Fundamental Football

"When BETTER is possible,
Then GOOD is not enough."

I searched for glory...and glory I did not see.
I searched for victory...and victory eluded me.
I searched for TEAMWORK and found all three!!!

"Obstacles are what people see when
they take their eyes off of their dreams."

"If you score, you may win
but if they don't score, you can't lose"

"The difference between good and great is determined
by what you do when the lights are off."

"If at the end of the play, the man you blocked is still standing,
there's room for improvement"

-Text on the Southwest corner of Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska.
"Not the victory but the action;
Not the goal but the game;
In the deed is the glory."

Pain, is as essential to life as your breath. If you feel pain you
have a perfect realization that you are still alive. If you are still
alive then you will grow from pain and know assuredly that you can overcome.

Author: Aristotle

"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then is not an act, but a habit"

Author: Dick Vermeil

If you don't invest very much,
Then defeat doesn't hurt very much,
And Winning is not very exciting.

Author: General Douglas McArthur

"Preparation and Execution
are the Keys to Victory and Success"

Author: Freebism

Almost means not quite. Not quite means not right.
Not right means wrong. Wrong means the opportunity to
Start over again, more intelligently, and get it right.

Author: General George S. Patton

"Accept the challenge
So you can feel the exhilaration
Of Victory!"

Author: Vince Lombardi

"The difference between a successful person and others

is not a lack of strength,
not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."

Author: John Wooden

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

Author: Sun Tzu - The Art of War

"One who is weak must prepare against his enemy.
One who is strong makes his enemy prepare against him."

Author: Chinese Proverbs

"The more you sweat in peace,
the less you bleed in war."

Author : Scott Pilkey
"If you go through life with the underdog mentality,
you will never be champion, only the spoiler of the day."

"... You can't just go out there wanting to win and expect the other guy

not to feel the same way! You must HATE TO LOSE - hate it like you never

hated anything ever before or ever will again! You gotta hate so much that

two blockers can't beat you, that three tacklers can't take you down,

that your blocks become inescapable - do everything you can to

keep from losing! It's not enough to want to win.

You gotta hate to lose!"

"When your best is not enough...Do what is required!"

"Discipline yourself so that others do not have to!"

Emotion vs Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is an upbeat approach to a given task, it is consistent and focused, you have a love for what you are doing, enjoy doing it and strive at all times to do your best because what you are doing has meaning to you. Because you feel this way your attitude is always positive through good and bad, you are enjoying yourself and will let nothing change that feeling!

Emotion is a reaction to the situation you are in, when something great happens you are on top of the world, when something bad happens it can devastate you if you let it. Football can be an emotional sport but you can not be controlled by those emotions. No game is over till the final gun and until that time the outcome is always in doubt, never accept defeat or celebrate victory until the game ends!!

Our mental approach will be to play with consistent enthusiasm and controlled emotion at all times!!! Enjoy the good things that happen during a game and learn from the bad but never dwell on either. When the next play starts you will be focused, enthusiastic, and confident that this play will be your best of the game with no memory of the last play. This approach will be our key to success! Never too high, never too low, expect success!

Making Football H.A.R.D

Hustle-Practice is a time for affirmative action, it is a time to develop fundamentally as a unit and individually, it is a time to develop mental discipline and Positive habits. All players are expected to Hustle during drills, between drills, to breaks, returning from breaks, to the huddle, to their position, on and off the field, and MOST IMPORTANT SNAP TO WHISTLE. Remember this, "if your on the GRASS give it the GAS!"

Attitude-Maintaining a positive approach in practice and games, towards teammates, coaches, officials, and opponents. Giving nothing more and nothing less than you are capable of at all times. We don't ask for 110% because that is not a reasonable request, when you continually try to perform at a higher level then you are capable of you break down, cars cant do it neither can players. Just give your best because no contribution is too small and EVERY player has an important role in the success of the team!

Respect-This builds the character of our team, Treat others the way you would like to be treated, Respect their feelings, Respect their effort, Respect who they are! Everyone who plays this game deserves respect, Respect those who came before you and those who will follow, we are all one family playing the greatest game in the world!

Discipline-In order to be successful you must be mentally disciplined at all times. Mental discipline gives us focus, poise, and confidence, it gives us the ADVANTAGE. Developing and maintaining concentration during practice and games helps to eliminate mental mistakes and penalties. Physical mistakes are part of the game and sometimes no matter how much we practice can not be avoided, we do not worry about these mistakes because over the course of a game they will even out for both teams and we can overcome them. Mental mistakes are the sole responsibility of us, as individuals and as a TEAM! If we eliminate mental mistakes we eliminate our worst enemy and maximize our enjoyment and success as a team!

As a team we will always work H.A.R.D.

H- ustle
A- ttitude
R- espect
D- iscipline

Motivating Young Athletes

One of the hardest parts of high school football coaching is motivating young athletes to practice. To do this effectively, the coach has to foster an understanding of the relationship between training, practice and peak performance. He must encourage the athletes, provide structured training, and help them gain the self-discipline necessary for success and excellence on the field.

Building The Coach-Athlete Relationship

Effective motivation flows from the partnership between coaches and athletes. As coaches, we must understand our athletes as individuals and as a team gain their trust and respect.

We must remember that we're coaching people, not machines. We must teach youngsters the mechanics of a sport, but we must also assist in building their character. Showing support and interest in all facets of their lives helps build an effective coach-athlete relationship.

A good way to demonstrate such personal interest is by working out with the athletes. It will show them that you've been where they are, that you know it's hard work, and that you're willing to sweat, too.

Developing A Winning Attitude: Setting Goals

At fundamental football.com, we think in terms of attitude, motivation, performance, and success. Success is a journey, not a destination. Success is realized the moment an athlete gains a winning attitude, is motivated to set a worthwhile goal, and begins to move toward that goal.

A winning attitude is the best motivator. If athletes believe they can achieve their goals, they'll try harder and increase their likelihood of success.

A positive coach-athlete relationship lays the groundwork for this attitude, and the setting of clear-cut goals helps establish it. Coaches should help the athletes set long-term goals and encourage them to achieve these goals through a series of short-term goals.

The incremental goals will keep motivation high, while giving the athletes an ongoing sense of achievement. Once the athlete begins developing a sense of accomplishment, he will be motivated to try even harder.

At Fundamental football, we have our athletes write down a goal and the obstacles they anticipate in reaching it. We then identify the steps to take and the short-term achievements leading to the goal.

For example, if a football player wants to play wide receiver but isn't fast enough, we set short-term goals to increase his speed. Each tenth of a second improvement in speed will motivate him to try even harder. If he increases his speed enough, we will give him a chance at wide receiver. If he doesn't, we will examine why and set up a new workout schedule.

Incentives As Motivators

Incentives (material rewards for good performance) are commonly used for motivation, but may only be effective on a short-term basis. Athletes may become satisfied once they achieve rewards, such as helmet stickers or plaques, and the rewards will lose their power to motivate. We often have to increase the value or quantity of incentives to motivate players on an ongoing basis.

Fear Motivation

We do not believe that fear motivates. Fear motivation, or punishing players to "motivate" them, is only a temporary expedient. After repeated exposure to fear tactics, athletes become immune to threats, and continued punishment may destroy their desire to participate. It's difficult to justify using fear to motivate young players.

T-E-A-M

It's important to remember that athletes can motivate one another. We usually split the players into drill groups and score them as a team rather than as individuals. These training sessions help build team morale and make the players feel they have invested in one another. Each player has a responsibility to the team. We share the short-term goals of improving attitudes and basic skills with the long-term benefit of overall improved performance.

Summary

Motivation is simply a means to an end. If we provide exposure to positive ideas over a long period of time, we will produce a successfully motivated athlete.

To summarize, this is our Credo: Attitude controls motivation; motivation controls performance; performance controls success. And there's no I in T-E-A-M.