O Line Skills

It was 40 years ago this week that I reported to my first high school training camp as a freshman entering Toms River North in Ocean County, New Jersey.  I remember how intimidated I was by the varsity players who would go on to win a state championship later that year.  They occupied a large locker room in the field house opposite the small space for the freshman team.  But in that small space friendships were being forged that would last a lifetime.

As coincidence would have it, I’m writing this blog early in the morning of Day 3 of our camp, and just received a text from one of those friends who is also a football coach. Several other of our teammates were included.  It read:  “You guys don’t know how much you inspired, encouraged and motivated me.  I love you and thank you.  40 years…damn.  Mr. Nani looked so big.” Mr. Nani was our coach and the most intimidating looking man in the locker room.  He is now a dear friend as well, and each of us in our own ways has tried to emulate the positive impacts he had on us and so many during his career.

I know the techniques, schemes, and plays I teach to my players today will likely be forgotten over time, but I pray the time spent together now will yield the kind of friendships we enjoy so much later. Friends that I have been blessed with for four decades who were by my side during the most celebrated moments in my life, and more importantly the most difficult times as well.  I love them.  They are my brothers.

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!

Coaching is a demanding profession.  The hours during the season are long and family time is limited.  Practices and games often conflict with family functions, school plays, recitals, and more.  A lot of sacrifices need to be made by a lot of people, and our families work just as hard (or even harder) as we do picking up the slack caused by our absence.

Stephen Covey’s book “First Things First,” very rightly reminds us to prioritize our time, and to be thoughtful in doing so. Please make sure you carve out family time. Resources permitting, take a week or more vacation with your family every year.  During that week, put the laptop and tablet away, don’t take any calls from other coaches, and focus on your family. Though it sounds cliche, you’ll blink, and children will be grown and opportunities lost…

In Vermont, we have a 10-day “dead period” where, as coaches, we are not allowed to schedule any organized team activities.  It is the ideal time to take a vacation, recharge the batteries and invest in those who support your coaching endeavors all year long.

As I prep for my vacation and complete this week’s somewhat shorter than usual blog, I’ve also completed practice schedules and scripts needed when I return. With a clear slate, I can truly relax and enjoy my family.  I’m genuinely looking forward to our family time together and wish you the best with yours.

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 week of Mini Camp followed by our 7v7 tournament, Strongman competition, and Oline Challenge saw our team reach the performing stage of Tuckman’s Model sooner than expected, and not just on the field.  The first sign came after the first day of mini camp.  I saw a group of our senior, returning starters taking a few incoming freshmen out with them to Wing Night at a local restaurant, a Monday night tradition.  Welcoming new team members, making them part of the whole is a great indicator of turning “me” oriented individuals into “we” oriented teammates.

As we discussed in last week’s blog, we played (non-football) games to develop team chemistry, increase conditioning and work on agility.  An interesting thing happened on the second day of mini camp, we concluded practice by going into our fieldhouse and breaking up our players by their offensive positions to play pickup basketball.  We did not tell the players the rules or how to pick teams.  We just gave them a court and a ball and told them to play.  On Court 2, the Wide Receiver court, I saw two of our senior, returning starters elect themselves captains and align the others in a pool so that they could select their team.  At first, I thought, “oh no…”  This is exactly what I did not want to happen until I saw what these two seniors did.  They picked their teams in what I would consider reverse order.  The first pick was a young man who has most likely been the last pick every time teams were picked.  They then continued in that manner until the best player in the pool was left.  They clearly understand the shared vision of our program and a strategy of how to execute it.

Mini Camp ended with our 7v7 tournament, Strongman competitions, and OLine Challenge.  Our team went 5-0 on the day, winning the championship game against a very good Mount Mansfield Union team.  On the day, our varsity offense scored on every possession except one, and our defense never gave up more than one touchdown in a game.  Our Tight End/Defensive End won the Strongman competition in the heavyweight division, taking first place in every event.  The OLine Challenge came down to a tie-breaker.  A spirited tug-of-war between the Hilltoppers and the Falcons of North Country Union.  With great energy, effort, and enthusiasm, the Hilltoppers prevailed.  Players in both the OLine Challenge and on the field for the 7v7 showed a high level of interdependence we had not yet seen.

After the first four games of our 7v7 tournament, one of the officials came up to me and said, “this is so much fun.  I do not know why there is not one of these tournaments every weekend all over the state.”   Good question.

The following pictures are the teams from Mount Mansfield Union and North County Union High Schools who earned 2nd and 3rd place, respectively in this past weekend’s tournaments.

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!

Time flies during the summer.  We have already completed our 6-weeks of OTAs and are now in our 1-week Mini Camp.  At the end of Mini Camp, we will host the Northeast Kingdom 7v7 Tournament, Strongman Competition, and OLine Challenge.  We then give our players and staff two weeks off before they report to Training Camp.  Players will have a Monday-Saturday workout program during those two weeks but they are free to do it on their own.

With only five days of Mini Camp and the 1-day tournament, prioritizing our efforts is essential. Our number one priority is to continue to focus on the development of an “us” mentality within our team. As we progress through the Forming Stage of Tuckman’s Model of Group Development, building cohesion and interdependence is key.  We have included games (not football games) into our practice schedule to allow our kids to just play and have fun together.  Our (not football) games are usually fast-moving team games intentionally incorporating speed, agility, and conditioning so we are killing two birds with one stone.

Second to team building is the teaching of safe and sound technique.  Xs & Os take a backseat to technique during Mini Camp.  Regardless of how many innovations have come to football it is still a game of fundamental blocking and tackling and both can be dangerous if not taught properly.  All our coaches have successfully completed their online USA Football Certification courses prior to Mini Camp to ensure we are up to date and teaching the safest techniques in our sport.

Lastly, we want every one of our players to feel that they are a part of something fun and special.  Everyone who participates in our Saturday Tournament will be invited out to a local lake to play spikeball and cornhole, go wakeskating, tubing or kneeboarding, canoeing, kayaking, or stand up paddling, or just swim out to the swim platform and relax. The team will look back on all they’ve accomplished in 2019, and ahead to the season in front of us.

Players and staff then enjoy a well-earned break before Training Camp.

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.comwith your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!

Last week’s blog was about “Us” and “Them,” and how kids from different backgrounds came together to be a part of “Us” when it would have been easier to look at each other as “Them.”

When Al Groh, who is now the Head Football Coach at the University of Virginia, was on the New York Giants staff with Bill Parcells and Bill Belicheck, he used to label players as OOUs (One of Us) or OOTs (One of Them).  When these great coaches first got to the Giants, there were too many OOTs and not enough OOUs.  They began the weeding out process that lead to their Super Bowl Championships.

At a school as diverse as St Johnsbury Academy, it would be very easy to look at others as “Them.” 25% of our student body are dorm students from all over the world.  We have players on our team from Canada, Mexico, Germany, Finland, Spain, Hungary, China, Thailand, Taiwan, and even Rwanda.  The largest population on our team is from local students;  players whose families have lived in the area and attended the Academy for generations.   Then there is another population whose parents are Faculty/Staff.  Many of these students live on campus and their parents serve as dorm proctors.  Our campus is truly an amazing intersection of cultures. Our student-athletes have exposure opportunities my teammates and I could never have dreamed of back in New Jersey in the early ’80s.

When our week-long Mini Camp begins on Monday, we will not be just teaching blocking and tackling but also teaching our players to view each other as Us and never as Them.  The Norming Stage continues.

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 hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July and were able to celebrate the Holiday with family and friends while focusing on more of the things we have in common than the things many outlets suggest divide us.

While our varsity players continue with their summer OTAs and the process of working through the Norming Stage of Tuckman’s Model, the next generation of football players in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom recently joined together to participate in the Hilltopper Youth Football Camp.

In a Fall 2018, blog post, I shared the historic rivalry between St Johnsbury Academy and Lyndon Institute.  Our rivalry is one of the oldest in the nation and it runs deep through the families who have been living in this area for generations.  But for one week this summer, boys from St Johnsbury’s youth football program, the Rodliff Raiders, and those from the Lyndon Vikings youth program came together as teammates and friends.  Kids from both towns did not look at each other as “them” but rather as “us.” That which could have so easily divided us was set aside for a greater good; for teamwork, camaraderie, and mutual benefit.

Team sports (football in particular), provide a prime opportunity for youth to work together, rely on each other and interact with teammates from a variety of backgrounds regardless of their perceived differences.  By the end of the week, we saw rivals become best friends, forging potentially lifelong relationships.

A child’s social circles have an impact on their identity perspectives.  Being a part of a diverse group of friends, prepares kids to deal with people who may not share the same background or perspective. When one thinks about all the different seats in a sports stadium, and all the potential angles of view, it really is true to say “Where you sit determines what you see.” Youth sports are a great way for children to expand and diversify their social circles, creating opportunities to view the game of life from different seats, with different views.

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!

Most couples have a good relationship during their courtship, wedding, and honeymoon (the Forming Stage), but there is a reason for the expression, “The honeymoon is over”.  The same applies to teams.

In week #2 of our OTAs, we see differences arise over roles on the team.  As we prepare for our first 7v7 at UMass on Friday, we have multiple players competing at almost every position.  We are also asking players to learn 2 positions.  This competition naturally causes some animosity among players and at times negatively impacts communications.  We are also seeing some seniors attempting to step up as leaders but others not yet being willing to follow.

Our returning starters, returning seniors, returning underclassmen and rookies are all asking themselves the same question, “What is my role on this team?”  The UMass 7v7 will provide the first opportunity for players to define their role in leadership as well as on the depth chart.

Last week we talked about “Forming” the first stage of Teambuilding (using Tuckman’s model), and this week we discuss “Storming.” It’s important to note that while all teams go through these stages, the stages occur at varying paces and group dynamics evolve based on multiple variables. While I may be discussing these stages in weekly posts, I don’t mean to suggest I think our team (or many others) moves from stage to stage in one-week intervals. The goal is to work through Forming, Storming, and Norming (essentially assembling the pieces of the puzzle) before the real season kicks off. “If” we time it right (always an “if” given the variables we juggle), we’ll hit the “Performing” stage about a week before our season opener and move through the season refining our performance.

Last week in the “Forming” Stage, we talked about reliance on routine and discipline. Coaches are very prescriptive and establish baseline expectations for performance, commitment, and in my mind most importantly our culture.

When we discuss the “Storming” Stage, our coaches focus on

• Reinforcing process, structure & discipline
• Developing fundamental skills
• Cultivating a shared awareness of purpose, values & circumstance
• Fostering Interdependence

It’s important to note that while we discuss these stages as sequential elements, there are occasions where individual, small unit, or the entire team’s performance may warrant revisiting the direction and discipline of the “Forming” stage or the elements highlighted above as “Storming.”

Through all the stages of teambuilding, it is essential to emphasize the importance of treating players, teammates, and members of our staff with dignity and respect. Anyone who has played or coached with, or for me can attest the passion I try to convey in my approach to the game. However, Coaches, players, parents, and faculty should remember any constructive criticism offered on or off the field is directed at a player’s performance, execution, or decision making, never at a person or group of people.

If we are to be collectively successful at this game, and (more importantly) in life, we have to understand the importance of our interdependence and the value of mutual respect. Only then can we develop and reinforce concepts like shared values, purpose, and situational awareness.

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!

This week marks the first week of our summer OTAs (Organized Team Activities).  From the outside looking in, our evening training sessions appear to be 30+ high school athletes working hard to get bigger, faster and stronger. We are installing read progressions, match zone coverages and beginning to build the base of repetitions that will in time, become second nature.  Simultaneously, we are building our 2019 team and developing this year’s culture as we go through the five stages of Tuckman’s Model of Team Development (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning).

As is always the case, forming takes time, and coaches are the most prescriptive. Undoubtedly fundamental components are emphasized, as is attention to detail in every aspect of preparation and practice. Even returning veterans of the program benefit from the mental adjustments catalyzed by sharp, pointed direction, and the shrill of a coach’s whistle. Life is no longer “normal.” Players are reminded “games are not won on Fridays and Saturdays in the Fall…” Players new and old are candidly reminded of their responsibilities and commitments to teammate and team. Coaches relay the importance of setting a personal example… an example of what it means to be a Hilltopper on and off the field, as well as in the community.

This early in the process, tasks are relatively simple, initial goals have an element of challenge, but are largely attainable on individual levels as we begin to build incremental momentum born out of success. Friction will intentionally be injected into the routines of formations, schemes, and techniques, but it will be surmountable. These initial “forming” steps serve a distinct purpose. Mental placement… mindset… is equally if not more important than foot or hand placement. If we don’t get the mind aligned to the team’s goals and objectives, and clearly convey our expectations for the character traits at the core of who we are, the best playbook on Earth isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

Who will be the Hilltoppers of 2019? Last year’s seniors are gone, replaced by this year’s incoming players.  This is a new team with new talents. As we begin OTAs, team members’ roles and responsibilities may be unclear.  As coaches, we will provide this newly formed group with guidance, direction and baseline expectations.  Standards will be set and adhered to. We will see some of our older, returning players step up to welcome new players to the group.  As coaches, we want to see the example they set for younger teammates or players potentially brand new to the game. It can be said that integrity drives us to do the right thing whether someone is watching or not…

Coaches will indeed be watching, and so will players. Some we expect to step into leadership roles will do so. Others may not. Some may surprise us and rise to levels of leadership unanticipated, but all will need to put the interests of the team above their own. All must recognize starting positions are earned, and the opportunity to lead their teammates is a privilege.

As we forge the common vision of who we want to be and what we want to attain. We reinforce that vision with common values and beliefs in our ability to measure up to the challenges that confront us. We develop belief in ourselves and one another. We instill trust, respect, and forge the bonds of relationships capable of seeing us through adversity and success. Good team culture is founded in relationships.  The process of building effective relationships begins this week. I invite you to join us for this year’s journey!

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!

Any man “can” father a child but not everyone “should” be a father…

It is much the same for coaches.  Just because someone was a great player with both knowledge of the game and skill to apply it doesn’t naturally translate into coaching potential. Leading, guiding, and directing a team…building and reinforcing a culture…helping teammates come to realize they are more potent and capable together than they could ever hope to be alone, requires far more than the talents that may have produced hometown headlines in years past. 

To have what it takes to be a football coach at St Johnsbury Academy, you need to first and foremost be able to Teach.  One of the best compliments I ever received was from Mike Kuchar, X&O Labs Senior Research Manager, and Co-Founder when he told me, “The clarity of your teaching simplifies the game tremendously.”  The game of football is complex but as we discussed a couple weeks ago in the “Occam’s Razor” post, coaches must simplify the concepts, strategies, and techniques necessary for the players to both individually and collectively understand and apply them.

Next, you must have a passion to positively impact the lives of those players in your charge and often, a willingness to develop life-long relationships with them. As I’ve noted in other posts, it’s the positive impacts my coaches had on me that fuel my desire to re-invest in my players and staff. I love the John Wooden quote, “A good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change a life.”

Lastly, a commitment to put in the work.  Coaching is not a Monday through Friday,  9 to 5, kind of job.  Hours spent in video analysis, preparing practice schedules and scripts, coaches meetings, game plans, scouting reports, and more,  afford your players a greater opportunity for individual and team success.  My mentor, Jim Pry is often heard saying, “Never let anyone outwork you, or outlast you.” It’s as true in the coaches office and practice field as it is on game day.

If you can teach, love your players, and are willing to work hard, you can be a great coach in any sport at any level.  Just be sure to start by checking your ego (and Glory Days) at the door. With a nod to Coach Wooden, I’d like to suggest the product of a coaches efforts are measured more in graduates and decades of service, than wins and losses.

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!