Stealing Reps, Utilizing Quality Coaches, 21st century reality

We had our first day of spring football today and it was a very good start. For the first time, I am not coaching a position. I will continue to call the offense. But, with Trosper, my son, on the way as a QB, I don't need to be his position coach. And, we have a highly qualified, former college QB and former HS head coach on staff in Graham Heasley who is doing a great job with that position. 

Practice flowed much smoother without me worrying about coaching the QBs. It also freed me up to interact with all positions, coaches, and kids. I really liked that part the best. When I coached the QBs, I didn't have that opportunity.

Our incoming freshmen are not allowed to practice with us, but we let them wear sweats and watch. When we can make a coach available, we send them as a group with that coach. Today our incoming frosh were able to run the ropes, use the tackling ring, work on a base block on the 2-man sled, do footwork with bags, work tackling with the tackling dummy, and get some basic installation done in our passing game. 

When we worked punt protection, we pulled our starting QB and four receivers to work some of our basic routes. Ball placement is a major point of emphasis for this spring. And, it is not just on the QB. Our route running must improve and become more consistent. Our protection must improve as well. 

Coach Brian Rowland, our LB coach and DC continues to be more creative in his use of tackling rings. He did some really good stuff with those today during the LB read period.

We transitioned to defensive fundamentals after punt protection. After initial fundamental work, we pulled our kicker, QB and Free Safety.   Our kicker worked PAT & kickoff with his square toe shoe. He will try it out this spring and we will decide what to do going forward.  

Our Free Safety is a Mr. Basketball candidate for next season.  Our QB is also a very talented basketball player. These guys just completed their basketball season this past Tuesday in the region finals.  They got no break between football and basketball season. I really appreciate them being there today.

When I pulled them after some basic defensive fundamental reps in the secondary, they had more time to work on routes together. They have to be on the same page.  That timing will help them and help our team. I told them today, I know you both have a bunch of options and could be doing other things. I will never waste your time.

That is the difference in coaching today's football player, especially the good athletes.  We can't waste their time. We can't waste the talented guy's time. But, we can't waste the time of the incoming freshmen. We can't waste any player's time. We have to be creative & organized when we coach. The faster the tempo the better. We have to keep our guys engaged. If we don't, they have other choices competing for their time.  In the old days, alot of guys played football because that is what was expected and we just did it.  There are still places where that is the culture.  But, those cultures also know what quality coaching/practice look like.  Being a good football coach requires more these days.  I saw a bunch of good assistant football coaches today, keeping kids engaged, and using their time in a constructive & positive way.  I will be the first to admit that we have alot of room for improvement and a long way to go. But, I like the direction we are going. 

Spring Practice 2017

Practice field marked & ready to start spring football

We will begin our spring practice on Monday (3/13). 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. 

We will practice from 3:30-5:30 Monday through Thursday this week, Monday through Wednesday the following week.  We will practice Friday morning, 9 am - 11 am because there is no school that day (3/17).  Our spring scrimmage will be on Thursday, 3/23 at 3:30 pm. We are cutting it to 9 days instead of 10 because our track guys need to get back to practice on the 24th, with a meet on the 25th.  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.

Golden Lion Great: Jeff Hester

After seeing two former players, I heard a familiar voice coming from the bleachers at the regional basketball tournament. It was my very good friend Coach Jeff Hester! He was a Garrard County Golden Lion back in the day, and a very good one at that.  Our teams played each other in the first game to open the 1982 season in Lancaster.  We were both Captains. Don't ask me who won.

One of the best parts of getting back home is seeing old friends more often. I know we play the Rebels in 2017, but as long as they let me, I will visit their staff and go to practices. I always learn something, but the best part is getting to see and visit with great people.

2016

1982- Jeff is #41 with the old school neck roll

You probably notice from the pictures that Jeff and I have lost some hair and gained some weight since 1982.  I think Coach French and Coach Burke would move us to the offensive line at our current weight.  We may be old, but I think we still got a few Friday nights left in us. And, this time I don't have to worry about him planting his facemask in my ribs.

2 Ts & a JG

Trosper, Jordan Gilbert, old coach, Tee Commodore

Excuse the ridiculous look on my face, but I was really excited to see these guys tonight.  Before there was a T or TD (Trosper) Buchanan, there was a Tee Commodore. Tee was an outstanding WR and DB on my Mason County teams from 1998 to 2001. He was Harry Lewis' back up at QB,,,, and when we put him in, he always did a great job. Jordan was  a great WR, DB & Kicker for us from 2007 through 2010.

Tee Commodore, 2001 photo  by Terry Prather

Tee is now an assistant coach for the EKU men's basketball program. Jordan is an assistant basketball coach at Mercer County. I left that part out.... these guys could play some basketball as well and were very successful!

Jordan Gilbert, 2010 photo by Terry Prather

In the region semifinals tonight, we had a bunch of football guys on the floor. I appreciate coaches that support kids doing multiple sports and our basketball coach, Kurt Young, is one of those coaches.  It reminded me of when Kelly Wells coached Tee and when Chris O'Hearn coached Jordan.

Tee is #2 in Mason County Football history in  career interceptions.  Jordan is #2 in receiving yards. #1 in both categories is Chris Lofton. He was a pretty good basketball/football player also.

I am not crazy about getting old, but tonight was a great night to be an old coach because of these two guys!

High Positive

Yesterday in church, I saw Coach Phil Morse who was the Defensive Coordinator at Centre College for Coach McDaniel back in the mid 80s. 30 years ago, I was in a Sunday School class with Phil, my dad, and Steele Harmon. I learned alot about Jesus and coaching football.

Coach Morse always said there were 4 types of coaches:

High (intensity) Positive

Low Positive

High Negative

Low Negative

He always said High Positive is best. Low negative is the worst. Of all the coaches I have been around, Chuck Smith(Boyle County) was the most intense & Dale Mueller (Highlands) was the most positive.

I don't know anyone that enjoys being around negative people. Kids, athletes, etc. are drawn to positive people. They want to be around them.  You can have high standards AND be positive! 

My plan for getting fired

I like to plan for everything(Bill Walsh influence).... even "what to do if I am getting ready to get fired." In September of 2012, we had lost 7 games in a row(going back to 2011), and #7 was the ugliest of all. John Combs was a sophomore and I began to be concerned that I was not going to be able to be his coach all through high school because we were performing so poorly.

So, the thought went through my mind, "If I am about to get fired, how am I going out and how do I want to be remembered?"  

This is what I came up with:
1- I wanted the kids to say that I never blamed them for the losses. 
2- I wanted my players to say that I was positive and believed in them until the very last day.
3- I wanted them to say I worked like a dog to help them be the best they could be until the day I was fired. 

When I would walk into the lockerroom after loss #7, I focused on being the coach that made all of those things happen. It helped me know what I needed to do.

The Wednesday morning after loss #7 (we practiced at 6:25 am before school every Wednesday) our water system was not working, the humidity was near 100 %, and, according to John Combs, we ran at least 100 grass drills that practice. It was  rough. But, one thing about it, if you continue to do things right and hold your kids accountable, the only ones left after a 7 game losing streak are great kids who are tougher than nails. All the weak ones have jumped ship.

We finally ended the streak at 7 with a win over Harrison County. We played our tails off at Highlands the next week, but we were in over our heads. After that, we WON seven games in a row, won our district championship, and reached the state quarterfinals!  Then, in 2013, those guys became the first team in school history to go 12-0 and made it to the state quarterfinals again.

John Combs & Reese Menke in the district championship victory at Fleming, October 2012, photo by Cheri Johnson

We got things turned around because we had great kids and assistant coaches. There is no substitute for surrounding yourself with great people. But, I could have derailed their success with a poor attitude.  I was glad that I had prepared to get fired. It made me a better coach.

Rashon Nelson in Playoff Round #2, November 2012, photo by Terry Prather

One of my favorite books is Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.  In telling about his survival in a Nazi concentration camp, Frankl makes it clear that no circumstance can ever take away our ability to choose our attitude and to serve others. No one, no circumstance, can deny that freedom that we all possess.

Mason Sargent with a TD catch, Playoff  Round #2, November 2013 photo by Terry Prather

Staff Meeting, November 2013 photo by Zack Klemme

The next time you are in a tough spot, think about how you want to handle it and how you want to be remembered. Be that person. Who knows.... it may turn out alot better than you think!

"Halftime" talk, Thursday, 11/21/13, photo by Danny Weddle

Paying attention..... and say what needs to be said, NOW

From Black Shoes & White Shoestrings: Football & Life Lessons from Old Coaches

thank you to Robert Allen Yankey and his family. Robert Allen was a tremendous role model for me.  In a very short time on this earth, he impacted the people around him in a powerful and positive way.   I have tried to be the man that Robert Allen was and would have been. I have also tried to be the man that can live up to being “John’s boy”- John Buchanan’s son.   I have fallen short more times than I can count, but I am thankful that God used them to show me what a man of God looks like.

I never meant to write a book. It all started as writing a column for the Maysville Ledger Independent on old football coaches.  But,  people began to tell me, "add some pictures and make these columns a book."  At some point, the book idea became a sense of urgency to get the book done.  As I experienced this sense of urgency, the other thought going through my head would be, "Why am I writing a book and no one wants to read a book written by me!"  It was insane. I had two very different and conflicting thoughts running through my head.  

The sense of urgency to get the book done would wake me up at night. I had to get the book done. Finally, in November of 2014, the book was printed. Stephanie and I were overwhelmed when they got to the house. We had made a significant financial commitment to see this through as a self-published author.  Everyone knows this already, but I have a wonderful and supportive wife who hangs in there with me when we go through stuff like this.

No one was happier or more pleased with my book than my Dad was when it finally was published. He didn't get excited about much. But, he loved my book. I guess he should have. I tell everyone the stars of the book were my Dad and Jesus.

That winter, one night in Maysville, he and I were sitting next to each other at a family meal. He looks at me and he says,  "No, you haven't."  I say, "What are you talking about?" He says, " You have not 'fallen short' of living up to being his son."  He was referring to the quote at the top of this blog. I knew my Dad loved me and was proud of me. But, I usually got his praise 2nd hand. 20th century Dad's hold back on emotion and public praise. For him to verbalize that was different and it really made an impression on me. 

At the time my Dad made that comment, I had no idea that we had just a few months left together on this earth. My book was published in November of 2014. He died on October 1st, 2015. The sense of urgency, I finally get it.... I HAD to get that book done for my Dad.  I had no idea why it had to get done, but I knew the clock was ticking and it had to happen. 

The last Monday in September of 2015, I went to the house to take my Dad to the doctor. The plan was to stop chemo for a few days so he could bounce back and feel better at least in the short term. By that evening he could no longer speak. We would never have a conversation again. 

If you have a sense of urgency to do something, pay attention. Is it consistent with God's Word and plan for your life?  If you have something to say to someone you love, say it NOW. 

At the time I was prepping that book and in a hurry to complete it, I thought I was nuts. Today, it makes sense. Praise God.