Ever since the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) first arrived on the scene in 1993, I have always been a very big fan. Then again, at the time I was also a big fan of the movie ‘Bloodsport’ (1988) starring the ‘actor’ Jean-Claude Van Damme, and back then, the UFC was about as close to that movie as anything that anyone had ever seen before. The UFC was fought in an elimination-style tournament without weight divisions, gloves, or very few rules, which was what made those Royce Gracie victories all that more impressive and amazing. The term ‘mixed-martial arts’ did not really...

“Well?” I asked assertively, “what have you managed to come up with? What is your answer?” Several enthusiastic hands shot up at once and so I nodded my head in the direction of our Quarterback. “We need better blocking”, he said. “Good start” I proclaimed, “that certainly identifies one of the more obvious problems”. “Now then, how do we accomplish this?” I then asked. The unanimous answer was “work harder during practices and focus more during the games”. Okay – not a bad summary. Nobody it seemed was directly blaming anyone else and collectively, they all...

Dear Mr. Smith, I am a College Professor and a youth football coach in Ontario and I was reading on the TSN report that you are planning on “renting three billboards near the Eagles’ stadium blasting the signing of Vick” in protest to his recent signing with the Philadelphia Eagles Football club. As a life-time pet owner, the father of a young, impressionable football player, and also as a College Professor who works regularly with ‘Youth-at-Risk’, I would just like to ask that you please reconsider your perspective on this matter. Many people in this life make mistakes....

The only words that I can think of that would best describe the conflicted and distressed feelings that I was experiencing leading all the way into Mondays practice, would have to be “lost” and “confused”. Our team had just won three straight games and we were really starting to build on our momentum. Then, without reason, we collapsed (such is the beauty of football). Our timing suddenly fell apart and our blocking ceased to exist. The challenge then became; how do we fix a problem of this magnitude so late in the season without truly understanding ‘why’ it was...

This was given to me on Father’s Day (2009) by two great friends. I’ve kept it on my refrigerator at home and thought that I would post it on the site. Thanks Matt and Laila. Love ya! James VN:F [1.7.4_987]please wait...Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)VN:F [1.7.4_987]Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

As the season was slowly coming to an end, I decided that it would be a good idea to sit down with all of my players prior to the start of the playoffs in order to remind them all of the significant effect that a positive attitude and upbeat enthusiasm can have on a football team (and in life). In the week previous, everyone started off feeling really good about themselves and their chances for victory, however, it was quite apparent after only moments into the game that many of the players had become quite despondent after the opposing team had immediately scored two touchdowns. By the end...

The world is full of harsh realities for children who are not prepared for the future. The very first thing that I ask myself when I think about setting priorities in youth football is: what will be best for my players in helping them to set the tone for the rest of their lives? Football season only lasts a few months and when I prioritize the needs of my players, I have to consider that I only have a very short time to either make a major, positive influence on their lives, or no impact at all. Or worse yet, a negative impact. If you ask some players, “why do you want to play football?”,...

Success can sometimes be measured in a variety of ways. ‘Coach A’ may look at his season and only think that it has been successful if he has won every single game – including the Championships. ‘Coach B’ might not care about the wins and losses as much, so long as his team has made the playoffs and competed hard in each game. ‘Coach C’ on the other hand, might not care much about winning at all, so long as all of his players had fun and improved their athletic skills. And ‘Coach D’ might just want his team to win ONE game, so that his players too, can know the excitement...