We had very good football training today. I speak with regards to the performance of all players of all HEdCen teams. If I were to write about training last year, I would only discuss the performance of boys born 1996. But this year, my perspective of HEdCen football has changed for the betterment of all athletes including myself. My heart is no longer with just one HEdCen team but with that of the entire school.

I want all players to improve, to be the best they could be based on what we could possibly do together to achieve that. I can simply say that I want all the teams to win the championship. But it goes much deeper than that. That is why I pressure each student who calls himself a varsity player to commit to his role as member of the team and practice. This idea is nothing new. Most players understand what I mean by that, to work hard for something, to give it your all, to show your commitment, etc, and based on that some have decided to give-up being a member of the varsity team and others have decided to put meaning into their title as football players of HEdCen. Yes, that is what’s new this year. Athletics is supposed to teach people values such as discipline, hardwork, teamwork, etc., and we will make sure ALL our athletes learn those things in football so they can apply it to other areas of their lives. I always tell the players its not for us coaches, its for “you,” the players.

Today, many many children trained with dedication and determination. We, the coaches, have been challenged to find all ways to upgrade the players’ football game. From purchasing 50 new balls to researching drills for improving ball handling, we came up with the speed ladder exercise which is designed to improve our athletes’ agility and speed. One speed ladder was completed yesterday and I tested the drills with boys born 95 and 96. Today, we used 3 speed ladders made of rope and hose. This drill was incorporated into PE and was a requirement for all players waiting for their turn to play during the practice games.

I think it will take about 2 weeks before all our athletes master the sequence of steps for all speed ladder drills and maybe a month or two before the results will be seen but like all the drills we do for kicking, faking, turning, juggling, all of what we train consistently is an investment for the future game of our athletes.