Calling out Coach French...who wants ice cream?

Me getting instructions from Coach French, 1982

A running joke in our family is John Combs getting Coach French an ice cream. When JCB was a manager for Coach French in the East-West All Star Game in 2009, most meals ended with him going to get coach a serving, or two, of ice cream.

JCB would hang on every word that Coach French said.

Coach French  refers to modern football practices as an "ice cream social"... not very tough or physical.   One day when his mom picked him up after football practice, JCB said he had watched another sports team have practice. He told his mom, "that is not a practice, that is an ice cream social!" 

I have challenged Coach to a bet for the Mercer-Southwestern (where he is now the head football coach) basketball games tonight. I bet him an ice cream that we will win both games. JCB will be at the game, so whoever has to pay, at least he can go pick up the ice cream just like in 2009.  :)

Parenting: Coerce what you want ..... or Model it

November of 2012, 3 GenerationsJohn Combs, me, my Dad

As parents, how do we get the character traits we want from our children?  How do we develop them to become the best they can be?

It is always good to talk to our kids. Certainly talking about honesty, discipline, toughness, unselfishness & other character traits we value has a place.

When I was growing up, my Dad talked about things like that at times, though not a lot. But, he lived those things on a daily basis. I got to see what it meant to be tough, honest, disciplined, & unselfish. 

I am 50 years old and still working on being all of those things. But, at 50, I WANT to be those things because I saw them in my Dad.

As a parent, MODEL the behavior you want from your kids.  If you want your child to be disciplined, you be disciplined. I do think kids, both at home and in the lockerroom, gravitate to the behavior they see in adults, as opposed to what the adults TELL them they should do.

If your child does something you don't like, ask yourself, where did he get that?  When my kids overreact, everyone looks at me!  :)

Going forward, as a coach and dad, when I want my team or child to be tough, I am going to try to be tough. When I want my team to be unselfish, I am going to try to be unselfish. 

Colossians 3:23

Super Bowl Sunday Service on Youtube: Crosspoint Community Church

Crosspoint Community Church- Super Bowl Sunday Service

Thank you to Pastor Kevin Jack & Austin Berry for allowing me to be part of the Super Bowl Sunday Service! 

Perfection Workouts: 2016

We started Perfection Workouts several years ago at Mason County. These were offseason workouts to help our guys "perfect" their skills. Originally, these were player-led workouts. When the KHSAA rules changed, we then had our position coaches run the workouts.

At Mercer County, we have an indoor complex with turf, which is great for these workouts. Instead of workouts twice a week for one hour each week, we now have the workouts for two hours, one time a week. All of our guys are getting their strength training in weightclass or Mondays & Thursdays.

This is my first season at Mercer and I have been very pleased with how our kids and coaches have responded to the workouts. This past Wednesday, we had 59 kids at our workout. This includes everyone except our basketball guys. 

Here is the schedule we are currently using:

3:30 Stretch/Warm up

3:35-3:55   Split groups for 10 minute sessions. One is speed training. The other is change of direction.

3:55 Offensive Skill work

4:25 Water

4:27 Defensive Skill work

4:57 Water

5:00 Rugby or Heads Up Tackling

5:10 Competition

5:20 Finisher

5:25 Stretch

These workouts will continue through February. In early March we will give our guys a break, then bring them back in mid-March for spring football practice. We do this to get our guys back to spring sports ASAP and so that if we get some guys banged up, they have time to heal before June camps & combines, as well as the season.

We have also tried to use Hudl video, our playbook online, etc. to complement what we do in our workouts so that we can maximize learning. 

We think this preparation will help our guys make the most of spring practice. These Perfection Workouts are a big piece of the puzzle for us when it comes to Player Development. Player Development is a major component of what we want to accomplish as a program.  

If you want to learn more about our Perfection Workouts or have questions, comments, or suggestions, email me at coachdavidbuchanan@gmail.com.

Dedicated Individuals & Human Progress- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable...Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

photo by Ron Bailey, Mr. Jerry Gore (#30)
Maysville HS, 1965

The following excerpt is from the American Football Coaches Association, A Coach's Influence Beyond the Game.  Jerry Gore from Maysville did a great job with this experience for our kids.  We heard story after story of "dedicated individuals" who made a difference for others and for "human progress." 

Mr. Jerry Gore

As we move forward, I hope that many of  us will be the "dedicated individuals" Dr. King described.

Jordan Gilbert- Asbury Basketball

We enjoyed watching point guard Jordan Gilbert lead Asbury to victory today. Jordan is finishing his senior year and is working to become a health & PE teacher/ coach.  I started working today to get Jordan to be a Titan.  It was a blessing to be Jordan's HS football coach and I am very proud of him. It was great to get a pic today with him. Not often that you can get two former 1st Team All State Royal football players in one photo.  John Combs & Jordan missed being teammates by one season.

JCB, Stephanie, old coach, Jordan, Trosper

Coach Alvis Johnson & Sonny Collns

After my blog post on my Dad as a young coach, knowing how to stop OJ Simpson, I got this from Harrosburg HS legend, Coach Alvis Johnson. Thanks for sharing this coach!:

Great story. I was that guy in 1971 when I told my head coach that if he let me have the defense against Madisonville Friday night I would shut Sonny Collins down. 6 touchdowns later he called me a d*%$  liar.

Coach J

Sonny Collins at Kentucky