Coach Riggs on Quarterbacks

We are wrapping up our Think Football summer with a Non-contact Camp for K-5 athletes (July 29-31) and a Quarterback Clinic (July 26). It has been great fun for our coaches to work with athletes in all our camps and position clinics over the past few months. We have seen some tremendous talent and determination to improve! As we offered our position clinics this summer, Coach Riggs asked his coaches to share their insights with young athletes about the demands of playing and training for the various positions. We asked Coach Riggs to do the same as he prepares 

                                                          to lead his Quarterback Clinic this week.

What are the most important qualities in a QB?
Desire! Desire to be the best, desire to know the system inside and out, and desire to make your teammates better. If a young QB has the desire to strive in these areas, they are going to be successful.

What kind of workouts make an athlete a better QB?
Throwing is not the only area that a QB needs to develop. QB’s really need to remember that their feet are their greatest asset! QB’s should always start at the bottom and work their way up: feet, core, arm and then mental aspects of the game. QB’s should constantly work to improve their foot speed, strengthen their core, build up arm strength and then continue to learn all aspects of their team’s strengths and what might be a weakness for their team.

What advice would you give to a young athlete who someday wants to play QB?

Learn from your mistakes, but do not dwell on your mistakes. QB’s are constantly going to be put in the spotlight. They will experience failure in practice and games. How they are able to learn from these mistakes, correct them, and improve their performance is the key. There is intense pressure on athletes who play QB. Learning to handle performance in the face of that pressure is critical to success!

What was your favorite part about playing at QB?

Learning and Leading. The QB position has such a high expectation that athletes have to be “students of the game.” As a QB, you have the opportunity to learn offensive schemes, defensive schemes, all positions and their responsibilities, and lead your team through the highs and lows of competition. 

Why should athletes go to this QB clinic?

Playing QB is like coaching...you can never receive enough training. As a QB, you constantly want to learn new wrinkles and how they can help you improve your play and become successful. This is very true as a coach too. I will be coaching this clinic along with one of my most successful and experienced QB’s, Terrance Bryant. Coach Bryant just finished an extremely successful season with the Sioux Falls Storm, leading the team to another championship and winning MVP honors. I have enjoyed coaching Terrance during his QB career, and the two of us really enjoy working together to help develop young QB’s. This clinic will be a dynamic and fun experience for athletes who are serious about learning the QB position!

We are looking forward to working with athletes at our Quarterback Clinic and our last event of the summer, the Non-contact Camp. The Fieldhouse has been very busy this summer with athletes seeking to improve before the 2013 season. It is going to be a great experience watching them turn their dedication and hard work into success on the field this fall!

Discipline and Determination: Tools to Success

The end of the youth football season is fast approaching, and that is a great time to reflect on the "teachable moments" that have come during the season.  Some of the lessons are about fundamentals and technique, but there are bigger lessons to be learned from our involvement...that's why we love the game.  So I asked a variety of people from all walks of life to tell me the most important lessons they learned from football.  There has been a wide range of answers, but two of the themes that have come up repeatedly involve discipline and determination. Those two qualities are important parts of success and sportsmanship. A program that develops and promotes those qualities will lead to an atmosphere which lets athletes know they worked hard, gave their best effort and can walk away knowing that they "left it all on the field."

 

Some of the comments focused on the importance of mental and physical discipline: 

It's a physical and mental game, be ready for both. –Jean Z. 

You have to be physically tough, but more importantly mentally tough to excel at football. –Keith P.

Others stressed the importance of training and practice to develop discipline: 

Train harder than your opponent. --Cory S. 

Practice until you reach a stage where actions follow automatically. --Kristy P.

It was good to hear recognition of all aspects of discipline and the importance of practice and training to success. Practice is what I love most about coaching. It gives me the opportunity to mold young men into a cohesive unit that will go onto the field with a common goal. Practice is critical to refine the many elements that will make a team successful. Individuals need to know the play, the coach’s expectations, the rules, the audibles, sight adjustments, and their assignments.  Then they have to put that all in motion as a team, and that takes extreme discipline. People think of games as the time to learn about football, but practice is where players develop the discipline to work together and learn the intangibles that translate into success on the field.

Discipline doesn’t come easy for individuals or teams, and other comments recognized the importance of determination to overcoming adversity: 

How people (players, coaches, and fans) react to negative situations. When things go bad, how do you handle yourself to overcome it? Losing control will only help you lose more games. --Shannon P.

Don't ever give up. You never know how much you can do if you give up. --Jadyn S. 

Being able to respond well to negative situations is a critical component of sportsmanship.  Football is extremely challenging, and it is easy to want to quit when things are difficult. But finishing a play, a quarter, a half, and a game after endless hours of practice, or when you didn’t believe you could do it, is one of the most fulfilling feelings an athlete can experience. And once an athlete sees the reward of his determination, he works harder, becomes more disciplined, and ultimately becomes a better athlete.

Discipline and determination were the first two "lessons" that people discussed, and the next two are respect and humility. Stay tuned...

5 Tips to Being a Great Sports Parent

Now that all area teams and leagues have started their games, it is a good time to offer some reminders to parents on how to best support their young athletes. We want to encourage our kids, and we want them to develop confidence and character that last long after the season ends! These are the five things that I would encourage every parent of a young athlete to remember:

5. Stay Positive

There will be struggles. You will disagree with coaches and other parents at times, and the kids will sometimes make poor decisions and not play well. Your number one job is to encourage your child and other members of the team. Negativity only magnifies a frustrating situation for everyone involved, so keep your comments and your attitude positive.

4. Show Respect

It is hard to expect kids to be respectful of opponents and officials if parents are not being respectful. Parents who emphasize the importance of respect to all—teammates, coaches, opponents and officials—will help instill character in their children. Remember that kids are always paying attention, and we should demonstrate respect and character off the field if we expect it to be displayed on the field.

3. Live Healthy

Youth sports place a high physical demand on young athletes. Parents need to make sure their kids are getting proper nutrition and rest. Use this opportunity to teach your kids about healthy food choices and about “de-stressing” away from the sport. Kids need to find a balance between school and activities, and parents can support healthy choices that energize a child physically and emotionally.

2. Support Your Coach

Parents need to show support for their child’s coach and repeat the things the coach is preaching to their child. Listen to the things the coach suggests players work on outside of practice, and then help your child to do those things! You need to be proactive and supportive of the coach’s beliefs. If you question the coach's philosophy or coaching technique, communicate that privately with the coach…it should never take place in front of the kids. You will have the best experience if you work together to make the experience fun and rewarding. Remember, you are all on the same team when it comes to finding success for these kids! 

1. Relax and Enjoy 

Kids are going to make mistakes and display emotion. It is part of the learning experience in youth sports, and parents who focus too much on winning and perfection are not doing their kids any favors. Young athletes need help understanding how to win and lose with grace. Don’t forget that at the end of the day, they are kids, and they need their confidence intact. Relax and be proud of their efforts! 

Kids and Concussions: Playing it Safe

This has been a busy week for news about concussions after Commissioner Goodell announced the NFL’s $30 million donation to NIH to conduct research on brain injuries.  The NFL has set up a website to provide more details about its efforts on player safety, and that includes the concussion legislation which has been passed in 37 states, including South Dakota.

http://www.nflevolution.com/

We don’t have all the answers right now on the effects of concussions on young athletes, so I applaud the NFL for getting serious about this research.  Parents need to know that efforts are being made at every level to improve equipment quality, and training for youth coaches.

Sports medicine programs around the country, including Sanford in Sioux Falls, are currently researching better ways to identify and treat concussions in young athletes and to educate parents and coaches about concussion symptoms.  Knowledge really is power when it comes to concussions, so teaching proper technique to youth coaches makes a real difference in preventing injury. Making sure parents and coaches can spot concussion symptoms and get medical help following an injury makes a difference as well.   

It will take a combination of all of these things to see improvements that affect player safety.  Those efforts are well underway, and the NFL’s donation is a timely reminder that whether they are beginners or pros, we all play a part in protecting our athletes.    

Heads Up Football: Preventing Injuries

USA Football started a Heads Up Football Initiative in August, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was quick to get behind their efforts.  The goal of the program is to better train youth coaches to ensure that correct fundamentals are being taught in a more intentional way.  Mistakes in tackling technique are a recipe for concussions and other serious injuries, and the Heads Up Football Initiative seeks to reduce those injuries.  This video is an excellent tool to demonstrate correct form tackling.  All coaches and parents could benefit from watching and using Heads Up Football!  There is never a substitute for proper technique!