Author: Coach Alercio

Now that training camp and game #1 are behind us, I have some time to get back to the blog.  Thankfully this summer’s preparation was time well spent.  I’m proud of the way our student athletes made individual and collective contributions to the team both on and off the field. We focused on the fundamentals, practiced hard, and closed pre-season physically and mentally ready. We opened our season on the road against the team that beat us in the 2016, Vermont Division I State Championship and came away with a 22-19 win.  Tough opener but it did provide great motivation and a point of focus for our players through summer OTAs and Training Camp.

Going for 2 was the difference in this year’s game.  We converted 2-of-3, 2-point conversions and they made only 1 extra point.  In some programs, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see a coach take credit for what some would consider a “gutsy call.” On the contrary, those calls were based on our players’ hard earned confidence in themselves and belief in each other as teammates.

After the game, several reporters approached me to request interviews with our quarterback, who had over 100 yards rushing, 100 yards passing, two touchdowns, and two 2-point conversions, and our running back who had over 100 yards rushing and a touchdown.  After setting up the interviews, one of my senior offensive linemen who had a stellar game both offensively and defensively with 3 pancake blocks, a sack, a tackle for a loss and a blocked extra point, came up to me and said that they are interviewing the wrong guys.  He was so right.  Football is a game of interdependence. Teams, families, companies all find themselves depending on one another. Inevitably some get credit, some get blame, and in time history settles on its version of what actually happened.

Though the local paper may recount the story through a reporter’s lens, we’ll grade the game film recognizing both the things we did well and the things we can do better. Each player will know how he contributed, and it is my sincere hope each will find ways to recognize those who played to their potential regardless of the media’s perspective. But in the end, each has to reconcile with their own conscience earning and affirming self respect and satisfaction born of knowing they selflessly gave their very best.

With that in mind, I share a great article featured at footballscoop.com that my assistant head of school forwarded to me entitled “The 6 most important life lessons you learn by playing offensive line.”

http://footballscoop.com/news/6-life-lessons-learn-playing-offensive-line/

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss team building, 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 your time!

How the Run Pass Option (RPO) puts defenders on the horns of a dilemma!

The last of the four courses I recorded at the Arizona Cardinal’s Training Center for USA Football is entitled Run Pass Option (RPO).  We begin by recognizing that football is a cyclical game.  The “new” shoulder tackling we are now teaching is the same technique players used while wearing leather helmets.  The “new” RPO is the old option football.  The basis of the offense is to put a defending player in conflict. The conflict is ideally a confounding choice where either decision creates a  defensive vulnerability, and in a perfect world the defender’s dilemma results in confusion and indecision leaving your quarterback to decide between the best of 2 good alternatives.

The RPO is also not a new concept.  Teams have been giving the quarterback a Run or Pass Option in a pre-snap read at the line of scrimmage for more than 25 years with the Run or Bubble Screen Option.  Today’s RPO has evolved into a Post-Snap option and incorporates a downfield pass.  Both “old” and “new” lead to a number of concerns we address for the longevity of RPOs in football.

The Old RPO

RPO Concerns:

1. QB Post-Snap option read is expensive
2. Illegal man downfield can almost always be called
3. To avoid illegal man downfield or to allow for protection, the run blocking scheme must be altered
4. If not altered, it is not a good pass protection screen, especially against the blitz
5. Man coverage does not allow for a conflict player. You cannot throw and there is an unblocked player in the box

Today’s RPO

The suggestion of using a Pin & Pull scheme to one side with the pass option to the other side is a recommendation to answer he aforementioned concerns:

Solving the Concerns:

1. The Pin & Pull exchange is a lateral shuffle that allows for more time to read
2. The pullers will not cross the line of scrimmage before 2 seconds.
3. The scheme does not need to be altered for protection or illegal man downfield
4. It is not a good pass protection scheme but it is better due to the change of launch point with the lateral shuffle exchange.
5. Man coverage does not effect since it is an outside run away from the Pass side.

Pin & Pull RPO

A next step in the evolution of RPOs is suggested with a QB Pin & Pull to the same side as the pass option with the similar solutions to the concerns:

The Next Step:

1. Allowing the QB to be on the run provides ample time to decide to run or pass
2. Ball is thrown long before pullers go downfield
3. No change of scheme
4. Great pass protection as it works as a Sprint Out protection.
5. Man coverage is not an issue as it only makes the read easier to keep and the extra player is accounted for by pullers and the Running Back.

QB Pin & Pull RPO

We conclude with offering another option…SPO or Screen Pass Option.  It is the philosophically the same but the conflict player is in a coverage conflict with a pass on one side or a RB screen on the other.

Screen Pass Option (SPO)

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing a little more about my trip to Arizona and the chance to help other coaches through USA Football’s Coaches Academy. Summer OTAs continue and while August summer days are hot, the cool nights here in Vermont remind us the Fall football season is only short few weeks away. I hope many of the topics we’ve covered since last January have been helpful and i look forward to continuing the conversation through the Fall. Best wishes to you and yours in the upcoming season!

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss summer OTAs, 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 your time!

Continuing the conversation on my recent trip to Phoenix…

The second of the four courses we produced with USA Football at the Arizona Cardinal’s Training Center was entitled Leadership and Team Building.

If we really step back and take a look at our coaching roles in the lives of our student athletes, developing young men and women of character, ethics, and morals and reinforcing their potential to contribute to society after they hang up the helmet and cleats is really our greatest mission. We help shape character traits so our athletes can be leaders both on and off the field.

We begin our discussion of leadership by quoting three of our past presidents…

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things.  He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”  President Ronald Reagan

“Leadership is the ability to decide what is to be done, and then get others to want to do it.”   President Dwight D. Eisenhower

“A leader is a person who has the ability to get other people to do what they don’t want to do, and like it.”   President Harry S. Truman

All of our presidents agree that leadership is about getting others involved to get the task accomplished. All would likely agree leadership is, and should be treated as a privilege. Given the privilege to lead, one should consider two key concepts: Deference versus Respect.

We recognize there are significant differences between Respect and Deference.  Deference is a reverent and considerate attitude towards someone because of their position (principal, athletic director, coach), but Respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone because of their abilities, qualities or achievements.  In a nutshell, deference is given; but respect is earned. As coaches, we’re given a whistle, clipboard, and the authority to run the team, but the deference our athletes, parents, faculty, and community offer only goes so far. Every single day, through our words, actions, and decisions, we earn, cultivate, and maintain the respect of those very same people. In doing so, we model behaviors we hope our players will want to emulate. We must be ever mindful of our example, and understand all the hard work poured into earning respect can be destroyed in seconds.

Then we focused on understanding the millennial generation we now coach. Generations are shaped by the circumstances and philosophies surrounding their upbringing.  If you are a Baby Boomer, you were likely shaped by the prosperity of the Post War Years and the Civil Rights Movement and raised by a working dad and stay at home mom.  If you are used to coaching Generation X who were shaped by the Cold War and raised as latch key kids with two working parents. You may not understand today’s generation without taking a step back and considering the view from their perspective. The Millennial generation are shaped by the events of 9/11 and the War on Terror.  Many of them spent their early childhood in daycare and are now raised by helicopter parents. Their goals and aspirations are shaped by their experiences, and as leaders, we need to understand how those factors affect perspective and motivations if we are to help them maximize their potential and performance.

The conversation continues with John Maxwell’s “17 Undisputable Laws of Teamwork.”  Discussing them in depth, we looked at how they apply to today’s football teams.  Next, we borrowed from a US Marine Corps discussion on team building. I’ve had the privilege of sharing firsthand how the Marine Corps builds a team we know as “The Few and The Proud…” turns out the very same process, tenets, and values they use are just as applicable in building a winning football team.  Both a Marine Corps unit and a high school football team go through the phases of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.  Nobody trains teams like the Marines, and by studying their model, we can reinforce our coaching success.

We conclude the course by understanding the differences between team building and hazing and focus on the negative impact hazing and bullying can have on your team, your school and your career.

I believe leadership is a privilege. As coaches, we have a fleeting moment to have a positive impact on the lives of our student athletes. It’s critical we seize the opportunity, set a good example, and cultivate young leaders for our team, and for our future.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss summer OTAs, 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 your time!

Welcome back!

It was a great experience working with USA Football at the Arizona Cardinals Training Facility last week.  We arrived at the facility shortly after 8AM and after a brief orientation began shooting the four video courses for USA Football Coach Academy.

In the next four weeks, I will share some of the information covered in the courses beginning with Setting Target Outcomes.

Using the term Target Outcomes in place of goals allows athletes to visualize the target they are aiming for and allows them to make adjustments when the target is missed.  We begin by discussing how we create a Shared Vision for your players, team and program.  Understand that a SHARED vision cannot be YOUR vision.  We discuss how soliciting the input of players and coaches creates “buy in” and commitment in determining the vision.  We complement Target Outcomes with Creating Performance Standards for the program, players, offense, defense, special teams and position groups so that everyone in the program understands expectations.

Then we discuss the importance of goal setting, why goals fail and why people don’t set them.  We share different types of goals: short-term, long-term, process and performance.  We note that goals should always be stated positively and not worded negatively.  For example: earn at least one first down on every offensive possession, rather than stating NO three and outs.  We addressed the step-by-step process of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting to see that goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound.  The course concludes with the importance of Monitoring Progress Towards Goals.  Tracking progress for starters and non-starters, veterans and rookies shows all players that you care about their progress.  Tracking also ensures that the goals stay relevant.  Lastly, it exposes any change in training needs.

After videotaping the first three courses, we took a lunch break and had an all-you-can-eat buffet in the Cardinal’s offensive lineman meeting room.  How ironic.

At the conclusion of production, I got to enjoy downtown Tempe, even though the temperature hit 110 degrees. The next day, I received the dreaded travel news…your flight is cancelled and your being rerouted.  When life serves you lemons, make lemonade.  The change in travel plans allowed me the opportunity to visit Arizona State University to tour their football complex, athletic training room, strength & conditioning facility and arena.

Although I spent most of my last night in a Chicago airport on a layover, missed a night sleep and did not get home until 6AM, it was a great experience I hope to repeat with USA Football.

Additionally, I look forward to sharing more about the programs I recorded for USA Football’s Coaches Academy over the next few weeks. Like the Target Outcomes discussion mentioned above, I’m excited to share the other programs and look forward to hearing your ideas about team building, goals, measures of effectiveness as well as some more detailed discussions of X’s and O’s!

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss summer OTAs, 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 your time!

I am excited to be participating in USA Football’s Course Content Productions.  On Tuesday, July 11, I’m flying to Phoenix to produce four courses in the Arizona Cardinals Training Facility.

The first presentation will be on Setting Target Outcomes.  We will cover sharing a vision, creating position group performance standards, goal setting with SMART goals and monitoring progress toward goals.

The next presentation is entitled Post Game Evaluations and Next Week.  It will cover grading your players, awards and recognition, analyzing data, self-scouting, setting up and breaking tendencies, adjusting for injuries and depth issues and progression of offense over the season.

The third course is Leadership & Team Building.  We will define what it is to be a leader, discuss understanding the millennial generation, the laws of teamwork, the four phases of Team building and the concerns of hazing and bullying.

The last course is on RPOs (Run Pass Options).  We will discuss the history of this concept of taking advantage of the conflict player, the concerns that negatively effect the execution of the scheme, how to solve those concerns and how to take advantage of this concept with a Screen Pass Option.

 

I look forward to telling you how the presentations went, discussing the material, and telling you about the interesting members of the coaching fraternity I meet upon my return.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss summer OTAs, 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 your time!

 

Thanks for all the great feedback on last week’s blog about preparing for summer Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and the value of a strength and conditioning coach. Building on last week’s success we have a guest post from Coach Adrian Guyer CSCS, USAW-2, CSAC. Coach Guyer brings an extensive athletic background coupled with over a decade of training experience. He’s been an invaluable colleague and helps both teams and individuals excel in their fitness and conditioning goals.

 

With Coach Guyer’s guidance, this summer our training program will have:

1. A focused plan of attack- We’ll apply specific exercises, techniques and philosophies to individual and team goals.
2. We’ll stay “Consistent” in execution, and measure success. Valuable progress takes both work and time.
3. We’ll plan in time to recover and refuel. The body is an amazing thing and with the right balance of exercise, recovery and refueling, can exhibit extraordinary success!

Coach Guyer has more great info available at his website https://www.xiptraining.com/

I look forward to letting you all know how our OTAs and Coach Guyer’s strength and conditioning program support our development this summer.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss summer OTAs, 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 your time.