Team Building and Beyond: Leadership Lessons from Renowned Football Coaches

Football coaches, especially those in the NFL, carry the heavy duty of not only leading their players to victory but also making sure that all members stay motivated as they progress.

Those who do not enjoy football can still learn lessons from the football field - leadership lessons, to be exact. Here are some of them:

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Leadership is about teaching, not shouting

Vince Lombardi was the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. Considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Lombardi likened coaching to teaching, where the leader isn’t there to bark orders, but to set a goal and tell each member why each step is important. With this kind of coaching, his players grew to respect him as he made sure all of them understood what they were playing for.

Honesty is important

“The only way to change people is to tell them in the clearest possible terms what they’re doing wrong. And if they don’t want to listen, they don’t belong on the team,” writes Bill Parcells in a Harvard Business Review article in 2000. Bill Parcells was known for turning around losing teams and for coaching the New York Giants to two Super Bowl wins. His key strategy: be (brutally) honest.

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Hard work is a tool to achieve goals

Tom Landry made the Dallas Cowboys one of the best teams in the 1970s. He was known for making his players recognize the importance of working hard today in order to reap the rewards of tomorrow. He once said, “Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do [so they can] achieve what they want to achieve.”

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REPOST: Sarah Thomas: NFL appoints its first woman official

America's NFL has just announced the appointment of its first full-time woman line judge. Get to know more about Sarah Thomas by reading the article below:

When Sarah Thomas began officiating 19 years ago, she had no idea there were no women referees in the National Football League.

“I never set out to become the first female official in the NFL,” she ttold ABC News in 2013, but today she makes history as the first woman to be assigned full-time to an NFL officiating crew.

The NFL announced nine first-year NFL officials who graduated from the NFL Officiating Development program, which trains top college football officials. The 41-year-old will join the NFL as a line judge after 19 years officiating and eight years with Conference USA.

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“Our incoming officials have all demonstrated that they are among the best in college football,” NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said in a statement. “We are excited about having them join us.”

Ms Thomas, a former college basketball player, wanted to learn more about the game of American football and began to pursue officiating — and she’s been making history ever since.

In 2011, the Mississippi native became the first woman to referee in a Big Ten stadium. In 2009, she became the first woman to referee a college bowl game at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. In 2013, she then joined the NFL’s officiating program, working Saints games as requirements for the course.


”I don't feel that it's been harder for me because I'm a female,“ she said. ”I think that we are just out here working as officials. … I think just on our credentials, just as officials, I think that's what moves us along, not because of our gender or our race.“

Ms Thomas is also a wife and mother of two sons and a daughter. She says her family doesn’t consider her job out of the ordinary.

”They just know mom officiates and it's nothing foreign to them or pioneering or anything,“ she said. ”I do this.”


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American football vs. rugby: Which is the tougher sport?

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American football and rugby are two of the most physically demanding sports in the world. Both games have established a tough reputation due to their associated risks and dangers, pushing human strength and endurance to the limit.

By comparison, both sports are difficult to play. The first obvious reason lies on their physical requirements and the inherent dangers associated with the sports. In terms of “toughness,” however, the answer may depend on the parameters considered.

The fundamentals of football and rugby are entirely different. In terms of the time limit, for example, rugby has two 40-minute halves, whereas football has four 15-minute quarters, with a half-time intermission. With these factors, rugby places greater emphasis on stamina while football’s more flexible time limit makes the game more explosive when it comes to game plan.

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Both games also differ significantly on strategy. For instance, football teams are given the chance to have unlimited substitutions, whereas, in rugby, teams are only provided at least seven player changes, depending on the mechanics of the tournament.

Other factors such as players’ physique and game objectives must also be accounted as they may affect the difficulty and stringency of the match.

Football and rugby are two different games, and both have their pros and cons. All things considered, the toughness of both sports may depend on the preference and strength and endurance of players.

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REPOST: Which College Football Conference Will Be the Best in 2015?

Who has the highest chance of winning in the college level football this season? This article from Bleacher Report discusses statistics and general observations about the 2015 College Football Conference.

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The SEC is the safest bet to rule college football next season, no matter how deep the Pac-12, how top-heavy the Big Ten and Big 12 or how underrated the ACC.

Why? Because in college football, past results predict future performance. The relationship isn't causal, but there is a strong correlation (.76) between the five-year F/+ program ratings at Football Outsiders and how a team fares the next season.

This concept can be extended to conferences—or at least it can in theory—so we've collated the average F/+ ratings from 2010 to 2014 and sorted by league.

The higher the F/+ rating, the better that conference has been than the FBS average (0.0). The next four columns show the percentage of each conference that falls in the top quartile, second quartile, third quartile and bottom quartile among Power Five teams:

Statistically, the SEC has been roughly twice as good as the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 the past five seasons.

The Big 12 has been comparable, especially with regard to distribution, but its top-tier teams (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU) have been far worse than those of the SEC (Alabama, LSU, Georgia).

Why is this important? Again, because as strange as it feels, looking backward is a big part of looking forward. It might even be the biggestpart. Football Outsiders elaborates on this point:

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The strongest indicator of how a college football team will perform in the upcoming season is their performance in recent seasons.

It may seem strange because graduation enforces constant player turnover, but college football teams are actually much more consistent from year to year than NFL teams. Thanks in large part to consistency in recruiting, teams can be expected to play within a reasonable range of their baseline program expectations each season. Our Program F/+ ratings, which represent a rolling five-year period of play-by-play and drive efficiency data, have an extremely strong (.76) correlation with the next year’s F/+ rating.

If you disregard advanced stats, that's fine; you're well within your rights. And at least you have Charles Barkley in your corner! But in many ways you're arguing that two and two make five.

The SEC has been the best conference since 2010—and not by an insignificant margin—which gives it the best chance to be the best conference in 2015. Is it guaranteed? No. But it's probable.

And that's not even where the argument ends.

After past performance, the next strongest indicator of success is recruiting. How much talent has each conference signed?

Here's a look at the four-year recruiting averages, courtesy of the247Sports composite rankings:

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The validity of star ratings is a popular argument, but again, as Matt Hinton of Football Study Hall explained last February, the numbers suggest they matter. They matter a lot.

There are obvious exceptions (Oregon, Michigan State, et al.), but in general the teams that recruit better play better.

"Arguably, [Alabama has] the greatest collection of football players ever assembled for a college team if the recruiting services are correct," South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said ;at SEC media days last summer. "And they're pretty much correct."

But even if you're dubious of recruiting rankings, the margin by which the SEC dominates should mean something. The table above is persuasive, but here are some additional fun facts.

Seven SEC teams (Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Texas A&M and Tennessee) land in the top 13. No other conference boasts more than two. The Big Ten and Big 12 boast one apiece.

TCU and Arizona would be the No. 13 recruiting school in the SEC. Wisconsin and Georgia Tech would rank last. All four won either their division or their conference last season.

The No. 11 SEC recruiting school (Arkansas) would be No. 3 in the Big Ten and Big 12, No. 4 in the ACC and No. 5 in the Pac-12.

The extent of the SEC's talent advantage can be argued, but the existence of said advantage cannot. Or at least it can't be argued rationally.

This year, unlike previous years, the SEC combines that talent advantage with coaching stability, too. Twelve of 14 teams (86 percent) have head coaches entering at least their third seasons.

No other league has more.

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In the past, predicting the SEC to be the best league in America was so obvious you didn't need to write it. It was like saying after the 2013 NBA Finals that LeBron James was the best player in basketball.

That the Big Ten (Ohio State) and ACC (Florida State) won the past two national titles has stained the SEC's luster, but it hasn't changed reality. Predicting the SEC to be the best league next season is like saying LeBron James is still the best player in basketball: no longer accepted as fact, but still almost definitely true.

Earlier this offseason, I collated the way-too-early rankings from multiple media outlets. The consensus had 10 SEC teams (Alabama, Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Texas A&M) inside the top 28.

For emphasis: Ten inside the top 28!

It's not blind faith or SEC BIAS! informing those opinions, either. It's logic derived from some form of the numbers above.

The SEC has played like the best conference and recruited like the best conference, which gives it the best chance to stay the best conference, even if it didn't (and doesn't) win the national title.

Sometimes simple answers are the best.

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A lot of hot air? Scientists weigh in on Deflategate

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Early in January, an NFL investigation found that 11 of the 12 footballs used by the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Games against Indianapolis were under-inflated by two pounds per square inch (PSI.) Under-inflated footballs are said to be easier to grip, especially in the wet conditions of that particular game.

The Patriots' head coach, Bill Belichick, denied any involvement with what the media were quick to label as “Deflategate,” claiming that he had minimal knowledge on game-day footballs. He also claimed that the moist air and the change in temperature caused the balls to deflate slightly. Quarterback Tom Brady maintained that he did not tamper with the balls when he picked out the ones he wanted to use five hours before the game.

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A law firm hired by the NFL has asked for a consultation with physicists from Columbia University. They wanted to determine whether the drop in temperature that occurred when the balls were taken outdoors for the game was a factor. Although the NFL hasn't announced if anyone from the Columbia University physics department has stepped up to provide an explanation, there are numerous other scientists who voiced their professional opinions online.

Materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez, in an interview by Time Magazine, agreed that a change in temperature may lead to a slight deflation of the balls, but not as much as two PSI. She also stated that under-inflated balls pose an advantage in a game: They're easier to grip, catch, carry, and kick.

Thomas Healey, a graduate student of engineering from Carnegie Mellon, performed an experiment at an athletic testing lab in Pittsburgh. He inflated footballs to 12.5 PSI in a 75 degrees Fahrenheit room, then placing the balls in a 50 degrees Fahrenheit setting and moistening them. After two and a half hours, Healey found that the pressure inside the balls decreased by 1.82 to 1.95 PSI. The results give credence to Belichick's initial claim.

Regardless of the findings from the NFL's investigation, many scientists are just happy that the Deflategate debacle created interest in their field: in an attempt to find out whether the Patriots deserve the win, a lot of people are actually discussing physics with friends and family.

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REPOST: Keys to a Perfect Baseball Swing

In baseball, you only have three chances to hit the ball or else you're out. This article from LiveStrong.com shares some expert tips on how to get the perfect swing.

Ted Williams was the last Major League hitter to bat .400 or better. | Image Source: livestrong.com

You often hear how hitting a baseball is the most difficult feat in sports. It is hard to argue, considering a standout hitter is successful only three times in every 10 at-bats. The odds are always in the pitcher's favor, but developing the perfect swing is possible, and it gives the hitter a competitive edge.

Balancing Act
The process of hitting the baseball begins with the lower half of the body. Thus, to perfect the swing, the hitter's weight starts on the back leg and shifts to the front, creating a smooth hip rotation and power. If the momentum doesn't move evenly from back to front and the hips stay closed, the swing is going to be slow and uneven.

Head Game
"You can't hit what you can't see" is a sentiment you will hear from hitting coaches at all levels of baseball. Quite simply, it means you have to keep your head and eyes on the baseball. If you are not watching the baseball, the swing is not going to matter. With your chin tucked into the shoulder facing the pitcher, keep both eyes on the baseball at all times. Visually recognize the pitch type, velocity and location before committing to the swing.

Helping Hands

Once the lower body is in place, and the head and eyes are focused in, the swing is just about ready. Proper hand placement is the next step. They should be held close to the body near the chest, and the hands come back as the pitch is delivered. That is what you call loading the swing. As the pitch arrives, the hands drive the bat through the zone for contact. It is important to keep the hands together and the wrists straight because this helps keep the swing level.

Making Contact

You can't have the perfect swing unless the bat is striking the baseball with optimum force. If you drop the hands and shoulders, you get an uppercut swing and pop the ball up. If you make contact on top of the baseball, the typical result is a weak ground ball. Centering the pitch with a smooth, level swing and hitting the ball on the barrel of the bat produces the best results.





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Basics of football: Understanding player positions

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It is not uncommon to see or hear groups talking about the latest football news. American football has reached such a level of popularity that one cannot go to a bar without hearing something related to the NFL or the local college football team. Parents are now encouraging their children to participate, or become more involved, in the sports scene.

So it has become highly important that individuals recognize and understand the different player positions in the sport. Listed below are the different positions, with a brief explanation of each role.

Quarterback: Considered the most important position, the quarterback is often the leader of the group. QBs, as they are often called, determine the offensive and defensive strategies of each play; meaning he is often the one who calls the huddle, yells signals during scrimmages, and receives the ball from the center.

Center: This is the player who snaps the ball back to the quarterback. The center is the one who handles the ball in every play.

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Running Back: This is the player who runs with the football. Running backs can also be called the tailbacks, rushers, or halfbacks.

Fullback: There are three main roles of the fullback. These are: a) to block the opposing team’s running back, b) be open for pass-blocking, and c) to protect the quarterback. This generally means that fullbacks are bigger and short-yard runners.

Wide receiver: There can be as many as two to four of these types of players. Typically, wide receivers are fast and quick. As their name suggests, they receive the football after the throw and have to elude defenders to score.

Tight end: This player can serve as both a receiver and a blocker. Tight ends line up beside the offensive tackle on either side of the quarterback.

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There are many other roles, but these are sub-categories, and can be performed by a single team player. Depending on the specific strategy of the coach and quarterback, one player can be focused more on a defensive or offensive role.

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