Spring practice 2019.... #23 and counting

All guys with no unexcused absences got a spring football t-shirt

We shut down spring practice today for the 2019 season with a team meeting, followed with video by position. The state of Kentucky brought back spring football practice in 1998.  Counting the spring of 2015 when I was at Mason & Mercer both for spring practice, this makes the completion of 23 "years" of spring ball.

Today's itinerary

I believe we do a better job coaching spring practice each year. We constantly try to fine tune what we are doing and improve our methods. This year, I thought we did a better of adjusting when we would have to be inside than we have in the past. We were more deliberate in picking what we would work on and trying to stay on track in regards to new learning.

In the spring scrimmage, we tried to do better with the young guys. They got 20 plays and then we tried to make sure they had our attention today in position video meetings. Going forward, I hope we can continue to do a better job each year in how we coach the youngest guys on our team and those that are further down the depth chart.

Discussion topics for team meeting

So... where do we go from here?  We talked about that substantially today. We are excited to return an experienced football team for 2019. That is a huge positive. But, older guys also have access to cars, more "stuff" to get into, and can escape supervision more easily than younger players.  Doing "what is right" is important to the safety and well-being of our players. But, it is also important that they make good decisions because the little ones in our community look up to them.

I am excited about our team going forward. I believe our guys will make the most of the next few months to get stronger and earn the right to be champions by working hard and going above and beyond what is required of them. We also discussed that on a daily basis to seek improvement in regards to being unselfish and serving others. Great teams have guys that put the team first. We can "practice" that attitude and skill.... every day!  

If you have ideas to make spring football practice more productive, please send those to me at coachdavidbuchanan@gmail.com

Titan Football Spring Practice- 2019

We will begin our spring practice on Monday (3/4). We can adjust from day to day, but every practice schedule is completed and reviewed by our staff before we begin. All offensive period & some scout offensive scripts are done ahead of time as well. The planning ahead makes sure that we get everything covered and we don't leave anything out. 

Our first two days are almost exclusively individual/fundamental work by position and special teams.  The 3rd day we will go 11 on 11 scrimmage. Regardless of how many days we go, the first scrimmage is usually rough and ugly. I like to get that done and start building on the mistakes/corrections ASAP. We have good video to help us get started on what needs to be addressed. 

 Our spring scrimmage will be on Friday, 3/15 at 3:30 pm.  Spring practice is the time that our guys will get the most live reps. It is an important time for us. But, we also want our guys to run track. It helps them in football, we have a great track program/coach, and this is their time to be a kid. 

Any HS coach that wants to visit a practice is welcome to attend.  If you see something that will make us better, that helps us. If you want to come by practice, email me at david.buchanan@mercer.kyschools.us.

Following the examples of Charlie, James, James & Henry....building relationships & healthy attitudes about ethnicity

Charlie Mayfield running for a Touchdown, early 70's

We started this in Mercer County Schools a couple weeks ago and are off to a really good start. 

Goal: To help form & promote positive attitudes about ethnicity for our youngest students in Mercer County Schools.

Action: Every Thursday morning, 2 or 3 football players (and include possible expansion to other student-athletes and potentially all students) will eat breakfast with students at MCES.  The high school students that attend the breakfast will be of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The topic of conversation does NOT need to be about ethnicity or “race.”  What we want is very simple… friendly conversation and acts of kindness between the elementary students and the football players.

Rationale: We want to promote positive interactions and attitudes for our youngest students, before their heads are filled with stereotypes and negative messages regarding people of other ethnicities. The basis of this goes back to my experiences with my Dad’s players when I was 4, 5, 6 & 7 years old. Before my brain was tarnished by prejudice & false information, guys like Charlie Mayfield, Henry Ewing, James Tarrance & James Scruggs taught me the truth through their kindness, friendship and positive words to me at a very young age.  If we ever discussed racism or ethnicity, I don’t remember that. But, what I DO remember is how they treated me and that is what has made all the difference!

For me, one of the biggest highlights was the reaction of our players. One afternoon I explained to some of our older guys what we wanted to do and why.They immediately began to speak up and volunteer. I am exceptionally proud of their leadership and their willingness to help and serve others.

We have much work to do at Mercer County, on and off the field. But, we are working at it and I am blessed to be coaching wonderful young men who want to serve others and make our community better now and in the future!