Game 2: Grafton 20, Junior Blue Dukes GREY 18

The Grafton Gladiators defeated the Junior Blue Dukes Grey team, 20-18, on a short touchdown run late in the 4th quarter Saturday at Lubar Stadium. Without diminishing in any way the execution and superior intensity of the Gladiators, I think the JBD players will look back on this game as one they lost through mistakes -- fumbles, bad snaps, interceptions, poor tackling -- and a failure to consistently match the intensity of Grafton's play. This game had good moments for Blue Dukes, but not enough of them to pull out a victory.
The game started in promising fashion. Grafton won the coin toss and received the opening kickoff, but the Blue Dukes defense held and forced a punt. Matt Bernstein made a nice punt return, but a penalty pulled the yardage back. Still, the Blue Dukes drove down the field into Grafton territory. Unfortunately, a fumbled exchange at the Grafton 34 turned the ball over to the Gladiators. On the next play, poor tackling by Whitefish Bay elevated a short jaunt through the middle to a long gain for Grafton. But Whitefish Bay forced a turnover at the 8-yard line, with Justin Fisher scooping up the ball. On the next play, Van Bassindale ran more than 90 yards for the TD. The extra point kick failed. 6-0, Whitefish Bay.
Nick Higgins'  kickoff bounced inside the 10, but Grafton managed a return to the 30. Several plays later, a Grafton receiver took a short pass over the middle and, thanks to poor tackling  attempts by several Blue Dukes players, turned it into a long touchdown. Grafton converted the XP kick. Grafton 8, WFB 6.
In the second quarter, after a Blue Dukes drive stalled, the Blue Dukes lined up in punt formation. The center bounced a poor snap back to Nick Higgins, who deftly fielded the ball and ran around the left side, presumably in a designed fake punt. Nick, who had absorbed a hard hit to his leg earlier in the game, took hard shots to the head and leg while being tackled, and got up dizzy and wobbly (the ref had to help him up). Our consultant medic took a look at him (thanks Chris) and we unanimously agreed he should sit the rest of the game out. (Nick appears to be doing fine today, beyond being very sore.)
A long pass completion put Grafton close to the goal line, where the Gladiators punched the ball in for a score. The XP kick failed. Grafton 14, WFB 6.
Grafton tried an onside kick, but for the second time this season, Elie Ben Bordow covered the ball snugly for the Junior Blue Dukes.
With scant time left in the first half, the Blue Dukes offense came to life, with hard-earned yards from Teddy Weber's inside runs, a couple of Van Bassindale scampers and a pass completion from Ryan Hummer to Matt Bernstein. A quarterback bootleg by Hummer took the ball close to the goal line. Bassindale plowed up the middle for the TD.  After an off-target snap to the holder, an XP running attempt failed. At halftime, the score was Grafton 14, Whitefish Bay 12.
In the third quarter, the Junior Blue Dukes stopped a Grafton drive deep into Bay territory. On Bay's first ensuing play Bassindale, lined up in wildcat formation, took the snap, picked his way through several would-be tacklers, and raced for the TD. On the extra point attempt, the ball was snapped over the head of the holder, so no points. Whitefish Bay 18, Grafton 14.
Grafton steadily drove down the field until it reached hailing distance of the goal line. The Bay defense stiffened, setting up a 4th and goal situation. Unfortunately, the Grafton QB took the shotgun snap, saw daylight on the left side, and ran into the end zone for the game-winning score. The XP failed. Grafton 20, Whitefish Bay 18.
The Grey team had enough ticks left for a shot at a comeback, but an interception at midfield sealed the game.
Grafton did nothing tricky with their offense, but executed what they did very well. They also played with enthusiasm and intensity. That is the lesson JBD boys can learn from them.
It's one thing for boys, or parents, to complain about playing time; it's another thing altogether to actually do something on the field. If we could roll back just half the missed tackles from this game, the outcome would have been different. In his post-game remarks to the boys, Coach Bassindale made the point that serious effort and intensity in the game itself begins with taking practice seriously. Expect to hear that theme reinforced in practice this week.

Coach Joe speaks: Fluids, Practice

Excerpted from an email from Coach Joe Wieland:
WATER: The boys should be drinking water throughout the day, hydrating themselves before practice. Electrolytes and some type of vitamin may also be helpful. We are giving them plenty of breaks at practice, but they need to come to practice hydrated with plenty of fluids to drink during practice. Next week we put on pads and the boys will be even hotter at practice.
NON-PRACTICE DAYS: On the days that we do not have practice, it would be good for the boys to get out and be active. Pushups and situps or weight lifting, if they have already started a SAFE weight lifting program They will also want to review their plays. Competition is going to be strong for all starting positions.
We are off to a great start, so thanks to all of the parents for trusting us with your boys.
Coach Wieland

A message from Coach Wieland about starters and strings

From Coach Joe Wieland:
At our coaches meeting last night, we talked about the game and practices and have made some adjustments to the strings, meaning for every kid that moves up, another moves down. That is part of being on a team.
I am attempting to talk to each of the players before the next practice so that they are not caught off guard in front of their teammates AND so that I can tell them what they need to do to get a spot back.
After talking to my son Bailey and telling him that he was not starting at linebacker this week, he was very mad, but I talked about things he could do to get back into the lineup.
If your son comes home and is upset, please ask him what he can do to improve, rather than focus on the loss of position or which other player took his spot. Players can also talk to their position coaches to find out what they need to do to improve.
As I said earlier this year, lineups will change week to week based on opponent, practice and games.
Thanks,
Joe Wieland

Coach Wieland: New Practice Schedule Clarified

From Coach Joe Wieland:
Very simple.
Every week until we tell you different:
Monday, 5:00-7:15
Wednesday, 5:30-7:00(Unless you have a prior scheduled commitment, mandatory)
Thursday, 5:00-7:15

Pictures/Walkthrough Friday

As Joe Wieland wrote earlier this week, picture day will be combined Friday afternoon with a final practice walk-through at the WFB High School upper field, behind the stadium.
Players should be there by 4 p.m. Friday, wearing their blue game pants and blue game jerseys. Pictures for our group are penciled in for 4:30 p.m., but I take all those scheduled times with bemused skepticism. Just have your guy there by 4 p.m. in blue.
Football czar Carl Fuda reports: no forms to fill out for this picture session. The photo company will email each of us.
As for Saturday's road game against Nicolet, Coach Wieland asks that the boys be at Nicolet HS by 3 p.m. Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. (Since that is a road game, that will be white jerseys with game blue pants.)

Game Week: The Nicolet Game, Fairness & Absences

[This is condensed from emails sent by Coach Joe Wieland recently.]
After 3 weeks of practice, we are ready for some games. The first game is 9/12 at Nicolet HS at 4:00.
PLAYING TIME - Fair does not mean equal.
I want every player to have fun and feel like they are part of the team. After the scrimmage last night the coaches met and put together a plan so that all players will play in the game by the end of the 3rd quarter. By the end of the season, every player will have started at least one game. Not all players will play the same amount in the game. The playing time of some players is limited by their knowledge of the game, commitment to practice time or desire to play. When a player says to us, "I can only play safety", he is limited to one spot on the field.
GAMES ARE SHORT. Games are 4 8-minute quarters. That is less than the length of one practice. If you come to watch your son play, really watch for him or you may miss him. Ask him what position he plays and what quarter he thinks he will play in.
If you or your son have concerns about their role on the team, please let me know via email and we can set up a time to talk.
Reminder that practice Monday is optional, Tuesday and Thursday are mandatory.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks,
Joe Wieland
* * *
The coming week's schedule:
9/7 Labor Day (OPTIONAL PRACTICE) 5:00-dark
This is officially the first week of Monday/Thursday practices during the week. If you have plans, keep them and enjoy the day. If you do not have plans and are tired of listening to your boys complain that there is nothing to do and you need a break from them at the end of a 3 day weekend, send them to Lydell. All players/coaches who have been kicked out of their houses by annoyed wives/moms will have a fun practice. Absences will not be held against any players.
9/8 Tuesday ( Extra practice) 5:00-dark
This is planned to make up for the lost practice time on Monday. If you had planned other activities already scheduled because Tuesday is usually a "non-football" day, keep those plans and let me know via email. Absences will not be held against a player.
9/10 Thursday 5:00-Dark
* * *
9/12 GAME at Nicolet 4:00. All players must arrive at 3:00. [It's a road game, so it will be WHITE jerseys, unless Coach Wieland decrees something else.]
* * *
A note from Coach Wieland on Absences:
The coaching staff is working hard at insuring that all players get onto the field during games and scrimmages. We have a plan that gets every boy into the game in either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd quarter. When we know that someone will be gone due to a conflict, it makes planning easier.
IF YOU KNOW YOUR SON IS GOING TO MISS A FUTURE GAME, PLEASE LET US KNOW NOW.

Scenes from Practice: 08-20-2009

Scenes from Practice: Teaching Technique

Friday practice / Saturday scrimmage (Aug. 21-22)

From Coach Wieland:
We have scheduled an extra practice on Friday, 4:00-6:00. All players are encouraged to attend. If you already have plans, NO PROBLEM. Absent players will not be penalized in any way. If you have missed any practice, this is a great way to catch up. We are thinking that this will give us some extra review time for the Saturday scrimmage. Physical contact will be minimal, Learning will be maximized.

SCRIMMAGE SATURDAY (11:00-1:00) - This is a great opportunity to watch your son play alot of football, so I would encourage all parents to attend. I would like all players to be there by 10:15, ready to go. That means if you leave WFB by 9:30, you will have plenty of time.

IF YOUR SON WANTS A RIDE, the coaches will leave from Lydell at 9:30. Please tell your son if they will be riding with us so that we have adequate transportation. If any other parents are willing to leave at 9:30 from Lydell, let me know via email. If you have never driven a car full of 6th grade boys, the entertainment value is priceless(especially for the moms )

As always, email me with any questions.

joe

Coach Wieland: First Week Report

From Coach Wieland:
The first week went very well. Here are some important points for next week.
POSITIONS - All of the players have been practicing at only one position on offense. While we were not able to put everyone at their #1 choice, we will start to move people around after the scrimmage next week. I want every player to know one position perfectly before we start moving people around to different positions.
PRACTICE - We start with full pads on Tuesday (Aug. 18). If you did not attend all 3 practices this past week, you cannot wear pads until you make up that time during practices this week.
PLAYS - I told players to take home a play packet for the first two plays after practice last night. STUDY !! Have your sons look at the plays. If they already know their position, they should then look at another position. Great football players will know what everyone else is supposed to do.
ATTENDANCE - If you are not there, you miss out on important instruction. I understand that plans have been made and things happen. What I will need parents and players to understand down the road is that if the absences cause players to fall behind or move down the depth chart, that may be a direct result of missing practice.
NEXT WEEK - Practices in pads will involve a lot of tackling and blocking. It will be a physical week. Please ask your son if they have bumps or bruises immediately after practice and use ice to help with injuries for the first 48 hours. Again, missing practice because of injury is not the players fault, but it will cause them to get behind.
Please email me with questions or concerns.

Scenes from Practice: Walkthrough

Scenes from Practice: The Knot

Near the end of practice Tuesday, Coach Joe Wieland had the boys do a series of teambuilding exercises around getting out of human knots. Hilarity -- the right kind of hilarity -- ensued:

2009 Game, Practice Schedule, Consent/Medical Forms

Welcome back to Junior Blue Dukes football.
Here is the planned game schedule for the 2009 season for the 6th grade team:

Noon Sept. 12: @Nicolet.
Noon Sept. 19: Home vs. Homestead Red.
5:30 p.m. Sept. 26: @Saukville
Noon Oct. 3: Home vs. Grafton
Noon Oct. 10: @Cedarburg
Noon Oct. 17: Home vs. Germantown Blue
Noon Oct. 24: Playoff game at home
Noon Oct. 31: Playoff game at home

Please note we have two playoff games this year (we only had one last year). Also, I would take those start times for the playoff games as tentative until they are confirmed closer to the date.
Because we have a total of five home games this season, I will likely need to ask families to volunteer twice for concession stand duty. More on that later.

Our practice schedule begins Aug. 10, with equipment pickup at 7 p.m. at the high school.
The first week of practice continues with sessions from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 11, 12 and 13.
Our first scrimmage will be Saturday morning Aug. 22 at Cedarburg.
Please check your email inbox for my earlier email with a complete schedule and practice schedule attached. If you don't have it, please email me [ jimhiggins ATSIGN gmail.com ] and I will get one to you.

Also, I've sent everyone an email with the informed consent/medical form attached. These must be completed and turned in before equipment pickup. You can give those forms to me and I'll turn them over to the office. My home address, fyi, is 1030 E. Fairmount (corner of Fairmount and Marlborough, across from the high school).

Here are some explanatory notes from Junior Blue Dukes czar Carl Fuda:
Practice schedule is 90+% firm, game schedule is 100+ firm.
A few highlights:
* Equipment pickup is Aug. 10. Please note and follow your time slots.
* We have 2 scrimmages this year.
* All practices are at Lydell school, unless noted.
* Picture day will be Friday Sept. 11. More details will be forth coming. We will share your email addresses with our photographer, so they can directly communicate and send photo copies to you. Please let us know if that is a problem.
* Please review game schedule. We have 5 games at home this year. Also note that we have a night session in Saukville.

Additionally, Junior Duke camp starts on July 20th. It will be held from 3 - 7 PM from July 20th through the 24th. It is an OPTIONAL camp. It does provide a great opportunity to get some skill development.
Equipment wise you will need shorts, a tee shirt, and a practice jersey. If you do not have a practice jersey, we have Junior Duke models available for $15.
On day one of the camp, we will issue shoulder pads and helmets to all participants, starting at 2:30. It becomes a bit of a circus, so be prepared.

Lastly, this year we will NOT have a meet the coaches night. Each coach will do that separately with their teams.
-- Carl J. Fuda