Coach Ian – Week in Review 12/13/2020:
What I’m Reading:
PB: The Paul Brown Story – Paul Brown and Jack Clarry
Paul Brown is a legendary football coach in Ohio and coached at the high school (Massillon), collegiate (Ohio State), and NFL (Browns, Bengals) level and also founded the Cincinnati Bengals.
My biggest takeaways from the reading are how to build winning programs as a coach – this could be carried over into any sport, boxing included. I’m reading about his early times coaching high school and how he built a winning culture, that even started at the junior level and developed players into a system where they could all excel. Some of the Massillon high school teams could dominate even collegiate teams in scrimmage. At the time, Paul Brown was a visionary for inventing plays like the flea flicker. There’s also a story of how he told the team he would turn his back away from the field for the first three plays he planned for the game, and he wanted to hear the impact of those plays from the crowd. They score a touchdown in those three plays.
Paul Brown did grow up in a different time, though, and I’m trying to reconcile his teachings to the current state of the Bengals. For example, there were some interviews going around of TJ Houshmanzadeh talking about how pre-Marvin Lewis, the Bengals used to reuse jock straps and never had water for the players – players would bring their own water bottles. Early in the book, I hear Paul Brown bragging about the fact that his team was so conditioned that they never had water jugs at their practices.
Another thing I realized was that Paul Brown had such an extensive network within the high school (starting with his dominance at Massillon High) and college ranks, that he didn’t have to rely on a scouting department for his team. He talked about his connections and how he could always call up others to get the scoop on potential draft prospects before drafting them. Now, the Bengals are much maligned for not having a GM or scouting department, but I can see why – Paul Brown used to do that all himself. Mike isn’t nearly as connected or knowledgeable to make those decisions.
Finally, Paul Brown had a very old-school approach and was already started to grow discouraged by players unions and player empowerment. I don’t know how he would respond to the level of player empowerment seen today. He wanted all players to be graduates with high grades and high character – I can’t imagine what he would think of athletes that declare for the draft early. He coached in an era where collegiate players weren’t on full-ride scholarships and he made sure all of his players stayed busy with jobs in their communities over the summer break. He also wrote about things like not drafting any player who had never played in the cold, because they would ditch Ohio for the west coast later in their careers. That makes me wonder what he would think of Lebron James today…
A Promised Land – Barack Obama
Boxing Shares of the Week:
Tips For Your First Boxing Match (Extended):
I created a video to go along with this article of tips for training for your first boxing match earlier, but re-did it and extended the video to make it more readible.
Check it out here:
Tips for Your First Boxing Match – Coach Ian Boxing
Errol Spence vs Danny Garcia: The Importance of the Jab
Errol Spence is back. After many (myself included) were left wondering if Errol Spence would be the same after that horrific car crash, our questions have been answered definitively. Errol Spence entered the ring this past Saturday, not in a tune-up fight, but against a very tough opponent in Danny Garcia. While I once would’ve picked Errol Spence to win, I thought this was too-much-too-soon and that he would have some lingering effects from his car crash (and ring rust) and would lose to Danny.
Instead, Errol Spence took control of the fight with a dominant jab. He had great moments as well, and put together great combinations to the body, but his jab swung what otherwise would be close rounds to clear rounds for Errol and he, on my scorecard, won by a wide margin.
I wrote about the importance of the jab here.
Errol Spence Breakdown vs Danny Garcia Breakdown The Jab
Health Reshares for the Week:
Bloodwork – Request it! This was a repost, but is still important for us to know how to interpret our blood tests. Most people get their annual physical and just look to see that their results say that they are within the reference ranges. I think it’s important to know what these numbers represent. I dig into inflammation (C-reactive protein, omega 6s, etc.), cholesterol (using an NMR or advanced lipid panel), blood sugar control (HOMA-IR, hemoglobin a1c, LP-IR), and more.
Training on a Meatless Diet: Sometimes fighters or runners want to experiment going vegetarian or vegan. While restricting meat has certain benefits, it is important to do it in a way that doesn’t open up a host of other problems. Read more here.
Running Form: After running several long distance races, I’ve found the importance in tweaking my running form to both be efficient and prevent injuries. Luckily, I can tackle both goals without compromising the other, based on a few principles learned in the book Chi Running. Read more here.
The Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon:
The Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon, 10K & 5K are GOING VIRTUAL and I’m joining in as an official Ambassador! Enter any of the races individually or sign up for the “Triple” Peaks Challenge to tackle all three. You’ll receive a participant shirt and medal just for signing up. Registration opens, Nov. 2nd.
This Week at Dreamland Boxing:
Come by the gym to grab some gear or holidays gifts to help support the gym!
I wanted to give a special thank you to Bruce Babashan, a highly respected boxing trainer in Maryland, for your generous donation towards Dreamland Boxing. Bruce Babashan runs a non-profit boxing gym (The Good Fight) aimed towards helping the youth and also is the host of the “Your Cornerman” podcast. You can find him on social media or on his website www.yourcornerman.com
Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, Jesse and Gina decided that it was in the best interest of the gym and the community to close for the month of December. Stay safe, healthy, and responsible everyone so we can get back in the gym early next year!
Meanwhile, I have continued to host our virtual boxing sessions with the same two students that I have been training all year, Wes and Forrest. Thank you greatly for keeping your memberships active and continuing to support our gym during this time. And I’m personally glad to have been able to aid in your boxing development all year! This week we discussed:
- Errol Spence’s cross to the body
- how to angle off the left hook, and when to go left/right
- shortening our jabs
- The difference between Manny Pacquiao’s cross (against . . . Everybody) and George Foreman’s cross (over Michael Moorer)
- Countering with respect for range
You can find a full list of drills if you are a current Dreamland Boxing member in the Premium Drills section of my website.
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