Coach Flip Naumburg's Journal

Monday, August 2, 2004

MORE ON THE JOURNAL

When I started out on this "Public Journal" journey 4 years ago I thought that it might be an extremely powerful tool for communicating with players on the team, and maybe a way to speak with them on a more elevated plane than I had before. In truth, and whether or not I use it well, The Journal has been a powerful (and fast) voice from me to players. That has been proven many times.

If they (players) aren’t reading it (journal) regularly, then to me that would be their loss, because it is a great opportunity for them to know how I feel and where my focus as a coach is at any given time. It usually doesn’t take long to keep up. This is hardly Shakespeare or James Joyce.

CSU lacrosse players are not penalized for not reading The Journal, however. There are no exams on it. I do not begrudge freedom of choice or apathy.

Tuning in to me by reading The Journal, though not mandatory, can be useful because, as everyone who has ever played for me knows, the key is to keep me from getting cranky, bitchy, etc. It isn’t that hard, especially if you have a feel for my moods ahead of time, and day by day.

MARRIED TO THE MOB?

For the most part keeping Coach Me happy entails dedicating oneself to a few very basic concepts of team play. Solid interaction on the field blended with some specific, physical fundamentals will go far with Me. Good individual work habits help, too. Then of course there is The Family.

Why should the team have to deal with My Moods? Well, because I am the Coach and I am Moody. Until they can afford a real Coach these be the Facts.

ROCK IT IN AND ROLL IT OUT - CONSISTENCY – DEPENDABILITY, etc.

They (CSU lax players) are not forced to use Rock-it Pockets here in Ram land either, although why they (short sticks) would use other pockets is beyond me. They have the factory in their "back yard" that can pretty much customize anything at almost any time, and build them to almost any specifications. Still, I see a lot of mesh pockets out there on my own field, and that’s just the way it is. What is important is that their pockets function well, and not that they be made by Rock-it Pocket.

PHILOSOPHICAL INTERLUDE # 1 for 2004
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT OF BALL MOVEMENT IS "MOVE TO THE BALL"

An example of a basic concept I have clung (?) to through all the years is "MOVE TO THE BALL". I learned it from Bob Scott and his "Bibles" that he gave his Hopkins teams to read before games 40 years ago. I have said it silently as a player and aloud as a coach a million times. I try to design drills that encourage this basic motion. If they (player) always move toward the ball (Flip’s mantra 101) when they want to get it, and work to get in places that will space them well to move toward the passer and the ball, then I will likely never get mad at that player, not ever. I might grind the top of my skinhead with the tortured palm of my hand if he repeatedly does not CATCH it or there is some other breakdown, but I will never get angry with him. Why? The reason is because he is trying to do that first basic thing that I asked. That is where all future faith and trust must come from.

The problems can come if I find myself questioning a player after he just sprinted goal-ward expecting a perfect pass and no checks to come his way (not!) while the feed comes from some weird angle, "What part of moving to the ball is it that you do not understand?" They might look at me and still not get what the hell I am talking about. I go on, "Yes, I know other coaches let you back cut to the goal or whatever, but I am not like them. I want you to always look to create big lanes of opportunity that you could drive a truck through, highways for feeding. This happens when the flow moves to the ball, and so on…..."

Even the most basic concepts remain forever works in progress. .

BREAK IT DOWN WITHOUT BREAKING THEM DOWN

Lacrosse players with skill often want to hurry and push every potential scoring chance they get. Fast breaks can be beautiful to watch for sure, and they are fun to be a part of. They can give a team a great energy boost, too.

Getting unsettled chances to attack the other team’s goal is our objective at all times, don’t get me wrong, but it can also be ugly and messy if the play is forced or poorly executed. If you don’t score, and the other team brings the ball quickly back to your end, then these changes of possession can put a lot of extra pressure on your defense.

I am trying to promote speed and patience blended all together, and it isn’t that easy to be smart and a little crazy at the same time. That’s where the fundamentals a team works on can fill in the blanks and make all things and all styles of play possible.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHOS BAD I THINK IT WAS

By the way, sometimes I get mad at players who do things to invite a player to throw them the kind of pass that I hate, a bad pass as it were. It is often in my opinion not just the fault of the passer. As a player without the ball, don’t ever tempt someone to throw you a pass he shouldn’t. The flesh is weak. Everyone knows this. Act accordingly.

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Flip Started Blogging Before it was Cool, Read Over 400 of His Entries Since January 2001
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