It was a cold and muddy day, so that meant it was time to go back to power Hartford Football and Power we did. We scored on the second play from scrimmage, A simple 26 base for about 60 yards and we never looked back. Our defense was stellar again, pitching their 3rd shutout of the year. On offense we tried a few things but simply ran up the middle almost all day. The kids said before the game, that they had some big players on their team, but our young men came up bigger in the end.
We as coaches are so proud of how the team performed this year. And as I have always stated, Wins are a bonus. The most important part of these first few years is to establish the basics, let the kids play as much as possible and have fun. I think that we accomplished all of these goals, at least I hope that we did, because certainly we tried to. This was a fine bunch of young men to work with and it will be exciting to see them progress over the next 7 years of Hartford Football.
From day 1 of learning how to put the knee-pads in the right way, and finding out that there is a difference between offense and defense, to running from shotgun, calling red, blue, green audibles, and learning how to run the same play from a pro-formation or a Power-I formation or a Shotgun formation, they sure have come a long way. And it's fun for me as a coach to watch the changes over the season, I hope that it was for you as Fans and as Players as well.
Just a reminder that the 5th grade team will meet at the equipment shed on Tues. Nov. 10th at 6 PM for a coaches sponsored pizza party while the parents return their equipment. Also the end of the year banquet will be Wed. Nov. 11th in the HUHS large cafeteria. Check the events page to see what dish you should bring. This is for the entire family. Registration will also take place at the banquet and this to me is the real measure of the success of our season as I base it on how many players decide to return and play next season. If they have fun this year, they will be back. I hope to many if not all pf you next season.
Thanks for a great season.
Coach Dave,
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
A Great Defensive Day!!!!
Our opponent today was 0-4-2 coming into today's action so we knew that they would be hungry for a victory. And they did put up a good battle until the end. However, our team, especially our defense was equal to the task and even superior for most of the day. I believe that Tosa West only had a couple of 1st downs for the entire day and seems that we were pushing them back more than they were going forward. And it all culminated in a game icing safety with less than 2 mins to go. Super job by the defense today.
On the other hand our offense although solid for most of the day, was shaky at times. We did move the ball well as we maintained field position all day, and gave up the ball inside the Tosa 10 yard line 2 or 3 times. Turn-overs and penalties were our Achilles heal today. I guess the cold weather may have caught up with everyone. However, we were able to pull it together enough to get into the end zone once, and make the extra point. And the team never gave up and our runners did run hard all day and earned every yard that they gained.
This may be our last game of the season. We are working on lining up a game with another 5th grade team that we have not played, and that would be hosting a game with their older grades. At this time we have a maybe from Saukville, I should have confirmation on this by Monday. We will practice Monday and Tuesday 4;45 - 6:30, but if weather is very bad, we may wrap up early. If we have a game next Sat we will practice on Thursday as well.
Regardless of whether we have a game or not, It has been a great season. I believe that I can speak for all of the coaches by saying that we are proud to have been able to work with these fine young men this year. This is a very gifted group and they have come together as a team and really worked well together all season. Next year they will be split into 2 teams, but we told them to remember that even though they will play separate schedules, they will still be one team and they will come back together as one unit in High School.
Once again Congratulations to the team on the game and the season. And keep up the good work this next week and next season.
Coach Dave,
On the other hand our offense although solid for most of the day, was shaky at times. We did move the ball well as we maintained field position all day, and gave up the ball inside the Tosa 10 yard line 2 or 3 times. Turn-overs and penalties were our Achilles heal today. I guess the cold weather may have caught up with everyone. However, we were able to pull it together enough to get into the end zone once, and make the extra point. And the team never gave up and our runners did run hard all day and earned every yard that they gained.
This may be our last game of the season. We are working on lining up a game with another 5th grade team that we have not played, and that would be hosting a game with their older grades. At this time we have a maybe from Saukville, I should have confirmation on this by Monday. We will practice Monday and Tuesday 4;45 - 6:30, but if weather is very bad, we may wrap up early. If we have a game next Sat we will practice on Thursday as well.
Regardless of whether we have a game or not, It has been a great season. I believe that I can speak for all of the coaches by saying that we are proud to have been able to work with these fine young men this year. This is a very gifted group and they have come together as a team and really worked well together all season. Next year they will be split into 2 teams, but we told them to remember that even though they will play separate schedules, they will still be one team and they will come back together as one unit in High School.
Once again Congratulations to the team on the game and the season. And keep up the good work this next week and next season.
Coach Dave,
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Just not our day
It was a Tough day for the 5th Grade team this last week. Once again, we just did not come prepared to play. We made a lot of mental mistakes and unfortunately a lot of physical mistakes as well. And it's hard to be successful with that combination. Not sure if it was overconfidence with the 2 -game win streak, or the fact that we had scrimmaged this team before and fared fairly well against them, but we could see it in the teams preparation this week, and warned them that this could happen because practices were not sharp. Things got as little better in the second half, but we had created too much of a hole to dig out of. Let's hope that we get back to where we know that we can be for the rest of the season, and finish our last home game on a positive note.
Our next opponent will be Wauwatosa West. We may have a little better record than they do, but they have played some close games against some tough teams. We better be ready as they will be hungary to get their 1st win of the season in what may be their last game of the year as well.
As you may know, 5th grade is only scheduled for 7 games, while 6th - 8th grade are scheduled for 8 games. We are trying to contact potential teams that the upper grades will match up with to see if there may be any interest in one more 5th grade match-up. This would be an away game, and I realize that this would also be on Halloween. so we also need to know what type of participation we would have. The Thursady and Friday prior are also Teachers convention, so some families plan a long weekend trip. All of these factors will come into play when we make our decision to play or not in that 8th week. We will keep you posted.
Thanks and let'sm finish with a bang.
Coach Dave
Our next opponent will be Wauwatosa West. We may have a little better record than they do, but they have played some close games against some tough teams. We better be ready as they will be hungary to get their 1st win of the season in what may be their last game of the year as well.
As you may know, 5th grade is only scheduled for 7 games, while 6th - 8th grade are scheduled for 8 games. We are trying to contact potential teams that the upper grades will match up with to see if there may be any interest in one more 5th grade match-up. This would be an away game, and I realize that this would also be on Halloween. so we also need to know what type of participation we would have. The Thursady and Friday prior are also Teachers convention, so some families plan a long weekend trip. All of these factors will come into play when we make our decision to play or not in that 8th week. We will keep you posted.
Thanks and let'sm finish with a bang.
Coach Dave
Saturday, October 10, 2009
We have a Winning Streak
The weather was cold and had a bite and there were even flurries in the air. There were uncontrollable delays from the earlier games which caused there to be a late start of almost and hour. But none of that could ice the fire and the desire for our team to be the best that that could be today.
For those that were there, it would be an understatement to say that the team really played well today. Our defense was stellar, pitching their second shut-out in a row. And the offense moved the ball with purpose and controlled most of the game.
If you have followed us all season you may have noticed that we tried some new things. We implemented the shotgun formation this week. And the team was truly excited to try something new. We ran the same basic plays from this formation and I'm not sure if it was the competition, or the change on it's own, but we had several big plays from this formation including a couple of scores. It's fun to mix things up. We are also calling audibles at the line. The quarterback can change the play based on the defensive formation just based on the color he calls in his cadence. The team picked up on this very quickly and it is just another tool to help them acheive the success that you are seeing on the field.
There were a few weather related miscues, as well as a few mental breakdowns during the game, but the individuals and team as a whole were able to recover from them and overcome their mistakes to move forward to put together their best effort this season.
As always the Coaching staff is extremely proud of the way the team continues to improve and are looking forward to the excitment the team will bring us over the next couple of weeks.
Let's have some more fun and see you at next weeks game.
Coach Dave,
For those that were there, it would be an understatement to say that the team really played well today. Our defense was stellar, pitching their second shut-out in a row. And the offense moved the ball with purpose and controlled most of the game.
If you have followed us all season you may have noticed that we tried some new things. We implemented the shotgun formation this week. And the team was truly excited to try something new. We ran the same basic plays from this formation and I'm not sure if it was the competition, or the change on it's own, but we had several big plays from this formation including a couple of scores. It's fun to mix things up. We are also calling audibles at the line. The quarterback can change the play based on the defensive formation just based on the color he calls in his cadence. The team picked up on this very quickly and it is just another tool to help them acheive the success that you are seeing on the field.
There were a few weather related miscues, as well as a few mental breakdowns during the game, but the individuals and team as a whole were able to recover from them and overcome their mistakes to move forward to put together their best effort this season.
As always the Coaching staff is extremely proud of the way the team continues to improve and are looking forward to the excitment the team will bring us over the next couple of weeks.
Let's have some more fun and see you at next weeks game.
Coach Dave,
Saturday, October 3, 2009
History is Made
For the 1st time in the History of Hartford Youth Football, the 5th grade team has posted a win. And we hope that it's the first of many more to come. The team came out today with fire and continue the same throughout the entire game. I had a feeling that they were ready to play as during the start of the second half of the 6th grade game, they all gathered at one end of the bleachers and started cheering and chanting in unison for the 6th Grade Team. They definately were into the game. A much better sign then last week and much more like the team that we have practiced with all year.
What is especially pleasing is the fact that we switched things up and several players were playing positions in game situations for the first time. And they all performed admirably. I believe that we had no less than 6 different runners have gains of more than 10 yards on at least one play from scrimmage. (although a couple were called back) the fact that they ran with such conviction was great to see. We did give up a couple of big runs, but our defense stepped up to the task and we were in the Slinger backfield almost as much as their QB was.
All around a great effort by everyone on the team, and although it may seem a little thing to most of them now, each one of these players can say they were there and contributed to the very first Hartford Youth Football 5th Grade victory.
The Coaching staff is also very proud to be part of this great event and we look forward to the rest of the season with these fine young men.
Let's continue to play hard and HAVE FUN!!! This is what it's all about.
Coach Dave,
What is especially pleasing is the fact that we switched things up and several players were playing positions in game situations for the first time. And they all performed admirably. I believe that we had no less than 6 different runners have gains of more than 10 yards on at least one play from scrimmage. (although a couple were called back) the fact that they ran with such conviction was great to see. We did give up a couple of big runs, but our defense stepped up to the task and we were in the Slinger backfield almost as much as their QB was.
All around a great effort by everyone on the team, and although it may seem a little thing to most of them now, each one of these players can say they were there and contributed to the very first Hartford Youth Football 5th Grade victory.
The Coaching staff is also very proud to be part of this great event and we look forward to the rest of the season with these fine young men.
Let's continue to play hard and HAVE FUN!!! This is what it's all about.
Coach Dave,
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