From Coach Wieland: Playbook

Have you studied your playbook ??
If you did not get a playbook, I have a stack on my front porch. 5265 Santa
Monica.
I will be at the equipment room at 9 AM Monday Morning. Be there on time if
you need equipment.
-- Coach Joe Wieland

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:

Equipment Pickup on Monday

>
>
> Hi Folks: Here are some pointers from Carl Fuda about equipment pickup time on Monday:
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> Equipment pick-up Information
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> Please do not arrive more than 5 minutes early for your time slot. (Our 6th grade time slot is 7 p.m.)
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> Players will pick up the following items:
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> * 1 belt
> * 1 mouth guard – if you do not have already
> * 1 helmet – if you do not have already
> * 1 shoulder pads – if you do not have already
> * 1 pair of practice pants (white)
> * 1 pair of game pants (blue)
> * 2 knee pads
> * 1 girdle
>
>
> Each player will try on their pants AND girdle so please send them in appropriate attire.
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> They will not receive jerseys yet.
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> If you are using a custom mouth guard, please note that it can not be clear. It should be a DARK COLOR.
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> Practice jerseys will be available for purchase for $15.
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> Any questions, please call. THANK YOU

Mouthpieces: Advice from the Coach

From my years of coaching/playing experience, DO NOT CUT THE STRAP OFF THE MOUTHPIECE. ATTACH IT TO THE FACEMASK.
With that being said, many players watch pro and college players take out their mouthpieces and tuck them into the helmet or other places and will want to copy these heroes.
PROBLEM : They will get lost and then during a practice of game they will not have their mouthpieces and will have to sit out :(
Then YOU get the emergency tears and you are running to Fitz's or Walmart for another one. We usually also buy a second one for Bailey in advance and put it in his football bag.
WHICH LEADS TO....
Also, I would find a large bag that all of their football stuff will fit in and use it to keep track of all of their stuff. Bailey has an old hockey bag and as soon as he gets home everything goes in it. This is especially helpful when you are late because you just grab the whole bag and they change on the way to the game or practice.
Hope this makes your life a little less crazy :)
-- Coach Joe Wieland

[A footnote from Jim:
If your son has braces, don't be shy about checking in with your orthodontist about the mouthguards. When I told our orthodontist that Nick would be playing football, he immediately offered to help adjust a mouthguard for Nick.]

Coach Joe Wieland speaks

My name is Joe Wieland and I will be the new head coach for the team this year. I was the 7th grade coach in 1989, the 8th grade coach in 1990 and then coached high school football from 1991-2001, serving as the head coach at WFBHS from 1997-2001. I do not tell you these facts to impress you, but rather to insure you that my most important role this year is to teach your son the basics of football, because every level of the game still comes down to blocking, tackling and running the ball.

Another important part of the game is that there is only one football. That means that very few players actually get to handle the ball. However, I do not glorify the person with the ball and all players will be coached to feel that they are an important part of the team. Offensive linemen never get to touch the ball, so no other player should feel that they get the right to touch the ball. We will attempt to create 4 QBs and at least 6 RBs for the future of the program.

I would like each of your sons to respond to this email and let me know what their first and second choice on offense and defense would be. HOWEVER, just because a players wants to be a running back, that does not mean that they will ever carry the ball this year or if a player wants to be a receiver that they will ever catch a pass. Please respond ASAP to help us plan for practice. Please include the player's name because not all emails coordinate with email addresses.

Equipment pick-up is at 7 p.m. on Aug. 10 and then we will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:00-8:30 for the next 3 weeks. Although this may seem to be a long time for practice, we felt that fewer days would enable families to still enjoy the month of August for any trips or fun events. We also have a scrimmage at Cedarburg on Aug. 22 from 8:00-11:00.

Practices will be on Mondays and Thursdays from 5:30-8:00 once the school year starts. Practices are mandatory and if a player misses a practice for any reason, they will not play in the first quarter of the following game. Please try to plan all appointments and commitments to the other days of the week. Please send me any important information in regards to vacation schedules or other potential conflicts for your son.

The coaching staff has already met twice this summer and we feel we are already on our way to a successful season.

Sorry if some of this information is redundant, but too much is better than a lack of communication. Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Joe

[Joe's email address: twieland@wi.rr.com]

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

Junior Blue Dukes football signup in April

Yes, I know it is baseball and soccer season, but football is never far from our minds, is it?

Junior Blues Dukes czar Carl Fuda has released the signup info for the fall 2009 season. Registration happens during April (i.e., this month, people).

I've emailed everyone on my email list from the end of the season. But if you didn't get a signup form, or need a resend, just get in touch with me.

Enjoy your week, and see you around the Bay.

Three Boys

Thank you, Dan Hess, for the picture

Team photo

Karen W. Higgins photo

A Message from Coach Mike Sanders

All,

Thank you so much for the kind words and generous gifts on Friday. I must say that coaching these boys has been an honor. I'd like to thank you all again for your support of the program. Your efforts, all season long, helped this team immeasurably.

I like to think that coaching is also a form of teaching players how to be better people. From my experience, all of these boys hear such lessons at home as well. We had a very well behaved group that never talked back and always gave us their all.

The framed team photo has taken up residence on my mantle where I can always be reminded that I am part of a terrific community of both players and parents.

Thanks again.
-Mike Sanders

Duke Pride

The Good Hands Team

Fanfare (for the Junior Blue Dukes)

Power Running