and I hope it gets you thinking about how you can develop players both physically and in the area of football performance.

Good luck to all the Junior teams who have kicked off their season here in Sweden and good luck to the Senior teams that will kick-off soon. Also, to you Junior players that want to and will be apart of the adventure to the European Championship tournament...keep working, keep believing take it one step at a time. To you Senior players who are working to make the team for the World Championships 2015 which will be played here in Sweden...seize the opportunity...work hard, be physically prepared and be an EFFORT player!!

Good night...

Thoughts on a Train

Well, I made it back to the train station after the game. Now it will be the long trek home. The Swedish Jr. National team defeated Holland in a qualification game (34-12) and will now continue the quest toward making the 4 team tournament for the Jr European Championships which will be held in Germany sometime in August this year.
The win today means we will be playing against Denmark later this summer. Win that game and we are in.
The game was exciting and I was really happy with the teams play. I have to give a shout out to the OL. They did a good job of executing their assignments and played hard. We had zero sacks, which is always good, and almost went penalty free up front. So my initial feeling is that the OL rose to the occasion. The next step will be to grade the film and see what the "big eye in the sky" says.
As I have made this trip I have been thinking about how these games & the camps leading up to the games are put together. There is an enormous commitment by a lot of different people. The players all have to find their way to the camps and games. Every event costs money, plus the cost of travel to and from the game. It is always encouraging to see how the players always seem to get there and they arrive excited and ready to work.
The support staff is incredible. They get the equipment organized, water ready , after dinner snacks organized, air mattresses checked out, hotel keys organized along with dealing with a host of other things that come up during the weekend of the camp or game.
This weekends game was a big deal and the Helsingborg Jaguars did a tremendous job getting everybody to and from bus stations to the hotel, back and forth to practices & to the field on game day.
I heard the attendance was around 650 which was a very nice crowd. I am not sure how many people watched the game streamed, but I heard it was over 1000.
When I sit back and watch all this happen, the words "For the Love of the Game" seem to be echoing through my head.
So thanks to all the players, coaches, support staff & volunteers that made the camps leading up to today & of corse the game itself a great experience!
Now, time to prepare for Denmark.
Good luck to all the teams here in Sweden who will soon kick-off the 2013 season! Play hard!

And...I'm back

We have moved with a little help from our friends.

Well, since it has been over year since I have updated this blog, I thought it would be a good time for a post. So much has happened since my last update. January of 2012...seems like it has been awhile...anyways, We are now living in Karlstad, Sweden. This will be the first year of my life, since the fall of 1987, where coaching football is not my career. As of August 2012, I have started working at a school called Internationella Engelska Skolan in Karlstad. My job is Activities Director for the 7-9 grade. I also serve on the student care team and assist with the jr club one day a week. It is a good job and I work with great people and great students. My role allows me keep that "coach" feeling. 

But as I said, coaching has been my job and passion for the greater part of my life, so I have decided to use this old blog as my "team" and continue to post my thoughts, ideas, opinions about what is going on in football here in Sweden.

Finding Some Inspiration in Perspiration:

I have been following a lot of what has been going on in football here in Sweden over the past several months. I have had some good opportunities to be somewhat involved. I am currently coaching Sweden's Junior National Team (U-19) offensive line. There is a camp coming up this weekend with a game against Holland on Sunday April 28th in Helsingborg, Sweden. Another thing I was able to do was spend a Saturday in Örebro working a one day camp with their OL. We had a practice followed by a film session. It was a very fun and rewarding day (for me anyways...I am assuming the players enjoyed it too :-). I have had a couple of other opportunities working with individual players here in Karlstad and also a few opportunities that I could not fit into my schedule, but all in all, it sure has been fun to keep the whistle a little wet anyways.

     The other inspiration to re-activate this blog is actually because of the perspiration of others. If you want to really follow American Football in Sweden you need to follow SFN (Swedish Football Network) http://www.swedishfootballnetwork.se/ the guys that work the site are doing a really great job with articles, videos and news about what is going on in Sweden. You may have to use some google translate if you are not fluent in Swedish, but you will find the site very professional and it seems to be going strong and is here to stay. Another thing that has really inspired me lately is the formation of a coaching group on Facebook called SAFCO (Sweden American Football Coaches Organization). I have been around Sweden for just over 10 years. I have been involved a few times (sometimes with more effort than other times) with trying to get this organization up and running. It seems with the formation of this group on Facebook, it has stirred up a higher level of information sharing among the coaches here in Sweden than what I have ever noticed before. 

So that's it. After spending a very long time thinking some updates to "the old blog" it seems I have found a little inspiration out there to start it up again. No club team to coach this year. Going to finish up with the JLL soon, but no matter what, I guess I am and always will be a coach. So I'll use the time when I find it to update and share some thoughts around the game and also a few good stories. You may have heard the stories before, but I have a special talent to change them just ever so slightly each time...keeps them exciting every time.

Fundamentals, do you really have the patience for these?

How much time do you spend teaching a lineman (or any position) the proper stance? As an offensive lineman, your stance is THE "fundamental" that puts you in a position to execute your assignment. It's that simple. Without a good stance, a lineman will reduce his chances of taking off on the correct angle. If the stance is too wide, he will not be able to take a proper step, if there is too much weight forward he can't pass set quick enough, if he has his weight back on his heels, then he can't fire off the ball. It is extremely important to be in the right stance. So, the question is: do you really have the patience to teach the proper stance? I had this thought the other day after I had worked with some young linemen (and linewomen) here in Karlstad. I was watching the film of the drills I took these young players through and one of my repetitive notes was "need to correct stance."  That got me thinking, let's say I had these same players in the weight room and we were squatting. Let's say that one of them was putting their chin down and looking at the floor during the squat, what would I do? Well, I sure as heck wouldn't add any weight to the bar and just tell them to keep their eyes up. I would go back, review proper squat technique. Lower the weight if necessary and have them squat using the best possible form. Why would I take these same players and keep doing different blocking drills, without getting them in the best possible stance? That is the challenge for coaches today out here in Europe where you may be coaching alone. You may have a young player who is trying out this thing called American Football. Do we take the time to teach him the proper stance and see that he can repeatedly get in that stance before going to block somebody? Now don't panic here, I am not saying that you should have a two week camp where all you do is get in a stance. What I am saying is that as a coach, you have to have a high level of "attention to detail" and continually coach it to the players. Use a stance and start drill or block progression drill and write yourself a note on the practice schedule "check stances." Go into the huddle before the first play of team and tell the linemen, "gentlemen, make sure your stance is perfect every play." Follow that up by checking out the stances, praising the good stances and correcting the ones that need to be corrected. Stay on those little things. Those little things make big things possible!

If you broke down why a block failed. Why a lineman was not able to make that gap block or reach that guy. You will get back to one of two break downs in technique. One: it will be a bad step or footwork. Two: the stance the lineman was in did not put him in a position to take off properly to use the footwork he needed. Pay attention to detail. Start out with the fundamentals of a good stance, get in it often and fire out of it often.

Final words after a long break from the blog world:

So looks like my next update might just be how to get in a good stance...have done that earlier but that was a long time ago. In the meantime, it will be fun to keep up with the football scene in Sweden as just a fan. There are a lot of great things coming up. This year the Swedish Championship will be played at the new big arena in Stockholm. In 2014 the first ever University World Championships will be played in Uppsala, Sweden and in 2015 the Senior World Championships will be played at the same arena back in Stockholm. So it looks like American Football will have a chance to make a big move here in Sweden. Let's get the game out there and see how big it can be.

And lastly, a little look back at "the winter that just won't let go"

Today was an interesting day

Well in our world of football in Sweden today, things were happening big time. Carlstad Crusaders announced the Anders Hermodsson was going to be leaving his home club team and moving on to the Crusaders. I am not a big fan of recruiting each others players and that is no secret, but at the same time there are no rules against it and it does do one thing in our little world of American football in Sweden...it gets things stirred up.

HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS  IN REGARDS TO THE NEWS:
The Crusaders put out a "twitter alert" that there would be a press conference this afternoon at 5:00pm (later moved to 5:30pm) to introduce their new quarterback. This created a buzz right away, many of us were aware that Anders might be going to CC, but it was a cool way to get people talking about the move.
Also, what this sends is a message that has been sent for many years to all clubs and that is "your players may not stay your players." This is a level that I am not sure Swedish football should be at right now, but it is where we are just now.
The QB is a special position and according to HC Tracey Gere, they are expecting Anders to play the position for many years. This will allow them to bring over an import player that can serve in many capacities and roles for the team. Not a bad move in my opinion.
Also, I thought it was a great job that Carlstad did a professional press conference and interviews to announce this signing. All of it was done in good taste and most importantly professionally which is good for the sport.
It will be interesting to see what happens at STU. I mean Anders is one of the top 3 QB's if not the best in Sweden that I am aware of. I have been around him at the national team level and coaching against him for many years. He is very good without a doubt. Will STU now go out and get an import QB to come in? Do they have some young QB's coming up to fill those big shoes left behind by Mr. Hermodsson? Time will tell, either way it generates some talk and excitement in the world of American Football here in Sweden and will be interesting to follow.
Here is a link that has some quotes and video about the announcement:
http://lirresblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/anders-jarod-hermodsson-klar-for-crusaders/#comments

I have talked to players from our own team that have been offered cash to go and play for another team. I even had a former player over a "chat" conversation say that he decided to go where he did for money. Not massive amounts, but still some help to get situated and make something instead of paying something to play. Again, this is nothing new and has been going on for many years, but seems to get more attention this year. My over all hope is that we just get stability in our top league. I don't care how many teams we have, we just need to have a group of teams that compete and play some exciting, close games that attract fans. Our gameday environment and product on the field needs to be such that people want to come back to see the next game. Club colors, noise, tailgating action around the stadium. Good music and excitement. Make the game day experience something special. Since I have been in Sweden (starting year 10 now) only Arlanda, Karlstad & Stockholm have continueslsy been in the Super Series. Everyother team that is in the Super Series today has dropped out for one reason or another at some point in the last 10 years or before. Now, things are looking stronger and I think some of these new teams are trying to make moves that keep them in the Super Series for a long time. I just hope that we all continue to recruit and develop young players in our clubs because some of our best players may go to the US or to another team and we have to be able to replace them. We also need to build strong senior teams that attract our players that comeback to Sweden after playing in the US so that we don't lose them. But that is another blog post for another time...hell I have the entire year ahead of me...
WHO PUT THESE BOWL GAMES AT 2:00am:
I have mentioned this many times, but this bowl season is killing me. All these games coming on in prime time in the USofA are working me over here in Sweden. I made it through the Sooners bowl game, it actually kicked off at 4:00am. That was easy, go to bed and set the alarm. What usually happens is I keep trying to stay up which results in going to sleep sometime during the 2nd quarter and sleeping all night on the couch. I have received advice from friends about watching the replay the next day. Well that would be great, but I will admit right here on my very own blog, I am the King of my castle ONLY when the Queen ain't here. Not to mention the 5 and half year old prince that makes a heck of a lot of decisions!! I am still looking for my "parents owners manual" but can't find it. In the meantime, it'll be trying to watch as many of the games as I can. There have been some great ones for sure. I will say that the Big 12 is doing pretty good. I am counting Mizzou and A&M as Big 12 teams until after the bowl season is over since they played a Big 12 schedule.

HEADED "OVER THERE":
At our teams workout Tuesday night we said good-bye to a couple of our young ones. We had a visit from Joshua Akena. A young and talented player that went to HS on an exchange program and ended up at Grand Valley State in Michigan playing some football. Joshua was there and working out with us. It was fun to see a young kid from your youth program that is chasing his dream of playing college football. Also, William James was working out for the last time as he will leave for the University of North Dakota in just a few days. He will show up in great shape.  He has worked his tail end off. It will be exciting to follow his adventure. He will get right into the off-season program and be there for spring ball so we can only wish him the best.
I mention these two guys, not to brag about our club, but to bring up a point.  There are a ton of really good Swedish football players. I remember when I first moved here, the main question I would get from my buddies back home was "Do the women really go topless there all the time?" and after I relayed the story of meeting two of my wife's...mothers friends topless...yeah, your read it correctly, right out of "Something about Mary" there...at the lake we would quickly change the subject. The next question usually involved something to do with how good the players were. I noticed right away that there was talent. My first thought was that there were some really good players, but they were chronologically older than their talent. I hope that makes sense, but I would see a guy that I know could have played at some level back in the US, but he would be 25 or 26 years old. The longer I have been here and the more I have seen Junior football here and followed many of the athletes, I can tell you it is amazing the young men that have been over to the US from Sweden, played and contributed to their teams at both the High School and College levels. I truly wish we would start a list of young men that have done that. Not to mention the few that made it to NFLE and even NFL be it practice squad or camp. It's quite an accomplishment. So when I was asked the question by an American player that I was talking to about coming here, "what is the talent level compared to here in the states?" I told him that it is all individual. In any given game, he could get tackled by, pass to, hand off to or be protected by a player that is just as good as anywhere he has been. I also told him than on any play he could see somebody that might not have the experience level of a junior high player. By saying that, it is in no means an insult to our level of play here in Sweden, it is a way to explain to a potential player that there are really good football players here and there are some not so good football players here and the gap, on any given team, can be great.  I may have to try and start my list, because I know that there have been a lot of guys that have made that journey over to the land of football opportunity and done well at the High school and/or College level. So the message to the young Swedish kid that might have the dream to go play in the States...go do it, it ain't easy, but it's been done. Work hard and never stop believing. And my message to the Americans coming here to play...yeah, you'll see some things that might make you look twice...but when the ball is snapped, you need to make sure your head gear is fastened and your mouth piece is in...cause you are gonna get hit by somebody that might be pretty good...

Well, I'm on a roll updating the old blog. I'll try to keep it up. I plan on moving into a little more about O-Line play and some thoughts on drill progressions and practice plans along with fundamentals...so I have lots of ideas...of course I had those last year too...we'll see how it goes. Until next time....high hat, then cut...get's 'em everytime...

Straight Season for the Seniors 2012

Probably one of the coolest emails I ever received was the one that said that here in Sweden, we would play the 2012 in a straight (no breaks outside of a bye week) season. This has been a topic of discussion for the 9 full years I have been in Sweden. In my years here, I have never gotten accustomed to playing half the season in two months, then taking 4-6 weeks off, then finsihing the season over the next two months. I personally don't think football is supposed to be played that way. It is a consecutive week type sport. One game each week until the season is over. Usually followed by play-offs unless you are a member in the BCS...then you can take a month off, comeback and play in a bowl game, then move on to the next season.
I will be the first to admit, that as time went on, I did enjoy my summer more and more. In the beginning of my time here in Sweden most weeks "off" in July meant that I would be doing something with either the Senior or Junior National teams, or both. I travelled with those teams to see some wonderful places. As of late, I actually enjoyed a real Swedish vacation and hung out with my family for the entire break time. The problem with last season was the fact that  Djurgården dropped out last year and when you add that to an odd number of teams in a league, you were given an extra by week. That created gaps in schedules. For example, in 2011 we (Arlanda Jets) played a game on June 11th, August 7th and then again on Aug 27th.  I Just don't think that is the way you are supposed to play football.
There is a group of guys called the Super Series Råd that began meeting after the season and discussing what can be done to make things better and one of the many things they discussed was whether we should play a straight season or continue the one with the break. So, long story short, between the work of the SSR and discussions with the Board of Directors here in Sweden, a decision has been made and it appears that kick-off will be in Mid-April with the finals scheduled in Mid-July. A classic American football schedule.
Now...we finally got what we wanted...and that will be the challenge.

WHAT A STRAIGHT SEASON MEANS TO THE PLAYERS & COACHES:
The straight season will mean that you will have less times to recover from game to game. This is something that we must take into consideration in physically preparing for a straight season. In the past few years, injuries could be a little easier dealt with in that you might have two weeks off or a long summer break to recover from that nagging injury. This year you will play each week so you must prepare yourself physically to perform each week. An unfortunate injury can cause a player to miss a large part of the season as opposed to missing 6 weeks, but maybe two games. I am a big fan of a straight season, but that is something we must be prepared for as coaches and players. 
Physical preparation and depth will play a key role in the 2012 season in my opinion.
One area the shorter, straight season should help is the ability to bring over import players and/or coaches. Not having to pay a coach or player for a full month to 6 weeks where there is no football, should save some money. The difference in one to two months of salary, might make a difference in affording an import player.
The most important thing we can do as teams is to make each week an exciting week of football. Play hard and entertaining football. Create an exciting atmoshpere around the games and leave the public talking about what a great time they had at the game they attended.

Needless to say, 2012 will be an exciting year of challenges and opportunities for those of us in the football world here in Sweden. I have high expectations for a very competitive Super Series. The bulk of the responsibility lays on us teams who have been at the bottom of the pack in recent years, to raise our standard and compete not only with each other, but go against the two leaders of the league (Carlstad Crusaders & Tyresö Royal Crowns) and give them games that are exciting and unpredictable.

THE CHALLENGE OF WATCHING LIVE FOOTBALL IN SWEDEN:
I have to admit that the older I get the harder it is to watch live football. I have spent more time watching a kick-off then waking up on the couch and watching the last two drives of a game than ever before. As a family man with an active 5 year old in the house it's not easy to see the "early" kick-off game which usually is at  7:00pm here. So it comes down to if I am up to catch the 10:15pm game or want to stay up and catch the "big game" that kicks-off at 2:30am. Not a totally bad schedule, but as a huge college football fan, I try to watch as much college football as possible. This leads to a crazy sleep schedule. Not to mention trying to follow the Sooners, who seemed to have more night games than I can ever remember, which in turn saw me putting coffee on at 4:00am and watching the Insight.com bowl. Just glad the Sooners won. Just thank goodness for NFL gamepass and ESPN 360...I know I'm old school to actually use those, but I really like the quality...so know I can go back and watch all the games I slept through on demand...that is, when I am not playing "Star Wars" or other activities with my son...he get's the cool light saber and I am forced to use the extra long shoe horn...I mean it is an IKEA produt, but not as good as an actual light saber...

FIREWORKS IN SWEDEN:
Just a quick note to let everyone now that these Swedes are crazy about their fireworks. I grew up in Oklahoma and the 4th of July was always special. I have shot bottle rocket out of bottles, out of the ends of BB guns, I have even held them, lit them and thrown them both up in air and towards other people. But after experiencing a few New Years here in Sweden I can tell you these folks get after it over here. I am not talking about the organized fireworks show put on by the local community. I am talking about the old "hold my beer and watch this" type of fireworks show that goes on from about 11:00pm to 12:30am. I have never seen anything like it. All credit to my Swedish friends...I like it...I'll watch it very year...from behind my window, locked in my apartment...

OK...5 SENTENCES THAT MEAN YOUR NEW YEARS EVE PARTY MIGHT GET HAIRY:

1. The above mentioned, "hold my beer and watch this"
2. "I wonder if I could...."
3. "No, really, just try it..."
4. "just light it with a cigarette..."
5. "hey, get this on video..it'll go viral"

And there you have it. The years first update. A little about football in Sweden and a little about  life in Sweden through the eyes of an old boy from Blanchard, Oklahoma...until next time remember, pass set, attack near hand to near pec..be strong inside and move your feet...and have a great 2012...

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.......