Thanks Merth...I'm still amazed at the work ethic of your son. That just tells me he is very involved in the intricate aspects of being a good athlete in football. You show him that he just doesn't rely on his natural talents to get the job done. It takes work to be good at it. To have someone like his dad take the time to show him what you show him is real good to see. He'll be heads and shoulders above other kids his age as he gets older. Does he want to play fooball into highschool and college? Kudos to you.
"Awww Nawww Big Slimdog!!!" -Eminem, "B**** Please Pt. II"
Here is the lone highlight from yesterdays game. It was an ugly day.
Here is my son at QB... the HB went the wrong way. He was forced to improvise. He made a few kids miss and then kept his feet moving to drag a couple more.
He plays offensive and defensive tackle. He is in 6th grade and weighs 170. He has gone against kids weighing up to 220 pounds. That is a big 6th grader! The wrestling video is on the web site.
It's looks like he is coming along well. I would imagine you always look forward to seeing him play (and progressing ). My son played a year of CYO and I was able to make each game. He has good wheels and it often played to his advantage. His first carry went of 30+ for the TD, but the coach said he didn't follow the play (first year of playing / first touch). Often at that age, following the play is not entirely necessary...lol. I wish I had the camera for that run. I only brought it to one game and did manage to capture this:
Corner was his normal position. He was a little shy on the tackle, but he did maintain his position and followed well. The play I wish I had on tape was when he was at the same corner and a different opponent broke one up the middle. My son took a bad angle on the play and pretty much started behind the runner by about 10 yards. He caught him at the one from a play that started at the 40 or so. At the beginning of the play it looked as if they had the TD....I think I was the only one who believed Jake would catch him. Our defense held them at the one which made it all that much sweeter.
Sorry I didn't reply before now Merth...busy, busy....
He was 11. That was his only year of organized football. He's now 17 and probably would have done well in high school had he stayed with it...decent size for a corner...6' 1", 180+ lbs. He continues to play baseball.
Interestingly he gave up football for drama. A decision like that keeps one's testosterone in check...lmao. He ended up the lead in both productions at his middle school. I was impressed with both my son and the teacher that put the whole thing together. Both plays were very well done considering the age of the cast and the budget. I do wish that Jake had stayed with drama....
<dreams of a scholarship>
....he will be on his way to college next year. I'll be on my way to the poor house.
There is nothing wrong with drama. I was in the school plays in high school. I took a few theatre classes in college. I enjoyed it.
I am trying to convince my son to (*gasp*) play soccer next year. He is 8 years old. This is already his 4th year of tackle football. I want him to try a little bit of everything. If he chooses to come back to football - great. If not, oh well.
Nice Merth and Maddog...I would like my boys to try all sports to see what they may like. I had them do a baseball clinic last fall. I thought they did well in that, but they didn't have much interest in for this year. I figure never to force them to play. I've seen kids that were forced to play, then they eventually quit midseason. Alot of parents want their kids to be the "next big star", I just want my kids to have fun in whatever they decide to play. I told them, if they start to play though, there is no quitting. Finish what you started.
"Awww Nawww Big Slimdog!!!" -Eminem, "B**** Please Pt. II"
Locally, I help with our 1st-6th grade, middle school (7th/8th), and high school football programs. I am amazed by the number of kids at all levels that quit during the season. I would have never been allowed to quit during season.
Additionally, the lack of commitment is frightening. I see kids who:
1) skip practice 2) refuse to do the drills when they do show up at practice 3) kids and parents ready to fight when the kid only gets limited playing time
A lot of parents/kids believe they should be able to show up on game day and get the same number of reps as the kids who are showing up at practice and working hard.
Quote: Locally, I help with our 1st-6th grade, middle school (7th/8th), and high school football programs. I am amazed by the number of kids at all levels that quit during the season. I would have never been allowed to quit during season.
I have been around youth sports for six years now, both as a coach and just a parent.
I have never let my kids quit anything they have started but I am beginning to understand why some do. Youth sports in my area that my son participates in our considered developmental leagues. The problem is too many coaches are just dads who want to live through their kids when it comes to sports.
In baseball, all teams have at least 11 kids. Every kid is required to have at least one at bat and play the field for 3 innings. The problem is that many coaches sit the same four kids every game. I could understand them wanting to win but when games are halted due to mercy rules (happens to every team at least once) some of these kid never get in the game. There are many games that are out of rach but the coaches refuse to sit their better players at all. This gets very disheartening to a lot of these kids. They don't practice much during the season so they never get the chance to improve.
There are other places to play ball where it is just based on talent. If it is so important for these kids and parents to play all the time they can go there.
In football, the local league only plays the same 14 kids on the "A" team. all others are forced to play and share time on the "B" team. I would not have a problem with that if the14 kids were the best 14 for offense and defense, but that is not the case. Also there is a long history of abusive behavior by the various coaches (mental, not physical to my knowledge) and I can't blame a kid for getting tired of it. When you make fun of kids for playing bad and telling them you're embarrassed to cah them, that's never a good thing.
Quote: The problem is too many coaches are just dads who want to live through their kids when it comes to sports.
We do have 1 coach - who is clearly trying to be the Vince Lombardi of 6 year olds. Aside from him, everyone does a pretty good job of rotating kids in and out.
A 6th grade player quit this week. He has missed 1/3rd of practices. He hides at the back of the line during drills.
Our youth games generally have 50-60 plays total. This kid is at the bottom of the depth chart. He still averages 20 plays per game. He is in on roughly 1/3rd of the snaps.
20 plays per game for a kid showing no effort... and his dad has went through the roof each week.
Our defense held them at the one which made it all that much sweeter. ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/Maddog/PDVD_000Z.jpg)
