Time Spent Tweaking

[Shabby J]

A coach commented on another post that "no base should require that much tweaking", referring to a certain base and the length of time it takes to get something good out of it.

A question to all you guys who tweak your own bases, on average, how much do you or have you spent, tweaking one base in the past?

I think the answer will vary, as there are some gems that you hit on right off the bat and they are great performers in very little time, others take some time and work before they shine. Please post on your experiences on time spent on individual bases.

I would love to hear, as I am sure it will put this into perspective for those who are beginning.

Comments welcome from beginning tweakers to master tweakers.

[Electric Coach]

I had an experience a while ago that had me working with a base for about an hour; give or take a few minutes. The reason so much time was spent was due to the base’s erratic performance against one of my best defensive tackle bases.

This base started winning against my top lineman. When I thought no more tweaking was needed, the base began to fail miserably. It was getting thrown backwards. Have you ever seen the losing base keep sliding backwards after the board is turned off? That’s what this base was doing that kept me wanting to stay with it. So, I began to tweak this base some more.

The base again after further tweaking appeared as if it was trying to regain my love and admiration starting to push a little, then it would quit. This went on for about an hour. To no avail the base never again showed me what it had when I first tweaked it.

Basically, the base’s prongs didn’t hold their shape after they were tweaked. Heat didn’t make a difference. That base is somewhere among the other bases that didn’t work out for me. I will hold another combine with all of those bases that didn’t work out during my earlier camps.

Maurice

The Electric Coach

The 1972 "No Name Defense" DOLPHINS, engineered to perfection by Bob Griese and Don Shula or Barry Switzer's COWBOYS when JJ walked away?

One team of nobody's (moderately tweaked bases) with a BRILLIANT Coach vs. a team of highly tweaked/boiled bases with a Rookie Coach?

I don't consider myself a great tweaker nor a great Coach, but I do both to the best of MY ability and I have beaten some of the top Coaches in the country while losing to a few not-so-famous ones. Big deal. So what. I ENJOYED EVERY SINGLE PLAY OF EVERY SINGLE GAME. I think my guys handled their own and with sound football decisions have won more games than they've lost. Isn't that the point?

Everybody tweaks their bases to accomplish varying degrees of the same yet different unmeasurable tasks. Overall strength might be measured one on one as "Challenges" at Tourneys, but who cares if you have the STRONGEST TEAM ALIVE if it doesn't result in a Championship. Same with SPEED. Ya gotta put it ALL together. Speed, strength, assignments, execution, adjustments, ball control, time management, etc.

Tweaking is such a minuscule part of the game. I play with guys that have never touched flame nor pliers to their bases and give the best of the best a challenge. Imagine if they had equal bases???

Tweaking is like footwear. Would you rather wear Doc Martens, Chuck Taylors, Nikes, Kangaroos, Adidas, Pumas, Filas, Skechers, Hush Puppies, Dexters, etc? Different shoes for different surfaces for different coaching styles.

On the scale of footwear, my tweak is equivalent to Adidas (All Day I Dream About Squeezing the crap out of these friggin' prongs!!!!!)

[Shabby J]

OK Jimbo, with all due respect and I really mean that, I really do not understand your post and how it relates to my question. I too am not a master tweaker nor master coach, but I also do both to the best of my ability and am always learning to take both to the next level.

Now, what floors me is when you say that tweaking is a miniscule part of MF, I don't know where/who you play against, but if you step up against the dudes I play with out here in So Cal you will see that tweaking is indeed a major part of the game, we are now playing unboiled 4.0 in prep for the college series, you show up with untweaked bases and you'll spend all day watching your men get pushed from end to end. You played out here if I am not mistaken, in the Open Run we are now mostly non-boiled and 4.0 baby. I am not speaking of pure strength, pure speed, etc... you have to have a tweaked well balanced team, power and speed where you need them, directional control where it is needed and a combination of all of this at times where it is needed.

I don't get off on posting about strongest bases, fastest bases, etc...to play competitively in So Cal ONE MUST TWEAK. Coaching is a big part of winning in MF, but if your athletes can not execute then you are dead in the water and in for a long day.

I could buy a team of tweaked bases and show up and hold my own, but I won't, I will field a team with every base tweaked by ME, even if it takes me two years to get to where I could be in an instant had I paid someone to tweak for me.

I won't go that route, I got a few bases in trade from a well known tweaker and I use them as strength tests and frankly I have out done those few and they now reside in my junk pile. Tweaking is a must if you want to have a good day playing MF instead of showing up and getting manhandled all day.

Again, I am shocked that you think tweaking is a miniscule part of the game. I am actually floored. I do respect your opinion and position as a valuable MFCA member but you are way off on this one.

[Geno H]

Originally Posted by JIMBO

The 1972 "No Name Defense" DOLPHINS, engineered to perfection by Bob Griese and Don Shula or Barry Switzer's COWBOYS when JJ walked away?

One team of nobody's (moderately tweaked bases) with a BRILLIANT Coach vs. a team of highly tweaked/boiled bases with a Rookie Coach?

I don't consider myself a great tweaker nor a great Coach, but I do both to the best of MY ability and I have beaten some of the top Coaches in the country while losing to a few not-so-famous ones. Big deal. So what. I ENJOYED EVERY SINGLE PLAY OF EVERY SINGLE GAME. I think my guys handled their own and with sound football decisions have won more games than they've lost. Isn't that the point?

Everybody tweaks their bases to accomplish varying degrees of the same yet different unmeasurable tasks. Overall strength might be measured one on one as "Challenges" at Tourneys, but who cares if you have the STRONGEST TEAM ALIVE if it doesn't result in a Championship. Same with SPEED. Ya gotta put it ALL together. Speed, strength, assignments, execution, adjustments, ball control, time management, etc.

Tweaking is such a minuscule part of the game. I play with guys that have never touched flame nor pliers to their bases and give the best of the best a challenge. Imagine if they had equal bases???

Tweaking is like footwear. Would you rather wear Doc Martens, Chuck Taylors, Nikes, Kangaroos, Adidas, Pumas, Filas, Skechers, Hush Puppies, Dexters, etc? Different shoes for different surfaces for different coaching styles.

On the scale of footwear, my tweak is equivalent to Adidas (All Day I Dream About Squeezing the crap out of these friggin' prongs!!!!!)

Jimbo,
?????????????????
Jimbo take a chill pill.


Shabby J,
to answer your question. I have spent as little as a couple minutes to almost an hour on bases.
Also remember some bases just never quite perform up to par no matter what kind of spell you cast on it.
Average I suppose between 10-15 minutes. More on strength than speed.



Geno H

[dallcow4life28]

tweaking bases is a small part of coaching. If I have to tweak a base a lot just to make it serviceable, then I just won't use that base. A good coach does not need to tweak very much at all--I just think that base tweakers like tweaking--more power to ya!

[Coach Rip]

.......tweak geek....

I enjoy tweaking, to me it's just another part of the hobby, along with team building, painting, customizizing etc.

Shabby J, .........to answer your question I think most of the time if I am tweaking for speed, it takes about five minutes, and about 10 minutes for strength. That being said, I will stay with a base unit I think I can't get any more from it, or until I ruin it by over tweaking,...................Know when to say "when"

I also believe tweaking is an ongoing process, when I play in a league, I routinely run my team the night before because the plastic bases have a memory and many times bases require a "quick going over" , but that is just me....

And if I can also add, when tweaking, sometimes you just have a magic touch and everything you tweak just turns out great and other times, you don't, and then it is time just to relax and do something else and come back later.

[Kansas Bill]

Originally Posted by Coach Rip

.......tweak geek....

I enjoy tweaking, to me it's just another part of the hobby, along with team building, painting, customizizing etc.

Shabby J, .........to answer your question I think most of the time if I am tweaking for speed, it takes about five minutes, and about 10 minutes for strength. That being said, I will stay with a base unit I think I can't get any more from it, or until I ruin it by over tweaking,...................Know when to say "when"

I also believe tweaking is an ongoing process, when I play in a league, I routinely run my team the night before because the plastic bases have a memory and many times bases require a "quick going over" , but that is just me....

And if I can also add, when tweaking, sometimes you just have a magic touch and everything you tweak just turns out great and other times, you don't, and then it is time just to relax and do something else and come back later.

OH good.. I'm not the only one..
What really drives me nuts is when I only tweak a few bases.. (lets say for strength).. and something comes up, I don't get back to tweaking till the next day.. And NOTHING I tweak the next day, is as strong.. And I'm sitting there thinking.. "What in the heck did I do yesterday that is so different from today??!!"

My tweaking is much like someone obsessed with their golf game.. ALWAYS trying SOMETHING .. a little different.. always trying to find some magic step in the process that will set that tweak method above the rest..

But bottom line... I'm having fun while I tweak..
Sure. .there are coaches who don't need their bases tweaked a lot to compete.. I'm one of those who needs to get every bit of advantage WITH my bases that I can.

[detroitchild]

Personally, the more I learn how to tweak the more I enjoy it. It's great to go down to the bat cave, turn on some music (usually jazz for me), fix my favorite beverage (wine, whiskey...or what's ever in the cabinet) and spend a couple of hours tweaking bases. Very relaxing for me.

I agree with coach Rip. Some days I can quickly hit a base and it runs beautifully. Others, I can work on for half a day until I've made it useless (I've got a bunch of those!). I try to take the good with the bad and just enjoy it for what it is, a hobby.

DC

[Coach Rip]

Personally, the more I learn how to tweak the more I enjoy it. It's great to go down to the bat cave, turn on some music (usually jazz for me), fix my favorite beverage (wine, whiskey...or what's ever in the cabinet) and spend a couple of hours tweaking bases. Very relaxing for me.

I'm right there with ya',......... my musical tastes range from NFL Autum Thunder CDs' to rock-n-roll, to funk, to 70's rock and then my mp3 player has all the above and I have it all on "shuffle"