Ken James Northwood High School: [email protected] - Us

Ken James
Northwood High School

[email protected]
Player Development and
Motivation
How important is it? Your team has a few
guys who could play for any of your
opponents. These players don't need much
coaching or much motivation. However, your
success depends on how well the rest of your
players perform.
If a player is properly motivated, you won't
have to do much to manage his behavior.
You just have to point him in the right
direction.
The problem is, since you are asking young
men to do something that is not natural by
putting the team first, how do you get every
player on your team to prepare and play with
the same intensity as your best players?
We break player motivation into three
phases:
In-season;
Post-season;
Off-season.
In-Season
Create a first-class environment. We have
wood lockers, air conditioning, a carpeted
locker room, nine different uniform
combinations, the latest in protective gear,
and excellent practice facilities. Most of
these things we paid for or built ourselves.
The players take pride in the fact that it is
a first-class program.
• Goal-setting done in segments:
Win opener
Beat rival
Compile winning non-league record
Win league opener
Compile winning league record
Complete winning season
Earn league championship
Earn undefeated league record
Qualify for state playoffs
Win state title
• Helmet Awards
Team-everyone gets one for a win
Unit-One award for each four goals reached
Individual-scoring a TD (2)
A great hit
Putting an opponent on his back
Outstanding catch or run
Getting two blocks on one play
Sack, CF, FR, or INT
Scout player of the week (Could be a starter)

Personal Accountability:
Grades for each game done by position coaches.
 + - Completed assignment correctly
 T – Poor technique
 A – Missed assignment
 E – Lack of effort
Circle of Death (Mondays)
Anyone with a lack of effort or a stupid personal
foul penalty in the previous game must stand in
the middle of the circle, announce his name,
identify how many times he let the team down,
and watch his teammates do up-downs for his
transgression.
They learn to play smart and play through the
echo of the whistle.
Platooning
Provides more opportunities for second teamers to
get on the field
Review of Practice film

Forces players to be accountable during the week. If
players are even and competing for practice time,
we grade the film each day for that position.
Whoever has the best grades for the week starts on
Friday.
Everyone dresses the same for games and
practice
White socks, black cleats, etc.
No superstar mentality

Last padded practice: Seniors give speeches
and will things (jersey #’s, lockers, etc.) to
underclassmen. Each player is provided a
history of his number and several of our
numbers have a storied past, so many of our
young players work to get a specific one
handed down to them.
At the end of the season, we give out two
awards:
Winners' Club: 80 percent grade for eight out of
ten games
Ironman: perfect attendance (Everyone can
qualify, no red-shirt mentality)
We also have a highlight film that we show

at the banquet. We do our own on
MovieMaker. It is the players' and parents'
favorite part of the evening.
Post-Season
Meet with each player individually before
the off-season program begins
Impress upon him that each season is a fresh
start, and he'll have to earn everything that he
gets, right down to his locker and equipment.
Have him rate
himself in several
categories. This lets
him know where he
stands.
Find out where he wants to be and show him
how to get there. Have him set goals:
1. Individual Goals
A. Strength Training B. Performance for Next Year
Weight:
40 Time:
Agility Run:
Vertical:
Bench:
Squat:
Power Clean:
Push Press:
Dead Lift:
2. Team Goals for next season:
3. What I must do to meet my goals:
4. Long-term goals:
5. Academic goals:
6. How will I benefit from reaching these goals?
Give him a sheet to put in his locker so he
is constantly reminded of his commitment:
Ranger Football 2008 Goals:
 GPA: 2.5 Bench: 230
 Weight: 170 Dead Lift: 430
 40 Time: 4.7 Squat: 350
 Agility Run: 3.9 Clean: 205
 Vertical: 29 Push Press: 205
Team Goals:
 10 – 0
 T.A.A.C. Championship
 State Championship
Individual Goals:
 Be a leader.
In our program, every player must earn his
uniform. We test in eight speed and
strength categories. A player must improve
significantly in at least six of those to suit
up for a varsity game.
If players don't work in the off-season, they
stand on the sidelines and hold a clipboard
until the goals are reached.
In this post-season interview, get involved
in his life outside of football. Find out
where he wants to be in ten years and see
if he needs help solving any problems.
Off-Season
Our philosophy is the same as in-season.
We have uniforms for weightlifting.
Everyone wears the same stuff so we look
and feel like a team.
Create a first class lifting environment -
music, carpet, mirrors - because you will
spend a lot of time there.
Study table is provided for anyone who
needs help and required for anyone who
needs a kick in the rear.
Make testing part of your regimen, as long
as technique is never sacrificed.
Put names for achievement on the weight
room wall and in the fall sports program.
We don't put the pictures of returning
lettermen in our program; rather, we put
the pictures of 1000-Pound Club members
and Survivors there.
Survivor program
15 days of 6:15 AM workouts in the spring.
There are make-up days in the summer for
spring-sports athletes.
Anyone who makes all 15 is dubbed a “Survivor”
and gets a T-shirt and his picture in the fall
sports program.
Newsletter
Sent to every player in
grades 2-11.
Provides motivational
stories and honors the
top performers in the
off-season program.
It makes every player
and his family feel
important and connected
to the entire program.
Weightlifting dinners at my house each
month for players who work hard and
improve.
Summer Camp
held at an area university for three days at the
end of July.
Plenty of practice and lots of swimming and
eating.
We stay in a dorm, use the college's practice
facility, and travel everywhere together.
This is a player favorite.
Obstacle course is held right before two-a-
days. Parents come out to watch and we
have a picnic afterwards.
Teams are drafted by the seniors in the spring
Starting positions for each team are determined
by academics, summer attendance, and anything
else you want to add.
The winning team never has to clean the locker
room or pick up stuff after practice.
It is a huge motivator, and it kicks off our
preseason practice.

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Ken James

Northwood High School

Unit-One award for each four goals reached

Putting an opponent on his back

Outstanding catch or run

Getting two blocks on one play

Sack, CF, FR, or INT

Scout player of the week (Could be a starter)

Review of Practice film

No superstar mentality

We also have a highlight film that we show

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