Tuesday, June 30, 2009

What was He Thinking?

Yes it is time for another addition to the What was He Thinking segment of the blog.

This segment features Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle , who last week was treated and released from a local hospital with a minor head concussion.

Last week he was involved in a car crash, driving his car into an Austin, Texas Apartment building. Maybe he confused it with a fast food drive-through.

Hi one car accident caused $8,700 dollars with damage that his attorney says he will pay if his insurance policy doesn't.

Records show at the time of the crash Mr. Kindle was texting, either he was reading one or responding to one.

What the heck was he thinking, there can be no message so important that it requires some one driving a car to put their life or the lives of others at risk.

As I said earlier in this post nobody else was hurt and fortunately Kindle only sustained a minor head concussion and may have to come up with $8,700 out of pocket. A small price compared to what could have happened.

Please all of you who read this blog, don't text and drive, multi tasking does not belong behind the wheel of a car. Think of the harm your loss would inflict on your friends and family, there just cannot be a text message that important to risk your life over.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Football Tackling | Tackling Drills | part 2

In part one of football tackling we asked if there was a new science to tackling and as taught by Chuck Clemens from the University of Central Missouri we determined there is.
Nothing says good hit like hearing the pads popping and nothing feels better to a tackler than driving a ball carrier to the ground.

Those kinds of tackles happen by design and begin with the basics. . This article will focus on proper tackling drills, training football players tackling techniques that are safe and work.

Starting with angle, regardless of how fast the ball carrier is, if you have the right angle of pursuit, you can hone in on the runner like a Cruise Missile and make a bone jarring tackle. The kind of tackle the opponent remembers and will make him want to stay out of your area.

Regardless if you are tackling at an angle or from the front, as you approach the ball carrier,
lower your body, knees bent and have your arms spread wide to wrap around the ball carrier. As you prepare to explode into the tackle, keep your head up, eyes on the runner and throw your arms forward, thrusting your arms with force will add to your forward momentum.

Make sure your head is on one side of the runner, or the other, never hit an opponent with your head. It can lead to serious injury or death. As you explode into the ball carrier, lead with the outside shoulder and wrap your arms around the ball carrier. Keep your feet moving so you can drive through the guy so you can drive him out of bounds or into the turf. You want to hit the runner around the waist or legs.

Great tackling starts with practicing the fundamentals. When practicing these tackling drills, use a tackling dummy or a teammate, always start at half speed and focus on tackling techniques, balance, feet moving and driving up and through the ball carrier and always have the head on one side or the other of the runner.

We carry several DVDS that demonstrate tackling drills and fundamentals. Use the following link: Football Tackling DVDS see if they can help you develop teeth jarring tackles.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Early Picks for some of this college seasons best OCC Games

Mathew Hayes from Sporting News College Football has picked what he considers some of the better non conference games this season.

Topping his list, The Georgia Bulldogs at Oklahoma State. Gotta agree with him there, that will be an interesting match, a game neither can afford to lose.

His second pick has the mighty Corn Huskers in the south bound lane as they travel to meet Virginia Tech. Should be a good pairing with lots of fire works. In the early part of this decade Nebraska struggled but as of late seem to have things heading in the right direction.

His third choice has Colorado heading into Morgantown for a prime time Thursday night game. Gunga Dan as we used to call him at Boise State, still has that Pat Hill of Fresno State mantra, any time anywhere. Could be a very good game especially if Hawk's son Cody has a big night.

Fouth on the list features Oklahoma at Miami, not so sure I agree with this one, granted the Hurricanes are turning things around, but the Sooners are the Sooners and are usually in the mix of being one of the top 5 teams in the country.

Rounding out Mathew's picks has Missouri vs. Illinois at a neutral site. This could very well be a great game. Missouri will be using new quarterback since Chase D. has graduated.

Mathews also has his top 5 tomato can games. Topping the list and rightly so is Okaloma entertaining Idaho State University. The Bengals against the Sooners is like a 1981 VW Minibus racing and Indy car and the results will be the same. 1981 is the last year Idaho State had any real glory in football, winning the Division II National Title.

Really, if the Sooners wanted an entertaining scrimmage game, and even that is overstating hapless Idaho State, they should have chosen the University of Idaho Vandals. Even though the Vandals cant play football, they can be very entertaining. Last season the opened against Arizona and entertained fans in the stands, the Arizona team and the tv viewing audience with their brand new uniforms, the ones that had the I logo square in the middle of the seat of the pants. Made all of us spud peelers out here in Idaho soooooooo proud.

For more on Mathew Hayes picks link

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Monday, June 15, 2009

Umpire Ejects all Fans in The Stands

I think this falls in the, " what was he thinking " category.

At a local highs school baseball game in West Burlington, Iowa and umpire ejected all the fans, emptying the stands. Involved were over 100 fans that the umpire deemed as behaving in an unruly manner.

I have seen coaches and players ejected from games, but the all the fans in the stands, that is a first. Can you imagine what would happen in Oakland if the field umpire tried to eject the fans for being unruly. Break out the riot gear for sure.

Umpire Don Briggs said the student athletes were fine during the Thursday game between Winfiled-Mount Union and West Burlington, however he could not say the same for the cheering sections.

west Burlkington Superintendent James Sleister said he saw no issues and suggested the umpire had over reacted.

After a 40 minute delay that involved police, no arrests were made, the game resumed and West Burlington went on to win 12- 11.

To the umpire I have to ask, what were you thinking?

Football Training Videos & Football Training Equipment

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Darrin Slack Quarterback Academy Summer Camps

First there was... POSITION, then POWER, and now PERFORMANCE!

The new DSQA High Rep, High Energy, National Competition Camp
As a loyal DSQA customer, we're pleased to introduce you our newest Quarterback developmental camp; the PERFORMANCE CAMP. This action packed, repetition based camp combines all the best features of the DSQA experiences into one, affordable camp. And because there is also a competitive element for the second half of day two, it is also an excellant exposure opportunity for QBs working to play at the next level.

Why a performance camp? We developed the performance camp model by listening to you, our knowledgeable customers. After twenty years of hearing how good we are at teaching the fundamentals at our position camps and having the proven success stories that our power camps are providing, we combined the best of the best to accelerate the process of personal improvement. Performance camps are repetition based and designed to increase mastery of the C4 process. How is it different? Simple, the focus is on repetitions. It's been said that ... "repetition is the mother of mastery" and we know how important it is. That's why we've created even more:
Drills
Drill Competitions
Proficiency Tests
Keep in mind we're still talking about a DSQA camp experience so know you'll get the quality of teaching and our:
DSQA Certified staff of instructors
Positive and encouraging message
Common language and process of C4; Confidence, Character, Commitment and Consistency
Who should attend?Any 7th - 12th grader who has attended a DSQA camp in the past. It's not mandatory that a participant attend a previous camp, just highly recommended.
How will the participant benefit?
Reps, reps, reps, and more reps
A competitive environment to enhance performance
Objective/performance based grading
DSQA ranking of top 10%
Awards and Recognition

2009 Performance Camp Schedule:

July 1 - 2 July 27 - 28 July 31 - August 1
Jenks, OK Lake Tahoe, NV Orlando, FL
Click to Register Click to Register Click to Register
DSQA Top 25 DSQA Top 25 DSQA Top 25 Western Qualifier Central Qualifier Eastern Qualifier
and National Event

DSQA Top 25 'East vs West' National Competition
The Darin Slack Quarterback Academy is also proud to promote the first annual DSQA Top 25 'East vs West' National Competition! In addition to participating and benefitting from the Regional Performance Camps, top scorers of each camp will have the option to travel to Orlando, FL where on August 1 the DSQA Top 25 Watch List will be announced and a National Champion will be crowned.

2009 Position Camp Schedule: June 5 - 6 June 10 - 11 June 12 - 13
Indianapolis, IN Dallas, TX Jenks, OK

June 15 - 16 June 19 - 20 June 22- 23
St. Louis, MO Red Bank, TN Vienna, VA

June 24 - 25 June 26 - 27 June 29 - 30
Chicago, IL Columbus, OH Las Vegas, NV

July 6 - 7 July 8 - 9 July 10 - 11
Riverside, CA Sacramento, CA Seattle, WA

July 13 - 14 July 15 - 16 July 17 - 18
Lafayette, LA Dover, DE Ft. Lauderdale, FL

July 20 - 21 July 22 -2 3 July 24 - 25
Cleveland, OH Pittsburgh, PA State College, PA

Darin Slack Quarterback Academy361 Anchor Road, Suite 1025Casselberry, FL 32707
For information on Camps or Player Development opportunities, contact:
JC Boice, DSQA Certified Coach
425 350 1835
jcboice@gmail.com

Friday, June 12, 2009

Defensive Linemen | Rushing the Passer | part 1

In an earlier post I promised we would be expanding our categories and adding new products we hope will be of value to you our visitors.

In keeping with that promise, we have added a new category and football training DVDS. The category is Defensive Linemen Pass Rushing and we have 6 pass rushing videos for you to examine.

A quarterback sack can make or break a game or season. We have all seen games decided by a QB sack, some times determining who becomes a conference champion. This article, part 1, will focus on Swim Move, one of 4 proven pass rushing techniques that produce more effective pass rushes.

1. Swim Move:

The Swim Move is a favorite pass rushing technique of many defensive linemen and can be the most dangerous. The pass rusher has to rise up above the blocker, however if done properly it can be one of the easiest ways to successfully rush the passer. Timing is key to a successful Swim Move, the D-linemen must beat the blocker off the snap of the ball.

Next comes a jab step designed to get the blocker off balance. This is when the defender step one direction while intending to move another. This is followed by a short balanced step using the jab foot, bring it in front of the blocker in the opposite direction. Typically the blocker will follow the first step, the jab step, and find himself off balance.

At the same time the pass rusher brings his inside arm up and reaching out to the back of the blocker, pulling the O-lineman forward, exploiting his lack of balance and swim through the offensive line to effectively rush the passer.

We are updating our Defensive Lineman page, please visit often to see how we are making it more user friendly and adding new DVDS. Please visit us at Defensive Linemen Pass Rushing and examine our new pass rushing videos and come back here for the rest of our rushing the passer training tips.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Did Washington Huskies Football Strike Gold?

The Steve Sarkisian era has begun at Washington and he appears to be getting off on the right foot, but have they struck gold?

Sarkisian's recruiting may have struck the mother lode. He and his Huskies were able to out recruit the likes of , Arizona, Arizona State and Notre Dame, all programs in need of talent.

The gold I refer to is, Washington got the news last night that Nick Montana, son of legendary Joe Montana, has forsaken his Dad's Alma mater and chosen to become a Huskie.

Not only is he the son of certainly one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game, he has proven credentials of his own. Montana earned newcomer of the year, first-team all-CIF, first-team all-county, first-team all-state and first-team all-league after completing 55 percent of his passes as a junior. He can make plays with his feet and had three rushing touchdowns to his credit. Nick sounds like a chip off the old block.

Montana is not the first son of a legend to chose UDUB Football, just most recent. Cody Pickett who played quarterback there, is the son of legendary rodeo star and world champion Dee Pickett.

Dee was also a quarterback in his college days, he played his high school ball in the Caldwell, Idaho area and was very successful. He signed with Boise State and had earned his way into the starting rotation. However due to personality conflicts with the head coach Jim Criner. We called him Sunny Jim, I swear the man looked just like the kid on the label of the Sunny Jim products, Pickett quit football and joined the rodeo.

Jake Locker has been the Huskies offense and paid a high price with his injuries. I am a fan of Locker and saw him play when my Broncos traveled to Seattle in 2007. Locker is a very talented and strong athlete who inflicts punishment of his own on would be tacklers. One of our linebackers tried to bring him down, failed and received a separated shoulder for his efforts.

Huskie football needs a better O-line some running backs and receivers to take the heat off the QB. Defensively they need some strong scorched earth tackles and defensive ends. I do hope they can build a strong team on both sides of the ball, it is what they need if the want to continue to get recruits like Nick Montana. It would be good for the Huskie Football and good for the PAC 10.

Washington football has a long ways to go in being restored to its former glory days. However with the Montana commit it appears they are making large strides in the right direction.

Good job Coach Sarkisian, best of luck to you and the Huskies.

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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Brett Favre: and the Saga Continues

Will Brett Favre play one more season and will it be with the Minnesota Vikings. Yes folks the Brett Faver story continues.

According to " reliable sources" love those guys, "reliable sources" the Minnesota Vikings have given Favre a dead line to decide whether or not he wants to be part of the " Purple Gang". According to these guys in the know, Brett must decide this week.

However, aha the plot thickens, Favres manager who would not return phone calls related to this latest twist in the Brett Favre Saga, earlier had said as far as he was concerned his client was still retired. Then went on to extol the virtues of his client and how he would be an asset to any team, especially ones that run a west coast offense similar to what Favre ran at Green Bay.

He elaborated more saying, he would think if they wanted this guy they would be doing more to get him as Brett is still a cut above most NFL quarterbacks. Sounds like a sales pitch to me.

Keeping the drama alive, Vikings Coach Childress has not responded to the story other than to say there is no deadline in place. That I can buy, given Favres current physical condition, having a deadline doesn't make sense, unless of course the Vikes are not interested.

ESPN reported Favre had arthroscopic surgery sometime in May on his ailing right shoulder and that it was not responding. At age 39 this comes as no surprise, even if the shoulder should respond, the older we are the longer healing takes. The report went on to state that if Favre is not feeling better, he will stay in retirement.

Personally I am a fan of Favre and hope he can return to the NFL, he is still good for the game, I would hate to see him take a serious injury, but also understand his need to compete, and it is his life and his decision should an NFL team make an offer.

Stay tuned folks, there is more to unfold in the continuing saga, Will Brett Favre Return to the NFL.

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Football Tackling: Does it have a New Science? Part 1

One of the consistent fundamentals of football has been the art of tackling. Over the years we have seen new offenses and defenses, but tackling has remained the same, or has it?
Are coaches teaching out dated techniques for bringing down ball carriers, have tried and true fundamentals become obsolete?

Coach Chuck Clemens, the Co-Defensive Coordinator at the University of Central Missouri thinks so. He believes many coaches are teaching concepts and principles that are 50 years out of date. He has changed his techniques and practice drills teaching new fundamentals.

Since introducing what he calls The New Science of Tackling he has seen a dramatic improvement in his team’s performance. Charting their results over the last two seasons they saw a big reduction in missed tackles. What UMC saw was an improvement of over 70 tackles made over the two year period.

What is this New Science of Tackling and how does it work? One of Coach Clemens concepts is called The Shimmy Tackle. This is usually an open field tackle performed by line backers and defensive backs.

The Shimmy Tackle is performed head up to the ball carrier so the tackler can see the ball carriers numbers. The defensive player wants to look for the ball runners belt line and focus his eyes just below on the hips. The purpose of this technique is to prevent the defensive player from be faked out by a head or shoulder feint. The running back or receiver must declare their direction with their hips.

Part 2 will discuss more of the New Science of Tackling. If you want more information on this subject visit us at Football Tackling DVDS and see all of Coach Clemens New Science of Tackling DVDS.

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Friday, June 5, 2009

Defensive Line Drills: Football Tackling Drills Videos

Defensive Line Drills: Football Tackling Drills Videos is a new category at Scoretouchdowns.com After looking through the Internet we came to think it was an over looked but important category. We are very pleased to offer defensive linemen and coaches a page dedicated to offering them a selection of tackling coaching and training videos.

The defensive linemen are the anchors of the defense. They are the ones that must rush the quarterback and try to disrupt his throwing rhythm and at the same time stop the run.

We have found 10 tackling training videos that demonstrate proper tackling techniques. Using game film, tackling practice drills and chalk talk by some of the better coaches in football, the display the fundamentals of sound tackling.

These training videos cover all aspects of the art of tackling. Tackling Circuit Drills And Techniques demonstrates proper footwork, reading blocks and how to take the proper angle.

Good tackles can cause turn overs and as we all know turn overs can determine who wins the game. Tackling Fundamentals With a Turnover Mindset is demonstrates the fundamentals of tackling and how to get the turn over mind state to create more take-aways.

Those are just a couple of the football tackling videos we offer, please examine all of tackling videos at Defensive Linemen Tackling Drills tackling you want.

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Yahoo is Suing The NFL Players Association

Hard ti imagine that Internet giant Yahoo would have a reason to want to take on the NFL players association, they think they do. Today in a federal court in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunnyvale based Yahoo filed suit against players association.

What prompted this suit? According to Yahoo the licensing arm of the players union threatened suit against Yahoo if they failed to pay royalties for profits earned from publicly available player data.

In the court papers filed, Yahoo says their licensing agreement with NFL Players Inc expired March 2009 and went on to say a court ruling in April proved they don't need an agreement with NFL Players Inc. Citing the CBS Interactive case and victory in that case over the NFL Players Inc were the dispute was of a similar nature.

I almost feel sorry for the NFL Players Union and all of its income earning branches. They have lost big dollars with that loss to CBS and will lose more should Yahoo prevail. This is probably the tip of the ice berg for the players union. The fantasy football leagues are a billion dollar industry that the union would no longer enjoy a slice of the money pie. They need to go on a diet anyhow.

I am not anti union, I just have more respect and appreciation for the players than I do the union that is supposed to care for the remaining veteran players that have made the game so great over the last 5 decades, the ones that created so many of the unions money making opportunities. The ones the Players Union forgets when it comes time to share the wealth.

That same union that cries foul, but court papers proved, conspired with a certain home football game company giant that masked former greats like Mel Renfro in their game so he and other veterans would not get paid their fare share of the royalties.

Its hard to have empathy for a union so dedicated to denying monies earned and promised to the living veteran players from the 50's on, men who with out the game would not enjoy the stature it does today. Men whose images still generate revenues for the union but are denied compensation.

Brian Gumbalt has used his position and the power of HBO to document the abuses and denials of claims by the NFL Players Union to needy football veterans. He has shown case after case where former players are homeless and destitute, in need of medical help and rejected by the very union whose job it is to help and protect these men.

Iron Mike Ditka has testified in front of Congress as to the abuses, yet nothing has changed. I would side with the union if they lived up to their moral obligations, helping former football players in time of need. Seeing that they were getting proper medical attention, were not homeless on the streets, but they have not.

If Yahoo and others prevail against these guys and they see all that money going elsewhere, maybe they might see how players they have denied assistance feel and maybe just maybe if they focused on taking care of their own, then they could glean some sympathy.

Till that scene is corrected and the players union takes care of its own, I could care less who gets over on them, just like they don't care what happens to their veteran players.

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Monday, June 1, 2009

Looking for the newest football coaching and football training videos?

Silly question, football coaches and players are always looking for new football coaching videos that can offer the best information for football practice drills and training techniques.

One of our vendors has just sent us the list for all their new releases for 2009. Over the next week or so we will be going through their list and adding them to the position training and team training categories.

You will find the new training videos here on the blog, in the new releases category and in the appropriate categories on the navigation bar at scoretouchdowns.com

Please visit us often so we can keep you updated on the new football coaching videos as we are able to get them offered on the site.

If there is a particular area of training videos you are looking for, please leave a comment on the blog or email us at scoretouchdowns@cableone.net, we will do what ever we can to help you get the training videos you seek.

Joe Pa Wants to expand The Big 10

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno wants the Big 10 to expand to a 12 team conference. Yes 12 teams, for those that don't know, the Big 10 actually became the Big 11 back in 1990 when they brought the Nittany Lions into the fold.

Joe wants to see a team from the east brought in, particularly one from the New York market which would increase tv revenues and exposure for the Big 10 conference. The teams Joe suggested as great fits were Pit, Rutgers or Syracuse.

I am sure the Big East is thrilled with Joe and his thoughts. However in the interview he gave Wednesday, what he said made sense.

By adding a 12 team it would ease scheduling issues. Currently in the Big 10 the teams are in rotation so they don't play each other every season, kind of muddying the waters of a Big 10 Champion if #1 and #2 don't play each other.

Should the Big 10 follow Joe's suggestion it would add revenues to the conference coffers by setting up a championship game like they have in the Big 12.

I think Joe is on spot on this one and the Big 10 and college football would benefit if the conference took in a new member. With the right team it would make the conference more competitive and a championship game would draw additional television dollars as well as extra attention for the conference.

Adding an eastern school and getting into the New York market makes perfect sense. Not only from a revenue earning stand point, but as a recruiting tool as well. The East has a large pool of football talent and any conference that does not mine the east for football players is missing out.

I hope that powers that be are listening to Joe Paterno, in my opinion, the man knows what he is talking about.

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