Author: Coach Alercio

This week, we conclude our Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and prepare for our weeklong Mini Camp which starts Monday. This crucial period culminates with our 7v7 Tournament, Strongman Competition, and OLine Challenge, offering a perfect blend of skill development and team building.

Mini Camp serves multiple essential purposes:

1. Individual Growth: Players have the opportunity to hone their position-specific skills and dive deep into the team’s playbook, studying alignments and assignments.
2. Team Development: This period fosters camaraderie and develops chemistry across position groups, laying the foundation for a cohesive unit.
3. Coaching Evaluation: Coaches can assess players’ strengths and weaknesses, informing decisions about positioning, playing time, and strategies to optimize the team’s talent.
4. Integration: New players acclimate to the team’s culture, dynamics, and expectations before Training Camp begins.
5. Strategic Planning: Mini Camp provides a platform for foundational preparation, setting the stage for Training Camp and the regular season.

Perhaps most importantly, Mini Camp is our daily opportunity to enjoy the game we love. As longtime Ithaca College coach Mike Welch, crediting his predecessor Jim Butterfield, once said, “When I walked down to the field before practice if I did not hear laughter, I knew that something was wrong with his team.”

As I prepare to walk down the hill to our stadium, I look forward to hearing that laughter – a testament to the joy and passion that fuels our team’s pursuit of success.

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!   

“Football is hard…”

That’s what I tell every prospective player and family when they express interest in playing football at St. Johnsbury Academy. I don’t say this to scare them away, but rather to draw them in… to call them to a challenge, to ask them to consider doing and being more than they may have ever thought possible.

As parents, we want “what’s best for our children,” but I contend that many well-meaning parents confuse “better” with “easier.” Too often, these parents (and our society) try to protect youth from stresses, challenges, adversity, risk, and failure. The unfortunate result is young adults less prepared to contend with the inevitable challenges life throws at all of us.

My goal is to help student-athletes and parents understand how football provides ample opportunities for all of the aforementioned, and how overcoming these challenges is essential for personal development and character—ultimately building a fulfilling life. For more than four decades, I’ve either directly participated in or watched each year as players faced fears, contended with loss, and battled back through adversity, fatigue, and self-doubt. Such tribulations strengthen character, broaden capabilities, and enhance resilience.

I often reflect on JFK’s speech on our nation’s space effort at Rice University in 1962, when he said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” He made a call to action and challenged our best and brightest to do more than anyone thought possible.

Student-athletes should play football for much the same reason:

• Football is hard mentally. Players must understand complex plays, techniques, and tactics, and make split-second decisions. The game requires mental agility and the ability to adapt to ever-changing situations on the field while an opponent attempts to do the same in time-competitive decision-making.
• Football is hard physically. It is a demanding sport requiring strength, stamina, agility, and endurance. These skills and abilities are often trained and instilled during the dog days of summer when other classmates are at the beach, lake, river, or sitting in an air-conditioned home.
• Football is hard emotionally. The intensity of physical competition, the intimidating feeling of lining up against an opponent who may be larger, stronger, or more experienced, and dealing with wins and losses—not just of the game, but of every play within the game—combine to cause highs and lows that can take an emotional toll.

As I have said in past blogs, football and the experiences it offers, have the potential to inoculate players against many of the fears, failures, and adversities they will inevitably face in life. If young men and women are to grow into the strong, confident, and resilient adults we hope for, they should not be shielded from the comparatively minor discouragements, losses, pains, and failures they will predictably encounter and overcome while playing a game. The benefits will yield dividends for decades to come.

Kids should play football because it is hard.

“Don’t judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes” is a proverb that advises against making judgments about someone until you have experienced what they have, or have developed an understanding of their circumstances and perspectives. The maxim emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding before forming opinions or criticisms. By metaphorically walking in someone else’s shoes, one gains a deeper appreciation for their challenges, motivations, and reasons behind their actions. 

For most football coaches, regardless of level, we have walked in many shoes.  We understand what it is like to strap on those pads and feel the physical contact of the sport, but most women interested in coaching football have rarely been afforded such opportunities.  Three years ago, that was the situation for Vermont’s first female high school football coach, St Johnsbury Academy assistant coach Julia Kearney, who will be entering her third season coaching the Hilltoppers.  But it is not anymore, because she just completed her first season playing women’s tackle football for the New Hampshire Rebellion, in the Women’s Football Alliance. 

When asked why she decided to play, she said that “she wanted more street cred with her players.”  She just earned it along with a better perspective of what her players are going through by walking a mile in their shoes.

Shared experiences matter… There’s quite a difference between thinking one can endure adversity and having actually endured it. Vince Lombardi is famously quoted as saying “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Such a sentiment becomes oh so real when one has stared such a beast in the eye and overcome it. When Julia tells a player contending with a similar situation, “I know how you feel… and I know you can overcome the self-doubt,” they know she speaks from a place of truth where battles have been won.

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! 

Sunday’s rainy weather may have kept the Vermont Alercio OLine Clinic in our indoor facility but it did not dampen the spirits of the 50 participants from all over the Green Mountain State.  

The Vermont clinic brings an unusual situation that some might perceive as a conflict of interest but I look at as an opportunity.  When I am hosting the Vermont Clinic I get to coach players from all over the state which includes those who we will be playing against in the Fall.  Three of the teams on our schedule sent players on Sunday.  

At the conclusion of every clinic, I share with the players that the work they did that day made them better offensive linemen which in turn makes their offensive lines better and ultimately their teams better.  So why would I want to help make 3 of our opponents better?  Zig Ziglar provides the answer.  While attending an American Football Coaches Association Conference, I had the pleasure of hearing motivational speaker Zig Ziglar present.  A quote he shared has lived with me since that day. “You will get everything you want in life, if you will help enough other people get what they want.”  

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 training opportunities begin this weekend with the Vermont Alercio OLine Clinic and are followed with 3x/week OTAs (Organized Team Activities) beginning on Monday.  This time of year players will often establish goals.  S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym used as a mnemonic device to establish criteria for effective goal setting.  SMART Goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.  The problem with goal-setting is that it is so often heavily outcome-oriented when it should more appropriately be process-oriented.  

Process-oriented goals focus on the actions and behaviors you need to execute to achieve your desired outcomes.  Unlike outcome oriented goals, which are centered on the end result, process oriented goals emphasize the journey and the steps required to get there. 

If you want to be the best Offensive Lineman on your team or be a Lineman on an all-star team, plan to attend an offensive line clinic teaching the techniques necessary to achieve that goal. If you want to bench 300lbs or run a 4.5 second 40yd dash, your goal should be to attend all summer workouts and give your best effort each session.  If you want to be a captain, set a goal to be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. Alongside best effort and excellence, personal example is the best leadership tool in a student-athlete’s kit.

Whether goals are big or small, short-term or long-term, focusing on the process rather than just the outcome allows you to create a sustainable path toward your goals and ultimately long-term success.  

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! 

Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor U.S. military personnel who died while serving their country. It’s a time for mourning and reflection, and since Congress passed a law in 1971, Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday of May. Many honor Memorial Day with visits to cemeteries and memorials. Others honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice with their own acts of service, kindness, or meditations on gratefulness for the country and culture we enjoy.

In an effort to preserve the memory and legacy of one special Navy SEAL who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, I (an many others) did the “Murph Challenge” this past  Memorial Day weekend.  The Murph is a fitness challenge consisting of a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and a 1 mile run wearing a 20lbs vest done for time.  It serves as the official annual fundraiser of the LT. Michael P Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation.  Since its inception, the Murphy family has raised over $2 Million to support the educational needs of children.  LT Murphy’s favorite saying was “Education will set you free.”

As teachers and coaches, we hold the keys to freedom through the transformative and liberating power of knowledge.  The education we provide in the classroom, on the field, or in the gym breaks down barriers, opens up opportunities, and empowers children to lead fulfilling lives. There may be little any one of us may encounter that compares to the adversity Mike Murphy endured, but our investment in others has the potential to pay the same kinds of dividends that emerged from the investments of time, attention, care, and learning Mike poured so generously into those who knew him. 

When we invest our time and effort into a scholarship fundraiser or into the education of the youth in our communities, we follow the example of Service Members like Lt Michael Murphy, and invest in a brighter and more equitable future for all.

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! 

I have often heard Nick Saban talk about his opening speech to players each year in Training Camp when he shares “if you want to be happy for an hour, eat a steak.  If you want to be happy for a day, go play golf, If you want to be happy for a week, go on a cruise.”  Then he goes on to say, “if you want to be happy in life, ask yourself one question, would it matter if I didn’t show up?”  

Coach is talking about a sense of purpose, being someone who can improve the lives of others, and being a part of something bigger than just yourself.  That is how I feel every time I drive away after the conclusion of one of my OLine Clinics.  This past Sunday I was blessed to be able to have what I hope was a small positive impact on the lives of 60 kids.  As I drove off the campus of West Orange High School in New Jersey for the 5.5 hour drive home, I did so with a profound feeling of personal fulfillment. The same feeling I had last month after coaching nearly 200 kids at the Hun School of Princeton NJ.  The same feeling I have had for over 20 years and 5,000 kids.  I had invested in these student-athletes… poured into them the way my coaches poured into me… That feeling never gets old, and I hope those older coaches who invested in me and are looking down from heaven, do so with a sense of satisfaction that their legacies continue in the works of others. 

Jackie Robinson is quoted as saying, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”  I like to eat a good steak, play a round of golf, and would enjoy a cruise; but those transient pleasures do not come close to the joy derived from positively impacting the lives of others, having a purpose, and being a part of something bigger than myself.

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! 

In preparation for this Sunday’s (May 19^th) bonus Alercio OLine Clinic at West Orange High School in West Orange, NJ, I’d like to share a letter Coach Jim Meert sent following April’s OLine Clinic at the Hun School in Princeton, NJ.  Coach Meert’s sentiments perfectly encapsulate what makes offensive linemen and OLine coaches so special:

“Coach, Once again I wish to thank you and congratulate you on a most successful O-Line Clinic.  It is one of my most anticipated events each year.  Our guys always benefit.  It is most helpful to me by giving me an early opportunity to evaluate our upcoming line candidates.  To see how quickly and effectively they take to coaching.  I have learned a lot about our kids by watching how they do at the clinic.  Most importantly they come away from your clinic with confidence that they have the tools and techniques needed to win.  

Use this QR Code to register for Sunday’s Clinic in West Orange NJ!

I was coached by Joe Moore (the namesake of the award given annually to the best college Offensive Line) when I was in college and he was the head coach at Upper St Clair in Pittsburgh.  He is one of my mentors and I often visited with him when he was at Pitt and later at Notre Dame.  I asked him what separated him from all others coaching the offensive line.  He told me ‘Because I can watch a kid’s feet for 3 hours and never get bored.’  

There are only a few line coaches who have this capacity.  You are certainly one of them.  I’d like to believe I am another.  Coach Moore also taught me the greatest joy that can be achieved in life is, ‘moving an opponent from point A to point B against his will!’ I have found that to be true.” 

Coincidentally, 40 years and 40 lbs ago, I had a photo of Coach Moore and his Pitt OLine, which included my favorite, Bill Fralic, hanging in my home gym.  It served as inspiration for what I wanted to be then and now.

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!