Author: Coach Alercio

During the weeks of training camp, coaches teach players the plays, schemes, and techniques they need to know in order to have success during the season.  But, more importantly, coaches are developing a team that will work together to accomplish the mission.  

During the year I was born, 1965, psychologist Bruce Tuckman came up with the development sequence that describes the path a team follows on their way to high performance.  He labeled the four stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, and performing.

The “forming” stage is the beginning when a new team is formed.  Individuals will be unsure of the team’s purpose, how they fit in, and whether they will work well with one another.  Players will be anxious, curious, and excited to get going during this stage.  They will be looking to the team leaders for direction, and coaches need to be clear, concise, and candid in their directions and expectations.

Next comes the “storming” stage when conflict or friction can arise between team members competing for positions on the depth chart or with team leaders as they challenge their authority.  Left unchecked, this can lead to confrontations and simmering tensions.  This stage can make or break a team. Again, as coaches, we are responsible for reinforcing expectations and aligning behaviors toward the culture we want to create.

When properly guided through the storming stage, the team moves into the “norming” stage.  People start to resolve their differences, appreciate one another’s strengths, have more respect for team leaders, and begin to work together with a shared commitment to the team’s goals. The elements of culture we’ve been working on all spring and through summer OTAs are becoming natural and common. 

When teammates develop a common purpose, common vision, common values, and common goals, we enter the “performing” stage where differences among members are valued and used to enhance team performance to work at its full potential. We’ve grown to become interdependent, value each other’s contributions, and demonstrate proficiency at the scale of the team. As Coaches, we look to reinforce the very best aspects of teamwork, camaraderie, character, and culture.

As stated in previous blogs, we do not end our last practice of each day with a demoralizing conditioning drill that has little translation to increased athletic and team performance.  Rather, we play full-speed team-building games requiring athletes to work together, use strategy, and make good decisions while they are running, changing direction, accelerating, and decelerating.  They are working through Tuckman’s phases, getting conditioned, and increasing athletic performance without even knowing it.  They think they are just playing and having fun.  As playing football should be.

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! 

When you work any type of construction job and use a power tool with an extension cord, you learn to tie the two together so that they do not become disengaged.  If the tool is not connected to the power source it will not work, and the job cannot be accomplished.  

People are the same way.  They need to be connected or engaged in order to do the work and get the job done.  A Gallup Poll of employee engagement divided workers into three categories: engaged, disengaged, and actively disengaged.  Those who were engaged cited employee recognition as the number one driver of engagement.  It is the best way to make people feel valued and to motivate them to give their all.  And that recognition can come in a variety of ways.  I remember my first training camp as a college football player and running a play vs our starting defense.  It was a Swing Screen that had me pass set then sprint out down the line of scrimmage to lead for a delayed swing of the running back out of the backfield.  The Safety filling the alley never saw me coming and it was the type of block you usually only dream of.  As I excitedly returned to the huddle, I was met with a hug from our OLine Coach, a high-five from our Offensive Coordinator, and a stare coupled with nods of approval from our head coach.  

To be very candid, during that first week of 3-a-days, I was contemplating what I was doing there and questioning my ability to ever play college football.  I was low on the depth chart, recovering from a season-ending injury and three surgeries between high school and college. Quite candidly, given all I had endured, it was difficult seeing a path forward.   That Gallup Poll would have categorized me as disengaged.  Then that Swing Screen was called and those coaches gave me what I had longed for, recognition which led to a feeling of connectivity.  Four weeks later, I made my first college start.  Two years later, I was voted a team captain.  That play and those coaches’ reactions turned the tide of my college career.  

Some of you may recall the comedic commercials of “Terry Tate, Office Linebacker.” Thankfully we don’t see the kinds of hits I put on that safety unless it’s a spoof like Terry Tate, but we do see folks in all sorts of offices, worksites, or other scenarios doing their jobs every day. In some cases, though an otherwise mundane task, our recognition of their efforts has the potential to shift their mindset the way my coaches shifted mine. Thanking the cleaning crew for keeping the office neat and clean, thanking the lunch lady for serving with a smile, or anyone else doing a job well that might otherwise be taken for granted. Hugs, high fives, pats on the back, nods of approval, and words of affirmation can all be quick and easy ways to give employees or team members the recognition they need to feel engaged and get the job done.  

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! 

With our 7v7 Tournament, Strongman Competition, and OLine Challenge behind us, we enter Vermont’s mandatory Dead Period prior to the start of Training Camp on Monday 14 August.  Although the colloquialism of “Dead Period,” is quite common, I’d rather refer to it as Rest and Recovery Period. For 35 years, I have always taken the last week or two before Training Camp to enjoy vacation time, travel, and visit family.  This year will be no different.  

While “recharging my batteries,” the other thing I typically do is read.  Generally speaking, I do not read for pleasure but rather for professional development.  Sometimes coaches who fall into the realm of “long-time veterans” feel they have all the requisite knowledge and need not read more on coaching.  I do not fall into that category and would like to think I’m a lifetime learner.

When I’m asked about suggested readings, I always offer “The Boys in the Boat,” by Daniel James Brown.  While it is not a football book, there is much to learn about the importance of teamwork, resilience, and coaching.  If the request is for a football book, I recommend Bill Walsh’s, “The Score Takes Care of Itself.”  

I recently had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with Dr. John Alder, Head of Player Development for Welsh Rugby Union.  When I asked him for suggested readings he offered: “Tyranny of Talent,” by Joseph Baker, “The Coaches Guide to Teaching,” by Doug Lemov, and Sebastian Junger’s, “Tribe.”  I started reading “Tribe” this week.  In the top right-hand corner of the whiteboard in my office are written the words “Culture Trumps Everything.”  Junger’s book is teaching me why that is more important than ever.  And so I’ll rest, recover, read, and learn in order to be best prepared to begin the 2023 season. When staff and players return at the end of these two short weeks, culture will underpin everything we do.

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! 

On Saturday 29 July we will host our annual Northeast Kingdom 7v7 tournament.  What I believe makes our tournament special is that we also host a Strongman competition and O-Line Challenge so that the linemen get to compete as well.  

While the 7v7 teams play games in our turf stadium, the Offensive Linemen will compete on our grass field in four individual events in the strongman and 5 team events in the challenge.  For the strongman, linemen are divided into two groups by weight; over 220lbs and under 220lbs, to compete in the following events: Log Press, Farmers Carry, Hexbar Deadlift, and Seated Sled Pull.  

After the completion of the Strongman, teams of 5 will compete in the O-Line challenge in the following events:  Sled Drive Relay, Tire Flip Relay, Sandbag Carry Relay, Slam Ball Thruster Toss, and Tug-of-War.  

In between games, I always go over to watch the competition and am always amazed at what I witness.  Athletes from competing schools cheering for each other to both encourage and reward great effort while rivals become friends.  

Event Chart Follows:

Strongman
Event	Scoring	>220#	<220#	Distance
Log Press	Max Reps in 1min	Log (85#)	Log+5s+2.5s (100#)
Farmers Carry	Best Time	Bar+10s+5s (90#)	Bar+25s (110#)	30yds
Hex Bar Deadlift	Max Reps in 1min	215#	255#
Seated Sled Pull	Best Time	80#	105#
O-Line Challenge
Event	Scoring	Distance/Weight	Description
Slam Ball Thruster Toss	Total Distance of 5 tosses	30# slamball	Next person picks up slam ball from location that last person threw it
Sled Drive Relay	Best Time	30 yds per person	Go 30 yds, turn it around, next person goes 30 yds
Tire Flip Relay	Best Time	30 yds per person	Go 30 yds, turn it around, next person goes 30 yds
Sandbag Relay	Best Time	30 yds per person, 80# bag	Go 30 yds, drop it, next person picks it up & goes 30 yds
Team Tug-of-War	Seeded Single Elimination

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! 

We begin our weeklong Mini Camp next week.  As we finalize our installs, practice schedules, and scripts, I am reminded of past Mini Camp blogs.  I often reference preparing for Mini Camp as you would a vacation…  “You cannot fit all of the clothes into one suitcase.” 

The process of deciding what goes in, whether clothes into your suitcase or plays into your plan, can be overwhelming.  There are so many things to choose from.  You need to prioritize.  In Jocko Willink and Lief Babin’s book Extreme Ownership, Jocko dedicates a chapter to “Prioritize and Execute.”  Applying Jocko’s philosophy in a football context, he suggests the following steps to effectively prioritize and execute:  First, determine which play is the highest priority.  Next, explain the play to your team in the simplest way possible (so there is no room for misunderstanding.)  Next, figure out a solution to any perceived problems such as a defensive front or coverage that may cause an issue.  Then solicit input from coaches and team leaders on a solution.  Once that top priority is addressed and we have a consensus, focus on the next highest priority, and repeat the process.  

The parameters of teaching in a way everyone can understand and having solutions to any problems that can arise, inherently limits the volume we can teach.  We will limit ourselves to one play per day for Run and Pass.  At the end of the week, we hope to have effectively installed 5 running plays and 5 passing/screen plays that our players can execute vs any front or coverage.

Priorities matter on the field, and in life. Six and a half years ago I made it a priority to spend time collecting and sharing my thoughts here on Olineskills.com. I had no idea how they would be accepted or how long we would run. Today marks the 300^th time we’ve published a blog and I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response from players, coaches, parents, faculty, and community members. I can’t thank you enough. We’ve created a community sharing ideas, goals, and objectives, and it’s my most sincere hope that we’ve done so in the spirit of those who invested in us. It’s my privilege to be a coach. It’s my privilege to honor the examples of so many who led, guided, and directed us, and those who lead, guide, and direct tomorrow’s leaders. It’s also my privilege to share a few thoughts with so many of you each week. Thank you!

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! 

While our high school players continue with their summer OTAs, the next generation of football players (63 in total) joined together from towns throughout Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom and beyond to participate in this year’s Hilltopper Youth Football Camp.  

Four years ago, we highlighted two Youth Camp participants who came from different towns and different backgrounds to quickly become friends during our 5-day camp.  The following year, they entered St Johnsbury Academy and became teammates.  As they prepare for their senior season this year, they took time off from their summer jobs to return to our Youth Camp as student coaches.  

Team sports (football in particular), provide a prime opportunity for kids to work together, rely on each other, and interact with teammates from various backgrounds regardless of their perceived differences. These opportunities have a way of forging potentially lifelong relationships. I know I’m lucky to share friendships forged on the gridiron and at summer camps that have lasted more than forty years. I sincerely hope some of this year’s campers and teammates can say the same forty years from now… As the saying goes, what unites us is far greater than what divides us.  

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! 

Tomorrow, July 7^th, a great friend and extraordinary coach, Major General Austin “Sparky” Renforth, USMC concludes 41 years of military service to our Nation. I’ve known Sparky for nearly all of those four decades and am in awe of all he’s accomplished. While his personal leadership successes in multiple combat tours, and while commanding at every rank are truly extraordinary, I think I’m most impressed by the legacy of lives he’s enriched during his tenure.

Sparky is first and foremost a team builder. Whether as a Little League World Series pitcher, high school football player, college football team captain, or rugby player, Sparky is most comfortable in a team setting, (which is probably what made the Marine Corps such a great fit.) Core characteristics like interdependence, trust, and integrity are key to a team’s success, and I’d bet they are tattooed on Sparky’s heart.

Even in the most challenging and arduous combat environments, Sparky’s genuine concern for his Marines (his teammates) showed through. His personal example of resilience and confidence combined with a sense of humor kept Marines focused on their mission, and morale high, during multiple combat operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Despite cautionary advice telling him he would “ruin his career,” Sparky accepted the role of Head Coach of the US Naval Academy’s Sprint Football Team (Sprint football is regular, full contact, intercollegiate football, only with a weight limit) and led the same team he played for, and co-captained in college, to two conference championships.

Whether on the battlefield or the gridiron, Major General Renforth always lifts the performance of all around him. He’s led a life of service to others and selflessly put the interests of the team ahead of his own. I often discuss the selfless dedication and teamwork of offensive linemen in these blog posts, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t relay Sparky played “Center” on a Naval Academy team that went 24-4, winning 4 straight conference championships. Sparky would want also me to stop there and not tell you he was a three-year All-American offensive lineman, because he’d prefer the focus is left on the team.

Similarly, during tomorrow’s retirement ceremony, (just a few days after celebrating our Country’s Freedom on July 4^th) Marines young and old will tout his accomplishments, successes, and contributions to our Country. Others will undoubtedly mention his humble beginnings in the coal country of West Virginia, and the American Dream of successes he’s amassed since. However, when Sparky takes the microphone for his concluding remarks, he’ll talk about his team: his family… his Marines… and how for 41 years, it’s been his privilege to serve them.

Semper Fi, Spark!

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 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!