Date: Fri Jan 11 16:53:48 2008
Sender: David Rogers
First off, write your weekly PRs they are good for you.
Second Aim High in recruiting.
Third play either Man defense, or Matchup Zone defense.
Fourth, recruit strong defensive players, it will make you happy.
Date: Fri Jan 11 20:54:23 2008
Sender: David Smith
I agree with David's comments on building a program and would add a few
thoughts...
If I disagree with anything David said it would be aim high in recruiting. I
don't really disagree with it but for coaches with lower prestige I would add a
big dose of caution. Aim too high and you will get nothing. Know what talent
you can expect to get in your current situation. If you don't know ask veteran
coaches. One of the best things I did when I joined was to email several of
the top coaches and ask their opinions. Everyone of them responded to me.
When you make the jump to a tier 1 program be smart about it. Unless you are a
die hard fan and want to be the coach of that program evaluate the rosters of
all the available teams. The first thing I looked at and still would is what I
call "BAD SCHOLARSHIPS". How many low rated players FD, DD, DC players or
players that don't fit your playing style are eating up scholarships. Since
you can't cut them you gotta live with them till they graduate. I wouldn't
want a team that had more than about 1 or 2 in that situation. DC players you
can live with a little bit more than the others especially if they can fill a
small role.
When putting your program in place I think it is very important that you pay
close attention to "SCHOLARSHIP DISTRIBUTION"... both among positions and
classes. I also think this is one of the biggest areas of control we have with
the sim and a big key to maintaining your program once you get it to a high
level. If you inherit a program that has a lot of scholarships in say your
junior class then when they graduate that will leave a big hole to fill. I try
to keep classes at 3 or 4 tops although circumstances led me to have a senior
class last year with 6 scholarhip players. On top of that I had an
underclassman turn pro. I was a bit surprised to see my talent level at 10
when the season initialized today. The same goes for position. Don't wrap up
a bunch of scholarships in PGs unless of course they can play multiple
positions in the future. A few seasons ago I marketed Georgetown in the Big
East to the tier 2 coaches that were promoting. Brandon Carty took them on and
one of the things I cautioned on was the fact that Georgetown was top heavy in
scholarships and among the teams best players. Within 2 years those players
were going to graduate. He had the talent to compete right away and really
needed to win in order to take advantage of the prestige bump that winning
would give, score well in recruiting and build his program. Didn't happen. I
see Brandon has left Georgetown (and CBEL I think)
Make sure you put your team together in a way that takes advantage of your
players abilities. Play players in positions that you will get the most out of
their skill set. If you are new to the game learn the skill sets that are best
for each position. Read and ask questions.
Be a "STRATEGIC SCHEDULER". Bitch all you want about Jim Tressel and Ohio
State but he knew his team this year was young and he needed a weaker schedule.
They navigated their schedule and got to the championship game. Of course
they have the same weak ass schedule again next year...lol. My point is you
have control over your nonleague schedule (7 games) Day 1/2 and 9/10 tournament
participation (4 games). Oh...by the way get your own tournament! Don't
overschedule! Know your talent and play teams that are in your ballpark as
well as get a couple of "guaranteed wins". It makes no sense (if you want to
successfully build your program) to take on the elite powers if you are way out
of their league. Maybe 1 but don't over do it.
Write press and vote. Do whatever it takes to get your prestige boosted. Take
on an extra press column for the added prestige bonus.
If you are new or just deciding to recommit yourself make sure you read all of
the old postings here as well as the help pages. Also don't be afraid to ask
questions here or in private emails to veteran coaches.
Be a HISTORIAN. Keep a history of your program. Keep a history of player
development as well as school records. Keep a history of your W/L against
conference opponents Home and Away. Keep a history of the players you tried to
recruit and your recruiting success. Update your history at the end of each
season and print out the roster. Keep track of All-American nominations your
players receive or win, All-Conference. Make a web page (I've thought about it
but never done it...not sure I have the talent or time to do it and keep it
updated)
Date: Mon Jan 14 12:14:28 2008
Sender: James Mathis
Given the current state of CBEL, I think it's fine to aim high for a few
players in the opening round, but in order to get your foot in the door you
have to offer a scholly, PT, and an extra point. You will lose the extra
point, so use them judiciously, but that is the only point that you will lose.
If and when you do miss out on the cream of the crop (and in 99 out of 100
cases, you will), there are still plenty of good players to be had in the 2nd
and even 3rd round of recruiting, particularly for Tier II and Tier III teams.
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