Europeans Can Coach Too

First of all I want to say that I am sincerely honored to have been asked to contribute to this great blog. I hope this article will provide relevant and interesting facts for other curious coaches on this page.


I have been asked to give you some kind of European perspective about football.

The game is now played in almost every western European country (www.ifaf.info), and you can find football fans everywhere in the world.


We have the same rules, for sure, but the environment is waaaaaay different here. And when I say here, I mean France, as I am a French football coach (www.les-falcons.com).


For most of the people outside of the USA, football is like coconut: It looks good, but no one knows how to deal with it.


In other words, football is not part of our culture. Basically that means no fans in the stands, no boosters, and parents very reluctant to let their kids play "american rugby".


In France, a country of 65 million people, we have 25 000 players on about 150 teams, separated in 3 National Levels -- Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 (where I coach at the moment) and also some Regional Championships.


You also have to know that we don't operate in a scholastic environment.

Here it's an amateur team club sport. You can play from 12 years old to whenever your body let you play and there are 4 age groups (U14, U16, U19, +19 years old). Kids usually come to practice from 6pm to 8pm, after school and homework. Nothing is mandatory. Being non-scholastic also means poor facilities. In France there are some fields that have Field Turf with Y goal posts, but most of the teams share fields and locker rooms with soccer or rugby teams. As an example, our game field does not measure the U.S. standard 120 yards long, but is approximately 110 yards... with rugby posts. That means midfield is at the 45-yard-line. We don't even have goal posts on our practice field!


Another main difference is that we cannot practice more than twice per week. Keep in mind that it's an amateur game here. Players on my senior team (+19years old) could be in charge of a family or could be just students. On my 63-man roster I have a running back/baker, wide receiver/salesman, linebacker/law school student, QB/manager, DB/unemployed, DL/bouncer, OL/computer scientist... As a result of that, presence at practice and games is a constant concern.

On the other hand guys who choose to play football and show up at practice twice a week are really passionate.


First, they have to pay to play - each year more than 230USD... They also have to pay for (or rent in some cases) their equipment, about 400USD for a complete package. Want to get better? faster? stronger? It's another 400USD for a year-round gym pass...


Poor facilities, expensive sport, amateur level of play. If you are reading these lines, I bet you are pretty sorry for us right now... There is more: Coaches. We are not getting paid. My Defensive Co-ordinator is a plumber in "real life"; I am a radio journalist.

How in the world do we (European Coaches) manage to do anything good in those conditions?


Jeff Reinebold from SMU was speaking at a Coaching Clinic in Bavaria (Germany) a few weeks ago. He pumped up the gathered coaches by saying -- and I paraphrase:


"You are the best coaches; we are spoiled for choice. You don't have anything and are forced to make do."

Obviously, I don't think we are the best coaches. But the truth is you have to be quite inventive to coach a team or even a position without a lot at your disposal. You probably have not noticed but all the coaching materials (DVDs, books, articles, blogs, forums, clinics, software) are written in English. So if you don't read English, you're done.



I coach a 63-man roster this season and we are only 2 coaches... Fortunately we have players with double-digit years of experience that can run drills and/or take care of a position.


So everything we do, we have to do it with PASSION and LOVE for the game.

One of my former coaches, a Canadian guy with a 25 years experience of coaching high school kids, recently told me that his best coaching experience was when he won the '95 national championship with my team... "Best memories on and off the field" - that's what he told us.


Also, the game seems to get better each year. Players work during the off season (which was not a habit previously), and get bigger, and stronger. This season in France, one of the top teams recruited a former UCLA back-up QB (US or Canadian players/coaches are professional even if they do not make a lot of money. For more info go to www.europlayers.com). That kind of player helps to raise the general level of play across the league.

The numbers are rising too. Football is becoming more and more popular.

We are on our way.... Still a long way to go, though ;)

I told people who make fun of us because we play "American Rugby" that their sons will probably play for me soon.


2 French players have already reached NFL practice squads in recent years and I know there are a lot of Germans on NCAA teams. Not too bad when you consider that the first French league wasn't created until 1986.





Julien

4D-FTP Review

I'm struggling through the discs and admittedly I haven't had a whole lot of time to immerse myself in it, but I've watched the 2nd disc twice already. I've looked at this technique before here.....

The first DVD outlines vocabulary and terms that Coach Mark uses to orientate the players with this concept. I wasn't entirely sure this truly was necessary and some of it was reinventing the wheel when it came to terminology and segmenting the field. I watched the entire first DVD intently and never saw the payout.....meaning, I could have skipped it entirely and not have lost any value. Okay, so with that....it essentially becomes a question of "is ONE DVD worth $55?" Well, I probably would say yes, simply because this is a good and valid technique to teach. It would be an investment because I am not convinced (nor does Coach Mark suggest) that this is just something you could install in a spring and have down. This is something I would feel comfortable with introducing at the 9th grade level and progressing a player through the program.

I was much more impressed with the second (drills) DVD. This DVD does a nice job breaking down the basics of the 4-D and provides drills for working on 4-D skills. From basic drills on change of direction to playing the 3-step game and fade routes, the DVD goes through the 4-D progression in good detail.

One thing that we may take from this presentation is utilizing the drift step for changing direction. I'll be watching over and over again until I get this down. I can certainly see the technique actually being superior to shuffle in terms of biomechanic efficiency and certainly more fluid than T-stepping. The only concern would be the expense it would take to get good at it (compared with shuffle). You could be good at the shuffle in 5 minutes (then spend significant time concentrating on not being sloppy) - it would take significantly longer to make 4D (or just the crossover steps) a natural act for average athletes.

http://4d-ftp.com/

The 2nd disc was really nicely done and is high quality (except for some unexpected video breaks? in the bp portion). I would have preferred more specifics on foot placement and body positioning (coaching points to make sure kids avoid common errors). Also, it may help to show how this technique would apply to various coverages. This would be perfect for guys who run their defense like "you cover that guy" and mash various concepts together. This would be something to get started on in spring ball and really just hammer every day, giving something for the kids to use heading into summer passing leagues. Because the transitions taught are directly related to what coverage (leverage) you are playing, it would be nice to articulate in subsequent offerings / clinics how this would adjust and adapt.

I applaud coach rodriguez for presenting these materials and helping the game with an improved technique. The video quality IS top notch, I just wish there was more that we could apply towards coaching the specifics of the technique.

.

Order at

http://myonlinecamp.com/camp.cfm?CampName=&sport=24&city=&state=IA&pricerange=&start=1&id=10015

IDENTIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING ESSENTIAL SKILLS

Selection taken from the coaching canon , "Finding The Winning Edge".

A critical part of the game planning process is to identify the skills each player needs to perform the steps (tasks) involved in a particular play or play sequence. After identifying the skills needed by the player, a team must have a process in place for ensuring that their players develop these skills so that each play or play sequence is productive. Taking steps to develop these skills in every player occurs in two stages: isolating the skills and teaching the skills.

• Isolate the skills. The first step in the game planning process should be to analyze the tasks involved in the assignment of every player. Next, a decision must be made regarding whether the players have the ability to master the necessary skills. If it is determined that the ability of the players does not mesh with the skills required for a specific task. If they do not, the head coach must either discard this part of his offensive plan or alter the play or play sequence to fit the level of talent.
  
  Whatever the head coach’s decision, his decision can be made easier if he strictly adheres to one of the cardinal principles of training – specificity/ Specificity refers to the fact that “an individual gets what he trains for. “ All factors considered, the more specific his players’ preparation for a particular game, the better their performance.
• Teach the skills. Collectively, teaching players the skills they need involves an evolutional process of promoting, enhancing, practicing and refining each facet of the capacity being developed. In this regard, the rudimentary teaching progression of “hear it – see it – do it” is as applicable as it ever was.

Employing the proper teaching sequence is possibly the most viable way a coach can impact the game, certainly at the position level. Accordingly, as the head coach, you must make a decision as to what level of the teaching hierarchy you wish to utilize.

For example, with regard to teaching skills to your players, you must decide whether to rely on having the players learn by rote memorization or to require them to utilize critical thinking skills and acquire a more comprehensive knowledge of the offensive system. You should keep in mind that the more players are taught to critically analyze their responsibilities and to understand the relationship of these responsibilities to the total structure of the offense, the more productive the system will be.


Walsh, Bill - "Finding The Winning Edge", 1997, pg 210 - 211

Window of Opportunity (Off Season)

Just a reminder/admonishment as spring is blooming to stop and smell the roses.... the window of opportunity for ideas and refreshment will soon be closing for many high school staffs in the coming weeks.

What am I talking about? Spring football at your local college or university.

As discussed earlier ( Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics. ) visiting practice of a program, any program, outside of your own can do worlds of good for improving your process. Regardless of scheme or philosophy, taking a step back to see HOW others do what they do, may make more of dramatic impact than hearing about WHAT others are doing. Don't watch plays, watch players and how their coaches interact with them. Watch how practice is structured, observe how communication is handled, how coaches handle good and bad situations.... the devil is in the details. Don't just show up on the field, talk with the coaches and student assistants away from the game, sit in on their meetings, and take the time to build a relationship with the staff.

The Most Interesting Men In The World

Props to those across the pond coaching American football and the wonderfully natural (non scholastic) environment in which they operate in.

Heads up on a few blogs worth following;
http://coachingforpizza.blogspot.com/
(wonderful use of John Grisham's book, 'playing for pizza')
http://coachingoutofbounds.blogspot.com/

http://www.scribd.com/TheMadCoach (Roldan Leyba)
http://uerdingen-tomahawks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/people/Julien-Urgenti/641779599 http://coachbook.ning.com/profile/TedSeay
http://www.gridironaustralia.org.au/
(one of my older brothers actually played for Alice Springs Red Backs when I was playing in college)


Cheers, mates!

** I was actually going to do a semi-insightful breakdown of Gregg Williams' 3rd down fire-zones in the Dallas-NO game this weekend, but my DVD burner that I recorded the game corrupted the disc it was burned on....oh, well, needless to say, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. Also, (Y/X) shallow seemed to be the only thing New Orleans could get to successfully work when everything else fell apart.
shallownodal @ Yahoo! Video

SA @ Yahoo! Video

One thing I did want to illustrate (have to dig up the other film shortly) is how Sean Payton OPENS a game. They obviously want to take the ball at the opener, and when they do....that first series IS ALWAYS at quick tempo (huddle very shortly, if at all) and rarely motion or shift. This establishes their tempo (as Payton has always been big on shifting) and sets up predictable scenarios, as well as creating comfort for the players to establish the rhythm they will eventually settle into during the course of the remainder of the game.

** Also, I'm working on a Bama D vs Texas O write-up, that I can hopefully have done after Christmas.

Parents Just Don't Understand....

HOW TO DEAL WITH PARENTS

After the first game opener.....




two weeks later......






you can't tell this was written by a parent, right?

Another gem (email) from a few years ago.........same scenario;

From: DLM-------@aol.com

[mailto:DLM------@aol.com]

Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2005 10:06 AM

Subject: football game

David

Could you please forward this email to the football program- -------- etc? ------- is o-2 so far.

Both games could have been won easily.Special team mistakes- a fumbled punt return that (opponent) recovered for a TD.and a missed field goal cost you that win. Also the panicing as time ran out - you don't need to air it out and get it intercepted if you have a couple of minutes left- a 10 yd first down or out of bounds run will stop the clock also.

Now to the game last night.The swing pass did not work- why did you keep trying it?I hate to be critical but you and the coaching staff need to review your play calling -what worked what didn'.t You owe it to the players to call the best play for each situation and right now I give you a C- You wasted two time outs early in the second half why? You needed them later and they were gone! The pitch out to ------ worked well. the one short pass worked well. What about slant passes across the middle? (opponent) dbacks were playing off our wide receivers what about a quick pass to them? Does ------l always have to run sweeps what about him picking holes in the line more- (opponent) got two touchdowns up the middle by breaking tackles. Which means the -------defense needs to review the basics of tackling- hit them low etc.If (QB) doesn't mind running the ball more, you could run the option sometimes. ------'s failed attempt to get the 2point conversion could have worked if he had tried to go in the north direction sooner but he'll learn as the season goes- maybe he was too tired?The gutsy 4th quarter tdown pass to ------was a beauty!

The guy I was sitting with was way more critical of the coaches than I have been here.

I know you guys are doing your best but you gotta step it up You lost two good chances to be 2-0 the rest of the season does't get any easier. Keep working hard and smarter and this could still be a successfull year. AndI know it's not all about winning. It's about having fun about character development and getting a good education These things will always be more important that winning. I hope you will consider some of my ideas. If you want I will send an email afer each game.

Gotta go.

Arm chair Dave

Great Ways To Destroy Your Players

While no one wants to destroy or hinder their own players (counter productive to coaching), often times we do. What are some of the things you've witnessed, done, or have heard about that directly diminish a player's drive to succeed?


Sometimes the best things to learn are the things NOT to do.....
We mean well, but there may be times when we unknowingly sap production from our team via the words we say, the way we treat people, or how we 'coach'

A few off the top of my head are;

Talking about how much a player sucks: not challenging or pressuring a kid to get better, but just berating his abilities in off-hand comments, that his team mates buy into (the real issue). The player will find himself alienating himself from the staff and his team mates (see the third example) in a vicious-cycle of defeatest attitude.
Best player excuse :here directly avoiding challenging a player to develop past himself or accepting flaws simply because he's just better than everyone else (therefore, even with mistakes, the kid is better than whats behind him). This emotional coddling inhibits self-pressure and growth.
Deliver all emotion, and no substance : hyping up a drill or responsibility through emotional transference (yelling and screaming), but not providing a clear direction in which to do accomplish what you want. "Throw Harder" / "Block somebody" come to mind.....telling the kid to improve his performance but not explaining HOW he can go about doing it, causing him to further doubt himself and begin sharing your frustration with him (only causing more errors for the player).
Demanding immediate production with no investment: prodding a kid into loading up the bar with plates, but does not have the motor skills developed to perform a squat. Sure, its pussified to have anything less than 225lbs on the rack, but if we haven't taught how to breathe, stand, sit, and explode (contract)....we end up cultivating an unsurmountable fear and trepidation to a major building block of success. You have to crawl before you can walk, and many times we will put kids in positions to have to be masters of 4-5 different skill sets, without affording them the time to gain mastery in one.

More feedback here;
http://coachhuey.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=33652&page=1

Player - Coach Relationship

I was originally going to make an assertion about the styles of coaching from an "american" point of view, as compared with a"european" (originating from the Soviet bloc) view, though I don't think I could really support that argument.

However, most tennis coaches, and illustrated with the authors of this book, share a methodology that may seem out of the ordinary in our culture.
My question has more to do with the differences, and more importantly, the rationale behind that contrasting philosophy with player/coach relationship.

Whereas, we in the West, traditionally see the player/coach relationship as more of an acceptable dictator heirarchy, where the players follow the coach to the "T" or they are replaced or worse. The relationship dynamic that is seen in "european" (we'll include Western Olympic coaches here) contexts (best illustrated with high caliber Olympic athletes), is one of shared mutual respect working toward the athletic performance of the athlete.

My question / curiosity is what can be gleaned from both to better serve our programs? Also, why is one model embraced moreso than the other?

It would stand to reason that with non-select (high school athletics) sports, discipline and control have to be valued over relationship, as you really have little to no control over the quality of athletic talent. Therefore, the domineering, controlling 'administrator' of the team is needed to bring order out of physical chaos. The coach is aided by the players to work as a group.

When specialization occurs, naturally peak performance on every contest is desired as there is a concerted effort on the athlete's part to get the best output. It is the athlete aided by the coach for the result of the individual. The relationship is more intimate and more trust-centered.

That being said and understood, can we find ways to embrace a more impassioned responsed from both coaches and players to gravitate towards the trust-centric "Olympic" model? What could it benefit us?

Additional readings
http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm/volumeID_18-editionID_125-ArticleID_895-getfile_getPDF/thepsychologist%5C0705jowe.pdf


The Coach - Athlete Partnership

http://www.accessathletes.com/blog/blogdisplay.cfm?blogid=212

here is an interesting piece from 'access athletes' blog

http://www.psychwww.com/sports/cohesion.htm

on coaches controlling team cohesion

I was wondering about the dynamic of how WE (the west) perceives what a coach should be and what type of relationship he should have. The broad brush generalizations of "West" and "European" was just a matter of semantics. The "european" approach was taken mostly from Olympic training, which is primarily individual performance training.

This is essentially a two-part question.

1) Do we in the "west" perceive that a coach must be Gen. Patton / Bear Bryant and dictate everything just because that is what our cultural stimuli tells us? We do it because he did it, because the guy before him did it (that way).....How much of WHY we do it (methodology) is based on necessity, and how much is based on indoctrination?

This also begs the question of the teaching profession. As in 90% of America, to coach you need to be a teacher. I'm not quite sure that is the same litmus for European coaches (moreso the Olympic model).
Does being an educator, namely a member of the American Education System (and its mentality) persuade / influence our model of "coaching"? (you can control a population / force in the classroom that you could not do in any other real-world environment)

2) The acknowledgement upfront of the contrast between coaching team and individuals is noted. However, can coaches in team sports glean anything from what is so effective with individual coaching dynamics and apply it to the team/group milieu?

A large part of this component requires less micro-managing of the unit and more encouragment/persuasion/motivation of the body of athletes (letting them take ownership, with the coach simply providing direction)?
http://bryanrothamel.com/academic/athletic-administration/playercoach-relationships/

Notes on Compartmentalizing in Coaching

Musings on coaching methodology shared from two good coaching threads from CoachHuey.com
Coaching the Details
Comprehensive Skill Sheet (for player metrics)

I believe it is important to identify all the duties (and thus all the skills) required of the players of your defense.

Part of technique/fundamental responsibilities that is most important (IMO) is being clear about what NOT to do (what ISN'T important to the position).

It is one thing to say what to do, but defining the limits of that responsibility is just as valuable.
We call this, WIN (What's Important Now).

W.I.N.

What's
Important
Now

What is the most important thing for a specific position? What is the one thing that could make (this position) look bad?

The bubble LBs main job, his immediate threat is Iso. He should look for (expect) that FIRST on any play with 2-backs

And more importantly, what is NOT important.

A cover 3 corner really has no concern on immediate run (support), so throwing that into his logic-string on play keys is only going to slow him down.

Most of the time there is typically only 3 things a position really needs to worry about vs certain formations (understanding his role at a particular time).

Eliminate the fluff be elucidating the only thing that matters ("you can only be threatened by lead iso F on an inside angle") and nothing else matters until this threat is clearly eliminated. This creates a binary logic algorithym - very clear metrics on what is important (based on eliminating everything that isn't).

Ever see "Platoon" and Willem DaFoe's character starts stripping Charlie Sheen's character of superflous gear?

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Don't give your players worthless shit to carry into a game/play.

Don't defend the planet....just concern yourself with your house first, your neighborhood second.
This comes by compartmentalizing the field with dividers for DBs, gap control based on back alignment with LBs, etc......reduce the amount of elements that a player can be forced to hesitate over.

How do you eat an elephant?

One piece at a time

Most textbook drills exist in a vaccuum environment with no context. They may enforce hip leverage but not ball leverage/fits. With linebackers, for example, you have to set the parameters of the scrape,"Here is 'power', on THIS key, you should push off the outside foot to shuffle twice into opposite B gap" (rather than just chase ball).

He should be in position (not out of his AO) and be ready for tackle or spilling.
I would look into the efficiency of the teaching methods and that the drills they are doing have real-world/ contextual applications. A kid may be a world beater in a drill, but have no idea how to apply that skill set to what he sees on the field.

How consistent is the "next play" concept with what (skill sets) you have already built. If a new defense has no connection with what was previously ran, the kids will be lost (ie; C3 is just like C1, except......C3 is just like C2, except.....)

TEAM DEFENSE

Personally, I would see EVERY defensive player as interchangeable parts. They ALL have to have certain skill sets to perform at a modicum of competency on defense.They all must be able toTackle, defeat blocks/escape(leverage), and hustle.Those tenets would be reinforced as the blessed trinity EVERYDAY, even if for only 5 minutes. It is a psychological ploy to get the players to believe in their ability to do these, as well as reinforce their importance.

GROUP DEFENSE

Once these 3 prerequisites are founded, you can move onto the minutiae of position skill set. Get-offs, drops, angles will be different for each group, but the basic LB technique of taking on a lead block would remain consistent.

INDY DEFENSE

The position-specific technique portion for a player is built upon the proceeding 2 elements. This is where you would concentrate on the double-teams a nose would face and which hand he should have down and what leverage he needs to maintain

I want to say that most of this stuff, I have personally outlined (for myself) and it is the 3 articles on my sitekreator page (spells out the how's and why's of what I have done)

More on Sending it Home

With only one more video handout in the works and set to distribute a hardcopy 'manual' to defensive backs tomorrow, here are a few additional notes on what was last sent out (last week)

The last video handout consisted of
next opponent's offense by formation and a "refresher" on fundamental work of the secondary, going over how to read 3 step into 5 step, the level of shoulders, as well as the six common packaged route concepts.

Quarterback Building: Todd Sturdy

Heading into the weekend after the first week of "fall" practice, I am trying to offer something new here. As with any clinic presentation, if you can take away just one thing, whether it is just a new nickname for your 'slappys', find something you can take away and use for yourself.

So why not share some insight from a coach whom I have the utmost respect and admiration for, Todd Sturdy (now Washington State Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach). Coach Sturdy helped me years ago (while HC of St. Ambrose in Iowa, before I became a carpetbagger) develop as a coach and in developing an offensive philosophy by allowing me to spend unlimited time with him and his staff, as well as welcoming me to his Spring installation practices at St. Ambrose.

Sturdy's offensive philosophy seen both at SAU and EWU, is premised on a steady misdirection run game and quick passing. Sturdy has a penchant for one back formations and believes in using slots and additional backs to force the defense to even up their fronts. With fly sweeps, reverses, inside zone, stretch, zone option, and speed option, Sturdy strives to keep a defense off balance (predictable) and moving laterally.

When spending time with Coach Sturdy during Spring ball, he shared his method for developing his quarterbacks over the years, and how they have always been able to perform at a high level.

LEADERSHIP
The unmistakable quality of a quarterback is leadership. When bringing in recruits, Sturdy's method is quite simple, but effective.

Model - First a coach must model strong leadership with humble and assertive decisions, always putting the team first. One should note that this attitude is not that of masochistic self-denial, but of one with a vested interest to see objectives through, paying whatever price is required.

Reinforce - Continue to find ways to find situations where a quarterback can be decisive no matter how great or small. Don't wait until game night or practice to instill the decision-making you want your quarterback to exhibit. This mentality is a lifestyle, not something the player can turn on or off.

"[You have to] constantly praise good decisions, because everything with a quarterback is a decision. Recognize and acknowledge every good decision as it comes. A coach's job is to teach how to make good decisions".

Talk About It (constantly) - "You must develop a relationship with your quarterback. Get to know him - what motivates him, what his strengths and weaknesses are". The nuturing and mentoring element of the coach-quarterback bond should be one born out of trust.

The quarterback is the point man, the beginning and end to the team's success/failure. Because the quarterback assumes the mantle of leadership, he must be the one setting the tone of the team attitude required. Sturdy believes the competitive mantra of, "Not only do we have to do things correctly.....we have to do it better than anyone else" is what shapes his subdued leadership he requires of his quarterbacks. However, with this, it is important for the position coach to, "let him know he just needs to be 'one of the guys' because the position itself has enough pressure".

Here's to Coach Sturdy and his family's continued success in the Pacific Northwest.

Teaching Defense - See it to believe it

If you don't do anything else this season, make sure you show your kids HOW to play what it is you are playing. Get game film and sit them down (or send it home) to show them how what you guys are doing is supposed to look like.

Call up the local college / university and ask for game film, especially if you are running anything similar to what they are running.

This tape here, was used to explain the tempo, drops, and technique of Cover 3 to our players and still serves as a valuable resource for indoctrinating defenders....

Illinois State 42 @ Yahoo! Video

Illinois State Up G Cover 3

Augustana 42 Nickel (Playbook)

Kaeding Kicking Klinic

Some notes I'm passing along on the kicking game that have actually helped me (and actually improve kicking performance of players!). This was some stuff I was able to learn from Nate Kaeding when he was at Iowa.

First things first - how do you find a good kicker? The best way is to scout and recruit through Punt, Pass & Kick contests, soccer players, and if nothing else, open tryout (see Texas Tech). You can’t coach a strong leg, so if you can't make one, may as well just find one.

Qualities to look for in a kicker are flexibility, leg snap, leg strength, balance, rhythm (in kicking), and possibly most important, consistency.

Kickers are a special bunch and for consistency sake, it is best to find one guy who can do the job and be done with it. Don't have 2 or 3 guys out there kicking in the game.

Also, it is important to recognize the kicking game isn't just a guy swinging at the ball, it is an entire operation consisting of the the snapper, holder, and kicker. It should be one fluid movement with all three players. Most unsuccessful kicks are the result of poor snaps and/or inconsistent ball placement. Stress the importance of technique (for consistency) and timing (for protection). The metric to strive for is 1.2 seconds total. In high school, if you can reach 1.5 seconds, you are doing perfect.

Kicking the ball
Special teams is all about timing. To improve timing and increase success, take every effort ot eliminate wasted movement (that prolongs the launch).

The kicker should set up a distance based on his personal stride length, starting with a plant position on the ball's (eventual) placement, and taking three large steps backward and one large step laterally.

The kicker should not have parallel feet in his stance. He should present his kicking foot forward, thereby eliminating a gather step completely. The whole movement for a kick takes place in 2 steps with an initial stutter. Any more steps than that and you will have erradic performance.

Once set in his stance, the kicker should pick a target past the goal post and high. With this visualization cued to align his body, he will then direct his attention to the kicking tee and keep his head down, locked on this aiming point. This ensures that the kicker is focused on his footwork and this is the same every time he kicks. With the kicking toe and kicker's hips pointing at the target (ball), his approach will consist of one 4" gather or jab step with the non-kicking leg.

short jab step initiates the long stride approach

After the jab step, the next step should be an exaggerated stride with the kicking leg, reaching forward as far as possible.

The final step is the plant step, which should put the non-kicking foot 6-8" outside of the ball placement.

The momentum of forward hip explosion should be carried through with the non-kicking foot vertically. This can be simulated/practiced simply by rolling the foot forward from the balls of the feet to the toes, ending with a jump. This follow-through ensures a consistently straight kick.

When practicing, this can actually be done with your eyes closed. Rather than shagging balls 40 yards down the field, have the kicker practice his approach and swing on a paper cup. You want to make this movement a habit, train the muscle memory of kicking mechanics.

In keeping with muscle-memorization, the coach should also stress practicing rhythmic breathing for the kicker. A consistent method of relaxed and controlled breathing will help your athlete maintain his focus during clutch game situations.

The Sweet Spot

Of most import for kicking is where (on the ball) to make contact. The ideal spot for consistent kicks is known as the "sweet spot" . This location is 3" below the midlevel point on the football.

DOWN,OUT, & LOCK

The secret to a consistent kicking game is the contact point. Namely, the foot.
The tool used to kick the ball should be the lower inside portion of the kicking foot.

Important coaching points are that the foot should be pointed down and outside. Once this position is achieved, “lock” the ankle to ensure there will be no deviance in the surface delivered to the ball. You want a club for a foot. The sweet spot of the ball should be making contact with the ‘knuckle’ of the big toe. Another crucial aspect of presenting the foot is to always keep the sole of the foot hidden. The athlete should drive through his kicking foot arch into and past the ball.

Much like the Darin Slack C4 Method of Self-Correcting throws, a basic trouble-shooting approach to improving kicking is as follows;

• If the kick goes end over end or spins too fast = contact made too low of sweet spot .
• If the kick goes too far ahead of goal = contact made too low
• If the kick goes quibs = too high of sweet spot
• If the kick goes too far behind / hook = contact made too high

During practice, don’t just having your kicker out there just going through the motions. Have an objective and focus, working scenarios and hashes. This will build the confidence for game situations.

THIS

.....not this

for more instructional material on the kicking game, I would recommend checking out Filip Filipovic at;

http://www.thekickingcoach.com/

AFC: Automatic Front Check

I can't stress this enough - the cheap way of holding the chalk (last) on the field with this AFC concept we stole from Auburn (who stole it from countless others) years ago.

This is just an automatic check for the defense, that whenever they see a particular formation, they will check out of whatever was called and into the preferred coverage/front to best match-up with a given situation. Again, this is SIMPLE to do and ensures your guys are never caught with their pants down by being out-formationed.

In the situation below, we had the tendencies of this offense down to whenever they went to this Power-I look, they only hit 2 particular areas of attack. Because of this, we felt that the BEST defense in our arsenal against this set was "6 Under Will Line", which is just a strong side loaded zone (6), with an Under front and putting the bubble LB on the line....this is essentially a 6-1 defense.

So, regardless of whatever we actually called in the huddle, once the MLB/WLB recognized this formation, they immediately checked out into our preferred call. All this took was 10 minutes on Monday, recognizing the backfield set, and we were good for the entire week of game prep. We would present a couple of different formations the team would run (2x2,3x1,1x2), and the minute we lined up in double-tight-power-I...the *** hit the fan and we had the kids going bananas over their alert.

Base call "3" ----- checks into "6 Under Will Line" when confronted with Power-I (formation check)

Talking with the coaches from the other team later in that season, they mentioned they didn't know what was happening to them because their Power-I attack had previously been unstoppable.

Defensive Installation

42 Nickel Installation clips from a few years ago as an example of building the foundation into the season.

• 0 - 6:30 Summer Team Camp installation
• 6:30 - 10:30 Preseason intrasquad scrimmage
• 10:30 - 17:00 Broadcast clips shown to players of defense style / pressure, check-blitz, & robber cov. (Va Tech)
• 17:00 - 24:24 3rd week scripted TEAM session
• 24:30 - 28:00 6th week scripted TEAM session

The scripted TEAM sessions are probably the most relevant bits to watch as the speed and efficiency of getting plays ran and also reinforcing run-fits of your defense.

This is just lagniappe, but here are more practice clips;

Delegation of Authority (Using Assistants)

just bring me a juice box!

When we are TOLD what to do we often, as prideful men, reject it, no matter what it is because we want to maintain our autonomy and dignity. When we are asked what to do and given the choice to determine our own fate, we tend to buy in (even if its the very thing we would've been TOLD to do).

coach, let me get you a juice box!

Some thoughts I'll offer on managing your assistants to better serve them and the program;

1) Pick your battles / weigh the economics of responsibility;
What CAN they do? You likely have laid the groundwork of the Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. The frame has been built, why not let one of one of the most promising assistants to pick out the furniture? Maybe there is no incentive (monetarily / position), so it is going to come down to who wants to take on more responsibility. You may be stuck in a situation where assistants will do as little as possible because they just want a stipend and a good seat during the games (only you would know that). However, if a MAN is given the authority and responsibility, he will take interest and his pride usually takes over (to ensure the performance doesn't embarrass him)

This isn't just throwing someone the keys and told to lock up when he's done. I believe you'll have to be closely interactive with them ('what are we going to do about this?'/ 'what is our answer to that?' / 'what could go wrong?') This shouldn't be a blank check, but should be a stewardship position - "we need you to lead us in this area, we want to take full use of your knowledge and perspective of the game".

You may not be relinquishing the offense (naturally) but there are roles people can take responsibility for. Case in point, any monkey can run a defense (it takes a unique individual to actually screw up a defense).....now that you have a defense installed, why not just give them the burden of keeping it running? Another example, any assistant can run Special Teams, too.

I believe your main concern is HOW they see the position (their role on staff). What can you live with? If you give a guy the defense, you have to be willing to give up a 3rd down here, a touchdown there - and not freak out. Special Teams, that guy should be responsible for knowing the players and abilities to know what will be the best result in a given situation (reverse here? fake it now?). Just make sure you have the 11 ready to go. The "coordinator" title gives guys hard-ons apparently....feel free to invoke its power.

2) Define Expectations
Again, we can't just throw the keys to someone and say, "Drive!". He must define his costs & expenditures and justify the what and why (keep him within the budget of authority and responsibilities). Set clear expectations of what his job is. This is most important with regards to;
A) Scouting and Game planning -WHAT is this guy preparing for? Regardless of what you run, it is in response to your opponent. Your opponent is different every week. This guy has to be plugged in to scouting and the information to understand your opponent and provide answers for each situation.

B) Practice Planning - HOW is he preparing the rest of the TEAM? What is he declaring before practice that he NEEDS before the competition? ('speak up now, or forever hold your peace'). This responsibility will be a SHOCK to most of the guys you have on staff, but when there is plenty of warning of what is coming - there really is no excuse not to be organized or prepared (the true role of a coordinator).

C) Game Day Communication - WHERE do the pieces fit? How are the calls getting in? How are the other coaches fitting within this role (someone in the box? Someone signaling? Someone working rotations?) Let this guy define those.

So this becomes, "You're running this show - just need you to provide us the answers (for planning) so we can help you help us (this week)". If he can't come up with those criteria without shitting his pants, he isn't qualified to begin with (and may not need to be on staff).

3) Hold accountable for group results
It isn't the offense and defense...it should be the TEAM. If Bob is the DC or ST coordinator, the team of coaches should be meeting to define practices and game plans. Bob is going to have to articulate this to the rest of the staff. "What can WE do to help the defense better, Bob?" It shouldn't be a YOU / ME thing, it should be an US thing, where the staff works together and challenges each other. Criticism should be ENCOURAGED here. Rather than taking the approach of "damit, the defense ain't getting the job done - YOU SUCK!", (because, naturally, the guy will blame everyone but himself) present it to include all hands on deck. "how are we / what can we do to improve our performance?" (so that introspection analyzes how to improve the TEAM).essentially,

• Sunday - "We play City High this week. Bob, what should we watch for this week? What is our game plan? What will work? What won't work? What is the 3rd and 3 play we have to watch out for within our 20 yd line, Bob?"
• Wednesday - "Bob, how do we look this week? What are we opening with? Any concerns?"
• Saturday - "Bob, good work - what went right? What could we improve on? What should we look for next week?"

Your guy(s) will either run from this or embrace it - but the bottom line they won't be able to hide anymore. Give these guys an arena to prove their worth. This is essentially telling these guys, "You can do what you need to make this work, but you have to be able to make it bullet-proof and be able to justify it to the rest of the staff" . This isn't a "do whatever you want" approach, it is "justify what your are doing to the rest of us, and that it is fail-safe, so we ALL can get on board".

Having said ALL THAT --- I don't think it has to be as black & white as a coordinator position. More importantly, there just needs to be more interaction with the staff. Do you guys meet together for game planning? Do you guys hang out together after practice?

Staff Cohesion is very important to make a team work.

Put someone in charge of scouting / tendency tracking. Put someone in charge of game day rotations....something ANYTHING where they are forced to provide a product for the team, that we all are dependent on them.

Random musings about developing a defensive coordinator

Random musings about developing a defensive coordinator on your staff (or grooming an assistant to take that role over).

Send him to a local college/university to spend time with them during their Spring Ball. It would sound like he knows the defense and (may) know the opponent, but doesn't understand the application / rationale behind what he is calling.

It would help in many ways;

1. You are empowering him to take the next step (not telling him to do something)
2. He will network with other minds (may be more receptive of other coaches input)
3. He will see it is more than just slapping stuff together, but focusing on situational defense versus particular threats.
   

One other comment....I don't know what your relationship is like, but if it is half way decent, I would challenge him as much as possible in relaxed settings. Break out the bar napkins. Every defensive guy is the next Buddy Ryan when you're just lining up against Pro sets....but what happens when you are facing bastard sets or challenging personnel, now what!?


Try to break his mousetrap. What will he do now? He will have to rethink his approach, why he is doing what he does, and galvanize his defensive philosophy.Again about the rhythm stuff, it is one thing to get the read-out of stats, but how much time does he use to watch what his opponent is doing during the course of a game? What is the OC doing in tough spots? What does he go back to? What is he trying to set up? Those are things you can pick up through pattern-recognition, by watching a full game and watching it progress.


So if you're watching 3 or 5 games on Joe Blow OC, now you're up in the box....you can have a deja vu feel for what is coming next.The only caveat I would offer, though, is don't get in the rut of trying to beat the OC, but rather just beat the QB. Understand the offense, so that you CAN do that (frustrate blocking rules, RB in protection, route-combos, QB reads, etc).


With practice - script EVERYTHING. You (and your staff) should package your opponent based on all those fancy stats/tendencies. In doing so, your kid should associate certain plays / formations with specific tendencies.


If you approach practice by slapping shit together, the kids will play like they are slapping shit together, and consequently, it will look like the defense is being called like we're just slapping shit together.


Lastly, does the DC grade the performances of his players (quantify their assignment execution)? the bottom line is how efficient or practical is this concept for your predicament? Can you assess it on your own? What will it take for it to be effective?

How could you screw it up?


The 'coverage' concept is the basic premise a DC would use as an acid test to measure the practicality of kids in positions to do their job. It is what marries everything you are doing together, instead of a handful of ideas thrown together with none of the players working together.You have 8 gaps to defend - how are you going to shut them all down? If any one of those 8 gaps isn't defended, your entire defense is compromised. Do you want guys double-dipping in responsibility to ensure that these gaps are covered? If so, then what is your idiot-proof plan to teach these 5 defenders to read block reactions (to put them in the appropriate gap support)?

Ask yourself what is it (defense) going to do for you? That is the question that is most important. If offenses you face aren't multiple themselves, where is the value in being 'versatile' / multiple (on defense), if you never have to adapt to something different each week?

The front / blitz is just a delivery method....a tool to accomplish something specific - nothing else. What are the biggest weaknesses of this method, and how do you plan to account for it?Unbalanced? Option (or belly series)?....what is the "right" gap fit, when you get 2-3 threats on a given play? What are you looking to gain with your alignments? The only point is.....if you are relying on 3 stacked backers to make reads - how do you intend to teach it, because that might be a lot for MS kids to get 'right' a majority of downs. If you're just slanting and brining linebackers every play.....what are you really gaining, and does this do more harm than good for the future development of those players (because they really aren't learning any fundamental skills for the position)?

Establishing a Tempo / Intensity on Defense

All that inflammatory badass rhetoric is great and stuff.... we can scream, holler, and make faces and all that BS, but how does that really help improve the product?

The bottom line is how do we improve the product? Increase the expectations and standards for performance. If we want them to play fast, we have to give them the vehicle to be fast (simple)
If we expect them to perform a particular way, then we must condition their stimulus (muscle-memorization) to establish that routine. Build the player confidence with simple fundamental drills every practice, make it clear what the expectations are, and rep the beejesus out of it.

What I'm talking about is establishing a tempo.

That even when you just "go through the motions" it still comes out in an acceptable manner. Kind of like saying, you can come into work and coast all day, but just make sure you;

• come in 10 minutes early
• finish all projects ahead of schedule
• keep projects under budget

Well, if you do all that, it doesn't matter if you're inspired to work or not, because you are at least meeting core requirements and PROJECTING the qualities you want others to have. For example, I may be bored as hell - but if I start screaming at the top of my lungs, people will at least THINK I'm geeked up.

That is the 'fake it 'till you make it' concept.

You may not be a millionare, but if you treat yourself like one and dress impeccably, people will THINK you are a millionare.

This is what was meant by the 'fake it 'till you make it' --- you have to play like you're excited, even if you're not. Playing 'excited' isn't about how you feel, it is quantified through hustle and effort. The kids will gravitate to whatever we provide incentives for.

A good example; "Air Raid"
What makes "air raid" so effective?
Not the plays, but the practice format, the meticulous attention to detail. The application of basic fundamentals with tempo.

Just do the same thing for defense.

Tackling,pursuit, tempo.....You can scream, or you can snooze.....but as long as you take care of those three things, your defense will establish an "identity" that matters
The point is to 'condition' it into them.

Are YOU excited when you are teaching them?

Are YOU (and your coaches) going bananas to TEACH them (not ripping them a new one)??
When you go through drills, run-thrus, 7-on-7.........are the majority of snaps high-intensity? THAT is killer instinct we're really after.

If not, why not?

You can MAKE 'emotion' and 'hustle' a part of HOW you play if you enforce it. best piece of advice I heard from a pastor when I was young..IF YOU AIN'T THERE - FAKE IT 'TILL YOU MAKE IT!!!!

If the kids aren't performing or acting like they are ready to go - send them to the sideline until they come back at least SHOWING that they are ready to go.

Of course, you can't really do this CONSISTENTLY if they have difficult (thought-heavy) assignments. Can you plug any moron into a spot and give him a TRUE/FALSE job?

Do THIS, if THAT, do THAT if THIS?.....if not, streamline the process, demand intensity and try again.

Use the CHEAP things........(doesn't cost much)... like breaking the huddle, body-posturing, words used.

How difficult is it to just say..."play over, we are going to NOT walk to the huddle" ?
Maybe not run, but we are at least going to double-time.

If we don't do that, go to the sideline you, Kansas City Faggots!!

It doesn't take much to set the "tone". One guy not ready to go? EVERYBODY hit the sideline, and don't come back until you ALL are ready to go! (send in the 2nd unit) and see what happens.
Nothing worse than seeing kids walk around the field.

Another gimmick that has worked in the past (ala Lovie Smith) is .....QUOTAS
Don't even bother without doing what was outlined above......but just say...

I want ____ amount of sacks/turnovers/interceptions before period ends

if not, we will do ____ amount (the difference) of up-downs/sprints/Hebrews/rolls/etc to make up the difference.

It conditions competitiveness as well as how that ONE PLAY can make the difference between success and failure.