The Journey of Lenny Boggins - Part 2 - By Jack & Sledge Productions

Cameron Scarlett got his carries (459!)

But physically has he paid too much of a price?

Thanks for reading part one and joining us on part two of the Lenny Boggins journey. In this issue we cover the end of last season, finish off recruiting and tell you all about our offseason. From now on I'm going to split recruiting into a separate post so stay tuned for a year two big board update coming later on.

Ecstasy... then Heartbreak 

When you left us yesterday, we had Notre Dame in our sights. Aiming for a 100% record in rivalry games for the season, Boggins was like a man possessed in the week leading up to the game. With it being Cameron "Captain" Scarlett's last game at The Farm, Boggins was determined to ensure he got his opportunity to go out with a bang. The atmosphere was ferocious, the blackout Stanford uniform melting into the dark night and mixing with the energy of the crowd. Scarlett, much like Greg Jennings, put the team on his back and carried us to a 28-16 win with 169 yards on the ground.

Our Dogshit QB Celebrating the Bowl Win

Onto the PAC-12 conference championship game against Arizona State. You will note we beat them comfortably in game three this season so Boggins was confident he had their number. A few more passing plays worked their way into the offense to counter our staple run game from the previous meeting of the two teams. Well.... none of it worked. ASU whooped our behinds 45-20. Our sophomore QB Dylan Mills threw several picks. Our defense got torched deep and forgot how to tackle. Scarlett was solid but we couldn't catch up in time on the ground so he barely saw the field in the fourth quarter. A shot at a Rose Bowl trip was at stake and we choked. A consolation Alamo Bowl win followed over Jalen Hurts and his Oklahoma Sooners. Scarlett went over 2000 yards for the season in this game and it made us very happy he kept his NFL dream alive. He was nowhere near the Heisman voting despite this stellar showing. Looking at pictures of him early in his career compared to the one above, you can see he had to rely on more protective equipment to be able to deal with the volume of work as time went on.


Crootin - How did we do?

Really Well!

We gained the 7th best class nationally and comfortably the best class in the PAC 12. This was hinged with two 5* athletes who's position we had yet to decide. We needed to see where they best fit once we worked out which of our players would be going to the NFL. Matt West, the 300 pound monster had equal stats to play Center or Nose Tackle. With 4 beefcakes needed on the D-Line and having a Junior starting Center we made the obvious choice and took him over to the dark side. He came out at an 82 overall and gets himself in with the starters as our second defensive tackle. Wayne Staley was too good a RB prospect to not put him there. He is strong and fast and we hope he can form a three year 1-2 punch with Aaron Jones. We lost out on Trumaine Thomas but did snag gem athlete Tyrone Lacey and he ended up coming out at 79 overall. His best position was QB so we stuck him straight in with that group to compete with (and hopefully put a rocket up the ass of) Mills as the incumbent starter. Our biggest find in the recruiting class though would be at Strong Safety. We unearthed an 83 overall 4 Star Safety (insert name) who projects to be the starter come September.

What Happened to the Seniors?

The picture above shows the situation we faced during the players leaving phase. Mills was trying to jump to the NFL after a shocking season through the air, somehow projecting as a round 5 pick. We didn't think this was realistic and were keen to convince him to stay despite his poor play. We took a gamble and said we could guarantee him to be a 2nd round pick or higher if he stayed and played for us. Whether this was smart, remains to be seen. Perhaps a summer of workouts and being the #1 will help him improve. We also convinced ROLB Fox to stay for his Senior season and to finish his degree. Toohill, Scarlett and Parkinson all got drafted. Scarlett going in the 3rd round in the end. We know he can carry the load but with so much wear and tear on his body, his NFL career could be even shorter than the average NFL career. Hopefully he gets to make some money and run some people over in the big league before father time catches up to him!

4 TD's and 16 INT's? Mills was poor all year.

A brief summary of our season is on the right where you can truly see how much of a shambles our passing attack was. For those of you interested. Trevor Lawrence and Clemson played Mississippi State in the natty and MSU came away with the upset win, 30-21, carrying the #1 ranking into the next season. Aaron Jones won returner of the year on the back of 1402 KR yards and 3 TD's. He is a phenom and will be the key to our year two success.

Boggins under investigation?
 
Offseason workouts saw some miraculous results that almost seemed too good to be true. Dylan Mills gained 6 overall points and 10 pounds of "lean muscle" to bring him to a 95 Overall rating. How could he have improved so much over the summer? Aaron Jones worked on his speed to take it to 91, whereas Steve Pettiford (now having become the starting TE) showed up with noticeably bigger arms and a marginally smaller midsection. He became a surprisingly key element to our offense last year and hopefully he is beginning to put in some hard work to realise his potential. The increased size and stature of his players after their summer break lead to some questioning from the NCAA and some "random" drug testing for PEDs.

Year Two Lies Ahead

With the dark cloud of potential NCAA investigations looming over the program, we head into year two with a better roster and a refined playbook. The schedule was tough and began with a tune up game against lowly Georgia State. They were somehow preseason ranked 22, which we only realised after the schedule had been set. Could we be in for a disaster upset in week one of our ridiculously tough season that includes playing away at #3 ranked Utah and #2 ranked Arizona State? Come back tomorrow and you can found out how we do. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for our recruiting update!

The Journey of Lenny Boggins - Part 1 - By Jack & Sledge Productions

Bespectacled Boggins in his consistent coaching attire of a visor, polo and slacks.

Coach Lenny "Lenwell" Boggins embarked on his journey with the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday 30th May 2020. His quest was one of playbook purity to get players ready for the NFL. Using a pro style offense and a heavy run game that wouldn't be out of place in Britball Div 2, he set out to recruit high character prototype players and make Stanford into a modern dynasty with a throwback style. This NFL UK partnership that has thrown him off the deep end could be the making of something great or much like most britball tings an unprecedented, mismanaged and embarrassing disaster. 

So, some context, no I'm not writing a novel about an imaginary college football coach. Steve and I have often played NCAA games in University, creating a narrative, a weirdly named coach and changing the landscape of college football. Our first project back then was taking the 124th ranked Akron Zips to national title glory through the immense receiver play from Tyler Blankenship and the hard nosed running from 6ft5 RB Jesse Owens. The full rebuild is fun but we fancied a different challenge. With plenty of spare time during two weeks of annual leave amid the Covid19 lockdown and having taken inspiration from @CoachDuggs, we set out to take a British coach to the states in a ridiculous scenario and throw him to the wolves in charge of a top tier division one program. I'll be writing a post or two daily about our progress which will include game results, recruiting battles and player stories. Hopefully you guys will have a read and follow along, building a support for these imaginary players as we take them through their careers.

Who is coach Boggins?

Today we will be looking at season 1 and how we have fared so far. I will talk about some of our existing players we hope will be stars for us, veteran seniors looking to go out with a bang and what recruits we have managed to target & sign for the next year. We will start with two players Boggins brought with him to the US. Knowing he would need a solid run game for his offense to even have a chance of working, he looked to solidify his offensive line and crucial TE/FB position. True freshman right guard Dan Lewis makes his way across the pond, wearing #55, he is set to become the cornerstone of our offensive line and therefore the entire offense. He is joined by project player Steve Pettiford, touted by scouts & recruiters as "overweight", "slow as molasses" and with "less get up and go than a wet Sunday morning", who appears to be a strange choice for one of Boggins' two free scholarships he has to hand out to British players. Boggins must see something in this guy, transitioning him to FB after shouts for him to move to guard. Pettiford sees himself as a TE and hopes to blossom over a four year stint at The Farm representing The Cardinal.

The Existing Roster

Cameron "Captain" Scarlett, no touchdowns though, I wonder why?

So who do the brits join on their journey to clock running, rock pounding dominance? With 2019/20 rosters loaded into the game, Stanford have a few young stars but shockingly thin at QB. With Boggins implanting his I-Form heavy offensive playbook alongside his 4-2-5 defense, some players could find themselves out of favour and others who fit the style rising up the depth chart. To compound the strange start, we found that Stanford have a freshman running back as their team captain. #20 Austin Jones is the second string RB and due to his immense talent coming out of high school, he finds himself returning kicks to try to get his touches. Scouts say he possesses "getaway from the cops speed" but Coach Boggins is unsure when seeing him at practice. At #1 on the running back depth chart is Cameron "Captain" Scarlett, a redshirt senior looking to prove he is NFL Caliber. One thing is for sure, he will get plenty of carries in this offense... perhaps too many.

Our QB situation is dire with a redshirt senior set to start and a redshirt sophomore to back him up. K.J Costello as the incumbent has superior awareness but Davis Mills has the better arm. Costello starts the season but with few pass attempts set to be called, he needs to hit his mark or else could find himself being benched for the younger Mills who has three years of eligibility remaining. At wideout we have freshman phenom Elijah Higgins in the slot and Osiris St Brown (brother of Green Bay Packer Equanimeous) at the fourth WR spot. Pettiford is battling for TE reps with Senior Colby Parkinson who's NFL dream likely ends on a practice squad so will settle for the starting fullback job.

Pettiford and Lewis leading the charge side by side on a staple HB Dive

On defense we have several young athletes who fit our scheme most notably cornerbacks Paulson Adebo and Obi Eboh coming in at a tall and rangy 6ft1 and 6ft2 respectively. The defense's main impact player is left defensive end Thomas Booker, a 6ft4 & 281 lb sophomore who started as a true frosh, anchoring the D-Line. With four strong and big d-lineman needed to make the 4-2-5 a success, his development and this years recruiting will be crucial. Lewis provides some physical and aggressive backup for the d-line, coming in as a fifth lineman on short yardage sets to cause some havoc.

Recruiting Strategy

So recruiting, where did we go? Our tactics were to target players with prototype NFL size for their position. An example of this would be finding RB's between 200 and 230 pounds with a height range of 5ft10 to 6ft. Luckily both our existing RB's fit this size which we believed would help us greatly for year one. We also decided to only recruit players interested in coming to our program and building on it's formidable tradition. We wanted to solidify our California and Texas pipeline whilst also targeting a new one in the stranded states like Alaska or a hotbed like Hawaii. We set out to recruit athletes to improve our WR and RB rooms, add depth to the O-line, find a potential gem in a thin QB class, build our strong d-line and get volume at DB to bring competition to the position. Tall rangy DB's are our target alongside smaller coverage linebackers who can act as hybrids in the defensive scheme.

After settling on a traditionally strong schedule mixing local smaller school rivals like San Jose State, traditional pairings like Army and of course the notable rivalry with Notre Dame alongside a very competitive PAC 12 slate. PAC 12 after dark is legit and with Justin Herbert and Jacob Eason playing for the two strongest teams in Oregon and Washington, this season could be a tough one.

So our main targets with recruiting were 5 star athlete Matt West - a frightening 6ft3 306 lb behemoth, 4 Star Athlete gem Tyrone Lacey, 6ft 221 lb Wayne Staley from Chico, California who comes in rated 80 overall but with a multitude of positions he can play, as well as 4 Star OLB Trumaine Thomas - an athletic freak from Florida hoping to achieve his dreams the other end of the country. In tomorrow's edition we will see the results of the recruiting battle and the games leading up to the post season.

The Season Begins

The start of something special?

Our tough schedule provided some very interesting games to test out the skills of Coach Boggins + the combination of two idiots manning the controller. A first week bye provided crucial preparation time before a brutal 8 week stint of alternating home and away games. San Jose State and Army West Point were the two out of conference games and hopefully would serve as tune up games. Whilst the first game went to plan with a 35-10 win on the back of Captain Scarlett's 176 yards and 4 TDs, the San Jose offense had several drives that was concerning for Boggins and his defensive coordinator. This was compounded with a nail biting close game with Army who's flexbone offense and brave defense held it right till the end before falling 28-21 to the Cardinal. If it wasn't for stud freshman and team captain Jones proving his talent with a ridiculous statline of 280 all purpose yards, 2 Kick Return TD's and 1 rushing TD.

Boggins and his DC confer pre-game

The conference schedule started with a home win against Arizona State before a win at Mike Leach's Washington State. Then followed an ESPN Classic game as we pipped #5 ranked Washington 27-22 with a last second 70 yard TD from Elijah Higgins being one of the few successful passes our QB's had completed to this point. A combination of incompetence from the players (both AI and Human) and an adjustment period to the scheme meant these games were closer than expected. This would manifest itself further the following week as we go down to the #16 ranked Utah Utes. Two close wins against unranked opponents followed against UCLA and Oregon State left the mood of Boggins as one of concern. This season could still be potentially as bad as a week one Uniball game in the rain and mud. A much needed bye week came, where Captain Scarlett got some much needed rest. Due to the volume of carries we had given him, the mileage was starting to show. Would there be any tread left on his tires at the end of the season? Would he make a bowl game, let alone the NFL? One thing was for sure, he was going to protect himself and invest in protective accessories, as well as get in the gym to make himself stronger and more durable. If he was to carry the team on his back in his senior season, he needs to step up to another level.

Bowl Eligible, Who's Next?

Today's update ends with 3 comfortable wins in a row against ranked Oregon, USC and Cal. The defense only conceded 14 points over the two games, shutting out USC and putting a stranglehold on ranked Oregon with a 8 minute touchdown drive to kill the game in the second half of the game. To quote a great Demon's D-Tackle "It's foot on the neck time now fellas". Boggins is now excited. He has #14 ranked heated rivals Notre Dame in his sights. A nationally televised Friday night blackout game at The Farm. A chance to put his stamp on his most hated college program, to show them how this rivalry is going to work going forward. Tune in tomorrow to find out how we do!

P.s A well known tradition in college football is to give out small helmet decal stickers to players for performances in both practice and games. These can be plays in particular like touchdowns, turnovers, yardage or other less quantitative things like being a good teammate. It's a tradition we have started using at Exeter Demons where I coach in the real world and I noticed in NCAA about 5 games in, it's a tradition the game very cleverly upholds. I noticed when looking at the back of Captain Scarlett's helmet that his stickers had increased from the week before and he had way more than any other players. A neat detail that just proves how brilliant the games in this series were and also how much they deserve to be back. The game would award stickers set to a hidden code of rules which I assume is for touchdowns and games started etc as offensive linemen have them in the game too. Just a tremendous feature that brought me unexpected joy.

The Best Decision I Ever Made - My Journey To Becoming A Touchdown Tiger

So this week it is ten years since I decided to sign up to play American Football for Tarannau Aberystwyth. Ten years. TEN.

I had always loved American Football and university was my first chance at playing it properly. I still remember messaging the head coach to tell him about the "super cool" unkitted games I had been organising with Steve at home prior to Uni. I had no idea I sounded like a melvin, but the passion was there. I still remember turning up to the trial day hungover and wanting to put a marker down to try and impress people. My 11 stone frame  (as shown in that beautiful rookie roster photo above) was a bit underwhelming for the position I wanted to play at linebacker, but my attitude was good and I was determined to smash people and prove my worth. I was lucky enough to be joined on this adventure with my best mate Steve, who through what is now a very fortunate turn of events, ended up going to Aber as well. He met his wife there and has no regrets either about how he got there.

I've had a bit of a rough year but when I noticed a Facebook post I had written ten years ago about signing up & rookie day it made me do a lot of reflecting. That one decision to join the team has had an amazing and long lasting impact on my life. As you know I now coach at The University of Exeter and we recently completed "Football 101" which is our induction to life as a Demon and clearly shows the rules of our program. In that talk, another coach stated that "Some of the people in this room will be your friends for life.". It couldn't have been more true a statement. It resonated with me and perfectly summed up my 10 years since joining Tarannau.

I ended up becoming best man for that head coach I messaged like a Melvin, having lived for two years with him and Steve, where we built a friendship that will last forever. I was face timing him and his two kids the other day and remembered how much love I have for that man. I have been a groomsman at two other weddings and am currently booked to go to the Caribbean for a third Aber wedding. I now live within walking distance of some of my closest friends from Uni and in life. I learned how to lift weights and built friendships through it. These friends I now share a football field again with at Wyverns. Joining Tarannau gave me my first taste of coaching which has now led to something that has been my rock in the last year and something I now don't think I can live without.

So a short blog today to end the writing drought but an important message. That ten years has flown by and I regret none of it. The decision I made was the best one in my life and will continue to lead to prosperity and happiness. If any of my current players manage to read this, Coach Lydon was correct. Football is family and you will make friends for life by joining up and playing this great sport. You may not realise it now but when you get older and reflect back, it's impact will shock you.

I leave you with a photo from this season just gone. Not only did I get to share the field with Steve again but we both became Touchdown Tigers finally, in the same game. Football is family. The last ten years have been great. I love you all and can't wait for the next ten. #57 becomes #27

COWTCHA!

So I should probably explain the title before I crack on writing this post. It's a memory of when I first remembered culture being funny but important. We were wandering around lost, having become victim to Amsterdam North (If you've been, you'll know what this is) and were discussing the idea of having a Wolfpack magazine every week with different articles written by all the boys. Shaft was toying with the idea of "The World According To Shaft" which on some weeks would be deep & interesting and on other weeks would be two blank pages because he was too lazy to write anything. We were seeing all this beautiful Dutch architecture and started to realise we were getting an unexpected and unplanned experience of culture, on a lads trip Gentleman's Sojourn to Amsterdam. So we decided it would be a key feature but with a twist of a cockney wideboy writing it every week, thus coined the term of "Cowtcha". So there, a completely nonsensical and pointless explanation of why when I say "culture" I always think of that trip and how it impacted me. I took 16 blokes on a stag do to Amsterdam and we had the most amazing time. Everyone bought in despite the varied range of backgrounds and ages. We got smashed, drank a beer bike dry, sang rugby songs washing glasses behind a bar, did a lot of philosophical talking and every single person got on with each other and enjoyed.

Why is this relevant you ask?

Well recently I've been doing a lot of reflecting on culture. How to build it within a team, how to know you've got it right and whether or not you can create it effectively. What made me think about this a lot, was the end of the 2019 Wyvern's season. Our second in the league and third including associate. I looked back at the last 3 end of season photos and couldn't help but notice the volume of turnover of players. However, this season has undoubtedly been the best season in Wyvern history and the club feels more like a family now than it ever has. When you factor in we have transferred players in from 5 other clubs as well as bringing in some guys from 3 universities, it is a bold claim to make.

Ever since I started at the Wyverns, it was always clear, we were a family club where everyone was welcome. A club that wanted to be a positive influence on the community it was in. Pay your subs, turn up to training, don't be a dick and it will all be fine. Of course, we have had our fair share of dickheads, but overall the ethos remains the same. We have attracted like minded players, avoided local mercenaries and evolved as a team. Our culture has deepened and improved this year. We have been a positive influence on new teammates, even when they initially had some behaviours that didn't align. The love in that team is unbridled. The love in the defensive locker room is so strong, offensive players want to shower with us post game! My best friend Steve is one of those transfers in and he was initially only going to play one year, to have one last season playing linebacker alongside his butty fach, yours truly. He travels from Cardiff every week for games and training but due to how great this team is, he has committed to coming back next year and for many years to come. There were no cliques, everyone was welcoming and I know he has made friends for life. We had one Uni player join (the first Demon to become a Wyvern) and he enjoyed it so much that two other players transferred in from their home clubs and stayed in Exeter to play football with us all summer. We had people watch our games and get the bug, wanting to resurrect playing careers or coach in a new environment. Each and every person who joined added value and became a true Wyvern. Once a Wyvern, always a Wyvern.

2019 Defense - Hit Squad - Secondary To None - Bellybackers - Grown Ass Men

Now that I've finished waxing lyrical about Wyverns, I will go back to my point. Culture within a team is extremely important. I have learnt a lot about it this season, both at Demons and at Wyverns. I hope to weave the cultures together over time, bringing the best bits from one to the other. I listened to a lecture from Georgia Tech DC Andrew Thacker ( @_CoachThacker ) on culture over the weekend. He explained it simply, no matter what the definition is, culture is only as important as the people within it. You can tell people anything you like but unless every person is on board, living and breathing it, then it won't work. It's not about fancy gimmicks. It's about knowing who you want to be and sticking to your values. I learnt about creating a message and sticking to it, team building and how important it is, kick ass promotional graphics and how your team (or defense) can create an identity. It capped off a great weekend at the coaching convention and really got me thinking.

You can create culture effectively if you work at it and always stick to your values. How do I know we have got it right? The team got closer & stronger and new players all fell in line whilst loving every minute. We went 4-4, avenged a big loss against a previously Division 1 opponent, welcomed new players to the team and became a stronger, more loving family. It was great. Everyone is welcome, you will love being a part of it. Long may it continue. Long live Cowtcha.

Somerset Wyverns 2019

I'm Fine - Something I've Never Experienced Before

So I've been planning to write this post for a while. I had it planned before the last 2 posts were written & published. I had it planned to post in good time after my last post. I had it planned to not leave it nearly a month. I had it planned because it was important to me to get it off my chest & important for people to hear the story, even if it only reaches 1 person. I was putting it off however. I was making excuses to not write. I was telling myself I was busy or not in the correct frame of mind or had more important things to do. Truth is, I've had two weeks off work and I sit here with only 4 days left of that and realised I could have written this at any point in that time. I was choosing not to, not because of any of those reasons. I was choosing not to because I guess I was scared. Scared to see what reaction (if any) it would get. Scared to see what words would spill out of my brain and onto this blog & therefore the entire Internet. Scared to see if I would be judged. Scared to see if people would just look at it as bandwagon jumping.

Until January 2019 I can honestly say I have never experienced a mental health problem my entire life. I reflect back and think I had occasional low mood but on the whole I was happy with my existence. I had been around people who had genuinely suffered and battled for years with their own issues. I felt I had it all figured out. Fiance, house, good job, two dogs, cat, active social life & plenty of hobbies. Then it all came crashing down and everything I had worked for was falling apart and slipping through my fingers. I felt I had no control over it. My relationship ended and the animals went with it. My house went on the market. For the first time ever since starting work, I didn't get a job I applied for. Not once, but twice. This battered my self confidence and belief in my own abilities. For the first time ever I was waking up in the morning and not wanting to get out of bed. Those who know me really well, will know I'm a bit of a lunatic early riser so this feeling was really out of character for me. Did I/Do I think I was depressed? Honestly, no. I hadn't had a diagnosis from a professional and didn't think I was feeling low enough to go speak to someone about it. I did find myself putting less effort into things & putting off doing tasks that needed to be done. Making excuses about why I shouldn't exercise (even though it always makes me feel better, I'm writing this after a gym session), making excuses to not see friends for social occasions.

Through talking to friends, work colleagues, teammates and new people, I begun to realise that more people are struggling than they let on. I found out my best friend had been depressed for the best part of a year and I barely noticed. As a people manager, I have helped people through mental health issues and have experienced first hand how positive it can be if you support someone and help them turn things around. It made me realise that support, talking about it and being part of something are all super positive steps in feeling happy and recovering from a mental health issue. I was fortunate that January was the beginning of an intense period of football coaching at Exeter, which included a deeper than expected playoff run (as previously mentioned in other posts). Wyverns training had begun and between it all, I dove in head first and immersed myself in football. I can truly say, the only time I have felt myself this year so far, has been on a football field. It's the only time when I am 100% comfortable with who I am and fully confident in myself as a person. It's more than just X's and O's to me. It's more than just a violent game of chess. It's an expression of passion & love for not just the sport but the people I choose to do it with.

It wasn't until yesterday when I removed my house keys to give back that I noticed I was still carrying a personal & loving key ring from my previous relationship on my keys. It's significance meant so much when it was given to me but now I've come to know that it either had a false meaning or the feeling just simply faded over time. I chose to throw it away at a spot where we used to walk the dogs, when I left the village for the last time. It gave me great closure and although that key ring contained fond memories, this action signified the end of my current chapter.

The good news is, I am well on the way to being happy again. I have taken my own and Ufford's advice from a previous breakup (you'll need to go back to 2012/13 archives for that post) and have got back into the gym. I have fully moved house and gotten closure on the past. My diet will be back on track when I return to work next week. I have plans that are worth looking forward to. I don't regret anything from the last 6 years. I look back on it fondly as 6 good years but knowing that people and plans change. You only learn from your mistakes and I feel I will be a better person going forward. I will be someone aware of their own mental health pitfalls and able to have coping mechanisms ready in case something happens again.

To sign off this post, I am well aware that most people out there are suffering with worse issues than what I have experienced. I just wanted to share how I was feeling, what caused it and what I was doing to get better. What works for me may not work for many others. However, if this post makes even one person feel supported, or know they have someone to reach out to, it will have served it's purpose. My friends, teammates and colleagues have been brilliant. I cannot thank you enough. You know who you are.


You can easily see a broken leg but you can't see a broken brain.

It's okay to not be okay.

Football is family.

Without it I wouldn't have the courage to write this post or get this out of my head.

If anyone would like to talk about this, just reach out.

Dan

Final note - Check Out This Fantastic Mental Health Movement That We Actively Support At The Somerset Wyverns -  https://www.facebook.com/LiftingTheLidMHAC/

S-M-R-T D'oh, I mean S-M-A-R-T

So above is my favourite ever moment from The Simpsons. Every time I see it, it reminds me of being back in 16 Prospect Street in uni with Steve & Phil. It was a running in joke that doesn't seem relevant to a blog that's been mainly focusing on football and coaching lately?

Well it is relevant. It's relevant to something I find very important to football, coaching and life in general. When I started in Exeter, I did this for our first game and it worked wonders. We came out fast and achieved 80% of what we wanted to. An almost perfect start to the season. I've since introduced it to Wyverns for the defense and it has helped focus us in the games I have played in so far this season. I've experimented with when and how to do it, using both technology and an old fashioned approach. Guessed what it is yet? Yep that's right, I'm talking about goal setting. Specifically SMART goal setting and how it can provide you with something to aim for. It doesn't guarantee success but it can put you in positions to be successful.

So what does it stand for?

S - Specific - Being specific when setting goals is key. It means you are detailed in what you want to achieve.
M - Measurable - Being able to quantify your success. Follows on from the detailed specifics, this is the measurement to prove you have been successful or not.
A - Achievable - So now you can measure it, you've got to be able to achieve it. Your goal needs to be achievable to get people motivated to work towards it.
R - Realistic - Pairs nicely with achievable but ensures you don't overreach and become vulnerable. You don't want players playing purely to achieve a statistical goal.
T - Timely - It has to have a time constraint, so you know how long you need to work to achieve your goal.

This model I learnt in work but is widely available on the internet. I've not researched who coined the term and I've seen several variations on the A and R letters. By the time it got to me, it has probably been regurgitated so much that it's far from the original model. Who knows?

Finding the best way to set goals has been a challenge. I face different constraints with each team I'm apart of. With Exeter I get an hour classroom time a week and dedicate half of that in game weeks to set goals. This approach with a full room of people can be quite hectic with lots of voices, but can also be the most efficient. I attempted a live stream on Facebook with Wyverns to try to beat our geographical difficulties and lack of midweek training. We set our goals and learnt plenty, but there was a significant delay between the live stream and the comments, so I spent a lot of the time talking to myself or missing responses to my questions. It's a very surreal experience to be talking to a screen and awaiting for feedback to come in comment form. With a delay.

Either way, it provides a great source of focus for us and allows us to aim for tangible targets that can lead to us being successful in our endeavours. I will now share with you the first iteration of goals for our away season opener against newly relegated Bath Killer Bees:

"Goals give you focus. Goals allow you to measure progress. Goals keep you locked in and free from distractions. Goals help you overcome obstacles. Goals give you motivation. 

I’m a massive believer in goal setting both professionally, personally and in my sporting life. They help you achieve what you didn’t think was possible. They aren’t the be all and end all, but they are important on a path to success. This is why I wanted us to set goals as a defense, not just for this week, but for every game. We will use these as a benchmark to measure our success and dominate teams. This is the first of many posts from me that will display our goals. Let’s own these as a unit and ensure we do our part (and more) to earn that W on Sunday. 

1. Shutout
2. No blown contains.
3. No pass completed over 20 yards.
4. 2 turnovers.
5. Defense scores points. 

Let’s bring it on Sunday and send a message to the division about this defense. Remember, do your job first, then be great. 

Coach 

#BleedGreen "

So we hit 4 out of 5 of these. I thought they were so ambitious we were straying past realistic, however they still felt achievable. We shut bath out, scored the only TD of the game with a pick 6, got 4 turnovers, 8 sacks and didn't blow a contain. The pass completed over 20 yards was on the last drive with nothing but rookies on the field so we were so close to nailing all 5 week one. Once you achieve a goal, you set yourself loftier targets in the next game but you also have to be realistic to your opponent to not over reach. You are constantly working towards improvement. Constantly trying to better yourselves as players and coaches. I thrive from goal setting and just wanted to share a step in my process with you that you may find useful. 

On a sidenote about my blog, for those of you that are new fans, this is where I spill my thoughts about a variety of things to. You'll mostly find football and coaching but will see other views I have on subjects like movies, film and life in general. Some of the older posts shows how regularly I did this in uni, two hiatus' later and I'm trying to start it back up again. It's unbelievably cathartic to be able to write and know that even one person can take some value from it. All feedback, likes & shares are welcome but I'm fairly sure there's a specific niche of people that will like this blog. 

Cheers

Dan

My Coaching Process

So as you can tell from my recent blogs, in the last year I have taken up a coaching position as Defensive Coordinator of Exeter University Demons American Football Team. Initially I was brought on as a LB positional coach and was voluntold for the position of Special Teams Coordinator. Cue a resignation from the previous DC and within a week I was the new DC, in my first season of coaching ever!


Now fortunately I had had an active role in supporting my coaches at Uni and this experience led me to do some X's and O's work at the Wyverns, whilst also showing others at my position, skills I had picked up over the years. I was super up for the challenge but also quite daunted by it. On reflection in the last few months, I wasn't as prepared as I could have (or should have) been. I learnt and developed over the year, stuck with what worked and scrapped what didn't. I borrowed things from experienced coaches I encountered but also showed them my skill for coaching & eye for detail.

So our season schedule went a bit like this:

• Returners Week - 3 midweek practices
• Rookie Day - 1 midweek Wednesday practice
• Non Game Weeks - Sunday & Wednesday practice weekly
• Training Camp - 2 day residential weekend camp near the end of October
• Game Weeks - Wednesday practice & classroom 

 Returners week for me was a chance to get to know the vets and learn the scheme I had been given a crash course in the week before from a part time coach who used to be DC. This I was able to pick up and practice the no-huddle playcalling before the rookies arrived. I had drills planned for these sessions and some of them were the best practices I had all year weirdly.

Rookie day is a chance for us to run a variety of drills for everyone to try and then pick who we would like on Offense and Defense. I say pick, the OC gets the first shout and I fall in line. This works for me because nobody should ever have to be convinced to play defense. If they want it enough, they'll already be asking to play there.

In non game weeks we have two practices, 5-7pm on a Wednesday and 9-11am on a Sunday. These go from scheme walk through to fundamentals to live scrimmage and can be quite intense. It's a good time to find out who of the rookies can play whilst also seeing which vets have stepped up their game. With the cyclical nature of University Sport, it is crucial that people improve year on year and that you are able to backfill graduated talent. I became less prepared for these practices during a busy time in work, which meant I did a lot of drills "on the fly" and I wasn't always at my best as a coach.

Training Camp - A wonderful weekend of bonding for the team & coaches whilst getting some detailed football work done. Every person lived and breathed football from Friday at 5pm to Sunday at 6pm. We ate meals together, we socialised together and we had fun together. This was one of my favourite aspects of the year and I felt on top of my game that weekend. It was topped off by a solid scrimmage win against a senior team on the Sunday. The other bright point of that weekend was bring Coach Jack Mullins on board. He came to watch with our teammate and his housemate Matt Robert. Jack ended up coaching on the sideline and Matt did the chains! Jack made such a good impression that he was invited aboard by the HC and OC which meant a lot to me. It showed my judgement of character and football coaching ability was respected and added significant value to the team. From that moment on, I was more organised and thoughtful with my entire process, having Jack to bounce things off and question my decisions was integral to our success this past season.

Game weeks were a different animal. Monday and Tuesday spent frantically breaking down film to deliver a scouting report to the team for a Wednesday. Wednesday practice would consist of coaches and backups running a scout team offense. It was at this point I emphasised the importance of being  a good teammate, whether that's holding bags or running offensive scout. Everything we work towards makes the defense and thus the team better. My vision for pregame was to have a calm and consistent approach that amped up the closer we got to kickoff. I wanted the pregame drills to be the same for each position group, each game. When these drills are started, it's time to switch on and go into game mode. I particularly enjoyed scouting opponents but it is labour intensive. I would watch the film four times or so, compiling a tally chart of formations, plays & tendencies. The idea to work out the top 5 or so plays for an offense, take them away and then make them beat us with something brand new. This step up was something I was complimented on by veteran players, the attention to detail and care put into the film study set a tone they'd not really had before. My top achievement for the year was designing a nickel package on the fly for a playoff game against Southampton. They had beaten us twice in the regular season and were confident. I aimed to take away their best WR who had scored 6 TD's across the two games against us. Their head coach was also the OC and had won a national title. He couldn't work out the package and the false looks I was presenting him. They had no answer and the defense turned the ball over 4 times to seal a great victory and become the most successful Demons team since it's existence.

So right now, during a point of reflection, what have I learned? Firstly I was able to take structure and theory from my work and combine it with my passion of football to be an organised and successful coach in year one. I was able to develop myself by learning from others but also develop players along the way. I have learned that my attitude to game prep works and although it can be tough for backups, the scout is vitally important. Next year I will take something I've learnt from Wyverns and do virtual video classrooms to install scout & playbook packages. I will be far more organised for the practice weeks leading up to camp, having a week by week drill breakdown for each position group. This will allow us to cover all fundamentals and skills throughout the season prior to camp and ensure that all sessions are planned and structured, even if positional coaches aren't there. I will also look to develop my assistant coaches more & bring on board a fresh face or two. I will practice this with Scott Savage at Wyverns this summer who is a relative football novice in his first few months of coaching. He's more football smart than he thinks and I look forward to working alongside my Co-DC Alex "Yogi" Martin to get the best out of him. Most of all I have learnt that I love football and that football is family. It'll get you through tough times and it will shape the human being you are and can be in all aspects of life.

Peace out

Coach