No
matter how busy life gets, we make time for what’s important to us. And
of course, the wisest thing to do is to prioritize the things God
values—such as reading His Word.
Here’s a little exercise that
can help you realize there’s time in your day for Scripture. Photocopy
the book of Philippians, cut it into sections, and tape it over the
columns of your newspaper. All it will take up is three columns. The
point is, if we take the time to read our favorite parts of the
newspaper or scan the headlines on the internet, we can—in the same
amount of time—read the entire book of Philippians.
So why not
start there? Open your Bible to Philippians and ask the Lord to speak to
you. As you read, pray over words that the Holy Spirit draws to your
attention, and listen for whatever the Lord wants to say to you.
Praying
through a book elevates spiritual life to a new level. You’ll find
yourself wanting to progress past an elementary understanding of the
faith. What’s more, you’ll increasingly want to be obedient to what
you’re reading, because you’ll be falling deeper in love with the book’s
Author.
It’s true that the Lord loves all people and that He
adopts believers as His sons and daughters. But even richer blessings
await those who keep His commands (John 14:21), because they will understand more about God and His ways.
Offensive trends are becoming clear and one thing is inevitable, you will face bigger personnel
There
was much skepticism about a defense designed to stop the spread of the
Big 12 being able to handle a punishing Big Ten run game.
The
first play momentarily confirmed that, but at least for the rest of the
half, the Frogs were able to neutralize the massive Michigan OL and
quickly fit their gaps and force the ball lateral where the Frogs’ speed
could take over holding Michigan to short gains or losses.
TCU's defense is built for speed and was able to slow down Michigan's power in the first half.
They
were a bend but don’t break defense. While they gave up 221 yards,
they were able to keep Michigan off pace holding them to 73 on the
ground.
Of course, the scoreboard went crazy in the second half.
TCU Head Coach Sonny Dykes was pleased with how his team hung in. He said,
“Every
time we started to get on our heels a little bit defensively, all of a
sudden it’d be a three and out. We get the ball back on offense, score
and put a little distance between us and Michigan.”
The Frogs were opportunistic in taking two interceptions back for touchdowns and that arguably was the difference.
Second
half aside, there is a lot to learn from this game and the TCU
defense. With a trend back to bigger personnel on offense, many of the
defenses that sprang up to stop the spread are being attacked in
different ways.
TCU defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie did
some good things throughout the game and as Coach Dykes noted, the
Frogs made stops when they were desperately needed.
Maybe
“spread defense” is not dead, it just needs to evolve. The 3-3-5 is
still a winning defense on all levels and as all good offenses or
defenses are, it intends to maximize the talent available on any roster.
Linebacker
coach at Iowa State Tyson Veidt explains why the Cylclones moved to the
Odd Stack. It started with Coach Matt Campbell identifying the best
talent that he wanted on the field. Coach Veidt tells the story as well
as the benefits they see in playing the defense.
Like Iowa State, it’s probably easier to find the linebacker type than it is to find the bigger, dominating DL.
But
what will that look like against big personnel? Iowa State has had to
play those types of teams, especially in facing their instate rival Iowa
every year.
In this 22-personnel play, the Cyclones use
their speed and athleticism against a double-tight I formation to come
up with the stop as Coach Veidt illustrates:
As you know, facing big personnel is nothing new to the 3-3-5 defense.
Mike
Moon, head coach at Oxnard Pacifica, used the 3-3-5 to help his team to
a CIF State Championship in 2019. He knows exactly what he is looking
for in each position as he has certain criteria. He explains it here:
Coach Moon
is also faced with facing 12 personnel. A formation becoming popular as
more bigger offensive bodies make their way onto the field is a
spread-wing formation. He explains how they align to defend it from the
3-3-5 here:
Rob
Eggerling is the defensive coordinator at Southern Connecticut (NCAA D2)
and uses the 3-3-5. He starts the design of his attack by defining a
successful play. He identifies the five elements here:
If you
haven’t faced 21 in a while, you certainly need to prepare for it. More
and more teams are going back to these sets even if only in a package.
Here is how Coach Eggerling aligns against a 2-personnel Pro set:
Of course,
any defense today has to be prepared to defend 11 Personnel. A team
may present a spread set and then bring the tight end in. In this
example, they play against a shift here and then redeclare their blitz.
Coach Gillespie points out that once players declare their assignment,
they keep it. They can redeclare against a shift, but motion does not
affect it. This keeps everyone assignment sound:
Looking
back at last Saturday's game, there certainly was a lot of bend in the
TCU defense. In a game of this caliber, teams will score and gain yards
and come up with big plays. TCU came up with enough. They also
provided an example of how to utilize athletic players and get them
running and using their speed and quickness.
Whether the
3-3-5 is for you starts with understanding your personnel and putting
them in positions to utilize their talent successfully. That is true no
matter what defense you run.
We hope you took away some
things from this game. The presentations of these coaches we
highlighted can be found in a bundle here - Coaching the Dynamic 3-3-5 Defense.
"Right field, it's easy, you know. You can be awkward, and you can be slow. That's why I'm here in right field. Just watching the dandelions grow."
-Right Field By Peter, Paul & Mary
How true is it that we coaches almost always put our weakest players in the outfield during the season? We may have a good player in center field but left and right field are kind of "get the innings in" positions for part of the team. And for the players, it can get kind of boring. The three biggest threats to baseball are: soccer, lacrosse and boredom in the outfield. Coaches may not be able to make right field as popular as shortstop, but there are certain things we can do to help keep players' heads who reside beyond the infield dirt into the game.
Backing up is huge, and if explained correctly to all the team members, they will realize that the outfield can prevent one, two, or more extra bases if the outfield backs up correctly.
One of the first things I teach my right fielder is if the batter squares into the bunting position, he should immediately get into a position to back-up the throw to the first baseman to field a possible errant throw. Say the batter is a righty and squares to bunt, the pitcher goes into his wind-up, the right fielder will immediately sprints toward the right field foul line. He then sprints forward to first base with his head up. He must see who will be fielding the bunt and then adjust the angle of his back up. The correct angle to back-up is extremely important and I always have one practice before the season starts just on the best angles to back-up the different situations and locations on the field. In this case, if the pitcher fields the bunt, the back-up angle by the right fielder will depend on whether the third baseman or catcher fields the bunt. In youth baseball, I cannot express how important it is that the back-ups don't position themselves too close to the target fielder receiving the baseball. I've seen it time and again that players backing up are too close. The ball will go over the head of the target fielder as well as the back-up. Many times if the back-up is too close, he is screened out by the infielder and loses track of the baseball.
Just as the right fielder backs up on a bunt with no one on base, I have my left fielder back-up the third baseman if a player is on second and tries to steal third base. Like the previous situation, the left fielder must run to the foul line and come in, but not too close. The importance of running to the foul line and not at an angle is to get the backup's shoulders squared as soon as possible toward home plate so he can follow the flight of the baseball. This back-up has saved my team runs and games over the years. Coaches have to practice this and reinforce it in games yelling out and reminding the left fielder, "Tim, if the baserunner tries to steal third base, you have to back up up the throw. Remember not to come in too close."
The center fielder must be involved backing up when a player tries to steal second base. Like the two previous examples, it is even more important here that he does not come in too close. With the shortstop covering the base and the second baseman backing him up, now there are two possibilities of being screened out of the play. lay. The center fielder has to really give enough space so he is able to follow and react to the baseball.
When there is a force out at second, my left and right fielder must back up according to who throws the baseball. If there is a player on first base and there is a grounder to the shortstop with the second baseman covering the base, the right fielder must move in quickly and position himself at the correct angle in case there is an over throw. If the ground ball is to the second baseman and the shortstop covers the bag, the left fielder now must back up the throw from the second baseman. As you can see, I am not only involving my outfielders in these back up situations, but I am keeping them more involved mentally.
Another situation that occurs is when there is a baserunner on second base and the batter gets into the bunting position, but it is only a fake. A strategy used by coaches when the third baseman rushes in to cover the bunt and if the shortstop doesn't rotate (or "wheel" over) is to have the baserunner on second steal third easily with nobody covering the bag. The defensive coach can keep his third baseman at the base and instruct his pitcher to field the bunts, or he can put on the "wheel", having his shortstop cover third in order to prevent the stolen base. The other option is to have the left fielder sprint up when he sees the batter square and cover third base. This is another situation involving the outfielder more.
In my book, Baseball Coaching: A Guide For The Youth Coach And Parent, I spend a whole sections on rundowns. On rundowns, all the outfielders must move in closer in case of an overthrow. And in some rundown situations, the baseball hits the baserunner's helmet and goes into a crazy direction. Outfielders who are closer rather than further from the action can help in this situation.
With these situations mentioned, it is extremely important to convince youth players that when they are backing up in the outfield, just stopping the baseball and not necessarily catching can be just as effective. Keep reminding your fielders of this, telling them they must always try to keep the baseball in front of them. Like everything else in coaching, it is much better to practice it than just reminding players in the field what to do if the situation comes up. Coaches must also evaluate their talent level and decide how much and how quickly to teach all the back up situations necessary for the outfielders. Remember, it is always better to under coach rather than over coach. The outfield in youth baseball can be boring, but coaches can instill the importance of playing any of the outfield positions and practice getting them more involved in as many plays as possible.
Marty Schupak coached youth sports for 30 years. He is the founder and president of the Youth Sports Club, a group dedicated to improving coaching and youth sports practices. He is the creator of 28 sports instructional videos and 12 books.
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Celebrated journalist Jason Whitlock and “Uncle Jimmy” protect the realm of common sense and challenge the groupthink mandated by elites. Listen Monday through Friday for the most fearless conversation at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy.
It is clear from today’s passage that Paul was no stranger to conflict—even conflict caused by members of the church. Some people were upset that he preached to the Gentiles rather than exclusively to Jews. They also didn’t like the fact that he taught salvation by grace and not law. And some people were teaching the message with a very different motivation from the apostle’s.
Notice how Paul responded: He was positive. The tenor of his letter is one of encouragement and resolve. He did not lash out at his critics; he did not defend himself. He defended the gospel, but he did so in love and without harshness. Paul was happy that the name and good news of Jesus Christ were being preached, regardless of whether the motive was sincerity or envy. He was so concerned for the souls of others that he responded out of selflessness rather than selfishness.
What’s amazing is that Paul wrote this encouraging letter during his confinement in a Roman jail, and the prison guards learned about the gospel from him. Your words and behavior can likewise reflect Christ to unbelievers you encounter. May God help you stay the course as Paul did—even when your situation may involve controversy and criticism.
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