Football Strategy & Schemes: Offensive, Defensive, Special Teams
Strategy is the bedrock of competitive football. Understanding the intricate details of offensive, defensive, and special teams schemes, along with the philosophies guiding them, is essential for coaches aiming to outmaneuver opponents and maximize team performance. From overarching system design to specific tactical adjustments, a deep knowledge of strategy provides a critical edge.
This page brings together American Football Monthly's in-depth articles exploring the vast world of Football Strategy. Here, you'll find detailed X's and O's breakdowns, analysis of different systems, and discussions on tactical decision-making across all three phases of the game.
Dive into resources covering a wide array of strategic concepts:
. Leadership Strategies: How to Develop a Steady Stream of ‘Championship Level’ Quarterbacks in Your Program (Part II)
Maximize Offense in the Real World of High School Football
IntroductionTime is a football coach’s most precious commodity. Most coaches at the high school and youth levels are challenged with limitations (such as player talent and perhaps a limited number of experienced coaches); but all teams are limited by time. Even the best coaches believe there simply isn’t enough time to fully teach, install and rep all phases of the game to all players. The Double Gun offense is unique because it offers such a wide variety of options wit
Leadership Strategies: How to Develop a Steady Stream of ‘Championship Level QBs in Your Program, Part I
There is not much argument in any level of football that to win consistently and compete for championships you need strong quarterback play. So what defines ‘strong quarterback play’ and how do you develop that consistently within an organization? This series of articles will lay out a clear path that can easily be followed in any program given the proper attention. Let’s first discuss what goes into the makings of a great quarterback. From there, you’ll be in a better posi
Effective Strategies for Dealing with Man - Coverage Beaters: Stacks, Bunches and Mesh
ULM’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme is known for its aggressive style of play predicated on five and six-man pressure. To effectively utilize this type of defense, the pass coverage system must be proficient in man-to-man coverage. The ability to play cover 1 and cover 0 allows the defensive line and linebackers a great deal of freedom to find numerous ways to pressure the quarterback and stop the run by outnumbering the offense at or near the line of scrimmage. Of course, no defensive scheme is w
Post- Season Priorities - Wrapping up one season and transitioning to the next are critical times for successful programs
When your season ends, do you kick back, relax and get away from the game for a couple months? Of course not. Whether it’s formulating and implementing an off-season strength and conditioning program, ushering in a new group of players and preparing them for the following season or putting together motivational exercises, every successful coach knows that winter presents an opportunity for physical and mental team building.To find out how the best coaches approach the post season
Leadership Strategies
Jeff Hancock is the head coach at Vidalia High School in Louisiana. He recently took part in AFM’s “Leadership Survey”. Included are his responses:How do you develop responsible and respected team captains?This question is best answered by talking about my Senior Leadership Council. For our program, the seniors are the leaders and sometimes decision makers for the program. Bringing them in for meetings to discuss policy, setting standards, and letting them know what I am
Why Coach? Being Compassionate, Optimistic, Attentive, Confident and Humanistic are Some of the Qualities a Coach Should Possess
When I was invited to submit an article to AFM, I figured I would simply put some drills together, share some concepts, propose a few diagrams and maybe even talk about the transition of players from high school football to college competition. After all, that’s what we, as coaches, would need for personal or professional development, right? I shared my ideas with colleagues in the office and even surveyed some young coaches who were helping with our sum
Leadership Strategies: Prima Donna Athletes – Transformational Leadership vs. Servant Leadership
Narcissus, a beautiful youth, glanced into a pool of water. Rejecting the nymph Echo, he fell in love with his own reflection. – Greek mythologyTying Greek mythology to football isn’t really a stretch, given the fact high school coaches are continually faced with one or more players who believe the team is there to serve them and not vice versa. Many coaches label these players as ‘cancers’. Unless, of course, they are clocked in the 40-yard dash under 4.5 or are of behemoth si
Leadership Strategies: In Need of a New Direction
Coaching staffs should not expect seniors to lead simply based on their age. So, the ultimate goal of our program became to build better men, to help them to grow individually, and eventually teach them how to lead other young men. The result of our emphasis on leadership has been impressive. In 2014 we had a 13-game winning streak that included a #1 Missouri state ranking, a top 150 national ranking, and a narrow defeat in the Class 5 State Semifinals. Provid
Leadership Strategies: Developing a Leadership Council
Jerome Learman was a high school coach for 20 years and 13 as a head coach. He received his doctorate in 2005 from Michigan State in Kinesiology. Learman is currently teaching at both Michigan State and Central Michigan University. While coaching, Learman developed a leadership council for juniors and seniors who received leadership training to become captains. American Football Monthly spoke to Coach Learman about his leadership council.After taking over for Craig Bohl, North Dakota S
Building Champions to Win Championships
We recently surveyed coaches on a variety of topics, one of which was their interest in having more information about leadership. An astounding 80% said they would like us to present more information on this topic that is so vital to individual and team success.With this issue of American Football Monthly, we are introducing a new monthly Leadership report – Building Champions to Win Championships. AFM has assembled a team of leadership experts to explore, define and communicate
Speed Report: Visual Cues Deliver Exceptional Speed
Football players must rely heavily on having good field vision in order to play fast and move effectively. It’s a huge benefit having good visual skills which enhances “transition speed”. More specifically, angle and velocity changes executed with maximum velocity. Many athletes are naturally gifted with good visual skills. Unfortunately, many athletes also struggle with this skill. The good news is that you can develop this ability by using designed drills correctly and specific cues a
A Nine-Week Off Season Super-Cycle Strength and Conditioning Program
This article was published in the January edition of American Football Monthly with factual errors. The revised version is posted below. AFM regrets the errors.True developmental training at the collegiate level can be defined as two mandatory, nine-week training phases per year. The remaining time each year could be considered in-season, discretionary or possibly maintenance. The other possibility in the yearly scheme that
Managing Your Program: Evaluating Staff - Creating an Environment For Success
As the season ends, equipment is collected, banquets are planned, and goals are set with the returning players. It’s important to not lose sight of one very important component in your program – the coaching staff. The team’s success is very closely tied to the coaches who create the environment that nurtures that success, yet often, the staff is the last component attended to in the transition from one season to the next. Years ago, former Navy Commander and aut
Five on the Line - The 5-man defensive front is making a comeback – especially against traditional run-first offenses.
Before the advent of today’s high-powered spread offenses, it was common for defenses to employ a 5-man front with a nose guard, two tackles and two ends. While many teams have gone away from 5-man fronts, AFM found a surprising number of 2013 state champions that use the front either exclusively or part time.Here, coaches from four championship programs share their insight and strategies for making the 5-man front effective, especially against the run. They are Matt Crossman, de
Strength Report: How to Use Weighted Sleds for Explosive Acceleration
There are numerous products designed to increase speed, but one of the most effective, versatile and easiest to use is the weighted sled. The research on resisted sled sprinting has changed over the years, creating a lot of confusion for coaches. Fortunately, recent information has shown that proper use of these sleds can have a positive effect on an athlete’s ability to accelerate – the most important aspect of football speed. Which Way to Push Because the abili
Five Keys to Defending the Wing-T With Your 4-3 Defense – To stop the Wing-T, use three different fronts, key on the guards and limit your blitzes.
Good Wing-T football coaches are tough to beat. They know their offense, formation, and series. They will know what the role of each player on your defense is, and which defenders they want to put in conflict.As a defensive coordinator, you start in a hole to begin with. Wing-T coaches always seem to have the answer, no matter what solution you come up with.So why do some defensive coordinators want to be the opposing offensive coordinator’s best friend? They gameplan
Your Take: Expanding Your Coaching Network
We all have a stack of business cards, or an inbox full of messages from other coaches throughout our network. When was the last time you reached out to one of those coaches to discuss a concept or to share a scheme? Have you applied or inquired about a job at a school where you did not know anyone on the current staff? Is there a chance that one of those contacts in your file has a connection to use?The concept of increasing value and depth to your network is one that should not b
Teaching the Inside and Outside Zone Using 3-Person Groups
O-Linemen need to determine their defender’s alignment so they know if they are a covered or uncovered lineman.This topic is about teaching the inside and outside zone using 3-person groups during your individual periods.Before getting into the actual drills, a few things must be understood. The two plays are based on the teaching that in any inside or outside zone play, there are “covered” and “uncovered” linemen. Covered linemen are those that have a d
Safety First: Concussion Management and Return-to-Play Protocol
It’s no secret that concussions are one of the biggest issues in football. According to The Center for Disease Control, 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions occur annually in sports and recreational activities, making it an important public health issue. Unfortunately, as more high-profile athletes fall victim to concussions and as the number of concussions in football continues to rise, larger amounts of misinformation about proper prevention methods and return-to-play protocol spread.
UPSET SPECIAL Give your underdog team a shot with these strategies.
Nearly every coach has entered a game week knowing that the only people picking his team to win are on his staff or inside his own locker room.These situations can be an opportunity to galvanize a team by instilling an us-against-them world mentality; freeing the underdogs to play loose and pulling off an upset.No one knows that more than George O’Leary, the head coach at the University of Central Florida. The Knights pulled off the biggest upset in BCS history by beat
Athletic Body Control The Movement Training Correlation to Football Speed
Before we move to the details of movement training, let’s clarify what is football speed – the velocity and control by which variable movement patterns are executed efficiently without velocity loss. Most of the time it’s far easier said than done. My term for this activity is “Transition Speed.”The second area to clarify is Athletic Body Control (ABC). The term “Athletic” means athletes and the exercises practiced by them in a sport that requires physical skill or st
The Business of Coaching - Joe Moglia is a prime example of how success in business and coaching go hand-in-hand.
If you pay attention to the great coaching stories in college football, then you already know about Joe Moglia.You may recognize him as the former CEO of financial services company TD Ameritrade, where he oversaw the firm’s meteoric growth during his seven years at the helm. Or, you may know him as the current head coach at Coastal Carolina, where, in his first season in 2012, he led the Chanticleers to eight wins en route to being named the Big South Coach of the Year. He follow
The Coach’s Role on the Athletic Health Care Team
As a coach, you are likely to be involved in each portion of the athletic health care relay – prevention, recognition and first aid care, assessment and treatment, and rehabilitation.Your roles are defined by • Certain rules of the legal system and rules of your school administration, • Expectations of parents, and • Interactions with other athletic health care &
Thoughts from an HSPD Veteran
Craig Jacoby, who is the site manager for the Rockland, New York, HSPD camp, has over a decade of experience with the program and has seen first-hand how it has benefitted hundreds of high school athletes. We asked him about the camp experience for athletes and the value of the DVD to coaches.AFM: How do HSPD athletes respond to the college-level drills at HSPD camps? Jacoby: In my experience, the players who attend HSPD are getting a training experience that can’t be d
Samson Equipment’s Strength and Conditioning Coaches of the Year
NFL: Luke Richesson Denver BroncosBackground - Luke Richesson began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Kansas, in 1997 after a four-year career playing safety for the Jayhawks. After one season as a strength and conditioning intern, he spent the next season at the University of Wyoming and the following two at Arizona State University as a graduate assistant before becoming the performance team direc
Drills Report: Fumble, Strip and Interception Drills
As I watched bowl games in December and January, it amazed me how many errant passes were dropped by defenders and how many lost fumbles ended up going just past or through a defender’s hands. It reminds me of the old saying, “If your defense caught all of the dropped interceptions during a season, you would lead your league in interceptions every season.”We all work on creating turnovers during the pre-season, but during the season, it can be difficult to find time. Th
Letter from AFM – Coach, Writer, Friend
When we first met Bryon Hamilton in 2007, he was an up-and-coming high school head coach in Northern California. His innovative offensive system, the Shotgun Zone Fly, was the cover story subject in our December issue. The SZF was putting up record numbers with its potent inside-outside running attack, which was a precursor of the misdirection run game employed by Gus Malzahn at Auburn in last season’s run to the championship game. The feature proved to be very popular with AFM readers and
Coach to Coach: An Efficient and Effective Play Calling System
Last year at this time, I wrote an article on the use of tempo as a weapon. I stated then that tempo was being used by many successful teams and that extremely fast-paced offenses were going to be a standard of football for years to come. Today, the use of the fast-paced, no- huddle offense is becoming more the norm than the exception.Webster’s Dictionary defines the word tempo as the “rate of motion or activity”. In today’s football terminology, the word tempo refers to how qu
Building a Successful Football Program From the Ground Up
The prospect of building a football program is an exciting challenge for any head coach of any experience level. There is no all-encompassing manual instructing a coach how to build a program. No one can wave a magic wand and turn a program into a success over night. The construction project will take time. It could take one season or several seasons to see significant progress. Building a football program is much like building a house - you must start from the ground up and build a solid fou
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach Prince George High School (VA) - Part II
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to
Game Planning Your Coaching Career (Part II)
The Third Quarter After the first half (introduction and growth phase) and making adjustments at half-time, the third quarter becomes the maturity phase of the coaching career. This does not mean that, as coaches, we do not continue to grow or learn. It means that we become more stabilized in our “giftings” as a coach. I admire the confidence of the FBS assistant who maintains a positive attitude that he will land a job in a better environment, after
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, Prince George High School (VA) – Part I
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to b
Two Minute Crunch Time: 'Go-To' Plays and a Clock-Killing Strategy
With the increased use of the up-tempo offense at all levels of the game, some teams seem as though they’re running a two-minute drill the entire game. No huddles, keeping the defense off balance, quick scores. But a true two-minute offense, of course, has the added pressure of clock management. When you must have a score with limited time left, it’s critical that your offense remains calm under this pressure – advancing on every play, stopping the clock whenever possib
Strength Report: In-Season Training Considerations
One of the most common questions that a strength and conditioning coach will be asked is “what is your program”? The answer to this question could be extremely complex if you were to take all of the components of a coach’s program – volume, rest, time, conditioning protocols, speed work, agility drills, quickness training, reps, sets, progressions, strength development, power development, periodization models, etc. As you can see, this would be a long article! Instead, the short versi
FREE FORM - HOW TO IMPROVE THE WON-LOSS RECORD
17 different strategies and tactics are included in this form to help improve your won-loss record. A ‘strength and weakness’ category is listed for all items from quality athletes and quality coaches to team durability, adaptability, and dependability. It’s a must for every coach to read before fall camp.
On Top of the World – AFM’s Annual State Champions Survey and Profiles
State champion coaches share their secrets to winning it all. The results may surprise you.Most high school coaches would agree that their ultimate goal is winning their state championship. Taking home the trophy after the punishing regular season and pressure-filled playoffs is the pinnacle for the 300+ teams that annually achieve that goal.But do coaches agree on the best methods to use to reach that mountaintop? What offensive, defensive and special teams strategies give
Top of the Heap
The two Texas high schools couldn’t be more different.Stamford High School, located in the small town of the same name in the west central part of the state, has a total enrollment of less than 200. Virtually every male student participates in the football program on one of their three squads. The town’s population, which hovers around 3,000, has seen a steady decline in the last few decades – like many towns in remote rural areas.Allen High School in suburban Dall
Wide Open – Coaches share strategies for winning in summer 7-on-7 competitions.
The explosion in popularity of off-season 7-on-7 passing competitions has helped coaches put a better product on the field in the fall, mainly through player development. But don’t discount the value of putting your playmakers in competitive, late-game situations.“Ideally, I want each of our games to be 21-14 on the final possession, with us trying to score or prevent the tying touchdown,” said Bryan Gray, head coach at East Hall High School (GA) and a big believer in t
Coach to Coach – College Coach or High School Coach: Comparing the Two
As I wrote in May, I recently resigned from my decade long head coaching position at Foothill High School and accepted the associate head coach and offense coordinator job at Shasta College in nearby Redding. The transition from high school head coach to college assistant coach has actually been easier than expected. It certainly helps that I am familiar with both the college assistant role and the Shasta College program as I previously spent six seasons (1997-2002) as an assistant coach ther
Developing an Efficient Kickoff Team – Following a detailed teaching progression for your kickoff team will maximize their potential.
There are many factors that contribute to a successful season on special teams. The most important factor is the strong support and focus of the head coach to ensure that players and coaches are committed to this phase of the game. We always begin our practices with special teams and then break to offense and defense. That goes for installation meetings, film review and practice. We start with 20 minutes of special teams and end practice with a field goal or punt. The importance of special te
Tools for Success
The NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard worked with Al Golden and the University of Miami to produce the 2013 practice plan and DVD – benefitting every high school program in America.When it comes to supporting the nation’s high school football coaches, no program can match the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard. Not only does HSPD provide coaches with the opportunity to give bac
Trick Plays: the “Trojan Horse” of Football
By Bruce Reynolds • Retired High School CoachSteven Covey’s principle, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” certainly applies to football. Too many coaches try to put in too many ‘new’ things for the big game. That is a big mistake. Concentrate on what you and your team know how to do best. Stay within your system and basic philosophy of offense and defense. Go with what you’re practiced a thous
Zone Blocking, Part III – Proper Stances and Footwork
It doesn’t matter what scheme you run if your line isn’t fundamentally sound. In Part III of this series, we will cover the stances we use to develop our offensive linemen. As we master our techniques, the stance is the foundation we build great blocking on. STANCE You cannot overestimate the importance of the stance. A poor stance equals a poor start. Key Components We use both the three-point and two-poi
Coach to Coach – The Check With Me Passing Series
There are three passing concepts from our “Check With Me” passing series that have been very successful for me and my quarterbacks. These plays are called by our QBs from the line of scrimmage and they are very effective in attacking coverage schemes.Here are three Check With Me passing concepts: 1. Check QuickThis “check with me” quick pass concept allows the quarterback to call a specific route combination based primarily on the pre-snap coverage read. Thi
Safety First – Contact In Practice – Is It Worth It?
Football is changing. With the game under great scrutiny from a player safety perspective, those in and out of football are questioning long-held practices that may put players at greater risk of injury.One of those is full contact in practice. The old belief that contact drills and hitting are necessary in practice is giving way to a more restrained approach that limits or even eliminates contact in the interest of player safety. Rockhurst High School (MO) Head Coach To
Zone Blocking, Part II – Footwork and Blocking Scheme
Proper footwork and technique are critical for an offensive lineman.In Part I of this three-part series, we introduced our offensive line philosophy, the basics of the zone offense and key offensive line coaching points. In Part II, we will discuss the footwork, co-op blocks, and schemes of the zone game. FOOTWORKThe footwork is different for the zone play than most other offensive plays. The first step is a directional step. The second step is a p
Coach to Coach – Four Strategies in Preparing Your Quarterback for Success
At the start of the 2012 season, there were a lot of questions from coaches, players, fans and the local sportswriters regarding the state of our quarterback position. We had graduated a MVP quarterback in 2011 and the heir apparent was an undersized junior without any varsity experience. The questions regarding the position were legitimate and I knew that in order for our team to make another championship run, it was imperative that we continue to have great play at the quarterback position.
Safety First – Training for Safety
Vince Lombardi once said, “Football is not a contact sport. Football is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.” This, coupled with the fact that every year, athletes at all levels are getting bigger, stronger, and faster, means that there is a very real threat to see a dramatic increase in football injuries. These run the gamut from minor injuries with no time lost to more severe injuries that could be season or career ending.Keeping a football te
FREE FORM - How to Improve the Won-Loss Record
Every coach wants to improve his won-loss record. This form lists a series of strategies and tactics to do just that. Categories include identifying quality athletes, hiring quality coaches and analyzing the team’s overall durability, adaptability, and dependability.
Zone Blocking, Part I – Philosophy and Concepts
It is important for offensive linemen to learn to block through a detailed progression so they understand the overall concepts of the position. The zone blocking concept is an important element of Grossmont College’s running attack. In part I of this three-part series on our zone game, we will introduce our offensive line philosophy and the basics of the zone offense, emphasizing coaching points for offensive linemen. OFFENSIVE LINE PHILOSOPHYThe succe
Kickoff Coaching Strategies
Being aggressive on kickoff coverage while maintaining lane integrity is critical for successful kickoff coverage.Our kickoff strategy starts with the following: • We have a plan. • We believe in the plan. • We sell the plan to our players. The players that make up this unit need to be athletic in the open field and understand that the bottom line is getting to the re
Sometimes the Best Strategies do Not Win Games
If you read American Football Monthly and Gridiron Strategies you can't help but be impressed by all the articles dealing with different offensive and defensive strategies. It is impossible to not be left with the impression that the strategy employed by the football coach is the key to
Who is the Typical AFM Reader?
At AFM, we like to think our readers are the smartest coaches in the game. They’re the ones who understand that coaching requires a lifetime of learning. They also know that the best way to be a smarter coach is to take every opportunity to learn from other successful coaches who are wiling to share their schemes, plays, drills, strategies and personal experiences. That’s what they look to AFM for and that’s what we try to deliver in every issue.The more we know about our rea
12 Coaching Points for Motivation: Trust, Respect, Caring, Honesty
The way we motivate our players is as important to what we do as our technical and strategic knowledge of football. There are many motivational concepts, philosophies, and even gimmicks. True motivation is built around trust, respect, caring, and honesty. I remember, as a young teacher, getting an evaluation form from a principal who asked what my techniques and strategies were for motivating my students. My reply was simple, “I talk to them.” I come across many gimmicky techni
Strategies to Overcome a Poor Start
Football season is finally here.By the time you read this column, your team might have already played several games. Hopefully, the start of your season has been successful and is full of promise. The reality is, however, that each week 50% of all teams, coaches and fans suffer through a defeat. In my 20 plus years of coaching football, I have been a part of teams that started great and I have been part of teams that have struggled mightily out of the gate. Both situations can pres
Big Man on Campus
On April 27 last year, a massive EF4 tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama at 5 PM. The storm skirted the University of Alabama campus and narrowly missed hitting Bryant-Denny Stadium, home of the Crimson Tide. The funnel cloud could be seen from Head Coach Nick Saban’s office. The tornado missed Saban’s home by a few yards.The destruction was devastating. Over 5,000 buildings in Tuscaloosa were either damaged or destroyed. Over 50 people lost their lives. The city was plu
Inside and Outside Zone Blocking
Inside zone blocking helps create double teams while outside zone blocking is intended to stretch the defense.Zone is different than other offenses because there is no specific point of attack. As a result, the whole defensive front will be stressed. Inside and outside zone is not a man blocking scheme, but rather an area or zone blocking scheme. However, on inside zone you must block the first level first by getting vertical movement on the down defender to a second level defender.
Coach to Coach – Summer Session (Part II)
Using the summer months to organize and articulate your coaching philosophies and methods.In part two of using the summer months to organize and articulate your coaching philosophies and methods, I want to share with you a few methods and strategies in developing your game week schedule, practice preparation, organizing your game day, halftime responsibilities and addressing parent concerns.Game Week Schedule and PreparationsAt Foothill, we play our games on Fr
The Power of Knowing the Future
As a Peak Performance Coach, I help athletes to identify and resolve blocks that affect performance. One of the most significant of these blocks is a coach with a negative coaching style. Generally, coaches have no idea how being tense, angry, threatening or abusive affects their athletes. Even a slouching coach has a negative effect. The coach's at
AFM Subscribers Ask with Pulaski Academy (AR) Head Coach Kevin Kelley
As AFM reported in April’s cover feature, “Mad Genius”, Coach Kevin Kelley of Pulaski Academy (AR) has an unorthodox approach to the game. His team never returns a punt, they almost never punt themselves, they kick off onsides virtually every time and they usually go for a two-point conversion. For Kelley, the unconventional strategy has worked with a 49-7 record over the last four years and multiple state championships. Many AFM subscribers had questions for Coach Kelley about his unus
Strength Report – New Mexico Military Institute’s Strength Program
Before we designed our program, we sat down and discussed what advantages and limitations New Mexico Military presented us with as far as training our athletes. Our goal, obviously, was to maximize our advantages and minimize the effects of our limitations. The advantages were: 1) structure – we knew that our kids were going to be at workouts and we knew they were not going to stay out all night partying, 2) support of the coaching staffs – our coaching staffs have faith in us and are wil
FREE FORM - How To Improve The Won-Loss Record
This form includes a detailed checklist of strategies and tactics on how to improve your team’s record. Categories include ‘Quality Athletes’ and ‘Quality Coaches’ as well as ‘Team Adaptability’ and ‘Team Quickness.’ A total of 17 different items are included with each one referred to as a ‘Strength’ or a ‘Weakness.’ Every coach can become better organized with this form.
Different Looks from the 4-3 Defensive Scheme - To be effective as a defense, it’s critical to give multiple looks and disguise coverage on every play.
Defensively, we use a multiple 4-3 front scheme. Like many teams, we primarily employ a two high safety look and base our primary coverages off of pattern reads. Our defensive philosophy is very simple - we want our players to know exactly what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to do it. That being said, we have been able to follow some rules that allow us to accomplish that primary goal while still giving our defense the ability to disguise what we do and sometimes confuse th
Coach to Coach – Maximizing Your Speed, Strength, and Conditioning Programs
As I write this column, March Madness is upon us, spring training is winding up and weightrooms across the country are filled with ambitious and determined football players who know that football season is right around the corner. Training the body for the demanding sport of football is nothing new. When I was playing in high school our head coach would give us a goal sheet and some basic workout instructions and send us off for the summer. We knew that he expected us to return in August in s
6 Rules for Beating Press Coverage – Are your receivers getting stuffed by the press? Here’s how to get them freed up.
One of the most difficult things for my players to do is beat press coverage. Since we run a double wing offense at John Carroll, defenses will often pack the box with defenders and lock down on the outside. By playing press man, defenses try to disrupt the timing of pass routes by jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage. If successful, the defense has a greater opportunity to sack the quarterback since teams often blitz when playing man coverage. However, when a receiver beats press cover
Coach to Coach – Maximizing Productivity: A Key Component to Success
If football had a caloric value, I would have gained fifty pounds over the last month. From high school championship games, to college bowl games, to NFL playoff games, I am fat on football. One of the factors causing my football weight gain is how I consume the product. There are no fast food meals here. The invention of the DVR has turned me into a slow and steady consumer. A three hour game can easily take me twice that long to watch. The rewind and pause features allow me to regurgitate o
Train Your Brain – Your Competitive Edge
By Dr. Calvin Ross, Co-Founder, MyXperts Offensive coordinators, coaches and quarterbacks call the plays within the game plan. At the line, the defense will attempt to fake, decoy and panic the quarterback as he reads the defensive to call the best play at that time.
Protecting the Passer – Key Elements
Pass protection is perhaps an offensive lineman’s toughest challenge. It is a skill that is acquired through many hours of hard work and dedication. To be an effective pass blocker an offensive lineman must take pride and have the confidence in his ability to protect the quarterback. All pass blockers need to trust their technique. As long as they are sound in their fundamentals and technique, it should not matter what the defender does.There are four ways to measure the success
COACHING FROM THE HEART
by Marc Sites, Assistant Coach Liberty High School (CO) List any great team or dynasty in the history of sports and every team had a great coach. John Wooden at UCLA, Bill Walsh with the 49ers, Phil Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers, Red Auerbach with the Celtics and the list goes on and on. On the flipside, there have been plenty of talented teams in sport that were never champ
Two-Back Run Fits – Teaching Fast Flow and Leverage in an 8-Man Box
‘Fast Flow’ rules assign specific roles to each linebacker which creates an eighth defender and gives the defense an advantage.One of the first lessons I learned as a young coach was grounded in Bill Walsh’s logic. He said, “A system should never reduce the game to the point where it simply blames the players for failure because they did not physically overwhelm the opponent.”In my first year of college coaching, Coach Mike Van Diest – the except
Letter from AFM - Happy Holidays
As we conclude another football season, our thoughts move ahead to next year and the things that we hope will be different and better for ourselves and for the game. We are thankful for the support of our subscribers and advertisers and especially for the generosity of those coaches that are willing to share their plays, strategies, drills and coaching advice with AFM readers. Without them, we would not have been able to serve the coaching community for over 15 years.
FREE FORM - Defensive Line Grade Sheet
This form includes a complete grading system for your D-linemen on every defensive call. Such categories as alignment, techniques, pass rush, plug hole and defeat block are listed with a key for grading players. Other categories include pass sack, pursuit path, solo or assisted tackle and missed tackle. Total points are then added for the overall grade.FREE for Subscribers.NOT A SUBSCRIBER?American Football Monthly provides more X’s
Coach to Coach – Offensive Game Planning: Strategies for Success
I love designing and developing offensive schemes. When I was a kid, I would sit for hours designing plays on my electric magnetic football game. Years later, I am still designing plays and offensive schemes. The challenge of designing a play and teaching players to execute it with precision in the midst of violent chaos is one of the things I love most about coaching. Once the plays and schemes have been designed and installed, the next aspect of being a successful offensive coach is putting
Developing a Fire 2 Zone “Cheat” Blitz Package
Simplifying terminology and guidelines can produce effective blitz packages against different fronts.We have developed a form of Cover 2 Zone Blitz coverage that can be an effective tool in any defense’s package. We will explore the history, benefits, how to develop the coverage, and how to implement it for multiple looks and packages. The History My father once told me, “If you get information from just one person, that’s stealing. If you
Leadership in Football
What do the names Lombardi, Landry, Walsh, and Dungy all have in common? They are the names of football coaches who were innovative in implementing and teaching new strategies and tactics but they were also great team leaders. What was it about their attention to the details of the game that required hard work, dedication and focus that led them to some of the best winning percentages in the history of the National Football League? In their own way, each one of these coaches truly cared about
Your Take – Risky Business
Players, parents and coaches across America are being confronted with growing evidence that some young adults participating in impact sports might be experiencing irreversible injuries that put them at risk for compromised mental functioning, personality dysfunction, and early dementia. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disorder that affects individuals exposed to repetitive brain trauma. Research is showing that CTE is the result of major collisions (concussions)
Trojan Force – Head Coach Allan Trimble has built the Jenks High School program into a perennial power in Oklahoma and overcome adversity along the way
Allan Trimble, the Head Coach at Jenks High School (OK), authored the book ‘Coaching Football Successfully’ in 2001. In it, Trimble wrote that success should not be measured solely in terms of wins and losses. “Success comes in many shapes and sizes,” said Trimble. “It could be mentoring an athlete who is facing adversity, having your team show improvement as the season progresses, or having both a loyal and supportive coaching staff.” • Trimble clearly
Coach to Coach: The Pre-Season Home Stretch
“The time will come when winter will ask what you were doing all summer.” - Senator Henry ClayTwo months and counting! It is amazing how fast the season is approaching. By the start of June, our players have completed countless workouts, 10 days of spring ball and now are preparing for summer camp at the University of Nevada. We have spent the last few months training and preparing ourselves for the 2011 season. June is the start of the final phase of the so called off-season.
15 Keys to Building A Successful & Sustainable Football Program
By Frank DiCocco • Assistant Coach • Dwyer High School (FL) • 2009 Florida 4A State Champions 1. Have a Flexible and Evolving Approach to the Game: Have a flexible and evolving approach to schemes and strategies. Have a Flexible and Evolving Offense: Develop an efficient and effective offensive approach for each team, each season, and each game. Place a premium on production, both in terms of yards and points. As long as the winner of a football c
FREE FORMS - Coaches Evaluation Form
This complete and thorough form details a rating system (1-5) to evaluate coaches. The categories include personal and professional attributes, administrative procedural abilities, knowledge and practice of both medical and legal aspects, theory and techniques of coaching, personnel management, and public relations skills.
Coach to Coach: Football Clinics – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
If you are like me, your email has been full of invitations and promotions to the many football coaching clinics being held across the country. As a coach with 19 seasons under my belt, I have attended many clinics, have had the opportunity to speak at many clinics, and I host the Shotgun Zone Fly Summit. Clinics provide us with a great opportunity to learn from some of the most successful people in the business. They are also a great excuse to get a “hall pass” for a w
TRICKING THE DEFENSE WITH BIG PLAYS
By Marc Sites, Assistant Coach, Liberty High School (CO) “Watch out, this team is fancy,” said an opposing player to his teammates at one of our games recently. We had just converted a fake punt on a fourth and two for about a five-yard gain. It wasn’t an unusual play by any standards, but that statement caused me to reflect on the number of trick (or creative) plays I hav
JUMP STARTING AN OFFENSE WITH PLAYMAKERS AND SPECIAL PLAYS
Coaching a successful offensive unit is very complex and requires a good amount of organization. In establishing an offensive philosophy, it is important to follow a few basic principles to ensure success. WINNING OFFENSIVE STRATEGIES
Your Take: Time To Get Enlightened
Note: The following is an excerpt from Building the Enlightened Warrior, the complete version of which can be downloaded at Xenith.com.Mounting evidence indicates that playing football in an extreme fashion might destroy your brain. Concussions have clearly been an uncontrolled epidemic in football for decades. Epidemics are not instantly cured by simple solutions. They require complete strategies for risk reduction. We must end the gladiator mentality
Neutralizing the Threat of Mismatches vs. Trips Formations Out of Cover 3 Zone
Our defensive package is the 3-5-3, out of which we utilize various blitzes and coverages. One of our most frequently used coverages in this scheme is the cover 3 zone. We are accustomed to staying in this look even when matching up against four-receiver sets. It is imperative to teach your second-level defenders to stay true to their landmarks on their drops and place heavy emphasis on rerouting any receiver who is quick to present a threat to the vertical seams. One challenge that kept pres
Coach to Coach: Making Your Off-Season Count, Part II
Last month, I wrote about some simple steps in evaluating a season that does not meet expectations. I touched on a few of the areas that I feel are critical in assessing these types of seasons. The areas include communication, off season training programs and evaluating returning players’ strengths and weaknesses and adjusting schemes accordingly. But what about the seasons that exceed our expectations? The seasons when things went right. Seasons when players and coaches came together to pr
JUMP STARTING AN OFFENSE WITH PLAYMAKERS AND SPECIAL PLAYS
By Charlie Stubbs Head Coach Nicholls State University Coaching a successful offensive unit is very complex and requires a good amount of organization. In establishing an offensive philosophy, it is important to follow a few basic principles to ensure success.
Strength Report: Practical Nutritional Strategies for the Collegiate Athlete
As collegiate strength and conditioning coaches, we have learned that there are many more facets of performance that need to be targeted other than simply being strong and in shape. We pride ourselves on faster running times, increased weight room numbers and decreased rates of injuries. However, one of the most overlooked components of athletic performance is the nutritional lifestyle of our athletes. We must remember that performance and recovery are significantly affected by the nutritiona
GAME STRATEGY AND PLAY CALLING: THE “HEDGEHOG” PHILOSOPHY
By Bruce Reynolds Former Head Coach William Penn High School, New Castle (DE) Game day strategy and play calling should not be too elaborate. Go with what got you there. Too many coaches make the mistake of trying to put in too many “new” things for the big game. My father, the Dr. Brooks E. Reynolds, a Methodist minister, was always preaching Steven Covey’s theme: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” You can appl
How Running the Football Can Demoralize Your Opposition
By Paul Anthony Markowski Fullbacks Coach, Simon Fraser University There are many different offensive philosophies that have been devised throughout the history of football. During the 60’s and 70’s, the running game was en vogue with both the wishbone and “I” formations dominating. During the 80’s and 90’s, the game changed to a more pass happy strategy. Today, in the 21st century, the spread offense is the preferred strategy to move the pigskin down the f
Letter from AFM
Before St. Thomas Aquinas’ trip to Ohio to play in the annual Kirk Herbstreit event last season, Head Coach George Smith wanted to be prepared. So he flew to Columbus and walked through his team’s itinerary – from the moment they would land right through game time – and checked out everything from bus arrangements to the pregame menu. His preparation paid off as Aquinas routed Upper Arlington, 52-7. Smith is planning another scouting mission prior to the Raiders’
Speed Report: What’s Often Overlooked When Teaching Football Speed Skills
Biomechanics, physiology and motor learning must blend together and not be looked at as separate bodies of application. My objective for this article is to bridge the gaps between certain aspects of training norms and application considerations that are often not used collectively. Training for speed and movement must have greater understanding as to why effective techniques are effective. In this article we’ll discover why many coaches experience difficulty in teaching the key aspects
From The Coach’s Bookshelf Jim Lefebvre’s ‘Loyal Sons
The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame may be the most famous backfield in college football history. But, incredibly, until recently their story had never been explored in book-length form. Author and football historian Jim Lefebvre tells it in great detail in Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions. The national award-winning book gives us insight into the coaching greatness of Knute Rockne as he guides his Irish to an undefeated season, Rose Bowl victo
Strength Report - The Effects of Ankle Position on Change of Direction Movements on the Field
Through our teachings of how athletes can reprogram their nervous systems to increase their speed and athleticism, the repositioning of the ankle joint has been the number two most important aspect for increasing acceleration and maximum velocity ability. The most important, joint reposition, is the change and control of the body position. The ankle must be dorsi-flexed immediately at take-off. In fact, Ralph Mouchbahani, while at the University of Freiberg, demonstrated that electrical a
Shore Up Your Secondary – AFM’s compilation of tactics, drills and strategies to make your secondary your primary line of defense.
If you’re heading into post-season play, you’re likely to face a situation where your defensive backfield is forced to come up with a big play. If you’re ahead late, your secondary will be tested in coverage when your opponent goes to the air game. If you need to get the ball back to mount a last-minute offensive of your own, you’re going to need your defenders to prevent the other team from getting game-clinching first downs. Either way, your secondary can mean the difference between
Letter from AFM
It’s November. Your season is winding down, if not already over. It’s time to start thinking ahead to the off-season and formulating a game plan that will put you and your program on solid footing as you look forward to next season. But, for those of you fortunate enough to be in the playoff hunt, there is still time to address on-the-field issues. In particular, your defense. How your defense reacts to the challenge of stopping the high-powered offenses you will surely face dur
Letter from AFM - Getting Back in the Game
When you receive this issue of AFM, football season will be underway. That time of the year is here again – the time when your months of planning and preparation pay off on the field. For you and your players, it’s always a great feeling to get back in the game. With this issue, AFM is back in the game, too. As you know, due to the dramatic recession we have all been going through, there has been a disruption and delay in you receiving your issues of AFM in recent months. For thi
Mike Tomlin’s Secret
In a big game like the Super Bowl, it is beautiful to watch two teams battle for the supremacy of the mind game. By this time, only the mentally strong teams are left, and it is now up to them to prove who is the most skillful. They are ZONE Athletes and they are stronger and have the illusion of looking taller and meaner. They have incredible energy and stamina, are less susceptible to injury and seem immune to the numbers on the scoreboard. Sometimes they appear so powerful t
The Most Basic Rule of Coaching - .COM
I am probably the only sports fan who goes to a game and watches the coach as much as I watch the players. As a peak performance trainer, I specifically observe what coaches do or don’t do in their leadership role, and I see too few coaches who know how to stay in the Zone. Generally, because of this, I can predict the outcome of the game by a coach’s actions during the warm up and first quarter of the game. Many—most coaches I’m afraid—have little understanding of the
Inside the Numbers - Onside Kicks
“Survey Says…” AFM asked survey respondents to share what they do to increase their chances of recovering onside kicks. Kick’em in the Chest “Instead of overloading a side and using the traditional onside kick, from our normal alignment, we have our kicker drive the ball directly at one of the front lineman. We hope the ball will kick-back toward our approaching players. We prefer to use this early in games to surprise the receiving team.”
10 Offensive Strategies
Charlie Stubbs is to coaching what IBM is to computers. Now at 53, chances are he’s logged more hours under a headset than the entire American Airlines flight crew. He’s spent 19 years in collegiate coaching, including the last eleven as a coordinator at such high-profile schools as Louisville, Tulsa, Alabama, UNLV and Oregon State. Perhaps it’s just coincidence that after his stint in Louisville, where the Cardinals averaged 32.5 points per game under his tenure, he landed in the lap of o
Pressuring the Offense with Effective Front Eight
As offenses continue to develop multiple ways to attack defenses, we\'ve found it necessary to find a scheme that can put the pressure back on the offense. The 44G defense has provided us with the flexibility to accomplish that goal. General Pressure Philosophy As a coach told me: \"Take the ball out of the offensive coordinator\'s hands; put it in the hands of a 17 year old quarterback.\" That is the foundational statement of our pressure philosophy: force the 17 year ol
Maximize Your Football Coaching Video
College coaches will admit that watching video accounts for 2-3 times more of their in-season workload than actual on the field preparation. Football game video is a necessary evaluation tool for coaches and players, yet many coaches struggle through each season with untrained videographers producing ineffective results. A decade of coordinating video for high school, NAIA, and NCAA-FBS football has taught me that finding the right personnel to handle your team\'s football video is
Challenging the Placekick
During my thirty-five years on the sidelines I\'ve watched in amazement as teams would not contest the PAT kick of their opponents. The defensive players might wave their arms to distract the kicker, maybe a rusher would come off the edge and a couple of players might jump up in an effort to block a kick but usually a PAT kick attempt would go unchallenged. Often, even where there was a poor or slow snap, a bobbled hold, or a slow kicker, the kick would cross the bar and the extra point would
The 10 Commandments of Coaching Leadership
Coaching and leadership have always been intertwined. So much so that Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski says “I don\'t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.” If leadership is, as Yuki suggests, “the application of intentional influence in order to achieve a desired result,” then coaching is actually leadership in practice. However, before we move forward on what actions coaches should and should not take, it’s import
The Definition of a Coach
The other day I was at a sporting event with a friend who is a fellow coach. Behind us a student hollered, “Hey Coach.” We both automatically turned our heads in response to find that he wasn\'t addressing either of us. This athlete was talking to his coach, seated in our general vicinity. The athlete got his coach\'s attention. He appeared to be in somewhat of a panic, but whatever the coach was saying to him, it seemed to calm him down. Eventually, he smiled. Observing this interacti
A Welcome Promotion
For the last year and a half, Mike Kuchar has contributed to AFM as a free-lance writer. He\'s written numerous pieces in addition to his daily duties as both an assistant football coach and teacher at North Brunswick Township High School in New Jersey. He also was a defensive end at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, team captain, and class of 2000. Mike has specialized in covering the new and innovative offenses that AFM has published over the last year. Among them: The Spin,
The Similarities Between Coaching Football and Investing
Stability As many of you know from your experiences, there is tremendous job insecurity in the football coaching ranks. Due to losing records, popular demand, compensation, school administration or financial reasons, among many other, there is tremendous turnover in the coaching profession. The financial markets also have much uncertainty. Whether it be rising oil prices, inflation, a sub-prime credit crisis or a real estate bubble, to name just a few, the stock, bon
The Machiavellian Football Coach
Written in 1513 and published posthumously in 1531, The Prince (Il Principe) by Niccolò Machiavelli has become synonymous with ruthlessness and tyranny. Today, it is often read (along with Lao Tzu’s The Art of War, interestingly enough) in business courses as preparation for the cut-throat world these students are about to enter. A careful reading of The Prince, however, yields an insightful view into topics essential to becoming a successful football coach. Before we set about anal
What’s Your Motivation?
At times it can be difficult to motivate students to do the things they are supposed to do to ensure success. As coaches we are the potter and the students are the clay. We have a challenging opportunity to mold that clay into productive, responsible, accountable students. There are number of things that we can do to help motivate our students. I will discuss some things in this article that I have seen to be beneficial. In order to motivate effectively we must make a conscious effort t
4-3 Defensive Line Play
What You Practice Must Mirror Who You Are We are a true Attack 4-3 front with an aggressive Cover 4 scheme behind it as our primary coverage (See Diagram 1). As a base rule we spill all blocks in an attempt to make the ball go east and west before it can hit us north and south. While priding ourselves in being assignment sound, we play fast– but smart– at all times. The drills and techniques we use as position coaches must mirror who we are as far as scheme, personnel, a
Letter From the Editor/Publisher: Requests from Subscribers
In a recent AFM subscriber survey, the question was asked: ‘What would you like to see at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com that is not currently offered?’ A number of responses asked about video features and, more specifically, including video on the web site that corresponded to articles published in AFM. Some of the responses included: ‘You guys keep in mind that football coaches are football junkies. We can’t get enough. Videos of stuff would be a nice addition to the
Evaluation: The One Constant
As coaches, we\'ve all heard these terms... Coachability Ability to Learn Willingness to Learn Ability to Trust Willingness to Trust Leadership / Good Teammate Team before Self Responsibility Help Others Competitive Play their best Seek Challenge Instinctive Ability Toughness Athleticism Explosiveness
Oregon\'s Defensive Line Prep vs. the Shotgun Spread Offense
In recent years, there has been a major shift back to the old-school principles of the past. More and more teams at the high school and college level are turning to athletic QBs and more option based systems to take advantage of the way defenses play against multiple WR formations. For coaches like Oregon D-Line Coach Michael Gray, it means new drills and rules to work on with his linemen. The premise behind these spread-type systems is that an offense can account for defenders by usin
Letter From the Editor: Read it. Watch it. Experience it.
Winston Churchill once said, ‘Give your people what they want... not what you think they want.’ That’s, in essence, what we’ve tried to do. American Football Monthly is, proudly, the number one resource for football coaches. It\'s a result of subscriber research, interaction with you – coaches across America – and attention to detail. We’re now excited to announce that we are a full-service organization for the coaching community by offering, in addition to our magazine, Web site a
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Steve Rampy
When Head Coach Steve Rampy of Blue Valley High School in Stilwell, KS changed last fall from the Shotgun to the Pistol, the results were immediate: Blue Valley led all state high schools in total points scored. Rampy’s team scored 594 points in 13 games or an average of 46 per contest. In the process, Blue Valley won the state championship. Rampy has been at Blue Valley for 26 years, the last 22 as Head Coach. In that time, his teams have played in eight state championships and have four titl
Bobby April\'s 5 Must Follow Rules for Coaching Kickoff Returns
Have you ever dreamt of always starting an offensive drive near midfield? Or is it more of the opposite … you wake up in a cold sweat after another nightmare where your kick returner misjudges the ball and you are stuck near your goal line in the biggest game of the year. Buffalo Bills Special Teams Coach Bobby April has five rules that will all but guarantee that you will be better than ever in your kick return game. And hopefully you will sleep better at night. RULE# 1
Building a Foundation
Despite having played in the nation’s first college football game on Nov. 6, 1869, Rutgers’ transformation from perennial loser to winner did not begin until Greg Schiano took over as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach on Dec. 1, 2000. Even then, success didn’t come immediately. Over a six-year period, the program and the coaching staff’s strategies and philosophies have undergone a series of adjustments and adaptations. “Being a defensive coach I’ve always believe
Promoting Turf in Your Town: 21st Century Field of Dreams
Tired of subjecting your players to the muddy, rutted, divot-filled, dangerous conditions of your embarrassing home playing field? Frustrated by rainouts, postponements – or worse, injuries caused by poor or inconsistent field conditions? Then it’s time for your school to go synthetic! • Most coaches fully understand the benefits of synthetic playing surfaces as compared to natural grass: extended practice time, reduced maintenance costs, consistent and safe playing conditions and, for col
Coaches: Ways to Lose a Football Game
Everyone knows that brilliant coaching strategies, like those of Bill Walsh on offense and Buddy Ryan on defense, can win teams games. But the opposite is also true. Coaching mistakes can cost your team games. We talked to as many coaches as we could about what the key mistakes are that can cost you games, real world examples of the mistakes and how to avoid them. Here is what they had to say: Jerry Schmitt, head coach, Duquesne University “One thing tha
Making an Offense One Dimensional: Strategies for Developing an Effective Run De
Stop the Run: It’s the number one objective for any defensive coordinator at any level; in fact it’s Defensive Football 101. You can’t play defense without first stopping the run. Rushing yardage is also the first statistical category offense will use to measure its performance. Teams that know how to control the clock by running the football win games. In fact, the two go hand in hand. If you look at successful teams from Pop Warner right up
Defensive Line Stunts: Proven Ways to Get To The Quarterback
Defensive line stunts can be a crucial element to put pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback in pass plays. We talked to two defensive specialists to find out their general philosophy concerning stunts and examples of stunts they like to use. The coaches are Richard Bell, defensive coordinator at the Air Force Academy, and Jeff Smith, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Urbana University in Urbana, OH.
How Do You Negate an Outstanding Wideout?
How then do you stop a receiver who can take the game away from you? We asked four expert coaches for their thoughts on the subject: Jerry Moore, head coach of defending Division I-AA champion Appalachian State University; John Wiley, his defensive coordinator; Lyle Setencich, defensive coordinator at Texas Tech University; and Gary DeLoach, defensive secondary coach at UCLA. PRE-GAME PREPARATION In scouting and looking at fil
Letter from the Editor
‘Covering a Great Receiver’, ‘Line Techniques in the 3-5-3 Defense’, and Henderson State’s ‘Scorched Earth Offense’ are three articles that you will see in this issue of AFM. All three are a result of AFM subscriber research; that is, the responses to detailed questions about what are readers want to read about and learn more from. Each quarter our marketing department will issue a detailed survey to subscribers in an effort to determine what specific kinds
Simplifying Offensive Play Calling In the Spread Offense
Looking back throughout my coaching career, I am often amazed at how complicated and wordy the offensive systems I have coached in have been. Even as I read new articles on offensive football strategies, I am dumbfounded at how wordy these plays can become. Therefore, when I earned my first offensive coordinator position, I wanted a simplistic way to get across as much information to my players with as little wording as possible. As I started to design the new offensive system, I wanted e
Third Down Conversions: Strategies That Will Move the Chains
It’s pretty difficult to move the ball if you don’t convert your third down opportunities. We talked to three offensive coordinators about their approach to third down plays: Sam Venuto at Villanova University, Alvin Parker at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina and Jim Glover at Lambuth University in Jackson, TN. OVERARCHING PHILOSOPHIES To Venuto, succee
Letter from the Editor
In a continuing effort to change with the times, American Football Monthly has created the publication’s first editorial board. Now in its twelve year, AFM has evolved over the years from a magazine that focused on coaching profiles to one that now includes specific game strategies and X’s and O’s. Along with that change, we feel an editorial board will help in two areas: determining what is the most relevant information for today’s football coaches and, more importantly, are we g
Technology on a Budget
While NFL teams and major Division 1-A programs usually have the financial resources to make a major commitment to technology, it’s not that easy for smaller college programs and high schools. Money has to be budgeted and spent more carefully, but money spent on technology is still a wise investment. Division II Pittsburg (Kan.) State uses Apple PowerBooks and Power Mac G4s to produce cut-ups of offensive, defensive, and special teams plays. “The game of football is all a
Effective Grading Strategies
Grading players should be easy, effortless and not take hours to do. Our system will utilize a check box numbering system that allows coaches to rate players easily and effectively. We will use three major criteria for determining a player’s ability at each play: Alignment, Assignment and Hustle. Once a player has been graded a more complete picture will aid the coach in determining what a player needs to work on. For example: A player might consistently be in a poor alignment y
Running Wild How to create an effective running game that will boost yards and wins. By Richard Scott
Correcting Mistakes: Effective halftime defensive adjustments
Fifteen minutes. A short amount of time, especially when you’re trying to sum up how your defense performed during the first 30 minutes and determining how to approach the next 30. Despite the short amount of time, halftime strategies vary from coach to coach. But Mickey Andrews, the long-time defensive coordinator at Florida State, looks at it another way. “Each football game is like a test in the classroom,” he said, “but there you don’t get to go in, take 30 minutes on
How to Stop the Option
Snap to the Q. He sprints to the right, instantaneously scans the defense as he is hit. At virtually the same time he pitches to the fullback. Quick cut to the left, he darts through the hole and rips off 55 yards. How often have you seen it? How many times has it left you pacing the sidelines, shaking your head and clipboard? It’s the ageless option pitch/run. How do you stop it? What options does a coach have? AFM contacted a number of high school and college coaches and
No Fly Zone: Containing the Air Raid Offense
Let’s say you’re going up against a team with a potent air raid offense – a team like Texas Tech, or Boise State or Louisville. How do you stop these pass-happy attacks? We asked five coaches of college and high school teams around the country with outstanding pass defenses. The coaches have a wide variety of suggestions — from constantly changing your formations to physically intimidating the opposition. They offered strategies of how to pressure the quarterback; details of pr
3 High School Programs - 3 Different Strategies for Success
They seem to be there every year. Like a leaf changing color in the fall or students grumbling about going back to class, the high school football elite return each season to reclaim their dominance. These high school powerhouses didn’t earn their reputations overnight. But how did these teams reach this unique place? What road takes a football program to the pinnacle and then keeps it there for season after season after season? Players change. Even coac
Cover Story What\'s the Make-up of a State Champion? AFM\'s Second Annual State Champions Survey By AFM Research Staff
The Staff Report
With the football season ending, you and the athletes you coach need to stay motivated in the off-season so your team can come out in spring practice running on all cylinders. In addition to staying motivated in the off-season, you do not have to wait until next season begins to start mental training. In fact, the off-season is a great time to work on your team’s mental skills. Most coaches will agree that talent alone is not enough for success and other inta
Motivating Athletes in Your Strength Program
Ask any strength and conditioning coach to name their primary objective, and almost all will say motivation. In my experience as a strength and conditioning coach, the true foundation for optimal strength and conditioning is effort. And the major factor contributing to effort is motivation. Effort is the key to attaining the goals and objectives you have set as a coach for your program. In order for a c
Letter From the Publisher
One of the least things known about American Football Monthly is a tradition that started when the magazine moved to South Florida in the summer of 1997. Every year South Florida welcomes hundreds of college coaches vying for the most talented athletes the area has to offer and for the last six years AFM has played host to many of these coaches traveling to our back yard. Over the years we have had lunch and di
Making the Jump
You ask Tommy Knotts why he decided to leave his job as head coach of one of the most dominant high school programs in America for an assistant’s job at a college football program. You wonder how he could leave Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C., where his teams have won 62-straight games, the second-best mark in the country. You assume it’s because of some major life-changing event. Was
Under Pressure
Before I begin, I would like to thank the people at American Football Monthly for giving me this opportunity. I also owe Coach Dirk Koetter and Coach Brent Guy thanks for allowing me to represent our staff in these pages. These are some concepts we believe in at Arizona State. Hopefully, there are a few things you can use with your players as well. You
Fired Up?
As the new football season arrives, coaches around the nation are preparing for the tasks and challenges they will soon face when the 2004-2005 football season gets into full swing. However, nothing ever goes just as planned or scripted in any coach’s playbook and that’s why coaches, just as the athletes I work with on the mental game, need to develop strategies to deal with the myriad of responsibiliti
Northwestern\'s Academic Game Plan
High School Coaches The foundation for successful college football student-athletes is laid by the high school coach. Whether the player goes on to play college bal
Stop on a Dime
The past two seasons our defense has been in the top 10 in sacks, interceptions and turnover margin. During the 2001 season our defense was ranked in the top 15 in both rushing and scoring defense. We also finished fourth nationally in passes intercepted and third in total takeaways. A great deal of our success stems from our dime package. The following will familiarize the reader with the personnel and pr
Focus on Critical Information to Place Your Players in Position to be Successful
FOR LAST YEAR’S TECHNOLOGY ISSUE, American Football Monthly asked me to share some insight on the organization of game planning staff and resources.* This year, Travis Davis has asked me to again address the subject of game planning, this time regarding an often asked question: In light of the finite time we coaches have available each week for strategic planning, how can we find and use the best from th
NFL Coach of the Year - Bill Belichick
You thought you knew him from his days in Cleveland. You saw the images on television. The grim, stern, face, void of emotion, ratcheted with intensity. You saw the newspaper stories. The humorless, dogmatic responses. A personality as cold and brittle as the wind blowing in from Lake Erie, pummeling Cleveland. You thought you knew him, but did you? Did you really? Did the people feeding those
Coach\'s Guide to Training Room Strategies
As coaches, you certainly want athletes who can give it their all day after day. Training camp is a high stress time for you as well as for your players. Not only can this experience be mentally trying, but it is physically demanding as well. Everyone is well aware of the heat-related deaths that received national attention last summer. The bad news is that summers aren’t going to be any cooler, traini
Cover Story Path To Victory Under Sonny Lubick's guidance, Colorado State is now a consistant winner The Look of a Winner - Anyone who thinks there are some programs that will never turn aroun
Working His Plan...
When one thinks of the success the Florida State football program has experienced, the first person that comes to mind is head coach Bobby Bowden. But even Bowden, who has spent more than a quarter of a century on the Seminole sidelines, has to answer to someone. That someone is Florida State Director of Athletics Dave Hart, Jr.In six plus years at the helm of the FSU athletic department, Hart has set a direction for the former women\'s college - it became co-educational in 1947 - that has es
Letter From the Publisher
Protecting your assets... In the business world, there are a few axioms that are universally applied by all successful companies. For example, some of these management philosophies are: focus on those things with the greatest opportunity for success; make certain you do whatever is necessary to keep your best employees; and protect your company\'s most valuable assets. However, in the football world, I fear teams sometimes ignore sound, proven and winning business strategies th
Lion Heart
Coaching requires the commitment to teach, to inspire athletes to set and achieve team and/or personal goals, while simultaneously developing the all-important necessary strategies to win! At no time should a coach ever forget or choose to ignore a most basic fundamental and unwritten code: coaching involves people not just schemes or strategies. Regardless of the level or the sport chosen to coach, this code can never be forgotten or the meaning lessened: that coaches, first and foremost, are i
Equipment Room
Rogers Lev Sled 1-(800) 248-0270 www.rogersathletic.com Utilize the power of leverage to achieve more gridiron victories. Only the Rogers Lev Sled requires the blocker to drive the pad to compress the spring - then he is able to elevate the pad. From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com The most effective football sleds and machines in the game. 68 years of what works. 1, 2, 5, and 7 man sleds. Off
Equipment Room
Rogers Lev Sled 1-(800) 248-0270 www.rogersathletic.com Utilize the power of leverage to achieve more gridiron victories. Only the Rogers Lev Sled requires the blocker to drive the pad to compress the spring - then he is able to elevate the pad. From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com The most effective football sleds and machines in the game. 68 years of what works. 1, 2, 5, and 7 man sleds. Off
Words of Wisdom
Even at age 71, with two national championships, 17 bowl wins, and a record that makes him one of the winningest coaches of all time, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden has no plans to retire. But, he does have a plan of how he will know when it\'s time to step down. \"I plan to coach until I have a lean year and then give myself one year to get it back under control,\" he told reporters last year. \"If I lose that second year, I\'m done.\"Such a statement is typ
Equipment Room
Rogers Lev Sled 1-(800) 248-0270 www.rogersathletic.com Utilize the power of leverage to achieve more gridiron victories. Only the Rogers Lev Sled requires the blocker to drive the pad to compress the spring - then he is able to elevate the pad. From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com The most effective football sleds and machines in the game. 68 years of what works. 1, 2, 5, and 7 man sleds. Off
The Search for The Winning Edge
The search for a winning edge drives those of us in the coaching profession. Look at the time and money spent by coaches in search of the latest wrinkle or new idea. We attend clinics, read magazines and books, and at every chance, swap ideas and experiences in hopes of building the proverbial better mouse trap. George Allen, one of modern football\'s greatest innovators went out on a limb when he convinced the ownership of the Los Angeles Rams to allow him to hire Stanford assistant Dick Ve
Traveling Man
Somewhere on the road between 19 cities in 11 states, Mike Leach found a way to climb the rope from the small time to the big time. Call it the back-road plan for future coaching success. Leach, the new head coach at Texas Tech, never played college football, never coached at the Division I level until 1997 and never even really knew he wanted to be a football coach until after he earned his law degree from Pepperdine in 1986. After law school, his path was filled with job after j
The Evolution of Technology in Football
CLICK...CLACK...CLICK...CLACK.... the only sound emanating from the darkened room droned endlessly. For decades, it was the sound of technology in football. For generations of players and coaches, the first technological skill to be mastered was how to thread film in the 16mm projector. It was film, passing back and forth through the projector\'s gate, which was the sound of technology in the game. An endless ribbon of film ran through the game and connected generations of coaches and pla
Philosophy of Performance: One Coach\'s Interaction Style
On January 22, 1996, Malcolm Glazer, owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made a pivotal administrative decision by hiring Tony Dungy as his head coach. The appointment wasn\'t significant just because Dungy was one of only a handful of minority coaches. Rather, the hiring struck many as unusual because Dungy\'s personality - on and off the field - was far from the stereotypical mannerisms of other head coaches. Unlike some of the more renown names associated with \"great\"
Letter to the Editor
These are the best of times; these are the worst of times. Paraphrasing from Charles Dickens may seem trite, but it sums up the current situation of one of the best offensive coaches I know, and how the winds of fortune affecting the coaching profession can blow a coach off-course. Peter Vaas is currently an offensive assistant with the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe. How he arrived is an interesting story. Vass finds himself at a career crossroads. He makes "good" money worki
The Ultimate Interview
An over-time approach to getting the right candidate for the head coach position. When all things are equal, and the score is tied, how do you determine the better of two outstanding candidates for the head football coach position at a large high school with a very competitive athletic program? This dilemma was tested last spring with excellent results. I offer it to you from the position of a principal at a high school in suburban Kansas City. But
Innovations
When Ron Dayne broke the Division I-A record for career rushing yards, we couldn't help but measure him against history. If we have any affinity for college football, we can't help ourselves. We plead for perspective. We beg for a sense of where the current era fits in the historical landscape of college football. Is Dayne better than Ricky Williams? Herschel Walker? Tony Dorsett? Archie Griffin? O.J. Simpson? Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch? Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis? Jim Thorpe?
Reconditioning Football Equipment.
Do you ever reach the end of the season and wonder what to do with your reconditioning? It does not have to be guesswork or a hassle. Consider the following pointers before sending your equipment in for service. Helmets With all the legal, liability and safety issues surrounding your players, the proper care of this piece of equipment is probably more important than any other. It is important to know that both Riddell and Schutt require that their helmets be recondition
Re-Examining Spearing
Every few years the problem is rediscovered in the media by a cervical spine injury in the NFL. Most recently it was Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown. Television networks show the hit numerous times and stories appear in newspapers and magazines. But the injury is always portrayed as an unfortunate accident. It's not used to educate the football community that there is an identified cause for these injuries. No one says, "Reggie Brown made the mistake of loweri
It's Not About the Plays . . . It's About the Players.
Twice a year, after the college football season and again after spring drills, University of Oregon coach Mike Bellotti arms himself with a yellow legal pad, and a supply of pens, and spends most of several consecutive days in his office. He isn't, on those occasions, scribbling Xs and Os. He isn't tinkering with the sophisticated offense that has placed Oregon in the top 20 in the nation in passing in five of the last six seasons. He isn't refining the strategies that
High-Flying Hornets
Emporia State University, an NCAA Division II school in the prestigious MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) Conference, featured the most balanced, yet explosive offensive attack in all of college football. Utilizing an attack with four receivers, no tight ends or fullback, the Hornets established 42 ESU, 30 MIAA, and nine NCAA records. No tight end and no fullback. Wait a minute, is this the run-and-shoot? Hardly. To say that the Hornets have achieved these acco
This page brings together American Football Monthly's in-depth articles exploring the vast world of Football Strategy. Here, you'll find detailed X's and O's breakdowns, analysis of different systems, and discussions on tactical decision-making across all three phases of the game.
Dive into resources covering a wide array of strategic concepts:
- Offensive Strategies & Schemes: Analysis of systems like the Air Raid, West Coast Offense, Spread, Pro Style, Option football, RPO concepts, and specific play designs.
- Defensive Strategies & Schemes: Breakdowns of fronts (4-3, 3-4, Odd/Even), coverages (Cover 2, Cover 3, Quarters, Man), pressure packages (blitzes and stunts), and run/pass fits.
- Special Teams Strategies: Techniques and schemes for kickoffs, kickoff returns, punts, punt returns, field goals, and PATs, including protection and coverage units.
- Situational Strategy: Adapting schemes and play calls based on game context (down & distance, field position, score, time).
- Strategic Trends & Evolution: Understanding how football strategy has changed over time and analyzing modern trends.
Strategies Search Results
Strategies to Structure an Offense. Leadership Strategies: How to Develop a Steady Stream of ‘Championship Level’ Quarterbacks in Your Program (Part II)
Maximize Offense in the Real World of High School Football
IntroductionTime is a football coach’s most precious commodity. Most coaches at the high school and youth levels are challenged with limitations (such as player talent and perhaps a limited number of experienced coaches); but all teams are limited by time. Even the best coaches believe there simply isn’t enough time to fully teach, install and rep all phases of the game to all players. The Double Gun offense is unique because it offers such a wide variety of options wit
Leadership Strategies: How to Develop a Steady Stream of ‘Championship Level QBs in Your Program, Part I
There is not much argument in any level of football that to win consistently and compete for championships you need strong quarterback play. So what defines ‘strong quarterback play’ and how do you develop that consistently within an organization? This series of articles will lay out a clear path that can easily be followed in any program given the proper attention. Let’s first discuss what goes into the makings of a great quarterback. From there, you’ll be in a better posi
Effective Strategies for Dealing with Man - Coverage Beaters: Stacks, Bunches and Mesh
ULM’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme is known for its aggressive style of play predicated on five and six-man pressure. To effectively utilize this type of defense, the pass coverage system must be proficient in man-to-man coverage. The ability to play cover 1 and cover 0 allows the defensive line and linebackers a great deal of freedom to find numerous ways to pressure the quarterback and stop the run by outnumbering the offense at or near the line of scrimmage. Of course, no defensive scheme is w
Post- Season Priorities - Wrapping up one season and transitioning to the next are critical times for successful programs
When your season ends, do you kick back, relax and get away from the game for a couple months? Of course not. Whether it’s formulating and implementing an off-season strength and conditioning program, ushering in a new group of players and preparing them for the following season or putting together motivational exercises, every successful coach knows that winter presents an opportunity for physical and mental team building.To find out how the best coaches approach the post season
Leadership Strategies
Jeff Hancock is the head coach at Vidalia High School in Louisiana. He recently took part in AFM’s “Leadership Survey”. Included are his responses:How do you develop responsible and respected team captains?This question is best answered by talking about my Senior Leadership Council. For our program, the seniors are the leaders and sometimes decision makers for the program. Bringing them in for meetings to discuss policy, setting standards, and letting them know what I am
Why Coach? Being Compassionate, Optimistic, Attentive, Confident and Humanistic are Some of the Qualities a Coach Should Possess
When I was invited to submit an article to AFM, I figured I would simply put some drills together, share some concepts, propose a few diagrams and maybe even talk about the transition of players from high school football to college competition. After all, that’s what we, as coaches, would need for personal or professional development, right? I shared my ideas with colleagues in the office and even surveyed some young coaches who were helping with our sum
Leadership Strategies: Prima Donna Athletes – Transformational Leadership vs. Servant Leadership
Narcissus, a beautiful youth, glanced into a pool of water. Rejecting the nymph Echo, he fell in love with his own reflection. – Greek mythologyTying Greek mythology to football isn’t really a stretch, given the fact high school coaches are continually faced with one or more players who believe the team is there to serve them and not vice versa. Many coaches label these players as ‘cancers’. Unless, of course, they are clocked in the 40-yard dash under 4.5 or are of behemoth si
Leadership Strategies: In Need of a New Direction
Coaching staffs should not expect seniors to lead simply based on their age. So, the ultimate goal of our program became to build better men, to help them to grow individually, and eventually teach them how to lead other young men. The result of our emphasis on leadership has been impressive. In 2014 we had a 13-game winning streak that included a #1 Missouri state ranking, a top 150 national ranking, and a narrow defeat in the Class 5 State Semifinals. Provid
Leadership Strategies: Developing a Leadership Council
Jerome Learman was a high school coach for 20 years and 13 as a head coach. He received his doctorate in 2005 from Michigan State in Kinesiology. Learman is currently teaching at both Michigan State and Central Michigan University. While coaching, Learman developed a leadership council for juniors and seniors who received leadership training to become captains. American Football Monthly spoke to Coach Learman about his leadership council.After taking over for Craig Bohl, North Dakota S
Building Champions to Win Championships
We recently surveyed coaches on a variety of topics, one of which was their interest in having more information about leadership. An astounding 80% said they would like us to present more information on this topic that is so vital to individual and team success.With this issue of American Football Monthly, we are introducing a new monthly Leadership report – Building Champions to Win Championships. AFM has assembled a team of leadership experts to explore, define and communicate
Speed Report: Visual Cues Deliver Exceptional Speed
Football players must rely heavily on having good field vision in order to play fast and move effectively. It’s a huge benefit having good visual skills which enhances “transition speed”. More specifically, angle and velocity changes executed with maximum velocity. Many athletes are naturally gifted with good visual skills. Unfortunately, many athletes also struggle with this skill. The good news is that you can develop this ability by using designed drills correctly and specific cues a
A Nine-Week Off Season Super-Cycle Strength and Conditioning Program
This article was published in the January edition of American Football Monthly with factual errors. The revised version is posted below. AFM regrets the errors.True developmental training at the collegiate level can be defined as two mandatory, nine-week training phases per year. The remaining time each year could be considered in-season, discretionary or possibly maintenance. The other possibility in the yearly scheme that
Managing Your Program: Evaluating Staff - Creating an Environment For Success
As the season ends, equipment is collected, banquets are planned, and goals are set with the returning players. It’s important to not lose sight of one very important component in your program – the coaching staff. The team’s success is very closely tied to the coaches who create the environment that nurtures that success, yet often, the staff is the last component attended to in the transition from one season to the next. Years ago, former Navy Commander and aut
Five on the Line - The 5-man defensive front is making a comeback – especially against traditional run-first offenses.
Before the advent of today’s high-powered spread offenses, it was common for defenses to employ a 5-man front with a nose guard, two tackles and two ends. While many teams have gone away from 5-man fronts, AFM found a surprising number of 2013 state champions that use the front either exclusively or part time.Here, coaches from four championship programs share their insight and strategies for making the 5-man front effective, especially against the run. They are Matt Crossman, de
Strength Report: How to Use Weighted Sleds for Explosive Acceleration
There are numerous products designed to increase speed, but one of the most effective, versatile and easiest to use is the weighted sled. The research on resisted sled sprinting has changed over the years, creating a lot of confusion for coaches. Fortunately, recent information has shown that proper use of these sleds can have a positive effect on an athlete’s ability to accelerate – the most important aspect of football speed. Which Way to Push Because the abili
Five Keys to Defending the Wing-T With Your 4-3 Defense – To stop the Wing-T, use three different fronts, key on the guards and limit your blitzes.
Good Wing-T football coaches are tough to beat. They know their offense, formation, and series. They will know what the role of each player on your defense is, and which defenders they want to put in conflict.As a defensive coordinator, you start in a hole to begin with. Wing-T coaches always seem to have the answer, no matter what solution you come up with.So why do some defensive coordinators want to be the opposing offensive coordinator’s best friend? They gameplan
Your Take: Expanding Your Coaching Network
We all have a stack of business cards, or an inbox full of messages from other coaches throughout our network. When was the last time you reached out to one of those coaches to discuss a concept or to share a scheme? Have you applied or inquired about a job at a school where you did not know anyone on the current staff? Is there a chance that one of those contacts in your file has a connection to use?The concept of increasing value and depth to your network is one that should not b
Teaching the Inside and Outside Zone Using 3-Person Groups
O-Linemen need to determine their defender’s alignment so they know if they are a covered or uncovered lineman.This topic is about teaching the inside and outside zone using 3-person groups during your individual periods.Before getting into the actual drills, a few things must be understood. The two plays are based on the teaching that in any inside or outside zone play, there are “covered” and “uncovered” linemen. Covered linemen are those that have a d
Safety First: Concussion Management and Return-to-Play Protocol
It’s no secret that concussions are one of the biggest issues in football. According to The Center for Disease Control, 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions occur annually in sports and recreational activities, making it an important public health issue. Unfortunately, as more high-profile athletes fall victim to concussions and as the number of concussions in football continues to rise, larger amounts of misinformation about proper prevention methods and return-to-play protocol spread.
UPSET SPECIAL Give your underdog team a shot with these strategies.
Nearly every coach has entered a game week knowing that the only people picking his team to win are on his staff or inside his own locker room.These situations can be an opportunity to galvanize a team by instilling an us-against-them world mentality; freeing the underdogs to play loose and pulling off an upset.No one knows that more than George O’Leary, the head coach at the University of Central Florida. The Knights pulled off the biggest upset in BCS history by beat
Athletic Body Control The Movement Training Correlation to Football Speed
Before we move to the details of movement training, let’s clarify what is football speed – the velocity and control by which variable movement patterns are executed efficiently without velocity loss. Most of the time it’s far easier said than done. My term for this activity is “Transition Speed.”The second area to clarify is Athletic Body Control (ABC). The term “Athletic” means athletes and the exercises practiced by them in a sport that requires physical skill or st
The Business of Coaching - Joe Moglia is a prime example of how success in business and coaching go hand-in-hand.
If you pay attention to the great coaching stories in college football, then you already know about Joe Moglia.You may recognize him as the former CEO of financial services company TD Ameritrade, where he oversaw the firm’s meteoric growth during his seven years at the helm. Or, you may know him as the current head coach at Coastal Carolina, where, in his first season in 2012, he led the Chanticleers to eight wins en route to being named the Big South Coach of the Year. He follow
The Coach’s Role on the Athletic Health Care Team
As a coach, you are likely to be involved in each portion of the athletic health care relay – prevention, recognition and first aid care, assessment and treatment, and rehabilitation.Your roles are defined by • Certain rules of the legal system and rules of your school administration, • Expectations of parents, and • Interactions with other athletic health care &
Thoughts from an HSPD Veteran
Craig Jacoby, who is the site manager for the Rockland, New York, HSPD camp, has over a decade of experience with the program and has seen first-hand how it has benefitted hundreds of high school athletes. We asked him about the camp experience for athletes and the value of the DVD to coaches.AFM: How do HSPD athletes respond to the college-level drills at HSPD camps? Jacoby: In my experience, the players who attend HSPD are getting a training experience that can’t be d
Samson Equipment’s Strength and Conditioning Coaches of the Year
NFL: Luke Richesson Denver BroncosBackground - Luke Richesson began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Kansas, in 1997 after a four-year career playing safety for the Jayhawks. After one season as a strength and conditioning intern, he spent the next season at the University of Wyoming and the following two at Arizona State University as a graduate assistant before becoming the performance team direc
Drills Report: Fumble, Strip and Interception Drills
As I watched bowl games in December and January, it amazed me how many errant passes were dropped by defenders and how many lost fumbles ended up going just past or through a defender’s hands. It reminds me of the old saying, “If your defense caught all of the dropped interceptions during a season, you would lead your league in interceptions every season.”We all work on creating turnovers during the pre-season, but during the season, it can be difficult to find time. Th
Letter from AFM – Coach, Writer, Friend
When we first met Bryon Hamilton in 2007, he was an up-and-coming high school head coach in Northern California. His innovative offensive system, the Shotgun Zone Fly, was the cover story subject in our December issue. The SZF was putting up record numbers with its potent inside-outside running attack, which was a precursor of the misdirection run game employed by Gus Malzahn at Auburn in last season’s run to the championship game. The feature proved to be very popular with AFM readers and
Coach to Coach: An Efficient and Effective Play Calling System
Last year at this time, I wrote an article on the use of tempo as a weapon. I stated then that tempo was being used by many successful teams and that extremely fast-paced offenses were going to be a standard of football for years to come. Today, the use of the fast-paced, no- huddle offense is becoming more the norm than the exception.Webster’s Dictionary defines the word tempo as the “rate of motion or activity”. In today’s football terminology, the word tempo refers to how qu
Building a Successful Football Program From the Ground Up
The prospect of building a football program is an exciting challenge for any head coach of any experience level. There is no all-encompassing manual instructing a coach how to build a program. No one can wave a magic wand and turn a program into a success over night. The construction project will take time. It could take one season or several seasons to see significant progress. Building a football program is much like building a house - you must start from the ground up and build a solid fou
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach Prince George High School (VA) - Part II
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to
Game Planning Your Coaching Career (Part II)
The Third Quarter After the first half (introduction and growth phase) and making adjustments at half-time, the third quarter becomes the maturity phase of the coaching career. This does not mean that, as coaches, we do not continue to grow or learn. It means that we become more stabilized in our “giftings” as a coach. I admire the confidence of the FBS assistant who maintains a positive attitude that he will land a job in a better environment, after
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, Prince George High School (VA) – Part I
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to b
Two Minute Crunch Time: 'Go-To' Plays and a Clock-Killing Strategy
With the increased use of the up-tempo offense at all levels of the game, some teams seem as though they’re running a two-minute drill the entire game. No huddles, keeping the defense off balance, quick scores. But a true two-minute offense, of course, has the added pressure of clock management. When you must have a score with limited time left, it’s critical that your offense remains calm under this pressure – advancing on every play, stopping the clock whenever possib
Strength Report: In-Season Training Considerations
One of the most common questions that a strength and conditioning coach will be asked is “what is your program”? The answer to this question could be extremely complex if you were to take all of the components of a coach’s program – volume, rest, time, conditioning protocols, speed work, agility drills, quickness training, reps, sets, progressions, strength development, power development, periodization models, etc. As you can see, this would be a long article! Instead, the short versi
FREE FORM - HOW TO IMPROVE THE WON-LOSS RECORD
17 different strategies and tactics are included in this form to help improve your won-loss record. A ‘strength and weakness’ category is listed for all items from quality athletes and quality coaches to team durability, adaptability, and dependability. It’s a must for every coach to read before fall camp.
On Top of the World – AFM’s Annual State Champions Survey and Profiles
State champion coaches share their secrets to winning it all. The results may surprise you.Most high school coaches would agree that their ultimate goal is winning their state championship. Taking home the trophy after the punishing regular season and pressure-filled playoffs is the pinnacle for the 300+ teams that annually achieve that goal.But do coaches agree on the best methods to use to reach that mountaintop? What offensive, defensive and special teams strategies give
Top of the Heap
The two Texas high schools couldn’t be more different.Stamford High School, located in the small town of the same name in the west central part of the state, has a total enrollment of less than 200. Virtually every male student participates in the football program on one of their three squads. The town’s population, which hovers around 3,000, has seen a steady decline in the last few decades – like many towns in remote rural areas.Allen High School in suburban Dall
Wide Open – Coaches share strategies for winning in summer 7-on-7 competitions.
The explosion in popularity of off-season 7-on-7 passing competitions has helped coaches put a better product on the field in the fall, mainly through player development. But don’t discount the value of putting your playmakers in competitive, late-game situations.“Ideally, I want each of our games to be 21-14 on the final possession, with us trying to score or prevent the tying touchdown,” said Bryan Gray, head coach at East Hall High School (GA) and a big believer in t
Coach to Coach – College Coach or High School Coach: Comparing the Two
As I wrote in May, I recently resigned from my decade long head coaching position at Foothill High School and accepted the associate head coach and offense coordinator job at Shasta College in nearby Redding. The transition from high school head coach to college assistant coach has actually been easier than expected. It certainly helps that I am familiar with both the college assistant role and the Shasta College program as I previously spent six seasons (1997-2002) as an assistant coach ther
Developing an Efficient Kickoff Team – Following a detailed teaching progression for your kickoff team will maximize their potential.
There are many factors that contribute to a successful season on special teams. The most important factor is the strong support and focus of the head coach to ensure that players and coaches are committed to this phase of the game. We always begin our practices with special teams and then break to offense and defense. That goes for installation meetings, film review and practice. We start with 20 minutes of special teams and end practice with a field goal or punt. The importance of special te
Tools for Success
The NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard worked with Al Golden and the University of Miami to produce the 2013 practice plan and DVD – benefitting every high school program in America.When it comes to supporting the nation’s high school football coaches, no program can match the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard. Not only does HSPD provide coaches with the opportunity to give bac
Trick Plays: the “Trojan Horse” of Football
By Bruce Reynolds • Retired High School CoachSteven Covey’s principle, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” certainly applies to football. Too many coaches try to put in too many ‘new’ things for the big game. That is a big mistake. Concentrate on what you and your team know how to do best. Stay within your system and basic philosophy of offense and defense. Go with what you’re practiced a thous
Zone Blocking, Part III – Proper Stances and Footwork
It doesn’t matter what scheme you run if your line isn’t fundamentally sound. In Part III of this series, we will cover the stances we use to develop our offensive linemen. As we master our techniques, the stance is the foundation we build great blocking on. STANCE You cannot overestimate the importance of the stance. A poor stance equals a poor start. Key Components We use both the three-point and two-poi
Coach to Coach – The Check With Me Passing Series
There are three passing concepts from our “Check With Me” passing series that have been very successful for me and my quarterbacks. These plays are called by our QBs from the line of scrimmage and they are very effective in attacking coverage schemes.Here are three Check With Me passing concepts: 1. Check QuickThis “check with me” quick pass concept allows the quarterback to call a specific route combination based primarily on the pre-snap coverage read. Thi
Safety First – Contact In Practice – Is It Worth It?
Football is changing. With the game under great scrutiny from a player safety perspective, those in and out of football are questioning long-held practices that may put players at greater risk of injury.One of those is full contact in practice. The old belief that contact drills and hitting are necessary in practice is giving way to a more restrained approach that limits or even eliminates contact in the interest of player safety. Rockhurst High School (MO) Head Coach To
Zone Blocking, Part II – Footwork and Blocking Scheme
Proper footwork and technique are critical for an offensive lineman.In Part I of this three-part series, we introduced our offensive line philosophy, the basics of the zone offense and key offensive line coaching points. In Part II, we will discuss the footwork, co-op blocks, and schemes of the zone game. FOOTWORKThe footwork is different for the zone play than most other offensive plays. The first step is a directional step. The second step is a p
Coach to Coach – Four Strategies in Preparing Your Quarterback for Success
At the start of the 2012 season, there were a lot of questions from coaches, players, fans and the local sportswriters regarding the state of our quarterback position. We had graduated a MVP quarterback in 2011 and the heir apparent was an undersized junior without any varsity experience. The questions regarding the position were legitimate and I knew that in order for our team to make another championship run, it was imperative that we continue to have great play at the quarterback position.
Safety First – Training for Safety
Vince Lombardi once said, “Football is not a contact sport. Football is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.” This, coupled with the fact that every year, athletes at all levels are getting bigger, stronger, and faster, means that there is a very real threat to see a dramatic increase in football injuries. These run the gamut from minor injuries with no time lost to more severe injuries that could be season or career ending.Keeping a football te
FREE FORM - How to Improve the Won-Loss Record
Every coach wants to improve his won-loss record. This form lists a series of strategies and tactics to do just that. Categories include identifying quality athletes, hiring quality coaches and analyzing the team’s overall durability, adaptability, and dependability.
Zone Blocking, Part I – Philosophy and Concepts
It is important for offensive linemen to learn to block through a detailed progression so they understand the overall concepts of the position. The zone blocking concept is an important element of Grossmont College’s running attack. In part I of this three-part series on our zone game, we will introduce our offensive line philosophy and the basics of the zone offense, emphasizing coaching points for offensive linemen. OFFENSIVE LINE PHILOSOPHYThe succe
Kickoff Coaching Strategies
Being aggressive on kickoff coverage while maintaining lane integrity is critical for successful kickoff coverage.Our kickoff strategy starts with the following: • We have a plan. • We believe in the plan. • We sell the plan to our players. The players that make up this unit need to be athletic in the open field and understand that the bottom line is getting to the re
Sometimes the Best Strategies do Not Win Games
If you read American Football Monthly and Gridiron Strategies you can't help but be impressed by all the articles dealing with different offensive and defensive strategies. It is impossible to not be left with the impression that the strategy employed by the football coach is the key to
Who is the Typical AFM Reader?
At AFM, we like to think our readers are the smartest coaches in the game. They’re the ones who understand that coaching requires a lifetime of learning. They also know that the best way to be a smarter coach is to take every opportunity to learn from other successful coaches who are wiling to share their schemes, plays, drills, strategies and personal experiences. That’s what they look to AFM for and that’s what we try to deliver in every issue.The more we know about our rea
12 Coaching Points for Motivation: Trust, Respect, Caring, Honesty
The way we motivate our players is as important to what we do as our technical and strategic knowledge of football. There are many motivational concepts, philosophies, and even gimmicks. True motivation is built around trust, respect, caring, and honesty. I remember, as a young teacher, getting an evaluation form from a principal who asked what my techniques and strategies were for motivating my students. My reply was simple, “I talk to them.” I come across many gimmicky techni
Strategies to Overcome a Poor Start
Football season is finally here.By the time you read this column, your team might have already played several games. Hopefully, the start of your season has been successful and is full of promise. The reality is, however, that each week 50% of all teams, coaches and fans suffer through a defeat. In my 20 plus years of coaching football, I have been a part of teams that started great and I have been part of teams that have struggled mightily out of the gate. Both situations can pres
Big Man on Campus
On April 27 last year, a massive EF4 tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama at 5 PM. The storm skirted the University of Alabama campus and narrowly missed hitting Bryant-Denny Stadium, home of the Crimson Tide. The funnel cloud could be seen from Head Coach Nick Saban’s office. The tornado missed Saban’s home by a few yards.The destruction was devastating. Over 5,000 buildings in Tuscaloosa were either damaged or destroyed. Over 50 people lost their lives. The city was plu
Inside and Outside Zone Blocking
Inside zone blocking helps create double teams while outside zone blocking is intended to stretch the defense.Zone is different than other offenses because there is no specific point of attack. As a result, the whole defensive front will be stressed. Inside and outside zone is not a man blocking scheme, but rather an area or zone blocking scheme. However, on inside zone you must block the first level first by getting vertical movement on the down defender to a second level defender.
Coach to Coach – Summer Session (Part II)
Using the summer months to organize and articulate your coaching philosophies and methods.In part two of using the summer months to organize and articulate your coaching philosophies and methods, I want to share with you a few methods and strategies in developing your game week schedule, practice preparation, organizing your game day, halftime responsibilities and addressing parent concerns.Game Week Schedule and PreparationsAt Foothill, we play our games on Fr
The Power of Knowing the Future
As a Peak Performance Coach, I help athletes to identify and resolve blocks that affect performance. One of the most significant of these blocks is a coach with a negative coaching style. Generally, coaches have no idea how being tense, angry, threatening or abusive affects their athletes. Even a slouching coach has a negative effect. The coach's at
AFM Subscribers Ask with Pulaski Academy (AR) Head Coach Kevin Kelley
As AFM reported in April’s cover feature, “Mad Genius”, Coach Kevin Kelley of Pulaski Academy (AR) has an unorthodox approach to the game. His team never returns a punt, they almost never punt themselves, they kick off onsides virtually every time and they usually go for a two-point conversion. For Kelley, the unconventional strategy has worked with a 49-7 record over the last four years and multiple state championships. Many AFM subscribers had questions for Coach Kelley about his unus
Strength Report – New Mexico Military Institute’s Strength Program
Before we designed our program, we sat down and discussed what advantages and limitations New Mexico Military presented us with as far as training our athletes. Our goal, obviously, was to maximize our advantages and minimize the effects of our limitations. The advantages were: 1) structure – we knew that our kids were going to be at workouts and we knew they were not going to stay out all night partying, 2) support of the coaching staffs – our coaching staffs have faith in us and are wil
FREE FORM - How To Improve The Won-Loss Record
This form includes a detailed checklist of strategies and tactics on how to improve your team’s record. Categories include ‘Quality Athletes’ and ‘Quality Coaches’ as well as ‘Team Adaptability’ and ‘Team Quickness.’ A total of 17 different items are included with each one referred to as a ‘Strength’ or a ‘Weakness.’ Every coach can become better organized with this form.
Different Looks from the 4-3 Defensive Scheme - To be effective as a defense, it’s critical to give multiple looks and disguise coverage on every play.
Defensively, we use a multiple 4-3 front scheme. Like many teams, we primarily employ a two high safety look and base our primary coverages off of pattern reads. Our defensive philosophy is very simple - we want our players to know exactly what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to do it. That being said, we have been able to follow some rules that allow us to accomplish that primary goal while still giving our defense the ability to disguise what we do and sometimes confuse th
Coach to Coach – Maximizing Your Speed, Strength, and Conditioning Programs
As I write this column, March Madness is upon us, spring training is winding up and weightrooms across the country are filled with ambitious and determined football players who know that football season is right around the corner. Training the body for the demanding sport of football is nothing new. When I was playing in high school our head coach would give us a goal sheet and some basic workout instructions and send us off for the summer. We knew that he expected us to return in August in s
6 Rules for Beating Press Coverage – Are your receivers getting stuffed by the press? Here’s how to get them freed up.
One of the most difficult things for my players to do is beat press coverage. Since we run a double wing offense at John Carroll, defenses will often pack the box with defenders and lock down on the outside. By playing press man, defenses try to disrupt the timing of pass routes by jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage. If successful, the defense has a greater opportunity to sack the quarterback since teams often blitz when playing man coverage. However, when a receiver beats press cover
Coach to Coach – Maximizing Productivity: A Key Component to Success
If football had a caloric value, I would have gained fifty pounds over the last month. From high school championship games, to college bowl games, to NFL playoff games, I am fat on football. One of the factors causing my football weight gain is how I consume the product. There are no fast food meals here. The invention of the DVR has turned me into a slow and steady consumer. A three hour game can easily take me twice that long to watch. The rewind and pause features allow me to regurgitate o
Train Your Brain – Your Competitive Edge
By Dr. Calvin Ross, Co-Founder, MyXperts Offensive coordinators, coaches and quarterbacks call the plays within the game plan. At the line, the defense will attempt to fake, decoy and panic the quarterback as he reads the defensive to call the best play at that time.
Protecting the Passer – Key Elements
Pass protection is perhaps an offensive lineman’s toughest challenge. It is a skill that is acquired through many hours of hard work and dedication. To be an effective pass blocker an offensive lineman must take pride and have the confidence in his ability to protect the quarterback. All pass blockers need to trust their technique. As long as they are sound in their fundamentals and technique, it should not matter what the defender does.There are four ways to measure the success
COACHING FROM THE HEART
by Marc Sites, Assistant Coach Liberty High School (CO) List any great team or dynasty in the history of sports and every team had a great coach. John Wooden at UCLA, Bill Walsh with the 49ers, Phil Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers, Red Auerbach with the Celtics and the list goes on and on. On the flipside, there have been plenty of talented teams in sport that were never champ
Two-Back Run Fits – Teaching Fast Flow and Leverage in an 8-Man Box
‘Fast Flow’ rules assign specific roles to each linebacker which creates an eighth defender and gives the defense an advantage.One of the first lessons I learned as a young coach was grounded in Bill Walsh’s logic. He said, “A system should never reduce the game to the point where it simply blames the players for failure because they did not physically overwhelm the opponent.”In my first year of college coaching, Coach Mike Van Diest – the except
Letter from AFM - Happy Holidays
As we conclude another football season, our thoughts move ahead to next year and the things that we hope will be different and better for ourselves and for the game. We are thankful for the support of our subscribers and advertisers and especially for the generosity of those coaches that are willing to share their plays, strategies, drills and coaching advice with AFM readers. Without them, we would not have been able to serve the coaching community for over 15 years.
FREE FORM - Defensive Line Grade Sheet
This form includes a complete grading system for your D-linemen on every defensive call. Such categories as alignment, techniques, pass rush, plug hole and defeat block are listed with a key for grading players. Other categories include pass sack, pursuit path, solo or assisted tackle and missed tackle. Total points are then added for the overall grade.FREE for Subscribers.NOT A SUBSCRIBER?American Football Monthly provides more X’s
Coach to Coach – Offensive Game Planning: Strategies for Success
I love designing and developing offensive schemes. When I was a kid, I would sit for hours designing plays on my electric magnetic football game. Years later, I am still designing plays and offensive schemes. The challenge of designing a play and teaching players to execute it with precision in the midst of violent chaos is one of the things I love most about coaching. Once the plays and schemes have been designed and installed, the next aspect of being a successful offensive coach is putting
Developing a Fire 2 Zone “Cheat” Blitz Package
Simplifying terminology and guidelines can produce effective blitz packages against different fronts.We have developed a form of Cover 2 Zone Blitz coverage that can be an effective tool in any defense’s package. We will explore the history, benefits, how to develop the coverage, and how to implement it for multiple looks and packages. The History My father once told me, “If you get information from just one person, that’s stealing. If you
Leadership in Football
What do the names Lombardi, Landry, Walsh, and Dungy all have in common? They are the names of football coaches who were innovative in implementing and teaching new strategies and tactics but they were also great team leaders. What was it about their attention to the details of the game that required hard work, dedication and focus that led them to some of the best winning percentages in the history of the National Football League? In their own way, each one of these coaches truly cared about
Your Take – Risky Business
Players, parents and coaches across America are being confronted with growing evidence that some young adults participating in impact sports might be experiencing irreversible injuries that put them at risk for compromised mental functioning, personality dysfunction, and early dementia. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disorder that affects individuals exposed to repetitive brain trauma. Research is showing that CTE is the result of major collisions (concussions)
Trojan Force – Head Coach Allan Trimble has built the Jenks High School program into a perennial power in Oklahoma and overcome adversity along the way
Allan Trimble, the Head Coach at Jenks High School (OK), authored the book ‘Coaching Football Successfully’ in 2001. In it, Trimble wrote that success should not be measured solely in terms of wins and losses. “Success comes in many shapes and sizes,” said Trimble. “It could be mentoring an athlete who is facing adversity, having your team show improvement as the season progresses, or having both a loyal and supportive coaching staff.” • Trimble clearly
Coach to Coach: The Pre-Season Home Stretch
“The time will come when winter will ask what you were doing all summer.” - Senator Henry ClayTwo months and counting! It is amazing how fast the season is approaching. By the start of June, our players have completed countless workouts, 10 days of spring ball and now are preparing for summer camp at the University of Nevada. We have spent the last few months training and preparing ourselves for the 2011 season. June is the start of the final phase of the so called off-season.
15 Keys to Building A Successful & Sustainable Football Program
By Frank DiCocco • Assistant Coach • Dwyer High School (FL) • 2009 Florida 4A State Champions 1. Have a Flexible and Evolving Approach to the Game: Have a flexible and evolving approach to schemes and strategies. Have a Flexible and Evolving Offense: Develop an efficient and effective offensive approach for each team, each season, and each game. Place a premium on production, both in terms of yards and points. As long as the winner of a football c
FREE FORMS - Coaches Evaluation Form
This complete and thorough form details a rating system (1-5) to evaluate coaches. The categories include personal and professional attributes, administrative procedural abilities, knowledge and practice of both medical and legal aspects, theory and techniques of coaching, personnel management, and public relations skills.
Coach to Coach: Football Clinics – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
If you are like me, your email has been full of invitations and promotions to the many football coaching clinics being held across the country. As a coach with 19 seasons under my belt, I have attended many clinics, have had the opportunity to speak at many clinics, and I host the Shotgun Zone Fly Summit. Clinics provide us with a great opportunity to learn from some of the most successful people in the business. They are also a great excuse to get a “hall pass” for a w
TRICKING THE DEFENSE WITH BIG PLAYS
By Marc Sites, Assistant Coach, Liberty High School (CO) “Watch out, this team is fancy,” said an opposing player to his teammates at one of our games recently. We had just converted a fake punt on a fourth and two for about a five-yard gain. It wasn’t an unusual play by any standards, but that statement caused me to reflect on the number of trick (or creative) plays I hav
JUMP STARTING AN OFFENSE WITH PLAYMAKERS AND SPECIAL PLAYS
Coaching a successful offensive unit is very complex and requires a good amount of organization. In establishing an offensive philosophy, it is important to follow a few basic principles to ensure success. WINNING OFFENSIVE STRATEGIES
Your Take: Time To Get Enlightened
Note: The following is an excerpt from Building the Enlightened Warrior, the complete version of which can be downloaded at Xenith.com.Mounting evidence indicates that playing football in an extreme fashion might destroy your brain. Concussions have clearly been an uncontrolled epidemic in football for decades. Epidemics are not instantly cured by simple solutions. They require complete strategies for risk reduction. We must end the gladiator mentality
Neutralizing the Threat of Mismatches vs. Trips Formations Out of Cover 3 Zone
Our defensive package is the 3-5-3, out of which we utilize various blitzes and coverages. One of our most frequently used coverages in this scheme is the cover 3 zone. We are accustomed to staying in this look even when matching up against four-receiver sets. It is imperative to teach your second-level defenders to stay true to their landmarks on their drops and place heavy emphasis on rerouting any receiver who is quick to present a threat to the vertical seams. One challenge that kept pres
Coach to Coach: Making Your Off-Season Count, Part II
Last month, I wrote about some simple steps in evaluating a season that does not meet expectations. I touched on a few of the areas that I feel are critical in assessing these types of seasons. The areas include communication, off season training programs and evaluating returning players’ strengths and weaknesses and adjusting schemes accordingly. But what about the seasons that exceed our expectations? The seasons when things went right. Seasons when players and coaches came together to pr
JUMP STARTING AN OFFENSE WITH PLAYMAKERS AND SPECIAL PLAYS
By Charlie Stubbs Head Coach Nicholls State University Coaching a successful offensive unit is very complex and requires a good amount of organization. In establishing an offensive philosophy, it is important to follow a few basic principles to ensure success.
Strength Report: Practical Nutritional Strategies for the Collegiate Athlete
As collegiate strength and conditioning coaches, we have learned that there are many more facets of performance that need to be targeted other than simply being strong and in shape. We pride ourselves on faster running times, increased weight room numbers and decreased rates of injuries. However, one of the most overlooked components of athletic performance is the nutritional lifestyle of our athletes. We must remember that performance and recovery are significantly affected by the nutritiona
GAME STRATEGY AND PLAY CALLING: THE “HEDGEHOG” PHILOSOPHY
By Bruce Reynolds Former Head Coach William Penn High School, New Castle (DE) Game day strategy and play calling should not be too elaborate. Go with what got you there. Too many coaches make the mistake of trying to put in too many “new” things for the big game. My father, the Dr. Brooks E. Reynolds, a Methodist minister, was always preaching Steven Covey’s theme: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” You can appl
How Running the Football Can Demoralize Your Opposition
By Paul Anthony Markowski Fullbacks Coach, Simon Fraser University There are many different offensive philosophies that have been devised throughout the history of football. During the 60’s and 70’s, the running game was en vogue with both the wishbone and “I” formations dominating. During the 80’s and 90’s, the game changed to a more pass happy strategy. Today, in the 21st century, the spread offense is the preferred strategy to move the pigskin down the f
Letter from AFM
Before St. Thomas Aquinas’ trip to Ohio to play in the annual Kirk Herbstreit event last season, Head Coach George Smith wanted to be prepared. So he flew to Columbus and walked through his team’s itinerary – from the moment they would land right through game time – and checked out everything from bus arrangements to the pregame menu. His preparation paid off as Aquinas routed Upper Arlington, 52-7. Smith is planning another scouting mission prior to the Raiders’
Speed Report: What’s Often Overlooked When Teaching Football Speed Skills
Biomechanics, physiology and motor learning must blend together and not be looked at as separate bodies of application. My objective for this article is to bridge the gaps between certain aspects of training norms and application considerations that are often not used collectively. Training for speed and movement must have greater understanding as to why effective techniques are effective. In this article we’ll discover why many coaches experience difficulty in teaching the key aspects
From The Coach’s Bookshelf Jim Lefebvre’s ‘Loyal Sons
The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame may be the most famous backfield in college football history. But, incredibly, until recently their story had never been explored in book-length form. Author and football historian Jim Lefebvre tells it in great detail in Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions. The national award-winning book gives us insight into the coaching greatness of Knute Rockne as he guides his Irish to an undefeated season, Rose Bowl victo
Strength Report - The Effects of Ankle Position on Change of Direction Movements on the Field
Through our teachings of how athletes can reprogram their nervous systems to increase their speed and athleticism, the repositioning of the ankle joint has been the number two most important aspect for increasing acceleration and maximum velocity ability. The most important, joint reposition, is the change and control of the body position. The ankle must be dorsi-flexed immediately at take-off. In fact, Ralph Mouchbahani, while at the University of Freiberg, demonstrated that electrical a
Shore Up Your Secondary – AFM’s compilation of tactics, drills and strategies to make your secondary your primary line of defense.
If you’re heading into post-season play, you’re likely to face a situation where your defensive backfield is forced to come up with a big play. If you’re ahead late, your secondary will be tested in coverage when your opponent goes to the air game. If you need to get the ball back to mount a last-minute offensive of your own, you’re going to need your defenders to prevent the other team from getting game-clinching first downs. Either way, your secondary can mean the difference between
Letter from AFM
It’s November. Your season is winding down, if not already over. It’s time to start thinking ahead to the off-season and formulating a game plan that will put you and your program on solid footing as you look forward to next season. But, for those of you fortunate enough to be in the playoff hunt, there is still time to address on-the-field issues. In particular, your defense. How your defense reacts to the challenge of stopping the high-powered offenses you will surely face dur
Letter from AFM - Getting Back in the Game
When you receive this issue of AFM, football season will be underway. That time of the year is here again – the time when your months of planning and preparation pay off on the field. For you and your players, it’s always a great feeling to get back in the game. With this issue, AFM is back in the game, too. As you know, due to the dramatic recession we have all been going through, there has been a disruption and delay in you receiving your issues of AFM in recent months. For thi
Mike Tomlin’s Secret
In a big game like the Super Bowl, it is beautiful to watch two teams battle for the supremacy of the mind game. By this time, only the mentally strong teams are left, and it is now up to them to prove who is the most skillful. They are ZONE Athletes and they are stronger and have the illusion of looking taller and meaner. They have incredible energy and stamina, are less susceptible to injury and seem immune to the numbers on the scoreboard. Sometimes they appear so powerful t
The Most Basic Rule of Coaching - .COM
I am probably the only sports fan who goes to a game and watches the coach as much as I watch the players. As a peak performance trainer, I specifically observe what coaches do or don’t do in their leadership role, and I see too few coaches who know how to stay in the Zone. Generally, because of this, I can predict the outcome of the game by a coach’s actions during the warm up and first quarter of the game. Many—most coaches I’m afraid—have little understanding of the
Inside the Numbers - Onside Kicks
“Survey Says…” AFM asked survey respondents to share what they do to increase their chances of recovering onside kicks. Kick’em in the Chest “Instead of overloading a side and using the traditional onside kick, from our normal alignment, we have our kicker drive the ball directly at one of the front lineman. We hope the ball will kick-back toward our approaching players. We prefer to use this early in games to surprise the receiving team.”
10 Offensive Strategies
Charlie Stubbs is to coaching what IBM is to computers. Now at 53, chances are he’s logged more hours under a headset than the entire American Airlines flight crew. He’s spent 19 years in collegiate coaching, including the last eleven as a coordinator at such high-profile schools as Louisville, Tulsa, Alabama, UNLV and Oregon State. Perhaps it’s just coincidence that after his stint in Louisville, where the Cardinals averaged 32.5 points per game under his tenure, he landed in the lap of o
Pressuring the Offense with Effective Front Eight
As offenses continue to develop multiple ways to attack defenses, we\'ve found it necessary to find a scheme that can put the pressure back on the offense. The 44G defense has provided us with the flexibility to accomplish that goal. General Pressure Philosophy As a coach told me: \"Take the ball out of the offensive coordinator\'s hands; put it in the hands of a 17 year old quarterback.\" That is the foundational statement of our pressure philosophy: force the 17 year ol
Maximize Your Football Coaching Video
College coaches will admit that watching video accounts for 2-3 times more of their in-season workload than actual on the field preparation. Football game video is a necessary evaluation tool for coaches and players, yet many coaches struggle through each season with untrained videographers producing ineffective results. A decade of coordinating video for high school, NAIA, and NCAA-FBS football has taught me that finding the right personnel to handle your team\'s football video is
Challenging the Placekick
During my thirty-five years on the sidelines I\'ve watched in amazement as teams would not contest the PAT kick of their opponents. The defensive players might wave their arms to distract the kicker, maybe a rusher would come off the edge and a couple of players might jump up in an effort to block a kick but usually a PAT kick attempt would go unchallenged. Often, even where there was a poor or slow snap, a bobbled hold, or a slow kicker, the kick would cross the bar and the extra point would
The 10 Commandments of Coaching Leadership
Coaching and leadership have always been intertwined. So much so that Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski says “I don\'t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.” If leadership is, as Yuki suggests, “the application of intentional influence in order to achieve a desired result,” then coaching is actually leadership in practice. However, before we move forward on what actions coaches should and should not take, it’s import
The Definition of a Coach
The other day I was at a sporting event with a friend who is a fellow coach. Behind us a student hollered, “Hey Coach.” We both automatically turned our heads in response to find that he wasn\'t addressing either of us. This athlete was talking to his coach, seated in our general vicinity. The athlete got his coach\'s attention. He appeared to be in somewhat of a panic, but whatever the coach was saying to him, it seemed to calm him down. Eventually, he smiled. Observing this interacti
A Welcome Promotion
For the last year and a half, Mike Kuchar has contributed to AFM as a free-lance writer. He\'s written numerous pieces in addition to his daily duties as both an assistant football coach and teacher at North Brunswick Township High School in New Jersey. He also was a defensive end at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, team captain, and class of 2000. Mike has specialized in covering the new and innovative offenses that AFM has published over the last year. Among them: The Spin,
The Similarities Between Coaching Football and Investing
Stability As many of you know from your experiences, there is tremendous job insecurity in the football coaching ranks. Due to losing records, popular demand, compensation, school administration or financial reasons, among many other, there is tremendous turnover in the coaching profession. The financial markets also have much uncertainty. Whether it be rising oil prices, inflation, a sub-prime credit crisis or a real estate bubble, to name just a few, the stock, bon
The Machiavellian Football Coach
Written in 1513 and published posthumously in 1531, The Prince (Il Principe) by Niccolò Machiavelli has become synonymous with ruthlessness and tyranny. Today, it is often read (along with Lao Tzu’s The Art of War, interestingly enough) in business courses as preparation for the cut-throat world these students are about to enter. A careful reading of The Prince, however, yields an insightful view into topics essential to becoming a successful football coach. Before we set about anal
What’s Your Motivation?
At times it can be difficult to motivate students to do the things they are supposed to do to ensure success. As coaches we are the potter and the students are the clay. We have a challenging opportunity to mold that clay into productive, responsible, accountable students. There are number of things that we can do to help motivate our students. I will discuss some things in this article that I have seen to be beneficial. In order to motivate effectively we must make a conscious effort t
4-3 Defensive Line Play
What You Practice Must Mirror Who You Are We are a true Attack 4-3 front with an aggressive Cover 4 scheme behind it as our primary coverage (See Diagram 1). As a base rule we spill all blocks in an attempt to make the ball go east and west before it can hit us north and south. While priding ourselves in being assignment sound, we play fast– but smart– at all times. The drills and techniques we use as position coaches must mirror who we are as far as scheme, personnel, a
Letter From the Editor/Publisher: Requests from Subscribers
In a recent AFM subscriber survey, the question was asked: ‘What would you like to see at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com that is not currently offered?’ A number of responses asked about video features and, more specifically, including video on the web site that corresponded to articles published in AFM. Some of the responses included: ‘You guys keep in mind that football coaches are football junkies. We can’t get enough. Videos of stuff would be a nice addition to the
Evaluation: The One Constant
As coaches, we\'ve all heard these terms... Coachability Ability to Learn Willingness to Learn Ability to Trust Willingness to Trust Leadership / Good Teammate Team before Self Responsibility Help Others Competitive Play their best Seek Challenge Instinctive Ability Toughness Athleticism Explosiveness
Oregon\'s Defensive Line Prep vs. the Shotgun Spread Offense
In recent years, there has been a major shift back to the old-school principles of the past. More and more teams at the high school and college level are turning to athletic QBs and more option based systems to take advantage of the way defenses play against multiple WR formations. For coaches like Oregon D-Line Coach Michael Gray, it means new drills and rules to work on with his linemen. The premise behind these spread-type systems is that an offense can account for defenders by usin
Letter From the Editor: Read it. Watch it. Experience it.
Winston Churchill once said, ‘Give your people what they want... not what you think they want.’ That’s, in essence, what we’ve tried to do. American Football Monthly is, proudly, the number one resource for football coaches. It\'s a result of subscriber research, interaction with you – coaches across America – and attention to detail. We’re now excited to announce that we are a full-service organization for the coaching community by offering, in addition to our magazine, Web site a
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Steve Rampy
When Head Coach Steve Rampy of Blue Valley High School in Stilwell, KS changed last fall from the Shotgun to the Pistol, the results were immediate: Blue Valley led all state high schools in total points scored. Rampy’s team scored 594 points in 13 games or an average of 46 per contest. In the process, Blue Valley won the state championship. Rampy has been at Blue Valley for 26 years, the last 22 as Head Coach. In that time, his teams have played in eight state championships and have four titl
Bobby April\'s 5 Must Follow Rules for Coaching Kickoff Returns
Have you ever dreamt of always starting an offensive drive near midfield? Or is it more of the opposite … you wake up in a cold sweat after another nightmare where your kick returner misjudges the ball and you are stuck near your goal line in the biggest game of the year. Buffalo Bills Special Teams Coach Bobby April has five rules that will all but guarantee that you will be better than ever in your kick return game. And hopefully you will sleep better at night. RULE# 1
Building a Foundation
Despite having played in the nation’s first college football game on Nov. 6, 1869, Rutgers’ transformation from perennial loser to winner did not begin until Greg Schiano took over as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach on Dec. 1, 2000. Even then, success didn’t come immediately. Over a six-year period, the program and the coaching staff’s strategies and philosophies have undergone a series of adjustments and adaptations. “Being a defensive coach I’ve always believe
Promoting Turf in Your Town: 21st Century Field of Dreams
Tired of subjecting your players to the muddy, rutted, divot-filled, dangerous conditions of your embarrassing home playing field? Frustrated by rainouts, postponements – or worse, injuries caused by poor or inconsistent field conditions? Then it’s time for your school to go synthetic! • Most coaches fully understand the benefits of synthetic playing surfaces as compared to natural grass: extended practice time, reduced maintenance costs, consistent and safe playing conditions and, for col
Coaches: Ways to Lose a Football Game
Everyone knows that brilliant coaching strategies, like those of Bill Walsh on offense and Buddy Ryan on defense, can win teams games. But the opposite is also true. Coaching mistakes can cost your team games. We talked to as many coaches as we could about what the key mistakes are that can cost you games, real world examples of the mistakes and how to avoid them. Here is what they had to say: Jerry Schmitt, head coach, Duquesne University “One thing tha
Making an Offense One Dimensional: Strategies for Developing an Effective Run De
Stop the Run: It’s the number one objective for any defensive coordinator at any level; in fact it’s Defensive Football 101. You can’t play defense without first stopping the run. Rushing yardage is also the first statistical category offense will use to measure its performance. Teams that know how to control the clock by running the football win games. In fact, the two go hand in hand. If you look at successful teams from Pop Warner right up
Defensive Line Stunts: Proven Ways to Get To The Quarterback
Defensive line stunts can be a crucial element to put pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback in pass plays. We talked to two defensive specialists to find out their general philosophy concerning stunts and examples of stunts they like to use. The coaches are Richard Bell, defensive coordinator at the Air Force Academy, and Jeff Smith, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Urbana University in Urbana, OH.
How Do You Negate an Outstanding Wideout?
How then do you stop a receiver who can take the game away from you? We asked four expert coaches for their thoughts on the subject: Jerry Moore, head coach of defending Division I-AA champion Appalachian State University; John Wiley, his defensive coordinator; Lyle Setencich, defensive coordinator at Texas Tech University; and Gary DeLoach, defensive secondary coach at UCLA. PRE-GAME PREPARATION In scouting and looking at fil
Letter from the Editor
‘Covering a Great Receiver’, ‘Line Techniques in the 3-5-3 Defense’, and Henderson State’s ‘Scorched Earth Offense’ are three articles that you will see in this issue of AFM. All three are a result of AFM subscriber research; that is, the responses to detailed questions about what are readers want to read about and learn more from. Each quarter our marketing department will issue a detailed survey to subscribers in an effort to determine what specific kinds
Simplifying Offensive Play Calling In the Spread Offense
Looking back throughout my coaching career, I am often amazed at how complicated and wordy the offensive systems I have coached in have been. Even as I read new articles on offensive football strategies, I am dumbfounded at how wordy these plays can become. Therefore, when I earned my first offensive coordinator position, I wanted a simplistic way to get across as much information to my players with as little wording as possible. As I started to design the new offensive system, I wanted e
Third Down Conversions: Strategies That Will Move the Chains
It’s pretty difficult to move the ball if you don’t convert your third down opportunities. We talked to three offensive coordinators about their approach to third down plays: Sam Venuto at Villanova University, Alvin Parker at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina and Jim Glover at Lambuth University in Jackson, TN. OVERARCHING PHILOSOPHIES To Venuto, succee
Letter from the Editor
In a continuing effort to change with the times, American Football Monthly has created the publication’s first editorial board. Now in its twelve year, AFM has evolved over the years from a magazine that focused on coaching profiles to one that now includes specific game strategies and X’s and O’s. Along with that change, we feel an editorial board will help in two areas: determining what is the most relevant information for today’s football coaches and, more importantly, are we g
Technology on a Budget
While NFL teams and major Division 1-A programs usually have the financial resources to make a major commitment to technology, it’s not that easy for smaller college programs and high schools. Money has to be budgeted and spent more carefully, but money spent on technology is still a wise investment. Division II Pittsburg (Kan.) State uses Apple PowerBooks and Power Mac G4s to produce cut-ups of offensive, defensive, and special teams plays. “The game of football is all a
Effective Grading Strategies
Grading players should be easy, effortless and not take hours to do. Our system will utilize a check box numbering system that allows coaches to rate players easily and effectively. We will use three major criteria for determining a player’s ability at each play: Alignment, Assignment and Hustle. Once a player has been graded a more complete picture will aid the coach in determining what a player needs to work on. For example: A player might consistently be in a poor alignment y
Running Wild How to create an effective running game that will boost yards and wins. By Richard Scott
Correcting Mistakes: Effective halftime defensive adjustments
Fifteen minutes. A short amount of time, especially when you’re trying to sum up how your defense performed during the first 30 minutes and determining how to approach the next 30. Despite the short amount of time, halftime strategies vary from coach to coach. But Mickey Andrews, the long-time defensive coordinator at Florida State, looks at it another way. “Each football game is like a test in the classroom,” he said, “but there you don’t get to go in, take 30 minutes on
How to Stop the Option
Snap to the Q. He sprints to the right, instantaneously scans the defense as he is hit. At virtually the same time he pitches to the fullback. Quick cut to the left, he darts through the hole and rips off 55 yards. How often have you seen it? How many times has it left you pacing the sidelines, shaking your head and clipboard? It’s the ageless option pitch/run. How do you stop it? What options does a coach have? AFM contacted a number of high school and college coaches and
No Fly Zone: Containing the Air Raid Offense
Let’s say you’re going up against a team with a potent air raid offense – a team like Texas Tech, or Boise State or Louisville. How do you stop these pass-happy attacks? We asked five coaches of college and high school teams around the country with outstanding pass defenses. The coaches have a wide variety of suggestions — from constantly changing your formations to physically intimidating the opposition. They offered strategies of how to pressure the quarterback; details of pr
3 High School Programs - 3 Different Strategies for Success
They seem to be there every year. Like a leaf changing color in the fall or students grumbling about going back to class, the high school football elite return each season to reclaim their dominance. These high school powerhouses didn’t earn their reputations overnight. But how did these teams reach this unique place? What road takes a football program to the pinnacle and then keeps it there for season after season after season? Players change. Even coac
Cover Story What\'s the Make-up of a State Champion? AFM\'s Second Annual State Champions Survey By AFM Research Staff
The Staff Report
With the football season ending, you and the athletes you coach need to stay motivated in the off-season so your team can come out in spring practice running on all cylinders. In addition to staying motivated in the off-season, you do not have to wait until next season begins to start mental training. In fact, the off-season is a great time to work on your team’s mental skills. Most coaches will agree that talent alone is not enough for success and other inta
Motivating Athletes in Your Strength Program
Ask any strength and conditioning coach to name their primary objective, and almost all will say motivation. In my experience as a strength and conditioning coach, the true foundation for optimal strength and conditioning is effort. And the major factor contributing to effort is motivation. Effort is the key to attaining the goals and objectives you have set as a coach for your program. In order for a c
Letter From the Publisher
One of the least things known about American Football Monthly is a tradition that started when the magazine moved to South Florida in the summer of 1997. Every year South Florida welcomes hundreds of college coaches vying for the most talented athletes the area has to offer and for the last six years AFM has played host to many of these coaches traveling to our back yard. Over the years we have had lunch and di
Making the Jump
You ask Tommy Knotts why he decided to leave his job as head coach of one of the most dominant high school programs in America for an assistant’s job at a college football program. You wonder how he could leave Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C., where his teams have won 62-straight games, the second-best mark in the country. You assume it’s because of some major life-changing event. Was
Under Pressure
Before I begin, I would like to thank the people at American Football Monthly for giving me this opportunity. I also owe Coach Dirk Koetter and Coach Brent Guy thanks for allowing me to represent our staff in these pages. These are some concepts we believe in at Arizona State. Hopefully, there are a few things you can use with your players as well. You
Fired Up?
As the new football season arrives, coaches around the nation are preparing for the tasks and challenges they will soon face when the 2004-2005 football season gets into full swing. However, nothing ever goes just as planned or scripted in any coach’s playbook and that’s why coaches, just as the athletes I work with on the mental game, need to develop strategies to deal with the myriad of responsibiliti
Northwestern\'s Academic Game Plan
High School Coaches The foundation for successful college football student-athletes is laid by the high school coach. Whether the player goes on to play college bal
Stop on a Dime
The past two seasons our defense has been in the top 10 in sacks, interceptions and turnover margin. During the 2001 season our defense was ranked in the top 15 in both rushing and scoring defense. We also finished fourth nationally in passes intercepted and third in total takeaways. A great deal of our success stems from our dime package. The following will familiarize the reader with the personnel and pr
Focus on Critical Information to Place Your Players in Position to be Successful
FOR LAST YEAR’S TECHNOLOGY ISSUE, American Football Monthly asked me to share some insight on the organization of game planning staff and resources.* This year, Travis Davis has asked me to again address the subject of game planning, this time regarding an often asked question: In light of the finite time we coaches have available each week for strategic planning, how can we find and use the best from th
NFL Coach of the Year - Bill Belichick
You thought you knew him from his days in Cleveland. You saw the images on television. The grim, stern, face, void of emotion, ratcheted with intensity. You saw the newspaper stories. The humorless, dogmatic responses. A personality as cold and brittle as the wind blowing in from Lake Erie, pummeling Cleveland. You thought you knew him, but did you? Did you really? Did the people feeding those
Coach\'s Guide to Training Room Strategies
As coaches, you certainly want athletes who can give it their all day after day. Training camp is a high stress time for you as well as for your players. Not only can this experience be mentally trying, but it is physically demanding as well. Everyone is well aware of the heat-related deaths that received national attention last summer. The bad news is that summers aren’t going to be any cooler, traini
Cover Story Path To Victory Under Sonny Lubick's guidance, Colorado State is now a consistant winner The Look of a Winner - Anyone who thinks there are some programs that will never turn aroun
Working His Plan...
When one thinks of the success the Florida State football program has experienced, the first person that comes to mind is head coach Bobby Bowden. But even Bowden, who has spent more than a quarter of a century on the Seminole sidelines, has to answer to someone. That someone is Florida State Director of Athletics Dave Hart, Jr.In six plus years at the helm of the FSU athletic department, Hart has set a direction for the former women\'s college - it became co-educational in 1947 - that has es
Letter From the Publisher
Protecting your assets... In the business world, there are a few axioms that are universally applied by all successful companies. For example, some of these management philosophies are: focus on those things with the greatest opportunity for success; make certain you do whatever is necessary to keep your best employees; and protect your company\'s most valuable assets. However, in the football world, I fear teams sometimes ignore sound, proven and winning business strategies th
Lion Heart
Coaching requires the commitment to teach, to inspire athletes to set and achieve team and/or personal goals, while simultaneously developing the all-important necessary strategies to win! At no time should a coach ever forget or choose to ignore a most basic fundamental and unwritten code: coaching involves people not just schemes or strategies. Regardless of the level or the sport chosen to coach, this code can never be forgotten or the meaning lessened: that coaches, first and foremost, are i
Equipment Room
Rogers Lev Sled 1-(800) 248-0270 www.rogersathletic.com Utilize the power of leverage to achieve more gridiron victories. Only the Rogers Lev Sled requires the blocker to drive the pad to compress the spring - then he is able to elevate the pad. From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com The most effective football sleds and machines in the game. 68 years of what works. 1, 2, 5, and 7 man sleds. Off
Equipment Room
Rogers Lev Sled 1-(800) 248-0270 www.rogersathletic.com Utilize the power of leverage to achieve more gridiron victories. Only the Rogers Lev Sled requires the blocker to drive the pad to compress the spring - then he is able to elevate the pad. From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com The most effective football sleds and machines in the game. 68 years of what works. 1, 2, 5, and 7 man sleds. Off
Words of Wisdom
Even at age 71, with two national championships, 17 bowl wins, and a record that makes him one of the winningest coaches of all time, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden has no plans to retire. But, he does have a plan of how he will know when it\'s time to step down. \"I plan to coach until I have a lean year and then give myself one year to get it back under control,\" he told reporters last year. \"If I lose that second year, I\'m done.\"Such a statement is typ
Equipment Room
Rogers Lev Sled 1-(800) 248-0270 www.rogersathletic.com Utilize the power of leverage to achieve more gridiron victories. Only the Rogers Lev Sled requires the blocker to drive the pad to compress the spring - then he is able to elevate the pad. From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com The most effective football sleds and machines in the game. 68 years of what works. 1, 2, 5, and 7 man sleds. Off
The Search for The Winning Edge
The search for a winning edge drives those of us in the coaching profession. Look at the time and money spent by coaches in search of the latest wrinkle or new idea. We attend clinics, read magazines and books, and at every chance, swap ideas and experiences in hopes of building the proverbial better mouse trap. George Allen, one of modern football\'s greatest innovators went out on a limb when he convinced the ownership of the Los Angeles Rams to allow him to hire Stanford assistant Dick Ve
Traveling Man
Somewhere on the road between 19 cities in 11 states, Mike Leach found a way to climb the rope from the small time to the big time. Call it the back-road plan for future coaching success. Leach, the new head coach at Texas Tech, never played college football, never coached at the Division I level until 1997 and never even really knew he wanted to be a football coach until after he earned his law degree from Pepperdine in 1986. After law school, his path was filled with job after j
The Evolution of Technology in Football
CLICK...CLACK...CLICK...CLACK.... the only sound emanating from the darkened room droned endlessly. For decades, it was the sound of technology in football. For generations of players and coaches, the first technological skill to be mastered was how to thread film in the 16mm projector. It was film, passing back and forth through the projector\'s gate, which was the sound of technology in the game. An endless ribbon of film ran through the game and connected generations of coaches and pla
Philosophy of Performance: One Coach\'s Interaction Style
On January 22, 1996, Malcolm Glazer, owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made a pivotal administrative decision by hiring Tony Dungy as his head coach. The appointment wasn\'t significant just because Dungy was one of only a handful of minority coaches. Rather, the hiring struck many as unusual because Dungy\'s personality - on and off the field - was far from the stereotypical mannerisms of other head coaches. Unlike some of the more renown names associated with \"great\"
Letter to the Editor
These are the best of times; these are the worst of times. Paraphrasing from Charles Dickens may seem trite, but it sums up the current situation of one of the best offensive coaches I know, and how the winds of fortune affecting the coaching profession can blow a coach off-course. Peter Vaas is currently an offensive assistant with the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe. How he arrived is an interesting story. Vass finds himself at a career crossroads. He makes "good" money worki
The Ultimate Interview
An over-time approach to getting the right candidate for the head coach position. When all things are equal, and the score is tied, how do you determine the better of two outstanding candidates for the head football coach position at a large high school with a very competitive athletic program? This dilemma was tested last spring with excellent results. I offer it to you from the position of a principal at a high school in suburban Kansas City. But
Innovations
When Ron Dayne broke the Division I-A record for career rushing yards, we couldn't help but measure him against history. If we have any affinity for college football, we can't help ourselves. We plead for perspective. We beg for a sense of where the current era fits in the historical landscape of college football. Is Dayne better than Ricky Williams? Herschel Walker? Tony Dorsett? Archie Griffin? O.J. Simpson? Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch? Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis? Jim Thorpe?
Reconditioning Football Equipment.
Do you ever reach the end of the season and wonder what to do with your reconditioning? It does not have to be guesswork or a hassle. Consider the following pointers before sending your equipment in for service. Helmets With all the legal, liability and safety issues surrounding your players, the proper care of this piece of equipment is probably more important than any other. It is important to know that both Riddell and Schutt require that their helmets be recondition
Re-Examining Spearing
Every few years the problem is rediscovered in the media by a cervical spine injury in the NFL. Most recently it was Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown. Television networks show the hit numerous times and stories appear in newspapers and magazines. But the injury is always portrayed as an unfortunate accident. It's not used to educate the football community that there is an identified cause for these injuries. No one says, "Reggie Brown made the mistake of loweri
It's Not About the Plays . . . It's About the Players.
Twice a year, after the college football season and again after spring drills, University of Oregon coach Mike Bellotti arms himself with a yellow legal pad, and a supply of pens, and spends most of several consecutive days in his office. He isn't, on those occasions, scribbling Xs and Os. He isn't tinkering with the sophisticated offense that has placed Oregon in the top 20 in the nation in passing in five of the last six seasons. He isn't refining the strategies that
High-Flying Hornets
Emporia State University, an NCAA Division II school in the prestigious MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) Conference, featured the most balanced, yet explosive offensive attack in all of college football. Utilizing an attack with four receivers, no tight ends or fullback, the Hornets established 42 ESU, 30 MIAA, and nine NCAA records. No tight end and no fullback. Wait a minute, is this the run-and-shoot? Hardly. To say that the Hornets have achieved these acco
The #1 resource for football coaches — innovative X's & O's, strategy, drills, and coaching insight, published by AFM Media.