Putting away bags/sheilds?

[CoachCalande]

Have any of you just gone completely live, no bags, no shields, no cones....every drill...live.

I read where Giles hs in Va (back in the late 90s and early 2000s)  and a school coached by a 353 guru dont/didnt use any of that stuff, its all live all the time according to what I read. They feel that its what football is about.

Just curious.

[CoachDP]

What kind of numbers do they have there?

--Dave

[Michael]

Yes.  If it doesn't breathe or bleed, we don't hit it.

[davecisar]

Have any of you just gone completely live, no bags, no shields, no cones....every drill...live.

I read where Giles hs in Va (back in the late 90s and early 2000s)  and a school coached by a 353 guru dont/didnt use any of that stuff, its all live all the time according to what I read. They feel that its what football is about.

Just curious.

Giles is a perennial Single Wing power in Virginia
Lots of playoff appearances
State Titles
Longevity and consistency in coaching staff
Virginia= football very important
My guess is they have very long numbers for their school population size

[Tripwire]

I am kinda torn between the two.  I think early on when the kids are learning the plays it is extremely important to run "On-Air" and we use pads to simulate blockers where they are supposed to go etc.

The last Nike clinic I went to it seemed everyone who was speaking was saying that contact in practice is like a thing of the past.  Colleges, Pro's, high schools on down to youth were no longer doing full speed contact in practices.  They all were of the opinion that you teach technique only and the rest will come.

[Coach D]

We do quite a bit of "live" stuff, but I gotta have my cones (we use the flat style for directional purposes). 

This is gonna sound arrogant and I really don't mean it to, but until I get killed by a team that goes with no contact and no live scrimmaging or drilling, I will think it an effective way to practice.  It just hasn't happened yet.  I would love to avoid it and avoid the injuries from going live but I just think players begin to develop bad habits.  Maybe I just don't know how to coach a non-live style very well, I could definitely admit to that and would love to learn if that is what the more successful coaches are doing.   

[CoachAnthony]

We decided to do go completely live for everything this spring.Football & cones were all we had at practice Saturday.

[ZACH]

Rick Pennypacker hc pottsgrove high school, talks about drilling situations and then sarcastically says there is never a situation when an opponent is holding a bag or you have to hit a sled. He then prefaces that he does not go live all the time but he uses bags very seldom or not at all

[Coach D]

Rick Pennypacker hc pottsgrove high school, talks about drilling situations and then sarcastically says there is never a situation when an opponent is holding a bag or you have to hit a sled. He then prefaces that he does not go live all the time but he uses bags very seldom or not at all

You know, come to think of it, I really never have players hitting other players with bags or shields.  We really only use them when coaches are holding them - I take a lot of aspirin 

[CoachJJ]

This is probably a Numbers Game ... not just overall numbers but how many players you have that are similar ... in HS, I have seen some teams with just 25 guys but they were all like the exact same kid ... similar sizes and makeups ... a team like that can hit each other all day ...

Conversely, when half your team cant take a solid hit from the other half of the team, you probably need to use some shields to provide the little guys some relief ...

We definitely mix in our use of bags and sleds ... and our O-line is usually the strength of our team so I dont see me giving up my sled or chute dummies any time soon ... LOL

But we also go live contact as often as possible ... we do a lot of live contact in tackling and blocking drills ... that is how the game is played !!!

[PBTide]

We do quite a bit of "live" stuff, but I gotta have my cones (we use the flat style for directional purposes). 

This is gonna sound arrogant and I really don't mean it to, but until I get killed by a team that goes with no contact and no live scrimmaging or drilling, I will think it an effective way to practice.  It just hasn't happened yet.  I would love to avoid it and avoid the injuries from going live but I just think players begin to develop bad habits.  Maybe I just don't know how to coach a non-live style very well, I could definitely admit to that and would love to learn if that is what the more successful coaches are doing.

This is an interesting thread.  We focus very much at the youth level on proper technique, which I am not sure I would be able to coach effectively without bags and shields.  Truthfully, although I was a first year coach (head or assistant, I was head) last year no one out hit us.  I guess I have bought into the notion that a team is going to be able to be more effective and comfortable with their assignments if they have proper technique.  Also proper technique = more physical.

Just my two cents.  Again, great topic!

[Michael]

This is an interesting thread.  We focus very much at the youth level on proper technique, which I am not sure I would be able to coach effectively without bags and shields.

I go live with our O-Line specifically because I want to work on proper technique.  We do a lot of footwork drills and fit drills and that sort of thing that aren't live (although the fit drills are one-on-one), but otherwise, we're live.  I want to make sure that when we match up with someone in a game (who will be moving, of course), we use the proper technique.  There are a lot of things that happen when hitting a player that don't happen when hitting a bag, shield, or sled.  I want our players to be technically proficient when those things happen.

[CoachCalande]

Player- "hey coach, why do we need all of these bags and sheilds?"

Coach - " I dont want you guys getting beat up in drills"

Player - " you dont want us to get hurt?"

Coach - "yeah"

Player- (in game)..."this could get me hurt"

Coach- "CMON, HIT SOMEBODY!!!"

[ZACH]

Player- "hey coach, why do we need all of these bags and sheilds?"

Coach - " I dont want you guys getting beat up in drills"

Player - " you dont want us to get hurt?"

Coach - "yeah"

Player- (in game)..."this could get me hurt"

Coach- "CMON, HIT SOMEBODY!!!"

Amen!

[bigshel]

I go live with our O-Line specifically because I want to work on proper technique.  We do a lot of footwork drills and fit drills and that sort of thing that aren't live (although the fit drills are one-on-one), but otherwise, we're live.  I want to make sure that when we match up with someone in a game (who will be moving, of course), we use the proper technique.  There are a lot of things that happen when hitting a player that don't happen when hitting a bag, shield, or sled.  I want our players to be technically proficient when those things happen.

This.