Month: June 2023

The scores of players in attendance at the Vermont Alercio OLine Clinic were taught the steps, visual targets, strike points, techniques, angles, and leverage associated with offensive line play.  They were also taught words like rate of force development, and transfer of force. But the most important word shared with them was “Selflessness.”  It is a topic of discussion at the conclusion of every Alercio OLine Clinic and one of the most important aspects of being a successful and productive member of any team.  

My favorite definition of the word is as follows:  having little or no concern for oneself, especially regarding fame, position, etc.  No position in football or athletics for that matter better exemplifies selflessness like the offensive line.  The sole purpose of their job is to make others successful and they are consumed with doing their job.  Their only reward is the team’s success and the brotherhood developed by working together with the other members of their unit in anonymity. 

We all aspire to belong to something bigger than ourselves. For most of us, it starts with family. Those of us who are fortunate, find parents or relatives we want to emulate. We search for and hopefully find our own way to contribute to the legacy of all that’s come before us. While we have no say in the families we are born into, many of us later choose to belong to a team. That conscious choice reflects a perception of the value we see in such an affiliation. We are, after all, social animals, and our teams in many ways reflect our choice of a tribe to which we belong. In doing so we also choose to put the team’s interests ahead of our own. Through interdependence, we grow to recognize how we’re all stronger together than any of us would ever be alone. I think Offensive Linemen in particular, adopt and flourish in such a framework, and it’s a philosophy I’ve been blessed to contribute to for nearly four decades.

Please join me in congratulating these selfless teammates who attended the most recent iteration of the Alercio OLine Clinic.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time! 

Our summer OTAs (Organized Team Activities) begin next week, and I look forward to getting the team back together again.  During the winter and spring seasons, we encourage our football players to participate in other sports and we value the impact being a multi-sport athlete has on overall motor and athletic development. as well as the increased ability to transfer skills from one sport to another.  

We want our players to know themselves and consistently seek improvement.  The summer months allow us the greatest opportunity to make those improvements both individually and collectively.  We meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 5-7pm for sessions including speed and agility training, strength training, and only afterward, football-specific skills.  Whether we are on the track, in the weightroom or on the field, our focus is on increasing the rate of force development or what is known as explosive strength to make a more powerful athlete. 

Concurrently, shared time together doing challenging events reinforces our sense of commitment and purpose, and reinforces elements of culture essential to our collective success. Teammates see their own progress, the progress of their peers, and build camaraderie and team spirit. As we have stated in previous blogs, the foundation of our program is built upon the philosophy that games are not won on weekends in the Fall. I look forward to seeing our Offensive linemen and Tight Ends on Sunday at the Vermont Alercio OLine Clinic working with other players throughout the region and to all of our players gathering as a team on Monday for our first OTA. 

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time! 

The t-shirt design has changed multiple times over the years but the joy of receiving a photo of a player proudly wearing an Alercio OLine Clinic shirt never changes.  Several years ago, while I was speaking at a football clinic, a coach in the audience pulled up his polo shirt to reveal an Alercio OLine Clinic t-shirt underneath.  When I think of the thousands of shirts we have given out over more than 20 years, I hope they bring a sense of joy and pride every time they are worn.  

While having a conversation with another coach about camps and clinics he shared the two schools of thought: “You can make a lot off of a little, or a little off of a lot.”  His example was that if you charge $100 and get 40 kids, it is the same as if you get 100 kids and charge $40. I have always and will always choose the latter.  Most of us coaches get into the profession to impact the lives of players the way that our coaches and mentors impacted our lives.  Zig Zigler, The author/trainer/motivational speaker used to say, “You can have everything you want if you’ll just help others get what they want…” I’d rather help hundreds rather than dozens of players learn and develop. Even if it costs a little more in t-shirts or takes a little longer at registration check-in, it’s worth it to help these student-athletes learn and achieve more.   

I look forward to the next such opportunity; Sunday 11 June on the campus of St Johnsbury Academy for our Vermont Alercio OLine Clinic. Student-Athletes and coaches will travel from all over the Northeast and Canada to learn, work, and play together. They’ll take home a t-shirt, some new skills, new friends, and a belief in their potential as teammates. We’d love to have you join us. The more, the merrier!

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!