Found this looking through some older football files. I did this before the first staff meeting during my first year on a high school staff. I coached DBs in a 4-3 systems and these were the coverages the HC planned to have installed. Put this together to be sure my philosophy with the HC's. Let me know if it helps at all or what you do/coach differently.
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As is true with everything in life, I have had some highs and lows in my time on the sideline. Below are some of the moments that sit most boldly in my memory (some bad, some good.) Below are the quick snippets. Hope you enjoy!
The Lows The very first memory that comes to mind when I think about coaching football is being beat by a coach with a better play call. Calling the JV defense, needing a stop late in the game; we were trailing 7-6. They are pounding the ball in their wing t but we finally started to tighten after they get to our side of the field. Its third and short I flub the play call. They hit us for a game sealing PAP for TD. I signaled in a man blitz with cover 3. The players did what was called and the QB hit the wide-open seam. Not only did I feel out coached but I also set the team up to fail. Another low that quickly pops in my head was Varsity DBs, my position group, getting crushed by bubble against rival school. We didn’t have an answer and it wasn’t because of scheme or that we didn’t expect it. Our corners and safeties struggled with pursuit angles and getting off blocks. I took this as direct reflection of my coaching. I am thankful for both. I think it made me a better coach as I feel like both experience “expanded my mind.” It helped me focus on being more analytic in game but also more importantly with my practice time. The Highs The first thing that comes to mind are the player interactions. One is in my first blog post. Next is the first TD for RB I coached in youth football. I had been telling him all year that he owed me a TD and we needed to get it for him. He had lots of big runs but didn’t find the end zone until the last game of 7th grade scoring on a big run off a reverse. He sprinted over 50yds to the end zone and from there right to the sidelines to give me a hug and celebrate his TD. The final one is a hug I got from I played I assumed hated me after 3 years of youth football with me. I yelled a lot; its just the way I coach. I yell for the bad and the good. And in particular, I yelled at him (he lacked some discipline and liked to goof off). After our last game in 8th grade, he came over and hugged me. It completely caught me off guard but not as much as him telling me I was his favorite coach. These player interactions are truly what I love most about coaching. One final memory I want to highlight is a scoop and score to win a game 6-0. I coached this same group for three years of youth football and by eighth grade they were figuring it out. Coaching this team and calling that defense is what got me my first HS job; calling a JV defense and coaching DBs in that same city. You can discount it by calling it “just youth football” but through the six game regular season they allowed just 2 more points than they scored as a defense. (side note: the players reacting on the sideline to series and TD we gave up to go from +4 to -2 still makes me smile). They grew a lot as players and grew up as people. I see that season as the culmination of that. This group was the first group I ever coached and the scoop and score could stay as my favorite play forever. It represents a lot in my mind; the football that the players signed after the eighth-grade season will always have a spot in my office. I am very young in my career and look forward to many more moments. Would love to hear some of your own highs and lows via the comment section below or on twitter (follow me @seoleufootball). **Varsity players schedule: Monday – Film and Install / Tuesday-Wednesday – Full pads practice / Thursday-Run through / Friday – Game Day / Saturday-Sunday –Off**
Saturday morning, I watch last night’s game once. The result in already in the book so I watch strictly my position group. As a defensive coach, I tally guys within 5yds of the ball at the end of the play but overall the result doesn’t matter; its already over. What does matter it taking advantage of coaching points to either grow players or praise players. When praising, I will use a player’s name, “Johnny, great job your shoulder free and forcing it back to help.” When correcting, I use “we”. I want to pat players on the back for succeeding on the field and learn as a team when we don’t. High school games fly by on film so usually I watch most available film on the upcoming team over the weekend. Understanding time can be limited, I would strive for minimum of 2-3 games when preparing week to week for an opponent. Priority being on if they played a team running similar scheme to your own and their two last games. I have a notebook for film breakdown. I keep all my old notes. I start the new page with game date, opponent, and their “scheme/philosophy” at the top. (i.e. 09/08/2017, @ABC HS, spread (option)/ 3-4)
I’ll take my notes/ideas to our staff meeting, usually on Sunday afternoon. Here, we push through a quick recap of our last game to identify focus points for practice. Next, we have everyone put their “two cents” on what they saw from our upcoming opponent. Each position coach should also share more details related to their group. You will see trends in what coaches are seeing. After that, we do the same with our suggestions. This should be as open as possible, you want everyone to feel comfortable sharing thoughts. The head coach should lead this and make a point to make everyone participate. This will shape the game plan. The head coach can guide this to make sure needed points are addressed and work towards agreements as much as possible on what to do. Head Coach always has final say. Once a general game plan is finalized, you are ready for the week. The head coach (typically) should write up and pass out this game plan to the staff so the staff can use it when planning practice for the week. This game plan should include the talking points and general game plan, adjustments, key players(/plays), etc. If you have a large staff or help and can have your film fully broken down, this game plan can include formations (usage), play tendencies, etc. I will put a copy in my notebook. If there are adjustment made leading up to gameday, I mark those on the game plan. This can be a reference for future games. New this year, I plan to write the score and quick recap on the games; mainly I want to highlight failures/successes in relation to game plan and any in game adjustment. This should be very basic (like coverage check changes, etc.) If you share copy with your players it should be more basic and limited. Unfortunately, players aren’t eager to watch film or scour over a game plan. For this same reason, game plans should never be too elaborate either; use your system! All coaches following this and a collaboration of idea will allow you to position your team to execute and win on gameday. The work is done Saturday to Thursday, game day is all about collecting the paycheck! As coaches, we constantly place an emphasis on being disciplined, being accountable and doing the little things right. Most penalties can be attributed to lack of discipline or focus on details so we started this to “punish” penalty yards.
Big picture is the team runs for every yard the penalty cost us. For example, on offense if we have a holding penalty on a fifteen yard run its 25yds; on defense a facemask on a 5yd tackle for loss would be 20yds. I always run each penalty separate, announcing what the penalty was and how many yards it cost us. We never spotlight the player who was actually flagged; we play as a team, we get penalized as a team, we run as a team. The players “pay” for the yards 2 to 1 so that 25yd penalty is a 25yd there back. Assigning yards for dead ball fouls and penalties that erase points or turnovers are a little more difficult. We ran players very hard for after-the-whistle personal fouls. (I think we have only had 2 of these since starting this but we ran 2 full football field length gassers to pay for each.) Penalties erasing scores or turnovers are doubled so a holding penalty on a 20yd TD is 60yds, which again is “paid” with a 60yd gasser. Player quickly became more aware of penalties. The first time no player could recall any penalties from the game but by week nine every player could name most penalties. We often had players groaning over penalties during warm ups the first day back after a game. They quickly start to self-regulate and estimate the yards they owe. We always did this immediately after breaking down from warmups on the first day back at practice. For high school, if Mondays are typically just film and install, do this on Tuesday. Maybe we can’t attribute it all to this but by season’s end and going forward we did see a decline in penalties. It’s an easy and ‘fun’ way to emphasis the importance of discipline! (Also, its entertaining at times to watch players grumble alongside the coaching staff when flags fly during games.) I played football from 4th grade through my freshman year of college but I have never enjoyed the game from the field more than I do on the sidelines.
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