Coach Ecks

Penn Hills Athletic Director | Dad of 4

[PENN HILLS INDIANS FOOTBALL @phqbclub]

Congratulations to former Indian Dan Mason who has been named our interim head coach.
#IndiansNation

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Dan Hurley shares a blunt reminder about what it takes to be great.

"If you can't sit through an hour and 15 minute video session...get out of this industry because this is only for the most competitive people."

The film room isn't glamorous. It's tedious, repetitive, and easy to zone out, but that's exactly why it separates.

The ones who consistently work even when it's boring are the same ones who execute when it matters.

Greatness isn't for the interested - it's for the ones who embrace the boredom of consistency.
(🎥@CollegeGameDay)

[James Light @JamesALight]

Detroit Lions HC Dan Campbell - Meeting Structure

- "First of all I know this, you can give them deadhead if you're not careful, so hit them in spurts. You give them 20 minutes, hit them on what you need to hit them on & get them out for a couple minutes, bring them back & keep going."

- "It needs to be interactive, ultimately we're teachers. We're teachers in football, so how do you communicate & articulate what you're trying to get across to those players. Don't make it more complex than it needs to be, keep it simple where they can play fast, know what to do & make it interactive, make it fun."

[Mike Rittelmann @MRittCGS]

🚨 Parents of High School Football Recruits

One of the biggest mistakes I see in recruiting is when parents try to take over the process instead of supporting it

College coaches are evaluating much more than film, statistics, and athletic ability. They are evaluating how a prospect communicates, handles adversity, interacts with others, and whether the family will be a positive fit within the program

Over the years, I have seen talented players miss opportunities because of poor communication, unrealistic expectations, social media issues, constant parental involvement, or simply a lack of understanding of how recruiting actually works

Some of the biggest mistakes parents make:

🔹 Speaking for their son during the recruiting process

🔹 Contacting coaches excessively

🔹 Treating camp invites as scholarship offers

🔹 Inflating height, weight, or testing numbers

🔹 Comparing their son to other recruits

🔹 Focusing too much on rankings and social media attention

🔹 Ignoring academic requirements

🔹 Chasing every camp without a recruiting plan

🔹 Becoming overly focused on NIL or one specific level of football

🔹 Creating unnecessary drama with coaches, programs, or teammates

A camp invite is not an offer. Rankings do not determine a player’s future. More camps do not automatically lead to more opportunities. And playing at the highest level possible is not always the same as finding the right fit

The best recruiting families:

✅ Allow their son to take ownership of the process

✅ Communicate professionally and respectfully

✅ Focus on academics as much as football

✅ Stay realistic about recruiting opportunities

✅ Trust the evaluation process

✅ Keep the focus on long term development and fit

Parents should focus on helping their son become the best student, athlete, and young man possible. Be supportive, be realistic, trust the process, and allow your son to take ownership of his recruitment

The families that navigate recruiting the best are usually the ones who stay humble, stay professional, and understand that recruiting is about finding the right fit, not winning a popularity contest

🏈 At the end of the day, the goal is not to win recruiting.

It is to help your son find the right school, earn a degree, continue playing football, and create opportunities that will benefit him long after his playing days are over

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Bill Cowher shares the 3 things he told his 3 daughters - and his 53 players.

"Number one - choices and consequences."

"You can control your choice. But once you make a choice, it controls you...Just understand - with every decision you make, there's a consequence that goes with that."

Your choices and actions matter.

"Number two - it's about the people you surround yourself with."

"Are they people that are purpose-driven? Or are they people that are just trying to feed off of who you are?"

"I want people around me that are purpose-driven. People focused on doing something impactful and meaningful."

"And the third thing - nothing good happens after midnight. Nothing."

Three rules. A lifetime of wisdom.

Your choices control you. Your circle defines you. Your habits protect you.
(🎥Ray Lewis Show: @raylewis)

[PENN HILLS INDIANS FOOTBALL @phqbclub]

A perfect day for an outing!!
Thank you to all who came to support us, yesterday, and thank you to Rolling Fields Golf Club for being so good to us!!
Next outing: June 5th, 2027.
#IndiansNation

[PENN HILLS INDIANS FOOTBALL @phqbclub]

Congrats to our cast, crew, and creative team on bringing home a Gene Kelly Award for Best Costume Design for Once on This Island!!
#IndiansNation

[Joe Rogan Podcast News @joeroganhq]

Mike Tyson on discipline: "The best way to receive discipline is to do what you hate to do, but do it like you love it. You do that, that's discipline."

[Josh Chambers @JoshChambers]

Denzel Washington on the ghosts that haunt us the most:

👻 The Ghosts of our own unfulfilled potential.
👻 The Ghosts of the ideas we never acted on.
👻 The Ghosts of talent we never used.

The heaviest ghosts are the lives within us that we chose not to create. 🤯

[Expo Recruits @ExpoRecruits]

62% of D2 football players that entered the transfer portal have retired.

79% of D3 athletes. 🤯

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

[Penn Hills HSMS Softball @PHHSVarsitySB]

Huge congratulations to Addison Helsel on being named All Section Class 5A Section 1 as a sophomore 🔥 This recognition is beyond well deserved and we’re so proud of everything she’s accomplished already. The future is bright for #33 ❤️🥎

https://t.co/Jwvvk2l1dw

[PHSD @PennHillsSD]

Please support our #Phamily

[Coach Ecks @CoachEcks]

https://t.co/FKOW2G1BS8
Love to see it!

[Kevin DeShazo @KevinDeShazo]

Winning is a habit.

[PENN HILLS INDIANS FOOTBALL @phqbclub]

It’s a GREAT DAY to be an INDIAN!!
14 draftees, 3 1st Round picks, plus 2 undrafted legends!!
#IndiansNation

[Steelers Youth Football @SteelersYouthFB]

To celebrate players drafted from Western PA, the Steelers are providing an item for their high school’s trophy case.  A custom football for players drafted, and for players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a custom gold chrome helmet from Riddell.

[PENN HILLS INDIANS FOOTBALL @phqbclub]

Another Indian in the @NFL!
Congratulations @JadenDugger!!
@49ers use the 154th pick in the #NFLDraft to pick up a great kid!!
#IndiansNation

[Bob Pompeani @KDPomp]

In case you missed the BEST moment of day 3 of the #NFLDraft, this was the moment that Mt. Lebanon's @EHeidenreich44 realized a childhood dream @MTLSD @mtlebofootball @MtLebanonSports

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Luke Falk shared a Mike Leach story that stopped me cold:

Two kids. One rich. One poor.

Every training camp, Coach Leach told his team about these 2 kids.

The rich kid has two choices.

Get soft. Get entitled. Expect everything handed to him because he was handed more.

Or take the resources, the coaching, the opportunities, and compound them into something greater.

The poor kid has two choices too.

Say nobody gave him anything. Blame the world. Make his circumstances the reason he never became what he could have been.

Or outwork everyone in the room.

Luke said the locker room had both. Kids from wealth. Kids from nothing. Kids with every advantage. Kids who scraped for every inch.

Same choice for all of them.

Ownership or victimhood.
Fuel or excuse.

The rich kid can waste the head start or build on it.

The poor kid can drown in the deficit or weaponize it.

Greatness doesn't come from where you start.

It comes from which kid you choose to feed.

Credit to @coachlukefalk for continuing to share golden nuggets about Coach’s legacy