Category: Zach Smith

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9/3/20 – What We Are Hearing

Major Momentum for Fall Season

B1G Presidents are holding a vote (another vote? Or first official vote? Or a consensus conversation?) tomorrow via Zoom on reinstating the Season. Early October, Post-Thanksgiving and January 1 start dates are all on the table for the B1G season opener. This will be the official announcement for the season start date… finally some progress. Momentum is rapidly pushing support for the start date to come earlier after the overwhelming (and unexpected?) explosion of outrage by players, parents, and fans regarding the premature cancellation of the season. Not to mention Donald Trump’s pledge to assist with the newly approved rapid antigen tests came at the most opportune time. These are the reasons B1G Presidents are stating the new interest in pushing the start date of the season up. But we believe that is just them towing the company line. The real reason this season has new life has been alluded to all over social media. It’s CYA at its finest on the NCAA level.

Big Ten attorney Andrew Luger put out that “harm would be incredible” if the FOIA request from Tom Mars to release documentation around the decision to cancel the season was granted and made public. What could they possibly be hiding?  Let’s just say… this isn’t the first time one president would be exposed. Mark Schlissel has been caught with his democratic pants down before (If you didn’t know, click here) and rumor has it, this time it’s FAR worse.  His opinions (along with a handful of presidents) on the politics of cancelling the season, the amateurism of athletes and football in general would be the final nail in his careers coffin.  Furthermore the B1G conference submitted a sworn affidavit that the vote was 11-3, and two “voters” have publicly denounced said vote. Someone is lying and if it’s the conference, under oath, this could be a colossal problem (it’s called perjury) for the B1G.

Now the B1G is facing a major decision. Tuck their tail between their legs, admit they were wrong and reinstate the season to get Tom Mars off his witch hunt… or face the music for what they have done and deal with the blowback (that will be tremendous).  Adding to that issue is the judgment that hit the news yesterday that the B1G conference is to produce the documents around the “vote” by September 12th.

The proposition will be to reinstate a full fall schedule.  Four teams will opt out; Maryland, Rutgers, Illinois and Michigan State.  The remaining 10 teams will play an 8 game schedule.  The only item up for conversation is will they (can they) get it set up and done to execute it in October?  Or should the initial plan of after thanksgiving be the move?  It is not only possible to start in early October, it might be career ending for the powers at be to NOT.

Coaches Are Preparing and Teams are Practicing

The consensus amongst the six coaching staffs we have spoken to is unanimous.  “We don’t know shit.  What are you hearing?” In the history of the B1G conference there has never been a more disastrous situation that lacked transparency, leadership or communication. The fact Kevin Warren has yet to consult a single football coach is the main reason he needs to resign immediately. Wayne Duke would have had a conference call with Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes. Jim Delaney would have contacted Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh and James Franklin. Kevin Warren is consulting the pictures of himself in the shrine in his home office.  Ryan Day, for one, had enough.

Football teams get 20 hours a week for football “in-season” and on Monday the Buckeyes were on the practice field preparing to go six straight days of full practice. Why?  Because a season is immenent?  No.  They have ZERO insight into any start date but the objective was clear… whether they play in October, November or January, they were not going to allow programs in the SEC, ACC or Big 12 stack 20 hours of development week in, week out leading into the 2021 season. Those hours are vital for the development of next years team as much as preparation for a weekly opponent. Cleats were laced up, helmets were buckled tight and Ryan Day and staff took his team to the turf and got back to work.

Always True

Epstein didn’t kill himself.  Bert McMurphy looks like a child molester.  Paul Finebaum watches Nick Saban press conference clips for pleasure.  Yahoo! Sportswriters want football cancelled and you to be miserable.  This cancellation was politically motivated.  The End.

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Can the Big Ten Swing an Election, Part II

Kevin Warren… Pepe Silvia… Pepe Silvia… Kevin Warren.  It’s always sunny in Philadelphia but it damn sure is raining in B1G Country.  The tin foil hats are on and it is time to free fall into the abys that is the Coronavirus rabbit hole.

In early summer Yahoo! Sports published an article on Kevin Warren’s directive to “swing the election” and after the 3 week debacle we have all witnessed by the Commissioner and B1G presidents it’s time to see how this initiative is going.

From Pete Thamel’s article on June 15, 2020:

“First-year Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has made it a priority that the conference’s nearly 10,000 athletes will have a say in that election. Warren is in just his fifth month in charge of the 14-member league, and he has made it clear with his early actions that social change will be among the league’s priorities. The Big Ten announced a league-wide voter registration initiative on Monday, which will include non-partisan education and a deeper understanding of registration, voting and voter suppression.”

This initiative in and of itself should not be argued as anything but positive… and telling.  Five months into the job, amidst a national pandemic like nothing we have ever witnessed, Kevin Warren’s initiative was about… voting?  Seems like strange priorities for the head duck of one of the most powerful conferences in all of athletics.  Plan for the coronavirus?  Guidelines and regulations for player safety to execute a safe season?  Nah… pass out “Get Out and Vote” stickers!

Why?  Why would Kevin Warren and university presidents allow politics to influence decisions around sports?  Let’s not go full on Mel Gibson from 1997, there are several other influences that swayed this decision, but we are going to dive into this theory and see if Facebook starts listening to our Alexas.

There are six swing states in B1G country.  Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.  In 2012, Barrack Obama won all six… in 2016, Trump took all but one of the sextet.  The literal key to the presidency is right here in the Midwest.  The political influence on playing sports this fall are undeniable.  Looking at all six swing states paints quite a vivid picture of partisanship when it comes to high school sports and cancel culture.  80 Electoral Collage Delegates on the line… and football is the weapon to steal them from the Orange Man!

Ohio – 18 Delegates
Governor: Mike DeWine (Republican)
President:  Kristina Johnson ([email protected])
High School FB: YES
B1G Vote:  YES

Michigan – 16 Delegates
Governor:  Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat)
UM President: Mark Schlissel ([email protected])
MSU President: Samuel Stanley ([email protected])
High School FB: NO
B1G Vote:  NO

Iowa – 6 Delegates
Governor: Kim Reynolds (Republican)
President: Bruce Harreld ([email protected])
High School FB: YES
B1G Vote:  YES

Wisconsin – 10 Delegates
Governor: Tony Evers (Democrat)
President: Rebecca Blank ([email protected])
High School FB: MIXED
B1G Vote:  NO

Pennsylvania – 20 Delegates
Governor: Tom Wolf (Democrat)
President: Eric J. Barron ([email protected])
High School FB: MIXED (Strongly recommended to 2021)
B1G Vote:  NO

Minnesota – 10 Delegates
Governor: Tom Walz (Democrat)
President: Joan Gabel ([email protected])
High School FB: NO
B1G Vote:  NO

Six States.  Two Republican Governors playing football this fall.  Four Democrats not playing or strongly recommending not playing.  That is just a microcosm of the national breakdown, just google it.  As deranged as this all sounds, it is fitting.  That is the leadership in government and the B1G outlined, now for the narrative communicators.  The voices filling our ears with an ulterior motive in synchronized unison.

It is no secret there are dozens of “sports media” who are loving the clickbait fear mongering that cancelling this season provides for advertising.  Sigh.  It is exhausting.  This mismanagement by Kevin Warren on the public relations front is nuclear.  So embarrassing that it seems he has hired someone else to handle it for him!  What is his job again?  Enter Carrie Gerlach Cecil.

Even AFTER she got called out for her clear political bias, one thing is evident solely based on her “Liked Tweets.”  She is in the Pat Forde, Dan Wetzel, Pete Thamel, Bert McDouchey and Nicole Auerbach camp.  In fact, it seems we have found Nicole Auerbach’s “source” for all things cancel culture!

Thank God.  Our savior has arrived.  Public Relations in the B1G is saved.

Newsflash Commissioner Warren:  The only positive PR at this point is to HAVE A SEASON LIKE THE SOUTH.

At this point, denying the political influence in this decision is sheer ignorance.  The football fields in democratic states will be green and empty while the republican fields will be worn from teenagers playing the game they love.  Joe Biden is blaming Trumps handling of the virus:

Donald Trump is trying to be the hero we all want but some hate:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1300815396950478849?s=20

The only undeniable thing here is the fact that the players, player families, coaches, athletic directors and fans ALL want to play… and it won’t happen because of a fight between a Donkey and an Elephant.  A babbling buffoon and an orange narcissist.  Liberals blame Trump.  Trump blames liberals.  We get no football.  What a time to be alive!

The good news is the Buckeyes were back on the practice field yesterday and are practicing all week.  Season or no season, Ryan Day is going to maximize the 20 hours they have weekly all fall to maximize this team so that whenever the toddlers making decisions decide to play nice… the Silver Bullets will be ready.

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Coaching PhD- See Ball, Catch Ball. It’s that simple!

I have had the privilege to coach some of the best athletes in the world.  Coaching such a high-level athlete comes with quite a task – enhance and improve an elite skill set.  This is easy to write but extremely difficult to do for a litany of reasons.  Comparatively, if you are given a business that is operating at 98% above competition, finding that next 1% of improvement is EXTREMELY difficult. 

Refining and enhancing the skills of a human being that has experienced enormous levels of success is not only functionally difficult to do, but the motivation to get that athlete to put in the work necessary is exponentially harder.  Think about it, this kid has dominated in every aspect of their craft.  They are ballers!  Spend ten extra hours working on ball reception?  I don’t drop the ball, coach!  Work on top end efficiency 3 times a week?  Can’t nobody guard me, coach!

This is where I saw great players transition to ELITE.  Where a seemingly dominant version of that player, in self-evaluation, DISGUSTS them.  All-Big 10?  I am an All-American.  1st Round Pick?  I am a top 10 pick.  Best Wide Receiver in the NFL?  I am the best, EVER.  That mindset of chasing greatness, chasing perfection – THAT is where elite lives.  Never satisfied, always hungry.

Great players don’t want to hear “great catch” – they want feedback that will help them improve.  When an athlete KNOWS that they are improving, they will work exponentially harder.  This was one of my greatest passions in coaching.  Not only HOW to improve athletes – but how to MOTIVATE them to improve.

If you haven’t read about the head athletic trainer at LSU, Jack Marucci, I suggest you do.  He is fascinating.  With 24 years as the Director of Athletic Training, he’s OBSESSED with the science behind athletic performance.  He works with all sports and his own kids were elite athletes. How obsessed?  In his quest to improve sports science he was unhappy with the quality of baseball bats offered in the industry. His solution? Go out back in his shed and handcrafting his own!

Fast forward 18 years and Marucci Bat Company has taken a major share in the baseball bat industry.  He saw a void and created a solution. This mindset is how I operated as a football coach daily.  I looked at film, looked at failures – asked WHY it happened.  Then crafted a plan, a drill, a workout to fix the issue.  I can honestly tell you 85% of drill work we did with receivers at Ohio State was made up in my office with no example of how to do it.  Just a few coaches talking through why an issue happened and discussing how to fix it.

Envision it – it’s team drills, ones on ones… Critical moment in the drill, situational (3rd and 7).  The quarterback evades pressure, slides in the pocket, delivers a strike to a blanketed receiver and… he drops it.  Then wait for it.  You hear the most comical sentence in “coaching” – a pet peeve of Urban Meyer’s, “Catch the damn ball!”

He would always laugh (and by laugh, I mean a very demeaning and uncomfortable laugh) to such a coaching point.  At which point he would get close to you and say, “Hey dumbass, how about you COACH him to catch the damn ball!”  That was my mission daily.  How can I train, develop and prepare my players so that ANY scenario they face in competition – they have done it so many times it is second nature.

Catching the ball.  Simple, right?  See the ball, catch the ball.  What’s so hard?  I plan on exploring this topic in great detail moving forward but wanted to share the most bad-ass analytical tool I have seen in fifteen years coaching. Which is being utilized by, surprise surprise, LSU athletics: It’s called Ocular Focus.

Ocular Focus is a system that tracks where a player is looking, where a player is focused, and the angle which his head and eyes are forced to execute a skill. Simply put – it’s the statistical probability that a player will be successful at a given skill based on the data of their eyes.  How likely is THAT player, on THAT route, on THAT side of the field going to make the play?  I believe there are two answers.  You can utilize data in drill work to identify weaknesses for two applications: Improvement and Success Promotion.

You can identify what eye dominance a player has and put them in situations that stress their weaker eye, their weaker vision set up – and drill those weaknesses to improve the likelihood they execute.  Do it so many times they have a level of comfortability when it arises.  You also can limit and minimize the times they are asked to attempt something where their probability of success is lower.

Look at these stats and tell me there isn’t a problem at ALL levels of football:

The three most targeted wide receivers in the NFL on deep balls last year were Kenny Galladay, Odell Beckham Jr. and Stefon Diggs.  They were targeted down field 102 times in 2019.  When any of them were on the left side of the field they had a 17.1% success rate.  Right side of the field?  50%.  The dudes that were thrown the highest frequency of deep balls in the NFL were 33% better on the right than the left!  That’s not coincidence.

Here is my belief and what I will be setting out to prove (and change).  There are two main factors in receiving a deep ball – Ocular and Manual Dominance.  Which eye is dominant and which hand is most comfortable STOPPING the football?  Think about it, if you are on the right sideline and a ball is coming from the quarterback, your left eye is the primary eye in your vision point on the ball.  Similarly, and simultaneously, your right hand is the primary actor in stopping the flight of the ball.  So, success will be based on (among other outlying factors) your ability and strength of your left eye tracking the ball and your right hand stopping it.

The athlete development platform I am in the process of creating (Zone 6 Training) is set out to research, study and give answers to this relationship and drill work to improve success in all aspects of football.  All positions, all situations – we are just getting started!  Science leads to refined teaching. Refined teaching leads to development. Development drives motivation to improve!  That is our mission.

This study into the kinesthetic science behind athletics is fascinating.  The APPLICATION of sports science in a coach’s world is the red diamond in the rough.  We are set out to be the Red Diamond in Football Development.

by: Zach Smith