* .. Party Time, Excellent.

It's not that I need another reason to celebrate, it's that I have one and I'm taking full advantage of it. One Year ago this very day was just like any other day. I remember little things like ... it was a monday, I worked at ShopKo, and the night was spent staying up way too late talking to Colby about life and how bad I wish things could be a little bit different. We had this conversation a lot but that night it felt different. I knew more than ever that things were better and different and that everything was going to work out in my favor if I would continue to put my faith in the Lord.
I completely disregarded how 'different' the conversation was until I made a phone call two days later that changed my whole life. That phone call was made to the weber county court house. I gave them my case number and asked if there had been any progress made on my case. I then told myself that any news was good news and I would take anything they would give me and make it positive.
I remember the girl on the other end being very sweet and patient. She seemed kind of young and I was almost embarassed that she would find in my file that I was in the process of a divorce at such a young age. I wondered what she was thinking and then I remembered that these things happen all the time. I did everything in my power to make that marriage work and in the end, it wasn't supposed to.
She told me that the case had been processed, the judge had signed off on March 17, and it been put in the computer on March 23rd.
As the tears started rolling down my face she told me to have a good day. I thanked her twice and hung up the phone. One of the techs I work with gave me a hug and told me to take a minute in the back by myself. I called my Mom, My sisters, My brothers, and then Colby.
Colby was just leaving Provo headed for his Cruise. I remember being so grateful that Colby stuck around, that his patients never ended. I can't imagine him not being there through all of it, he was the most amazing friend and listening ear for that last month or so.
I'm amazed at where life has taken me since that early afternoon phone call. I'm a tiny bit nervous to see what's next. Sometimes I tell Colby that with all we've been through, the Lord now knows how tough we are. What on earth could he have in store for us next? I don't know but I'm pretty sure we can handle it together.
Today I will party like it's 2009. Cafe Rio for dinner (My sweet sister brought me this for dinner at Smith's last year and she's agreed to help me make it a tradition) and perhaps some ice cream afterwards.
My family is my whole world and I owe them all that I have. The support and love they've shown me (and continue to show me) is unreal. I can't thank them enough for all that they are and all that they make me want to be. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he blessed me with my amazing siblings and Mom who would give me the moon if it was made with real cheese. They are the reason I am who I am today.

Put on your Party hats fellow bloggers ..
Today is a day that shall be celebrated for years and years to come.
I'm inviting you to Party as well because we all know that some of you stalkers :)
have followed me along in this crazy journey called life.

Practice Format

As more follow-up to the previous posts, here is a basic outline of 2-platoon outline of Air Raid implementation (with defense).

DEFENSE



OFFENSE

This may help provide some perspective of the included videos (vis versa).

Here are install/drill examples we used when we installed it last spring:

If any of the Louisiana Tech / Air Raid / Tony Franklin method interests you, I would strongly recommend checking out "the system", at:
http://www.thesystemclinics.com/

Tanzania: currency

The Tanzanian unit of currency is the Tanzanian shilling (tsh’s) which is divided into 100 cents. Bills range from 1 to 10,000 shillings. Although you can bring any amount of foreign currency in to Tanzania, it is illegal to import or export Tanzanian currencies. There are many websites that offer a currency conversion engine and you can also check the Wall Street Journal for currency rates.

Changing money in Tanzania is not a problem in most populated areas. Hotels usually have a worse rate than banks, so you should go to the bank. You may have to wait in line for a bit. Banks in Tanzania are just like banks in the US. Main branches include NBC and Standard Chartered.

ATMs are in most all banks with 24-hour access and give the same exchange rate as the bank. They may require a Visa card. Inquire if there is any additional fee for withdrawing using a Visa debit card.

Major credits cards are accepted such as Mastercard and Visa, however American Express, Discover and Diner Club are often not.

Tips for hotels and lodge personnel are usually included in tour price, but you should still be prepared to tip the staff in smaller camps on Safaris, so carry some cash!!

*Holy Shnikies ...

It's official .. We have ONE month until our big day. Some days I wonder if it will ever get here, other days I feel like it's tomorrow and I'm never going to be ready. Luckily I have sisters and a Mom who are all over the project. I'm trying really hard to care about all the crazy stuff that's left but I think I'm past that point. Plus everyone seems to have enough great ideas to cover the important stuff.
We finished designing our invitations tonight and I couldn't be more excited. They are so awesome. It's a real shame Colb didn't just tell me about his mad computer skills .. they could have been done months ago. Eh, I'm sure he works better with the pressure and stress, I know I do.
We got the keys to our adorable apartment this weekend.
When we picked em up from our friend Sierra, she had the cutest sign for us. I almost cried. I know she has been working on it for a while and it turned out amazing. It says Carter and it couldn't be more perfect. Slowly we're making our little apartment into a home. Did I already say it's adorable? It's Adorable. I LOVE IT! The only thing I would change is that our boxes would be unpacked and we were already moved in. I hate moving. I guess all good things take time right? Colby and I stopped there for just a minute tonight to bring a few things and to take another peak. I'm totally jealous that Colby is moving in before we get married. I had probably better stop by every once and while just in case.
I feel like these next 4 weeks are going to drag but I also feel like there are a million things I have to do before it passes me by. It wasn't until lately that I truly appreciated a 'To Do' list.
About once a week it really hits me that the wedding day is just around the corner. Colby always knows when I'm having this weekly moment because he catches me grinning from ear to ear with a smile that says HOLY SHNIKIES ... We are soooo close!
One month from today and I'll be Mrs. C!

*3lbs ...

Logan and I were on our weekly adventure in Target just a few days ago when I found something that I didn't know I needed it until I found it. Now days I can't imagine living without it. However this particular item does run out and I'm not so sure I'll be able to drive back to my favorite store and just grab it off the shelf. I'm half -( more like 3/4s) tempted to go back and buy all that they have. I better do it before Colby and I combine bank accounts? Eh it's probably not that big of a deal, Colb does know he's marrying a crazy girl right?

I found a 3lb pound bag of Haribo Gummy Bears for $6.50 ..
Someone please tell me that's steal.
Oh who am I kidding ... Steal or not ..
You can always use em for food storage.
Right?

I found this picture when I googled Haribo Gummy Bears ..
I bet this guys wishes he could buy just one 3lb bag instead of lots of little ones.

Air Raid: Ins and Outs and what have you....

Examples of NASCAR (attack tempo) and FREEZE in a 2 minute NASCAR drill. Note the intensity and frantic pace. One Freeze, receivers are to run "GO"s down the field once the ball is snapped. Best case scenario is you get a touchdown, worst case you take the 5-yard penalty.


Prepractice with Receivers and Quarterbacks (notice settle and noose)


1 on 1s, great review for both offense and defense. Offense works one concept throughout.



In pass skelly, working the same concepts over and over:


Inside Run Game


Individuals, coaching up QB and Receiver fade drop out in the red zone (working for space) in man press.

A neat little DB backpedal ladder exercise I spied.....



** If I have time later in the week, I will review some of the more interesting and effective concepts (both run and pass) that were implemented last week.

Air Raid Strip Down

The last two practices were enlightening.

On a personal level, I think it is just what I needed to see to reignite the passion for the game. I am not a guy that believes in pigeon-holing yourself to 'systems' or there being one way to do things in football, but Air Raid, to me (and what it represents) is what I love about the game. It isn't the passing (though I do appreciate it), it is the aggressiveness and organization that I enjoy so much. There aren't any taboo areas to explore - moving the ball and breaking defenses is the only thing that matters.

To best articulate what I'm going to be explaining, the best analogy I could preface this with is the witnessing the difference between the invading force of Normandy and the hard-driving Iraqi Freedom force. Everything is pared down to the smallest, most essential, common-denominator and it is executed at a 100-mph. There is no relenting and there is no settling in a comfort zone, it is always advancing.

The adaptation of Air Raid with the merging of Sonny Dykes and Tony Franklin at Louisiana Tech this year is something to behold. I will provide a basic overview of the recent changes regarding the evolution (what is different) from the recent years as evidenced from Troy-to-Auburn-to-Middle Tennessee-to-now-Louisiana Tech.

Protection
I'll start this first post by out lying the simplicity of protection as utilized OL coach Pete Perot and GA Zach Yenser. The protection on ALL passes is 90s. No differentiating between 5-step and 3-step, it is all vertical set for 4-5 steps. There are no adjustments (except for the obvious lasso/rodeo). Because the linemen are retreating up to a 5-step pocket (5 yards), the QB is expected on 3 step to catch the ball and immediately fire it out to the short receiver.

Cadence
The quarterback does not call the cadence, it is controlled entirely by the center.

The center is at the ready over the ball at all times, calls the front ID, and then waits for a hand-flash from the quarterback to begin the cadence. The center waits in a relaxed position, looking between his legs at the quarterback.

Once signalled, it is just a loud, "ready........ready,hit!". This helps the center get the snap off more effectively (he is controlling it, rather than waiting on another player), as well as put the source of the audible cadence near the rest of the linemen. Also, because he's controlling the cadence, it makes hard-counts (freeze) more effective.

Front Identification
What is also simplified is protection. Rather than making a "nickel" declaration, it has been truncated to just (one-syllable) "nic" making it simpler and faster to deliver the same information. Because everything is either 2x2 or 3x1, so there is no need to get overly complicated, as discussed previously, you really limit just what a defense can do to you.

They treat everything with a zero technique (or simply any front with 3 down linemen) as a "5-0". With any stacked LB look out of a 3-man front, the back will be responsible for the mike and the stacked outside backers are handled by the linemen.

If the 3-man front is in a base front, with both inside linebackers over the guards and overhang players on the edge (ala a 3-4 look), the back is responsible for both and the line will be responsible for the 3 linemen and 2 outside rushers. The general rule is that the OL is responsible for all outside rushers.

Anything with a 4 man front can be handled simply by a nickel call. From here it all can be sorted out with all four linemen picked up plus one backer (opposite of the side the back declares).

That's IT! Nothing else that the line really needs to be aware of.



Here is a little something extra.....prepractice for Oline:


Tempo
The next part I'll touch on is the tempo they operate at.
The most characteristic element to TFS is the balls-to-the-wall nature of it and what that demands from the coaches. They can get so much accomplished because of the tempo they keep and the momentum that it creates.

Here is an example of Inside Drill. Notice everything is being signalled in and the pace at which everything is run.



Another 'new' characteristic is that there are no wristbands. Everything is communicated through signals. These signals are created by the players and they eventually come up with multiple signals to convey the same message (3 different ways to signal '90' protection). From Day 1, all concepts are signalled in, whether it is team, group, skelly, pup, inside-drill, or individuals. Each group (receivers, line, quarterback) have their own coach/GA to look to, so there will be multiple signal callers giving a variety of gestures at once. They begin signalling once the play has ended and DO NOT STOP (signalling) until the ball is snapped.

I've included video of these periods (there are no lulls) to illustrate just what I'm talking about. You can say, "they are always moving" or "they practice fast" but still never come away with understanding what that is supposed to look like. Even in this clip below (during PUP), notice the time from the play ends to the start of the very next play (both resulted in INTs, however).



Think about how something as meticulous as PUP can be (to get everything set up right) and what would happen after a bad throw, how long it would be to set up the next play. Now watch this, and see them setting up as quickly as possible, signalling in the next one, and flying through it.

Verbiage
Everything is stripped down to essentials. The terminology may have more to do with Dykes, but their terms are extremely simple, and they don't use but 2 formations (3x1 and 2x2). So, you end up with "trips left" / "trips right" or "ace" ('dart'). They have special sets, but everything is based off these two formation groupings. During these practices they would hammer home a concept from the start of practice until the end. So you would have quarterbacks and receivers doing prepractice based on "trips left - mesh" and they would condition their warmups with that concept in mind. Moving on to individuals and skelly, they would continue that same theme, "trips left - mesh", and couple it with a tag, "trips left - mesh left - X hook". This was extremely effective, as they would go 3 to 4 groupings deep working the same concept and focusing in on the very critical details of reads and stems of the concept. They were able to get a lot done in very little time because of the pace and amount of coaching/competition involved.

Some additional content can be found here, and I'll see if I can't review some of the effective concepts installed.