The Year-Round Blueprint: Turning a Monthly Football Calendar into a Championship Program
Individual meetings with players help establish personal goals and accountability,while the first phase of offseason training begins in the weight room with an emphasis on recovery and reconditioning.

What you must do to win more high school football championships
To win high school football championships consistently, you have to shift your focus from “winning games” to “building a program.” Sustained success in high school sports is rarely about having one “golden generation” of athletes; it’s about creating a machine that produces disciplined, physically prepared players year after year.

From Practice to Program: How to Build Youth Football the Right Way
Building a successful youth football program starts long before Friday nights. It begins with intentional, well-organized practices that maximize development, keep kids engaged, and create a  positive experience for everyone involved.

The Impact Of Coaching Styles
You cannot treat every player the same, but you can treat everyone fairly. John Wooden believed character was the foundation of every team’s success.

Turning Spring Work Into Friday Night Ownership
“If your players can’t talk to each other in January, they won’t lead each other in October.”“Silence in pressure moments means you don’t have leaders yet.”

The 2026 Coach: Leading the Whole Athlete in a Changing Game
High school football in 2026 demands more than discipline and playbooks—it requires a coach who can lead the whole athlete. From evolvingsafety standards to rising mental health needs and a data-driven game, today’s priorities are broader, deeper, and more consequential than ever. This issue sets the tone for what it takes to build a program that can adapt, connect, and win in the modern era.

DEVELOPING SENIOR LEADERS
Our leadership program started after a disappointing season.  We had a talented group of players, but there seemed to be something missing.  Our coaches were dealing with player issues that we had not had to deal with for several years.  We ended the season repeating the famous quote that all coaches have stated at one time or another, “we just didn’t have any leaders.”

BE A BETTER COACH - MASTERING THE OFF SEASON
The final whistle of the season is not the end; it’s the beginning of your most critical phase of growth. For the driven football coach, the off-season, especially the deep winter, is where the foundation for next year’s success is laid. It’s a time not just for player development, but for Coach Development.

COACHING THROUGH THE AGES
Expectations for your coaches, players, and parents must be clear and must be discussed even the hard things.  It isn’t always easy to tell a parent that their kid isn’t a scholarship player at the next level, but it is much better and much easier to be honest up front rather to have those discussions when signing day is approaching.

ANALYTICS - Learning Strategy by Example
Our job is to just layer in the strategy piece that would be appropriate for that game. Put another way, we’ll suggest that going for it on a 4th-and-5 is appropriate, but will leave it up to the team on the ideal play call to make it successful.

THE CREATIVE ACT OF COACHING
Artists create at the edges of chaos and order. They take others’ advice as information, not a prescription. They understand that someone else’s path is not their path. And remind us that the only practice that matters is the one we consistently do.

COACHING SUCCESS
Create a powerful coaching philosophy.  A clear compass of decisions and actions. Integrity, hard work, respect, accountability and teamwork.


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The Margin of Victory is Measured in Millimeters.
The game is evolving faster than ever. The RPO game that won championships two years ago is old news. The cover-3 beaters that worked last season are now being dissected and neutralized by defensive coordinators across the state. Every coach is watching the same fi lm, running similar base drills, and fi ghting for the same athletes.

The Rocket Sweep
In 2003 I saw Woff ord College running a speed sweep from a slot formation. They were an option team but after discussing it with their coach, Mike Ayers, the Rocket Motion idea for high school teams was born.

"Scots Find A Way" The Core Values Behind a Coaching Legend
Randy Allen is one of the greatest football coaches in high school football history.Leading Highland Park High School, in Texas, Coach Allen has amassed 460 victories in his 44-year career.

WINNING THE IN SEASON EVOLUTION RACE
The most successful coaches understand a fundamental truth that is often overlooked in the preseason hype: the team that takes the fi eld in Week 1 is merely a prototype.

DRILLS FOR QUICKNESS - TRENCH TACTICS
How smart, fast and nimble your big guys in the trenches are, the better o you’ll be all season. A good o ensive line keeps coaches employed. Why? Your chances of securing that W vastly improves with a well oiled machine that consistently delivers every week.

The Leadership Dividend
Alexander The Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon. How did theyachieve such amazing success?


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SITUATIONAL FOOTBALL, Part 2


The Fourth Down Revolution


The Peacock Blueprint


Loyalty the forgotten principle


Breaking Down a Rep


Winning -



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THE DUO RUN SCHEME AN EFFICIENT RUN PLAY


SITUATIONAL FOOTBALL, Part 1


INSIDE THE DYNASTY Bishop Gorman Head Coach Brent Browner


The AI FOOTBALL REVOLUTION


Coaching, Winning, Teaching = Success...





THROWING THE *UP* ROUTE


LEADERSHIP LESSONS FOR THE WINNINC CHOICE


THE ART OF THE INTERCERPTION


THE COUNTER


Muskegon High School - Michigan


Operationalism


Keys to Sucess


FREE Video - Building Leadership


Installing the Quick Passing Game


Knowing Where Your Going


Isolation Option Concept


AI - The New Generation of Play Callng


Building a Complete Program


PASSING IN WET CONDITIONS


Play calling


Rebuilding a program


RPO Advantage


A.I. The New Frontier


ROTH RULES - Championships Keep On Coming


A. I. ....Encroachment.....CVT



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The Past is Prologue - Winning Wisdom


The Wright Wisdom - Learning From Legends


Keep Return Team Guessing - 2 Way Rugby Punt


THE SYSTEM


10 COACHING COMMANDMENTS..


Bowling Strikes - Again and Again


Letter from the Editor - Every New Season



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Five Football Forms for the Winning Coach


A Tribute to Phil Scaffidi


Using the Over Formations with all 5 Eligible Receivers to Gain the Numbers Advantage in the Run Game


Excerpt from 'From the Barrio to the Beach'


Recruiting Your Players


The Power O


Advanced Linebacker Drills


Advice to Young Coaches


Looking Back at the Backside Tackle: Multiple Adjustments to the Spread Zone Read


Wide Open Play – Winning 7 on 7 Competitions


Letter from AFM – Recruiting Your Players



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Successfully Connecting Your Football Program to Your High School Program


Five Keys to Building Your Program Through Off-Season Training


Planning a Successful Youth Football Camp


Football: The Honey That Attracts the Bees


Coach Vince Lombardi: The Early Years - Part III


RUNNING FOR SPARTY Michigan State Running Back Essentials, Fundamentals and Abilities


Boise State Training the Offensive Lineman


Two Articles from Southern Mississippi



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Concussions: An Overview for Football Coaches


From Worst to First


A Punting Philosophy


To Script or Not to Script


Falcon Offensive Game Planning


You Can Build a Championship Culture: 'Managing Discipline'


Coach Vince Lombardi: Memorable Axioms on Winning and Leadership (Part II)


Blitzing the QB Run-Game with 2-High Safeties


Letter from AFM - Concussions: A Growing Concern



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A Q & A with new XFL Commissioner, Oliver Luck


Heatstroke Concerns for College Coaches


Intro and three excerpts from College Football Traditions and Rivalries


Special Teams Circuit Training


Simulating Game Action with Three Linebacker Drills


Eight Parts of the Body That are Crucial to Quarterback Accuracy


Two excerpts from Coach Mickey Marley's new book,


You Can Build a Championship Culture: Dealing With the Media


Use the Mesh Drill to Incorporate the Option Game Into Your Offense


Strategies to Structure an Offense


Letter from AFM


Arkansas Tech RPO Clinic


Getting More from Your Training: Split Squats


Looking For a Better Way to Grade Your Wide Receivers?


Using Progressions to Develop Offensive linemen in the Run Game


Defensive Fundamentals vs. Today's Offenses


What are the 15 Things a Coach Must Discuss with the Head Referee Before Kickoff?


Want Better Outcomes? Incorporate Mindfulness


Quarterback Play in the Triple Option


You Can Build a Championship Culture: 'Dealing With the Parents'


Coach Vince Lombardi's - Winning Ways Still Resonate in Business and Academia


Drills Report: Running and Tackling Drills - A Twist for TNT Drills


Strength Report: An In-Season Strength and Conditioning Program for High School Athletes


Letter from AFM - Everything You Need to Know Off the Field
Everything You Need to Know Off the FieldBill Redell and Mike Maio are two retired near legendary coaches from Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California. Redell had an overall 238-70 record as a high school head coach and Maio, an assistant football coach and head baseball coach at the school, was named the Los Angeles Times Baseball Coach of the year four times. The two have now c

Adjusting your defense at halftime or during the game can pay big dividends


‘Looking Back’: An article from AFM’s archives – “Les Miles – ‘Rolling the Dice’”


Utilizing 2-Deep Fire Zones and Adjusted Blitz Angles to Stop 21 Personnel Runs


Five Football Forms for the Winning Coach


Defining Instructional Principles for Your Coaching Staff–


RSCC: The Badge of Credibility in Professional Sports


Three Special Team Space Player Drills –


Defense: Pursuing the Ball for Takeaways and Scores


RPO’s: Almost as New as Apple Pie and Ice Cream


Cover: 21 Ways to Improve Your Offense


You Can Build a Championship Culture: Chapter 4 – Hiring Assistant Coaches


Drills Report: Tennis Ball Drills for Quickness, Acceleration and Vision


Strength Report: An In-Season Strength and Conditioning Program for High School Athletes


Letter from AFM – Ways to Improve Your Offense



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Looking Back’: An article from AFM’s archives – “Southern Savior: Saban’s 10 Keys to Success


From the Coaches Bookshelf: Triumph: An Athlete’s Guide to Winning Both On and Off the Field


Pass Protection: Basic Footwork/Set System


Five Football Forms for the Winning Coach


Pass Rush Repetitions On a Four-Man Sled


Southwest Minnesota State In-Season Practice Schedules


South Park – Building a Program


Red Zone and Goal Line Defense vs. Spread Formations


Developing A Defensive Philosophy


You Can Build a Championship Culture


Drills Report: Old School Mat Drills and Team Culture


Strength Report: Work Capacity Training


The Sanchez Brothers: A Study in Success



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‘Looking Back’: An article from AFM’s archives – “Fine-Tuning: Adapting the Spread Offense to Your Personnel by: David Purdum” The cover story from the September, 2013 issue of AFM.


From the Coaches Bookshelf: ‘Saban – The Making of a Coach’ by Monte Burke


Programming and Sequencing the Blue Raider Way By Jason Spray, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Middle Tennessee State University


The Fourth Down Quick Kick Offense By Alvin Parker, Offensive Coordinator, St. Augustine’s University


Defending Play-Action Passing By James Cordova, Head Coach, Judge Memorial High School (UT)


Game Changer: Blocking a Punt – By Tommy Perry, Special Teams Coordinator and Chris Clevenger, Special Teams Graduate Assistant, Texas Tech University


Formation Flexibility – By Steve Pyne, Head Coach, Portland Catholic High School


Questions for Coaching Candidates – By Mike Clark, Head Coach, Bridgewater College (VA)


FREE FORMS: Five Football Forms for the Winning Coach


Cover: Getting the Most Out of Special Team Practices – By Andre Powell, Special Teams Coach, University of Pittsburgh


Coach to Coach: The Point of Culture – By Jared Wood, Sports Psychology Coach


Drills Report: Defensive Fundamental Drills vs Today’s Offenses By Jeff McDonald Defensive Coordinator, Illinois Wesleyan University


Strength Report: Single Leg Training


Letter from AFM – Questions for Coaching Candidates


. Leadership Strategies: How to Develop a Steady Stream of ‘Championship Level’ Quarterbacks in Your Program (Part II)


Zone and ISO Plays


The Year of the Quarterback – A Year in the Development of Today’s College Quarterback


The R.E.A.L Man Program: A Character Development Program for our Youth


The Double Gun System, Part III: Time, Tempo, and Trickeration


Momentum Plays and the Kicking Game at Auburn


Your Take: I Hate Banquets (Part II)


Coach to Coach: Lose Control, Gain Trust
As football coaches, we often seemed ob- Losing control for trust is an odd thing. can control thinking. This leads to over- sessed with control. Not only do we want While it seems like you are giving up a thinking and paralysis by analysis. Rather our players to control their thoughts, emo- desired outcome, you’re not. You’re just than trusting that they know how to make tions, and actions, we want to control the cle

The Drills Report: Fundamental Defensive End Training
T he defensive line is home to some of the knees and hips should be as close to 90-de- largest, most athletic players in sports, gree angles as possible. This ensures that the particularly at the defensive end position. lineman isn’t overextended, which will result in Focusing on the fundamentals of a defensive lose of power when firing out. Once his stance lineman is crucial to properly develop a force is optimized, we then shift our focus to the

Strength Report: Football Specific Conditioning, Part II
E very head coach desires to have traction. While performing speed training, to sprinting because unnecessary tension mechanics can be improved solely by run- team speed; that is, players that in the body will restrict the speed of limb movements. can run fast at every position on the field. Heavy squats are used to increase ning at faster speeds. The knees will lift It is a common understanding that higher and a desirable forefoot strike oc- force output;

Over Ten Years of the Strength Report
Nebraska�s Boyd Epley is generally regarded as the father of collegiate strength and conditioning. Epley convinced Nebraska Head Coach Bob Devaney in the late 60�s that a strength and conditioning program would make the Husker players bigger, faster, and stronger. Devaney approved the program but he told Epley, �If any of our players get slower, you�re fired.�With a strength and conditioning program in place, Epley helped Nebraska become a national power in


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Your Take: I Hate Banquets (Part I)
I hate banquets. I hate awards. I hate all-conference voting. I hate newspaper articles. I hate stats.Maybe it’s just this time of year as sports are winding down and people are starting to get recognized (or not recognized) for their on-field achievements. Or, maybe I have just reached my yearly tipping point, where I get so fed up with the modern culture surrounding high school athletics that I truly comprehend doing something else for a living.I think I am like most

Fire Zone Blitz
The following is an overview of how we play our fire zone coverage concept. We utilize several different blitz patterns but our coverage rules remain consistent throughout. We use this exact information to teach our players not just to do their job, but the overall schematic of the coverage and why we do what we do. Fire Zone Blitzes consist of any 5 members of the defense rushing the passer, and 6 members of the defense dropping into pass coverage.  Essentially:5 Rushers

Locking Down a Slot Wide Receiver
Learning some techniques and progressions on covering a slot receiver will give you a foundation to improve your one-on-one match up in the slot. There are a variety of drills specifically for man-to-man technique that you can practice. Offensive coordinators are placing a premium on using spread systems. Therefore, the DB’s have to possess the skills to cover all types of players all over the field. Covering in the slot is a different facet of their craft and needs to be emphasi

Off-Season Drill Work for Offensive Linemen
The off-season, specifically the cycles around spring football, January through March and May through August, are absolutely vital to the growth and development of an offensive lineman. It is when they make the most significant gains in upper and lower body strength, speed, conditioning and explosiveness as well as continuing to develop and improve position specific technique. We preach the concept of doing it harder and better than it’s ever been done before. It is a constant strain to imp

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

State Champions 2015 – The Best of the Best
Gary Rankin – Alcoa High School, TNSpread Offense • 4-3 Defense•      Tennessee’s all-time winningest high school coach.•      Won 7 state championships in his 10 years at the school.•      Averaged 32 points in playoff games last fall, surrendering only 4.5 ppg.•      Defeated Christ Presbyterian Academy in 3A state title game, 20-0.Chris Wolfe – Male High School, L

Hal Mumme – The Godfather of the Air Raid Offense
Considered the original architect of the Air Raid Offense, Hal Mumme developed his passing game after studying the playbook of LaVell Edwards, the near-legendary coach of BYU. Mumme first brought the offense to Texas when he was the head coach at Copperas Cove High School. Mumme studied Edwards and built the high school program into a consistent power with the strength of a wide open passing attack. In those days the I-formation was king but Mumme saw possibilities with three and four receive

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

Coach to Coach: Coaching Staff Self-Improvement from the Inside-Out
Self-evaluation can be incredibly important for professional development, yet so often we make evaluation sterile, boring, and too driven by numbers. I will not focus on that type of evaluation for several reasons, not the least of which is that you probably already have a way to do that type of evaluation or have easy access to such an evaluation by performing a quick internet search. I’m going to propose a different type of self-evaluation, one that I believe is superior to the

Drills Report: Special Teams Organization for Competition Drills and Circuits
One of the greatest challenges for coaching special teams at all levels is how to get maximum quality reps in the most efficient manner possible during practice. Teaching multiple skills and techniques to 60+ players takes the combined effort of the entire coaching staff. I rely on all our coaches to help teach our players different aspects of the kicking game. It also takes a great deal of planning and organization so that your time on the field is efficient.One organizational con

Strength Report: Football Specific Conditioning, Part I
Football is an explosive sport requiring power and speed in linear and non-linear sport specific movements. With the average time per play lasting 6 seconds and a 40 second play clock, football is an interval based sport switching from high intensity bursts of about 6 seconds and low intensity active-recovery periods of about 40 seconds. Due to the high intensity nature of each play, one goal of the off-season conditioning program is to train the capacity and efficiency of the short duration,

Speed Report: The Pros and Cons of Speed Training Modes and Their Effectiveness
Speed performance for football is filled with movement requirements of varying magnitudes. Let’s discuss the uniqueness of football speed and movement as it relates to training applications and playing faster as a team. Every program should categorize which speed training procedures are the best suited for producing movements that are fast and controlled. Sometimes we look at the drills and movements and see only relative to the position requirements.What I stress woul

The Camaraderie
Brian O’Brycki grew up in Allen Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He and his older brothers attended Cabrini Prep, the catholic high school in Allen Park. O’Brycki played just about every position on the football team while in high school, but primarily defensive end and fullback. Cabrini won three consecutive titles when he played there.After attending trade school and then multiple layoffs associated with the industry, O’Brycki began his own lawn service business. He als


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Subscribers Ask with Shawn Liotta part II
Shawn Liotta is the offensive coordinator at Clairton High School (PA), a team which averaged 59.9 points per game in 2014. Clairton also averaged 12.8 yards per play and 510 yards in total offense per game, even though the PIAA Mercy Rule was in effect in the second half of 12 of the 16 games his team played. His offense is aptly named the ‘No-Huddle, No Mercy’ offense.Along the way, Clairton’s quarterback, running back and wide receiver each set school records last fall. Li

Creating Turnovers Through Ball Disruption
As a head coach for 11 years, I have also worn the title of the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, and even though I am an offensive coordinator by heart, I realize more and more in this profession how important your defense is to your program’s success. As a defensive coordinator, one of the things I like to do after every season is review each game film and try to see what made us successful and what hurt us each game. Defensively, the main things I like to focus on while wa

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

3-STEP PASSING ROUTE CONCEPTS - Various ‘concepts’ gives the quarterback run and pass options for each play.
The foundation of our passing game is built on the three-step passing game. Over the years we have combined a variety of concepts for our three-step foundation to make these concepts more difficult to defend. These are the staples of our three-step passing game.“Now” Concepts•  This is a concept used extensively to beat soft coverage by the corner.•  We use it by calling a run in the huddle followed by the word “Now”.•  The term “

Missouri Protection - Teaching Pass Blocking Fundamentals to Running Backs
Using the right technique, four protection drills will help your running backs protect the quarterback.When we teach protection, there are a variety of drills that I use. I start with the base of the body, which are the feet, and I work my way up to the hands and the upper body. I start with the feet because that is where everything begins. A phrase I use a lot when coaching is get the right “Body Position.” I talk to running backs about blocking the defender with their feet.

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

Priorities For a Championship Off-Season
Great programs realize that getting better every single day is a key to winning championships. This is as true in the off-season as it is during the season. Thus, establishing off-season priorities often helps programs move forward consistently. Here are some suggestions for establishing off-season priorities that will help any and every team move forward this off-season.Use Data WiselyLook at your season stats. Where do you want to improve? Create a specific plan for addressi

Linebacker Movement Drill Progressions
When developing drill progressions for your position group, it is important to break down the points of emphasis that you want to develop on a daily basis. Since individual period time is so valuable at all positions, it is crucial to stay organized to maximize the efficiency of the drill work you accomplish with your position group. By breaking down a position through film study we are able to create drill progressions that fit our scheme, personnel, and practice scripts to accomplish proper

Conditioning for an Aggressive, Up-Tempo Offensive System
Up-tempo offenses have become more and more popular at all levels of football and whether this is your team’s offensive philosophy or not, chances are that there are several teams like this in your conference or on your schedule that you must prepare for. Before we can begin to discuss the particulars of conditioning for an attacking, fast-paced style of play such as the up-tempo offense, we have to take a look at the dynamics of a typical football game and how we try to alter those dynamic

Every Program Needs a Speed System Like the One at Southeastern Louisiana
For the past 20 years it has become understood that football speed training is beneficial. However, what’s often missing in speed programs is the lack of a technically sound system. According to the definition of the word ‘system’ it’s “a group of related parts that move or work together.” This is the very essence of what makes a speed program viable. Many organizations throughout the country address the issue of speed training but may not be aware they could be missing the most i

A Little Help From Your Friends
The Beatles told us that you can Get By With A Little Help From Your Friends……And nothing could be more true within the world of coaching football.  Your Membership in American Football Monthly provides you with a golden opportunity to submit YOUR EXPERIENCE to be shared with your fellow coaches. We want  you to consider contributing and helping your peers become better coaches. Do you have ideas you always wanted to share? Do you have t

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UNC-Charlotte Offensive Line Blocking Stations
Editor’s Note: UNC-Charlotte former offensive line coach Ed Ratliff wrote this clinic this summer before his sudden passing. Ratliff died of natural causes in early August and was both an experienced and respected coach. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends.We start practice with a blocking station circuit that sets the tone for the day. We play in a fast tempo offense that runs the inside zone, counter play, and power play. We take pride in starting practice fast and wo

Four Fundraisers
Dave Rupe is now in his second year as head coach of New Lexington High School in Ohio. He has helped put together four different community service programs that have become a staple of the New Lexington program. They include:Memorial Day Flag Ceremony - working with the local chapter of the American Legion, Rupe’s players and coaches meet at the local cemetery on the Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend. The players then place flags on the gravestone’s of the town’s fall

FREE FORM Defensive Line Grade Sheet
Evaluating performance is a priority for every coach. The ‘Defensive Line Grade Sheet’ details the overall performance of your D-Line. Categories included on the form pass rush, plugging a hole, defeating a block, passing sack, solo tackle, assisted tackle, and missed tackles for overall total points.

A Quick, Simple, High Rep Progression for Defeating Blocks
Repetitions with four different ways to defeat blocks – the rip, punch, slip and cut techniques – will help improve your overall defense.One of the many great things about being at Butler University is being centrally located and having so many terrific football programs very close to use as professional development resources. Let’s be clear, no one is inventing a new defense. However, there are many different schemes, philosophies, fits, terminology, etc. This is where I think a

Air Raid Concepts with Backside Tags
Offensive football in today’s college world has evolved over the past 20 years. More programs are running an up-tempo, spread style offense and defensive coaches have the argument of the 10 second rule. One of the most popular spread offenses is the “Air Raid” offense and its light it up passing attack. These concepts have been putting up record breaking numbers at every level of college football from FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III, and NAIA for over 20 years. Although there are ma

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

RAISING THE BAR - Transforming your Training Facility
Master Strength & Conditioning Coach Troy Jorgensen of Missouri Southern State  University has transformed his training facility – with the help of Samson Equipment.Top collegiate programs are well aware of the importance of having facilities that will impress recruits and give their athletes an edge. That’s especially true with strength and conditioning facilities.But what about smaller colleges – those non-FBS schools that generally operate with much smaller

Ways to Turn a Season Around – Four Coaches Have Proven Ways to Help Turn a Season Around After a Struggling Start
Dan Rohn Grand Rapids West Catholic High School (MI)    In 2013, Coach Dan Rohn’s Grand Rapids West Catholic team started the season 1-4 – and went on to win the Michigan state championship. In 2012, West Catholic started 1-3 – and reached the state championship game. In Rohn’s first eight seasons, West Catholic won its season opener only three times. It’s all part of the plan.    “We gear everything toward being the best football team in

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

ALL IN: Prevention and Psychological Treatment of Football Injuries
Injuries are inevitable in football and too often when injuries occur, coaches are at a loss for how to deal with it. If you pursue an ALL IN philosophy and follow the acronym ALL IN after an injury, you will prevent as many injuries as possible and skillfully handle the unavoidable injuries that do occur. Before the InjuryBegin building an ALL IN culture before injuries occur. ALL IN means you are devoted to the whole person, not just the football player part of the person. M

Speed Report: Mining for Nuggets – Understanding the Gems That Maximize Football Speed
For the last nine years I have had the opportunity to write an article a month for AFM and I must say I’m still stimulated to impart knowledge that’s useful to the football world. The driving force for me each month is having the privilege to present solid changes that work because they are fact-based and scientifically sound.    When choosing a topic each month I usually try to share information that will impact football programs with material that will help your speed

Installation Report: The Vertical Passing Game
It’s great to be back! I’ve always enjoyed sharing ideas with football coaches throughout the country and there is not a better place to do that than here at American Football Monthly. This article is the first in a series that will focus on the introduction and installation of a specific offensive play concept. My intention is to share ideas that have helped me over the years and specifics that will hopefully give insight into the actual “nuts and bolts” of each concept. These concep

Using the Clean and Jerk as Your In-Season Workout
In my weight room the clean and jerk is our lift during the season. It builds explosiveness and has shown to keep athletes healthy. The clean primarily works the hamstrings, lattisumus dorsi, biceps, and trapezius muscles. Players learn with this lift to be explosive because it teaches to produce a large amount of force in a very short period of time. Another benefit of the lift is that it works hips and glutes. They are two very important areas that have to do with power and speed

Drills Report: Route Running – Improving Your Technique and Speed
There are a number of priorities a receiver should focus on when running proper routes. They include:•  Being precise.•  Reaching for the toes.•  Have the head and eyes up.•  Stem – win the leverage battle.•  Speed in, burst out of the cut.•  Hit your depth.•  Arm action.•  Footwork – pressure step/foot fire.    Included are three different drills – the Clock Drill, Diamond

A Special Coach of the Year
There are a number of coaching awards each year but one that stands out is the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year award. The award is intended to “honor exemplary high school football coaches who display the integrity, achievement and leadership demonstrated by the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula.”Two years ago, Steve Specht, the head coach at St. Xavier in Cincinnati, won the award and last year the winner was Mike Grant from Eden Prairie High Schoo


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FREE FORM - Offensive Game Plan
With the season just about to start, it’s time to complete your “Offensive Game Plan Form.” This two-page form includes a complete down and distance guide as well as listings for halftime adjustments, special situations, two-minute offense, and end of game plays.

Quarterback Pulley Drills with Surgical Tubing
By Bill Mountjoy, Retired Coach After stretching exercises, have your quarterbacks execute the pulley drills. There are high pulls, medium pulls, and low pulls. There should be 15 repetitions at each level and the number of reps should be increased by five pulls each week. Here is the complete execution of the drill: · Place the throwing hand in a loop with the hand open and the palm turned in, simulating a grip on the football. · Drape the other end of tubin

AFM Subscribers Ask with Shawn Liotta Offensive Coordinator, Clairton High School (PA)
Shawn Liotta is the offensive coordinator at Clairton High School (PA), a team which averaged 59.9 points per game last season. Clairton also averaged 12.8 yards per play and 510 yards in total offense per game, even though the PIAA Mercy Rule was in effect in the second half of 12 of the 16 games his team played. His offense is aptly named the ‘No-Huddle, No Mercy’ offense.Along the way, Clairton’s quarterback, running back and wide receiver each set school records last fall

3-4 Front with Quarters Coverage: Base Front Variations – These four variations of the 3-4 defense may help your defense with one more player having ‘drop skills.’
Over the past two and a half years of being directly involved with the 3-4 defense and through doing our research, we have encountered several different ways to adjust the base 3-4 look and play a multiple quarters coverage behind it.Some form of the 3-4 defense is being increasingly implemented at all levels of football. There are many reasons for this but the fundamental premise that our Head Coach Mike Archer and Defensive Coordinator Jared Backus always hangs their hat on is th

The Drive Series – It is critical for the QB to read coverage early for this series of plays to be successful.
One of the pass series in our playbook that allows us flexibility and options vs. defenses is the Drive Series. The Drive encompasses concepts that can be successful against most coverages. The routes within the series also create some big play chances if the quarterback can recognize the coverage early. We install the three main plays of the series in the first two days of our August camp because, in addition to the fact that these plays are good for both first down and third downs, they als

Shrug Off Predictability with Formation Adjustments, Not Checks – Offensive coaches, now more than ever, are using non-traditional sets to gain an advantage on the defense.
Football has always been a game of numbers, leverage and angles. Offenses are constantly adjusting their formations and schemes to gain the advantage. You normally hear this in regards to the run game but, it applies to the pass game as well. Now more than ever, offensive coaches are using non-traditional sets (i.e., Bunch, Empty, Unbalanced) to gain the numeric or angle advantages on the defense. They also are taking advantage of another situation – predictability.If you are lik

Warhawk Special Team Play – Technique and Drills
Special teams are a major determining factor in the outcome of football games at any level. It is fundamental that you stress not only the importance of special teams to your program but also continually drill them and show them the results that you want. This is our philosophy for special teams play:•  We use the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid – which allows you to focus on fundamentals.•  Give the illusion that you do a lot of different formations, moti

Having a Dominant Defense at the Point of Attack – URI uses a four word progression every snap to maximize the play of their defensive line.
URI uses a four word progression every snap to maximize the play of their defensive line.Coaching a defensive line to be dominant is based on consistency in coaching. The players standard of performance begins and ends with their coach. We believe if players don’t understand their assignments, we need to change the way they are taught. Consequently, if drills aren’t showing up on tape, the drill needs to be adjusted. There is no such thing as “dumb players”, ju

Texas Legend Phil Danaher
Phil Danaher has been the head coach at Calallen High School (Corpus Christi, Texas) since 1984. He is one of two coaches in the history of Texas high school football that has amassed over 400 wins. Danaher has a chance in 2016 to surpass the all-time leader – G. A. Moore – who won 426 games over a 44-year career. Danaher’s career record is 407-103-4.Danaher’s teams have made the playoffs every year since he arrived at Calallen. Before he took over the program, Calallen had

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

Coach to Coach: To Overcome Early Season Adversity, Become a Champ
Early season adversity is common in football. Whether the adversity is a devastating loss, poor team chemistry, or another issue, a pre-planned process for improvement is necessary. Here are some suggestions for overcoming adversity and becoming a CHAMP. Can DoAdversity is often hard to overcome because individuals and teams stay focused on the problem for too long. A loss or setback always stings, and it should, but moving on and not looking back is essential for improvement.

Pre-Season Conditioning and Speed Training – The Good, The Bad, The Indifferent – Part II
We’ve clearly established that you need to consider using the proper energy system that delivers the greatest return for your training investment. I will not argue the choice you make as stated in part one of this article that you should or shouldn’t condition. That’s your choice. However, if you do condition at all, you need to come up to speed by selecting the right system available for your time spent.Anaerobic conditioning is the ability to perform at a rate faster than c

An In-Season Strength and Conditioning Strategy
After completing a successful summer off-season program, I began to look at our in-season training and evaluating what we wanted to accomplish. The typical goals for an in-season program are to keep the players healthy and maintain what we achieved during the summer training. Not only did I want to accomplish this, but I also wanted our players to feel energetic, explosive, and powerful come Saturday. Since the beginning of my career in strength and conditioning, it has been common for footba

Tackling Drills Without Pads
What can help develop a player to be a better tackler? One thing a player can do to be a better tackler is to know their surroundings. In knowing their surroundings, I’m talking about the scheme, and not only their fits, but the fits of players on either side of them. One of the biggest things we forget as coaches is to teach our players where their help is. Knowing where their help is allows them to play faster and attack in proper angles. Not knowing where your help is creates a slower, t

The Psychology of Football
Maybe Knute Rockne said it best, “Football is a game played with arms, legs, and shoulders but mostly from the neck up.”Every coach is trying to get an edge on the mental side of football. It could be on the best way to motivate his players or simplifying a defensive scheme so his athletes can comprehend it easier. Most psychologists say focusing on simple goals can lead a player to identify and seize more opportunities.Jared Wood is a sports psychology consultant in




Developing Physical Linebacker Play
From my standpoint, the greatest compliment our defensive staff can receive is at the end of the game having the opposing coach say how hard and physical our guys played. Playing hard is something that every coach demands from their team. Playing a physical style necessarily is not. If we do not practice being physical, how can I expect my guys to come out on Saturday and play physical? We try and recruit naturally physical kids, but we all know sometimes it does not work out that way. Over t

Building Character and Commitment Through Community Service
By Dan Kratzer, Former Head Coach South Dakota School of Mines and Technology In season community service is part of every freshman’s commitment to the school. We let them know from the start that part of the responsibility in this world is to not always think of themselves, but to think and do for others. As the majority of our players are either math, science o0r engineering majors, they have a tendency to be somewhat introverted. So, we wanted to do something that

FREE FORM - Season Goals
With August camp just around the corner, it’s critical for each coach to put together season goals. This form includes the actual offensive goals for Portland State University and can be directly applied to your program.

AEMA Report: Challenges Female Equipment Managers Face Working Football
Female equipment managers face many challenges working for the football team. For many decades the world of football has been dominated mostly by men with women playing only minor roles, if any. As we grow as a society and as a sport, women are starting to emerge in football in a variety of roles that once were thought to only be done by males. The world of football equipment has been, in particular, one of the harder positions for females to work. Many coaches and support staff have always b

Your Take: Long Hours, Hard Work – Do You Spend Your Time Doing What Matters Most?
If you are a head football coach, chances are that you are also a husband, father and classroom teacher. Usually guys that are wired to be a head football coach are wired to give their best in everything they do. How in the world do you balance all of the demands that go with those roles? Are you active in your church? I have spent 23 years as a head football coach. The last 19 years were at Mason County High School (KY). I underestimated how much work I would have to do when I became the new

Explosive Drills for Running Backs
Here are three running back drills that will help players’ overall agility and increase their explosiveness. Each one should be practiced daily throughout the season.1.  Jump Cut/Spin DrillI love a running back that has the ability to flow into

Coaching HD – Technology to Prepare Your Team in Camp and During the Season
As another season is ready to commence, now is the time to solidify plans and details, and be sure that you are able to work through the grind of the season in the smartest way possible. Utilizing technology to help you and your staff be efficient will pay dividends in both preparation for each week as well as alleviating some of the stress that comes with the long work day that the season brings.In 2010, huge advancements improved the way we are able to work as coaches. The film r

Coaching the Blitzing Linebacker – Learning the proper progressions, techniques, and then drills for a blitzing linebacker will improve his performance on game day.
Attacking with linebackers and slanting the defensive linemen creates an opportunity to be unique and aggressive. Blitzing linebackers creates opportunities to change the defense into an over or under defense after the snap. When this is done with the 3-3-5 stack alignment, there is flexibility to match offensive numbers or be balanced at all times.  What makes a linebacker effective in a swarm and strike defense?Recruiting linebackers to fit your defense takes great atte

The Hybrid Wing Attack – You can create mismatches at the POA by using the Hybrid Wing Offense
Keeping teaching and learning simple for players has paid dividends at Crestwood High School in Mountaintop, Pennsylvania. We have developed a system called the hybrid wing. It consists of utilizing multiple, unique wing formations, shifts and motions to outgain and out leverage the point of attack while keeping minimal blocking schemes.The hybrid wing is a blend of the direct-snap single wing, wing-t and today’s spread offenses. The offense is able to utilize various personnel g

A Strategy for Team Building
Players today are not any different than when I began coaching nearly 20 years ago. However, the number of outside distractions that players are exposed to almost daily has increased tenfold. It is because of these increased distractions that the player-coach relationship has become so significant. So many of these distractions that student-athletes are exposed to daily do nothing but tear down the values that we spend countless hours trying to instill in our players, primarily the value of t

We Are The Champions
Earning the state champion title means different things to different coaches.After the Gatorade is dumped, after the trophies are raised, after the last party is over, the coaches of the 300-plus high school state champions have time to reflect on their seasons and what winning the state title meant to them, their players, their schools and their communities.To some, becoming a state champion is the culmination of their coaching career. For others, it’s the continuation of

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

Turning Up Motivation in the Dog Days of August
If your team is like most teams, you will start August with excitement, enthusiasm, and a drive to get better every single day. Inevitably, your players will tire of doing boring drills against their own teammates, effort will slacken, and practices will get stale. Coaches who can prevent the downturns or nip them in the bud have a great advantage over opponents who stay stuck for longer periods of time. Here are three recommendations for turning up the motivation and effort in the dog days o

Speed Report: The Challenges of Teaching Football Speed
The first step toward teaching football speed is dealing with velocity and angles that change rapidly. Secondly, you must provide a progressive training system that is relative to speed and movement physically, mentally, and technically. The nature of the game provides various challenges to movement speed, angle changes, frequency changes, and rapid acceleration. Your teaching must fit these practicums because, unlike track sprinting, the technical application for football speed is not all li

Strength Report: Taking Your Program to the Next Level with Kettlebells
Kettlebells have been around for centuries but were brought to the United States by Pavel Tsatsouline in the early 1990s. People quickly fell in love with them as they are portable and can train strength, endurance or both with grinds and ballistics. A grind is a slow strength lift like the deadlift, squat, press or get up. Ballistics include the swing, clean and snatch. The hardest thing about using kettlebells is getting good coaching so an athlete can be proficient with using them.

Letter from AFM – The Best of the Best
A state championship is the culmination of a year-round program that includes an extensive off-season strength and conditioning program as well as a detailed summer training program. We asked the state champion head coaches questions about their 2014 campaign. What were their priorities going into the season? What made last fall memorable? What were the keys to the championship season? Did adversity play a part of the season? And, has your coaching philosophy changed – if at all – over th




Interview with Dr. Jared Wood and Jeff Heath, Dallas Cowboys Safety and Special Teams Starter
This past off-season I had the opportunity to interview Jeff Heath, a safety and special teams starter for the Dallas Cowboys. I love getting to interview guys like Jeff because they weren't superstars coming out of high school or college, and yet they are

FREE FORM - General Practice Plan
With pre-season camps starting soon, it’s important to be as organized as possible. The “General Practice Plan Form” will help you organize your time for every minute of practice. Categories include ‘Prior to Practice’, ‘Team Stretch’, ‘Agilities’, and ‘Practice Periods’ for all positions.

AFM Subscribers Ask with Mike Golden Director of Sports Performance, University of Massachusetts (Part II)
Mike Golden is the Director of Sport Performance at the University of Massachusetts. Golden has 18 years of collegiate strength and conditioning experience. Prior to UMass, he coached for two seasons at the University of South Florida. He also coached at East Carolina, helping build the Pirates into one of the top programs in Conference USA, winning back-to- back conference championships with Head Coach Skip Holtz.  While at ECU, he also trained first round draft pick Chris Johnson who r

A Complete Summer Conditioning Program
Each program has different goals when it comes to strength and conditioning training during the winter months and then in the summer:Winter •  Conditioning is not a focal point.•  Time to develop size and strength. •  Fine tune mechanics and speed and agility (linear and deceleration).Summer•  Learn to carry the new weight.•  Develop max strength and peak power.•  Prepare the athlete to deal with the extremes of

Gaining Leverage - Using unbalanced sets and formations can give your offense an advantage.
In this high tech game of offensive football, every coach is looking to gain advantages. We have incorporated different unbalanced sets as a part of our offensive scheme. Our players understand what we are trying to accomplish with these sets and, more importantly, they understand the do’s and don’ts in these formations. Ultimately, with these formations, we look to surprise the defense and create a small amount of confusion. We also look to out-leverage the defense and bring more players

Why We Do What We Do - A Look Inside Clemson's Strength and Conditioning Program.
The foundation of any successful collegiate football program is an understanding and commitment by all who work with the student-athletes to shape them into the vision the head coach has for the team. Head Coach Dabo Swinney has a vision of greatness for our program, which in the past four years, has driven us to two ACC Atlantic Division Championships, one conference championship, a 4-year span of 10+-win seasons, three straight bowl wins over ranked opponents, three straight Top 15 finishes

Are You Short on Big Linemen? If so, you should consider playing a stand-up Will End
Are you like most programs that have a shortage of big players with most of those needed on the offensive and defensive line? Then playing a standup Will End may be something that can help your defense. We have used the standup Will End for over 30 years and the results have been well worth it.    Physical Attributes - We used to look at our back-up RB or DBs, but then we realized that there is no definition of who can play this position. It has become a position of its

Go High, Go Low - Attacking Coverages with High-Low Route Concepts
Offensive team “tempo” has pushed its way into the vocabularies of coaches at all levels of football. The emphasis on playing fast, wearing down the defense and running a high volume of plays has become a key aspect in today’s spread offenses. One primary characteristic of high tempo offenses is their reliance on a core set of simple, yet effective, pass game concepts. The “high – low” concept is a staple of many spread offenses. Our version of the “high-low” featur

Improve Your Pass Defense by Stealing the QB's Time - Defensive backs can adjust their coverage with pre-snap quarterback reads.
The no-huddle spread offense as it is played today has certainly revolutionized the game. Creating mismatches, getting the ball into the hands of your playmakers, spreading the field and forcing the defense to play in space are three of the primary goals associated with this offensive scheme. Proper execution coupled with accurate quarterback reads is one way for a spread offense to gain a schematic twelfth man advantage in the passing game. Taking the snap from the shotgun position has been

Think Quick! If executed correctly, the quick passing game can be effective, regardless of the down and distance situation.
The University of Idaho’s quick passing game was first developed by Head Coach Dennis Erickson when he coached the Vandals. Now, Paul Petrino has refined the quick passing game after working on it with his brother, Bobby, when both coached at Louisville. Our goals with the quick passing game are to get the ball out of our QB’s hands quickly and produce explosive plays with short passes.  This demands a system that is detailed, disciplined, and practiced every day at full s

From the Coach's Bookshelf: Power Assessments
The popularity of plymometrics training for strength and conditioning coaches is gaining tremendous momentum. High-Powered Plyometrics (Human Kinetics, 2015), written by University of Oregon Strength and Conditioning Coach James Radcliffe and fitness professional Robert Farentinos includes a complete training regimen and a total of 81 exercises for explosive training. Any program dedicated to enhancing performance needs an ongoing method of evaluating its direction and par

Coach to Coach: Follow These Four Keys to Become a Better Coach Every Day
As coaches, we often preach to our players, “You will either get better or worse today.” In order to get better every day, players have coaches who have made practice plans for them and provide encouragement, feedback, and inspiration. But if we, as coaches, are going to get better, who and what do we have to help us? The following is an acronym for a process you can use on a daily basis to make sure you are improving in key areas of coaching effectiveness. Follow this plan each day, and

Speed Report: Pre-Season Conditioning and Speed Training - The Good, The Bad, and The Indifferent
As coaches, we must have a conditioning program in place. But that may not be the  truth for everyone. Having the opportunity to work with programs all over the country for many years, I’ve seen a variety of methods used. When the subject comes up about conditioning, one must consider what may be good, bad or just simply indifferent.For some programs conditioning begins in January and ends at the end of fall camp. This constitutes a long series of training for what is termed

Strength Report: Train Like A football Player
At the core of all strength and conditioning, there is one unalienable principle: a body is a body. With so much focus on sport-specific training, it is easy for a coach to be enamored with the latest, greatest, custom-built program. The truth is, however, that without a solid base, none of that matters. So, before I explore the methods by which we prepare some of the top football players in the area, I will identify the building blocks to our program.One: Technique. We cannot control

Drills Report: The Run-Up, Escape Drill
The ‘Run-Up, Escape Drill’ teaches our quarterbacks three important fundamentals – ball security, vision downfield, and launching while trying to escape or avoid pressure. The drills we practice are the drills that we witness our players performing as we watch game tape. The Run-Up, Escape Drill is one drill which we see over and over as we watch game film and then rep daily in practice.We can incorporate under center drops (5 or 7-step) or shotgun drops (3 or 5-step) into th

Letter from AFM - Hat's Off to You, Coach
The next time you go into our online archive of back issues at AmericanFootballMonthly.com, scroll all the way down to June 2004 and open up our cover story on John McKissick. At the time we published this profile, McKissick was the all-time winningest coach at any level of football with 510 victories in 52 years as head coach at Summerville High School in South Carolina. In the feature, he shared some of his secrets of success and longevity with our readers. He summed up his belie




FREE FORM: Offensive Skills
This section of Football Forms for the Winning Coach was designed to help football coaches establish the exact skills necessary to master at each offensive position. Skill-level checklists – both basic and advanced – are included for quarterbacks, ball carriers, receivers, and all positions on the offensive line.

Three Simple Things That You Can Do For your Players
By Jim PlaceHead CoachDayton Ponitz High SchoolThink of how much we ask of our players. Sometimes a coach needs to take a step back and look at himself through the eyes of his players. If you do this, ask yourself, “What am I doing for my players?” I am sure all of you can answer the question with a long list of positive experiences, but let me suggest three simple things to add to that list.   1. Write your players a thank you n

Coaching HD: Train the Brain
Over the past year, there has been tremendous growth in the realm of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications in football. The idea of training the brain to function in a number of different situations has merits in terms of gaining experience as well as performing in a setting where the dangers of injury are removed. Data on these simulations show that performance on the field is improved. Cognition training provides an additional way for preparing the brain for high spee

AEMA Report – The Second Football Season
By Austin Perryman, Student Equipment ManagerUniversity of Tennessee-ChattanoogaSpring football is altogether one of the most memorable seasonal sports to be involved in as both a high school player and a FCS student manager. I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved as both.Just before my last spring at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, TN I hurt my back doing hang-cleans. It wasn’t much at first, but as the spring went along, my back sta

Using Zones for Kickoff Coverage – recognizing where you are on kickoff coverage allows your players..
Recognizing where you are on kickoff coverage allows your players to play fast and make plays.We pride ourselves on elite special teams play. This past fall our kickoff coverage unit was one of the best in our league and the nation. Over the course of 10 games, our unit only allowed an average of 16.39 yards per return and no return touchdowns. These results are attributable to a great group of players that embraced their kickoff role every week. When we teach our kickoff co

Technology Steps Up – Aided by recent rules changes, tech companies now give coaches valuable new tools to analyze games in real time.
Aided by recent rule changes, tech companies now give coaches valuable new tools to analyze games in real time.For many years, technology has been an integral part of coaching. From the advent of game film to the development of sideline communications to the introduction of today’s sophisticated online video services, those in the technology arena have strived to keep up with the needs of coaches and utilize the latest in high tech innovations.Now, by virtue of an importan

Maximizing Your Defensive Circuit Drills – Turnover, tackling, and block destruction drills can improve your defensive play.
Every year we try to create themes for our team that we can use throughout the year to refocus our players no matter how our team is performing. We are also always looking for ways to maximize reps and be more efficient in practice time. One of the ways we do this is our SU Defensive Circuit (See Diagram).

Maximizing Your Offensive Circuit Drills – Overall blocking can be improved with a progression of drills.
Overall blocking can be improved with a progressions of drills.During the football season time to prepare and practice is very precious. We tend to spend all of our time on “scheming” the opponent and very little on fundamentals. Because of the importance of fundamentals, we have decided to build them into our practice schedule. We call them the “Fundamental 5” or “Fun 5” for short. The first one is blocking by the entire offensive unit.Blocking is the one skill

5 Keys to Boost Your Off-Season Training
It’s an old adage that championships begin with your off-season weight training program.The old adage is that championships are won in the off season. A positive, challenging and competitive off-season program can help be the catalyst that can set a team apart from the pack in the upcoming season. No two strength programs are the same and one cannot claim to be better than the other. However, there are a few key building blocks that can help to lay the foundation for future football

Wisconsin: Developing a Defensive Game Plan
In preparing a defensive game plan, there will be many things to take into consideration as you study your opponent. There will be many questions that you must answer about the opposing offense and your defense in order to put together a solid game plan. Below are several key points and areas that must be considered as you watch the game film and cut-ups. By “Defining” and “Identifying” your opponent’s offense you can begin to formulate your game plan:Define the Offense by:

Leadership Report: The Intangible That Makes a Difference


Coach to Coach: Turning Up the Heat – Eight Suggestions for Creating Your Best Summer Ever
While often a challenge, the elements of summer (extreme heat, players not being in school, having too much free time, not having transportation to activities) provide a great opportunity to create a mentally and physically stronger team. Mental toughness is only built when conditions are difficult, and extreme weather, such as summer heat, creates a great opportunity to build mental toughness. Here are some tips for creating strong minds, bodies, and team chemistry this summer.Set Mo

Drills Report: The Wall Punt Return
The Wall Punt Return is easy to install and can vastly improve your team’s return yardage. We make a commitment to our special teams. Five days a week we hold a special teams period in which all of our coaches are expected to coach one aspect of that specialty. Each special team unit is then broken down by position where each coach can work on developing player fundamentals and techniques needed to be successful on that particular special team.General Rules of the Wall Punt Return:

The Speed Report: Football Speed and Movement Training – Making it Relative to practices and Games
Speed on the football field is every coach’s desire. The good news is that speed and movement can be developed. When I started developing football speed 36 years ago, no one believed it could be taught. How it was developed back then and even today, is still an issue that concerns me. Far too many programs are using inferior fundamental principles and, in most cases, they’re principles that fall short of the mark for maximizing results. Incorporating sound teaching fundamentals

Strength Report: The Power Clean and the Squat
The two main lifts we habitually do that are the core of what we do are the squat and the power clean. We will then adjust those main lifts for athletes with different body types and/or limitations.  Two reasons why we regard these two exercises as the most important are because they test lower body strength and also total body power. There is a very high chance that our players performed these lifts in high school, and the results of their max efforts in those lifts give play

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




TURNING AROUND A LOSING PROGRAM
By Chad Hanson, Head Coach, Eleva-Strum High School (WI) Chad Hanson is the head coach at Eleva-Strum High School in Wisconsin. Three years ago he was hired to improve the school’s football fortunes. In the previous three years prior to his arrival, the team won a total of five games. * What were the issues with the Eleva-Strum football program before you arrived? What was the culture like? - The situation that I walked into at Eleva-Strum was a unique one. The

FREE FORM - Passing Strategy
With spring practice in full form, it’s time to tweak “Passing Strategy: Down and Distance.” This free form lists passing opportunities in every down and distance situation. Whether it be first and ten at midfield or first and 15 in the red zone, this form details the priorities for your quarterback.

AFM Subscribers Ask with Mike Golden
Mike Golden is the Director of Sports Performance at the University of Massachusetts. He has 18 years of collegiate strength and conditioning experience. Prior to UMass, Golden coached for two seasons at the University of South Florida. He also coached at East Carolina, helping build the Pirates into one of the top programs in Conference USA, winning back to back conference championships under Head Coach Skip Holtz. While at ECU, he also trained first round draft pick Chris Johnson, who recor

Maximizing Your Goal Line Defense – The Okie Hot defense is intended for use at the goal line and its efficiency is dependent on players following alignment rules as well as their execution.
We have seen a number of offenses in our conference transition to a spread attack. This has also transitioned to the goal line area of the field. Our defense is a 3-4 that plays the majority of time a cover 3 with single LB blitzes. When we’re inside the 10 yard line, we do not have a lot of options so we end up playing man coverage without help.  The problem that we have had is our corners are 5’9” and are susceptible to bigger wide receivers beating them on jump ball f

Winning the Key Ground with Kickoff Coverage - Each man in kickoff coverage has an assignment ...
Each man in kickoff coverage has an assignment along with a kicker who must be skilled in directional kicking.This is a game of field position and we talk a lot about “Winning the Key Ground.” Below is our philosophy and goals for our kickoff cover unit.Philosophy 1.      Cover two-thirds of the field with directional         kicks.2.      Inside and in front coverage – not lane.3.  &nb

Drills for Receivers When You Don’t Have a Lot of Time – Repping fundamental drills with an emphasis on focusing on the proper technique and catching the football will improve the overall play of your wide receivers.
Repping fundamental drills with an emphasis on focusing on the proper technique and catching the football will improve the overall play of your receivers.In spread offenses, the receiver’s play is critical. However, in other style offenses, the receiver gets little attention. These drills are what I use once a week to drill the catching process. It includes hand strengthening exercises incorporated with drills where the receiver will get 46 catches in 20 minutes without using a lot o

The No-Huddle, No-Mercy Offense – A Look Inside the Most Productive Offense in the Nation
During the 2014 season, the Clairton High School offense scored 958 points on their way to a 15-1 record. The Bears would finish with the second highest scoring offense in the history of high school football, shattering virtually every offensive school record as they averaged 59.9 points per game. A balanced offense averaged 12.75 yards per play and totaled 8,162 yards (3,249 passing/ 4,913 rushing).Playing FastIn my first season as the offensive coordinator at Clairton High S

Building a Program From the Ground Up - South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones
South Alabama Head Coach Joey JonesUniversity of South Alabama Coach Joey Jones is no stranger to rekindling programs or starting them from scratch. The former Alabama WR was the head coach for a decade at Mountain Brook High School (AL) where he went 101-27. He inherited a program that had nine consecutive losing seasons and took them to the state championship game in his first year as coach. In the 10-year period in which Jones was head coach (1996-2005), Mountain Br

Samson Equipment's Strength and Conditioning Coaches of the Year for 2014
NFL: Garrett Giemont Pittsburgh SteelersBACKGROUND Garrett Giemont’s first job in the NFL was with the Los Angeles Rams in 1978. With over 30 years of experience in the NFL, Giemont was also the strength and conditioning coach for both the Oakland Raiders (1995-2002) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2003-2005). Head Coach Mike Tomlin brought Giemont to Pittsburgh in 2007 and he enters his 9th season with the Steelers this fall. Coach Giemont also worked as the D

Coach to Coach: Developing a Motivational Profile with 4 Essential Questions
When motivating student athletes, guesswork does not work. It is essential to have a framework for your efforts, and a little solid knowledge goes a long way toward getting it right. A simple, useful research-based formula for building motivation is this: Motivation = Expectations x ValuesMotivation is a combination of what one expects to happen multiplied by what he values or wants. This formula can be assessed effectively with four questions. A player’s answers

Drills Report: Quarterback Drills You Can Use At Any Level
In this Drills Report there will be three different drills for quarterbacks – One Foot Throw, The Levels Drill, and the Quarterback Scramble Drill. Each one is designed to improve a different area of the quarterback’s technique.One Foot Throws Drill (Diagram 1)Object

Strength Report: How to Implement a Strength and Conditioning Program to a Large Number of Athletes with Limited Resources


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

Letter from AFM - Samson Strong
“It all starts in the weight room.”Just about every coach – at every level – believes that statement says it all. Samson Equipment also believes it. The company was founded in 1976 by Dave and Linda Schroeder. Both were teaches and coaches and began to incorporate weight training with their athletic team training. They saw a need for having heavy duty, durable and affordable weight training equipment. The name Samson was chosen specifically to refer to the strength and dura




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

FREE FORM - Linebacker Grade Sheet
The off-season is the time to evaluate the skill level of your offense and defense. The Linebacker Grade Sheet is the perfect form to evaluate the performance of your linebackers. In addition to including tackles – made, assisted and missed – the form also lists ‘pass react,’  ‘plug hole,’ and ‘defeat block.’ Points are then awarded for an overall grade.

LOCKED IN PREPARATION - Mental Conditioning for Football
The 2014 season marked my 10th season as defensive coordinator at Northwestern College. Throughout the ten years we have been blessed to have some great players and have had consistently strong defenses. Over this time, we have always gone into each game week with a list of ten goals. These goals were all measurable outcomes we could strive to achieve in each game. How we measured each goal may vary from year to year but these goals always included winning as our #1 goal. This goal was follo

From the Coach’s Bookshelf – The New QB Gurus
Most coaches would agree that quarterback is the most critical position in the sport. This past decade has seen the boom of the specialized private quarterback-coach business, transforming the position and the game. Former Super Bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer is one of this new breed, running the prestigious Elite 11 camp and starting his own training method. In this excerpt from The QB – The Making of Modern Quarterbacks, veteran sports writer and bestselling author Bruce Feldman gi

AEMA Report: Shoulder Pads – To Recondition or Not to Recondition?
Many professionals involved in the administration of athletic programs that involve the use of various types of protective equipment are faced with the dilemma of keeping the equipment in reliable and sanitary condition from season to season. As with most of the other tasks they are assigned, this endeavor is frequently controlled by the constant constraints on today’s sports budgets and the perceived value of these expenses. Few will argue the significance and necessity of esta

Training the Offensive Lineman
Your offensive line is the life-blood of your football team. A strong, quick OL can change the complexion of any football game. Many of our players that went on to NFL careers took a strong interest in the weight room and the benefits it brought them. In this age of fast-paced offensive football, there still comes a time where your OL is going to be asked to put the game away.  To accomplish our goal of developing offensive linemen to handle the pressure of a fourth quarter wi

Get Organized - Having an efficient and effective play calling system can help maximize your offensive potential.
As the offensive coordinator, there are many ways to organize your play calls. After six years as an offensive coordinator, I have experimented with several formats to find what works for me. What I have settled on is a format that is flexible in games and helpful in game planning on the weekends.When structuring my call sheet, the first thing I did was to create landmark calls. We broke the field down by zones, similar to what air raid teams do. But we decided to get more specific

DC Leadership Lessons - Detail is critical in making sure a staff knows the expectations of a defensive coordinator.
As a defensive coordinator, you are the head coach of the defense. That’s the way I approach it every day. Before fall camp and spring ball,  I discuss my expectations for each coach and their position group. As the leader of those coaches, I want to make sure we are on the same page. My Expectations -A.  No egos. We should all be trying to achieve the same thing.We should all be in this for the kids. If you are in it for any other reason such as money, not

Zoned In - Inside zone drills for covered and uncovered linemen
To get the most out of our O-linemen we use an effective drill called the Board Drill, which is  part of our every day drills. We buy into it and start each day on the boards to develop great departure angles, contact, and follow through.The inside zone is the area blocking scheme where the covered lineman blocks on and the uncovered lineman blocks the playside gap often resulting in combinations. The O-linemen must read the near foot of the first DL. Movement is the key. The

Rawlings Football 2014 College and High School Coaches of the Year
Urban MeyerOhio StateIt was supposed to be a relatively straightforward formula. Any team with designs on winning a national championship should flex its muscles early in the season, stay relatively healthy, especially at the skill positions, and play its football in the Southeastern Conference. Somehow, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes did not come close to following that formula, yet the team pulled off

Coach to Coach: The Mindset of Excellence
At the end of the 2013 season, I remember watching 15-0 North Dakota State win their third straight FCS title. An ESPN reporter got to Head Coach Craig Bohl in the end zone for the post-game interview. At the end of the interview I heard coach Bohl say, “We pursue perfection and along the way we touch excellence”.           It takes an incredible attitude to push for something so unattainable that it can never be reached and the

Managing Your Program: Advance Your Team with Technology


Drills Report: Four Running Back Drills for Good Footwork and Instinctive Moves
Running backs need to have great footwork. They also need to be able to make moves as second nature. These are not the only things that we practice. But it is very important to make sure that the running backs get plenty of work on these. With our spread offense, the running backs need to be instinctive. Being able to make moves without thinking is critically important.  We work on drills that will help us during game situations. There are four drills that we work on every day

Strength Report: Indiana’s Off-Season Training Philosophy
College football seasons are becoming longer and more physical than ever before. With many college football teams seasons lasting from 14 to 20 weeks, it is critical to use the off-season training weeks as a time to rebuild and retrain in a proper way. In order to start the year off with a proper foundation for the upcoming year, off season training programs can last anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks  consecutively, depending on a number of factors -  spring practice start dates

Running Ahead of Speed (Part IV): Less Coaching and More Teaching – A Speed Development Asset
My premise for speed development is centered on the title. As coaches, we  sometimes coach first and teach second. Our mental energy is usually revved up when we hit the field and sometimes we overlook teaching moments that could be useful.Coaching is defined as teaching and training athletes or performers. Teaching speed requires just that – teaching, not merely directing a workout based on activity and the number of repetitions completed. It should be providing information

Letter from AFM – Winning Ways
At the end of the college football season, we assemble AFM’s panel of experts to debate which FBS coach is most worthy of receiving the Rawlings Football Coach of the Year honor. Winning is not the only criterion. We try to identify the coach whose team most exceeded their expectations and/or overcame obstacles on their way to a breakout season. This year, the debate was short and sweet. It was clear, even before the championship game, that there was one coach that not only had b




MY FOOTBALL JOURNEY: 2014
By Wojciech “Coach Voyt” Andrzejczak This past year has been a blessing in terms of my growth as a coach. For the first time in 10 years, I’ve gave up my New Year’s party to watch Bowl Games. So instead of partying with friends I was enjoying Johnny Manziel’s magic in Atlanta on last New Year’s Eve. In February, I coached at a football camp in Prague in the Czech Republic. Summer gave me the opportunity to teach flag football at Camp Saginaw in the town of Oxford,

FREE FORM - Special Teams Statistics
During the off-season, the free form “Special Teams Statistics” will give you an in-depth look at each of your special teams units. Categories are included for all phases of special teams play – kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return, field goal and extra points as well as the block unit for both field goal and extra points. Categories are also included for both onside kicks, allowed and recovered,  as well as fake punts,  allowed and successful.

Helmet Maintenance 101
For football coaches, athletic trainers, and athletic equipment managers, player safety is the number one priority for their athletes. One of the best ways to support that endeavor is to have a certified athletic equipment manager on staff. Established in 1973, the athletic equipment managers association (AEMA) added certification for members in 1991. The certification program represents a level of competence, professionalism, and accountability to organizations, coaches and athletes. With th

From the Coach’s Bookshelf: Linebacker Lessons
Coach Lou Tepper brings more than 45 years of experience as a college football coach to Complete Linebacking. In this excerpt, Coach Tepper details the many intangibles a linebacker must possess to maximize his success.Linebackers are the glue of a defensive unit, physically and emotionally. Physically, they fill the open seams between defensive linemen inside and patrol the perimeter in conjunction with the secondary. In zone coverage lineback

Simulating Game Action with 3 Linebacker Drills
We run a 3-4 based scheme, so we need to have quite a few different linebacker drills ready when fall camp starts. To make sure we can cover all of the skills that our players need for the season, I start with a chart. This chart changes slightly from year to year as I adjust what skills and techniques I feel our players need to have. I also add new drills that I see or take out drills I want to get rid of.  Ultimately, I don’t want to have so many drills that I don’t hav

The Dupe Run-Pass Combo
The Dupe concept is the name of the pass concept that is tagged with the run call and can only be run out of the 3 x 1 formation. It is one of our 12 run/pass combos that gives the quarterback the opportunity to make an easy hitch or slant throw.We always run the dupe offense out of either a static 3 x 1 formation or motioning into a 3 x 1 formation. Dupe communicates to our receivers the pass routes. The single receiver away from the formation call will always run a 6-yard hitch r

Special Teams Winning Edge (Part II)
In the December issue, we discussed the head coach setting the tone for special teams play, the importance of other assistant coaches being involved in areas of special teams, setting goals, and strategy for the punt unit, kickoff unit, kickoff return unit and punt return unit. In this article, we’ll discuss practice efficiency and key points to consider when game planning for your next opponent.  Spring Practice Plans Each spring, we evaluate our performance from th

Defensive Backs: Techniques, Fundamentals, Tips and Drills (Part II)
In the December issue of AFM, we discussed tips for defensive backs, basic techniques, backpedaling techniques, and how to change direction. In this issue, we will discuss knowing the interception point, stripping the receiver, playing the ball, playing the blocker on a run play, secondary run support and contain, coverage support and pursuit angles.INTERCEPTION POINT    After your defensive backs recognize each pattern, they must learn where the ball will usual

Running for Sparty: Michigan State Running Back Essentials, Fundamentals and Abilities
I have been fortunate to be a part of the successes and championships at Michigan State and truly believe that they are a result of a tremendous team effort of our coaches and administrators.We have been blessed with talent at the running back position over our years here but we also believe that we do a good job of developing these young men. This article outlines what we believe it takes to play RB at a high level – the essentials. These are what the individual, to some degree,

Planning Ahead: What are the keys to game planning for an offensive coordinator?
What does an offensive coordinator go through as he prepares for his next opponent? What are the keys to having the most efficient game plan? AFM spoke to three offensive coordinators about the topic – Keith Grabowski, former offensive coordinator at Baldwin Wallace University, football consultant Dan Gonzalez, a former high school and college offensive coordinator, and Nick Restifo, the offensive coordinator at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.What is the process for

Safety First: Be Safe in Your Weight Room (Part II)
What are the most important safety procedures in the weight room? AFM posed this question to Jim Kielbaso, the Director of Total Performance Training Centers (MI), Jim McGuire, the Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning at Merrimack College, and Dan Leary, an assistant coach and the strength and conditioning coach at Seaside High School (OR). In part two of this conversation, the three coaches offer their guidance on spotting and proper procedures for an injury in the weight room.

Imagery: Practice Without Practice
We’ve all daydreamed. As a kid, I often drifted away to the football field, wearing a black jersey with the white number 40. I was running for touchdowns on the biggest stage. Defenders were diving at my feet as I sliced and diced my way to the end zone.The defender was diving for air behind me. I could be anyone in my mind. I would make the moves in my mind as I imagined myself becoming Gayle Sayers in that white number 40.     In my mind I imagined myself em

Maximize Practice Time with Special Team Drills
We pride ourselves on having a special team’s identity. It’s consists of pressure, field position, and points. These identities help create tempo and energy throughout practice and games. Our philosophy consists of: Pressure:•  We make every effort in every way to apply pressure to our opponent. Field Position:•  We either want to flip or win field position whenever possible. Points:•  With every special teams unit, we e

Teaching the Clean: From A to Z (Part II)
In part I of teaching the clean lift, we discussed the concept of clean movement patterns and progressing your athletes with the proper technique. In this issue, we will focus on hip extension where real power is generated. Once an athlete can hip hinge properly, we teach violent hip extension. The main ways we teach this are through a variety of medicine ball throws and kettlebell swings (Photos 1-4).

Running Ahead of Speed – Technical Foundation, the Heart of the Matter (Part III)
What’s important for enhancing team speed for football? Too often, coaches don’t understand what skills help effectively produce football acceleration, change velocities and deliver burst capability. The essential skills are just that – essential. To produce these skills, you must realize that the bottom line is dependent on a sound foundational movement premise. Foundation simply refers to one fact that overrides all other factors; that is, technical application. Technique must always

Multi Media Educator
For many years, the pages of AFM and coaching clinics were the primary ways a football coach would learn about new techniques, schemes or systems that were being used by other coaches.That’s all changed with the Internet. Today there are multiple ‘platforms’ available to any coach that wants to share his knowledge and opinions with the coaching community. You can turn to dozens of football websites and find volumes of opinions and ideas on every topic imaginable. 




FREE FORM - Coaches Evaluation Form
With the season now completed, it’s a perfect opportunity to evaluate the coaching staff with the Coaches Evaluation Form. Categories include Personal and Professional Attributes, Administrative Procedural Abilities, Knowledge and Practice of Medical-Legal Aspects, Theory and Techniques of Coaching, Personnel Management, and Public Relations Skills.

Aggie Upgrade - With the help of their friends and neighbors at Samson Equipment, New Mexico State completed a major renovation to their strength and conditioning facility.
One would be hard pressed to find a strength and conditioning coach with more experience than Don Decker. One of only 140 individuals worldwide to have been named a master level strength coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Association, Decker’s 24-year collegiate career includes 15 seasons at Arkansas and four at Ole Miss, working with some of the most prominent coaches in the sport. Now, as Director of Strength and Conditioning at New Mexico State University, Decker supervise

Character is the Key
By Jim Place, Retired High School Coach Each year you have 10 scheduled games. Every team will set their goal at going 10-0 but the reality is that very few teams have the physical talent to reach this goal. The reality is that each team has a four game swing based upon their talent. For a given team based upon their talent the best record may be 7-3 and their worst 4-6, other teams 2-8 to 5-5 or 9-1 to 6-4.  This is the range of record

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

Helmet Maintenance 101 -
By Michael Valentine, Equipment Manager, Northern Illinois University and Melisande Resendiz, Assistant Equipment Manager, Northwestern UniversityFor football coaches, athletic trainers, and athletic equipment managers, player safety is the number one priority for their athletes. One of the best ways to support that endeavor is to have a certified athletic equipment manager on staff. Established in 1973, the athletic equipment managers association (AEMA) added certification for mem

Never Stop Learning: Coaching Clinics - 2015
Now is the time to make your plans for coaching clinics in 2015. Here is a listing of four premier organizations that will be conducting clinics across the nation during the winter and spring months of 2015.Nike Coach of the Year Clinics The 2015 Nike Coach of the Year clinics will feature the nation’s top coaches speaking at 15 different cities throughout the country. Coaches can register for any of the clinics by going to www.nikecoyfootball.com. Some of the featured spe

Special Teams Winning Edge (Part I)
I am a believer in our special teams philosophy because we have seen great success in every major category  at two different universities – North Greenville University and Gardner-Webb – at two different levels of college football.My first few years as a special teams coordinator was trial by fire. But what I did learn is that you have to completely embrace the role because all great programs are sound and explosive in the kicking game and you have a chance to create a cul

Defensive Backs Techniques, Fundamentals, Tips and Drills (Part I)
The defensive back position today is perhaps the most physically demanding of any player. He must be able to tackle much bigger running backs and run with wide receivers that have world class speed and the height of a basketball player. Athleticism, hard work, determination and intelligence must be added to God-given talent and instinct in order to play effectively in the secondary. Here are some tips for defensive backs at all levels that you can share with your athletes.Tips For DBs

Wild Bunch - Stress out defenses with the Bunch Passing Game
We have had success with our ‘Bunch’ passing game. There are four major advantages of using the bunch pass:•  It allows you to get wide receivers open based on scheme, not one-on-one matchups.•  The bunch game will loosen up man coverage schemes.•  It makes the defense spend practice time trying to defend it.•  It creates advantages in the run game by spreading the defense out.There are four basic bunch plays that we use

Cashing In - Use some of these creative fundraising techniques to bring extra dollars to your program and motivate players.
Virtually every high school program in America relies on fundraising activities for at least some of their football budget. Whether it’s to purchase necessities such as uniforms or program enhancements such as camps or dinners, fundraising can go a long way toward making “wish-list” items a reality.Fundraising activities also tend to unite players behind a common cause and bring together members of the community in support of the team. Courtesy of AFM readers, here are seven

Building Blocks
Whether you’re starting a new program from scratch, taking over a losing program, or trying to develop your program into a consistent winner, these proven techniques from state champion coaches can be your blueprint for success.When Dave Redding accepted the head coaching position at Mansfield High School in Mansfield, Massachusetts in 1988, he knew changes had to be made. “Mansfield had not won a league championship since 1976,” said Redding. “We focused on the off-season stre

Coach to Coach: Energy Regulation - The Pressure and the Phenom
The best quarterback on the team is a sophomore. He’s 6’2” and built like a tree. His whole life has been filled with off season camps and QB gurus. He has all the physical attributes a coach could wish for. Everybody on the team has great expectations for this phenom. Anything less than a championship by the time he’s a junior or senior will be a great disappointment. It’s game time, and he knows everyone’s watching. He can feel the pressure. His stomach doesn’t feel so good. H

Drills Report: Running and Tackling Drills - A Twist for TNT Drills
Similar to other teams, we spend time each week working on tackling and turnover (TNT) drills. In the past, we typically felt satisfied at the conclusion of each TNT drill as our defense seemed to grasp the fundamentals of tackling and forcing turnovers.  However, when we reached game day and even team practice scenarios, our drills did not seem to translate to the field. Often, we missed tackles (especially in open-field situations) and our players suddenly lacked focus when it came to

Safety First: Be Safe In Your Weight Room (Part I)
Safety is a critical element at every high school and college weight room. AFM spoke with three strength and conditioning coaches about weight room safety procedures including Jim Kielbaso, the Director of Total Performance Training Centers (MI), Jim McGuire, the Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning at Merrimack College, and Dan Leary, assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach at Seaside High School (OR).How do you instruct your athletes on safe lifting procedures

Strength Report: Teaching the Clean: From A to Z (Part I)
We are constantly teaching our athletes how to move better and more efficiently. Our whole program is based on the concept of clean movement patterns, which is stability and mobility through the hips, trunk, and thoracic spine. From there, the ability to control your own body in space, then finally strengthening movement patterns that will benefit movements and learning how to generate, apply, and receive force in any way needed to perform better are our goals.Most of us that playe

Speed Report: Running Ahead of Speed - Stimulus for Training Incentives (Part II)
In our last article on running ahead of speed, we focused on in season concepts that aide the transition of off season development. In part two, here are suggestions and methods that can help stimulate your athlete to strive for higher production. Working year-around can sometimes be mundane, which will disrupt the concentrated and continuous focus needed. Their sense of purpose is significant for sustaining collective desire for reaching objective goals and benchmarks. Speed train

Letter from AFM: 2014 - Was Something Missing?
Except for the NFL and college playoffs, the 2014 season is complete. Looking back, in high school, college and the NFL this season we saw great individual and team efforts, stunning upsets, dominant victories, miracle comebacks and record-setting performances. Everything we’ve come to expect from the game in the modern era.But something was missing this year compared to the recent past. That’s the relentless and overwhelmingly negative media coverage of the dangers of football




Fueling Champions
Sophisticated nutritional and recovery practices and new NCAA food guidelines help Florida State’s Katy Meassick keep Seminole athletes fully fueled and ready for competition.To build a championship program in the ultra-competitive FBS, every aspect of athletes’ training, on and off the field, must be carefully addressed. That includes making sure that proper nutritional and workout recovery practices are being followed. At Florida State, that job falls to Sports Registered Die

THE HEAD COACH EGO CHECK
   

Erasing A Decade of Disappointment: The Transformation of the Mustangs
A lot of coaches like talking Xs and Os, which is the easy part of coaching. The scheming and game planning is the chess match we all signed up for and love to do. However, as head coaches, we take on a little more than just the scheme these days. When you get your shot to be a head coach, for most of us, we don’t inherit a program that wins and is used to winning. Rather, it is usually a challenging program, one that has not won or doesn’t do so consistently. This p

AFM Subscribers Ask with Cocoa High School (FL) Head Coach John Wilkinson
Over the last five seasons, Cocoa High School (FL) has given up an average of only 7.2 points per game on their way to a 58-8 record including 24 shutouts. Cocoa has accomplished this under Head Coach John Wilkinson’s base 3-3-5 defense. What makes it effective, according to Wilkinson, is a combination of slants, stunts, blitzes and disguises. And Wilkinson has done it with many undersized players. His nine-year record at Cocoa now stands at 100-19. This includes three 4A State Championship

Shotgun Snapping in a Run-First Offense - Teaching proper techniques and practicing as many reps as possible will improve the performance of your shotgun snapper.
Shotgun and pistol snapping have become more commonplace in today’s game. It is also common for some high school and college teams to operate out of the shotgun for the majority of their offensive snaps. We are a run heavy team (75 %/25 %) and we operate out of the shotgun nearly 100% of the time.     A few years ago, I researched as much as I could about the shotgun snap. I read from multiple sources and emailed, called, and met with various coaches. I wanted to understa

Zone Defense on the Goal Line - To be efficient in this zone defense, give each player a specific responsibility.
As the passing game has evolved over the last few decades, defenses have been challenged in a variety of ways. Defensive coaches have had to try to find ways to maintain some competitive balance in both the red zone and the big red zone. In the 1970’s it was rare to find teams playing zone defense in the red zone. The standard coverage was man-to-man with corners playing on the line of scrimmage with inside leverage. The most common pass in this scenario became the quick fade to the corner

Updating the Pistol-Flex Offense - Five new enhancements make this offense even more effective.
In our continuing effort to enhance the Pistol-Flex offense, this season we’re adding new plays, variations, drills and pass protection schemes that will, we think, make this offense even harder to stop.One of the improvements in the Pistol-Flex offense is the use of different variations of the base Triple Option play depending on what the defense is showing prior to the snap. An example of this is our “LB” call variation of our Triple play (Diagram 1). The LB tag is called when

Options Galore - To be successful running a multiple option offense from the gun and pistol, every player must identify the read key and the option key.
Option football has changed over the years. My experience with the option has included under center wishbone as a high school coach in the mid ‘80s, followed by under center flex-bone as a college coach in the late ‘90s, and flex-bone shotgun in the 2000s. After becoming the head coach at Augustana College in 2011, I wanted to return to option football but with a more updated approach. So, in 2012, we began running a unique, multiple option system from the shotgun and pistol th

Lasting Legacy - At 70, Corky Rogers is still going strong as a member of the exclusive 400 win club.
It was a misty, cool, December night in Florida. Things looked bleak for coach Corky Rogers and his Bolles School team from Jacksonville. The Bulldogs were trailing a powerhouse Santa Fe team 17-6 with less than a minute to play in a semifinal playoff game. Santa Fe was loaded with future NFL players. “We were just getting it taken to us,” Rogers said. “We were trying everything you could try, because nothing was working.”In that final minute, Rogers made an adjustment and

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

Coach to Coach: The Mental Fundamentals - Attention Control and Concentration
One Play at a Time    It takes consistent practice in order to concentrate and focus on the proper things. Our defense in high school had a motto on every break of the huddle. The Mike linebacker would call the defense and yell “HIT!” and everyone would follow with “HARD!” HIT.....HARD! It seems so simple but that was over 25 years ago and it still gets me fired up. It served as a great verbal trigger to focus on the next play and it describes what we were about

Drills Report: Punt Safe: Defend and Return
In certain situations, whether due to field position or when leading in the latter stages of a game, teams will leave their defense on the field to protect against punt fakes and employ a ‘Punt Safe’ scheme. We employ a scheme that first guards against the fake but at the same time will look to block the punt, and if the ball is punted, use a set wall return (Diagram 1).

Safety First: Keeping Equipment Clean - In-Season
Football season is long and hard on equipment. It is the equipment managers’ job to maintain that equipment so that it can last all season. This includes repairing and cleaning the equipment on a regular basis. The number one goal of cleaning football equipment is killing the microbes that pose the biggest threat to athletes including MRSA, Staph, Meningitis, Strep, Athletes foot, HIV, Herpes, Hepatitis, mold and mildew. These microbes can keep a player out of play for days, weeks, months,

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

Speed Report: Running Ahead of Speed - Making it Doable and Challenging During the Season
Making it Doable and Challenging During the SeasonThis is part I of a four-part series entitled, “Running Ahead of Speed.” The objective is to help you build a truly consistent results-oriented football speed and movement program. Like any endeavor that’s year -to-year, it must rely on certain required elements in order to truly maximize training success.We’re all busy, and this can often determine what is done and how it’s done. Just running isn’t speed work. Ru

Letter From AFM: We're Listening
Every good business listens to their customers. Success demands that companies have a good handle on the opinions, the needs and the desires of the clientele they serve. The media business is no exception. “Know your Audience” is rule number one for anyone in publishing.At AFM, we’ve been listening very closely to our readers for 20 years. Whether it’s hearing from the hundreds of coaches who have contributed articles over the years, getting face-to-face with coaches at con




FREE FORM - Equipment Issue Form
With August camps now underway, equipment will be issued to each player. A priority for each coach is having the "Equipment Issue Form."  This includes each article issued to a player with the respective size, number and date. There is a section for both personal and medical information as well. A must for every coach.

Limits on Live Tackling in Practice – Good or Bad for the Game?
National player safety concerns prompted in great part by the National Football League’s (NFL) response to player lawsuits and scientific research data that is calling into question the safety of the game has led to numerous efforts to implement changes that will hopefully make the game safer on all levels of play. The California Assembly by a vote of 50-22 has approved AB 2127 a bill that will prohibit high school and middle school football teams of school districts, charter school

Best of the Best
The team representing the Miami Dolphins captured the title at the NFL High School Player Development National 7-on-7 Tournament presented by the National Guard.As more and more coaches and skill-position players have recognized the value of off-season competition as a way to fine-tune their passing attacks, 7-on-7 events have flourished. There are dozens of tournaments across the country in the summer months, with some featuring hundreds of teams competing for local and regional supre

From the Coaches Bookshelf: Game Changer
On April 27, 2011, a massive EF4 tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, skirting the University of Alabama campus and narrowly missing 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 50 lost their lives.Living through such an experience changes people, mainly because of the way a community unites in the aftermath of such

The American Equipment Managers Association
The purpose of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA) is, as a national organization, to promote, advance, and improve the equipment managers’ profession in all of its many phases. Members of the AEMA will now be working with American Football Monthly to help educate and inform AFM subscribers about how to better address equipment-related issues.What is the background of the AEMA? In 1974, 25 equipment managers became the first members of the organization at

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

Taking the No-Huddle Offense to the West Coast – Combining the West Coast offense with an up-tempo, no-huddle system can result in a powerful running and passing attack.
Football is a sport that runs in cycles. Offenses and defenses are constantly inventing and re-inventing themselves to match and overtake what the other side of the ball is doing. Systems and styles come and go and then are cycled back again. The constant on either side of the ball, no matter the generation or system, is the importance of a running game. Every defensive coordinator’s first job in preparing for a game is to figure out how to contain the running game. Every offensive coordina

Drills to Develop A Game-Ready Quarterback – Drills that simulate game conditions can help get your QB ready for any situation he'll face on the field.
The quarterback position has long been described as another coach on the field. The qualities of a good quarterback must be fine-tuned from his playing ability to his leadership ability. These qualities must be identified, explained, practiced and developed to their fullest to create a successful and winning quarterback.There must be drills developed and executed that cover every situation that will arise for a quarterback in a football game. But before we ever get to the game, pra

A Complete In-Season Training Program
Our mission as a strength and conditioning department is to develop strong minds within strong bodies and prepare each athlete for the rigors and demands of college athletics. We have three goals we use to summarize the mission:1.  Reduce the occurrence of injury2.  Improve athletic performance3.  Optimize team successWith our football program, I view the in-season as our most important training stage of the entire year. This is the time when the

The Art of the Interception – Proper positioning and anticipation are two prerequisites for making an interception.
Just about every coach at every level will tell you that turnovers are critical. Interceptions, especially, alter the momentum and often change the outcome of a game. What can be done to help your defense cause an interception? What type of preparation is needed so that your defense is ready to anticipate a potential interception?AFM spoke to five defensive coaches whose teams were among the leaders in interceptions last fall. They included four defensive coordinators: Josh Homolka

Starting Fresh – What are the priorities for five new first-year head coaches?
Steve Sarkisian’s first team meeting as head coach of the Southern California Trojans lasted an hour. There was no planned speech, only bullet-pointed priorities on what he expected from his players and what they could expect from their new coach. He strived to make his introduction as real as possible.“I don’t think you should come into that first meeting (with a new team) believing that you’re going to win over all the players,” said Sarkisian, who, after five successfu

Managing Your Program: Building a Team – Objectives for Camp
Unity/Chemistry - Establishing chemistry is a big goal for every team in camp. Hopefully, the ground work was established in the off season. No matter how the off season went, camp and the new season have a new dynamic in how the team will interact and work together. It is a time for leadership of the team to really take root. This is an area that can be coached, managed and developed. A good head coach and his staff will see some of the issues that must be worked on during camp so

Drills Report: Kickoff Return – The Alley Drill
Anyone who has coached special teams at any level will usually list three problem areas that can sometimes make it difficult to excel in the kicking game. One is personnel. It is a constant challenge to balance utilizing your roster to the max yet also getting the best players on your team involved in the kicking game. Another is how much time is allotted to special teams practice. If you are in high school or college, your practice time is often limited. Unless you have a head coach who real

Coach to Coach: The Mental Fundamentals – Motor Programming
The ball is in the air. It’s a perfect spiral flying straight into a pair of hands. He drops it! It’s like his hands exploded from the speed of the ball. The coach yells “catch the ball, you gotta make that catch” or something similar, as if the player didn’t want to catch the ball in the first place. Why waste your breath on stating the obvious? What kind of receiver doesn’t want to make the catch? Chances are, the reason he missed the catch is because he hasn’t done

Safety First: Head Injury Checklist
If an athlete has suffered a blow to the head or a whipping of the head and neck, immediately evaluate for symptoms and signs of injury.Causes of Head Injury•  Direct blow to the head•  Sudden, forceful jarring or whipping of the headAsk if Experiencing Symptoms•  Headache•  Dizziness•  Ringing in the ears•  Grogginess•  Nausea•  Blurred or double vision

The Kettlebell Alternative
Ten years ago I made a decision that would change the course of my training practice and instruction forever. On the recommendation of a mentor of mine, I took a considerable leap of faith, jumped on a plane to St. Paul, MN, and with virtually no experience whatsoever, dove into a kettlebell certification weekend that nearly killed me. It was the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certification) by Dragon Door and I had no earthly understanding what I was getting into. It was like a football training ca

Speed Assistance and Resistance - Good or Bad for Football?
Since speed and movement and movement control are the most sought-after athletic qualities, coaches and trainers are always looking for ways to help athletes improve in these areas. Let’s look at the topic of loading and assisting and try to sort out the good from the not so good. Coaches constantly ask me about load speed work and assisted speed work. For football, it’s a controversial subject. First, coaches place too much value on it and, in most cases, use it improperly. Of

Letter From AFM: Kickoff 2014
It’s that great time of year on the football calendar when pre-season camp is winding down and you’re putting the final touches on plans for the opening game, which will happen in a matter of weeks. You and your players have spent many hours preparing physically, mentally and strategically for the season and anticipation of a great year is high. It’s true what they say about August – every team is undefeated.Like everyone involved in the game, our anticipation of the upcomi




Getting Everyone on the Same Page: Coach Ralph Munger Talks About Building Confidence
By Jared Wood, Sports Psychology Consultant  

Carmel High School’s Game Week Preparation Model
By John Hebert, Assistant Coach, Carmel High School (IN) The Carmel defensive system currently in place has many influences. Through external benchmarking visits, (2005-Colerain High School in Cincinnati; 2008- Air Force Academy; 2010- Naval Academy; and 2012 Grand Valley State) we have become committed to a one ga

FREE FORM - Team Goals
With pre-season camp coming soon, it is critical to put together Total Team Goals. This free form includes a sample listing of offensive, defensive, and special teams goals.

A Question of CHARACTER
The NFL High School Player Development Program presented by the National Guard helps thousands of high school athletes develop strong character.From an athletic standpoint, the hundreds of camps of the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard help thousands of high school student-athletes refine their football skills using drills developed by a collegiate coaching staff. From a competitive standpoint, HSPD organizes the nation’s largest 7-on-7 tourna

From the Coaches Bookshelf: Maturing Process
Bill Courtney turned a group of at-risk teens at Manassas High School in Memphis into a tight, highly motivated football team that was the subject of the 2012 Academy Award-winning film, Undefeated. He also converted an abandoned piece of property into a $45 million dollar lumber company. Courtney has since become a consultant for PepsiCo, Nike, and Fed Ex. This excerpt is from his recently-published book, Against the Grain: A Coach’s Wisdom on Character, Faith, Family and Love.Too m

Pressure Defenses, Part II: Having the proper angle for each player is crucial in pursuing a ball carrier in space.
Last month’s issue included our defensive alignment and strategy as well as our different fronts and coverages. This month, we feature three different defensive pursuit drills.A crucial period of practice for us is our pursuit drill time. The focus is on getting aligned, proper communication, correct angles, and great effort. This drill sets the tempo for the rest of practice. Going hard every time and sprinting to the football is a point of pride for all of our players.

Fixed Front: Defending trips to the field and in the boundary with a stable pre-snap look
With more and more offenses going to spread type schemes, we are seeing more trip formations. Not only do we want to be able to stop or control the trip formations but we need to be multiple and not be one-dimensional in our call options. To give you a quick idea of our defense, we do everything off field and boundary. Breaking down film, we found that around 80% of our plays last season were on a hash. That is a huge statistic and something that we feel we need to play against. In our defens

Flex Fronts: Stop offenses by using a different front on every play.
As I watched Clemson and Auburn play in BCS games last January, I wondered how many high school coaches will be going to the spring coaching clinics put on by these schools. More importantly, what are defensive coaches going to do to stop these types of offense? Tight ends are becoming a huge part of offenses. While there are some teams that don’t ever use one, other teams use three on one play. We have to be able to line up against all of these formations.In Florida, we see a di

Play Keep-Away: Each time your team punts, the goal is to kick it 40 yards and out of bounds.
It’s that time of year when coaches are in clinic research, upgrading playbooks and pushing the weight room as hard as possible. One area that is overlooked in a lot of playbooks is special teams evaluation. In most cases, special teams is the difference between two evenly-matched teams. Often overlooked and under-practiced, special teams play effects the overall efficiency of your program.In high school, we all face that very special player in the kicking game that can score any

Complete Package: Becoming a complete wide receiver includes becoming a better downfield blocker.
Blocking is critical to becoming a complete wide receiver. Blocking as a receiver is about effort, position, and leverage. A complete receiver always puts as much effort into blocking as he does into catching passes. It is great if you have what it takes to run clean routes to get open and catch the football, but what if the play that’s being called is a running play? Will you do your part to ensure the play is a success and that a teammate has a great opportunity to score? Or, will you jus

Big D: Defensive Line Philosophy and Daily Drills for an Aggressive Front
One key to a strong defense is that each position group develops the fundamental skills required to consistently execute their individual assignments. Here is our defensive line philosophy and an outline of the daily drills we utilize to help our players compete at a high level.  Defensive Line PhilosophyWe pride ourselves on being a fast, aggressive front that plays with exceptional fundamentals and discipline. We prepare, practice, and compete with tremendous energy and

AFM’s Annual State Champions Roundup
State Champ Coaches’ Profile    Average Age = 48    Average Years as a Head Coach = 13    (22% have 20 or more years experience)    80% are coaches and teachersWhat are some of the reasons for your success? (multiple answers)100% said Coaching Staff98% said Players72% said Parents Support69% said Strength and Conditioning57% sai

Coach to Coach: The Mental Fundamentals: Goal Setting
Building Perspective    The first game is just around the corner, so we call a team meeting to assess our direction for the season and set some goals. When I ask the kids what their goals are for the season they seem to reply with the same answer every year, “win league, win state and beat our rivals.” Winning seems to be the theme for every goal. Even the coaches I’ve worked with base all of their goals around winning. It reminds me of that famous Lombardi quote

Drills Report: The Down Block
If you are a tackle or tight end and you can down block, then you will play. We have reminded our players of this for the last twenty years. The down block is the most important block in our offense.There are four phases to the proper execution of the down block. The first phase is footwork. To be a good down blocker you have to bring your feet to the block. The first drill that we do every day is “One-Step Bird Dog.”FOOTWORKStart all offensive linemen in a stan

Prevention of Exertional Heat-Related Illnesses
The key to prevention is balancing all the factors that influence body temperature so that the body temperature stays within a safe range. Here’s how:Monitor weather conditions and adjust practices accordingly. Table 11.1 shows the specific air temperature and humidity percentages that can be hazardous. Keep in mind, however that football exertional heat-related deaths have occurred at temperatures as low as 82 degrees with a relative humidity index at only 40 percent. If heat and h

A Full Lower Body Workout
For our complete lower body workout, we have six rotating stations. Over the course of our training period, we begin with joint and postural stabilization and then conclude with training to express force quickly. The primary goal in this phase is strength endurance, joint and posture stabilization, and a strict focus on technique. Just because you’re in one phase does not mean that components of other phases will not be present. We always warm up and do core, stretch, and/or meditation at t

Icing on the Cake
Every year, when we survey head coaches of state championship teams, we learn something new about the coaches and teams that won state titles the previous season.This year, for example, we found out that the vast majority of teams use a no-huddle, hurry up offense at least some of the time and 31% use it all of the time. That’s amazing when you consider that only a handful of teams were running no-huddle only five years ago when we ran a cover story that asked, “Should You Ditc




FREE FORM - Offensive Game Plan
With summer practices here, it is time to put together a detailed Offensive Game Plan Form. This form includes all down and distance situations, red zone and goal line plans, and special situations. It’s a must for every offensive coach.

Coaching American Football Overseas
By John Trana, American Football Coach in Russia and Croatia   American football’s popularity is growing quickly all around the world. It is opening up new avenues for players and coaches to continue their football careers. There are over 700 teams in Europe alone playing American football. The quality of football can vary drastically with the top teams playing at a low college level. As the NFL continues to expand overseas, so will the popularity of American foo

MAKE YOUR SYSTEM FIT YOUR PERSONNEL – FOCUS ON THE PLAYER AND NOT THE PLAY
Coaches love to talk about personnel. In fact once someone identifies you as a defensive coach, you can almost guarantee the next question is going to be “What do you run?” The person who is asking the question is looking to see if you are a 4-3 guy or a 3-4 guy.  Now there are other defenses but the majority of coaches fit one of these two molds. While I think that having a system in place and being consistent is very important, I think that you are making a big mistake if y

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

Pressure Packed – Game-like drills will help your quarterback make good decisions.
In today’s offensive game plans, most teams have a spread attack that works out of the shotgun set. Teams run 60-65 plays per game with the quarterback in a drop back technique for most of the passing plays. Out of the number of passing plays called, at least 12-15 plays – on an average – force the quarterback out of the pocket or to retreat back into the middle of the pocket. This means at least one fourth of your pass plays have a QB making a decision to either run or pass while

Situational Analysis – Having a specific gameplan for each offensive situation enhances your chances of success.
We teach our players to develop a thorough understanding of situational offense: its importance, its relevance, and the consequences of not recognizing and reacting to the many situations that exist and ultimately define our game. Here are eight main situations and how we develop our players’ understanding of them. During the beginning of fall camp, as well as in the opening of spring practice, we implement a well-planned-out installation that will be the foundation of our offens

Put the Block On – Block circuit drills and one-on-one punt rush drills can increase your chances of blocking a punt.
Blocking punts takes not only personal belief and courage, but training and a good scheme to get the right player free to the punter. We teach the techniques necessary to properly block punts. We also practice different drills to train players to use those techniques plus a few scheme adjustments to try to get players free to the punter. I always tell the players that I want volunteers, not mercenaries. Mercenaries are people you hire to do a job; volunteers do it because they love it. Pu

Pressure Defenses (Part I) – Specific stunts and gap exchanges – when coordinated correctly – can improve team defense.
The Peru State defense played with relentless effort last season and finished sixth in the nation against the run and second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) in total defense. A big reason was our defensive philosophy and how we align with our various packages.Bobcat Defensive Philosophy•      Focus on effort and attitude•      Play hard every play and play with great         enthus

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

Summer Priorities – What should be your priorities heading into the summer months?
The summer months bring about a number of challenges for every football coach. Staying in contact with players and parents without school every day can be difficult. Similarly, coordinating staff meetings and giving players and coaches the needed time off before the grind of a new season begins can also be taxing.What should be your priorities heading into summer? What are the most effective ways to communicate with players and coaches? How important are strength and conditioning p

A Lifetime in the Game – Troy Vincent has transitioned from collegiate All-American to All-Pro to player’s association president to top NFL executive
If you’re a Wisconsin Badger fan, you likely remember him as the 1990 Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year as a defensive back who doubled as an electric, record-setting return man under Barry Alvarez. You probably also recall with pride his selection by the Miami Dolphins in the 1992 NFL Draft as the 7th overall pick.If you’re a Philadelphia Eagles follower, you saw him at the peak of his 15-year NFL career. His eight years with the team as one of the leagues most dependable co

Managing Your Program: Creating the Installation Schedule for Fall Camp
Recently, the three-day installation has become a popular topic. It seems the challenge is to see how fast you can install your offense, and the process is repeated with deeper levels of understanding being developed in each repetition of the installation. This is something Dana Holgersen made popular at West Virginia. While I have implemented the three-day initial install, I extended the total install out to seven days with a layered approach. Each subsequent day adds layers to the initial i

Coach to Coach: The Mental Fundamentals
The yellow flag is thrown and the coach’s voice is rising. It’s obviously a bad call. Everyone can smell the home cooking. “That score would have put us on top and now it’s called back. The ref has literally taken points away from us.” The coach is livid and walking the tightrope to ejection. The lack of composure is reflected in the players when the clock dwindles and the cheap shots fly. This game will be lost in more ways than one.Building mental toughness starts with

Speed Report: Football Movement Training – Complete Before the Season
Many sports require a variety of movement and speed changes. However, football has a greater challenge performance-wise than other sports due to the immense contact that is a part of the game. Other sports don’t endure the physicality like football.Good movement control is the backbone of football speed. What marks outstanding skill performance is not solely the level of an athlete’s talent but the level of movement skill ability that accompanies the athlete’s natural ability

Drills Report: The Wall Return Drill
One of the most exciting plays in football is when a punt returner is able to sprint around the edge and make use of the “wall” on an outside return. At Illinois, we rely on a drill installed on day one of our fall practices for our punt return team.An important phase of the return is having initial landmarks for the wall blockers (Diagram 1). When the ball is on a hash and a wall return is called to the wide side of the field, the wall blockers use the far hash as a landmark.

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.

Strength Report: Screen, Evaluate, and Correct
The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) was developed by Gray Cook and is used by many NFL, NHL, and MLB teams as well as colleges throughout the country. The FMS is a screen of seven movements, giving a grade of 0-3. Using the FMS, we can look at imbalances and dysfunctions in our athletes and prescribe corrective exercises that will help them move better. Why do we want them to move better? The answer is simple: they will be more athletic and also more injury-proof. The FMS also allows us to s

Mixing Business and Pleasure
You’re probably familiar with the famous Harvey Mackay quote about the best advice to give a young person deciding on a new career – “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”.While not everyone can find a job that they truly love and still pay their bills, we’re confident that most coaches feel fortunate to be able to combine something that they love with their profession. Whether you’re a full time coach or a coach as well as a




Football and Networking: What Are the Priorities?
What do you hope to get out of the clinics and conventions you attend this off-season? Most coaches will say they are hoping to gain “one thing”. They may spend a full day or a whole weekend listening to speakers to find one minor improvement on a drill or the slightest variation to their favorite play. Clinics and conventions are great for that, but don’t ignore the networking opportunities they also present. To get the absolute most of any football professional development event you a

FINDING THE RIGHT CONDITIONING COACH
I had an opportunity to attend a football clinic by an organization that is really well known for putting on quality clinics. This clinic was well attended with most of the attendees from high schools in the area. Since I no longer coach a position, I was there to listen and learn from the strength and conditioning coach. The presenting coach was the head strength from an

FREE FORM - Running Back Drill and Technique Checklist
Drills and coaching techniques are a part of every spring practice. The Running Back Drill and Technique Checklist is a form that is helpful to every coach. It includes ball protection techniques, body control and agility drills, and timing, blocking and passing drills.

Major Undertaking
Behind the scenes at a successful football skills and character development camp of the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard.As you would expect, managing the largest football skills and character development camp program in the world is a massive organizational challenge. With nearly two hundred camps across the country involving thousands of high school athletes, the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Gua

SERVE and PROTECT
Legendary New England Coach John Papas teams up with Xenith to provide future collegiate athletes with added protection, better fit and strong performance.If you’ve coached at the high school and collegiate levels for over 35 years, chances are you’ve developed strong opinions about football equipment. You know which products are best for your players from performance and safety standpoints and you know which companies are best to work with. Coach John Papas has seen

Your Take: Win The Offseason: Organization Matters
Organization isn’t the sexiest topic to talk about, but if you’re serious about improving as a coach, it takes more than how-to videos and watching game tape. Reviewing your notes and processes can help save time and energy, while also allowing you to tackle your goals of molding your athletes into better players and people.Being disorganized can mean the difference between winning and losing. Even the smartest coaches need to be reminded of old plays and schemes that could hel

BOTTLING UP THE RUN Complete D-Line Drills to Eliminate the Middle Running Game
We run the Virginia Tech G defense as our base. We have melded that into the 4-2-5 and added 3-4 to our schemes. However, the G is where we start everything. Everything builds on the G. Our league has not made the transition to the spread offense, so we are part of a Delaware and I-zone league. We are not stopping the run on the way to the quarterback; rather, we are a read and react defense. Trends will change and we have adapted some new things to defend the spread offense. But, in our basi

BE SPECIAL By committing to better special team practice organization, your units will create more explosive plays.
Special teams are an important part of any football game. They are the first play of every game, and many times the last and decisive play in a game. During every special teams play, one of these situations occurs – a large field position exchange, a change of possession, or a scoring opportunity. Frequently, two of these situations take place on the same special teams play. By their very nature, special teams plays are “special” and have a big impact on the outcome of the game.

The 35 Defensive Package Cover 3, Cover 4, and Blitz Packages Part II
In blitz packages, it is critical for the defensive ends to draw blocks to free the blitzing linebackers or defensive backs.In the last issue of AFM, we discussed our base alignment, gap responsibilities, our gap numbering system, and the receivers’ numbering system. We included diagrams that explained our numbering system vs. the spread, an open twins formation and a pro formation. Secondary coverage vs. these three formations concluded part I. In this issue, our robber coverage and

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

MODERNIZING THE WING-T By emulating Auburn's modified Wing-T offense, you can have a dynamic, deceptive running attack.
During last season’s SEC championship game, when Verne Lundquist pointed out that Gus Malzahn was a proponent of the Wing-T when he coached high school football in Arkansas, Wing-T coaches everywhere must have smiled. Lundquist even mentioned the legendary Tubby Raymond and his book, The Delaware Wing-T - An Order of Football. Not only was a former high school coach succeeding on college football’s biggest stage, he was doing it with a modified, modernized version of the Wing-T.

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

Having the Right Mouthguard
It’s easy to take some things for granted until they’re gone. Imagine what it would be like if you lost one or two of your front teeth. A properly fitted mouthguard is an important piece of athletic gear that should be mandatory for football players at all levels. Mouthguards help cushion blows that might otherwise cause broken teeth and help prevent injuries to the lips, tongue, face and jaw. According to the National Youth Sports Foundation for the Prevention of Athletic Inju

Cougar Defensive Line Drills part II
Last month, our defensive line drills included the use of agility bags and a variety of cage drills. This issue includes the use of post mount sleds, hoops, two-man pop ups and tite bags. We practice a number of these drills daily, which we believe improves both the agility and quickness of our D-linemen.#1. Post Mount Sleds 

Maximizing Spring Agility Drills
If every athlete used the spring to improve their speed and strength, summer conditioning would be really simple. Everyone would be faster and stronger than before, and with a couple of  weeks of basic conditioning, you’d be ready for football practice. Unfortunately, things never seem to turn out that way, so you need to have an effective plan in place.It’s important to analyze the metabolic requirements of football and design conditioning routines that train the proper e

David vs Goliath
On Saturday, September 1, 2007, my wife and I were driving through Boone, North Carolina on vacation. The normally bustling main street in the picturesque Blue Ridge mountain town was deserted. It was the first day of the college football season and the local school, Appalachian State, was probably playing. It wasn’t until we checked into our inn that we found out that App State was shocking the world – leading Michigan at halftime in Ann Arbor, 28-17.This game wasn�




Lessons from Leaders
At every NFL PREP 100 Series event, representatives of the National Guard present  a program based on leadership development to all participating student-athletes. It gives players a chance to learn leadership skills and hear directly from an individual who is in a leadership position. It also provides the National Guard with an opportunity to educate athletes who may not pursue careers in football about the benefits of military service.At a recent PREP100 Series event in Balt

ESTABLISHING A QUICK-PACED OFFENSE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Aside from scoring, the ability to control the clock and the tempo of a football game is the primary objective of any offense. For years, the pattern was to pound the ball slowly and chew up the clock to control a game and defeat an opponent. Yet, with

Recognition and Competition: Motivating Players in the Off-Season
There is no magic formula for motivating players and yet it is considered a crucial part of any team’s success. Athletes are unique in their psychological needs for external motivation and even those needs change as each athlete matures.  To complicate matters further, each year a team’s motivational needs change based on previous successes and a host of other varia

Solid Foundation
The NFL PREP 100 Series presented by Under Armour and the National Guard gives elite high school student-athletes meaningful lessons in football and in life.The NFL gives back to the high school community at large through its High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard. Free football skills and character development camps are conducted nationwide along with the HSPD Leadership Program and the National 7-on-7 Tournament – together

Champion Communicators
Four state champion coaches rely on the Tempest FX sideline communications system from CoachComm.All high school coaches know that it’s critical to have clear, reliable communications during a game. The ability to share information between coaches in the press box and those on the sideline has, for years, determined much of a team’s in-game strategy. An interrupted signal or unclear reception can spell disaster.    But the best coaches, those that win state champ

A-Turf® Titan: the Industry's Best-Performing Artificial Turf System
A-Turf, a synthetic turf athletic field builder, sets the standard in the industry by partnering with schools, colleges & universities, parks and private developers to provide premier athletic surfaces. Its A-Turf® Titan is the industry’s best-performing artificial turf system – and it’s backed with the best and longest warranty: 12 years. While it’s been in action for a few years, A-Turf’s most notable Titan field is at the Ralph Wilson Stadium – home to the NFL’s Buffalo

Managing your Program - Self Evaluation With Film
Spring football begins soon around the country. While the format and limitations vary from state-to-state, there should still be a focus for both the players and coaches. The spring is a time where the sense of urgency is not as important as during the season. There either isn’t a game at the end of this period, or if there is, it’s at the end of several weeks of preparation. With that removed as a prime focus, development of a foundation for the fall is of utmost importance. Using film a

Free Form - Quarterback Skills
This form is perfect for the assessment of your quarterback. The form is divided into basic skills and advanced skills. Before competing at the varsity level, basic skills include how competent the quarterback is in ball-handling, knowing his assignments, and many others. In the advanced section, to succeed at the varsity level, your quarterback must be able to know ever player’s responsibility on every play, lead in both the huddle and the line of scrimmage, and be proficient in eight more

DEFENSIVE BLUEPRINT - Lehigh's 11 Keys to a Championship Defense
We have 11 priorities for building a championship defense: staff, personnel, multiplicity, coaching the little things, getting what you coach, swarm, passion, and finish, self-scouting, game planning, and maintaining the integrity of your defense. Developing each one is critical to building your defense.  Staff - It’s hard to be a championship defense if you don’t have a championship staff. In order to develop your staff, everyone must be on the same page and be an expert in

Rowan University's Special Teams Philosophy and Punt Team Techniques
We think our approach to special teams is very sound. We utilize all players, both starters and reserves, on special teams and use players from both sides of the ball. Also, we will reward certain players for outstanding play by allowing them to participate on special teams.We identify every player’s strengths and incorporate them into special teams. We cannot afford to spend an inordinate amount of time teaching skills that players have already mastered. We keep the schemes rela

The 35 Defensive Package: The 35 defensive package can adjust to multiple formations and motion without having to change personnel.
We have had defensive success with our 3-5 or 35 package that takes advantage of our players’ speed. Included is our base alignment, terminology, our numbering system and how we line up vs. twins formations, the spread, and combinations of cover 2 and cover 3. In each situation, we have multiple disguises and blitz packages. Overview•  The 35 defensive concept is built around foot speed – plain and simple.•  If your team has the speed to run it, ther

The Fine Points of the 3-Step Passing Game
We have been successful with the 3-step passing game over the last few seasons. Here are the reasons why we use it, the quarterback’s steps and reads, the importance of ball placement and wide receiver routes. Four actual plays within the 3-step game are also included – our 90 pass, 91 switch, 92 double, and 95Y stick. Reasons to use the 3-step passing game: •  Better utilize our skilled athletes - “speed in space”.•  Take advantage of loose

U-TURN How Southern Virginia University went from 3-8 to 8-2.
On February 9th 2009, I agreed to become the head football coach at Southern Virginia University. At the time, the SVU football program faced several obstacles both on and off the field. They included a low team grade point average, discipline problems, and recruitment and retention problems. In addition, they had embraced a mediocre mentality from a losing record.When I accepted the head coaching job, SVU had only had one winning season in school history and had averaged just two

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

AFM Subscribers Ask With Joe Willis Part II • Head Coach • Cedar Park High School (TX)
What is your thought process as far as setting the front and linebackers to the back or away from the back when the offense is in the shotgun? Stephen Harward, Assistant Coach, North Harford High School, Pylesville, Maryland.When planning vs. a one-back offense, there are a couple of things I want to know before we shade the front to or away from the RB. 1) Do they bounce the back? If they have the potential to check and bounce, then I am going to lean toward slant calls vs. shades. T

Cougar Defensive Line Drills
We believe that constant drill work for our defensive line makes them better players. We have a variety of drills for our D-line that feature four different agility bag drills including two in a hole, a lateral run drill, and a cut drill. There are also four different cage drills that we practice on a regular basis – get offs, fast feet, the lateral shuffle, and the L-step. In part II next month, we will include drills such as post mount sleds, pop up bags, and tite up bags. # 1.&n

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 &

Running Back-Specific Training: From the Weight Room to the Field
The idea of sport-specific training has gained great popularity over the years. Inevitably, every coach wants to ensure that he/she is attaining maximal transfer with the strength training programming that is being practiced among the athletes in the weightroom. There is some truth to this thought and approach. First, the all-too-familiar SAID Principle (Specific-Adaptations-to-Imposed-Demands), has been proven time and time again in both research and training. This principle states that trai

SPECIFICITY TRAINING The Key Factor for Optimizing Football Speed
Football speed training is too often confused between what should be correctly conceived versus what is incorrectly believed. This is relevant to you if you have a desire to make changes that will benefit the quality of each player’s speed capability. Change that will maximize results drastically. The majority of football coaches use training applications that are not processing their athletes’ football speed by the rule of specificity. That is, specific applications that offer pure value

Letter from AFM – Social Studies
When the subject of social media came up at a recent NFL HSPD Leadership Program session for top high school student-athletes, NFL Player Engagement representatives had a unique way of presenting the perils of posting on social media sites. One by one, they asked athletes to stand up and read actual tweets they had sent out, which the NFL had previously collected and projected on a big screen.The results of the exercise weren’t pretty. Many tweets included foul language and derog




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

Practice Priorities - All high school coaches benefit from the practice plan developed for the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard
What are your priorities when designing an early-season practice plan? Do you try to build a collection of proven drills that safely and efficiently teach fundamentals while challenging your players? Do you incorporate teaching techniques that you may have learned from a top college coach at a clinic session? Do you have printed materials and video that every member of your staff can use to gain a thorough understanding of your drills and how to conduct them?If you’re a coach at

FREE FORM - Special Team Statistics
Having a solid kicking game is critical to every team’s success. This form details a complete workout for your punting team as well as your kickoff team. Charts are included to detail the success of punts from the left, middle, and right hash marks as well as kickoffs and onside kicks.

Trash Can Ball – A Great Motivator for the Spring and Summer
During the summer months, players come to our athletic facility to lift weights and to run for conditioning. For the longest time, it seemed to be a chore in getting the athletes motivated to come in and work out. This all changed a few years ago when we started playing trash can ball for our conditioning program. Since we started trash c an ball, attendance for lifting and conditioning has been near perfect.   What is it and how do you play it? Why should you play

Finding a Football Strength Coach
It is critical to get the right person from the start. First and foremost is a coach that understands your football program and will buy in and want to be a part of it. That is why I look at this position as a football coaching position. Many times the football coach and the strength coach do not see eye to eye, and it usually results in a bad environment for coaches and athletes. This position coach must be on board as the “Football Strength Coach”. If this coach does not buy in,

AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Willis (Part I) Head Coach, Cedar Park High School (TX)
Joe Willis is the head coach of 2012 State Champion Cedar Park High School (TX). A defensive specialist, Coach Willis uses multiple looks in his 3-4 defense to slow down an up-tempo offense. Cedar Park calls their defense like they call their offense – marrying the front and coverage calls together and using disguises pre-snap on every play. They use a combination of slants, stunts, and blitzes to help defend the no-huddle offense. Coach Willis answers your questions.How do y

Developing a Defensive Foundation
Having specific goals and a defensive strategy are critical to success.Developing a dominant defensive begins with players believing in your foundation. That foundation is “Organized Chaos.” It is a mindset that you will strive to be the best defense at any level in the nation. Your players need to understand who they are off the field and who you want them to be on the field. At your first defensive meeting, set the standard by which you want them to play. Teach them about what wi

A Different Read on the Zone Option
Selective adjustments in the zone read – such as keying on the inside linebacker – can add to your offensive production.Like many coaches, I spent a great deal of time in December and January watching the college bowl season and the NFL playoffs. Armed with my DVR, I couldn’t help but notice that a majority of teams ran some variation of the “zone read.” Many of them dressed the play up with different formations and motions, while some added another element to the play to mak

Option Football – Few Plays, Many Ways: The Passing Game (Part II)
Five different pass concepts – play-action, quick game, sprint out, drop back, and screens – can be run successfully out of the option.As a committed triple option coach, I try to run the ball as much as possible. However, it is critical to have, at the very least, some basic passing concepts. This is because many defenses today will stuff the tackle box with up to ten defenders if they feel that the offense will not be able to muster an effective passing game. Just as w

Defensive Back Attack Force
Three different techniques – Shoot the Hip, Glove, and Catch-Hit – can help your defensive backs attack the football.A DB has three things he can do when breaking on the ball – intercept the pass, knock the pass down, or make the tackle. We teach defensive backs three different ways of attacking the football when a wide receiver is being thrown the ball – “shoot the hip”, “glove”, and “catch-hit.” Each of these techniques can be taught whether your DBs backpedal, cr

Systematic Innovation: The No-Huddle, Power Pistol Offense
For Head Coach Robbie Owens of Grand Junction High School (CO), the system’s the thing. He believes offensive innovation is important, but without a system that is simple, adjustable and easy to install and teach, the value of innovation can be diminished.Owens’ system has proved itself over multiple seasons of high-octane offense. By combining the pistol formation with a punishing running attack and an up-tempo, no-huddle pace, Owens’ Grand Junction teams have produced proli

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

Coach to Coach: Thanks for the Memories
In 2010, I wrote my first article for American Football Monthly. In that article I told the story of how Hall of Fame Coach George Allen returned to coaching at the age of 72 to coach my college football team at Long Beach State University. The experience of writing that article and the positive response that I received from coaches around the country far exceeded any expectations I may have had about the joy of writing and sharing  my ideas. What was supposed to be one article has turne

Safety First: Good Nutrition – Part of Your Health and Safety Plan
Practicing proper nutrition is one way to help athletes recover from workouts and prevent injuries.Eating right is an essential part of a comprehensive athletic training regimen. It’s widely recognized that the “fuel” that is consumed by athletes prior to and following training is a critical element in allowing them to perform at their highest level and recover effectively from punishing workouts. Proper nutrition is also a player safety issue, as athletes who eat right, hydrate

Strength Report – The Art of Strength and Conditioning Coaching: Beyond the Sets and Reps (Part II)
A program’s success is equally impacted by a coach’s ability to manage, motivate and lead athletes by training methodology. This philosophy, which has served as the foundation of my coaching career, aligns with wisdom shared as by a legendary strength and conditioning coach:“It is usually not whether the program works or not, but whether the player works or not, that determines success.”- Buddy Morris(College and NFL strength and conditioning coach now at the Universit

Speed Report: Can You Improve Your Quarterback’s Speed?
My goal each month is to deliver information useful for all aspects of football. This month, Cree Morris, a long time quarterback training specialist, discusses the topic of improving a quarterback’s speed. What is the difference between football speed and football quarterback speed? Better technical applications produce more efficient movement, which creates effective speed. That is usually the requirement it takes for the QB to avoid a sack or make a play. I will give some spec

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




M. B. S.
At Wagner College we encourage our guys to think of football as a total body experience. We teach 3 components of the athlete; The “MIND”, The “BODY and

A Wide Receiver’s Philosophy
Individual – Self-Confidence   You, as an individual, must accept the responsibilities for your mental preparation, self-discipline and execution of each play. You also must have great pride, attitude and character and a burning desire to

FREE FORM - Special Team Statistics
The off-season is the time to analyze your special team statistics. This form details each special teams category – from field goals made to average net punting yards – and includes how to analyze each of 22 categories. A must for every special teams coach.

Shining Stars
Top NFL and college players honed their football skills and grew as individuals through the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard.When high school football players attend the free camps conducted by the NFL’s High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard, they improve their football skills and also learn valuable life lessons in character development sessions. All participating athletes gain from their HSPD experie

Managing Your Program: Measuring Practice Success and Developing Good Habits
With spring football around the corner, coaches are looking to develop or test out some new ideas obtained during the clinic season, identify how personnel will fit into the system and figure out what adjustments will be necessary for the upcoming season. These are legitimate concerns, and spring practice will allow a coaching staff to address them.Spring is also a time to establish the habits that will make the team successful in the fall. Getting the most out of practice by impro

Out in the Open - Live tackling drills can improve your team’s open field tackling.
As today’s game stretches laterally to encompass the entire width of the field, the ability to open-field tackle is at a premium. One of the most difficult skills to acquire as a defensive player is the art of open-field tackling. Even elite athletes need to improve and sharpen their skill sets.How do you enhance those abilities and replicate them at game speed? The answer is simple – live tackling, offensive skill vs. defensive skill. At the University at Albany, Head Coach Bo

Option Football - Few Plays, Many Ways, Part I
Option football has been around for many decades. The vast majority of today’s collegiate and high school programs use some form of option in their offensive scheme.Why run the option? Football is a “numbers game” where the offense tries to outnumber the defense at the point of attack. While there are more than a few ways to accomplish this goal, we believe that the option is by far the easiest and most effective way to ensure that your offense outnumbers the defense on every

Why Cover 4? How this alignment can be effective against both the run and the pass.
A Cover 4 alignment allows the secondary to adjust to various formations and personnel groupings and helps stop the run while also defending the pass. We have found that Cover 4, with certain adjustments, is the most effective defense in today’s world of high-powered offenses. The coverage adjustments that I have made allow the secondary to be more aggressive against the run. Personnel will always dictate the use of any adjustments based on how much your athletes can typically handle

Cheat Sheets - Making the Most Out of Your Play Calling System
A customized game call sheet can be a coaches best friend in tense game situations.When I first became an offensive coordinator, one of the biggest challenges I faced had nothing to do with which personnel I wanted to use, what plays I would call, or even what the opponent looked like. Rather, it was the format I was going to use for my game call sheet. My “grooming” for this position was not from coaches that liked to organize their calls. One coach called the plays based on feel.

Rawlings Football College and High School Coaches of the Year
It was a summer evening in the mid-1980’s. Volunteer workouts were revving up for the Salem University football team. Salem Quarterbacks Coach Terry Bowden pointed at his quarterback’s cleats and laughed. “His football shoes were covered in cow manure and hay,” Bowden recalled with a chuckle.Thirty years later, that quarterback with the stinky shoes is a national champion and Rawlings Football Coach of the Year, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher.“Althou

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

Drills Report: Pursuing Perfect Ball Security
While blocking and tackling are commonly seen as the two key building blocks of any football program, the most important fundamental of offensive football is ball security. Without possession of the ball, the offensive unit is not on the field. While that may seem like a simplistic and obvious statement, the importance of securing the football is at times an overlooked fundamental in today’s game. Ball security in its basic form is preventing and eliminating fumbles by ball carriers.

Safety First: Modify With Care
With the increased concern over concussions in recent years, there’s also been an increase in new products related to concussion prevention and detection. Some of these products, such as supplemental padding devices or impact sensors, are designed to be added to or integrated into helmets.While the intention – providing an extra level of protection to players – is worthy, there’s a serious risk associated with any helmet modification that should be addressed before any modi

Speed Report: The Virtues of Off-Season Conditioning - Is It Good for Football Speed?
To every football coach, the word conditioning means getting fit to play or producing stamina for performance situations. Conditioning is, in reality, a performance trait, most useful during the season. It can cut into your periodization schedule in the off-season, when in reality, it’s not relative to development for that time frame.You should center your off-season training on speed and power, not on conditioning. Your skills, speed, flexibility, and athletic movement speed and

Strength Report: Writing the Winter Off-Season Strength and Conditioning Program, Part I
I enjoy my profession of strength and conditioning coaching because it allows me the opportunity to choose and to create the tools that can then be used by our athletes to improve their athletic performance.  After 30 years of writing strength and conditioning programs at the Division I level, my approach has evolved into a systematic methodology of program design that fits my overall strength and conditioning training philosophy. Virginia Tech Football Strength and Conditioning

Letter from AFM: Crowning Achievement
For the amazing job that he did taking an Auburn team that was winless in the SEC in 2012 and guiding them to the SEC championship and a runner-up finish in the BCS championship game, Gus Malzahn was a deserving winner of the many Coach of the Year awards he received. With the nation’s best running attack, they disproved the notion that you must have a high-powered passing game to succeed in the modern era of college football. And the two game-winning plays against Georgia and Alabama will




Off-Season Priorities


Changing the Culture


FREE FORM - Conditioning Evaluation
With your winter strength and conditioning program now in high gear, the “Conditioning Evaluation Form” is a must for every strength coach. This form charts the progress each player makes during the off-season in terms of overall strength, speed, endurance and agility.

Going Camping
Sending your players to the free football camps offered by the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard is a win-win for you and them.Football camps for high school athletes are big business. Dozens of for-profit camps, costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars to attend, are offered to high school students who want to hone their skills over a period of days or weeks. But only one football camp program offers proven instruction methods a

DEVELOPING THE COMPLETE ATHLETE
Mike Gentry, the Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Performance at Virginia Tech and Dr. Tony Caterisano, a Professor of Health and Exercise Science, have written a comprehensive guide for the strength and conditioning development of the complete football player. This 436-page book details how a coach can build overall power and stamina in athletes as well as develop self-discipline in maximizing athletic potential.What exactly makes one player more athletic than another? Is it s

Zone Blitzes and Coverages in the 4-3 Stack Defense
To be effective with a blitz package, it is critical to focus on turnovers, open field tackling and pursuit.Since I have been the head coach at Thomas More, we have prided ourselves on playing great defense. Our defensive philosophy is to be simple, sound, and aggressive. Every week our goal is to stop the run and make the offense one-dimensional. We focus on fundamentals. We want to make sure the players know their assignments and have the proper alignment on every snap. We also focus

Confuse the Quarterback, Part II – Disguise your blitzes to stop the run and still defend the pass.
I never liked allowing a good zone read option quarterback to come to the line of scrimmage knowing how our secondary coverage was going to be aligned. I also thought it was important to give the offensive line and the blocking back a variety of pressure calls that were accompanied by some type of movement at the snap of the ball. Our goal was to use these calls to stop the run without significantly compromising the ability to defend the pass. The following calls are some of the different

Step Lively! Linebacker Movements vs. the Run
Before teaching these movements, we insist on linebackers learning the correct body position. The fundamental body position allows a linebacker to achieve leverage and power. I spend many hours teaching a basic linebacker stance, which is a stationary position. I want a linebacker to stem, move around, and basically be active. Newton’s first law of motion is that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless an external force acts upon it. This is as true in

Red Zone Rescue – Using a separate red zone offensive package can confuse the defense.
Too often, teams drive the length of the field and get bogged down inside the red zone. For this reason, we adjusted our philosophy and decided to give our opponent a totally new offensive package in the red zone. Inside the 10-yard line, we utilize a four-play, no-huddle sequence of plays which does not give the defense time to adjust unless they use a time out.Once inside the red zone, we immediately get to the ball, set, and execute the first play. No matter where the ball is pl

Fast-Paced and Powerful – The No-Huddle Power Pistol offense includes five different tempos, all designed to confuse the defense.
What happens when you combine the pistol offense from Nevada with the up-tempo pace of the deadly quarterback running game at Oregon? The answer is the fast-paced, prolific No-Huddle Power Pistol offense. Head Coach Robbie Owens of Grand Junction High School (CO) has successfully combined the pistol with the no-huddle and produced an offense that has led Colorado in yards gained and scoring. Grand Junction averaged 436 yards of total offense last season and scored 61 touchdowns in 11 games. T

Getting Defensive – Cocoa High School’s base 3-3-5 defense shuts down nearly every opponent they face.
When you ask Cocoa High School Head Coach John Wilkinson about his personal philosophy, it’s very obvious what motivates him. “I want winners because I want to win,” he said. “I want to do whatever it takes to win. It may sound simple but, to me, there is something very different between competing and winning.”And win he has. In his nine-year career at Cocoa, Wilkinson has a record of 100-19 which includes three Florida 4A state championships, a 38-game winning streak, a

Coach to Coach: The Turnaround
Prior to the season, If you would have told any rational Auburn fan or even most returning players that they would be playing for the 2013 national title, I think most would have been skeptical at best. There was excitement within the football program at the University of Auburn last off-season when they hired Gus Malzahn as their head coach. Malzahn had been instrumental in Auburn’s success during the 2010 National Title season. But the team had only won 3 games in 2012 and was

Drills Report: Complete Special Teams Drills
Kickoff, kick return, punt return, field goal, and field goal block teams all need specific drills.Special teams is the most overlooked facet of the game. Drastic improvements can be made if you are willing to put the time into improving your kicking game. There are plenty of drills out there and you may already use some of them that are not mentioned here. The most important thing is that you set aside time for practice and film study.Kickoff Drills   We teac

Safety First: Deadly Opponent
MRSA can be your team’s most dangerous adversary unless you take steps to prevent it.In the last decade, a new and threatening disease has emerged in football programs everywhere – MRSA. What is MRSA, why are football settings especially vulnerable, and what can you do to minimize the threat to your athletes?MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a strain of staph bacteria that does not respond to conventional antibiotics. The infection usually firs

Strength Report: Develop Complete Athletes – Liberty Universitys Unique Strength Program
Building true strength and power on the football field has less to do with fine tuning minor details and more to do with building more horsepower in the “engine” of an athlete. From there, details can be modified to turn the advanced athlete into an elite athlete. The process of creating more horsepower in the athlete is more methodical than most think and we use methods that are not practiced on a large scale. Last year, we had over 82 football players clean at least 300 pound

Speed Report: Is Your Speed Training the Real Deal?
Have you analyzed why you use the methods and teaching applications for football speed training? Have you just borrowed available concepts and plugged them into your program? Are you just covering bases or do you really feel you’ve reached a high level of knowledge and are satisfied with your results?   Where did you get what you use today and is it working? Why did you choose to incorporate it into your program? Did you get your material from a friend, a colleague, a relative

Letter from AFM
This year, the Rose Bowl celebrated its 100th anniversary, which means that, for 100 years, college football fans have been treated to the excitement and spectacle of the annual parade of bowl games. Classic matchups, historic venues and fantastic finishes are the rule when teams go “bowling”. Next season, with 38 bowls on the schedule, more teams than ever will get to experience the thrill of participating in bowl week activities and competing in a bowl game. There’s one asp




Second Chances in Football
There is one thing for certain in football – someone is going to make a mistake.Fumbles. Picks. Holding calls. Missed tackles. Dropped passes. They are all part of the game. Ultimately, though you can make all the calls, signals and shifts you want but the kids are the ones executing and mistakes are going to happen.As a coach, one thing that you need to be prepared for is how you are going to handle that mistake. Are you going to lose your cool? Fly off the handle? Berate a

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

FREE FORM - Coaches – Evaluation Form


Fantastic Finish
The National Lineman Challenge was the first event of its kind ever conducted.The NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard capped off another successful year with two thrilling events.Throughout the late spring and early summer, the focus of the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard is the nearly 200 multi-day camps that are conducted coast to coast and managed by local coaches. High school football players i

Managing Your Program: Giving Players a Focus for the Off-Season
For most programs, January is the start of the off-season.The gains made in the next six months are critical and must happen in order to have success in the fall. Keeping players focused and moving toward their goals and the team’s goals sometimes is a challenge when the season is so far off. Having a system to provide feedback and recognize the accomplishments of players as they develop themselves helps motivate and create excitement while working through the winter months.Follo

Back to School - 2014 Coaching Clinics
Now is the time to make yourplans for coaches clinics in 2014. Here is a listing of four premier organizations that will be conducting clinics across the country during the winter and spring months of 2014.Nike Coach of the Year Clinics The 2014 Nike Coach of the Year Clinics will feature the nation’s top coaches speaking at 17 locations in every corner of the nation. Many of the clinics will feature special lectures for youth league coaches. Most also wil

Self Analysis: Self-Scout Your Offense for a More Effective Game Plan.
The game has changed a great deal over the past decade. It used to be that offensive coordinators could create down and distance charts and run plays off of them with a pretty reliable sense of what would work. However, as the spread, no-huddle era has exploded onto the scene, it has transformed how coaches must approach the game.Our approach is to use statistics, specifically our offense’s own statistics, to formulate a game plan. The majority of our game planning time is spent

Confuse the Quarterback (Part I)
To stop the zone read, it is critical to present a number of different coverages to the opposing quarterback including a two-deep safety look.The zone read spread offense has had a major impact on all levels of football in recent years. Defensive coordinators have had to make adjustments to their base defensive calls in order to defend the basic running plays, play assignment football against the option, and defend the pass. Many years ago at a coaching clinic I heard a coach say that

Get Your O-Line In The Zone
Teaching the Square Drag, Square Drag and Skip, and the Brace and Skip Technique in Zone Blocking – Some Do’s and Don’tsTwo key elements in proper zone blocking technique are keeping the shoulders square and using lateral steps to close in on the defender. In coaching the offensive line at the collegiate level for the past 23 years, I have learned that we have to adapt our teaching methods and techniques to our players. Rarely do we come across a player who has size, strength, at

Get Strong – Four Proven Off-Season Strength and Conditioning Programs
BISHOP GORMAN HIGH SCHOOL Las Vegas, NevadaHead Coach –Tony SanchezEnrollment – 1,200 students9-12 Football Program – 160-180 athletesFour consecutive Nevada 4A Championships, Nationally-Ranked ProgramSean Manuel serves as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and also coaches the offensive line at Bishop Gorman. When he joined the Gorman staff in 2010, he completely revamped the outdated strength and conditioning facility.The FacilityOur w

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

Coach to Coach: Preparing Your Athletes to Succeed at the 4-Year Level
It’s been said that it’s the Willies and the Joes not the Xs and Os that make college football teams and programs great. There is no doubt that a surplus of talent usually translates to wins on Saturday. Every 4-year college coach in the nation is trying to identify high school and junior college athletes who can successfully transition into great college football players. Identifying talent, however, is only part of the equation that determines success. Every year there are extremely tal

Safety First: Time to Recondition
When your season ends, many pieces of equipment can simply be cleaned, inventoried and stowed away until they’re needed next summer. Not so with helmets.Considering the pounding they likely have taken during the season and their critical importance from a safety standpoint, it is imperative that every helmet be inspected and either reconditioned or replaced if necessary. To learn more about reconditioning and coaches’ role in the process, AFM spoke to Ed Fisher, executive director

Strength Report: Wyoming’s Winter Player Development Program
Much like a football game has four quarters, the Wyoming football player development program is broken down into four distinct phases. Winter training, spring football, summer training and the competitive season make up our yearly training calendar. The Wyoming player development program has a structured plan during each of these phases and is built around landmarks found in the student-athletes academic calendar and competition dates. Each phase has very specific goals and intended outcomes.

Drills Report: Conditioning Cadets
The phrase “off-season” has a little different meaning at the United States Military Academy than it may have at other colleges. In fact, the Sprint football team likes to use the term “out-of-season” since cadets are never truly “off”. The combination of 20 credit-hour academic loads per semester, mandatory physical fitness participation, and rigorous military training keep the cadets at USMA continuously moving with little time to spare. Football’s out-of-season training regim

Speed Report: The Off-Season - Preparing for Advanced Level Training
When you begin the off-season with speed training, one of your major challenges will be organizing and periodizing your product. Obviously your periodization scheme stretches over many months. Your design is critical to the success of the progression you expect to gain during the year. One area that can be a little tricky and can have a distinct affect on your development for team speed is working with large numbers of players who are at two different levels of ability. My experien

Letter from AFM - Getting Stronger
Now that your season has ended, it’s time to focus on what you can do to strengthen your program during the off-season.Last year in our December issue, our “panel” of eight legendary high school coaches covered a variety of topics related to off-season priorities including player and staff evaluation, working with graduating seniors and methods to keep your team involved and motivated during the winter and spring months. You can access the article, “Building Blocks” and h




The Birth Of The Football Chalk Talk?
Legendary Notre Dame Coach Knute Rockne was a skilled orator and teacher, in and out of the locker roomby Jim Lefebvre

FREE FORM - Quarterback Opponent – Evaluation Form
With the season well underway, it is critical to know the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent’s defense. This form details, in depth, what to look for in the defense you will next be facing. Included are categories such as the opponent’s basic defenses, how well do they run, what are the main coverage reads, how well do they defeat blocks, what do they do best, and what are their weaknesses? A must for every coach.

Passing Improvement By Colloquial Folklore
 This passing “expert” never played a down at the quarterback position on any

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

Trojan Training Table
USC Director of Sports Nutrition Becci Twombley uses cutting-edge nutrition and recovery practices to help Trojan athletes “Fuel On”.Just as strength and conditioning programs have become increasingly sophisticated as coaches strive to provide each athlete with the most effective training regimen, highly-developed custom nutritional programs are becoming the norm in collegiate athletics. It’s widely recognized that the “fuel” that is consumed by athletes prio

Coaching Rewards
The NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard lets coaches give back to the game and reap special coaching rewards.For high school football coaches, the rewards of coaching can take many forms. There are celebrations after big wins, championship trophies, accolades from peers.But most coaches realize that the biggest and best rewards of coaching football are those that come from helping young athletes succeed –

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

Circuit Drills Emphasize Repetition, Range of Motion and Reaction to Improve Your Special Teams Play.
Our staff at Central Washington University understands the importance and value of the kicking game in each contest. We treat each special team’s preparation with the same enthusiasm, intensity, and creativity as our offense and defense. To do it right, we must train our special teams players in the same way. Preparing players for their special team roles, however, presents some unique challenges. Consider the following:1. Getting Enough RepetitionsAlmost all of our playe

Drills to Perfect Your Pursuit of the Screen Pass.
Relentless hustle and pursuit, along with proper angles and leverage, are keys to successfully defending the screen. We stress the importance of 11 players giving maximum effort running to the football every play. Accountability and repetition are keys to be successful in this point of emphasis. All 11 players are graded every game or scrimmage play to be held accountable. Our coaches confront and demand hustle and pursuit in practice repetitions.We invest time prior to our individ

Rolling Thunder - Be efficient in the 'compressed' Red Zone.
No matter what your base offense is, you will find it necessary to make adjustments in what I call the compressed red zone; that is, from the three in. Adapting your base personnel, formations, and plays can be costly in terms of time and confusing to your players, who try to relate schemes and techniques used in the open field to this unique situation. Adopting a “Thunder Offense” can give you a personnel, formation, and play package that is specific to the compressed red zone. When your

Multiple Looks from a 3-4 Defense to Slow Down an Up-Tempo Offense
When we played Lake Travis High School four years ago, Chad Morris – now the offensive coordinator at Clemson – was the head coach. That year we had a short week of preparation for his up-tempo, no-huddle offense.After a relatively good start in the first quarter, our defense broke down after a turnover in the second quarter. Their fast-paced offense began to take its toll on our defense as we struggled to line-up before the snap, became confused with the offensive packages the

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

Safety First: Is your Weight Room a Safe Room?
Don’t overlook the importance of having a comprehensive safety program in your strength and conditioning facility.Stafon Johnson had two successful seasons as a running back for USC in 2007 and 2008 and was primed for a big senior year in 2009 and possibly a shot at the NFL. That all changed on September 8th when the 275-pound barbell he was bench pressing fell on his neck, crushing his larynx and severing his vocal chords. Lucky to survive, he recovered and had a sh

Coach to Coach: Enjoy the Ride
It had been a long time since I’d been on a college sideline as a coach. After 10 years of being a high school head coach, I was excited to be back and I was relieved to see the clock tick to zeros in a 45-13 season opening win. The entire coaching staff and every player had put tremendous effort into preparing for our opener and the final score reflected a great night for us all. As I walked off the field, I couldn’t help but notice the smiling fans, the players chatting with friends and

Drills Report: The Reach Doug Down Drill
I believe that the most important element of our football team is our offensive line. This is not to demean the other positions, but it is what I believe and preach to our players. If the defense gives up 50, then we must score 51. We will not score 51 points if we do not get it done up front. That means a hat on a hat at all times. We know that we will not always have the most gifted skill guys on the field and our quarterbacks might not always make the best decisions, but we can never be me

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

Speed Report: Combining In-Season Conditioning with In-Season Speed Training
Combining the two – in-season conditioning and speed training – is a subject that often comes up for discussion when I’m doing clinics and workshops across the country at various high schools and colleges. We always discuss the physiological energy mechanisms and how they function when we train. The same question seems to arise each time: What’s the best way to condition during the season?The answer is usually not well-received. My reply is that we need to understand how the ga

Letter from AFM - Football Evolution
Charles Darwin determined that species evolve over time due to natural selection – the passing along of favorable traits from one generation to the next.While Darwin’s theory of evolution pertains to the natural world, parallels can also be drawn to football. The most successful systems, schemes and plays, regardless of where they originate, will eventually be utilized by teams at other levels of the game. In this era, we’re witnessing offensive football evolving at all level




Running up the Score
By Johnny Metcalf, Defensive Coordinator, John Carroll Catholic High School, Birmingham (AL)   As we prepare for next season, I often think back on games of the past and inevitably recall a bad night. One of those nights I want to forget, but simply can’t. You know, that dreadful night somebody ran the score up on you. Over my 37 years, I have had a few of those games and I have yet to figure out why some coaches like to r

Game Planning Your Coaching Career (Part I)
(This article is written to discuss career planning in the coaching profession and this is by no means the only way to pattern your pathway. The experience of one coach, while addressing many issues, does not include all scenarios. However, the organization of the material is well-known to all coaches as it is structured just as all of us would game plan against an unfamiliar opponent. It is hoped that this discussion would have us in the coaching profession talk about

Managing your Program - “Flipped” Coaching
In a clinic talk in 2012, Urban Meyer spoke of how he wants the Buckeyes to be taught and coached through “direct teaching.” He made a point of using the technology and tools available to teach rather than just present to players. Meyer said, “The greatest teaching tools available in the history of this sport are now available to you. The days of saying, ‘I don’t use that’ are not acceptable at the Ohio State University. We’re going to be on the cutting edge of every teaching to

FREE FORM - Coaches Time-Saving Memorandum
With August camps beginning, this free form will help you use your time more efficiently. It includes a listing of 38 different ways to better organize your time. Each principle emphasizes organization, job knowledge, delegation and common sense – the goals of all coaches.

Sprint Out! One of the keys for a successful sprint out passing game is protecting the backside of your quarterback.
We divide our passing game into three different categories – 3-step, 5-step, and roll-out. As we operate from the shotgun formation about 90% of the time, we’ve made obvious footwork adjustments from the traditional quarterback drops that are used when working under center. This is our roll-out package, including our blocking scheme, quarterback mechanics and reads, and the route combinations that we use within this scheme.Sprint Out ProtectionOur goal when we sprint out i

D-Back Run Stoppers Both the Key Read Drill and Block Escape Circuit Drill will improve defensive backs’ recognition of the run.
Stopping the run is one of the main priorities of any defense. In order to accomplish this goal, the defensive secondary must be active against running plays. It is important that all members of the secondary are equipped with the skills to recognize the run and then be able to execute techniques to disengage blocks. Your secondary can sharpen their eye discipline, footwork and hand placement/combat skills by recognizing the intentions of the End Man on the Line of Scrimmage (EMOL)

D-Line Rules vs. Outside Zone and Zone Read
Following the playside and backside rules is critical to stopping the outside zone and zone read.We try to keep our D-line rules and principles the same with outside zone and zone read as well as other plays and concepts. When we speak about outside zone, we break into halves, especially what side the offense is on in pre-and post-snap. We use strength and if the quarterback is under center or in the gun to determine the run strength of this particular play. Otherwise, we may use the t

Human Shield: The shield punt formation maximizes protection and coverage.
Protection is the most critical piece to a punt unit’s success. In pre-season camp, protection is the first area that is addressed. It is emphasized in every meeting, film session, and drill period, because there are few occurrences more deflating to a team than a blocked punt. The shield formation itself creates advantages, because it lengthens rush lanes and handicaps angles for the defense. The three-man shield, when executed properly, serves as a deflector for the block point that elimi

The Mean Green Way: North Texas' Multi-Year System of Training
“As to methods there may be a million and thensome, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”  - Ralph Waldo Emerson This quote hangs in my office as a daily reminder of the dichotomy of our profession. Truly, there are countless methods to improve athlete performance. Ask 125 FBS football strength and conditioning coaches how best to train an ath

Developmental Tackling Part II: Hashmark-to-Boundary Drills and Pursuit Drills to improve overall tackling
The safety considerations and progressive skills emphasized in part I of Developmental Tackling must be maintained and re-taught as you move from individual skill areas to group skills and game preparation. Nothing can impact your season more than great defensive play exemplified by great tackling skills, team pursuit and rallies to the ball. In film review, we always count the players who swarm to the ball carrier and address the responsibility of cutback and backside pursuit. ON

Fine-Tuning: Adapting the Spread Offense to Your Personnel
Heading into the 2008 season, the pieces were all in place. Oklahoma had a talented and veteran offensive line featuring multiple NFL prospects, an experienced quarterback in Sam Bradford and a versatile playmaker at tight end in Jermaine Gresham. It was on the Oklahoma coaching staff to tailor its offensive scheme to its personnel. And the best way to capitalize on this wealth of talent was to run more plays.Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson (now head coach at Indiana) h

Safety First: Protection Program
Organizations are teaming up to provide athletes with better concussion detection and treatment options.When Mike Lamb played for the USC Trojans in the early 1980s, football was a different game. Unlike today’s safety-conscious environment, the emphasis in that era was on playing through injuries as a sign of toughness and commitment to the team. “Even if you were a little dazed and confused because of a violent hit to the head, the coaches expected you to get rig

Coach to Coach: The Class of 2013
Last month I enjoyed watching one of the greatest golf tournaments in the world, The British Open. While some find golf boring to watch, I find it to be an intriguing display of both the internal and external struggles of sport. I love the tradition of golf, the variety of skills required and the individual pressure that accompanies every shot. I love the fact that golfers are paid entirely on the merits of their immediate accomplishments and not on the wishful expectations of future events.

Drills Report: Defensive Backs: Footwork, Block Protection, Tackling, and Ball Skills
Our focus on drill work for defensive backs has played a role in our success and paid dividends in the fall. At Villanova, our base defensive front is a 3-3 stack. With five defensive backs on the field in varying roles, we focus our teaching on a select number of skills to best prepare the entire group within our time constraints. Our goal is to spend at least five minutes each practice developing four specific skill categories: footwork, block protection, tackling, and ball skills.F

Strength Report: In-Season Training: Improve Performance, reduce Injuries
The in-season training program is critical to the success of our athletes. Programs should be designed to enhance and not just maintain their level of physical preparation. Lowering expectations during the in-season to maintain rather than improve strength will eventually lead to a decrease in performance and increase the risk of injury.To maximize the strength, health, mobility, and overall fitness of your athletes, is manage the distribution of the volume and loading. Within this

Speed Report: Fast Twitch for Football Speed - Can it be Produced?
Muscle fibers are made up of two different types of fiber composition, slow twitch fibers and fast twitch fibers. Skeletal muscles are made up of numerous individual muscle fibers called myocytes. Each myocyte contains many myofibrils, which are strands of proteins that can grab on to each other and pull. This shortens the muscle and causes muscle contraction. Of course, contraction can be very fast and dynamic or slower with endurance capabilities. When we think about football speed we natur

Coaching Rewards
The NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard gives coaches the satisfaction that comes from giving back to the game.What are the rewards of coaching? Some coaches might say that wins and championships are at the top of the list. After all, winning has been the traditional yardstick for measuring coaching success, and few moments can compare to raising a trophy or donning a championship ring.Most coaches,

Urban Legend
In 2001, his first year as a head coach, Urban Meyer led Bowling Green to a 8-3 record – a tremendous improvement over their 2-9 season the year before. In quarterback Josh Harris, Meyer had a versatile run/pass signal caller that his new spread option offense could be built around.In what was perhaps the first time that the spread was utilized to its fullest potential, Harris led the Falcons to a 9-3 season in 2002 while throwing for 2,425 yards and 19 TDs and adding another 20




Tips for Rural Schools: Gridiron Success
By Kevin Swift, Head Coach Gold Coast High School (OR) In the summer of 1997, my family and I left the urban football world of Southern California for the rural football world of the Southern Oregon coast. My coa

CONCUSSIONS IN YOUTH FOOTBALL – ARE WE THINKING CLEARLY?
By Rey Hernandez Former Head Coach, LaJolla High School (CA) The current legislative proposals seeking to limit full contact in high school practices raise some tort liability issues that to date have not made it into the national concussion saf

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.

Unqualified Success
The Leadership Program of the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard has set new standards for grooming the leaders of tomorrow.When the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard introduced its new Leadership Program, the goal was simple – to develop leadership qualities of high school football players who have already demonstrated leadership potential in the classroom and on the field. Combining an advanced cha

When Winning Matters, Championship Coaches Choose CoachComm
It takes hard work, dedication, teamwork and leadership to win a state championship. It also takes a proven, reliable headset system. Winning coaches need to trust their system to deliver when it matters most – in the intense competition of the state playoffs.    That’s why so many high school state champion coaches have chosen CoachComm systems. Top coaches know they can depend on CoachComm to deliver clear, powerful communication in the biggest games in the larges

AFM Subs Ask With Curtis Tsuruda Strength and Conditioning Coach • East St. John High School (LA)
Coach Curtis Tsuruda, has over 30 years of experience as a strength and conditioning coach. He has worked at Tulane, LSU, Hawaii, and Mississippi State and is currently the strength and conditioning coach at East St. John High School in Reserve, Louisiana. He was featured in AFM Subscribers Ask in May and now responds to more of your questions.What methods do you use to train young high school athletes to successfully rack the bar on the power clean? How many days do you fe

Inside Zone Variations
The proper adjustment to what the defense shows  gives the quarterback specific options in running the inside zone.While some elements of the spread offense have been seen for some time, there are many variations of the spread offense that utilize different personnel groupings and formations. But the one constant in any spread offense is the inside zone running game. I’ll examine the inside zone and its variations from a 10 personnel grouping.Inside Zone - 10 Personnel

Three Pillars of Defensive Prep
Three important items in game planning include practicing proper tackling, studying your opponent’s big plays and those your defense has given up, and focusing on turnovers.We are always looking for a defensive edge on game day. However, with the unpredictability that game day brings, it is very difficult to predict or prepare for every scenario that might present itself. That is why it is important to use Monday through Friday to put the odds of victory as much as possible in our fa

New Weapon – More and more offenses are adding a read-option scheme to incorporate the QB into the running game.
In this new age of football, teams are using athletic quarterbacks to add an additional dimension to their offense. I believe the pro-style attack offenses will mirror this trend, whether it’s a specific package or a main part of their offense. We began this transformation this past year.Last fall, we had a very athletic quarterback that we wanted to utilize in our run game. After implementing this, we ended the season ranked 12th nationally within FCS i

Developmental Tackling, Part I – Effectively using the shimmy technique can help ensure the safety of all defensive players.
Without question, teaching safe tackling skills and drills is one of the most demanding tasks every coach in the country must master. In my 54 years of coaching varsity football, nothing gave me more concern than the idea of a collision with a player’s head down, chin on chest, and the resulting straight line spinal column hit with the top of the helmet. That is almost always the primary cause of paraplegic injury. That is why so much emphasis is placed on converting the speed run of pursui

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

Speed Report – Dynamic Relaxation – The Misunderstood Nugget for Speed and Quickness
When we think of the word relaxation it doesn’t suggest a very aggressive picture in our mind. Whenever I mention the term “Dynamic Relaxation” to coaches, they’re momentarily puzzled. They are searching their thoughts for where this picture fits football, a sport that delivers aggressive action every play.Football movement is not naturally linked to relaxation when the game is all about contact. Having a consistent forceful mindset week to week is what every coach desires.

Coach to Coach – Upset Alert: 5 Ways to Plan Against Superior Opponents.
On October 6th 2007, the Stanford Cardinals arrived at the LA Coliseum for a football game against the University of Southern California Trojans. USC was riding a 35-game home winning streak and was one of the more dominant football teams and programs in the modern era. The Cardinal, who were coming off a 1-11 2006 campaign, were being led to the expected slaughter by first- year coach Jim Harbaugh, who would be starting a backup quarterback with a total of three passes on his resume.

Safety First – Pre-Season Safety Checklist
With the 2013 season around the corner, it’s time for coaches to review all safety-related issues and ensure that  proper procedures and protocols are in place before fall practice begins. . “Every team and athlete should have sports safety as a top priority,” says Larry Cooper, chair of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Secondary School Committee and head athletic trainer at Penn Trafford (PA) High School. “It’s vital for coaches, athletic trainers, parents and the

Drills Report – Techniques to Prevent Blocks
When a player is blocked, it is commonly due to two things. He has concentrated solely on the ball carrier and not the individual who is coming to block him, giving him little chance of success. Or, his attack and body position taking on the block doesn’t allow him to use any power. Without enough power, you are unable to gain advantage or leverage on a blocker. When you have proper position and use power, you are able to strike and neutralize the opponents’ power to maintain your gap of

A Complete Strength and Conditioning Program for Offensive Linemen PART Two
The strength program is designed as a four-day split. The base spilt is Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday. Other day combinations can be used as well. Recovery must be factored in and tailored to the split chosen. For example, a condensed split does not allow great recovery between workouts during the week. This requires volume to be reduced in workouts one and two to allow for recovery by workouts three and four. However, since three days of recovery exist with this approach, the lat

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




FREE FORM - First Aid Kit Equipment List
With summer camps approaching, the safety of your players is a priority. The First Aid Kit Equipment List includes every item a coach needs for summer workouts. Included is everything from ace bandages to a listing of emergency phone numbers.Download the FIRST AID Form here

Taking the Lead
 As part of their  sponsorship of the  NFL’s High School Player Development program,  the National Guard is  taking an active role in the HSPD Leadership Program.When most people think about the National Guard, they envision “Weekend Warriors” devoting several days each month to military training and, if necessary, participating in disaster relief or serving overseas. But in reality, many of the Guard’s activities revolve around the com

The Use of Technology in Modern Football (and Life) Is A Matter of Perspective
In the old days, coaches basically drew up plays on a chalkboard. Weightlifting consisted of lifting hay bales on summer vacations and s[ports nutrition was whatever happened to be available to eat and drink. Things change, and when it comes to technology, things have changed drastically. The days of Sid Gillman clipping football footage from film reels that played in movie theatres while he worked as an usher in the 1930's to coaches watching grainy footage of a player taken with a 16mm home

RE-STARTING A COACHING CAREER
I had the good fortune of leading one of the most successful public school programs in the state of Virginia for 22 years. At Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, winning became synonymous with Bruins football. From 1997 to the 2006 season when I retired, our winning percentage was over .800. We won numerous District titles and had three undefeated regular seasons. It

Managing Your Program – Developing Senior Leadership
We train our teams hard all off-season. We work hard in the summer to teach them what they need to do on the field to win. Then, ultimately, the test begins under the lights, and we are no longer next to them leading them through what they need to do. On game day, it’s up to them to get it done and leadership has to happen on the field. Leadership also has to be strong in order to keep the team focused off the field, and much of that is also out of the coach’s control. It’s at these tim

Starting from the Bottom – A guide to the season’s hottest cleats.
As a coach dialing up new schemes and organizing practice routines for the upcoming season, you may not have had time to see what’s in store for this year’s selection of football cleats. When an athlete comes to you with questions on cleats, this guide will help you steer him in the right direction.Over the past few years, players big and small have been leaning toward cleats that are lighter and faster. The game – now more than ever - relies on speed. A transformation of new

Develop Your Dynamic Identity
Every experienced coach knows that teams tend to develop a particular identity during the course of the season. Some coaches argue that the best teams are the ones that have the flashiest, most dominating identities – teams like the Oregon Ducks, known for its high-octane offense, or the Baltimore Ravens, known for its suffocating defense. Other coaches counter that the best teams are often the ones that possess less exciting identities, those summarized with phrases like “balanced” or

Quarters vs. the Run Game – Adding the Safeties
Pattern-reading quarters is our most frequently used coverage scheme, as it allows us to be sound against most passing attacks and keep the box loaded to defend the run. In this way, quarters is a rather unique coverage. It gives us protection against vertical passing while allowing for up to nine defenders in the box, depending on the offensive formation. We can play cover 4 against virtually any offensive scheme and there are many variations and adjustments we can make to protect against di

Summer Speed Work – This 8-week speed conditioning program will have your athletes primed and ready for August camp.
If your program is like most, you have an extensive pre-season strength training program designed to ensure your players will be in their strongest physical condition when your camp practices start in August. They’ll certainly be strong, but will they be fast? Will they have had the necessary training to execute the fast-paced offenses that so many teams employ today?To achieve a balance between strength and speed, consider implementing a structured speed conditioning program to

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

Zoned Out – Stop the zone read cold with Steve Specht’s “Read Scheme”
It’s a simple play, but it can give defenses fits. The zone read, or read option run out of the spread, pistol or shotgun, is being used by dozens of high-powered college offenses and hundreds of high school programs. If you haven’t encountered it yet, you probably will very soon.To help you prepare for the zone read and learn how to shut it down, AFM turned to one of the nation’s most honored and successful high school coaches – Steve Specht of St. Xavier High School in Ci

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

Speed Report - Football Speed Information: Good News or Old News?
I have been writing AFM’s Speed Report for 6½ years and have traveled the country for 30 years engaging with coaches who want to learn “thorough and complete football speed training”. Not second-hand information that isn’t football speed specific. More specifically, lineal track techniques. Coaches should understand that these particular techniques don’t provide movement skills needed for football speed and/or transition speed that’s required to play fast and stay in control.

Safety First – Beat the Heat
August camps are coming soon and that means the hottest weather of the year. It is important for coaches – at all levels – to ensure their players are properly hydrated at all times. Perhaps the best advice for football coaches at the beginning of August practices is to take it slow and allow players to gradually get acclimated to the heat. “Heat acclimatization is the number one controlling factor that can help prevent heat illness,” said Brendan McDermott, an associate pr

Drills Report – Advanced Wide Receiver Drills, Part II
Last month’s drills for wide receivers included five different drills intended to make players concentrate on catching the ball and improve their route running. The six drills included this month are more detailed with an emphasis on proper technique (In each drill, ‘C’ refers to coach and ‘R’ for receiver).Chute DRILL (Diagram 1)

Strength Report – A Complete Strength and Conditioning Report for Offensive Linemen, Part I
It is my belief that all strength and conditioning programs grow from a very specific set of needs and circumstances that differ from team to team. Every situation is different, so a program influenced by principles rather than copied verbatim is needed.From years spent playing offensive line then beginning my coaching career coaching it and finally working as a football strength coach for the past 25 years, I have gained perspective into the needs of offensive linemen. The princip

Letter from AFM
Top HonorThere is no shortage of coaching awards. Every year, league, state and national coaches of the year honors are awarded to deserving coaches everywhere. It seems that every media organization, including this one, gives out annual accolades to coaches who have led their teams to great success on the field.But there is one honor for high school coaches that, in our opinion, stands above all others – the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year. A




More responses from Curtis Tsuruda, the Strength and Conditioning Coach of East St. John High School (LA):
What are some exercises that you have your athletes work on to improve hip, leg, and ankle flexibility when they have difficulty in doing a proper squat? Mike Williams, Head Coach, Manheim Central High School (PA).

Organization of Weekly and Gameday Duties with a Short Staff
By Hunter Sims, Offensive Coordinator Howard Payne University   With a limited staff, it is critical to have detailed responsibilities on the day after the game, during the week, and on gameday.   As a Division III college, we deal with being under-staffed year in and year out. We need to be completely organized in order to maximize our workload throughout the week. Offensively, we are allotted three full-time coaches. If we’re lucky,

FREE FORM - Conditioning Evaluaton
With the summer approaching, it is critically important to evaluate your players’ overall conditioning. This form includes four different areas – strength, speed, endurance and agility – that detail the progress made by each player. It’s the perfect chart to keep track of overall conditioning.

The Competition Heats Up
The NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard adds a new Lineman Challenge to complement its nationwide 7-on-7 competition.Of the dozens of 7-on-7 events that have appeared on the high school football landscape in recent years, none have been more successful than the National 7-on-7 Tournament conducted by the NFL High School Player Development program. In terms of number of participating teams, overall caliber of play and the prestige of their Nati

AFM Subscribers Ask -with Curtis Tsuruda Strength and Conditioning Coach, East St. John High School (LA)
Curtis Tsuruda has over 30 years of experience as a strength and conditioning coach. He has worked at Tulane, LSU, Hawaii and Mississippi State. Tsuruda is currently the strength and conditioning coach at East St. John High School in Reserve, Louisiana. He holds the distinction of being a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach, the highest honor in his profession and was selected in 2010 as Samson Equipment’s National High School Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year. He answers your

Defending the Power Play
We define “Power” as a gap blocking scheme with a fullback kicking out the end man on the line of scrimmage (EMLOS), and a backside guard pulling through on the playside linebacker. This play is used on a consistent basis by our own offense and by the opponents in our conference, so we have to be sound in defending this type of physical run.Our entire philosophy on this play is to stop it from getting downhill. We want the ball carrier to go “East and West” so the gain is m

Running the Triple Option in the Pistol
Using the triple option with the pistol offense is a natural fit and can improve both your running and passing game.Like Army and Navy, we have been a traditional triple option team and have experienced success because our offense gave us a way to compete against superior talent. While we have had a potent rushing attack, when teams put nine or ten players in the box we didn’t have an answer. Last season, we decided to experiment and add the pistol to our offense. Adding the pistol t

Understanding Coverages and How to Attack Them
Each defensive coverage has strengths and weaknesses and ways to attack it.You can help your quarterbacks get through problem areas by teaching them how to identify coverages. Whether it is the pre-snap read, reading on the move, or route adjustments, the quarterback’s performance is based upon his knowledge of how to identify and react to coverages.When teaching the quarterback to identify coverages, we start with the pre-snap read, which will identify the secondary’s a

Emphasizing Ball Security – Mastering the five points of contact will help keep your runners from fumbling
Mastering the five points of contact will help keep your runners from fumbling dropping the ball.When teaching ball carriers about ball security, we talk about the five points of contact. The first point relates to our nickname which is the Eagles, so I use the term “Eagle Claw” for the point of the football. The second point of contact is the forearm and the third is the bicep. Both are used to secure the outside part of the ball to the middle of the body which leads to the fourth

Making the Grade – Spring evaluation is essential for maximizing each player’s contribution to the team
Spring evaluation is essential for maximizing each player’s contribution to the team.While coaches understand that player evaluation is a year-round necessity, spring is a particularly important time for returning player evaluations as your team heads into the summer pre-season lull. It’s the perfect time to size up the strengths and weaknesses of each athlete and set personal and team goals. What is the best way to evaluate a returning player? American Football Monthly asked seven

High Roller! – Since Tony Sanchez was named head coach, Bishop Gorman has won four consecutive Nevada State Championships and posted an overall 56-4 record.
“Live well.” The words are simple; however, what they entail for those associated with the Bishop Gorman High School football program is anything but. Serving as the mantra which internally defines Bishop Gorman football, “live well” is part of an overall philosophy which has contributed to the school capturing the last four 4A Nevada State Championships.There are six identifiable components one can link to the culture of success that is Gaels’ football. These six charact

Coach to Coach – Change of Season
Last year, I wrote an article describing the ever-expanding coaching carousel that all of us in this profession encounter. The article described some of the challenges of change within the coaching profession. I received a lot of emails regarding this article. It seems that all of us in coaching are presented with change or the opportunity for change on a continual basis. Some of this change is welcomed and, unfortunately, some of it is not. Deciding to change jobs is often one of the most di

Speed Report - Off-Season Speed Development: A Dilemma for Small Schools
As I write this column each month, I receive more and more replies from coaches at smaller schools. It’s become apparent that most of them have something in common – that the off-season presents a challenge for speed and lifting development. The problem is that athletes at these schools need to be multi-sport athletes. The bulk of the football team plays two to three sports in a small school, so it’s almost impossible to fill the rosters on other sports if they were only playing footbal

Safety First – Getting On The Same Page
If you’ve spent time this off-season reviewing the latest safety rules and guidelines, working with medical professionals and athletic trainers to institute procedures for dealing with injuries, checking out the latest in innovative safety equipment and making plans to ensure proper hydration and heat stroke prevention in early season practices, then congratulations! You’ve taken the first steps to make player safety a priority for your program.Now, looking ahead to next season

Drills Report – Advanced Wide Receiver Drills, Part I
I am always looking for effective drills that my receivers can use to make them better. I think it’s important to think through drills before you use them and make sure they reinforce the technique utilized in a game and the technique utilized within your offense. Your players will be able to tell you how certain drills reinforce situations that come up in a game. That’s when you know you are using the correct drills.I always try to get as much out of a drill as I can. When we

Strength Report – 10 Common Errors in Football Strength & Conditioning
The profession of strength and conditioning coaching was formally established in the United States 35 years ago with the formation of the National Strength & Conditioning Association. The aim of the NSCA was to merge science and practice to legitimize our roles and to separate us from other fitness-related “experts.” After all this time, one would expect an evolution in the quality of programming and coaching but it isn’t evident in the practices of many strength and conditioning co

Letter from AFM – Breaking Barriers
Breaking BarriersA member of my extended family plays in a spring football league. Not casual, pick-up, touch football, but the real thing. Full equipment, full contact, real stadiums, NFL rules, professional refs, teams in cities across America. Like a lot of spring pro leagues before it, this league tries to take advantage of football’s popularity by giving fans a quality, on-the-field product to fill the void between the Super Bowl and the start of the fall football season.




Gain a Competitive Edge Through Transformational Coaching
by Jimmy Hensel, Director of Player Development University of Northern Colorado If you have any coaching experience, you have seen firsthand the multitude of  influences and challenges facing young people in our culture today. More and more kids come to our programs damaged emotionally and mentally to the point that they never reach their full potential as athletes, students and as people. Not only are our athletes at varying stages of physiological development but

As a Coach, How Do You Want to be Remembered?
by Derek Schlieve, Head Football Coach     Mayville State University Football is time consuming. It can become all-consuming if you let it. High School football takes a lot of time. College Football requires even more time. I cannot even begin to imagine what the time commitment is like at the professional level. Every now and then, you read a story about how much time coaches put in and what they are missing out on and it makes a person think twic

FREE FORM - General Practice Plan Breakdown
With spring practice in full session, this form details elements of a complete practice. A list of priorities prior to the start of practice is listed as well as activities divided into 10- and 15-minute increments. Player responsibilities for field set-up and pick-up are also included.

Camp Season
 - The NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard conducts free camps for high school players that combine football skills teaching with character development lessons.Summer is right around the corner, and that means that it will soon be time for football camps for high school athletes to begin. Camps have become a popular way for high school players to get meaningful instruction and work on their fundamentals in the months leading

Champion’s Choice - Three dominating high school state champions rely on CoachComm’s Tempest FX system for reliable, clear sideline communication
Many elements go into winning a state championship. Hard work, dedication, team unity and commitment all play a major role in a team’s rise to the top of their state’s ranks. So does having the right sideline communication system. Championship coaches know that it’s critical to have a proven, reliable headset system that can be counted on to perform in the high-pressure games they’ll face in the state playoffs.That’s why so many state champion teams choose the Tempest FX

Managing Your Program – Spring Practice: Make it About the Details and Development
As we head into spring practice, now is the time to set a focus that will carry the team into strong summer preparations and camp, eventually leading up to the 2013 season. For many areas in the country, a spring game against an opponent is not part of the equation. This is a time that will end in an inter-squad game, or for some, no game or scrimmage at all. This is true at the NCAA Division III level, where we cannot even put on pads. However, this is still a great time to make progress and

Getting the Most From Your Screen Game – An effective screen game is the perfect answer to an overly-aggressive defense.
One of the key facets of our offense has been our screen game. Meade High School had been a flex bone triple option team and there was no screen game. Screens were a foreign concept to the players. We knew screens were vital to the success of the spread offense that we were trying to implement. So this had to become a major point of emphasis for our players.We broke our screens down into two categories – execution screens and advantage screens. Essentially, our advantage screens

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

Tackling Drills Without Full Contact – Tackling progressions for both the head-up and profile tackle can be taught to emphasize safety.
Concussions continue to dominate our discussions about football injuries. Coaches have to find ways to teach the solid fundamentals of tackling, yet protect their players from preventable injuries.We have to contend with a small squad (usually less than 50 players) and often we have undersized players. Traditional tackling techniques are not just enough for us. We have to give our smaller players a chance to tackle without “ramming their head” into a ball carrier. Over the year

Inside Linebacker Reads in the 3-4 Defense – The 3-4 defense gives the inside linebackers a read on the uncovered guard through to the fullback.
The 3-4 defense gives the inside linebackers a read on the uncovered guard through to the fullback.The 3-4 defense, or Okie front is very flexible and multiple, which is needed against today’s spread offensive attacks. The 3-4 defense has the ability to blitz any of the four linebackers, and, in the 3-4 secondary, a team can play multiple coverages, from zone to man.This old school Okie defensive front has a built-in advantage for the inside linebackers.The adva

Take to the Air – Transform your Wing-T into a dynamic passing attack.
The Wing-T offense is predicated on the run game with the occasional pass to keep defenses from loading the box with defenders. Some Wing-T coaches, however, have been experimenting with incorporating different spread packages for passing situations within their power running offensive systems.The Spread Wing-T offense that I’ve developed combines the Wing-T and the Spread and allows for a fluid transfer between the two by simplifying the system. There are five core passing conce

Chemistry Class – Team-Building is an important tool for developing cohesion among players.
There is no exact blueprint for team-building, no scientific formula for team chemistry. But it’s easy to spot the teams that have it and the teams that don’t. Enthusiastic, focused sidelines and camaraderie that oozes off the bus are signs of a team with good chemistry. Finger-pointing, listless practices and team cliques are signs of a program in need of a boost of team-building. But how do you alter your team’s chemistry? How do you create a sense of unity when your roster turns over

The Art of the Comeback – Rallying your team from a big deficit requires adjustments, inspiration and composure.
Every coach faces situations where his team is trailing at halftime or late in games. These times can be the ultimate challenge for coaches – overcoming a deficit by combining strategic adjustments on offense and or defense and motivational words that inspire players not to give up. What are the adjustments needed, both offensively and defensively, to come back and win. What halftime philosophy and strategy should you use when your opponent is way ahead? Do you

Drills Report – No Pads, No Problem: Five Drills to Improve Your Defensive Line Without Using Helmets and Shoulder Pads
It’s that time of year when coaches are attending clinics and analyzing film from the 2012 season to improve individual and overall team performance. I’ve learned some training season drills that can improve your defensive line play in between strength and conditioning sessions. These are everyday drills that I use to improve get-off reaction, hand speed, separation, leverage, and pass rush without the use of helmets and shoulder pads. Whether you’re training inside during the winter or

Safety First – Culture Shift: Changing the culture of football to reduce violent injuries.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently addressed the Harvard School of Public Health and talked about the league’s number one priority – ensuring the safety of the players. But, beyond that, he talked about “changing the culture of the game in a way that reduces the injury risk to the maximum extent possible – especially the risk of head injury.” Goodell went on to say that “the culture of change for player safety is our biggest challenge.”There is more concern today

Speed Report – Weight Training for Speed in a High School Environment - Part II
The SquatThe next area of emphasis for speed development in the weight room is a staple in every coach’s strength program. It is the squat and its different variations. The squat is an exercise that builds tremendous leg and core strength which are both needed to apply force into the ground in order to generate speed and power. The overhead squat, back squat, and front squat form the base of our core lower body exercises.We will squat twice per week with one session being

Strength Report – Creating an Edge in the Off-Season
Football players are getting faster. The process of increasing speed is two-fold. You must perform sprints as you would on game day, but you also have to increase lower-body strength and power.    If you are looking for an edge this off-season, or just trying to add a new dynamic to the predictable programming, maybe it is time to revisit what you are doing in the weight room and during your conditioning sessions. Many programs across the country base their strength

Letter from AFM - Helping Hand
Many of the high school teams we profile in AFM are prominent, successful programs that have great facilities and are very well-funded. They can afford top-of-the-line equipment, uniforms and the latest football innovations.But there are also hundreds of other programs that struggle just to acquire basic equipment in order to compete. Many such schools are located in districts that have suffered from significant budget cuts in recent years and where dollars in the community are oft




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

FREE FORM - Quarterback Drill and Technique Checklist
FREE FORM - Quarterback Drill  and Technique ChecklistThis detailed form includes specific drills to improve your quarterbacks stance and snap technique, his ball handling ability, and passing drops. There are also eight different throwing drills listed including the Hitch Drill, Quick Release Drill and a Pass on the Run Drill.

The Double Gun System A Unique Combination of the Double Wing and Shotgun Formations
By Jay Stolfi • Youth CoachIntroduction

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

From the Coaches Bookshelf – Earn the Right To Win – By Tom Coughlin with David Fisher
Like most coaches, New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin has had moments when he’s lost his temper on the sidelines. In his new book, Earn the Right to Win, he shares his best advice on managing your anger and dozens of other topics about leadership, communication and preparation. His lessons are illustrated with previously untold stories about players like Eli Manning, Doug Flutie and Michael Strahan. Probably the most difficult thing for me t

Defending the Zone Read –Defenses can be successful against the zone read if they understand the rules and their gap responsibilities.
Defending the zone read is similar to defending the triple option that attacks the play side of the defense. We have specific rules for defending the dive (RB), the QB and the pitch. For the dive, we designate the first defender outside the offensive tackle to squeeze and tackle the first threat. The quarterback is designated for the area #2, the curl defender, which is usually the scraping linebacker.We always emphasize that our area #1, the curl/flat defender is responsible for t

Get Naked! – Effectively using the Hitch-Naked passing game forces a defense to defend the entire field.
The Hitch-Naked passing game provides our offense with a safe and efficient way to move the ball with high percentage throws while at the same time allowing us to effectively target our playmakers. Any time we can get the ball to our receivers in a position where they can attack a defender in a 10-yard box, we have successfully created an opportunity for a big play. This is exactly what the Hitch-Naked series has provided our offense.When we installed the series in 2009, we had no

Maximizing Special Teams Practice Time – Circuit drills for both kickoffs and punt units can help improve special teams play.
Anyone who has coached special teams knows that there never seems to be enough time to teach the proper techniques as well as implement your systems. Even at a school like Norwich, we end up trying to get more done, in less time.A strategy we’ve used, which has benefitted us greatly, is to set up a circuit of drills for each individual special teams unit and have all of our players rotate through this circuit. This allows us to get a lot of quality, technique-specific work done,

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

Samson Equipment’s Strength and Conditioning Coaches of the Year for 2012
NFL: Chris CarlisleSeattle SeahawksBackground – Chris Carlisle began his coaching career at Dodge High School (NE) in 1985. After continuing to coach on the high school level and then as an assistant at the University of Arkansas, Carlisle joined the staff at Tennessee in 1998 under John Stucky. He then became USC’s head strength and conditioning coach in 2001 when Pete Carroll called Stucky and asked for a recommendation.

The Rise of the Monarchs – The fastest rising program in college football is just getting started.
Between 1940 and 2009, Old Dominion University did not play a single football game. Zero. The program that had been discontinued after the ’40 season was not reinstated until a 2005 vote established the framework for a new Monarchs team that would begin play in the ’09 season. Basically starting from scratch, the program would face the monumental challenge of building a team where one didn’t exist.Today, the Monarchs are headed to the Football Bowl Subdivision this fall, in only

Drills Report – The Run-Up Escape Drill
The Run-Up Escape Drill which teaches our QBs three important fundamentals – ball security, downfield vision and launching the ball while trying to escape or avoid pressure. The drills we practice are the drills that we witness our players performing as we watch game tape  The Run-Up Escape Drill is one drill which we see over and over as we view our game film. We can incorporate under-center drops (5-step/7-step) or gun drops (3-step/5-quick) into the drill. We start by pla

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

Strength Report – Bridging the Gap Between the Weight Room and the Field for Linemen
If you want to get faster or build the kind of strength that has you dominating your opponents on the field, you need to lift heavy and you need to lift fast. Nothing can beat the speed produced (by building strength) with big, compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, and front squats. These are the base lifts for a lineman - they build strength and increase real football speed like nothing else.But, even the mighty barbell and dumbbell have their limitations. Even the best designed

Speed Report – Weight Training for Speed in a High School Environment
Football has become a game of speed. High school football strength and conditioning coaches across the country are constantly searching for ways to improve the speed and explosiveness of their team in order to produce maximum results. Training for speed in the weight room is paramount for coaches and teams to reach their desired results. Focusing on Olympic movements in the weight room can be very beneficial in increasing a player’s speed.Why Use Olympic Movements?The reason

Letter from AFM
MOVING UPFour years ago this month, AFM carried a feature about the challenges facing Old Dominion University, which was restarting their football program after a 69-year hiatus. “Starting from Scratch” detailed some of the steps they were taking to build a program from the ground up – putting a FCS team on the field with just two years of preparation.Now, after four seasons of competition which exceeded everyone’s expectations – a 38-10 record, 1




FREE FORM - Final Team Defensive Statistics – By Game
This one-page form summarizes your defensive performances – game by game – in 2012. Included are both the total rushing and passing plays by each opponent, total yards gained, and average per play. Average per-game statistics are also included for the season.Exclusively at  www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com

Leaders-in-Training
 The NFL High School  Player Development  program presented by the National Guard  expands their Leadership Program into more  markets this year to  impact more of  tomorrow’s leaders.What makes a good leader? Is it having confidence in one’s abilities and then building confidence in others? Is it the skills to connect with individuals in a caring, empathetic way? Is it mental and physical competence and the ability to solve probl

Getting Your Team Connected
During my five years as a Head Coach at Liberty High School in Colorado Springs, I have always been proud of the class that our fans, staff and players have shown in games, regardless of the score. At every pre-season coaches meeting, I share with my staff a valuable lesson that I learned in my first year as a Head Coach at Rockville High School (CT). We were losing my first game of the 2005 season, 41-0, to Hall High School, and when they got the ball with a minute to go at our ten ya

USING THE iPAD AS A COACHING TOOL
Whether on the field or off, the IPad can be a major part in helping your players improve and communicate the weekly gameplan.  Our student-athletes are so used to technology, it is the way they are taught in classroom and it was what they use outside the classroom.  Give your student-athlete an IPad and they immediately feel comfortable as they swipe through pages or watch video.  After receiving an IPad for my birthday last offseason I started searching for wa

AFM Subscribers Ask with Mike Cieri Special Teams Coordinator, Montclair State University
Mike Cieri recently completed his 41st year as a football coach, the last 12 as Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach at Montclair State University. He also coached at Boonton High Since 2003, his special teams have scored eight touchdowns on kickoff and punt returns and blocked 58 kicks – on punts, extra points, and field goal attempts – scoring a total of 72 points in the process. Cieri has also authored the book, 101 Winning Special Team Drills and produced a five-s

Defending the Power Game with the Stack Defense – The stack defense allows players to be aggressive and limit adjustments against either a spread or a power offense.
One of the primary benefits of the stack defense is its ability to line up against any style of offense and be very effective. With the emergence of the spread offense, the stack gives defenses a great opportunity to not only match up with the spread but also attack it. While this is a great benefit, the primary strength of the stack defense is its ability to stop the run. Throughout the course of a season, we will defend shotgun-spread offenses mainly running out of 10 and 11 personnel as we

Out With the Old, In With the New – Today’s tight ends have become an integral part of every offense.
Today, tight ends have become a fusion of a wide receiver, running back, and offensive tackle. Due to their athletic limitations, the old-school tight ends were always attached to the offensive line with their hand on the ground. The defense knew this and could call defenses accordingly. The new school tight ends are lining up in the backfield and flexing out both as slot and outside receivers to cause matchup issues. Many teams are now doing this with two or more tight ends in the game at th

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

Variables 101 – Knowing how to analyze over 100 offensive variables gives your defense a statistical edge.
Knowing how to analyze over 100 offensive variables gives your defense a statistical edge.Every defensive coordinator has his own style and process in preparing a game plan for the next opponent. Part of this process is detailing the statistical side of probability on the opponent’s play selection. Ideally, each defensive call has the probability of being successful, helps create one-on-one favorable match-ups and allows the players to execute the proper techniques in stopping the of

AFM’s National and Regional High School Coaches of the Year
Gary Joseph Katy High School Joseph led the Tigers to one of the most dominating seasons in Texas football history. A last-minute playoff loss ended the Katy Tigers’ 2011 season. It marked the second straight season the Tigers had been close, but were unable to finish. Head coach Gary Joseph was determined not to let that happen in 2012. “We had been competitive, but hadn’t finished. This year, we were going to become a more physical football team that w

AFM’s College Coaches of the Year for 2012
AFM’s FBS Coach of the YearBrian Kelly Notre DameAfter decades of frustration, Kelly led the Fighting Irish back to national prominence.It was not a pleasant environment, but Brian Kelly had been there before. He knew what to say.In 2001, Kelly led Grand Valley State to an undefeated season and its first appearance in the Division II championship game. It was also Kelly’s first national championship game as a head coach, and it would end in heartbreak.

Managing Your Program – Avoid a Quarterback Controversy – An Objective System for Grading Your Quarterbacks
In the spring and fall of 2010, we had a heated battle for the starting quarterback position.  Our three-year starter was graduating and we had three freshmen battling to be in the number one spot at the beginning of their sophomore year. That year I used three criteria to help me objectively distinguish the starter from the back-ups.  After doing that, I realized I could develop the criteria further to not only slot each quarterback in a position, but also give the posit

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.

Drills Report – Blastoff! Using the Blaster to Create Physicality in Your WR Corps
As a former wide receiver, one of the hardest things for me as a player was to catch the ball when a big hit was coming. Now, as a coach, I have noticed that my players also struggle with securing the catch when being hit, or having to fight through contact. Wanting to be able to practice for this difficult situation, I was forced to examine the drills we do in practice. Most of our drills are traditional “ball” drills that focus on the different aspects of the catch, as well as the tuck

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

Strength Report – A Year Round Strength and Conditioning Program, Part II
Last month’s Strength Report included a training program for the post-season, the off-season and the spring season. As part of a year round program, this article will include a strength and conditioning program for both the pre-season as well as an in-season schedule.PRE-SEASONThis is the phase that is probably the most important part of all the training phases we use. During this time, we must build a conditioning foundation that will allow our athletes to make it through p

Speed Report – Elite Training Facilities and Apparatus: Are They the Answer for Football Speed & Movement?
By Dale Baskett • Football Speed SpecialistMike Johnson • Sports Science ConsultantWe looked at sprint assisted and resisted aids in a past article. In this article I’ll discuss a few of the other popular training aids and whether or not they are a good resource for enhancing speed and movement in your program. Since speed and movement can be enhanced through training, entrepreneurs and manufacturers are attempting to make it easier for coaches and trainers to g

Restoring Relevance
Every year, when we debate our selections for AFM’s Coach of the Year awards, we try to identify an FBS coach who led his team to new heights such as a BCS bowl game or the best record in team history. We don’t follow the crowd when choosing our winner. There have been times when we were the only award that our winning coach received. In fact, in most years there is quite a bit of disagreement among the major Coach of the Year awards over which coach most deserves to be honored.




Student of the Game: Using Academic Resources To Enhance Your Program
Volume 3: The 10,000 Hour Rule, Athlete-Controlled Feedback and Inside-Out Circuits  by Jack Byrne, Defensive Coordinator, Windham High School (NH)    

PUSHING THROUGH THE MENTAL BARRIER
Bill Mountjoy, Retired high School and College Coach    Often there is a very fine line between a winning and losing effort. More often than not, this is due to the athletes’ mental conc

Giving Back
Two Regional Directors of the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard discuss how coaches everywhere can give back to the game.Most successful coaches recognize that they are fortunate to have made a career out of football. That’s what motivates so many to give something back to the game by participating in activities that can make a difference – using football to be a positive influence with youth in their communities.Hundreds of coach

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.

From the Coaches Bookshelf - Dream Chaser – 4th and Goal by Monte Burke
For some, coaching football is simply in their blood. In his new book, 4th & Goal, author Monte Burke tells the amazing story of Joe Moglia, who left coaching to pursue what would become a monumentally successful career in financial services. Moglia has since returned to the sidelines and fulfilled his life-long dream of becoming a college head coach. Here is an excerpt.Now sixty-two, Joe Moglia is standing on the sidelines of a football field in Nebraska, wearing a headset and a w

Spare a Dime – The dime 4-1-6 package can be used in certain passing situations, providing solid man-to-man coverage.
We use the dime 4-1-6 package in third and long situations as well as other long yardage situations. We also like to use this package against passing teams who have a pocket passing quarterback who is not very mobile and does not look to run when pressured. This package has also been used in two-minute situations when the game is on the line. We only want to rush four and have tight coverage behind them. We know the weakness of this defense is running the football against it, but if teams dec

One Team – Two Offenses
By Jeff Hancock • Offensive Coordinator • Siena Heights Universityand Jason Mensing • Head Coach, Whitehall High School (MI)Two years ago the Board of Trustees voted to start football at Siena Heights University and we were fortunate enough to be a part of the very first staff. Among the overwhelming number of things that go into starting a new program was this question because of our limited senior leadership – how were we going to recruit enough players

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

Thunder Storm – Trine University’s tackling and turnover circuit covers all the essentials of effective defense.
There is little doubt that great tackling and creating turnovers are the two most important things a defense can do to help its team win. We have employed a tackle and turnover circuit that we believe not only teaches our players to tackle with great technique, but also teaches an understanding of how to create turnovers when given the opportunity. As a result, we have been at or very near the top of the turnover margin statistics for our conference over the past few years. We led all of Divi

Legendary Leader – John Gagliardi retires after 64 years, 489 wins and countless changed lives.
Amos Alonzo Stagg coached college football for 57 years in the first half of the 20th century, winning a then-record 314 games. Bobby Bowden tallied 377 wins in his 44-year coaching career at Samford, West Virginia and Florida State. Eddie Robinson coached Grambling for 55 years and won 408 games.John Gagliardi bettered them all. In a coaching career that spanned 60 seasons at the helm of Division III St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and four prior sea

Blitzing Backs – Keys to Effective Defensive Back Blitzing Packages
Blitzing defensive backs is a high risk/high reward gamble that requires deception and precise timing in order to be successful. What are the best times to send your corner or safety, which players make the best blitzers and what should they be aware of to increase their chances of a sack or a  hurry?American Football Monthly enlisted the help of four defensive coordinators – all blitz experts – to share their insights about the who, when, how, and where of D-back blitzes.

Coach to Coach – Want to Use a Faster Tempo as a Weapon? Be Creative in Deciding How
NCAA bowl games started on December 15th and finished on January 7th, and, like many of you, I watched almost every game. Of all the current football trends on display, there was one that seemed to present itself in almost every game - the no-huddle, up-tempo offense. Spread offenses have been a football standard for many seasons. However, the pace at which teams are executing their schemes is becoming more and more of a key factor in their offensive philosophy and identity.In today’

Drills Report –Improving Your Quarterback’s Throwing Mechanics
Here are a number of coaching points and drills to help improve your quarterback’s throwing mechanics.THE THROW (BODY)•  The QB should be in a fairly narrow position (feet under the arm pits) to eliminate over striding. He should stand tall with a slight bend in both knees.•  Proper “transfer of weight” is crucial for the QB to throw with velocity.•  The QB pushes off the back foot (which should be perpendicular to the target); he takes a sho

Safety First – Stronger Necks = Fewer Injuries
Neck testing and training methods for football are critical ways to reduce injuries.Even though research studies have shown that increases in neck strength decrease the chance of a head injury, there is no national standard for neck testing in collision sports. At the University of Memphis, we developed an innovative program to test, monitor, and strengthen the neck that has decreased our concussions and missed playing time 50% in one year. This past season at Columbia

Strength Report – A Year Round Strength and Conditioning Program, Part I
As strength coaches, it is our job to maximize the performance of our athletes and to minimize their risk of injury. Proper programming and organization go a long way in ensuring our athletes are prepared for each season. Periodization, in its simplest terms, refers to the organization of training phases to maximize performance for the competitive season. The year is broken down into different cycles. The cycle traditionally goes:Off-Season, Spring Season, Pre-Season, In-Season, Post

Speed Report – Is Your Off-Season Football Speed Training on Track?
If you have been reading my articles over the last six years, you know that I try to point coaches in the right direction for true football speed development.  My hope is that you will apply useful teaching methods that are currently not available. The first step is having an open mind for learning new concepts. Whatever you have chosen to use as a method for speed development requires time to install. Time is the greatest commodity in life. We only have so much time to utiliz

Record Setters
It’s natural in all sports to measure success by counting the number of wins a team or a coach achieves, and football is no different. With the possible exception of championship rings, total wins is recognized as the yardstick we use to rate coaches and judge their careers.In this issue of AFM, we celebrate the career of not only one of football’s greatest winners, but one of its greatest gentlemen as well – proving that the two are not mutually exclusive. Last month, John G




Student of the Game: Using Academic Resources to Enhance Your Program Part II The Guidance Hypothesis and Overtime Wednesday
By Jack Byrne • Defensive Coordinator • Windham High School (NH)The purpose of this series of articles is to provide ideas for improving various aspects of your football program using ac

The National Forgotten League
By Dan DalyExcerpted by permission from The National Forgotten League: Entertaining Stories and Observations from Pro Football’s First Fifty Years by 

FREE FORM - Special Team Statistics
With the 2012 season completed, an often overlooked category is special team statistics. This form includes a detailed listing of every special teams category – from average net punt yards to extra point percentage – along with an explanation of each category. This form summarizes your special teams play for the season.Special Teams Statistics -

Get Educated 2013 Coaches Clinics
Now is the time to make yourplans for coaches clinics in 2013. Here is a listing of four premier organizations that will be conducting clinics across the country during the winter and spring months of 2013.Nike Coach of the Year Clinics     Last year, almost 13,000 high school coaches attended 21 Nike COTY clinics. In 2013, many of the clinics will include special lectures for youth league coaches. Most clinics will also include demonstration periods of technique and

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

LINEBACKER TACKLING DRILLS AND TECHNIQUES
One of our defensive coaching guidelines is that we will get what we demand or allow. If we do not emphasize what we think is important to our defense or if we do not hold our players accountable for what our expectations are, then we are held responsible for the lack of production on the field. This definitely applies to tackling. We demand to be 90% efficient in all tackling opportunities and we do not want to allow poor practice habits or a lack of emphasis on the right things to adversely

QB RUN/SCREEN OPTIONS OFF THE ZONE RUN GAME
Successful reads and following blocking rules gives an offense more opportunities.Whether throwing or running the ball, coaches love to have options. Utilizing run/screen options off the zone run game has provided us the opportunity to take what the defense gives us. You can benefit from the concept no matter what type of athlete you have playing the quarterback position. The quarterback should only carry the ball when his read progression allows him to.PHILOSPOPHYThe p

Keeping Score - Ways to Keep Your Off-Season Strength Program Competitive
Maintaining a competitive mindset is a priority in the off-season at successful programs. From live player drafts to team-building exercises, creative coaches are constantly coming up with ways to keep their strength and conditioning programs competitive. “You want to train the mental component of competitiveness year-round. That’s a critical piece,” said Maine Strength and Conditioning Coach Dan Nichol. “You don’t want that competitive aspect to go dormant.” AFM talked to

Building Blocks – The day your 2012 season ends, your 2013 pre-season begins. Now is the time to build the foundation for your team’s future success.
In today’s ultra-competitive football environment, there’s no such thing as a true off season. The coach who leaves the game behind after the last items of equipment are stored for the winter is the coach who falls behind his peers.Between post-season evaluations of players and coaches, planning and implementing special activities and training programs and working with seniors who want to play at the next level, coaches’ plates are full. To successfully navigate the challenge

Top of the Line
Bishop Gorman High School built one of the country’s top strength and conditioning facilities – with the help of Samson Equipment.When Tony Sanchez assumed head coaching responsibilities at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 2009, he produced immediate results – a 15-0 record that included a state championship and a national ranking in his first season. The only thing missing at Bishop Gorman was a strength and conditioning program that would allow the Gaels to maintain th

Banner Year
The NFL High School Player  Development program presented  by the National Guard achieved  record-setting participation  in 2012 and concluded  the year with its largest  National 7-on-7  Tournament ever.However you measure it, the 2012 NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard was a resounding success.             The HSPD camps experienced dramatic growth in bo

Quality Control – Planning Your Off-Season
The equipment has been shipped out for reconditioning, awards banquets are complete, and you’ve gotten over that awkward feeling in the week or two following the season where from 3pm-6pm you felt like you should be doing something else. Now is a great time to do some quality control and analysis work before you head into the clinic season. Coaches who are successful year-in and year-out are great organizers. Planning precedes organizing. In order to plan effectively you must per

10 Ways To Maximize Press Man Coverage
There are a number of ways your players can reach their potential as cornerbacks in press man coverage. After playing in college, nearly a decade in the NFL, and coaching at both the college and professional level for 28 years, I have learned a number of things that should be helpful in improving your players’ press man techniques. Here are some tips and coaching points to share with your cornerbacks:1.  Attitude – The corner must be ready, relaxed, and supremely confident wh

Secure the Future by Playing it Safe
By the time you read this article, your 2012 football season will most likely be over. I hope that it was a success for you and your team. Some of you are enjoying the holiday season with the satisfaction of winning a championship while others are already charting a course of action that will result in  more success in 2013. Regardless of how the 2012 season finished, the winter months will provide all of us  the opportunity for some much needed rest  and a time to reflect on a

Buckle Up
Despite new rules, helmets are coming  off during games at an alarming rate  in both high school and college.Bert Bielema, the head coach at Wisconsin, sits on the NCAA rules committee. One of the plays reviewed by the committee last season involved a defensive player who lost his helmet but kept pursuing the ball carrier. The defensive player got blocked and suffered a concussion. “When you’re talking about the health and well-being of young men, who’v

ALTERNATE TECHNIQUES TO INCREASE UPPER BODY STRENGTH
During this past off-season, we noticed that our percentage of increase in strength for the upper body press had not gone up as a team compared to our increases for the squat and power clean. Obviously, the lower body lift of a squat incorporates larger muscle groups, and both the power clean and squat can increase lower body strength significantly by using proper techniques so there are reasons to see a larger increase with these lifts. However, we also realized that we were not using as man

Quickness Drills - Essential for Quickness Development
Every coach wants players to play fast and quick. Can quickness be developed or is it just left to those who are genetically blessed.  When I started speed training in 1979, every coach said you can’t teach speed. Today we’re talking about quickness, which is an aspect of speed. What if moving with electric transitions and ballistic quickness on the football field could be trained? I can’t say that every athlete on your team will be quick just because you trained them. I

Welcome to the Pre-Season
By the time you receive this issue, your season will most likely be over. Whether you led your team all the way to a championship or fell short of expectations, you probably have a sense of relief that another season is behind you. Now you can finally take some time off from football, clear your head of Xs and Os, maybe take a vacation. Just get away from the game for a while. Right?    Wrong. Your 2012 season might be over, but all that means is that your 2013 pre-season h




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

Subscribers Ask - With Tony Sanchez Head Coach • Bishop Gorman (NV)
Coach Tony Sanchez took over as Bishop Gorman’s Head Coach in March of 2009. The results over three seasons have been spectacular. The Gaels have won three straight state championships with records of 15-0, 13-2, and 16-1. Last fall, Bishop Gorman played three ranked top 25 teams – Chaparral (AZ), Armwood (FL) and Servite (CA). Their only loss was to Armwood, 20-17.Sanchez believes in playing the best teams he can schedule each year. “It was tough to lose the game to Armwood

The Speed Report - Combination Movement Skill Drills FOR THE SECONDARY
What do I mean by combination movement skill drills? Combining position speed skill movements that you might do as one activity only – such as backpedaling – into two or three types of movement changes in the same drill. You will wind up incorporating several skills needed into a non-stop high-intensity and kinetic learning experience.Obviously, an athlete in the secondary must be adept at multi-movement skills, which are why they are practiced so frequently. My idea of doing t

Yoga and Football – Keeping Your Players on the Field
By Tim Tobin, Linebackers and Run Coordinator, Tusculum College andStella Tobin, Advanced Yoga and Pilates Instructor, Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant Teams spend around 15 minutes or more during practice, and pre-game doing warm ups. By using Yoga, you can have your players ready in a shorter amount of time, saving both your time and energy. Yoga can help in many ways to make weak areas stronger, tight areas more flexible, correct imbalances, help devel

Student of the Game: Using Academic Resources to Enhance Your Program: Part I The Tactical Games Approach and Open Field Tackling
The purpose of this series of articles is to provide ideas for improving various aspects of your football program using academic resources and studies. If you are anything like me, you are the type of coach that wants a reason and a purpose behind everything you do for your program. Anecdotal evidence can be useful, but is often unreliable and even harmful (if you don’t believe me, think about what would happen if we took everything from an internet forum, Wikipedia, or a TV infomercial as

FREE FORM - Quarterback Grade Sheet
This free form is the overall grade sheet for your quarterback. In addition to the normal passing and running statistics, this form includes grades for his control of the huddle and line of scrimmage, using the correct snap technique, ball handling and faking. Suggested grades are also included for achieving or failing each assignment, level of technique and mistakes made.

FADE OUT - The fade route is a potent offensive weapon that can be incorporated into any offense.
There is not a bad time to throw the fade route. It’s a relatively high-completion (55-60%), low-risk, and big-reward play.The fade does a number of positive things for an offense. The vertical stretch of the fade usually forces safeties and corners to play deeper. This can give the run game and the quick passing game more room to operate. The run game is also enhanced by the fade since defensive linemen are constantly trying to get pressure on the quarterback, usually without su

RED ZONE COVERAGES AND PHILOSOPHY To shut down a passing attack near the goal line, consider cover 7.
To look at pass defense in the Red Zone, it is important to first identify the different areas of the Red Zone. We typically break the Red Zone into three areas – from the 20-10 yard line, where offenses have the majority of their package intact, from the 10-2 yard line where offenses are somewhat restricted in what they can do in the passing game, and from the 2 to the goal line, where typically bigger personnel groups are brought in and the style of play becomes more goal line/short yarda

ELWAY AND ZIGGY Using “Z Check” and Option Principles to Stop the Zone Read
The zone read is a very dynamic play that can confuse the defense and force them into mismatches. However, there are several ways to stop this play and put the offense in lose-lose situations. I have spent time on both sides of the ball and, as an offensive coordinator, the zone read was the first play implemented and we had great success with it. It is a play that can have many options and complementary plays off of the same look. The zone read begins and ends with the QB and his ability to

KICKOFF BLOCK DESTRUCTION PROGRESSION
Learning the proper fundamentals and techniques of kickoff coverage helps put your defense in a favorable position.In spite of the 2012 rule changes regarding special teams play, the kickoff remains one of the most pivotal plays in football. Most everyone who holds this view has a different reason. At Cornell, we feel that the kickoff’s importance lies in determining the drive start for our defense which, over time, is a direct indicator of defensive success and in setting the emotio

Preparing Your Punt Teams
Getting your punting and pressure/return special team units prepared to meet the challenges they’ll face on game day can be the difference between a win and a loss.Successful coaching requires attention to detail. This is never truer than in special teams, especially in preparing your punt and punt pressure/return units. Punts and punt returns hold opportunities for positive, momentum-changing outcomes but they also have the potential for disaster. Of all the plays in football, the p

The Pirate Returns - Mike Leach brings his high-powered but surprisingly simple passing offense to Washington State
Mike Leach is complex. Contrary to popular belief, his coaching philosophy is not. Dating back to his early days as an innovative offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan and Valdosta State, Leach has always experimented with unique plays and unusual ideas. Yet, two decades later, his first offense at Washington State has just 14 pass plays.

Knowing the signs of concussion will help you protect your players.
No single word has dominated football conversation this year as much as concussion. In Pop Warner, high school, college and the NFL, coaches, physicians and fans are more than ever focused on player safety and traumatic brain injuries. The medical research is worrisome. What has emerged as central to all football in 2012 is the importance of having a sideline medical authority responsible for evaluating players facing the possibility of a concussion.The Medical PerspectiveThe

Drills Report Bonus - Improving Your Offensive Production
In our offense that we call the “truck and chuck”, we borrow academy-style option principles, implement them from a normal five-yard depth in the shotgun, and then throw as much play-action as we can into it. Like any offense, there are countless ways to practice and prepare our players to execute our style of play. However, when we think about drills and teaching methods for our offense, we stick to a few basic principles:#1 Big/Little/Big - Give the players the big picture (the

Drills Report Virginia Tech Running Back Drills
We have an unbelievable tradition of running back play at Virginia Tech. Our running backs understand the number of great players that have come before them. Since 1980, we have had over 30 running backs sign NFL contracts. That includes David Wilson, a first round draft choice this year and Ryan Williams, a second round draft choice last year.We use four core drills to work on footwork, pass protection, pass catching and overall toughness. Footwork/ball security will be drilled ev

Coach to Coach Dealing with Discipline
I was having dinner on a Saturday night with my family when the doorbell rang. Upon opening the door, I was a little shocked to see a former player that I had not seen in almost ten years standing in front of me. Having past members of my teams stop by to say hello is not an uncommon occurrence but this was different. This young man, who was a part of my  first varsity team at Foothill High School, had the distinctive “honor” of being the first player that I had ever dismissed from m

STAYING SHARP Nine In-Season Training Tips
Failure to properly work out during the season will lead to weaker players, more injuries and more losses as the season wears on. Weightroom training during the season confuses many players and coaches. There are so many demands on time and the body that any mistakes made can cause a chain reaction of failures from the weightroom to the field.The old theory of not training at all during the football season is completely out of date.After about 14 days, you can begin to l

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

Coach Corporal: Football, Military, and Internal Discipline
So there I was, a 20-year old United States Marine sitting on a giant KC-130 refueling plane. I was a part of Operation Northern Watch in Southeastern Turkey. The goal of our operation, in short, was to prevent Sadaam Hussein from traveling north of a certain point. My unit had just loaded all of our equipment and materials onto our plane in a hurried 45 minutes time, as dir

Get More Out of Your Film By Having Better Film
In today’s coaching world, film is a major tool for success. Yet, sometimes we get film that just isn’t up to par. When you get opponents’ film, you are left at the mercy of their filmer. Often it’s a young manager, injured player, young coach, or possibly a volunteer. Your own filmer can sometimes be very green with the camera, have tripod issues or even miss entire plays. People can forget equipment, and then you’re stranded without film. We’ve all had it h

FREE FORM - Weekly Practice Plan
With August camp now in full swing, it’s critical to have a detailed weekly practice plan. This form is just that – a day-by-day listing of what’s scheduled for each practice, including specific plans for the offense, defense and special teams.

Wide Receiver Play Base Fundamentals vs. Press Coverage
The proper technique for hand releases and quick feet are critical for the wide receiver in defeating press coverage.We spend a good amount of time in practice working on individual skills. One of our focuses in practice is releases vs. a hard corner. We work on many different releases, with a goal for our players to develop a repertoire. We spend a great deal of time breaking down each individual skill so it will become a habit for them.We break the skill of releases down i

Defending the Wing-T Offense
The Wing-T is a great offensive system that challenges defenses at both the high school and collegiate levels. Many of today’s one-back and spread offenses can trace their roots back to the Wing-T.We defend the Wing-T by being as simple as possible. We try to play one front and one coverage the entire game vs. Wing-T sets. We take an “Over” front concept and slide the front to the TE/Wing. We want to take away or limit the Wing-T’s ability to run to the TE surface (Diagrams 1

Looking Back at the Backside Tackle
The most common term used by coaches and commentators in defending the option is “assignment football”. Being disciplined on defense and knowing your option responsibility is critical, but giving the option quarterback different and confusing fronts and reads is also crucial. Realizing that defenses will stunt, stem, and blitz defenders in an effort to confuse, offenses have to be prepared to make adjustments that give the defense something to think about.The pinch and scrape s

Managing Your Managers
Most coaches have a good handle on their responsibilities and those of their players. In many programs, these responsibilities are very detailed and almost always put in writing.But often overlooked are the roles and responsibilities of team managers. That’s unfortunate, since having solid, detail-oriented team managers can be a blessing to a coaching staff – giving them more time to focus on helping their players be successful on the field.In my coaching career, I p

Slowing Down the Spread
What do defenses do to slow down the spread and how do offenses counter? AFM asked spread offense coaches, “What defenses give you the most trouble?”Sparky Woods • Head Coach • Virginia Military InstituteSparky Woods has been the head coach at VMI for the past four seasons. Previously, he was head coach at Appalachian State and South Carolina and the OC/QBs Coach at Memphis. Woods was also a position coach at Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi State. He has b

Southern Savior: Saban's 10 Keys to Success
Alabama’s Nick Saban has relied on his core philosophy to resurrect the Crimson Tide program and bring championships to Tuscaloosa.The decade between Alabama Head Coach Gene Stallings retirement in 1996 and David Shula’s dismissal as head coach in 2006 was perhaps the darkest era in Crimson Tide football history. Four losing seasons, NCAA probation, a coach fired before his first game and, worst of all, five losses in a row to Auburn led to despair in Tuscaloosa.“W

Tide Talent Search
From HOW THE SEC BECAME GOLIATH by Ray Glier. Copyright © 2012 by Ray Glier. Reprinted with permission from Howard Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.In essence, what Saban did at LSU and what he is doing at Alabama is not about collecting talent. Not even close. He is building a team. He does not start with players, he starts with definitions of players just like the Cowboys and Browns did. When Alabama goes recr

Reliable Performer
A Houston-area high school chose the HME DX300 sideline communications system to deliver superior performance in critical game situations.In the super-competitive world of Texas 5A high school football, coaches must pay close attention to every detail of program management – on and off the field – in order to achieve winning seasons. Decisions about which coaching technology to use, for example, can be just as important as which offense to install or which player to start at middle

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

The Safety Rulebook
While coaches can take an active role in injury prevention by coaching safer tackling and blocking techniques, football’s governing bodies can have a lasting impact for all teams by tweaking rules designed to ensure player safety.Governing organizations – including the NCAA, the National Federation of High Schools, and Pop Warner – have instituted new rules that go into effect this fall to help ensure the safety of players.NCAAThe NCAA approved a number of new

COMPLEXITY Using Complex Warm-Ups to Jump Start Your Athlete’s Workout
All high school strength and conditioning coaches are looking for that “magic bullet” or the one thing that will help their student-athletes make incredible jumps in explosive power. Having your athletes perform “complex” warm-ups will help them achieve that goal. A “complex” warm-up is a series of 6-10 exercises, done for a set number of reps, in consecutive order, without resting or changing weights for the entire set.Here is an example:1. Upright Row  x42.

EXTENSION PLANTS The Key to Football Speed Transition
All movement requires force application but transition speed is what makes plays happen fast. The key to playing the game fast is due in part to the ability to plant well when directionally displacing momentum. Pure speed lineally is useful in smaller dimensions than we think when evaluating speed traits. The forty-yard dash as a measurement that forecasts speed is the wrong tool. Playing speed should not rely on the forty as a pure indication for playing fast. The game is played on your feet

Leadership Lessons
The NFL High School Player Development Program presented by the National Guard goes off the field to help mold the leaders of tomorrow.On so many levels, the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard is unique. There are many football camps around the country for high school athletes, but only one program – HSPD – includes character development sessions to help athletes be successful in the classroom, in the community, and at home. Only one program

Expanded Special Teams: Kickoff and Punt Returns
One of the biggest areas for hidden yards in a football game takes place in the return game of special teams. Making blocks in open space is critical to field position. Technique, fundamentals, angles, and field awareness must be emphasized to be successful. With the motto “every yard counts” players must understand that working to be at the correct landmark can be the difference between a game-changing return and a penalty. Here are drills that we practice:Illini Kickoff Retu

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




FREE FORM - General Practice Plan Form
With pre-season camp coming soon, the General Practice Plan Form is a must for every coach. This form details priorities before practice as well as providing a comprehensive guide in five-minute increments – period by period – of a complete two hour and 15 minute practice. Specific practice drills are also included for all positions.

VIDEOTAPING FOR AUGUST TWO-A-DAYS
The key to having productive video sessions during August two-a-days and the regular season is being completely organized. Some questions you ought to ask are:

Boot Camp Day for High School Football
Last April, during Ohio’s North / South All-Star Football Game at Ohio Stadium,  I had the good fortune to be standing on the sidelines with members of the Ohio Army National Guard.  As we were talking, they shared with me how they did a number of “Boot Camps” with high school football teams in Southern Ohio. I let them know that I would love to do something like that with my team. Fortunately, a member of their unit was transferred to recr

Master Clinic – 5 Elements of Success in Coaching Football
The quest to identify and analyze the elements of successful coaching in football is challenging and varies much depending on perspective and who is conducting the analysis. The definition of success is also very much dependent on expectations and can be quite relative to the current status of a program and its history. There are, however, consistent elements I believe are inherent in most football programs which are perceived as successful for sustained periods of time.1.  Depth

Protecting the Split-Side Running Game
There are ways to account for a defense’s flat player by using the front-side bubble,fly motion, and the bubble and go.As football has continued to evolve and change over the last decade, teams at all levels are lining up in more open formations on offense. The removal of the fullback and the tight end from formations has forced offenses to find other ways to effectively run the football. Many teams are forced to have answers for defenses that are making it difficult to run the ball

Complete Cornerback Coverage Techniques
The proper technique for backpedaling is a key to maximizing a cornerback’s coverage.As with any technique in football, there are a number of ways that standard defensive back techniques can be taught. The core fundamentals of backpedal, break, and bail are often articulated in very different ways. While it is important to put some of your best athletes at the cornerback position, there are always times when you will need to adapt your personnel and teach a corner how to play the pos

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.

Coaching Technology – Today and Tomorrow
Technology is a critical part of coaching success and will be even more important in the future.From the first time a football game was ever filmed, in 1903, to the invention of the first videotape recorder, in 1951, to the first-ever editing system in 1987 to the introduction of digital editing in 1994, technology has been influential in shaping how coaches prepare for opponents and communicate during games.Today, coaches have a wider variety of technology tools available t

What, as a Defensive Coach, Gives You the Most Trouble?
Coaching football is simple in theory - score touchdowns, and stop the opposition from scoring touchdowns. Too bad theory isn’t reality. Every football coach in the world understands that there is a lot more to it than that. Defensively, you are charged with stopping an entire offense in a few short days of practice and game planning. Each coach has their own way of going about stopping each team. Over the years, you develop your defense to suit your team and stop the opposition, yet for ea

That Championship Season – AFM’s 2011 Survey of 334 State Champions
Winning a state championship is the pinnacle for most high school teams. Learning from the experience of championship coaches can help in your quest to hoist the trophy.Hard work. Dedication. Leadership. Commitment. Focus. Team chemistry. These are the common themes that emerge when you talk to high school coaches that won their state championships in 2011.But there is also great diversity among the 334 teams that raised the state championship trophy last season. There are t

Safety First – Teaching safe tackling technique can reduce head and neck injuries and help protect the game’s future.
In the past 35 years, two-thirds of football-related catastrophic injuries have occurred while making a tackle, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. Most of these were caused by helmet-to-helmet contact. “This is a major problem,” said Fred Mueller, Ph.D., director of the NCCSIR, which has collected data and published annual reports on catastrophic football injuries for 48 years.Dr. Mueller said head-to-he

Drills Report – 13 Advanced Punting Ideas and Drills
Punting is one of the most difficult and least acknowledged skills in the game. Coaches expect punters to punt well every time, but one bad punt or a botched snap can result in a serious conversation from a coach or, even worse, a loss of a game. Punting can be a big momentum changing play for you or the other team. Here’s a list of coaching points and drills that can help with this position and make it a more positive part of your program.1. Punter Stretches•  Make ea

Speed Report – Useful or Useless Speed and Movement Applications
To bridge the gap between knowledge and application begins with having knowledge on the subject. Many football coaches have a limited knowledge of football speed. That’s not a positive for the athletes they train. However, that can be changed. I’m not trying to be negative or flippant, but I’m offering a challenge. A challenge to spend more time looking outside the box with the methods you’re providing. They may look fine to the untrained eye, but are they really sound for addressing

Strength Report – Seven Phases
Sam Houston State’s Strength and Conditioning ProgramTRAINING PHILOSOPHYThe goal for our strength and conditioning program is to improve each player’s athleticism using a variety of different training methods. Our approach is to implement a simple and effective, yet sound program. A program that relies on hard work, focus, and determination as its main ingredients for success. This approach is not only successful, but is complementary to Head Coach Willie Fritz and his staf

Tournament Time
This month, hundreds of young athletes representing all 32 NFL teams will converge in Indianapolis for the NFL High School Player Development National 7-on-7 Tournament presented by the National Guard.7-on-7. The name evokes highly-skilled athletes, pinpoint passing attacks, and non-stop action.In the last decade, there has been an explosion of high school 7-on-7 events during the summer months. Most of these competitions feature elite skill position players honing their gam

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

Play Like a Champion
When the upcoming high school football season gets underway, there will be over 15,000 coaches and teams that, at least on paper, have a chance to win their state championship. By the season’s conclusion, roughly 340 will have raised the championship trophy. There will be teams that will be celebrating the latest in a string of many championships and others that will be claiming the title for the first time in school history. There will be veteran coaches for whom winning is expected and fi




Powerful Partnership
The National Guard’s Citizen Soldiers contribute to the success of the NFL High School Player Development program on many levels.What does it mean to serve in the National Guard? It means that you’re part of the oldest established branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, dating back to 1636. It means that you can be called upon to provide relief to those that have suffered from natural disasters in your home state. It also means that you could serve overseas, if needed, as part of America�

FREE FORM HS Equipment Inventory
AFM Subscriber Exclusive - FREE FORMWith the summer approaching, it’s time to complete a quick inventory of your gear. This free form consists of two separate sheets for both uniforms and equipment. It also includes a section for ‘Number on Hand’, the actual condition of the item – good, fair, or poor – and whether the item is to be discarded. It’s a must for every coach before the start of fall camp.

Using the 3-5-3 to Stay One Step Ahead
Over the years, offensive coaches have used different techniques to attack the 3-5-3 defense. They will use formations, motions, and plays to attack certain areas of the defense. I often see offenses that want to attack the edge of the defense at the “C” or “D” gap. They are trying to put pressure on the ‘Dog Safeties’ and cornerbacks or the defensive ends and ‘Bat Linebackers.’

Play-Action Passing From the Pistol
The 2011 Knox football team saw many statistical improvements that reinforce we are heading in the right direction. Our rushing attack improved by 45 yards per game and we averaged 21.5 more yards per game passing. One result was our scoring offense doubled from 2010. We run the Pistol and play-

Managing Your Program
Promoting and Building Your Program in Today’s Multiple Choice SocietyLooking back on how I grew up, I recall not having many choices. We had a 13” color TV that received three network channels. There were no video game consoles or DVD players hooked up to it. In the fall I played football, in the winter, basketball, and in the spring, baseball. There weren’t many things to think about or do besides those three sports, and growing up in Northeast Ohio, football dominated the othe

Uphill Battle – Grambling’s ‘Back to the Basics’ strength and conditioning program challenges an athlete’s body as well as his mind.
With the end of the spring semester, our players understand that it is only two-three weeks before we begin our summer workouts. With the start of those workouts, they also understand that we are officially preparing for the upcoming season. Since we are a BCS program, we are financially restricted in terms of paying for our athletes to attend both summer school sessions but they are at least able to attend the second session (late June – late July). For those athletes that are fortunate en

Disrupting the Spread with the 3-5 Defense
Focusing on blitz opportunities and mixing coverages can help stop the spread option team.Regardless of the level of the game, championship football means playing strong defense. We run a 3-5 stack defense because it fits who we want to be as a football program. We want to be an aggressive, attacking team and we feel this scheme fits our style of play. We have run the 3-5 stack very successfully since 2003. This past season, we faced two spread offenses who, at the time, led our confer

5-Step Passing Game Protection: Sliding to Protect
We run a multiple pro-style offense. Our offense is designed to be balanced while taking what the defense gives us. In order to execute our offensive system, every position has a specific job and the running back position is heavily involved in every area. One area that is not often discussed but is an enormous part of our balanced offense is pass protection. Whether a team throws a lot or very little, pass protection is a vital part of any offense. Every time the QB drops back to throw, he m

The Double Slot, Triple Option Offense
This offense, with simple option, counter option, read and play-action passes can be effective against any defense.In 1991, I made the decision that our team would transition into a double slot, triple option offensive program. Despite the fact our program was thriving, I felt that if we ever wanted to establish ourselves as an elite program, we needed an approach that would allow us to compete with the superior talent we would see deep into the playoffs.I began the transfor

The “No Name Defense” – Mixing personnel, fronts, and coverages along with stunts and blitzes can continually keep an offense off-balance.
Coaches often ask me what we call our defense? “What defense do you run: 3-5-3, 4-3, 4-4, 5-2, or the 3-4?” Our response is, “The one that works.” If pressed to answer, our personnel is best described as a 3-4 but we line up in everything from a 3-4 to 4-3 to 3-3-5 to a 4-6 Bear. Some defensive coordinators do not want the offense to dictate what they do, but we do not look at it that way. We want to dictate to the offense what plays they can run. For example, if they are an “I” f

Reloading at Rockhurst – Tony Severino, the head coach at Rockhurst High School for 29 years, believes in keeping his players busy in all aspects of their lives – not just on the field.
It was near the end of an hour-long interview when Tony Severino was asked a question that he has fielded numerous times in recent years. “How much longer do you think you’ll coach?”His answer is the same every time.“I get asked that every day. You’re the second one today that’s asked me,” said Severino, who will turn 64 in September. “I’ve been saying, ‘five years’ for the last 10 years. I have such a good time doing what I do. When I don’t, I’

Diamond Backs – For a team with many playmakers, the Diamond formation may be the best way to showcase their talents.
In April, after a West Virginia spring practice, a few Mountaineer defensive coaches strolled over to running backs coach Robert Gillespie with troubled looks on their faces. They had just been introduced to the new facets of the Mountaineers’ already-potent three-back Diamond set Head Coach Dana Holgorsen and Gillespie had been installing. The defensive coaches’ initial reaction was shock. They said, “Man, that’s very tough to deal with,” Gillespie recalled. “They talk

Drills Report – Linebacker Progression Drills
Coaching linebackers is an ever-evolving process. With today’s offensive schemes becoming more and more complex, we must ask more of our defensive players. I ask our linebackers to read keys, be aggressive run stoppers in the box, defeat blocks, get to the ball using a specific technique, tackle the ball carriers, find receivers and cover them up in zone concepts as well as cover backs and receivers man-to-man. While doing all this, I also expect them to know the game plan, call the defense

Speed Report – Execution in Football and In Football Speed
In football, execution is a key component to  winning, performing consistently, confidence, attitude, focus enhancement, skill development, and a commitment to excellence.As Vince Lombardi said, “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field or endeavor”. Lombardi believed in the premise of having pride in execution to the maximum degree. His premise in the world of football speed is absolutely paramou

Strength Report – Maximizing Time in the Weight Room
In 2011, Lake Travis High School won their fifth consecutive Texas 4A Division l State Championship, a feat that had never been accomplished in Texas high school football. During the past five years, the team has an overall record of 77–3. There are many factors that contribute to winning a state championship, much less winning five consecutive state championships, and one factor is the effort in the weight room during the season and in the off-season.At Lake Travis, our focus is

Coach to Coach – Summer Session
Using the summer months to organize and articulate your coaching philosophies and methods.Being a head football coach is a job that requires a multitude of skills. The coach that is successful over a long period of time has learned to master the art of the “tions” – motivation, delegation, innovation, articulation, dedication – all the while maintaining the most important element – passion. In order to become efficient in all of these areas, a head coach must know and be able

UNSTOPPABLE
In recent years, college teams in the FBS have discovered that, if you want to have a powerhouse, pass-happy offense that ranks at or near the top in total yards and scoring, you should just hire Dana Holgorsen.Starting in 2005, when he became co-offensive coordinator under Mike Leach at Texas Tech, Holgorsen has transformed average offenses into units that are anything but average. Having lots of talent at the skill positions has obviously been a factor in his teams’ ability to




Louisiana Legend
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Tiger Feeding Time
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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

Philosophy of Pass Protection
Being both the OC and OL coach allows us to have a “Protection First” view to the offense. I always stress two things to the offensive unit – first, we must protect the QB at all costs, and second, if you cannot protect the QB, you will not play. This philosophy has been a big part of our success in protecting the QB over the past several years. Over a three year period from 2008-2010 our

FREE FORM - Conditioning Evaluation Form
With summer coming, the Conditioning Evaluation Form is a great way of determining the strength, speed, endurance and agility of your players. For evaluating strength, performances for the bench, squat and hang clean are listed. For speed and endurance, times for both the 40-yard dash and 300-yard shuttle run are included. Time for the pro agility drills is measured for an athlete’s overall agility. Exclusively on www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com

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

Special Teams – Practice Schedule, Goals, and Critique
Our players understand the importance of special teams because of the amount of time that we put in coaching them. Starting in the spring, we spend a minimum of 10 minutes per day on the “big four” – punt, kickoff, kick return and punt return. We also put in extra point/field goal work in every day. We keep it fresh by changing up drills as much as possible.We run a traditional punt formation and we changed our scheme slightly and spent a lot of time in the spring on punt. It

Punch and Move - Pass Protection Drills for Offensive Linemen
There are many factors that go into keeping your quarterback upright and healthy throughout the season. We teach that it takes “ALL 11” to effectively execute the passing game. Every position on the field has a job to do, from running backs’ blitz checks, quarterbacks throwing the ball on time, hot routes being run with precision and timing and, of course, the line handling their responsibilities.Varied schemes and launch points are a great way to keep a defense off balance.

Tackling - Still the Key to Successful Defensive Play
At every level of football and in every historical era of the game, tackling has always been, and will always be, the most important skill for defensive players to execute. Like all defensive coaches, we have several tackling drills in our arsenal.Before these three drills are described, it will help to describe the basic components of the tackling technique that we teach.Basic components of tackling technique:Leverage – the tackler takes away one direction for th

Multiplicity – Using Personnel Groupings to Enhance Your Offense and Player Morale
After the 2004 season, my first as a head coach in a big high school program, we were faced with the challenge of pay-to-play. The coaching staff made a great effort in selling our program to athletes and parents, and we fielded the biggest roster in spite of the new pay-to-play obstacle. We also knew that in order to keep those numbers, we needed to re-evaluate how we were utilizing our players, especially in terms of playing time. We looked at the possibility of two platoon, and we wanted t

Eyes Up – Quarterbacks Coach Terry Shea has devoted more than 40 years of his coaching life to the development of the position including the training of elite players like Robert Griffin III.
Terry Shea knows quarterbacks. In addition to quarterback coaching stints in the CFL, college, and the NFL, Shea has helped prepare future NFL quarterbacks for their professional careers. Among others, he has tutored Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, and most recently, Robert Griffin III. When elite quarterbacks want the best in personalized instruction, they call Shea.The compilation of his 40 years as an expert in coaching quarterbacks is now in his recently published book, Eyes Up

The Fix Is In – Adjusting your defense at halftime and during the game can pay big dividends.
All coaches know that tweaking a defensive scheme during a game or at halftime can often make the difference between winning and losing. But how do some of the game’s best defensive minds approach in-game defensive adjustments? Is it better to completely revamp a defensive game plan or is it better to make minor adjustments based on what you’ve seen from an offense? AFM asked three prominent defensive coordinators about their approaches to in-game defensive adjustments and found some spec

Drills Report – Ball Security – 4 Running Back Drills to Prevent Turnovers
Offensive coaches would agree that turnovers often are a deciding factor in the outcome of a game.  They provide a huge lift for the defense and can create an emotional letdown for the offense.  Given all of this, it would seem to make sense to spend a portion of practice emphasizing the need for proper ball management.  We begin each practice with a five minute period focused on this issue. We point out that losing the ball provides the opponent with a twelfth man, the implica

Speed Report – Multi-Dimensional Movement Speed Before the Season Begins
The essence of football speed is velocity with control. Many sports require movement changes. However, football is more challenging than other team sports due to the amount of contact during practice and games that other team sports don’t have.Football has multiple requirements. Add the speed and movement factors involved and movement becomes challenging. Good movement positioning and control is the backbone of performance. What makes for an outstanding performance is not solely

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

Coach to Coach – Underestimating the Underdog
Months would pass before I would log my first meaningful memory of Joey. I remember the howling wind and unseasonably cold weather that made it almost impossible to communicate that night as I stood outside of the visitor’s locker room in Dixon, California. Players were starting to make their way towards the field as I reviewed my play call sheet minutes before we would kickoff the 2010 season. Joey, looking more like a manager than a player, nervously approached me with tears in his eyes a

Letter from AFM - Saluting Mentors
Just about every football coach has had a mentor – someone that has taught him the finer points of the game and had a positive influence in his development as a coach and a person. It’s part of what makes football coaching such a unique profession – the willingness to teach and share information with other coaches.In AFM’s email newsletter, which you can sign up to receive at AmericanFootballMonthly.com, we recently asked coaches to send in their personal stories about the




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.

Developing Footwork for Your O-Linemen
An offensive lineman has always had the advantage of knowing the play and the snap count. How he uses those pieces of information once the ball is snapped will determine the quality of the player and the overall unit. He must be able to move forwards, backwards, and laterally while driving an attacking defender in the process. He must accomplish this moving comfortably from what most would call an uncomfortable position. This is why nothing is more important than developing good solid footwor

The Two Greatest Lessons that Football Teaches
The values of respect and sacrifice are vital to the success of a team, an organization, a family, and a society as a whole.I believe that the sport of football has the greatest teaching potential of perhaps any organized activity in our world today. This is because all of life is social, and we as humans are social beings. In the game of football, the first thing you must learn is the value of teamwork: a coordinated and cohesive effort on the part of many, in the pursuit of one goal.

Your Take: Review What You Do
Self-analysis is critical to year-to-year improvement.It doesn’t matter if your team won 12 games last year or 2 – the winter off-season period is the time to review what you do. Every aspect of your offense should be critically reviewed, from the individual drills your position coaches use to the plays you call and why you call them. Here is the process we use to critically analyze who we are vs. who we think we are.Our offensive staff establishes scheme go

Lafayette’s “Fourth Quarter” Off-Season Strength and Conditioning Competition
In strength and conditioning, well thought out plans backed by scientific research have proven effective in real world situations. They usually work best when trying to get our athletes in optimal playing shape. But there are times we need to forget about the science and just see what our team is made of.At Lafayette College, we want our athletes to be comfortable and calm in stressful situations, so they can proficiently process information. That is our reasoning behind our off-season

Open Opportunities - Get your tight end involved in the option pass game.
We enjoyed a phenomenal year as an offense this past fall, averaging 490 yards per game with a 73 percent completion rate and a pass efficiency rating of 190.3. Our quarterback threw for 46 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. Our tight end had 33 catches this season and one route concept that proved to be particularly successful for us was the “Option” portion of our passing game. We throw the “Option” from multiple sets and personnel groupings but most often from either

Winning the Turnover Battle - Three drills that will help your defense recover fumbles and make interceptions.
At the conclusion of each season, we evaluate how effective we have been in various areas. Then we decide what we can do to get our players to be more effective as it relates to our defensive philosophy (See Chart). Although we recognize there is always room for improvement in every area, we ask ourselves what did we do well, and what do we need to emphasis more? We have seen great improvement in the last two years has been point four “Create turnovers and big plays – SCORE!” Our defens

Release and Separate - Wide receiver techniques that will gain an advantage.
At Marian, we have the mindset that we will not let a defense dictate our offense. Critical to our success is the ability of our wide receivers to use various release and separation techniques that allow them to take advantage of defensive backs.PhilosophyMany times, a defender will want to take away certain areas of the field by playing a type of coverage or using a certain technique. But with our philosophy, we can get that defender to relinquish his responsibility or break

Advanced Spread Punt Team Drills
After more than four decades of coaching, I have been exposed to a lot of great information from many outstanding coaches. I have taken ideas and concepts from each source and adapted them to what we do now at Sacramento City College. We are always open to new ideas in our efforts to keep improving. Here are our thoughts on the most critical play in football, the punt, and how we teach its execution.To convey the importance of the punt team, make sure our players understand that a

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

Making the Most of the Hurry-Up, No-Huddle Offense - Calling plays at the line can let you double your offensive snaps.
His team had just been walloped 56-7 in its spring game last May and Palm Beach Gardens (FL) head coach Chris Davis knew he had to make some adjustments or face another mediocre .500 season. He just wasn’t sure what he was going to change in his system. His teams had been 4-5 and 5-5 in 2009 and 2010.A few weeks later, Davis was attending a coaches clinic where he heard Gus Malzahn, then the offensive coordinator at Auburn, speak on the advantages of a no-huddle, hurry-up offense

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

Mad Genius - Kevin Kelley’s unorthodox approach may break all the ‘rules’ but it sure produces results.
A job interview with Pulaski Academy (AR) head coach Kevin Kelley is a little different. He begins by talking about loyalty and what it means to be an assistant coach. Then, he cuts to the chase.“Hey, we’re into some weird stuff,” he tells inquiring coaches.Weird and very successful.Kelley started getting weird in 2007. He stopped punting. But that was only the beginning of wholesale philosophy changes that have transformed the Bruins into an Arkansas po

Advanced Secondary Drills
Over my coaching career, I’ve accumulated a number of effective secondary drills that can be used at any level. They include drills to improve hip rotation, change of acceleration, and leverage angles with receivers. I’ve included both points of emphasis and what is the projected result of each drill.

Dynamic Relaxation, Rhythm, Intensity – Learned from Drill Applications
There are three main components for sprint speed – relaxation, rhythm, and intensity. Connotations of the first two components – relaxation and rhythm – don’t sound like normal football terms when you think of the mental mind set. Relaxation is an uncompromising term in the football world. When players walk on to a football field they don’t think of relaxing. They don’t even begin to think that it’s a good idea.Rhythm is a term that you hear sometimes in football. It�

Love the Grind: Summer Football Strength and Conditioning Program
At Fruitland High School, we refer to our football program as the “Biggest Small School Football Program in the State of Idaho.”Our athletes pride themselves on their off-season work ethic or what we like to refer to as “The Grind”. For our program, we run six-week strength and conditioning classes Monday-Friday leading up to the start of our double day practices. Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays are lift days; Tuesdays and Thursdays are agility and conditioning days.

Letter From The Editor/Publisher - Number Cruncher
In Moneyball, Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, relied heavily on a novel system of statistical analysis to build a team of productive players that other clubs had overlooked. It worked, and the 2002 A’s won the American League West and set a record of 20 straight wins.Statistics have always been integral to baseball. As any enthusiast will tell you, a big part of the game’s appeal lies in numbers. Not just for fans who follow individual player’s




FREE FORM - Coaches Time Saving Memorandum
Coaches never seem to have enough time to do all that needs to be done. Time may be fixed, but you can learn how to use it more efficiently. A total of 38 different ways of saving time are included in this form, all with the purpose of better organizing your time.Download the PDF here:

Winning the First Five
No matter the discipline or industry, in sports, business or academics, in fact, just the way we play the game of life – the most successful do not depend on pure luck or mental prowess or physical ability. The most successful in all phases of life are those who can master the fundamentals of their game. At Louisiana College, we talk about “winning the first five.” We do not want our student-athletes to win routes solely on athleticism, because we realize that there will come a time wh

One More Trick Play Series
Many times at the scholastic level, an offense that has been moving the ball will suddenly find itself stopped inside the red zone. This often happens when an opponent has slightly larger linemen and linebackers. The offensive linemen then become more tightly packed in a goal line or short yardage defense. There is a trick play series that could alleviate this situation, especially if it hasn’t been well scouted in advance. For many years, the basic offensive alignment

Your Take – Get the Head Out of Football
At every level of football, greater awareness of the dangers of head injuries and the role that helmet-to-helmet contact often plays in them has led to rule modifications and, in many cases, a greater effort by coaches to minimize the risk of head injuries by incorporating blocking and tackling techniques that take the helmet out of the game. It is critical that this continue to help ensure safety of players and protect the future of the game.Since being taught the proper blocking

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

Adapting Your D – Adjust Your 4-2-5 to deal with the special formations you will see.
The 4-2-5 defensive scheme provides an effective approach to defending and attacking the various styles of offense currently found in today’s game. Due to its versatility and personnel capabilities, the 4-2-5 also offers a number of simple ways to adjust to a variety of formations. Here are a series of basic, yet effective, adjustments that can be made when facing special offensive formations, such as trips, tight end trips, double tight end, and heavy backfield sets.Adjustments vs.

Suited for Success – 2012 Football Uniforms
Coaches work hard to prepare their players for the big contest on game day. Focus and game planning take shape during the practice week – all for those few precious moments on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon.Because of what’s riding on those moments, coaches always want to put their best foot forward in execution and appearance. 2012 is offering teams across the nation more selection and performance than at any other point in the history of the game. Game uniforms are beco

Run Stoppers – Improve your defense with Princeton’s schemes, adjustments, and drills.
Your defensive structure must be simple, it must allow your players to play fast, and it must be adjustable to multiple schemes and sets that offenses present. Our base fronts and coverages are based on the personnel that we have in our program at the present time. Therefore, what works with one group, one year, might not with the next year’s group. We are constantly assessing and reinventing to get better as a defense. With that said, we have installed and implemented a foundation of core

7 Steps to Dominance - Building Dominant Linemen in the Weight Room and On the Field
Too many football strength programs train their linemen the same way as everyone else on the team. If your offensive and defensive linemen are doing the exact same workouts as your quarterbacks, they’ll never reach their full potential.First, what makes a good lineman?Qualities of the Ideal Lineman:•  Extremely strong•  Quick•  Explosive•  Fast for 5-yards•  A master technician•  The best conditioned playe

Samson’s Strength and Conditioning Coaches of the Year
NFLMark UyeyamaSan Francisco 49ers If the San Francisco 49ers weren’t the most physical team in the NFL, they were high on the list.Mark Uyeyama is the main behind that physicality, although the 49ers strength and conditioning coach is way too humble to admit it.“Take a look at Justin Smith or Ray McDonald, really look at those guys, now,” said Uyeyama, Samson Equipment’s NFL Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year. “That’s not me, man.

Advanced Tackling Circuit Drills
With the ever increasing use of spread offenses at all levels, and the emphasis of getting offensive players in space to make plays, proper tackling has never been more important. Correct tackling skills and mechanics will keep players safe and allow them to make a play when in position. These are very important factors when we introduce and talk about tackling to our student-athletes.The number of missed tackles over a course of a game should not reach the double digit mark. If an

Taking Your Physical Abilities to the Next Level
Today’s players are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before. A focused conditioning program has become essential to on-the-field success. In Complete Conditioning for Football, a book and combined DVD package, authors Pat Ivey and Josh Stoner detail a comprehensive training program that builds players’ abilities as well as the football-specific skills their positions require.Coach’s ResponsibilitiesDelineating the responsibilities of all assistant coaches is the job

The Challenges of Teaching Football Speed
The first step toward teaching football speed is dealing with velocity and angles that change rapidly. Secondly, you must provide a progressive training system that is relative to speed and movement physically, mentally, and technically. The nature of the game provides various challenges to movement speed, angle changes, frequency changes, and rapid acceleration. Your teaching must fit these practicums because, unlike track sprinting, the technical application for football speed is not all li

Moving Up, Moving On or Moving Out: Life on the Coaching Carousel
Years ago I sat in a clinic presentation given by a prominent NFL head football coach who stated “Most high school coaches want to be college coaches, most college coaches want to be NFL coaches and most NFL coaches would like to be high school coaches.”  Most coaches possess an unquenchable desire to advance their careers to the next level. Most of us are eager to face new challenges and conquer the next occupational mountain.The world of football coaching is fill

Coaching to Make the Game Safer
AFM has long advocated that safer football is better football. We have addressed player safety issues in the past and will continue to focus on ways that the coaching community can help ensure the health and well-being of players, in particular with regard to head injuries.     Here are just a few ways that coaches can be proactive and promote safer football. Medical experts have pointed out that less-severe blows to the head on a repeated basis can be jus




FREE FORM: Game Clock Management Notes
With the off-season programs underway, this is the perfect time to review game clock management notes. In this free form, what starts

From the Coach’s Bookshelf – Parcells: A Biography by Carlo DeVito


When and Why to Zone Blitz
There are many types of zone blitzes. For this article, the focus will be on the 3 under, 3- deep zone blitz scheme that is widely used across at all levels. When looking at zone blitzing, you must first decide your philosophy on pressure vs. both the run and pass game. These blitzes can be equally effective in attacking the run and pass. An effective zone blitz package will use any second or third-level player as part of the pressure options. At Gettysburg, we have calls that allow both 5-an

The Triple Option Trips Offense – Mixing and matching the routes and timing of three receivers can lead to an explosive offense.
In our offensive package, our trips series is one of our most successful and explosive schemes. It is easy to teach as well as execute, and it will enable you to take advantage of whatever tactics the defense tries to employ to stop your momentum.Our basic trips formation positions three receivers to one side of the set, with a tight end or split receiver on the opposite side. The split receiver, #1, is approximately 12-15 yards from the offensive tackle. Our #2 and #3 receivers ar

The Power Read Run – Add this innovative run to your spread to rack up the yards.
When we made the switch to a spread style offense prior to the 2008 season, our main objective was to maximize our talent at the skill positions while not having to rely on our offensive line to out-physical the biggest and strongest defensive fronts in our league. A variety of bubble screens and zone-read run game concepts helped us to achieve this objective. We also quickly evolved into the up-tempo, “play fast” style of offense that Oregon has popularized and we also use the pistol and

Stopping Power – Part II – Basic Coverages in the 4-2-5
Due to its similarities to the 4-4, the most basic coverage in the 4-2-5 scheme is cover 3. In line with the “bend-but-don’t-break” approach, cover 3 is a three-deep zone scheme that keeps the football in front of the defenders and forces offenses to execute long drives in order to score. The base alignment of the 4-2-5 makes playing cover 3 a natural fit for the scheme, making it equally easy to teach, install, and execute. The presence of five defensive backs makes it possible to easi

AFM’s National and Regional High School Coaches of the Year
Hal Wasson              Southlake CarrollWhile celebrating on the field after his Carroll High School team, known to most around the country as Southlake Carroll, completed a 16-0 season with a 36-29 victory over Fort Bend Hightower in the Texas Class 5A- Division I state championship game, Hal Wasson thought about a fateful decision he made back in 2002.After over 20 years as a successful head coach at multiple high scho

AFM’s College Coaches of the Year
Mike Gundy Oklahoma StateGundy led the Cowboys to the greatest year in their history, netting him AFM’s top coaching awardThe visitors’ locker room at Texas A&M is located right next to the entrance that takes you onto the field. Every time the doors open, the visiting locker room is treated to the sounds of Kyle Field, featuring rowdy fans, bands and entertainment. It’s not the most peaceful environment to settle a team down, especially one trailing 20-3 at the ha

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

Drills Report – Getting Open: Drills to Make Your Wide Receivers Great
The most important part of any passing game is the ability of wide receivers to get open.  Your type of passing system will determine what types of routes are run, but the ultimate success of the passing game will be based on your wide receivers abilities to get open at the right time for the quarterback. Over the years, I have coached some outstanding receivers, and all the great ones had the ability to get open. The key is practice repetition. We work on a grid square every

Strength Report – Maine’s Winter Strength & Conditioning Program, Part II – February and March
February TrainingFebruary training concentrates on speed development and maximum strength training. We implement our speed development program on Mondays and Thursdays which are divided into linear and lateral PAL mechanics training. Linear speed is performed on Monday and lateral speed on Thursday of each week. Linear and lateral speed development exercises progress from mechanics to acceleration to top speed. We will utilize a distance of 10-20 yards for accelerati

Speed Report - Movement Skills – Critical for Drill Effectiveness
Using drills for teaching and developing football movement is certainly not uncommon. However, breaking down the drills analytically is not the most common practice. Most drills are performed to provide reinforcement for certain football movements, usually relevant to a position. The movement patterns are supposed to create better agility and speed of movement with the use of cones or other equipment creating a challenge for player agility. Although there’s nothing wrong with that, there’

Letter from AFM- Home on the Range
This year, over 20% of FBS schools will enter the 2012 season with new head coaches. That’s nothing new. Every year, more and more coaches find themselves on the coaching carousel as the pressure to win, win often and win consistently becomes more relentless.  Sometimes, a change at the top is just what a program needs to get on track. Witness Brady Hoke, who led a Michigan team that had underachieved for years to 11 wins, including a victory over Ohio State for the first ti

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.

MANAGING YOUR ANXIETIES IN FOOTBALL
By: Stanley Popovich At times, our worries and anxieties can overwhelm us. In addition, our worries can distort our perception of what is reality and what is not. As a result, this may interfere with your on-field play. Here is a brief list of techniques that a football player can use to help gain a better perspective on things during their anxious moments. Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person s




Head Coach Self-Evaluation - Free Form
With the season over, it is time for a complete self-evaluation as a head coach. This form includes a complete grading system for all areas of coaching – relationship with your players and staff, recruiting, discipline, academics, department business, improving professional knowledge, and personal image in regard to your school and community.

Getting Your Team Connected
By Eric Slivoskey, Former Coach Seinajoki Crocodiles (Finland)   How connected are you to your players? Do you merely make contact with team  members to ensure that they are staying out of trouble and not reflecting poorly on the program, or do you strive to know something personal about each person on the squad. In a world that seems to be changing faster than any of us could have ever imagi

Muddle Hd” The New Age Muddle Huddle Two-Point Formation
Like all coaches, I look forward to the off-season to attend as many coaching clinics as I can that are held throughout the United States. Some coaches attend clinics looking to have a good time and use the weekend as an “outing” away from the wives and kids to unwind and enjoy themselves with their staff. When I go to clinics, I aim to attend as many sessions as possible to learn and gain knowledge from some of the most successful and innovative minds in football today. I set out to lear

AFM Subs Ask - with former NFL special teams coach Mike Sweatman
Mike Sweatman coached for 23 years in the NFL, primarily with special teams. He began his NFL career with the Vikings and later  coached with the Bears, Patriots and Jets and had two stints with the New York Giants. Sweatman coached under Bill Parcells when the Giants won the Super Bowl in 1990 and later, Coach Tom Coughlin hired him as Special Teams Coordinator in 2004. His career included three Super Bowl appearances and two championships. He answers your questions about special teams

Stopping the Run With the Odd Front Defense
The 3-4 defense can be very effective against the run by mixing combinations of stunts, slants, and loops.I grew up learning and then playing defense with an even or four-man front. In my early days as a defensive coordinator, I ran a 4-3, 4-2 and bubble or desert storm defenses. We had some success stopping the run but nothing like the achievements we’ve had recently at Missouri Valley College. Since I arrived for the 2005 season, we have finished either #1 or #2 in team rushing

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

Texas Titans – Lake Travis High School has built a winning tradition from the ground up.
The Lake Travis (TX) High School athletic program is blessed with a huge enrollment, college-caliber facilities and an abundance of next-level talent, especially at the quarterback position. With those types of advantages, the Cavaliers are expected to have success.But, with four straight 4A state titles and a shot at an unprecedented fifth, Lake Travis football has exceeded even the highest expectations and stands out as a prime example of an administration and coaching staff that

Stopping Power: Part I – Basics of the 4-2-5
Since the advent of the spread-offense, defensive coordinators at every level have been searching for a way to defend its pass-happy formations, while still being able to stop the run and gain the numbers advantage at the point-of-attack.Over the past decade, numerous schemes have been devised to stop the newest trends of offensive football. From variations of the traditional 4-3 and 3-4, to the creation of hybrid defenses like the 3-3 and 3-5, defensive signal-callers have come up

Coach to Coach – Off-Season Priorities
“The Future is Now!” was a phrase I heard often during the 1991 football season at Long Beach State. It was one of the many catch phrases that George Allen coined and is famous for. As we enter the heart of the 2012 off-season, it’s sometimes difficult to envision that the future of next football season is now. When it comes to developing a successful plan for the 2012 season, the future is indeed now. Over the past year and half, I have shared many of my ideas as they relate to the pri

Drills Report – EXPANDED – Special Teams at South Dakota State
I have had the opportunity to work as the special teams coordinator at South Dakota State for the past two seasons. During that time, I could not be more pleased with our success. In 2010, we ranked No. 4 in FCS net punting, No. 4 in punt return yardage defense, No. 9 in kickoff returns, No. 1 in kickoff return yardage defense and No. 37 in punt returns. We accomplished these numbers without placing one single player in the top-20 of any category. I truly believe we achieved that success beca

Strength Report – Maine’s Winter Speed, Strength and Conditioning Program –
At the University of Maine, we do not get five-star recruits and it is important that we are innovative in the individualized programs we design for our athletes. Our philosophy is to develop a mentally and physically challenging training environment that will allow athletes to maximize their ability. Our programs are designed to decrease the risk of injury through the teaching of progressive strength and power development exercises that use ground-based, multi-joint and multi-directional mov

Speed Report – The Off-Season is Back – Time for Foundation Speed Drills
If you’re not moving forward each year, you’re standing still. If you wish to grow, you need to review what you’ve been doing and challenge yourself to do more. I’ve spent 32 years adding something that improves my program to better levels than they were the year before. Sometimes it’s a new system or just tweaking the old one a certain way. Whatever your situation might be, it can always be better, especially when it comes to speed.    I will give you a few thoug

The NFL Gives Back – With Your Help
It’s the time of year in football where everyone’s attention turns to the NFL. Playoffs are starting soon, and, in another month or so, the league will crown a new Super Bowl champion. When you think of the NFL, you probably think of competitive football at its highest level. Spectacular plays, bone-jarring hits and fantastic finishes are par for the course. It’s a weekly exhibition by many of the world’s greatest athletes performing at the top of their games. You might also view




FREE Form - Defensive Numbers
With the 2011 season completed, the ‘Defensive Numbers’ chart is perfect for evaluating the individual play of your defense. Included are the categories solo tackles and assists, tackles for loss, sacks, fumble recoveries, punt and kick blocks, interceptions, and return yards off interceptions.

Learning to Read the Defense
By John Groll, Assistant CoachBedford High School MI)   Football has been a part of my life for more than 30 years. Over that time, I have coached or played ever position except quarterback and defensive line. Under a new coach last year, I became the new defensive line coach in our 4-3 defense. I would like to share with you how we teach our defensive linemen to read various blocks.  

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

From the Coach’s Bookshelf – Madden - Larger Than Life
In Madden, longtime sports columnist Bryan Burwell has written the first comprehensive biography of this living legend. From his days as a star athlete in Daly City, California, Madden was driven to succeed, a trait that helped him persevere during his tumultuous years with the Raiders under Al Davis and compelled him to try his hand at broadcasting after his coaching career was over.John Madden is arguably one of the two or three most unique men in the history of American professional

The Spread Wing-T Passing Game – Using the Spread Wing-T gives your playmakers opportunities to make big plays.
The Wing-T has been a great offense for me over the past 13 years. It serves as a very deceptive run attack and it allows the offense to move the chains. The trend in football is toward more receivers and more passing as athletes get stronger, better and bigger. Therefore, several years ago I began mixing the Spread Offense and the Wing-T. The Spread Wing-T operates out of a shotgun set with multiple receivers. This offense allows us to get the ball to our best athletes in a variety of ways.

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

Maximizing Your Kickoff Coverage – Each player must possess a different skill set to ensure effective kickoff coverage.
In order to maximize your kickoff coverage, each player must possess a different skill set and be committed to a ‘Want’ philosophy. At Minnesota State University, we take our special teams very seriously. We dedicate significant meeting time and practice to special teams every day. We film both angles of all phases, including when we do individual drill work for a specific unit. Our philosophy for special teams is very basic:• This is not rest time. This is an opportunity to make a

Zone Blitzing the Spread Offense – Use this aggressive approach to disrupt routes and timing of the spread.
Head Coach Danny Hale just completed his 19th season at Bloomsburg and has seen over those years a trend in our opponent’s offense, a change from the traditional 2-back attack to more of a spread attack. Defensively, we have had to adapt to the ever changing schemes and, along with Secondary Coach Chet Henicle and Defensive Line Coach Bill Perkins, we have developed a scheme that is both effective and easy to understand and one that employs the most basic but also most important aspect of d

Keys for Effective Man Coverage – Effective use of man coverage by your defensive backs can confuse the offense and put more pressure on the QB.
Effective use of man coverage by your defensive backs can confuse the offense and put more pressure on the quarterback.One of the main reasons the Air Force Academy has been able to climb to the top five in the country in pass defense the last few years has been our ability to mix in effective man coverage. Based out of our 3-4 scheme, the effective use of man coverage has allowed us to vary our pressure package and also allowed us to be more aggressive in our coverage

Point Counterpoint - Stopping the Air Raid
Spread Stoppers - Defending the Zone Read, Bubble Screen and Four VerticalsTrying to defend the spread includes being creative and mixing defenses but pressure on the quarterback and aggressive open-field tackling are critical. The evolution of the spread offense has defensive coordinators longing for the good old days when defending the triple option meant accounting for the fullback, quarterback and a pitch man. But these days the third option might just a

Point Counterpoint - Winning with the Air Raid
 You can put up big passing yards with this version of the spread -- and these key plays from its master architects.The spread is everywhere. Coaches from junior high to the NFL have used it to extend defenses, create passing and running lanes and utilize the increased number of talented players at the skill positions.But one version of the spread – the Air Raid – stands above all other offenses in its ability to produce prolific passing numbers. Ju

Drills Report – Expanded – Advanced Defensive Line Play Techniques and Drills
At Kutztown University, we believe in an aggressive, attacking style of play from our defensive line. Here are seven coaching points and seven drills to help your defensive line improve every day. Coaching Point #1 – We use this acronym every day.SACKERS - Stance (balanced and coiled)A - Alignment (See foot and shoulder)C - Concentration (What are you looking at?)K - Keys (mirror feet)E - Evaluate (what do you see?)R - Res

Speed Report – Bring Your ‘A’ Game Each Day
Many coaches do not consider speed and movement training to have a critical impact on their players on a daily basis. As a result, they fail to give it the same attention and focus that they give to other areas of practice and training.Most great coaches would consider attention to detail and good time management as cornerstones of their success. Why, then, do so many coaches fall short when it comes to using speed training to develop their athletes? Why do they not apply the same

Strength Report – Density Training for the High School Athlete
Many programs can help make high school athletes stronger, more muscular and even faster. However, if your goal is to train your high school athletes to improve athleticism, flexibility, balance, strength, power and speed, density training is the way to go. Density training is a philosophy of training based on strength coach Charles Staley’s program, “Escalating Density Training”. Since the program was introduced, strength coaches all over the country have been putting together their ow

Coach to Coach – My 2011 Coaches Christmas List
The Christmas season is here. Hopefully, this time of year finds you in a festive state. Regardless of how the season went or is finishing up, we all can be thankful for the opportunity and privilege of being a football coach. As I welcome the Christmas Season, I am excited about the ability to give. However, there is still that kid in me that likes to receive as well. So I began to think of things I would include on my Coaching Christmas List. What if we, as coaches, could ask for anything i

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

Ten Tips to Help Every Youth Football Coach Be the Best They Can Be
By Harold “Bud” Boughton Senior Consultant and Assistant Coach, Franklin College     Two years ago I was asked to be a guest speaker at two USA Football Coaching Schools. I knew right away what I wanted to talk about. Drawing on my coaching experience at both the college and youth level, I created a presentation entitled, “Coaching is T

RECRUITING AT A SMALL SCHOOL WHEN YOU HAVE NOT HAD RECENT SUCCESS
By Derek Schlieve Head Coach Mayville State University Taking over a program that has not been successful has many challenges. We are facing those challenges here at Mayville State University right now. Here are some of the ways we are meeting that challenge. Be Honest:

Your Take – Today’s Football Coach
You are a college football coach.Some days, you might as well be a flag waving in the wind, for all the control you possess over your fate. You have season plans, practice plans, game plans. You have a system and a strategy, tested both with time and toil. Every hope and dream are in place.But then the tailback goes down with a torn ACL, and your world changes. The phone rings in the middle of the night, and your world changes. One of your key players acts like the teena

Get Educated 2012 Coaches Clinics
Now is the time to develop your game-plan for the 2012 coaches clinic season. It’s your opportunity to pick up philosophy, techniques, drills, and the latest in offensive formations, defensive schemes and special teams play from some of the game’s most successful coaches. Here are four premier organizations that will be conducting clinics scheduled during the winter months in 2012.Nike Coach of the Year Clinics There are 20 nationwide Nike COY clinics in 2012. Most of the clini

Making an Impact with Your Kickoff Return
For a successful kickoff return, it is critical for all 11 players – including the deep returners – to think about making their block.There is almost nothing that compares to returning the opening kickoff of the season for a 95-yard touchdown against your school’s historic rival. The capacity crowd who had not yet made it to their seats for our 2010 opening game missed one of the most exciting moments of the year, a moment that made a statement to our opponent that we had come to

Put the Defense in a Quandary with Quads
Using a four-vertical attack is a way of bringing a new look to an empty set offense.One of the most enjoyable aspects of coaching offensive football is having a playbook with a blank canvas. Sure, every “new” idea has been re-tooled and re-named like the ‘Wildcat’. But putting your imagination to work and finding the best way to deploy your people is a challenging and exciting aspect of being an offensive coach. Recently, we have seen two positions all but dry up on

Playoff Prep – Good strategy during the season can increase your chances of success in the post-season.
How do you prepare now to for maximize your playoff run in November and December? There are many reasons why some teams are strong playoff performers and some are not. Some of those reasons are controllable, and others obviously are beyond the coach’s control. Some teams experience regular season success, but those accomplishments don’t continue through the playoffs. For others, advancing week-after-week is a tradition. What are the critical elements – physical, psychological and strate

The Power Run Game and the Spread Offense – Can They Co-Exist?
Since the popularization of the numerous forms of the spread offense in the late 1990’s and now into the new millennium, many coaches have seen a drastic change in the way they attack today’s defensive structures and coverage shells. As a coach who has always favored the power and lead-back run plays and series, I am constantly researching methods of running the Isolation Play (See Diagram 1), the Blast Play (Diagram 2) and the Power Off-Tackle Play with a gap down, pull, kick-out blockin

Father Figure – In his celebrated career, Houston’s Ray Seals became much more than a coach to many of his players.
Twenty-three years ago, Ray Seals decided to change his coaching legacy. It wasn’t going to just be about football anymore.Seals arrived at Madison High School (TX) in 1988 to find a program full of kids from low-income families. Some came to practice with no clothes; some hadn’t eaten. His players were foul-mouthed and disrespectful. They weren’t college material. “I said right then that when I became head coach, that wasn’t going to happen to my kids,” said Seals.

AFM Subs Ask – with Ron Erhardt Former NFL Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator
Ron Erhardt was the head coach of the New England Patriots (1978-1981), the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants for a decade (1982-1991), and the OC of the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992-1996). While with the Giants, his teams won two Super Bowls with two different quarterbacks, Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler. He was also a very successful college coach, having an overall record of 61-7-1 in seven seasons as the head coach at North Dakota State. Erhardt’s offensive philosophy

Drills Report – Building Pocket Awareness
We believe that pocket awareness is one of the most important quarterback skills to develop. I did say develop. We don’t believe that most people are born with the ability to stand in the pocket and wait for people to run into them. We spend fifteen minutes a week during the season working on pocket awareness. On Monday, we spend five minutes re-enacting the pocket awareness situations that the quarterback should have handled more efficiently from the previous game. On Tuesday, w

Speed Report – Quick Feet – A False Read for Speed
Yes, a false read. The feet are not the focal point for speed and quickness or quick movement. I install speed training programs in the football world year in and year out with coaches and players. Every time I go in with my football speed development training series, the subject of quick feet comes up. It is always the same – the realization that the foot is not where you should be looking to gain insight into real quickness, or its potential. Coaches commonly use the term good feet an

Strength Report – The Friday from Hades
When we came to PV a few months ago we found a downtrodden, used to losing group of young men. There was no pride in the program, nothing but “Hey, we tried”. The words compete, fight, and adversity were not in the vocabulary of these young men. We had to shock the system and change a lot of things. The first thing we changed was the strength and conditioning program.We are together Monday through Friday. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday are scheduled lifting sessions in which we use

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

Letter from AFM - Award Winner
There may be a coaching award that Ray Seals hasn’t won, but we’re not aware of it. Seals, who is the subject of this issue’s cover feature, retired from coaching prior to the start of this season, which would have been his 24th at Madison High School in Houston and 47th overall. Ten times he was named Coach of the Year for the Houston school district. He was awarded Coach of the Year honors from the Houston Touchdown Club in 1997 and Houston Texans in 2001. In 2008, he was n

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




Promoting Small College Football
by Dawn L. Harmon   Editor’s note: Jason Dannelly isn’t a football coach. He isn’t a football player either– at least not since college. He is, however, a football fan and it is from this passion that his current venture stems. As founder and owner of Victory Sports Network, Dannelly has touched thousands of lives through relentlessly writing about, promoting, and analyzing NAIA college football.   At almost

Coaching In Poland
Compared to other European countries, organized American football in Poland is in its infancy, but growing. What once began at a grass roots level has now turned into three separate divisions - 1st Division, 2nd Division and an eight-man football league.   The Polish American Football League or (PLFA) was started in 2006 with four teams. With the popularity of American football growing, the PLFA split into two divisions in 2008 - PLFA I (8 teams) and

How Much Does Crowd Noise Really Affect Your Team?
Sport psychology is taken so seriously by most elite football teams that they have entire staffs dedicated to the mental well-being of their players. In high school, the pressure to constantly perform at a high level for many college prospects can cause great stress and anxiety. After all, most are mentally still teenagers, though their physical presence would make you think otherwise. Though the disparity between physical and mental development may be evident to those who are trained on the

Education: A New Pillar for Modern Sports
by J ThompsonAmerican Public University offers online degrees in sports management and sports and health sciences.The legend of Knute Rockne was forged on the gridiron. Many know his contributions as a football tactician – introducing the Notre Dame Shift and perfecting the passing attack. But it’s his off-the-field contributions that add to his legacy, which the College Football Hall of Fame describes as “American football’s

FREE FORMS - Quarterback Grade Sheet
The ‘Quarterback Grade Sheet’ will detail the overall performance of your signal caller. Four specific grades are included for such items as the quarterback’s ability to control the huddle and the LOS, his ball handling ability, his pass techniques, fakes execution and correct snap techniques. In addition, his completion percentage, yards passing and rushing are also documented for an overall total grade for each game. Exclusively at:

Overcompensate in the Coop - Drills to Improve Your Defense
I have come to realize that it doesn’t matter what level of football you coach - fundamentals are the most important aspect. At Catawba College, our defensive philosophy is to keep things simple so our athletes can perform at the highest level. Fundamentals are of utmost importance. A phrase that is used many times, like a broken record, is “lower your pad level!” But what does this mean and how can I get this accomplished without repeating myself over and over? I will explain some dri

Encouraging Your QB to Keep the Ball During the Zone Option Play, is all about Numbers
There are many coaches out there who would much rather see their star running back carry the ball on a zone run play than have their QB keep the ball and take it to the edge. There is certainly an aversion for many coaches to have their QBs run with the ball (even if that QB is an athlete). Personally, I am the direct opposite in my thinking especially when it comes to running a “true” QB zone option play. Given that I will always have one of my best athletes running my offense

AFM Subscribers Ask – with Bubba Schweigert, Defensive Coordinator, Southern Illinois University
Bubba Schweigert enters his fourth season as the defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois University this fall. Since he arrived in Carbondale, the Salukis are 25-11 and last fall led the Missouri Valley Conference in total defense. His philosophy of defense is based on pressuring the quarterback and creating turnovers.  Schweigert’s 2009 defense ranked second nationally with 23 interceptions and fourth nationally with 37 turnovers caused. Before joining the SIU staff, Sch

The Power Zone Offense: An Overview – The keys to the success of the power zone offense are blocking both the nose guard and the middle linebacker.
The Power Zone Offense can be utilized with any offensive formation because of the blocking schemes that combine the power concept along with a zone concept. Our base formation is the Pro-I. This formation dictates how the defense will line up. We always face a nose guard and a middle linebacker, simplifying the blocking scheme

Defensive Backs: Drills to Maximize Press Man Technique – Reaction of the hands, eyes, and feet can make the difference between a big play and shutting down a WR.
In today’s college football, wide receivers and quarterbacks are just too good for a defensive back to sit back and play just one technique or alignment against them all game. Offensive coordinators have become very creative with the variety of passing attacks complemented by the running attacks, or vice-versa. Defenses need to bring a mixture of coverage, disguises and techniques to challenge the offense and create confusion. Most of your success will depend upon your ability to disguise y

The Sprint-Out Passing Game: The Major Pass Routes – Reading the cornerback is critical to the success of the sprint-out passing game.
There are three major routes we use with the sprint-out game. These routes can be used against any coverage and the quarterback reads are all very simple. The sprint-out game is a timing type of passing game. The quarterback will sprint-out and attack the edge of the defense and must be ready to throw the football on his forth or fifth step. This will time with the breaks of the receivers, and the pass must be in the air before the break by the receiver. As with all passes, the quarterback wi

Zone Blitzing Out of the 4-3 Defense – Various combinations of zone blitzes and their disguises can be effective against any offense.
Zone blitzing has been around for a number of years. This scheme has evolved with the different offenses we see today. You may bring multiple backers, drop ends into coverage, play different coverages behind the blitz, and twist defensive linemen within the zone blitz, but the bottom line is that zone blitzing allows the defense to apply pressure in the run and pass game without having to play man coverage.A major part of a successful zone blitz package is disguise. We spend a lot

Punting: Improving Your Net – The most important punting stat – net yards – can be increased by using these successful coverage schemes.
John Lilly has been an assistant to head coach Mark Richt at the University of Georgia for the last four seasons with responsibilities that include the punting unit. Lilly outlined this possible fourth down scenario:“You’ve just been stopped,” Lilly proposed, “and you have to give up the thing you need to put points on the board. You have to sell  the team that the punt is our opportunity to make a huge play. When you see a punt returner put his hand up for a fair catc

Rolling the Dice – Knowing the capabilities of your players is critical when evaluating the risk vs. the reward of going for it on fourth down.
Les Miles is known as the Mad Hatter and the Riverboat Gambler. The perception is that, on any given fourth down, he will reach into his bag of tricks and attempt a high-risk play. But do those monikers really fit?Take 2010. LSU did lead the nation in fourth-down percentage, converting 11 of 12 times. But all but two SEC teams went for it on fourth down more often. Half the league attempted 19 or more fourth-down conversions. So it’s not as if Miles views every fourth down as a c

Coach to Coach – Principles for Becoming a Better Coach
As I write this article, we are only three weeks away from the official start of the 2011 football season. It’s the time when players and coaches alike are weary of countless off-season workouts and are ready to put the preparation and hard work to good use. With every clank of a 45-pound round, our players see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s the calm before the storm and the season rapidly approaches.If you have read my previous articles in the Coach to Coach column, you

Drills Report (Expanded) – ‘The Six Pack’ Concept: Keeping Linebacker Fundamentals Strong All Season Long
During pre-season camp, individual periods tend to be much longer, which gives the position coach ample time to work on the fundamentals that are essential to linebacker play. As coaches, we become spoiled with all of that individual time. Once pre-season camp ends, so do the long individual periods, as the focus turns to preparation for upcoming opponents. This can drastically shorten the amount of time that you can truly devote to working on fundamentals. But, it is important to

Speed Report – Doing What’s Best for In-Season Speed Training
Playing football is not kind to football speed during the season. While off-season work must focus on mechanical execution and coming into camp running fast, as was covered in our article last month, speed maintenance is the focus for in-season speed training.Football is a game that is played the best when each athlete can move aggressively fast. That benchmark should have been established in the summer speed sessions. Once the season begins, the objective is to maintain the speed

Strength Report (Expanded) – Position Performance Training: Defensive Line
When it comes to performance training for linemen, the common thought is to have them lift as much weight as possible. On the surface, this might seem to make a lot of sense due to the fact that linemen have to move heavier loads at the point of contact in most cases. But what’s going to affect the point of contact most is the movements the linemen go through before contact. Factors such as how one comes out of his stance, his body positioning, and the efficiency of his steps prior to conta

Method To His Madness - Letter from the Publisher
You could describe LSU Head Coach Les Miles in many different ways. Just don’t call him conventional.   He has been known to eat a bit of grass from the football field for good luck. He has over 34,000 Twitter followers, which is more than any other FBS coach. Last month, he tweeted “I hear Wimbledon champ likes eating grass too. Hope he enjoyed it. Nothing beats Tiger Stadium grass though.” He is a press favorite, having provided many memorable sound bites. There�




RAWLINGS SIGNS STEVEN JACKSON TO ENDORSE FOOTBALL HELMET LINE
For more information, please contact: Seth Elrod, Rawlings Football, (314) 819-2715, selrod@rawlings.com

Quarterback Play: Finding Ways to Complete Passes in Critical Situations
Drop and throw, drop and throw, and again, drop and throw. There is no other position in sports that demands such commitment, discipline, and practice. Playing quarterback and more importantly, having the extraordinary opportunity to lead a football team into competition, requires an understanding of not only the position and its necessary skills, but a knowledge of each and every player on offense, and the entire team. How do we train the quarterback to reach a level of play that

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)

Drills to Develop Complete Backs – Maximize the effectiveness of your running backs through ball security, blocks and pass receiving.
Maximize the effectiveness of your running backs through ball security, blocks, and pass receiving.At Nicholls State University, we run a multiple-pro style offensive system. For our system to be successful, we ask our running backs to be involved in a variety of ways. We place value on our running backs becoming what we call “complete backs.” We define a “complete back” as a running back that runs the football with violent intentions, executes blocks in the ru

Defending the Empty Set
As the spread offense has become more popular, we are starting to see more teams utilize empty backfield sets. What has been the most difficult for our defense has been an offense that will stay in a traditional personnel grouping and then align in an empty set. We are a pressure defense at Southwest Minnesota State University that has to react to this type of formation through checks in our defense. Only one mistake can lead to a score or big play that could make the difference in a game. Fo

Q & A with Bill Ramseyer
Keys to Successful August PracticesBill Ramseyer has a reputation for turning programs around. While head coach at Firelands High School in Ohio, his teams finished with a 24-2 record for a school that never had a winning season prior to Ramseyer’s arrival. After becoming head coach at Wilmington College, Ramseyer amassed a 114-58-4 record over 19 seasons. Before his arrival, Wilmington had only 28

The Heat Is On – In the hottest months of the year, coaches need to watch for any signs of heat illness.
August will be here in a few weeks, and for most areas that means the hottest weather of the year. The high heat and humidity combined with the most intense football practices of the year mean that coaches need to be extra alert for any signs of players who might be suffering heat-related illnesses. Football players, perhaps more than any other athletes, are vulnerable to a variety of serious medical conditions arising from outdoor physical activity in intense heat. It is tragic bu

Great Expectations – How do coaches like Bob Stoops manage high expectations or overcome low ones?
“Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their players and motivate.”– Vince LombardiEvery season starts with expectations, some higher than others. How a coach handles those expectations can be the difference between failing to meet them and exceeding them. But what is the secret to dealing with expectations in this era of pre-season rankings, blogs and media pundits that put pressure on teams before fall practice even

Utilizing the Quick Passing Game in a Spread Offense
At Kansas Wesleyan, one of the key components of our spread offense is being able to successfully utilize the quick passing game. Our offense is based out of a single back, 2 x 2 formation. One of our main objectives is keep things simple. This ranges from route concepts, protections, signals and words. As an offensive staff, we strive to get players to react instead of over-thinking. We encourage our players to be athletes and make plays based on reaction. In this article, we will discuss th

Drills with a Purpose Practice Systems That Match Your Defensive Objectives
Whitworth practices 11-player drills that match the goals of their defense – pursuit, interception, and two-minute drills.Most coaches understand the importance of drilling with a specific purpose in mind. Most educators have stressed the importance of teaching toward a specific objective. However, not all coaches align their drills with their team’s main objectives. We have intentionally aligned our practice drills to match, teach, and reinforce our main defensive

Graduate Course How does a high school coach fulfill a dream of advancing to the college ranks?
In every profession, it’s natural to want to advance to the next level. Greater prestige, higher compensation and job security are all potential rewards of a promotion within an organization or a change of employers. In football, you would naturally assume that many successful high school coaches would aspire to become college coaches, and that may indeed be the case. But even the best high school head coaches have struggled to succeed as head coaches in college football, at leas

Tackling Fundamentals Teaching Progression And Circuit
Vince Lombardi once said, “When a man is running down the street with everything you own, you won’t let him get away. That is tackling.” At Albright College we believe that the success of our defense rests on fundamentals. The five fundamentals of alignment, tackling, block destruction, pursuit and creating turnovers will determine the success of any defensive football team regardless of scheme. We spend a large amount of time on each of these five areas and have a plan and teaching pro

Summer Speed Training - Finishing on Par
Summer is the home stretch for football speed development. We must be sure that when we report for in-season practice that we‘re speed ready. That means we have our power, plyos and techniques in alignment for playing at a maximum level when the bell rings.     Hopefully, you have spent sufficient time to progressively develop the skills of mechanical execution so that you can use the summer to heat up the nervous system with fast aggressive speed work. To improve

Motivation & Leadership During The Off-Season
The off-season in competitive college football has become almost non-existent. The so-called ‘off-season’ has become, in itself, a competitive season. At Emporia State University we have developed the POWER OF E off-season program. Just like any good college program, everyone takes pride in their player development. We believe we have a unique way of doing it with our program. Through this program we believe that we maximize our player’s potential with a focus on competitiveness, leader

Letter From The Publisher
Moving up the Coaching Ladder  Part of the fun of being with an organization that has chronicled the successes of football coaches for over 15 years is following the careers of coaches that we featured in AFM years ago. It’s great to see a coach like Gary Patterson, for example, who we put on our “Hot List” of up-and-coming coaches in 2004, achieve such great success at TCU and become AFM’s FBS Coach of the Year in 2011.     While we’ve worked




Coach Steuerwald's 22 practice sessions
    Coach Steuerwald, who turns 76 this month, points out that almost half of his team’s practices each season are conducted during the three weeks prior to the first game. Like many coaches, he has two-a-day practices Monday through Friday before fall classes begin, and also holds a single practice on Saturday morning. That’s 11 practice sessions each of the first two weeks and four more the week of the season opener.     That’s why so much w

The Scrape Tackle Drill
By Ross Pennypacker, Linebackers CoachBucknell University There are a lot of answers to the question of what makes a good linebacker? One may answer that a good linebacker must be able to run well. Another person may answer that a good linebacker must have the ability to diagnose plays. Another may answer that a good linebacker must be able to have the strength to defeat blocks. All of these answers are correct, but I find the best linebackers are usua

Subscribers Ask: With Patrick Ross Head Coach • Lindenwood University
Over the last few years, Patrick Ross has gained a reputation for both turning programs around and having prolific offenses. In his second season at Ottawa University in 2003, Ross’ team improved from 5-5 to 9-2, winning the KCAC title and advancing to the national playoffs. He was named national NAIA Coach of the Year the following season, his first at Lindenwood, leading the Lions to an 11-0 regular season record. That year Lindenwood tied for the same number of wins the team earned in th

Your Take – The New-Age of the Agent and the Tactics They Employ
Over the past year, the NCAA’s agents, gambling and amateurism staff has begun to address the issue of the new-age agent. The new-age agent will not be wearing a suit, he will not be a recognizable face, and he won’t wait for an school’s “agent day” to try and contact student-athletes. Agents of the past presented themselves as executives who established relationships and gained clients by any and all means. Today, some examples of the new faces of “agents” include another stude

Maximize Your Kick Protection –
Central Florida’s Tim Salem believes that one of the most neglected areas of special teams play is extra point and field goal protection.At Central Florida, we believe that special teams play is equally important to both the performance of our offense and defense. As every coach knows, one great special teams play can win a game and a mistake by your special teams can lose a game.     One of the most underrated parts of special teams play is extra point and

Split the Field In Half
Every defensive backfield coverage has its strengths and weaknesses. What can maximize its effectiveness is knowing concepts of half-field coverage along with multiple disguises.We are a defense that defenses formations. The field always plays a part in how we cover that formation. Very few times are the run or pass requirements the same to both sides o

Take Your Quarterback From Good to Great.
5 steps to help your quarterback become a more efficient and effective leader.One of the most challenging things to accomplish as an offensive coordinator is determining what to invest in and what to eliminate. While there are plenty of offensive systems and plays that are effective, most of us realize that we simply cannot do everything. We still desire, however, to be highly productive and unpredictable while striving to make our offense better than the ye

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

Tiger Training – Missouri’s 10 Key Defensive Line Drills and Techniques – How you can fortify your pass rush.
The key to any defensive pass rush is putting pressure on the quarterback. Missouri conducts drills daily to accomplish just that. At the University of Missouri, I have been very fortunate and blessed with defensive linemen who have and are embracing this attitude. In my time here, we have increased our sack total each year. We have had many players go on to All-Conference honors. We have had players lead the Big 12 in sacks and in tackles-for-loss. We have had a defensive lineman

Steuerwald’s Rules – A coaching legend shares his guidelines for designing and implementing an effective pre-season practice schedule.
In sixty days or less, your 2011 team will be assembled for pre-season practice. They’ll be pushing themselves to achieve peak physical condition, battling each other for higher spots on the depth chart and, in most places around the country, struggling to get through practices in oppressive heat and humidity.

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.

Drills Report: The Pipe Drill for Offensive Linemen
We use the Pipe Drill on a regular basis with our offensive linemen. The objective of the drill is to teach O-linemen the proper footwork in five blocking techniques versus air.   There are five phases to the pipe drill:     1. Bucket step       2. Lateral jab step       3. Down block       4. Trap-pull       5. Drive block

Speed Report: Teaching Drills Properly – the KEY to Playing Fast
We all like drills. The correct speed drills are the KEY for the best player development. When we arrange drills weekly and monthly for a speed development program, we must have a plan. That is, a plan that puts drills in an arranged order. This is a must for progressive skill development. Without it, you are working in vain. All learning skills and especially running movement skills must be taught in a progressive order. This is because the skill applications for running are constantly activ

Strength Report: Fairmont State’s Summer Strength Program
Breaking down each seasonal phase of your strength and conditioning program throughout the calendar year is a must. But before we outline the entire year, let’s devise a plan for summer workouts. Here’s a complete plan divided into two phases for your summer workouts.

Letter from AFM - Last Call for Fall Prep
With the school year coming to a close, the next major event on the football calendar will be the start of pre-season practice. Every coach would likely agree that the weeks leading up to the season opener are critical times for conditioning, learning the playbook and fine-tuning offensive and defensive units.     For many coaches, putting together a plan for pre-season practice is a no-brainer. If they’ve been successful in recent years, especially in their openin




8-Week Summer Strength & Conditioning Chart
This is an eight-week summer training program for football, incorporating lifting, conditioning, speed and agility drills. It is a comprehensive plan of attack intended for all high school programs, and will be successful if carried out to its entirety. Everything in this program is designed to work together. Switching up days/workouts is not recommended. Please Log in to download the chart

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

Get The Most Out Of Your Practice
By Don Tyre • Assistant Coach • Our Lady of Mercy High School • Fayetteville, GAIf you want to enhance the productivity of your football team, where can you find time to do it  without making practice longer? Use your imagination to change the pace of practice. Don`t  waste  time. Practice what you are going to do in a game. Do you run sprints in a game? A fast pace in practice is vital and a fast pace in a game is advanta

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.

From the Coach’s Bookshelf – Winning Football
In his new book Winning Football, Bill Ramseyer provides a blueprint for coaching success. Based on lessons he’s learned from his decades in coaching, the book is a complete handbook that examines all parts of the game. Here is an excerpt from his opening chapter.Elements of Success     Success can be measured in many ways. If you are a coach, perhaps you measure success by the positive influence you have on the lives of the players you coach – the attitudes

2011 Uniform Preview
Uniforms can be the face of your program. Some schools stay traditional and almost never change. Others go with a different look every buying cycle, and some coaches change them up to mark a new direction for the program. Your uniform is a link between your players and the team. Jerseys are symbols of pride for most players.     2011 brings a wave of selection and style options for your club. Favorites have been brought back and some new styles have been added, all w

8-Week Summer Strength & Conditioning Program – A FBS strength & conditioning coach gives you a complete and comprehensive lifting and running schedule for high schools with detailed workout charts.
This is an eight-week summer training program for football, incorporating lifting, conditioning, speed and agility drills. It is a comprehensive plan of attack intended for all high school programs, and will be successful if carried out to its entirety. Everything in this program is designed to work together.  Switching up days/workouts is not recommended.Training Philosophy: First and foremost we believe in perfect technique. Players must perform all movements correctly, with spe

Being a Complete Running Back – Running with the ball is only one aspect of being a complete running back.
As coaches, we are constantly evaluating our players. And our players are constantly evaluating themselves. How many times have you had a player come to you and ask, “Coach, what do I need to do to get more playing time?” or “What do I need to work on?” At Sacramento State, we emphasis ownership. We ask them to be accountable for themselves and their performance both on and off the field.       On the field, we ask the running backs “2B A PART”.

Triangulation – The safety’s triangle alignment will keep balance in your defense vs. multiple formations
We are strong believers in the 3-4 at Southern Illinois and, as a defensive staff, we do not deviate from our commitment to running the 3-4 defense. Dale Lennon, our head coach, implemented this scheme as defensive coordinator at the University of North Dakota in 1991. During this time, I was the secondary coach and have been a part of coaching the 3-4 defensive system for 20 consecutive seasons.     One of the advantages of running the 3-4 system is the ability to r

Zone Blitz Concepts – Defensive balance is the goal with all areas of the field covered when zone blitzing.
When talking about the zone blitz, it is imperative that some very basic concepts be understood. First, on all run plays, your seam defenders are the force defenders. It is their job to turn the ball back inside. Second, the QB should have only 2.7 seconds to throw the ball. If he has more time than that, you’re putting a lot of stress on your coverage players. Third, pass coverage must be clearly understood by all members of the defense. The most common form of coverage used when utilizing

Hybrid Power – The Pistol-Flex Triple Option is an innovative offense that combines two distinct styles – the Pistol and the Flexbone.
So many new offenses have been introduced in recent years, it is sometimes difficult to decide if one system or another will work best for your team. How do you choose from the variety of offensive schemes, given your team make-up and objectives? Editors Note: Coach Markowski hosts a blog on the pistol-flex triple option, you can visit by clicking

5 Keys to Running a Successful Youth Camp
Thinking about the annual obligatory youth camp stirs up mixed emotions among coaches across the country. On one hand, they are excited to teach their sport to future players. On the other hand, many see this camp as just another time consuming activity taking time away from their varsity teams and their families during the summer months. Unfortunately, not all coaches take advantage of these camps as an opportunity to build their program from the ground up. Instead, these camps often become

Moving the Chains – 3 Top College Coaches Show You How To Convert More Third Downs.
Every coach faces critical situations during a game where calling the right play can mean the difference between winning and losing. Often, those situations occur on third and short. What’s your strategy for picking up the critical yards that will keep a drive alive?    The top three FBS offenses in terms of third down conversion percentage – Stanford, Nevada and Auburn – share a fundamental philosophy. They run their best plays on the most important down in fo

Coach to Coach – Coaching to Make a Difference
The longer I coach and the more time I spend witnessing kids transform into young men, the more I realize that in this profession we have the opportunity and the responsibility to be more than just a coach. Coaching allows all of us the unique opportunity to leave a lasting imprint on the lives of our players. Our profession is one of only a few that will mold and shape future business leaders, politicians, husbands, fathers, clergy, infantry and military leaders. One of my favorite maxims co

Drills Report: Advanced Linebacker Drills
In today’s game, players need to be more athletic than ever, especially at the linebacker position. The game has evolved quickly over the past 10 years. Offensive schemes have become more advanced and complicated. To combat this offensive growth, defenses have also advanced. In order to be a great linebacker, you need to be a well-rounded player – and today’s linebackers have to be strong against the run, while having the athleticism to cover the passing game.    &nbs

Speed Report: Football Movement and Speed Skills – Combining Linear Speed with Movement Speed
Summer is coming soon and spring is a perfect time to improve the skill-set of your players to increase their playing speed and confidence. Often, we work on linear speed and movement speed independently. Why not combine the two? That’s what football requires – speed and movement.      I thought this month would be a great time to add some playing speed skills for your team. Some years ago I began combining movement drills with linear speed work, all during

Strength Report: Developing Functional Strength and Conditioning
Over the past five decades, the physical requirements and the tactical and technical sophistication of football have increased drastically. Preparation of athletes for specialized demands requires that strength and conditioning programs be position-specific. Conditioning      The initial task is to identify the physical demands of the game. Football is an intermittent sprint sport. It demands a series of explosive maximum efforts with relatively full recover

The Heart of the Game
Every year during the football off season, we see and read media reports that manage to keep the game in the news and give us our “football fix”. Draft coverage, spring practices and games, coaching changes and player movement have traditionally filled the void between early February and late August when no football is being played. For avid fans, and for those of us who make our living connected to the game, there is no such thing as too much football.     But t




The Air Raid Quick Screen
The Air Raid Quick Screen By Shane Dular, Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator South Johnston High School (NC)   The quick screen is one of the signature plays of the air raid offense. One of the first plays installed by any air raid team from Texas Tech to Troy, the screen perfectly epitomizes the offense’s philosophy of “throw short to people who can score.” Television commentators love to say that the quick passing game count

Desert Dominance
Head Coach Charlie Ragle led Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, to their second consecutive state title – using the Connex® sideline communications system from CoachComm.Win a state championship in a football-rich state like Arizona and your high school team will be recognized for their significant accomplishment. Win back-to-back championships and get mentioned as the early favorite for a third and you become part of the national conversation as one of the top teams in t

Education: A New Pillar for Modern Sports
By J. ThompsonAmerican Public University offers online degrees in sports management and sports and health sciences.The legend of Knute Rockne was forged on the gridiron. Many know his contributions as a football tactician – introducing the Notre Dame Shift and perfecting the passing attack. But it’s his off-the-field contributions that add to his legacy, which the College Football Hall of Fame describes as “American football’s most-renowned coac

From The Coaches Bookshelf – Eddie Robinson The Martin Luther King of Football
Covering six decades, Eddie Robinson’s coaching career paralleled the Jim Crow era of segregation in the Deep South and every major event of the Civil Rights Movement. His tenure spanned 11 U.S. Presidencies and four wars involving American troops – 57 years at the same university: Grambling. His football teams won 408 games and nine black national championships. Robinson opened the NFL to players from historically black colleges and sent more than 200 players into pro football. In Eddie

Out-Of-State Games Face Many Obstacles – Matching up prominent national programs presents challenges to coaches and promoters.
It was a high school football game both coaches wanted to play. It was a high school football game fans would have flocked to see and networks fought to televise. So neither South Panola’s Lance Pogue nor St. Thomas Aquinas’ George Smith minded when the talks went into its second week, with both schools throwing out potential dates and sites, trying to make a match. They wanted to get this game set.    The matchup would be the closest thing to a belated national

Adjust Your Defensive Backs – Coaching pattern-read coverage vs. trips and single-width formations.
Pattern-read coverage continues to be a sound defensive scheme that is employed on all levels due to its ability to aggressively attack routes and disrupt the timing of an offense. One of the first principles we teach when installing our cover 4 is “don’t cover grass”. We want our players to understand that even though our coverage begins with a zone concept, at some point in the progression of the play, everyone should be matching a route based on each receiver’s release.  &

Protecting the Quarterback – Pass protection schemes for the sprint-out passing game.
In the first article on the sprint-out passing game in AFM (Issue No.8, 2010), we explained the basis of this passing game with some basic routes. In the sprint-out game, the quarterback will sprint to the call side and attack the perimeter of the defense. This is not a roll out. The quarterback must sprint and attack the outside and put pressure on the defensive perimeter. The quarterback will either throw or run the ball, but he will continue to attack the defense downhill on the perimeter

Flexible Formations – Baldwin-Wallace’s offense is simple to learn but difficult to defend.
Having the ability to align in virtually any formation and easily get the match-ups desired are the main components of our multiple spread offense. In order to have the ability to do this, the offense must have a flexible formation system that gains an advantage in the way that it is taught, so that for the players it is easy to learn and align. Yet, for a defense, it is difficult to defend because of all of the possible match-ups and adjustments. This system accomplishes exactly that because

Getting the Perfect Fit – 15 steps for finding the right helmet to help keep your players safe.
The proper fitting of helmets can be a time-consuming process. However, it’s a critical element in protecting players’ safety. Helmets need to be “issued and fit,” not merely handed out. Schedule and allow time for this very integral part of your program. Don’t shortchange your athletes, especially when it comes to safety.     Proper fit is the key to head protection and player comfort. The goal is a customized fit for every player. A helmet that doesn’t

Tackle Safe – Bobby Hosea’s pioneering tackling technique protects players from devastating head injuries.
As a coach, what are you doing right now to make the game safer for your current and future players? Could you be doing more to ensure head-to-head hits are eliminated from the game?    Bobby Hosea can help you answer those questions. Hosea, a former UCLA cornerback who played professionally in Canada and in the USFL, has emerged as a passionate and authoritative voice in the movement to change the violent tackling culture in football. He enlightens coaches, parents

Master Motivator – Brett Steuerwald has used effective communication and motivational techniques to become one of America’s most successful coaches.
Texas, Florida, California and other Sunbelt states are almost universally recognized as the premier regions for high school football. But, if you look beyond the states that seem to get all of the national attention, you can find coaches that have established dominant programs over many years, have had major impact in their communities and have had a positive influence over thousands of young athletes.              Brent Steuerwald is

Sack Attack – Troy’s Defensive Ends Coach Randy Butler reveals their strategy to attack the quarterback.
Troy’s Defensive Ends Coach Randy Butler reveals their  strategy to attack the quarterback.Today’s passing offenses are more prolific than ever. It’s not unusual for teams to throw for over 300 yards a game on a consistent basis. Not only is it tough to defend a pass-happy offense in the defensive backfield, rushing the passer is more difficult than ever before because of the three-step, five-step, play-action, boot/waggle and sprint-out protection. Also, today’s rules fav

Drills Report: Tight End Run Blocking – The Reach-Scoop Drill
At Texas State, we utilize the tight end position in a pro style offense featuring multiple formations and personnel groups. We are committed to establishing our run game to open up our passing game. I believe that an effective offense must establish the run and that the tight end can be a key component in this. Due to our commitment to the run game, I am going to focus on one run blocking drill: the Reach-Scoop Drill.    Our offense features three types of run block

Speed Report: Why You Do What You Do for Football Speed Training
Have you really analyzed why you use the methods and teaching applications you use for football speed or have you just borrowed available concepts and plugged them into your program? Have you just covered the bases or have you really looked into becoming more knowledgeable about football speed? If you haven’t studied the subject, what and where did you get what you use today? Why is it good, and why did you choose to incorporate it into your football program? Did it come from a friend, a co

Strength Report: Ohio University’s Spring Conditioning
At Ohio University, we go through a systematic approach to enhance speed, agility and football specific conditioning during the spring. We have four weeks to train in May after spring practice is completed. We then have a three week discretionary period due to finals and the break between spring and the summer quarter in June.     Our main focus in May after practice is on linear speed – both acceleration and max velocity for skill players and just acceleration for

Making the Game Safer
If you watch television or go to the movies, you’ve seen Bobby Hosea. You just might not realize it.     In an acting career that has spanned more than 25 years, Hosea has appeared in dozens of television shows and movies including 24, CSI, Heroes, Cold Case, Xena: Warrior Princess, Independence Day – the list goes on and on. He’s portrayed military officers, police detectives, doctors – even OJ Simpson.      But, in football ci




Differentiate Your Strength Training
  By Dr. Michael Yessis President, Sports Training, Inc.      Do your players need more concentric, eccentric or isometric strength? Or, do they need more starting strength, explosive strength, speed-strength, absolute strength, limit strength or strength endurance? If you are like most football coaches, you probably have not given much thou

FREE FORMS -Conditioning Evaluation
Chart the strength and conditioning of every one of your players with his form.  Strength is divided into performance for the bench press, qsuat, and hang clean. Conditioning evaluation is for time in  the 40, endurance Through the 300-yard shuttle run and agility drills.

Three More Fake Punts From the Loco Punt Formation
By Jared Van Acker, Head Coach Grafton High School (VA) The ‘Loco Punt Formation’ has been a very effective tool in the punt game for our football team and blends a solid spread punt scheme with an arsenal of fakes to keep the pressure off the punter and to allow for a successful punt and coverage. With

Feeding the Ducks
Sports nutritionist James Harris makes sure that University of Oregon athletes are properly fueled and ready to compete at the highest level.For many years, football coaches have recognized that effective strength and conditioning programs are essential ways to help athletes achieve peak performance. Increasing numbers of programs now also understand that proper nutritional practices are just as important if you want to maximize an athlete’s effectiveness on the field. &nb

AFM Subscribers Ask – with Mark Hudspeth Head Coach, University of Louisiana
Mark Hudspeth was appointed the 25th head coach at the University of Louisiana last December. He brings with him a reputation for a high-powered, no-huddle offense. Previously the Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach at Mississippi State and head coach at North Alabama, he brought the no-huddle concept to Starkville and now to the University of Louisiana.     Hudspeth has a national championship, four conference championships, eight post-season appearances a

RivalsHigh.com – Smith Steps Down at Aquinas
Legendary coach had a career 361-66 record.It is a season of change for national power Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. Barely over a month removed from its sixth state title and subsequent No. 2 national finish in the RivalsHigh 100 and just two weeks after officially being realigned into District 15 of the newly-formed Class 7A, the Raiders have announced the team will enter the 2011 football season with a new head coach.    At a press conference that was

Balancing Act – Focusing on Quarterback Balance and Rhythm in Pass Drops
Most emphasis on a quarterback’s pass drop is placed on depth from the line of scrimmage and the timing of the throw in conjunction with the receivers’ routes. Although these elements are vital, not enough emphasis is placed on the quarterback’s balance and rhythm within the drop. Balance is vital because we want the QB to throw as consistently as possible.      Having good balance is the best way to create consistency and the right habits. Rhythm is neces

Tight Quarters – Progression Technique in Trinity College’s Quarters Coverage
At Trinity College, we are a base 3-4, cover 4 defense. In this scheme, the two outside linebackers act as the adjusters of the defense and are required to play their assignments from a number of different alignments. At Trinity, we put an emphasis on stopping the run with an aggressive attacking-style defense, forcing the offense to become one-dimensional.    When teams throw the ball, our base coverage is a true quarters (cover 4) pattern- read scheme. While all covera

Mixing in the Gun – Integrating Shotgun into Your Spread Option Offense
At Lincoln University, we adopted the spread option offense because we felt it gave us the best advantage going into the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). To complement our spread, we started to run some of our option plays out of the shotgun. We started playing with “the gun” because we have a good center who can shotgun snap the football and block anyone and we wanted to improve our 3-step passing game. It also provided a psychological boost for our athletes who

A Blueprint for Upcoming Seniors
How two-time Illinois State Champion Wheaton Warrenville South gets their players ready for both their senior year and their future.Ron Muhitch spent 22 years as a defensive coordinator preparing to be a head football coach. When he finally got his chance, he had a problem. “I didn’t know my players,” admits Muhitch, who now is headed into his tenth season as head coach at Wheaton-Warrenville South High School (IL). “I knew half of them, because I coached that half. But

Samson’s Strength & Conditioning Coaches of the Year for 2010
NFLRusty JonesChicago Bears In 2006, Chicago Bears Strength and Conditioning Coach Rusty Jones received the National Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year award. What made the award so special was that all 32 NFL strength and conditioning coaches voted on the award. “Because it was from my peers, it really meant something special,” said Jones.     Jones just completed his sixth full season with the Chicago Bears, the last three

Drills Report: Wide Receiver Stalk Blocking
Statistically, we had our best offensive season in decades, if not ever, at Indiana State in 2010. Our scoring average improved from 9.0 points per game to 31.9 points per game. A major factor in the increased production was our efficiency in the running game. In 2009, we averaged just 97 yards rushing per game. Compare that to the 193-yards rushing per game we had this season.   Getting receivers to buy into their importance in the run game can sometimes be challenging.

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

Speed Report: Football Coach or Football Speed Coach –You Can Be Both
You don’t have to be apprehensive when you think about football speed development. You don’t have to feel incompetent when it comes to developing team speed. That is, if you have a certain knowledge of the subject of football speed. If you don’t, you might feel uneasy about teaching it. My quest in this article is to provide you with perspective about football speed and how you can feel more comfortable with what it takes to do it right – right according to the scientific knowledge th

Strength Report: Samford Football – The Ironman Classic
A team and individual competition to develop mental toughness and promote unity.Toward the end of the spring semester, when spring ball is over, often it’s hard to keep the attention of the players. One way I’ve found to combat this is by competition. I try to put them in a competitive situation that is challenging, but still fun. The Ironman Competition is an intense form of evaluation to measure muscular endurance, mental toughness, and competitiveness. It helps develop team unit

Letter From AFM - Saluting Strong Men
Ever since Boyd Epley changed football forever when, in 1969, he persuaded Bob Devaney to allow Nebraska football players to participate in weight training, the role of strength and conditioning in the game has taken center stage. When the Cornhuskers went on to win consecutive national championships in 1970 and 1971, it was a vivid demonstration of the power of strength training for football and it dispelled the myth that lifting weights would make players muscle-bound and slow. &




Resounding Success
A Portland area high school captures their first-ever state championship – with the help of HME’s DX300 headset system.   When Chris Casey took the head coaching position at Aloha High School outside Beaverton, Oregon seven years ago, the challenge he faced was daunting. The Warriors had won a total of 14 games in their previous 17 seasons and only one game in the last three. They were losing elite pl

AFM’s 2010 College Coaches of the Year
FCSBeau BaldwinEastern Washington If Eastern Washington could have written a script for the 2010 football season, it could not have gone any better. The Eagles got a lot of the buzz in the Football Championship Subdivision early in the year because of their newly installed red turf, which became known as the Inferno.     In September, the Eagles, whom the media had given modest preseason aspirations in the Big Sky Conference, were routed in Boz

AFM’s 2010 High School Coaches of the Year
EastHarold Fairclough  Allentown Central Catholic (PA) When it comes to loyalty to one’s alma mater, Harold Fairclough is a prime example. Fairclough is a graduate of Allentown Central Catholic High School, where he is the head coach. Playing for head coach Jim Morgans in the early 1990’s, Fairclough learned how important it is to let his assistants do their job. Taken the model used by Morgans, Fairclough surrounded himself with the best coaches possible, ga

AFM’s 2010 High School Coach of the Year Tony Heath Pearland (TX)
Euless Trinity, Southlake Carroll, Katy, Cy Fair, Northshore, Lake Travis. Imposing programs all poised to win Texas 5A Championships in any given year. There is very little debate that this is the toughest state championship to win in the nation. They’ve got the biggest stadiums, the biggest crowds and the most pressure.     Enter Pearland High School outside of Houston, also a 5A program.     When Tony Heath considered the head coaching position at Pe

Your Take: Turn Back the Clock For Safety
The recently completed football season will go down in history as the year of the concussion. Not because the game fundamentally changed, but improvements in head injury detection have forced a closer examination of the subject at all levels of the game. The football community is no longer taking a “head in the sand”  approach to a problem that has existed for a long time but only now is beginning to be understood. In the future, head injuries in football will decline. The solution w

Running Back Pass Protection Progression Drills
At Salve Regina, our running backs have many philosophies. One of them that they take great pride in and stress the most is to “protect the ball and protect the QB”. I will go through some of our pass protection techniques that we do and how they build up into a progression.  SHUFFLE     One of the more important and stressed techniques in pass protection is having the proper shuffle. We want to be in a good football position with flexion in our ankles, kne

Turf Trends
Chances are very good that your team has either installed a synthetic turf field at your facility or played at least one road game on a turf field. Each year, hundreds of football practice and game fields are converted from natural grass to synthetic turf. That’s not surprising, considering that today’s turf systems provide safe, consistent, all-weather playing surfaces that can be utilized 24/7 by not just the football team but by a long list of other sports and activities. &n

The Rock Technique - Stopping the Run with the 3-4 Defense Against the Spread Offense
These drills focus primarily on the C-gap rushing OLB and the Mike backer out of a 3-4 stack defensive scheme. Diagram 1 shows you the big picture of playing cover 3 against the spread out of the doubles formation. This figure shows you across the board the gap responsibilities. However, we are going to look at the fieldside Mike backer and the Sam or blitzing OLB.

Expand the Field with Compressed Formations
With today’s defensive players becoming faster and more athletic, the playing field seems to almost shrink a bit each season. Yards, feet, first downs and points are harder to produce. With offenses trending toward spreading people out, another equally effective way to create space is to condense formations with minus splits. Condensed formations expand the field horizontally by manipulating defenders and maximizing the field space from the numbers to the sideline.    &nb

Secrets of Central Florida’s Elite Kickoff Units
UCF had the best combined kickoff return and coverage statistics in the FBS.Central Florida’s elite kickoff units aren’t built exclusively with elite athletes. In fact, when building the coverage and return units, physical traits like speed, strength and size often take a backseat to effort, attitude and toughness. The formula works.    Special teams coordinator Tim Salem’s kickoff return team finished No. 1 in the nation, averaging 27.78 yards per retur

AFM’s FBS Coach of the Year -Gary Patterson •TCU
The BCS-busting Patterson led the Horned Frogs to a perfect record, a Rose Bowl victory, and a #2 national ranking.As college football fans look at the national landscape over the last 10 years or so, there always seems to be the same names at the top week-in week-out, year-in year-out, whether it’s Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, LSU, USC. Every now and then a new team might rise up for a few weeks or a couple of years.     But like any list,

Drills Report: Murray State’s Defensive Back Press Man Coverage
As defensive back coaches, we often teach our athletes to do things that are unnatural to them and are against what their instincts tell them to do. We tell them to not to follow their key inside if they are a flat defender, do not jump a route that sits in front of them if you are a vertical defender, do not jump a deep crossing route if you are half-field player. Among many other things, a successful defensive back must be disciplined on every play. It is a unique position on the field in t

Coach to Coach: The Art of Effective Motivation
I was watching the Baltimore Ravens dominate the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first half of a playoff game this weekend with my dad. I was surprised at the lack of energy and focus that Pittsburgh team had displayed for the entire first half. On the first possession of the second half, sure-handed Baltimore running back Ray Rice fumbled and the Steelers recovered. The home fans were filled with a rush of excitement and the Pittsburgh players, despite a two touchdown deficit, displayed a renewed

Speed Report: Progression Training – Critical for Processing Football Speed
What really is progression training? Progression is a word we can use in many ways. I use the word to describe an element that must be utilized within the structure of football speed training. When we set up a plan for training throughout the year, we need to progress the skill level and proficiency demands as time and training moves forward. The plan advances the structure to a step-by-step development process. The goal is to end the training season in the preferred position to begin in-seas

Strength Report: Corrective Movement Dysfunction, Part III - Correction
The basis for movement dysfunction lies in the lack of mobility and/or stability in one or more joints or muscles in the body. Thus, the basis for correcting movement dysfunction lies in restoring the proper mobility and stability patterns along with correct timing of movement patterns.    Dysfunction does not occur in isolation. Deficiencies in mobility are always linked to deficiencies in stability and vice versa. In fact, dysfunction in one part of the body typically occ

Letter From The Publisher
Gary Patterson’s first season as head coach of TCU in 2001 was a challenge. The Horned Frogs had lost 28 seniors to graduation, including LaDanian Tomlinson, and had to play a full slate of games against unfamiliar opponents, having moved from the WAC to Conference USA that year. After a 4-5 start, Patterson was on the hot seat.      But a strong finish that year and 10-2 and 11-2 records the following two seasons put his career on the fast track. He even land




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

Quarterback Play – Focusing on Strengths
“A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or as a physician knows the instruments at his disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths – and can call on the right strength at the right time. This explains why there is no definitive list of characteristics that describes all leaders.”  - Donald O. CliftonAs a football coach, it’s very easy to get caught up in the strategy and design of a practice week a

Linebacker Play – Knowing Your Assignment Pre-Snap
At Texas State, in order to execute zone coverage against the pass, it is critical to know the positioning of the opponent’s wide receivers.Today, the spread offense and passing game have become very prevalent.  As LBs, we are run defenders first. However, more often than not, we will find ourselves defending the pass more than the run throughout the course of a game. At Texas State, our dilemma has become teaching our LBs how to stay fast and aggressive to the run and,

Mississippi Masters – Head Coach Lance Pogue of South Panola High School led his Tigers to a 15-0 record and the number one prep ranking in America.
At South Panola High School in Batesville, Mississippi, they are not accustomed to losing. Since Head Coach Lance Pogue joined the school in 2007, the Tigers have an overall record of 58-2 and, prior to this year, had won two state championships in three years to add to their previous six titles.    But this year South Panola set a new benchmark by not only winning another Mississippi 6A State Championship but by also capturing the mythical prep ‘National Champions

Stifle Your Opponent with a Bruising Defense – Coordinators of two top-ranked college defenses show you how.
What are the most important ingredients of a stifling defense? Beyond having a sound scheme, what should coaches look for in athletes in an effort to ensure domination of their opponents? To get the answers, AFM talked to the defensive coordinators of two of 2010’s most imposing defensive units – Mount Union of Division III and Boston College of the FBS. While certain defensive fundamentals are to be expected, both Vince Kehres of Mount Union and Bill McGovern of BC provided additional in

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

Drills Report: Running Back Drills for Ensuring Ball Security
We ask a great deal of our running backs at Minnesota State University, and it is my job as running backs coach to help our players meet the expectations we have of them. Some of our offensive game goals that our RBs are directly involved in include:•  100% Ball Security.•  Break 25 tackles as a team and gain more than 75 yards after contact.•  More than 90% positive plays and more than 10 explosive plays.•  Out-rush our opponents in the fourth

Speed Report: Confusing Conditioning for Football Speed Development
Conditioning is, in reality, a performance trait useful during the season. It can consume your periodization schedule in the off-season when, in reality, it’s not relative. You may not agree with my thoughts on how you should address conditioning. You should focus your training on speed and power and not conditioning. The word ‘Conditioning Coach’ in the collegiate world has begun to change - now it’s become a ‘Performance Coach.’      A coach in the

Strength Report: Correcting Movement Dysfunction - Part II: Interpretation
In the first installment of this series, we learned that movement dysfunction is a leading predictor of injury in athletes. We also learned what movement dysfunction is and what we are looking for in evaluating athletes in accordance with the stacked joint approach of the human body. Finally, we set up a simple evaluation to determine and quantify movement dysfunctions. In Part II of the series, we will learn how to interpret the evaluation scores, discuss implications of the scores, and dete

Letter from AFM
What do an NFL assistant coach, a coordinator of a national champion college team, head coach of a national champion high school team, a former Harvard quarterback and head coach of an American football team in Finland have in common? Answer: they’re all contributors to this issue of American Football Monthly.     It’s been said before but it bears repeating: Coaches sharing information with fellow coaches is unique to football and is the cornerstone of our missi




Your Take: Pay for Play – Don’t Hold Your Breath
It’s really a matter of slave labor vs. political correctness. The workers who bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to schools are the college athletes. The political correctness folks are the establishment – the government, NCAA and the universities.       We’re talking the long-debated subject of pay for play. Should the athletes who work year-round to win games, championships, and thus bring big dollars to their institutions deserve some type o

Principles and Philosophy of Kickoff Coverage
On every good football team, there is a group of special people who are the heart and soul of special teams. All special teams at UAPB are built around intensity, enthusiasm, communication, and speed, which enables us as a unit to get the job done. As a member of the special teams units, UAPB players ‘believe.’ Believing in our philosophy brings our special team units confidence which will bring attitude and swagger. UAPB special teams players who display leadership through example will s

Misdirection: Using Pre-Snap Movement and Multiple Personnel Groupings to Gain an Offensive Advantage
Mike Martz is one of the more productive offensive coaches in the National Football League.  He has utilized pre-snap movements for years and during many of those seasons he has gained a competitive advantage.         As an offense, we want to create the illusion of being very complex while we are, in fact, being simple and basic. We accomplish this through using a variety of movements and personnel groupings. By minimizing the number of basi

Establishing a New Defense with an Effective Dime Pass Rush
At the Colorado School of Mines, our defensive staffs have run the same 3-4 pressure defense since 1988 and have made the necessary changes and adjustments to have success against constantly evolving offensive schemes.     During my tenure as the Head Coach at Georgetown University, we had some successful defenses including the #1 I-AA defense in the nation in 1995 and 1996, as well as one of the top 25 defenses in 2005. During my two years at Towson University, we w

Sizing Up Your Team – Post-Season Evaluation Can Be a Positive Exercise for Coaching Staffs and Players
The 2010 high school football season has ended, but that does not mean that head coaches downshift into neutral and coast for the next few months. In reality, the 2011 season already has begun.     What is accomplished in the off-season is often key to how successful next season will be. In many ways, the off-season is as busy, if not busier, than the actual fall season for head coaches.     Equipment needs to be reconditioned and inspected

Flying Ducks – Oregon’s Prolific Fast-Paced Offense Presents Monumental Challenges to Defenses
By Bjorn Zetterberg and David PurdumWhen former Oregon Head Coach Mike Bellotti hired Gary Crowton as offensive coordinator in 2005 to install the spread option offense, it was his intent to keep up with so many other teams in college football that had gone in that direction. In its first year, the Ducks’ spread yielded impressive results – a 10-2 record, 34.5 points per game and over 430 yards per game in offensive production.    

Coach to Coach: Making Your Off-Season Count, Part I
The end of another season is here. It’s time to decompress and reintroduce myself to my wife and three children. It’s time to take a few weeks off and recharge the battery. The end of the football season is also the introduction of the Holiday Season and I’m looking forward to a great Christmas and New Year. I like the idea of the New Year. It’s a chance to evaluate our lives, our work and our relationships. The New Year presents us with the opportunity to alter our course or maybe ev

Drills Report: Teaching The Combo Block
In the combo block, the two adjacent offensive linemen performing the block are identified as a post blocker and a seal blocker. They are blocking a first-level defender (defensive lineman) to a second-level defender (linebacker or possible a safety). When teaching the combo block, I work inside-out when drilling playside combos and backside combos. Playside combos are called Jack, Queen, and King. Jack is a combo block between the center and callside guard working to a playside linebacker. Q

Speed Report: Off-Season Speed Development - A Dilemma For Small Schools
As I write this column each month, I receive more and more replies from coaches at smaller schools. It’s become apparent that most of them have something in common – that the off-season presents a challenge for speed and lifting development. The problem is that athletes at these schools need to be multi-sport athletes. The bulk of the football team plays two to three sports in a small school, so it’s almost impossible to fill the rosters on other sports if they were only playing footbal

Strength Report: Correcting Movement Dysfunction - Part I: Evaluation
The human body is an amazing machine, capable of incredible combinations of strength, speed, agility, mobility and flexibility that produce an impressive array of movement patterns. The problem is that there are many things that can stop functioning correctly within the human body’s very complicated structure. When something stops working properly in a joint or muscle, or a combination of these, the function quickly becomes dysfunction.  Movement dysfunction is one of the be

How Do You Measure Success?
By the time you receive this issue of AFM, there will be 333 high school teams which have completed their seasons as state champions in various divisions. Champions in the FCS, D-II, D-III and NAIA will have been crowned and the BCS National Championship will be right around the corner. Coaches on all of these teams would likely say that success is measured by championships, trophies and undefeated records. They would be right. No one would deny that these championship coaches and their playe




Replacing The BCS
By Dan Wetzel, Upon his hiring as a media consultant for the Bowl Championship Series, Ari Fleischer declared that “playoff advocates have had an easy ride” by not having to explain a clear alternative. Fleischer had it backward. It’s the BCS that’s had simple sailing by not having to defend against a specific plan. The disorganization of the playoff crowd created the gridlock the status quo desired. In the upcoming book I helped write (“Death to the BCS," due o

Executing the Double Option Run From Any Backfield Set
by Paul Anthony Markowski, Fullbacks Coach SimonFraserUniversity      In general, I consider myself a proponent of the option running game. Specifically, I am a convert to the triple option running philosophy. I say “philosophy”, since I truly believe that the triple option is not just another play. Rather, it is an offensive mindset.   The triple cannot be installed in one day, nor can it be used as

The Importance of Formation Recognition
By Ryan Ruschhaupt, Assistant Coach Monterey Peninsula College    Football is an ever evolving game where some of the most creative and intelligent coaches in sports find ways to defeat you merely by the alignment of players in a formation. Offensive coordinators search for alignment weaknesses

Getting Successful Quarterback Play
By Brian Hayes, Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach Anna Maria College There are a lot of different intangibles that make up successful quarterback play. I have seen all types of quarterbacks be successful and play well in many types of different systems. I believe that you fit your system to what your quarterback does best and work towards his strengths.  There are five points that I really talk a lot about when coaching our quarterbacks. These five things that I wi

FREE FORMS - Pass Routes
Free Forms from American Football Monthly

Recruiting Results
Among all the legends of high school coaching, Bill McGregor probably knows more about college recruiting than any coach in America. As head coach of perennial power DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, Coach McGregor has compiled a record of 279-40-3 with 18 championships in 29 years and has seen over 300 of his players advance to play at the college level. The 2004 NFL High School Coach of the Year, McGregor is considered a master at helping his athletes who want to play c

Your Take: The Story Behind the Poll
Last year, FBS coaches were “polled” about the controversial Bowl Championship Series and in the process got used as propaganda. As everyone knows, opinion polls are a complex business. The people that run them best are experienced, highly-trained and well-paid professionals. It’s for good reason. You can garner almost any answer you want from a poll depending how the question is asked. Politicians, business and others will pay top dollar to either get manipulated

Goal Line Defense: Lenape Valley’s 6-5 Scheme
When introducing our Goal Line Defense to our team, we stress from day one that we must stop the run at all cost – “We are fighting for inches not yards”. As a staff, three principles must be kept in mind at all times: 1. Instill in our players the mindset that “they cannot score by running the football on us – they must pass to score”. Also, attitude is as important as schemes and techniques. 2. Have a limited number of adjustments to formations and motions.

Proving Them Wrong
The bullet ripped through the toddler’s temple and split in two, with half exiting from the back of his skull and half through the side. Doctors told Sandy Porter that her son, Ronnie Harris, would die. Ronnie Harris was determined to play football. He proved them wrong. The same doctors told her that Ronnie would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, that he would never walk or talk again. That her 2-year-old son was doomed to a life as a vegeta

Georgia’s In-Season and Bowl Game Strength Training
Every year, college football players across the country engage in strength and conditioning programs from January until the beginning of training camp in August. Those workouts lay the conditioning foundation and strength base for the upcoming season. And while those workouts are important, many strength coaches would argue that workouts held during the season are just as important, if not more so, than workouts held during the rest of the year. This simple question must be asked: When woul

Spreading the Double Wing
The double wing is an offense that allows undersized personnel to compete with larger opponents. The base package of the offense is very physical and often leads to large amounts of yardage and points when run correctly. We have long been proponents of the Tim Murphy (Clovis, CA) style of double wing football, but as defenses devise a myriad of looks to prevent the double wing from rolling down the field continuously and controlling the clock, we have chosen to add to our package. W

John McKissick: 7 Keys to Long-Term Success
McKissick, 84, entered his 59th season at Summerville in September with a record 576 wins. He’s accomplished the astonishing feat with a plethora of offenses, from the wing-T to the wishbone to his current spread attack. His defense also has changed with the times, transforming from a wide-tackle 6 and 50 look used to defend the tight ground attacks of the past to a multiple scheme designed to stop the modern spread offenses. “You’ve got to change with the material y

Dissecting a Successful Offense: Abilene High School (TX)
It takes guts to make changes to an extremely balanced offense that averaged 45 points per game the previous season. Abilene High School (TX) head coach Steve Warren is gutsy. He’s also a state champion, thanks in part to an adjustment to the Eagles’ offense that produced a unique blend of a power running game and the spread offense. “Yep, that characterizes us pretty well,” said Warren, who, in his 14th season, led the Eagles to the 2009 5A Division II state championship. “

Drills Report: A Special Teams Drill for the Entire Season
We have used the “Two Hand Touch Punt Cover Drill” for four seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and for seven seasons of college football in the U.S. and Canada. This August, we saw the drill being used at the training camp of a recent Super Bowl champion. The drill has evolved every year and has been improved by adopting the open field tackling concepts taught by long-time NFL and CFL Defensive Coordinator Rod Rust and Bobby April, Special Teams Coordinator for the Ph

Speed Report: The History of Football Speed Development in America (Part II)
In part one, we chronicled the history of football and weight training changes over the years. My point of emphasis was to provide you with insight to the path football speed has taken. The amazing thing about the history of football speed is that there isn’t a recorded history to be found. This article will summarize where it began and where it is today. I was the first football speed coach in America. I began coaching football and track sprints in 1968 at the high school le

Strength Report: Practical Movement and Strength Training – The Key to Speed
I have been fortunate, in my 16 years of performance coaching, to have been mentored by the best in the business. Furthermore, I have been privileged to work both at the collegiate level and in the private sector. This allowed me to see things from a different perspective, exposing me to areas such as speed training and leadership/management skills that I wouldn’t have been exposed to had I just stayed at the collegiate level. Although it was a huge risk to leave college athletics, the

Letter from AFM
My teenage son was a hotshot linebacker on his freshman football squad a few years ago. He had the size, speed and athletic ability to have a nice high school football experience and I was anticipating three more years of proudly supporting him and his team. So, when he told me he was quitting football for rugby, I was naturally a little disappointed. More so, I was concerned that he would be playing a violent sport with bone-jarring tackling without any protective equipment. In pa




Fundamentals of Wide Receiver Play and Reading Coverages
By PJ Fleck, Wide Receivers Coach Rutgers University PURPOSEFUL “TEACHING”    I was always told that I was the “King of the TOO’s” (too small, too slow, too short).  I heard all the time, “GET OUT OF THE BREAK, DROP YOUR WEIGHT, CATCH THE BALL, GET OFF THE PRESS.”  “Cat

GAME DAY AT CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL
On a grey fall Friday afternoon, Carmel Catholic head coach Andy Bitto greets a visitor as he enters his office. Kickoff is four and a half hours away, but minus his headset, Bitto is already sporting his game day outfit—brown and gold pullover, brown tie on white shirt, khaki pants and tennis shoes. The outfit could be labeled old school, something out of George Halas’ time. After all, where is the Under Armour? Bitto hands the visitor an itinerary for that week’s

Setting the Tempo by Attacking and Reacting
By Kevin Cristillo, Defensive Line Coach Kentucky Christian University      My philosophy as a D-line coach is to be aggressive and stop the run.  As a defensive lineman, your main job is to stop the run.  By stopping the run you are dictating the tempo of how the game is going to be played.  Almost every team wants to establish a run game presence so that they can complement that with their passing game.  Stopping a team’s ability to run puts them i

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.

Learning to Read Blocks
By John Groll, Defensive Line Coach Bedford High School (MI) Football has been a part of my life for the last thirty years. In those thirty years, I have played or coached every position except quarterback and defensive line.  Last year, our high school hired a new football coach and he hired me as the new defensive line coach in our 4-3 defense. I would like to share how I teach our D-linemen to read various blocks.      

Defensive line get off – The key to winning on the line of scrimage
By Eric Gerlach, Defensive Line Coach Cabrillo College     During spring and summer, when your team is not in pads, teams seems to put a lot of effort in 7 on 7’s and might overlook line work. Yet you always hear coaches saying "the game is won on the line.”  Spending time in the spring and summer working on getting off the ball will make an enormous difference come fall.  By working these drills, your players will be faste

Coaching in Denmark Part III
  For my final and third installment on my coaching experience in Denmark, I would like to share two topics that are universal when it comes to coaching American football: officiating and game management.   My wife and I were thrilled to attend the Steelers/Dolphins game on October 24 in Miami. As the clock ticked down to the final minutes, the game was suspended in air as Ben Roethlisberger’s touchdown attempt was being reviewed by the officials. Every fan, whe

BREAKDOWN: A Season of Gang Warfare
by Bob Halloran Crime, drugs and gang violence confront teenagers in Chelsea, Massachusetts every day. In his new book, BREAKDOWN: A Season of Gang Warfare, High School Football, and the Coach Who Policed the Streets, Bob Halloran presents a vivid look at how youth in this troubled neighborhood turn to football and an inspiring coach to escape the dangers they constantly face. A silver-haired man in a yellow windbreaker stood among the small bleacher crowd looking out

The Prep Report
First and Ten Ranking the 10 best high school teams of the 2000s 1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL), 2008 (15-0), Coach George Smith: The Raiders’ 56-7 blowout of nationally ranked Lakeland for the 5A championship was a fitting conclusion to one of the most dominant seasons in Florida prep history. The team also got a season-opening win at the Kirk Herbstreit Classic over Cincinnati Elder. A remarkable total of 17 seniors and juniors from this te

Russian Bear
Even the best high school football players face long odds of getting a Division I scholarship. For Hoover (AL) defensive lineman Max Elliott, they appeared to be stacked as high as the Ural Mountains. Elliott was born Max Onichtchenko in Kurgan, Russia – a Siberian city nestled in the foothills of the Urals. It was a place where young Max seemingly was destined to play the French horn. His transformation from Russian school boy musician to American high school footba

How To Defend 8 Common Trick Plays


Give Your O-Line a Bull’s-Eye
As a young coach in the late ‘80’s, I was introduced to the article “The Eyes Lead the Body” by Blanton Collier. Little did I realize then how significant that article is for offensive line success. Later in my coaching career at Centre College in Danville, KY where, like most Division III schools, coaches often wear many hats. I served as a strength and conditioning coach in addition to offensive coordinator. In that role, I found I was often coaching posture in order

The Sprint-Out Passing Game for a Smaller, More Athletic Quarterback
In high school football, you have to adjust your offense to the talent and ability of the players that you have. Unlike college, you cannot go out and recruit, so you must be able to adjust to the talent of your players. The quarterback position is a perfect example. You must adjust to your quarterback’s talent and abilities. At Southwestern, we had a four-year run in the shotgun spread offense because of two quarterbacks in a row that were 6’3” plus and had great arms. Th

17 Cornerstones of Defensive Line Play
St. Cloud State University has a long tradition of excellence on the defensive line. In 2008, both defensive ends earned All-American honors, marking the third such honor in the past four seasons. Two of these players were named most valuable defensive lineman in the conference. Talented players are obviously the most important ingredient in our success. Utilizing an attacking and aggressive system of play has allowed these great players to play fast. Playing fast is a must in a position th

0-12: How To Deal With Losing
We embrace winners. It’s in our DNA. But the other side of winning is losing, and it can be a painful pill to digest when it happens so often. Perhaps that is no more evident than in coaching. But, inevitably, every coach will experience that pain at some point in his career. How a coach deals with the negative aspects that accompany losing is a matter of perspective and having faith in what he is doing will reap rewards in the face of adversity. Bob Davie, the former coach at No

Drills Report: Daily D-Line Must Drills
Like many things, football is a game that requires you to do a few basic concepts. You have to block, run and tackle. With this in mind, my approach to coaching the D-Line has always been to be sure and hit certain key things everyday. Each day you strive to build and develop the best group that you can possibly have. To do this, you always must strive for perfection within your group. Remember, if you make it important, your group will also. It is very important to know what makes your playe

Coach to Coach
When I was an offensive coordinator at the junior/community college level for six seasons, my football life consisted of recruiting, installing our schemes, game planning and calling the game on Saturdays. A full plate for sure, but it was 100% football. I definitely had ideas of what I would do if and when I became a head coach, but all of the peripheral things associated with running the entire program were in the hands of the head coach and the athletic director. In those days I thought th

Speed Report: The History of Football Speed Training (Part I)
In the late seventies, into the early eighties, not much was taking place in the football speed world. In fact, before the early eighties, nothing formal was being done about speed development for football. By the eighties only some football programs had begun to consider speed training as a possible approach. For many years, coaches felt athletes either had speed or they didn’t. They were convinced that it couldn’t be developed. This concept was the main reason speed training was

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

Letter from AFM
Our mission at AFM is to help coaches to be more successful on and off the field. Naturally, for most coaches, success means winning more games. So our focus has always been to provide the tools to win, whether they’re innovative offensive systems, position drills, defensive techniques or special teams strategy. But virtually every coach, at some point in his career, has endured a season where the losses have outnumbered the wins. After all, for every team that puts together a win




From the Coaches Bookshelf - Heartland Heros
The Smith Center (KS) Redmen became one of the most interesting high school football stories of recent years when they put together a 79-game unbeaten streak over six years before finally losing in last season’s Kansas 2-1A championship game. Author and New York Times reporter Joe Drape spent the 2008 season in Smith Center and documented the Redmen’s undefeated season and their sixth consecutive state title. In his book, Our Boys, now available in paperback, he paints a vivid port

First and Ten - The Prep Report
First and Ten Ten teams that could finish the season ranked No. 1 Trinity (TX), Coach Steve Lineweaver Preseason National Prep Poll ranking: No. 1 The Trojans begin the year No. 1 in the National Prep Poll largely because of their tremendous talent and strength in the trenches. Lineweaver led the team to its third 5A title in five years last season. Plant (FL), Coach Robert Weiner Preseason National Prep Poll ranking: No

Built From The Ground Up
A Guide to the Game’s Top Cleats As much as I would like to say this in jest, I am sure there are plenty of your players that still haven’t equipped themselves with new gear for the upcoming season. You will see the ones at practice, the players that are routinely using athletic tape to hold together that pair of cleats they have been using for a year or two, but are just too stubborn or forgetful to replace. That is why I would like to run down the best of what the top fo

John Robinson, Assistant Coach
By Jeff Fedotin • RivalsHigh.com At 75, John Robinson’s coaching career has come full circle – from USC to the NFL to now, the sidelines of San Marcos High School as an assistant coach Connor Kuehnle’s parents did not believe their son when he told them the identity of his new defensive coordinator. “There’s no way it’s John Robinson from USC and the Rams,” Kathy and Kenzie Kuehnle said. “There’s no way this guy’s gonna come an

The 46 Bear Defense
The 46 Bear defense, or Kodiak, is intended to prove one thing – pressure wins ball games. Stop the run, force bad throws and take the offense out of their comfort zone. The Bear does this in a lot of different aspects. In fact, the defense itself is not named like the 4-3 or 3-4, but rather after the player’s number that Buddy Ryan thought best exemplified the attacking style of this defense – Chicago Bears defensive back Doug Plank, who wore number 46. He played strong safety in this

The Cover 2 Slide
For many coaches, finding a coverage to match the fronts you are playing as well as providing the vision necessary for your secondary to tackle and cover well can be a headache. To address this challenge, we have moved to more and more double calls in our secondary. One of our staple calls is the Cover 2 Slide. Our defensive philosophy is to be run-oriented with the ability to play aggressively on the quick-game combination routes. We use this call all over the field and in a vari

Two Plays in One - Shotgun Fly Sweep Fused with Perimeter Screens
As an offensive coordinator, I want to run the ball north/south but have difficulties against some of the great teams we play. Protecting our quarterback can be problematic and the defensive backs we face make man-to-man situations an arduous task. After listening to Mike Bellotti, formerly of Oregon, speak about attaching screens to their running game, we decided to fuse the bubble screen with our inside and outside zones. The zone-bubble became two plays in one because we did not have to au

In-Season Training and Practice Planning For Punters and Kickers
A coach’s dilemma: what do you do with punters and kickers during the season? It’s a dilemma which has existed for a long time. It is especially true at the high school level but to varying degrees at the college and professional level as well. I have personally experienced this dilemma for the 25 years I have been a coach and for the fifteen years I was a player in high school, college and as a professional. Just handing the kicking specialists some footballs and sendin

Getting Big Results at Small Schools
What are the keys to building winning programs in schools so small that just fielding a team can be a challenge? In this, part two of AFM’s series about how some of the smallest high schools in the country have built dominant programs, we examine how Alcoa High School (TN) Coach Gary Rankin and Harlan Community High School (IA) Coach Curt Bladt have established winning traditions and taken home multiple championships. Alcoa, Tennessee, population 7,744, sits in the shadows of the G

Guru of the Golden Arms
As a high school quarterback, Steve Clarkson led Wilson High in Los Angeles to a 39-1 record and three straight city championships in the late 70’s. That was followed by three years as the starting quarterback for San Jose State where he played for John Elway’s father, Jack Elway. Clarkson broke several passing records in the process at SJSU (1979-82) and was a two-year Academic All-American. He was destined to fulfill his dream of being drafted by an NFL team. It didn’t qui

HERO TO ZERO IN ONE PLAY: Drilling the Defensive Back for Confidence
While I am now coaching tight ends at Columbia University, I have spent many seasons as a defensive backs coach. If anyone has been a secondary coach or played the position before, you are intimately familiar with those times when, in the final seconds of a game, an intercepted pass can “seal the deal” for your team or where a deep bomb can spell misery. The positive end result of those times is a combination of competitiveness, but more importantly, reliance on solid fundamentals. I have

7 Concepts in Developing a Winning Mentality
As a seasoned coach and life-long sports fan, I am always intrigued by teams, players and coaches who never reach their full potential and also those who do. I am intrigued by overachievers and curiously puzzled by those who consistently settle for less. Is it simply DNA? Do some possess genes that demand a lifelong pursuit of excellence while others inherit traits that have them looking for the paths of least resistance? In a competitive environment where everyone professes a desire to win,

In-Season Speed Training - Good News, Bad News
Summer is over and now it’s time to turn on the lights and begin with weekly competition. Speed and strength should be at their peak levels coming into the fall season. The months of hard work with zero competition are over and it’s time to benefit from the fruits of your labor. Speed should certainly be at the razor’s edge coming in. This is where the fun begins: maintaining and/or improving speed during the season. This can be done, but not without a commitment to certain de

A Conditioning Program for Skill Positions Using Lunge Variations
By Kim E. Fischer, Ph.D., CSCS • Teri Walter, Ph.D. • Joseph Matovich, CSCS Department of Health and Sport Sciences, Otterbein University Position requirements for skill position players like running backs, defensive backs, wide receivers, and quarterbacks differ from the offensive and defensive line positions in that quickness, agility, change of direction, balance, body control, and reaction time are even more critical characteristics for player success. Skill position p

Offensive and Defensive Collision Drills To Improve Your Team’s Performance
Little boys and men play football because it helps release aggressive energy and humbles all who have tried it. The sensation of running into someone at full speed is defining. No other element of football accelerates players, coaches and spectators than hearing the impact of a collision. Shoulder pads, helmets, forearms, and brute force contacting each other with speed and leverage. I began being a good football coach when I taught players how to take on a full contact collision. Eve

Letter from AFM
When the NFL first had players don “throwback” uniforms, in the mid-90’s, to celebrate teams’ histories and (who’s kidding who) to sell more merchandise, we thought it was a novel idea and perfectly reasonable if done on a limited basis. It’s good to educate young fans about the game’s history and it’s interesting to see how the modern designs are, in most cases, superior to those of the past, especially if you’re a Tampa Bay Bucs fan. It




Coaching In Denmark (Part II)
By Wayne Anderson      In this next installment of coaching in Denmark, I would like to share more about the teaching aspect of coaching a team like the Odense Swans. The first thing you must remember about a team like the Swans is that what you can truly do as a coach depends on how many coaches you have on your staff and how many players consistently participate in practice.    In Denmark, our season is divided into two different parts:

GEORGE BLANDA “It’s Never Too Late”
By T. J. Troup Coach, Teacher, and Pro Football Historian Future Hall of Fame Quarterback Bobby Layne was sold to the New York Bulldogs before the 1949 season by “Papa Bear” George Halas. To fill the roster spot, Halas used the Bears 12th pick in the draft to take quarterback George Blanda of Kentucky. During his last three years at Kentucky, playing under the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant, the Wildcats won 20 of 31 games and played in the

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

Coaching in Denmark
By Wayne Anderson Sporting Director/Head Football Coach, Odense Swans I joined the Odense Swans in Denmark as their head coach on May 18th. Having coached in Norway and Italy prior to this position, traveling overseas was not a new experience; however, there are always unique challenges with each destination. With eight years of seasonal coaching positions, my wife and I have a routine when preparing me for the season away from home. When preparing to coach in E

AFM Subscribers Ask: Steve Warren Head Coach Abilene High School
Last fall, Abilene finished the season 15-0 by beating Katy High School in the Division II 5A Texas State Championship. Winning their first state title in 53 years, Abilene completed the season as the consensus #2 high school team in the country. Before Warren arrived in 1996, Abilene suffered through eight consecutive losing seasons. Entering his 15th season this fall, Warren has an overall 132-63 record which includes 11 straight playoff appearances. Abilene uses a one-back system as its base

The Prep Report
With Jamie DeMoney First and Ten - A look at 10 of the nation’s top coaches under 40. Josh Niblett, Hoover (AL): The 38-year-old is 27-3 with a state title in two years at this national power in suburban Birmingham. He was a scout-team quarterback for Alabama’s 1992 national championship team. Josh Floyd, Shiloh Christian (AR): Floyd, 30, already led his alma mater to three state titles and a 70-12 record in six seasons. Charlie Ra

Right Guard, Getting the proper mouth guard will give players greater comfort and help prevent concussions.
By Dallas Jackson and Tim Bergeron RivalsHigh.com Greg Ladd screams at the TV every time he sees LeBron James doing it. Or Tom Brady, Sidney Crosby or Landon Donovan. Ladd is a big sports fan. He also is a dentist. And every time he sees a pro athlete who bites, chews or holds his mouth guard between plays, he gets annoyed. To Ladd, such actions mean his mouth guard isn’t the right fit and therefore is not likely to provide much protection. Eve

Portable Perspective
Colleges and high schools have long employed elevated end zone and sideline cameras to capture practice and game video that could be reviewed and used as a teaching tool. But, until recently, the stationary cameras were limited in how they could be used in a variety of practice situations. Now, that has changed with the introduction of the remarkable portable elevated camera system from U.S. Sports Video called the SideWinder. In the summer of 2006, Tennessee Offensive Coordi

The Color Drill: Helping Linebackers & Defensive Backs Maximize Their Drops
Over the years our defensive staff has successfully identified areas our defense needed to improve on. After identifying these weaknesses we have the ability to think of some innovative drills to help our players improve in the specified areas. This past season we identified that while getting into their zone pass drops, our linebackers and defensive backs were not reading the backfield action and the quarterback. In order to improve in this area we came up with our ‘Color

The Use of Multiple Tight Ends in the One-Back Offense
My first head football coaching position was in 1987. Upon arrival, I found quite a few skilled athletes, a good quarterback, and a severe lack of depth and talent in the offensive line. To overcome the problems in the offensive line, I decided to employ a run-and-shoot style attack. This allowed us to spread the defense and open up holes both running and passing that year. Our offense led our conference in rushing offense, passing offense, and total offense. From that start,

Drills Report: The 3-On-2 Contain and Tackle Drill
The purpose of this drill is to be able to close on a ball carrier and adjust to the different angles when a player is blocked or taken out of the play. Once a tackler has been blocked, the remaining two tacklers in this drill adjust and close in on the runner without getting beat to the outside, split down the middle, or overrunning the ball carrier. Depending on the coach’s objective, the goal of the drill is to either completely contain the ball carrier by wrapping him up or tackling him

Game Week Practice Planning to Defend the Spread Option Attack
When we prepare to play against the spread option, we first need to understand that getting the most out of our practice time is the number-one priority. We understand that the option teams that we face run their offense at a high level and they have gotten hundreds of reps at what they do before we face them. So, we need to be able to get as many reps as possible in just one week. For the past eight years, our philosophy has changed from trying to get good at practicing and

Keys and Reads for Cover 2 in a 3-4 Scheme
At Carthage College, we start with Cover 2 as one of our base coverages. I will discuss how we run Cover 2 out of our 3-4 defensive scheme along with our keys, reads, and alignments vs. a 10 personnel (1 RB, 0 TE) doubles formation. Alignments: (See Diagram 1) Corner - 6 ½ yards – outside wingtip #1 WR. SS/FS - 11 yards from LOS, 1 yard inside OLB (Sa

10 Musts Before The Start of Fall Camp
#1 Hit the weights and don’t forget to stretch for success. Nothing can make up for players that are not physically ready to play their best. Instead of lamenting that your players are not “bigger, faster and stronger,” take the initiative and make them bigger, faster, and stronger. If you do not have a weight room, create your own. We started our weight room in a storage closet in the wrestling room. I personally ran the summer weight room three days a w

Offensive Game Planning: A Week-Long Schedule to Success
Game Week Schedule - Sunday Our game week schedule is designated from Sunday to Friday. Our main objective for Sunday is to have a final breakdown of our previous game by 4:00 pm. Our breakdown consists of players’ grades on assignments and team goals. We also determine individual awards for our players from the previous game. Following our team meeting, our players divide into groups and watch film with the position coaches. Their night ends with position lifts. At abo

Small Schools, Big Time Programs
For years, Smith Center, Kansas’ (population 1,700) claim to fame was that it’s located in the geographic center of the United States. Now, high school football has put the town on the map. The Smith Center Redmen gained national attention in 2007 when, in the middle of an eventual 79-game winning streak, they had an 11-game run where they outscored their opponents a combined 706-0. In one memorable game, they scored 72 points – in the first quarter. Wh

Coach to Coach
* Getting more done in less time is always a great model for success. Be organized and get the most out of your time with your players and staff. Wasted time is one thing that you can never get back. I have worked with coaches that must have had a different watch than I did. 3:30 meant 4:00 and a one-hour meeting always meant two hours. The one thing that all of us have in common is that we each have 24 hours in each day. I read recently that 25% of American worker

Speed Report: Combining In-Season Conditioning with In-Season Speed Training
The answer is usually not well-received. My reply is that we need to understand how the game is played physiologically. If you run athletes hard and often with short recovery time between efforts, your athletes are being exposed to overtraining. Consequently, you’re training the wrong metabolic system and will not be tapping the proper system that is required. Limited recovery with constant brutal sprinting is going to keep the heart rate at maximum levels. The heart rate should have a

Strength Report: Summer Conditioning-Mental and Physical Preparation for a Championship Season
During the summer off-season, it’s time to make a final push to reach peak levels of conditioning in anticipation of a championship season. Preparation this time of year is critical to the success of our program. It allows our coaches to focus on all aspects of football and eliminates the need for additional work to get the players in shape. Although the needs of athletes may still vary at this time due to uncontrollable circumstances, we must develop our programs to meet

Letter From AFM
Here at AFM, we do everything we can to stay on top of the high school football scene around the country. But, with over 14,000 teams, occasionally a story slips by unnoticed. Such was the case with a small school in a small town in the heartland that was racking up win after win and championship after championship but flying under the national radar. Until October, 2007, that is, when they broke the 82-year-old record for most points scored in a quarter by putting up 72 in




Your Take: Worth Every Penny
Last August there was outrage in some parts of the media. News broke that University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer was getting a contract extension. The new deal meant that Meyer was going to earn at least $4 million on his new contract, and could make up to $4.5 million with incentives. There was cause for commotion, but it should have been because Meyer was so underpaid. Yes, underpaid. As in a bargain. While those who were critical of Meyer’s new deal talked about

Drills Report: The Skill Drill: The Zone Read, Tunnel Screen and Bubble Screen
The Skill Drill was born out of necessity and has become a constant in our practices. My dislike of players standing around during practice helped create this drill sequence. When your players learn the pattern of this drill, practice reps will go through the roof. The drill combines all positions of a spread offense and works them with all of them at the same time. By using this pattern, you can increase your number of reps, coach multiple positions with a limited number of coaches, get all

Simplicity and the O-Line – Why The Flip/Flop O-Line Works
As coaches, we tend to overthink and overestimate our influence on game days. The common trap is our attempt to outcoach our adversaries across the field. While giving a clinic two years ago, I had an epiphany: “It is not my job to outcoach someone. It is my job to get my men to outplay their opponents.” On game day, it does not matter what we know. It’s what our players know that determines the outcome. This became my motto in everything I do as an offensive line coach and I am ble

Developing Key Reads for Your Defensive Backs
As the secondary coach at Lehigh University, I usually get 20-25 minutes of individual time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in season. My goal each week is to optimize my time. In doing so, I spend about ten minutes a day on footwork and ball drills. I then spend another five minutes per day on some aspect of tackling or block escape. I then split the group for the last 5-10 minutes. Both groups will work on the finer points of the same coverage for the remainder of the time. For example, if

3 Complementary Plays To The Wishbone Triple Option
The wishbone triple option play is the base play within the greater wishbone triple option offensive philosophy. As its name indicates, it is actually three plays in one. There is a dive option to the fullback, a quarterback keep off-tackle option, and a halfback option pitch play to the perimeter of the field. Triple option teams almost exclusively use this option play over and over again and, in most cases, it has become a very productive offensive force. However, at some point during a gam

Technology Tools: Computer Software That Brings Your Play Diagrams to Life.
Use coaching technology to your advantage with computer software that brings your play diagrams to life. Technological advances have had a significant impact on football and coaching, especially in how plays are developed and illustrated for coaches and players. Today’s state-of-the-art play diagramming software gives coaches advantages never before available. For playmaking, computers have indeed changed the way coaches coach. “Computers and software

No Punting Allowed
The controversy began last November 16th when New England Coach Bill Belichick went for a fourth down conversion late in a game from deep in his own territory against the Indianapolis Colts. With 2:08 left and the Colts with only one timeout, a successful conversion, in all probability, would have won the game. Belichick felt – from his own research – that the Patriots had a 60% chance of making the fourth and two for a first down. The Patriots were stopped short, the Colts took o

The Ratings Game - Today’s High School Ranking Services
By the time Christmas rolls around this year, Jamie DeMoney will have scoured more than 2,000 DVDs of high school football games sent to him by coaches nationwide. During the course of the upcoming 2010 season, Dallas Jackson will speak to an average of nearly 200 coaches a month. DeMoney and Jackson work for different entities, but all of their work and effort is aimed at one common goal – determining which high school football team is the best in America. Last year,

Legendary Leader - George Smith of St. Thomas Aquinas
George Smith of St. Thomas Aquinas shares principles that have helped him become one of the nation’s winningest coaches His heroes are old-school coaches like Paul “Bear” Bryant, Woody Hayes and Don Shula, and his disciplinarian style in many ways reflects an old-school coaching philosophy. But George Smith is not afraid to try something new if it will help give his football team an edge. That’s what Smith, the head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas

Coach to Coach
The 2010 season will be my 20th as a Head Coach and/or Offensive Coordinator at both the high school and college levels. I have coached a lot of games in that stretch and held ten times as many practices. I started playing football in 1976 and haven’t missed a season since. I guess you could say that I am addicted to this great game. In those 34 years, I have learned some important lessons that have played a huge role in my coaching life. As we head into the 2010 season, I want to share some k

Speed Report: Refining Peak Speed For Fall Camp
Theoretically, maximum speed should be the goal for your team heading into fall camp. Once football starts and the banging begins, football isn’t kind to speed. Olympic world class sprinters would not train in pads to perfect or refine their peak speed potential. The only referral to track speed that parallels football is the beginning of fall camp, contusion free and speed ready. Summer Time is the Right Time Pre-summer is over and you’re enterin

Strength Report: Lamar’s Off-Season Strength and Conditioning Program
The Lamar football program begins play in 2010 after a 21-year layoff. As the first Sport Performance Director in school history, it has been my task to develop and implement a speed, power, strength, agility, flexibility, and conditioning program. The process has been difficult, to say the least. Combine that with the fact that we are waiting for our athletic facility to be built and one can only imagine the challenges we have faced. Needless to say, I not only have had to think outside my b

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’




There Are Many Different Ways To Build A Successful Offensive System: An Update on the A-11 Offense
There Are Many Different Ways To Build A Successful Offensive System:                                         An Update on the A-11 Offense By Kurt Bryan, Head Coach, Piedmont High School (CA) and       Steve Humphries, Offensive Coordinat

Free Form - Time Saving Memorandum
Click the link below to download the TIME SAVING MEORANDUM form. It's easy to use and - best of all - it's FREE. Exclusively at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com...

Clutch Performer
Coach Dave White leads the Edison Chargers in high school hotbed Orange County Orange County, California, just south of Los Angeles, is year after year one of the country’s top regions for high school football. Many teams are highly-ranked, not just state-wide but nationally as well, and powerhouse programs produce plenty of DI talent every year. To succeed in “The O.C.”, be prepared to face a tough opponent virtually every week. Take Edison High School in Hunting

Hammer Strength Player of the Year
Hammer Strength is honored to present John David Bruce as the 2009 Hammer Strength Player of the Year. The award honors student-athletes who demonstrate consistent dedication in four key areas: work ethic, effort, leadership and academics Player of the Year: John David Bruce GPA: 3.98 Positions: Tight End/Quarterback School: Notre Dame High School, Chattanooga, TN Nominated by:

Your Take Too Much, Too Soon
I talked to Rich Rodriguez and Brian Kelly this off-season at two different times in two different settings. They were the ones who brought up the subject independently. Entitlement. The attitude that makes certain people act like they are owed something. “I sense a bit of entitlement that needs to be rectified,” Kelly said, shortly after taking the Notre Dame job. “I think the challenges are within.” “We cannot have a sense of entitlement,” Rodriguez sa

Five Ways To Ensure A Solid Foundation For Your Junior High Program
By Bill Shepard, Assistant Coach, Durand High School (IL) and Darin Davis, Assistant Coach, Dakota High School (IL) If a head coach at the high school level wants to achieve success then he needs to invest time in his junior high program. We believe that there are five essential ingredients that help lay a solid foundation for a football program at the junior high level. It may take time to get all of the ingredients in place but the effects on th

Game On! Finding A Football For Your Program
One of my high school coaches once took a break from our two-a-day practice and held up a football. “Can any of you tell me how long a football is?” he asked. Like most players and coaches, I never knew the exact length of a football (and as a lineman, my regular hands-on experience with footballs in practice was slim to none). We were stumped. “Eleven and a quarter inches,” he said. “I tell you this because that 11 ¼ inches is the differ

Zone Coverages For the 4-2-5 Defense
Until recently, we had always been a 4-4 defense. With the arrival of various types of spread offenses and playing very different offenses week after week, we found that we needed to be more flexible to defend all of the different looks. We didn’t want to change our philosophy nor our 4-4 rules or principles too drastically. So, instead of switching to a 4-3 we decided to implement the 4-2-5. We found that we couldn’t just run Cover 3 or man-free anymore. We just didn’t have the athlete

Packaging The Inside Zone With The Bubble Screen Out of a Stack Formation
In this article, we will discuss our stack formation and cover the basic principles of our inside zone play. We will then explain the quarterback’s and running back’s reads and meshing techniques. In the end we will focus on the bubble screen concept. We decided to go to the stack formation for the 2006 season to improve our running game. In addition, we were looking for a run/pass option on choice downs without having to audible. We were looking for a four to seven yard gain on

Teach Your Quarterback To Protect Himself
Our philosophy at Ft. Pierce Central is to demand that the quarterback be the field general and leader. In order for him to do this, he must have the ability to command everything on the field, even the direction of the protection. We ask our quarterbacks to identify the possible blitz and protect themselves. One advantage of the spread is that defenders have to come from a distance. This distance forces the defense to show its hand. For the quarterback, it is his job to iden

7-On-7’s: Tune Up Your Passing Game
While 7-on-7 competitions have been around for nearly 30 years, it’s only in the last seven or eight years that this concept has exploded. The growth of the 7-on-7 competition is a direct reflection of the growth of the spread offense. Today, more and more high schools and colleges are using the spread, and players and coaches see the value of 7-on-7 tournaments and competitions as ways to hone passing skills. The events match skilled players against each other. Usually played on

What Has Happened To High School Football? - Part I
Last year on October 2nd, ESPNU’s showcase game featured the nation’s #1 ranked team facing off with the team ranked #2. It was a highly-anticipated match-up of unbeatens that would, no doubt, play a major role in the chase for the national championship. In a unique wrinkle, the two teams had never played each other. High ratings were guaranteed. No, this wasn’t the NCAA collegiate game of the week but a contest between two high schools – Ft. Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas and

Trickeration: The Art of Deceiving a Defense. When And How To Use Trick Plays.
It was January 1, 2007 and the Boise State Broncos were reeling. Oklahoma’s 25 unanswered points gave the Sooners a 35-28 lead. The Broncos found themselves at 4th-and-18. Their season would end in 18 seconds. That’s when head coach Chris Petersen and OC Bryan Harsin reached into their gadget bag. Broncos QB Jared Zabransky hit Drisan James for 15 yards, shy of the first down. But as five defenders bore down on James, he lateraled to Jerard Rabb, catching Oklahoma flat-footed. R

Drills Report: Multi-Purpose Wide Receiver Drill
We expect the following from our receivers: 1. Maximum effort. 2. Know your assignments. 3. You must have the desire and willingness to block. 4. You must have the desire to catch every ball thrown to you. 5. You must possess the willingness to improve your skill. For route mechanics, wide receivers must follow the correct cutting techniques, body posture and route cuts or breaks. The WR must stay low in and out of h

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

Strength Report: Northern Illinois’ Mass Development Program
At Northern Illinois University, we believe in the complete development of our student-athletes. Our athletic department motto is “we develop champions in the classroom, in competition, and in life.” I believe it is paramount that when a student-athlete enters our program, upon graduating they will be a better individual in all aspects of society. We coach all aspects of life in our weight facility with strength development only being part of our overall mission. One aspect of p

Letter from AFM
When I played high school football, which was well before some of our younger readers were born, the Saturday afternoon games (we had no lights) were played in front of perhaps 500 fans. We were a large suburban school in a pretty big market, but this was, after all, upstate New York – never considered a hotbed of high school football. We were lucky to get our game score included in the local paper. We never lifted weights, which is obvious from the old yearbook photos. As I recall, we

Thirty-two Major College Coaches Began at the Divisional Level
By Tex NoelBobby Bowden. John Heisman. Woody Hayes. Lou Holtz. Amos Alonzo Stagg.And Jim Tressel. They are among 32 of the winningest major college head coaches that began a career at a non-FBS college football team.Coaches with at least 150 all-time career victories were eligible to be includedin this listing which includes a pair of coaches with over 300 all-time victories.Bowden’s teams won a total of 377 games during his outstandingcareer. Of thi




A Unique Approach to Trips: Maximize Reps and Sets, Minimize Mistakes
By David Buchanan Head Football Coach, Mason County High School (KY) In the late 90’s our program was one of many that was riding the spread offense to bigger and better things. And, like many spread teams, we were heavy in the 2 x 2 set. We knew that trips, a 3 x 1 set, was something that we needed. But how could we install it without bringing on a tremendous amount of additional learning for our kids? Our players were athletic, intelligent, and gave us

A Pre-Game Walk-Through Script
BY Jim Santamassimo Assistant Coach, West Haven High School (CT) During my two years at St. Joseph High School (CT) a few years ago, we came up with a pre-game walk-through script that we used the day before our games. It covered every situation that might come up during a game. We felt that by using this script, we had eliminated many problems that were occurring during the games, making us more successful. The whole procedure only takes 90 minutes, making for an eas

Superior Solution
GearBoss by Wenger introduces a new modular storage system that will get your equipment room organized. Walk into many equipment rooms during the football season and you’ll see familiar sights: helmets and shoulder pads strewn about; jerseys, pants and footballs flung everywhere; equipment managers trying to navigate between rusted, paint-chipped shelves. In short, a disorganized mess. If this scene reminds you of your facility, then you have an en

Your Take: Dealing With Bad Calls
Anyone who has ever played, coached or even watched an athletic contest has experienced the phenomenon I’ll call “Referee Induced Mental Hysteria.” We have all been there: some official, referee, umpire or judge makes a call that brings the crowd to its feet, causes a coach to rip his headphones off, or leave the dugout. What happens next can cost the team the game. Not necessarily the ‘bad call’ and its penalty, but the coach’s reaction to the call and the effect that reaction ha

Improving Your Kickoff Coverage
High school rules in many states mandate automatic touchbacks for any ball kicked into the end zone. Automatic touchbacks eliminate the risk of a big return and eliminating risk is as desirable in football as it is in other areas of life. To exploit this rule, many high school coaches ask their kickers to get the ball into the end zone. With the popularity of soccer and the requirement that high schools’ kick off from the 40-yard line, finding a kicker who can reach the end zone is not too

Uniform Front
Is your program updating your team’s jerseys? Here’s the lineup for 2010 – and several things to consider. While coaches love Xs and Os, the heat of the battle, and developing players, one task most coaches generally don’t like is the process of finding and buying uniforms. But uniforms have to be replaced – sometimes due to wear, sometimes due to necessity and sometimes due to directional changes in your program. Some new coaches change the tea

Linebacker Play-Reading Windows To Stop The Run
Stopping the run is always the number one concern of any defense. At O’Fallon Township High School, we have developed a scheme that allows linebackers to make an initial read and attack the ball carrier. We utilize good pursuit angles and have an understanding of the opponent’s blocking scheme that is simple to learn for the players and allows the coach to use the offense’s blocking scheme against them. At OTHS, we are a single gap, block react defense. We are counting on the f

Triple Option Football Out of the Spread Offense
At John Marshall High School, we run a spread offense. Our base set is a 2 X 2, four wide receiver set, with the quarterback in the sahotgun five yards from the ball. A running back is set to either his right or left, stacked behind the offensive tackle. Like most spread teams, our base run play is the zone read. In the zone read, the quarterback receives the shotgun snap and, staying square to the LOS, takes a slight lateral step and extends the ball to his running back, riding him

Samson’s Strength & Conditioning Coaches of the Year
From the NFL to High School, Strength & Conditioning Coaches are trusted to maximize their team’s potential when they step onto the field. Here, Samson Equipment recognizes those coaches who made a big impact in 2009... NFL Dan Dalrymple New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints Strength and Conditioning Coach Dan Dalrymple learned a valuable lesson when he had a free agent tryout with the Seattle Seahawks in 1987. Dalrymple had been a four-

Takeaway! More and More Teams are Using The Strip To Create Turnovers
Stripping the football from an opposing running back or receiver is not a new concept. Some players, such as former Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, included it their defensive tactics long before the NFL owners made the strip legal in 2002. More than ever though, defensive players are being coached about stripping the ball and successfully implementing it in game situations. Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon’s strip of safety Ed Reed following a Peyton Manning intercepti

The Wildcat Comes of Age - Making it Work In Your Offense
The Wildcat has evolved. The modern version of the single wing has surpassed the gimmick stage and blossomed into a game-changing weapon that is reportedly being used in some fashion by 80 percent of college and high school teams. The Wildcat even found a niche in the NFL, although its long-term viability at the professional level is still being debated. What’s not up for debate is the impact the Wildcat has on defenses. The formation, which dates back to Pop Warner in the

Drills Report: The ‘W’ Drill - Offensive Line Style
The W drill is one of the oldest and most-used defensive back drills. It is a great way to teach defensive backs the proper body positioning and footwork necessary to excel. It teaches players how to keep their hips low, eyes up, feet within the framework of their body, and how to change direction properly. As an O-line coach, I teach my players to develop these same skills defensive back coaches do. The drill requires as little or as much equipment as you find necessary, and can be

Speed Report: Natural Speed or Team Speed - Find It Or Produce It?
When engaged with a large number of athletes, you always find certain kids who have decent speed. On the other hand, most in the group are not blessed with natural speed. Team speed is sometimes indigenous to areas that have larger populations; that is, strength in numbers to pick from as a whole. Producing speed is vital for most programs and should be the quest for every program that’s interested in competing at a high level. Weight training has long been a significantly larg

Strength Report - CITADEL’S OFF-SEASON STRENGTH & CONDITIONING PROGRAM
The winter off-season is the first of two primary development phases in the annual layout of a collegiate football player. The second is the summer. These are the only two periods of the year where no football is being played and training sessions are directed by the strength and conditioning staff. For us at The Citadel, the winter differs slightly from the summer, in terms of our priorities and where they rank. We believe that the better we keep the team physically prepared over the course

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

Letter from AFM
While Tim Tebow lay motionless on the turf after suffering a concussion against Kentucky last September, Gator Nation held its breath. Tebow’s injury, caused by a severe blow to the head during a sack, put him in the hospital overnight and sidelined him from practice, television and video games for over a week. The good news for Gator fans was that Tebow benefited from a bye week and, with rest, recovered in time to lead Florida to a 10-3 win at LSU just two weeks after his injury.




Fundamentals of Defensive Back Play
There are many fundamentals to becoming a good DB. In this article I will talk about a few points that I think are keys for successful DB play. The first point is stance followed by backpedaling, then run and pass keys and finishing with responsibilities in coverage.    Your stance is the start of good DB play. Here at Cal U we have two different types of stances, zone and man. In both stances are feet are shoulder width apart with good knee bend. Knee

Developing Functional Power for Football
The search for conditioning drills that enhance functional power for sports is an on-going process. A key consideration in this endeavor is the principle of specificity of training. Simply stated, specificity of training means that the body gets better at doing physical activities that it is required to do on a regular basis. If these activities are progressively overloaded as they are repetitively performed, the resultant gains are further magnified. In many sports improving pow

Most Valuable Player
Power, speed and reliability. The ability to manage large amounts of information and perform at a high level under pressure. Important characteristics of every successful football player, without a doubt. These same characteristics can also be used to describe the modern football team’s most valuable technological tool – its video editing system. Since they were introduced in the mid-1990’s, digital editing systems have become indispensable tools for today’s sophisticated co

Clear Choice
Imagine playing one of your biggest games of the year, on the road in a hostile environment against a formidable opponent. At a critical moment in the game, when it’s absolutely imperative that you get usable information from your staff in the pressbox, instead of hearing your coaches on your headset, all you hear are…truckers. It can happen and it has happened to Mark Speckman. “We also picked up other teams’ signals, radio stations and cell phones at various games,” he r

Your Take: ‘Replacing the BCS’
Upon his hiring as a media consultant for the Bowl Championship Series, Ari Fleischer declared that “playoff advocates have had an easy ride” by not having to explain a clear alternative. Fleischer had it backward. It’s the BCS that’s had simple sailing by not having to defend against a specific plan. The disorganization of the playoff crowd created the gridlock the status quo desired. In the upcoming book I helped write (“Death to the BCS,” due o

Fields of Dreams
AFM: What are the most significant reasons why so many football programs across the country have invested in synthetic turf fields in the last decade? Jim Dobmeier of A-Turf: As athletic programs grow at schools across the country, the demand, and quite honestly the need, for synthetic grass has greatly increased. Today, many schools need to have a multi-sport playing field capable of handling continual use without fear of damage. As synthetic grass continues to deliver

Dramatic Turnaround: Going From 0-11 to 12-1 In One Year
After Luke Salmons was hired to be the head coach at struggling Lawrence County High School (KY) in 2008, he did what every new coach would do. He put his plan in place and hoped for the best. Salmons inherited a program that did not have a winning record since 2003. “They’d had a period of five or six years where they didn’t win many games, and so I got the job,” said Salmons. “I’ve always wanted to be a head coach, and you never really know whe

Max Protect: Base Layer Protective Apparel Helps Make the Game Faster
As coaches we have seen the meteoric rise of the spread offense and the emphasis on speed in recent years. Now we’re seeing equipment – particularly protective gear – designed to be more lightweight, streamlined, and targeted to meet the demands of today’s faster players and schemes on both sides of the ball. At Newman Catholic High School, the implementation of the spread has spawned the most successful period in our school’s history. We rely on speed a

Developing the High School Kicker & Punter
Some of the most exciting and scary moments of a high school football game usually surround one player on your team, the young man who handles your extra points, field goals, kickoffs and/or punts. These plays usually have the coach’s heart somewhere in his throat, but if you stop to think about it, how much practice time have you devoted to this young man on his kicking mechanics and game preparation? As a special teams and kicking coach, I understand that most high school footba

The 5-Wide Attack Spread Offense
Offense is such a personal choice. The type of offense you run really reflects your personality. No one can tell you that one offense is better than the other. It is a personal preference. Yet you need to understand different types of offenses: I, Wishbone, Wing-T, Single Wing, Spread, etc. There are also different styles of offense: time consuming, no-huddle, power running, option, etc. You have to determine what best suits your style or personnel. For two out of three years we we

AFM’s National and Regional High School Coaches of the Year
Greg Toal, Head Coach of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ, was having success a few years ago with a program that continually ranked among the top high school teams in the state. They were beginning to surpass perennial powers St. Joe’s Regional, Bergen Catholic, and St. Peter’s Prep as the best team in the New Jersey. But he wanted to take DBP to another level. Toal knew the Ironmen could compete with the best teams in New Jersey but he wanted to see how they would fare on

AFM’s College Coaches of the Year
FCS Andy Talley • Villanova All season, Villanova kept tapping the rock, again, again and again, never knowing when it would break. The rock was one of the founding blocks from the first church at Villanova, which was built in 1896. The square block sat in the Wildcats locker room and even traveled on the road. Before every practice and every game, players and coaches tapped the rock. “This is what life is all about,” said Talley. &ldqu

AFM’s FBS Coach of the Year: Boise State’s Chris Petersen
Chemistry is so much more than just a cliché at Boise State. In fact, according to head coach Chris Petersen, chemistry is “as important as anything we do here.” “I think we have all been on those teams where we’ve had a lot of talent, but haven’t done well for one reason or another,” said Petersen, American Football Monthly’s FBS Coach of the Year. “We’ve also all probably had the opportunity to be on a team that didn’t have a lot of talent, but did very well to

Drills Report: Making Improvements In Your D-Line Pass Rush
With the current trend of offensive football becoming more and more spread out, defensive line coaches are seeing less and less of the traditional 5-and 7-step passing game. The traditional pass rush angles and teaching progressions don’t necessarily fit in defending the “spread” offense. Pressuring the QB in the shotgun and 3-step passing game has definitely become harder and forced D-linemen to adapt as pass rushers. We have developed seven “points of emphasis” in the pass rush t

Speed Report: Cyclic Rhythm - The Transparent Component of Speed
Speed training is such a vast subject. A relatively new area in the field is rhythm and speed development. The simple truth is that its values are off the chart for positive transformation of motor transition and nervous system adaptation. Proper balance is a subject that pops up often in the sports training world when discussing running and movement. Balance can surely be enhanced; however rhythm is far more critical when velocity and limb frequency are engaged collectively.

Strength Report: A Post-Season Developmental Program for Linemen
The primary objectives of the post-season football developmental program for our linemen are to enhance individual athletic performance and reduce the potential of injury through the implementation of exercises, drills, team concepts and work ethic that transfers directly to the playing field. To accomplish these objectives, we incorporate a fourteen-week cycle divided into three phases. The first four weeks is a transition phase beginning at the end of the season. This phase is use

Letter from AFM
After the Boise State Broncos completed their season 14-0 with a win over previously-unbeaten TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, you might expect Chris Petersen to give credit to his arsenal of trick plays that almost always work or Kellen Moore’s incredible 2009 performance for the Bronco’s success. Instead Petersen, AFM’s 2009 FBS Coach of the Year, looked to something more intangible – team chemistry. That’s why we’ve titled this month’s cover story “Ch




Sickle Cell Trait in Football: Educating Coaches
by: McCall Parrish, AFCA & Tai M. Brown, AFCA In the past 10 years, 20 NCAA football players have lost their lives to non-traumatic football deaths. Of those 20, 16 deaths occurred in conditioning activities while the other four occurred in day one or day two of preseason football practice. The question has to be asked: Are we training our football players to death? Out of the 20 players who have died, eight of those deaths were caused by exertional sickling

Preparing for a Pro Career…Part II
(The following is the diary of former University of San Diego running back J.T. Rogan as he prepares for both the NFL Combine and his individual pro day…this is part II of a series) My training has been met with some resistance as multiple events have obstructed my focus and attention: I visited Indianapolis for the AFC Championship game (in which I was hoping the Chargers would be participants, not unlike the couple that could be seen sporting their LaDainian Tomli

Was It a Loss?
It was a heartbreaking loss yesterday. With less than two minutes left in the game, and a chance to score and win, they fell short by a foot. The last few moments were hard to endure as their opponent took control of the ball and let time run out. I was there, on the sidelines, trying to capture images to illustrate the values of the school’s football program -teamwork, commitment, sacrifice, determination, discipline, courage. But I put my camera away. Over the last two y

Conditioning Evaluation FREE FORM!
We all know thatconditioning is an important part of player development. Click the link below to download the Conditioning Evaluation form. It's easy to use and - best of all - it's FREE. Exclusively at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com...

From the Coach's Bookshelf - Brett Perkins' Frantic Francis
Despite having a career record of 158-57-11 and being a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Francis Schmidt is one of the most underappreciated college football coaches in the game’s history. An incredible offensive mind, Schmidt brought success to Tulsa, Arkansas, TCU and Ohio State during the 20’s and 30’s. He believed in a wild, wide-open, daring style of offense and created a playbook of more than 200 plays – unheard of at the time. His coaching lineage can be traced ove

Your Take-“Defending The BCS”
In the wake of the BCS National Championship game, some critics are using the opportunity to raise questions about the Bowl Championship Series. But I have a question for the critics: Can they name the team that won the college football national championship in 1997? It’s a trick question. The year before the BCS was created, there was no single champion. Instead, two teams that didn’t even play each other in a bowl game each claimed a share of the national champ

Developing an Off-Season Competition Program (Part II)
Last month Coach DePorter outlined the reasons for installing an ‘Off-Season Competition Program’ at Richmond-Burton High School. The program places all players onto teams, holds them accountable in a number of areas, and awards points in all phases of competition. In this issue, Coach DePorter discusses competition in other sports, community service, scoring and organization of the competition, rewards, and results. Other Sports Roughly 65% of our players

The ‘Loco’ Punt Formation
I have been the Head Football Coach at Galax High School for the last three years and, like all coaches, I stress the importance of all three phases of the game: offense, defense, and special teams. I believe that one of the most important phases is special teams and, unfortunately, many coaches don’t emphasize its importance until they get bit in the backside. A couple of years ago, while I was an assistant coach, I put some of my own thoughts into a punt scheme that I u

Reading the Proper Visual Keys - A True Essential In Stopping the Run
Effective defensive line play in football involves much more than three or four guys butting heads with the offensive line. Numerous physical techniques – hand placement, stance, shedding blockers, etc. – have been developed and refined in an attempt to overcome the offense’s built-in advantage of knowing where the play is going. All too often, an equally important mental technique which directly addresses this issue is overlooked. At West Liberty University, we devote significant time

Q & A With Larry Porter: Challenges for a New Coach
One of the challenges facing the University of Memphis when they fired Tommy West as their football coach was finding a replacement who could take Memphis to the next level. West made strides, taking the Tigers to fi ve bowl games in his nine years as head coach, but this past season was a disappointment as Memphis finished 2-10. An obstacle Memphis has always faced is that the college is in the heart of SEC territory. Memphis was an independent for years and for the last 15 seasons has been

An Offense For the Undersized: The Double Wing
In 1999, Ygnacio Valley High School, under the direction of head coach Tim Murphy, set the all-time large-school record in Northern and Central California by rushing for 5,019 yards. The Warriors’ offensive line that season averaged 208 pounds. In 2003, Murphy led Clovis East High School to the California Interscholastic Federation title and finished ranked in the Top 25 in the nation. The T-Wolves’ offensive line averaged 198 pounds. In 2007, Clovis East rushed for just

Speed Report: Mechanical Application & Technique-The Backbone for Football Speed Development
All human movement must be viewed as a mechanical function. The faster the movement, the greater the potential for a mechanical breakdown. Athletic movement at high velocity levels requires precise mechanical execution. Also important is the motor pattern development which needs to be a target from a spontaneity standpoint. For whatever mechanical function is utilized, it is being recorded as muscle firing memorization. What patterns used become ingrained and fire directly the same way over a

Strength Report: (Don’t) Assume The Athletic Position
In all sports, the rudimentary beginnings of movement start with a specific stance or posture. Whether it is a defensive stance on the basketball court, a three-point stance for an offensive lineman, a batter preparing to hit a baseball or a weightlifter preparing for his final clean and jerk, there is a proper starting position. All of these athletes must be taught the fundamentals of a proper stance to place them in a position to be successful. Everything successful in sports starts with a

Letter from AFM
Boise State’s Chris Petersen has publicly stated that the Broncos don’t deserve a share of college football’s National Championship. That’s taking the high road, especially considering that his team finished 14-0 and many observers feel that the Broncos would give Alabama a good game. Petersen’s feeling is that the BCS rules are rules and that things have a way of working themselves out – no doubt thinking ahead to next season and a probable top-5 preseason




Preparing For A Pro Career
(The following is the diary of J.T. Rogan, an outstanding running back from the University of San Diego, as he prepares for February’s pro football combine and individual pro day. The article will be continued through early March. Rogan includes his background as an athlete, his philosophy on training and his actual routine in preparation for the event).   After my redshirt Junior season in 2007 where I eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the second straight season, an

More Than A Game-A Vehicle for Child Development
  Jim Brown has coached youth sports for over 40 years. Working with over 1,000 players during that time, Coach Brown has won more than 75 per cent of his 400 games, relying solely on positive reinforcement to achieve his dramatic results. On the field, in the locker room, and away from the athletic facilities, Coach Brown created a learning environment in which football was a vehicle for the total development of his athletes. The stories included in his book clearly demonstrate how a

Your Take – “My Hail Mary Pass”
Let me start off by saying I can’t believe I’m writing something that football coaches will see. I’ve always had a fascination with the profession. If it’s not recruiting, it’s practice. If it’s not practice, it’s preparing game plans. And then there’s the “baby-sitting” aspect of playing father, spiritual guide, and disciplinarian for any number of problems that crop up. And oh yeah, by the way, there’s a game to be played with strategy, substitutions and clock management.

Developing an Off-Season Competition Program (Part I)
Despite some success over the last few seasons, one of the problems that we have had is getting our players to accept the idea that the off-season runs from January through August. We have had great summer weight room attendance, but our winter and spring lifting attendance has not always been at the level we expect. After a very successful season this past fall, we were also worried about complacency from our players and had to deal with some players who chose to work out with personal trainers

How To Slow Down the ‘Tempo’ Wing-T
During my first year as a Defensive Coordinator in 2006, we were very fortunate to have an excellent team at Merced High School. Making it to the sectional final and nearly pulling off a last-minute win was an exciting way to begin my career as a DC. However, that year was tempered with several doses of humility, mainly at the hands of the wing-t offense (specifically the tempo wing-t). In our second game of the year vs. Madera H.S., coached by wing-t guru Randy Blankenship, and later in the

Defeat the Spread at the Snap
In today’s game, the spread offense has become the premier method of moving the ball down the field. The original spread formation has given birth to a number of different systems: the run and shoot offense, the air raid offense and the pistol offense, just to name a few. And to give defensive coaches even more headaches, offensive coaches have added their own spin to those different spread-style offenses. It is very likely, in a ten-game regular season, you may face five or six spread tea

6 Reasons to Invest in Recruiting Software This Off-Season
Walk into any college football coach’s office and, chances are, his desk will be covered with recruiting clutter. Questionnaires, transcripts, evaluations, DVDs, Post-it notes scrawled with contact info. This is the reality of the college game today. The pressure to win now rarely affords you the time to get organized. Fortunately, the days of legal pads and file folders covering the office and frantically trying to track down a DVD from that four-star kid in Texas from the last c

From Huddle to No-Huddle in 5 Simple Steps
Over the past few years, no huddle offenses have become increasingly prevalent among D-I football teams. While no-huddle has found its way into the high school game to a certain extent, many coaches still avoid this concept because of the perceived communication barriers. They watch college QBs constantly changing the play and get headaches thinking about how that could work on their team. At the same time, it is hard to deny the advantages that you can gain from the no huddle such as contro

Ditching Your Huddle – With so many teams going to the no-huddle offense, should you?
Until recently, the only time most teams would dare to run plays without taking the time to huddle up to get the play call and the snap count from the quarterback was during the two-minute offense, when saving precious seconds was critical. Not any more. Today, dozens of pro and college teams have instituted full-time no-huddle offenses with the simple goal of gaining an advantage over the defense by keeping them off-guard. High school teams are even beginning to follow suit. The no-

Drills Report: Pass Protection Medley
As you watch your athletes week to week at various positions, it’s obvious that certain players can cover ground more rapidly than others during multi-movement assignments. Not only multi-movements but change-of-pace and burst capacity. Some players are capable of these characteristics, but most are not. Recognizing the athletes who have transition speed skills is doable but teaching these skills is even better. Every player on your team can increase their transition speed skills drasticall

Speed Report: Dynamic Movement Techniques-Skill Application for Transition Speed
As you watch your athletes week to week at various positions, it’s obvious that certain players can cover ground more rapidly than others during multi-movement assignments. Not only multi-movements but change-of-pace and burst capacity. Some players are capable of these characteristics, but most are not. Recognizing the athletes who have transition speed skills is doable but teaching these skills is even better. Every player on your team can increase their transition speed skills drasticall

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

From the Coach’s Bookshelf – Tom Osborne’s “Beyond the Final Score”
Very few coaches have epitomized success on and off the field more than Tom Osborne. In his 25 years as Head Coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his teams compiled a record of 255-49-3 and captured 13 conference championships and three national championships. In an ESPN online poll, he was voted “greatest college football coach of all time”. Since retiring as a coach following the 1997 national championship season, Osborne served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and is curr

Letter From AFM
On the way to the office recently, I heard a very interesting story on ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning”. In a conversation about coaching, one of the Mikes told about how Bill Belichick had sought out Urban Meyer, who was just starting at Florida, to talk about his spread offense. Belichick had just won his third Super Bowl with the Patriots the month before, but he was intrigued by Meyer’s innovative system and wanted to learn more. The two coaching luminaries have since become




FREE FORM: DEFENSIVE BACK DRILL AND TECHNIQUE CHECKLIST
We all know that drills are an important part of player development. Click the link below to download the DEFENSIVE BACK DRILL AND TECHNIQUE CHECKLIST form. It's easy to use and - best of all - it's FREE. Exclusively at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com...

Off-Season Motivation-A Key to In-Season Success
Gone are the days of the true off-season. Gone are the days when the only time we would see our players between December and August is when we passed them in the halls. As more programs become year round endeavors, the term off-season has more appropriately been replaced by the phrase ‘out of season; that is, a time when athletes are expected to begin preparing themselves both physically and mentally for the upcoming season. With out-of-season months being filled with strength training

Gator Powerhouse
Head Coach Urban Meyer has called him perhaps the most valuable member of his staff. After just over four years with the Florida Gators, he’s widely recognized as one of the best, if not the very best, strength and conditioning coach in America. And now, with two BCS National Championship titles in the last three seasons, he’s at the very pinnacle of college football. He’s University of Florida Director of Strength and Conditioning Mickey Marotti and he’s prepping the Gators

From the Coach’s Bookshelf – Brian Billick’s More Than a Game
During his tenure as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, Brian Billick experienced the pinnacle of NFL coaching success when the Ravens crushed the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. He also suffered through perhaps the lowest point of his career when he was dismissed after posting a 5-11 record in 2007. Throughout his nine seasons at the Ravens’ helm, though, one thing remained consistent – the grind. In his new book, More Than A Game: The Glorious Present and Uncertain Future of the NFL

The Combination Triple Option
At Parkview Baptist, we have been running a flex-bone/slot-option type of offense over the past nine seasons. During that stretch, we have been able to maintain a high level of consistency as an offense and as a program as evidenced by the following statistics: • 2 State Championships; the most recent being in 2007 (15-0). • 9 straight playoff appearances; quarterfinals or further 7 years. • Offensive averages of 35 points, 350 total yards, and nearly 30 mi

Trap Options - Getting the Ball to the Perimeter in the Spread
The core play of a spread option offense is the triple option. Defenses must commit to stop the triple. This commitment by defenses to stopping the triple will create the potential for big plays on the perimeter, especially as the game progresses. Two plays that give the spread option offense the ability to exploit this and get the ball outside are the trap option and the counter dive option. The advantage of these plays is that they allow you to get the ball outside without having the QB rea

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

Drills Report – Hand Placement and Body Positioning for Attacking Fronts
The following drills are my absolute favorites for teaching hand and eye placement along with body positioning for aggressive attacking fronts. I take great pride in getting my players to buy into the penetrating philosophy, using their read keys to take them to the ball, and then giving 100% effort to get to the football regardless of where it is on the field. We treat every play as if it were a passing down with our thought process and initial get off, then we will play the run blocking sch

Speed Report – Intense Frequency, Execution and Focus - Essentials for Football Speed
When training for football speed, it’s critical that we have sound application principles, strong precise technical execution and strong mental focus. I have implied numerous times in past articles that running fast requires practical foundational applications. Frequency of limb speed is probably one of the most important facets of movement necessary for a football player. Subsequently, limb speed is often termed quickness. Developing limb frequency requires the following steps.

Strength Report – Harvesting Strength from the Field
We frequently look at different forms of strength equipment to help reach our ultimate goal of building a complete athlete. While much of the equipment we incorporate at Vanderbilt can be utilized inside, our staff definitely prefers to implement them outside on our practice fields. I have always felt that this form of outdoor strength training replicates farming. As coaches, we all want to grow strong, healthy, productive athletes that don’t break down and can withstand the heat. Simil

Inside the Numbers: 7-on-7 Does it pay off for your team?
It’s a Good Measuring Stick “I believe that 7-on-7 plays an important role in developing team chemistry, knowledge of where you are supposed to be, and what your team’s strengths and weaknesses are. It also can be a good indicator of which players respond well under pressure and which techniques that are best suited for your team. It’s also a time to see if new coverages or changes in philosophy work under game-like situations. All of these things are good to know before the

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




Lessons Learned - Bunkered In-Game Week in the NFL
Working in the NFL is a fight against time. A work week consists of 80 -100 hours for the coaches. The time is divided up between individual work assignments, group projects, game-planning meetings, coaches’ film sessions, player meetings and film sessions, walk thru’s and practice. The meeting time with the players is between 20 - 25 hours per week. The amount of time actually practicing on the field is less than ten hours per week. Hard to believe, but true. Monday:

No Pipes and No Posts - Protecting the Middle
Every coverage has its strengths and its weaknesses. The key to any productive defense lies in when to mix and match coverages based on personnel, down and distance and run/pass tendencies. The strength of the quarters coverage, or cover four scheme, has been synonymous with stopping the run because of the availability of tying in both safeties at the point of attack, giving the defense nine defenders in the box. Many even-front teams have been using the coverage against pro and slot formatio

Geting an Extra Blocker at the Point of Attack in the Spread Part II
In a previous article I discussed gaining an extra blocker from a one-back set and, as the title implies, I would like to discuss what we do with motion out of a two-back shotgun set. We name our two-back sets Roger/Luey (See diagram 1) and Ricky/Llloyd (See diagram 2).

Increasing the Efficiency of Your Practice and Video Time
“Time stands still for no man.” I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before. If you are like us, you are constantly looking for ways to optimize your team’s practice and video time. Doing so will greatly improve your team’s chances for success. Our offensive philosophy at Northwest Missouri State University is to “Be Balanced.” • 2006 run to pass ratio: 55% to 45% • 2007 run to pass ratio: 52% to 48% • 2008 run to pass ratio

Beating the 3-5 at the Line
Offensive coaches at all levels have gone to the “spread” offense in recent years to take advantage of defenses using big and bulky run-stuffers. They’ve used formations with three and four wide receivers to create mismatches and give the QB easy reads vs. predictable fronts and coverages. Who wouldn’t want their best pure athlete lined up in the slot against a linebacker who is comfortable taking on fullbacks and pulling guards in the hole, but not running step-for-step with your spe

Conversion Routes in the Empty Offense - The Pivot and Spacing Concept
Running the empty offense has many advantages; the ability to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically, getting advantageous matchups on the perimeter and opening up run seams in the defense are just a few of them. Yet, many coaches are hesitant when it comes to installing the empty-look variation in their playbooks. Some even feel as if it needs to be an integral part of the offense in order to be run correctly. The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t. Where there is shotgun, there

Q&A with Frank Spaziani
After over 30 years of paying dues as an assistant, Frank Spaziani finally gets his time. Frank Spaziani has been in the game long enough to know how it works – or the way it should work. In a world of instant gratification, his mantra has been if you work hard, stay humble, and pay your dues then good things will come. Which is why, after serving 33 years as a collegiate assistant, 12 of those molding the Boston College Eagles defense into a national powerhouse, the sixty on

Onside Every Time - Sam Nichols Turns the Tables by Making His Kickoff Team an Offensive Unit
In last November’s Michigan Division 4 district title game, underdog South Haven, trailing 7-3, began the second half with an onside kick. What seemed like a very risky strategy paid off, as the Rams recovered the kick, scored on the ensuing possession and held on for a 16-7 victory. It was the first playoff win and first district title in school history. Some in the media called Head Coach Sam Nichols’ decision to onside kick a big gamble. But was it?

The Speed Report - Developing Quickness in your Players, Part II
Training to Get it Right This is where we begin the journey toward change and how we end the journey successfully. The players must go through a series of procedures that progress turnover of limb speed in short, high-intensity rotational patterns. Remember, I indicated earlier that they won’t understand the feeling of quickness. That’s why we need to explain it to them and start by giving them short-limb activity requirements over short distances. If the players are put through this

The Strength Report - How to Prepare Your Athletes for Collegiate and NFL Weight Programs
Preparing Your Athletes for Collegiate Strength Programs By Joe Kenn MA, CSCS, SCCC Director of Athlete Development – Football, University of Louisville In an era where physical fitness is at an all time low, it is imperative that coaches at the high school level understand they are not getting the same type of athletes coaches worked with decades before. With the de-emphasis of general physical education at the elementary and middle school levels

Inside the Numbers - Running Up The Score
Reward Kids: “Too many times coaches will make decisions based on statistics, things such as streaks of holding opponents under 14 points or letting a rusher break a hundred. I am a firm believer that once the game is in control every kid needs to be rewarded for their hard work and have the opportunity to play.” - Bryan Gray (GA) If there is a chance: “I don’t make the decision of when to pull starters for my team. My preference is to leave the d

GEAR - Products for Coaches
The original Athletic Super Striper & Athletic Super Stripe Paint make it easy and affordable to stripe your field like a pro. The highly pigmented Athletic Super Stripe Paint gives you crisp, long lasting stripes every time and it’s guaranteed to empty completely and not clog for 10 years. Just one case will stripe an entire football field. The Athletic Super Striper’s big 10-inch wheels will tackle your field in no time and the striper comes with a lifetime guarantee. In 1970, Fox Valle

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




5 Dumbest Things Parents Have Told Me
A friend of mine once asked me why I coach for the Bill George Youth Football League. I told him that I do it because I couldn’t get my dream job at a prison or an orphanage. He looked at me strangely as if he didn’t understand my response. He asked me why and I said because they don’t have alumni or parents. This is an old coaching joke but any of us that have held a clipboard can relate to it. Keep in mind that 90% - 95% of parents are wonderful.

King of Your Turf
Those of you who have climbed a mountain—even by a steady trail where no ropes or crampons were required—know it is an exhilarating experience.  Slowly but surely, one snowy peak after another emerges from behind the slopes until you are standing with a vista beyond description.  It is breathtaking.  In that one moment, there is no place you’d rather be and no other feeling you’d rather have.  That, coaches, is Zone FEEL at its best, and it is the type of Zone FEEL you must

Lessons Learned - The Most Important 12 Minutes in Team Sports
A good friend of mine once said, “The only meetings that count in football are the ones that take place at halftime.” Halftime in the National Football League is completely foreign to most people outside the profession. The world of halftime starts in the Laboratory in the Sky (press box) with about three minutes to go in the second quarter. The process begins with each coach talking to another coach through the headset (field) or in the press box as to what offensive pla

The Combination Triple Option
At Parkview Baptist, we have been running a flex-bone/slot-option type of offense over the past nine seasons. During that stretch, we have been able to maintain a high level of consistency as an offense and as a program as evidenced by the following statistics: • 2 State Championships; the most recent being in 2007 (15-0). • 9 straight playoff appearances; quarterfinals or further 7 years. • Offensive averages of 35 points, 350 total yards, and nearly 30 mi

Defeat the Spread at the Snap
In today’s game, the spread offense has become the premier method of moving the ball down the field. The original spread formation has given birth to a number of different systems: the run and shoot offense, the air raid offense and the pistol offense, just to name a few. And to give defensive coaches even more headaches, offensive coaches have added their own spin to those different spread-style offenses. It is very likely, in a ten-game regular season, you may face five or six spread tea

Trap Options
The core play of a spread option offense is the triple option. Defenses must commit to stop the triple. This commitment by defenses to stopping the triple will create the potential for big plays on the perimeter, especially as the game progresses. Two plays that give the spread option offense the ability to exploit this and get the ball outside are the trap option and the counter dive option. The advantage of these plays is that they allow you to get the ball outside without having the QB rea

Increasing the Efficiency of Your Practice and Video Time
“Time stands still for no man.” I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before. If you are like us, you are constantly looking for ways to optimize your team’s practice and video time. Doing so will greatly improve your team’s chances for success. Our offensive philosophy at Northwest Missouri State University is to “Be Balanced.” • 2006 run to pass ratio: 55% to 45% • 2007 run to pass ratio: 52% to 48% • 2008 run to pass ratio

An In-Depth Look at High School Football Practice
American Football Monthly conducted a survey to high school football programs about the details of their practices – here are the results. We’ve included feedback from survey respondents (high school coaches) on practice circuits on tackling, turnovers and special teams. Speakingout Briefly describe the stations in your tackling circuit. “All of our tackling is done by position. We attempt to simulate the types of situations that each position on defen

Strength Report Staying Power
What’s the best way to protect your program’s major investment in strength equipment? Make sure it’s built to last. Only the best strength training equipment can hold up year after year under the stress of hundreds of powerful athletes and literally millions of pounds of weights. It takes well-built equipment that uses the best materials available to withstand that kind of punishment. Longevity is also the sign of successful business relationships. Companies that retain their c

The Perfect Practice
Practice how you play. Perfect practice makes perfect. We’ve all heard the coaching axioms about preparation, and how important it is to practice efficiently. We hear them, but do we really listen? Just by simple word association, practice is tedious. To our players, it’s drudgery. Many of them simply go through the motions, “get through the practice”, and hold back until game day – which is why they signed up, after all. How do you organize your practices to mak

Lineal Speed with Velocity Changes - A Necessary Football Acquisition
Lineal speed has a value to football speed. In fact learning to run properly for football speed must begin with lineal work. Once the lineal performance is sound then you can begin displacing momentum for football speed requirements. Lineal speed can be applied in certain ways on every play. When coaches look at lineal sprint speed they think of longer distances at maximum velocity rather than shorter bursts of acceleration. To reach maximum velocity it takes 40 - 50 yards for most young athl

7 on 7
It’s a Good Measuring Stick “I believe that 7-on-7 plays an important role in developing team chemistry, knowledge of where you are supposed to be, and what your team’s strengths and weaknesses are. It also can be a good indicator of which players respond well under pressure and which techniques that are best suited for your team. It’s also a time to see if new coverages or changes in philosophy work under game-like situations. All of these things are good to know before the

Design Practice With a Purpose; Just Make Sure You Have the Right Purpose
“Take a lap.” They’re probably the most dreaded three words in football practice history. We’ve heard them at the start of every practice from Pop Warner through high school. As players, when we labored around that quarter mile track or sandbagged around the perimeter of the football field, we knew what we were doing was pointless. Our coaches thought we were being conditioned, but we had a feeling we were being fooled. We may have been right. Sadly, similar commands are still being u




Positive Point of View
For 20 years, U.S. Sports Video has provided football programs nationwide with technology that gives coaches better ways to analyze their teams. Mike Bokulich was reflective as he looked over the shipping boxes that contained 125 new EagleCam SkyHawk elevated camera systems ready to be shipped to customers from coast to coast. “There was a time,” he said, “when we weren’t sure we could sell a single system, let alone hundreds.” That time was t

CONVERSION ROUTES IN THE EMPTY OFFENSE
The Pivot and Spacing concept – easy to execute and even easier to install. Running the empty offense has many advantages; the ability to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically, getting advantageous matchups on the perimeter and opening up run seams in the defense are just a few of them. Yet, many coaches are hesitant when it comes to installing the empty-look variation in their playbooks. Some even feel as if it needs to be an integral part of the offense in order to

How to Select a Dominate Defense
How To Select A Dominate Defense By Coach David Marco  In my March AFM Youth Coaching Expert column I wrote about the 5 things that a coach must do in the off-season to be successful. Last month I talked about how to select a winning offensive scheme. I will complete this trilogy with this month’s article on how to select a dominate youth defense. Proactive vs. Reactive

Blitzing Bad Memories
Athletes require very selective short term memories in order to discard the negative feelings they get from mistakes or the stress of playing.  As coaches, because we are working with such malleable athletic minds, we need to assist with this process, not reinforce the negative.  Focusing on an athlete’s mistake—with ample doses of anger, frustration, dismissive-ness or sarcasm—creates athletes who are overly careful and fearful of making future mistakes. In football, as in mos

Superior Solution
GearBoss by Wenger introduces a new line of custom grid lockers that will upgrade your locker room to a varsity team room and provide the most sanitary environment possible. Walk into many football locker rooms during the season, and you’ll see familiar sights: helmets and shoulder pads strewn about, jerseys, pants and towels flung everywhere, players trying to navigate between rusted, paint-chipped lockers and built-in benches that clog traffic. In short, chaos. Open up a locker

Longhorn Legend
Texas strength and conditioning coach Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden oversees a cutting-edge Longhorn program that combines intense training with sound nutrition practices. The words on the wall of the University of Texas’ strength and conditioning training facility have inspired All-Americans, Heisman Trophy winners, National Champions and hundreds of Longhorn football athletes. They read, “The pride and winning tradition of the Texas Longhorns will not be entrusted to the weak nor t

How to slow down the “Tempo”Wing-T
During my first year as a Defensive Coordinator, in 2006, we were very fortunate to have an excellent team at Merced High School. Making it to the sectional final and nearly pulling off a last-minute win was an exciting way to begin my career as DC. However, that year was tempered with several doses of humility, mainly at the hands of the wing-t offense (specifically the tempo wing-t). In our second game of the year vs. Madera H.S., coached by wing-t guru Randy Blankenship, and later in the s

Getting an Extra Blocker at the Point of Attack in the Spread 2-Back Running Game Part II
In a previous article I discussed gaining an extra blocker from a one-back set and, as the title implies, I would like to discuss what we do with motion out of a two-back shotgun set. We name our two-back sets Roger/Luey (See diagram 1) and Ricky/Llloyd (See diagram 2). In these sets it tells the A-slot WR to line up in the backfield instead of his normal position in the weak-side slot. This allows us to now only use one slot as a potential extra blocker and would appear to

NO PIPES AND NO POSTS - PROTECTING THE MIDDLE
How the Southlake Carroll Dragons defend problem areas in Quarters Coverage Every coverage has its strengths and its weaknesses. The key to any productive defense lies in when to mix and match coverages based on personnel, down and distance and run/pass tendencies. The strength of the quarters coverage, or cover four scheme, has been synonymous with stopping the run because of the availability of tying in both safeties at the point of attack, giving the defense nine defenders

Reducing Penalties - Mike Westoff\'s Penalty Prevention System
How Mike Westhoff Turned the Jets into the Least Penalized Team Over the Last Eight Years It only takes about three minutes before Mike Westhoff gets to the tape. Like a proud father, the New York Jets special team coordinator is moving his red laser up and down the surface of a 42” TV in his office in Central New Jersey. “Did you see that block? Watch him snipe him here. That’s football for you,” he grumbles between bites of a banana. “A kick returner has to be e

Lessons Learned -from an NFL Assistant Coach - Bunkered In: Game Week in the NFL
Working in the NFL is a fight against time. A work week consists of 80 -100 hours for the coaches. The time is divided up between individual work assignments, group projects, game-planning meetings, coaches’ film sessions, player meetings and film sessions, walk thru’s and practice. The meeting time with the players is between 20 - 25 hours per week. The amount of time actually practicing on the field is less than ten hours per week. Hard to believe, but true. Monday:

How to Prepare Your Athletes for Collegiate and NFL Weight Programs
Preparing Your Athletes for Collegiate Strength Programs By Joe Kenn MA, CSCS, SCCC Director of Athlete Development – Football, University of Louisville In an era where physical fitness is at an all time low, it is imperative that coaches at the high school level understand they are not getting the same type of athletes coaches worked with decades before. With the de-emphasis of general physical education at the elementary and middle school levels w

Developing Quickness in Your Players Part II
Training to Get it Right This is where we begin the journey toward change and how we end the journey successfully. The players must go through a series of procedures that progress turnover of limb speed in short, high-intensity rotational patterns. Remember, I indicated earlier that they won’t understand the feeling of quickness. That’s why we need to explain it to them and start by giving them short-limb activity requirements over short distances. If the players are p

Mount Union Offensive Line
Mount Union’s run game is primarily based on the zone run play. At Mount Union, we drill the fundamentals of zone blocking at each practice. By understanding the fundamentals, our linemen are able to execute these drills in practice and use them in a game setting. The three main components of the zone run play are: 1. Step 2. Hands (punch) 3. Feet (finish) I’ve included four zone blocking drills that practice the fundamentals of zone blocki

Inside the Numbers - Running Up the Score
Reward Kids: “Too many times coaches will make decisions based on statistics, things such as streaks of holding opponents under 14 points or letting a rusher break a hundred. I am a firm believer that once the game is in control every kid needs to be rewarded for their hard work and have the opportunity to play.” - Bryan Gray (GA)   If there is a chance: “I don\'t make the decision of when to pull starters for my team. My preference is to

Gear - Products for Coaches
Muscle Milk Collegiate • CytoSport Developed to meet the complex nutritional needs of today’s athletes, Muscle Milk Collegiate is rapidly becoming a key addition to weight rooms and nutrition programs across the country. Muscle Milk feeds hungry muscles by combining high quality protein, carbs and custom fat structures known as MCT’s – or medium chain triglycerides – so athletes can recover more efficiently from training. Forget about the high sugar con

Appreciating the constants in the now transitory coaching profession
Guess how many head coaching changes were made in major college football this year? Not five, not ten, not 20… but 22. Yes, 22 out of the 119 FBS programs are undergoing a new reign. For those that aren’t math majors, that’s nearly 20 percent. What’s even more interesting is that a dozen of those 22 coaches that either left on their own accord or fired were on the job five or less years. There’s a reason why the Paternos, the Bowdens and the Beamers o




How To Pick A Winning Offense
One of the most difficult decisions a coach has to make is what offense they will run. For a new coach this task could seem daunting if not impossible. Other youth coaches will watch a football game on television and say “Wow, I love Florida’s Spread Option offense! That scheme is unstoppable and I will be too!” Here is the dirty secret to that offense. It runs a lot better with you have Tim Tebow at QB and the rest of the superb athletes that the University of Florida has. Unle

The Laboratory in the Sky
Most people think all the decisions in the National Football League are made from the sideline. Nothing could be further from the truth. I never worked on the sideline in the NFL. All my experience was in the coaches’ booth. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The learning experience each game was priceless. I worked in the NFL coaches’ booth both offensively and defensively. The thinking process in the box is constant. You need to be zoned in on all cylinders for the

ADDING FLEXIBILITY TO YOUR DEFENSIVE GAME PLAN
As high school defensive coordinators, we are challenged on a weekly basis to stop a variety of offensive schemes. Over the course of last season, these offensive schemes included split-back veer, wing-t, fly, zone, pro-style, full-house double TE, and of course the spread offense. Our defensive staff has always prided itself in being able to prepare our players on a weekly basis to stop our opponent’s particular scheme, their most dominant player, and their bread-and-butter plays.

Zone Blitz - Putting Pressure on the Decision Maker
As more people involve spread formations or go to the spread offense extensively, defenses need an answer to put pressure on the decision maker. The answer is to zone blitz. Man blitzing creates match up problems that the QB is looking for. If you decide to drop and cover, it will give the QB time in the pocket to pick you apart. Being able to zone blitz gives you the opportunity to put pressure on the QB while being in a safe coverage situation. The rules can be made to be as simple or as a

GETTING AN EXTRA BLOCKER AT THE POINT OF ATTACK IN THE SPREAD Part I
I want to thank you for allowing me to share some of the ideas that have made Washington High School football successful over the last few years. We have been fortunate enough to play in the last two state championship games. Unfortunately, we have come up short, but we feel we are on the right track. We are a shotgun, no-huddle, and 4-wide football team. When most people see that, they automatically think we want to throw the ball and throw the ball a lot. For us, that is

Recruiting Confidential
ESPN’s Bruce Feldman shares his insight into the methodology of big-time college recruiting Since 1994, ESPN The Magazine’s senior writer Bruce Feldman (left) has been tracking college football at its highest level. He’s been in dozens of football war rooms and seen hundreds of player evaluations and highlight tapes. He has even ha

FROM POP WARNER TO PREP SUPERIORITY
How Bill Powers, a former Pop Warner coach, has turned a small Christian high school into a powerhouse in the football hotbed of Florida Can’t blame Bill Powers much for pinching himself once in awhile to make sure this is all real. After all, how else would you explain a former Pop Warner coach with no prior high school coaching experience turning a doormat of a football program into Florida’s winningest prep team in the last four years? “I really don&

Developing a “Six-second competitor”
Missouri’s secret program that builds toughness and confidence It’s no secret that Missouri has been one of the most improved college football teams in the country over the last five years. Under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, the Tigers have won back-to-back Big 12 North Championships and had four bowl appearances in the last four seasons. Pinkel has won 31 out of his last 42 games as a head coach. The numbers speak for themselves. Those numbers, some would say, have a lo

Developing Quickness in Your Players Part I
All coaches recognize quickness when they see it but don’t usually understand how to develop it. As coaches we will inherit certain kids with quickness skills. The question is to what degree can quickness be developed. The answer – to the level of potential of each athlete. Not every athlete will be as capable as the next but each will get better if the right training applications are involved. Beyond the Fallacy We begin by challenging coaches’ bel

Utilizing Olympic-Style Weight Lifting in the Development of Our Athletes
The High School Perspective: By C.J. Stockel, MSED Flowery Branch High School, Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, Special Teams Coordinator The Olympic lifts and the exercises that support them are the basis of our football training program at The Branch. Our philosophy is YES to the POWER of 4: 1) exercises are ground based (we are standing up), 2) exercises are multi-joint and multi-muscle, 3) equipment used is free weights, and 4) exercis

Wide Receiver Separation
On behalf of Northwestern University, Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald, and the entire Northwestern Football Program, I would like to thank American Football Monthly for allowing me to share some of our wide receiver drills with you. We are a part of a great profession that shares coaching points freely. I’m honored to share with you a separation drill series that has been very productive for our wide receivers. At Northwestern, we run a spread, four-wide receiver offens

Stealing Signals
“I think that it is part of the game. It forces you to become more creative in protecting your calls, which is a good thing both for my staff as well as our players.” - Anonymous “Although I never go into a game with the intention of stealing signals, if a coach on the sideline or booth picks up on something, I will use that to our advantage. I feel that if it is being done in plain view on a sideline, its fair game. However, I feel using video equipment to obtain signa

Stimulating competition in the off-season – what’s your method?
Whenever off-season workouts start to get slightly mundane and I find myself scurrying up and down the hallways of our school grabbing kids to make sure they’re in the weight room, I’m reminded of something that Alabama head coach Nick Saban said to hundreds of onlookers in the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville during this year’s AFCA convention. To paraphrase Coach Saban, “It’s the human condition to be average, to just survive. It’s normal for people t

The 2008 Hammer Strength High School Football Player of the Year
Player of the Year: Alex Croitoru GPA: 3.5 Position: Wide Receiver/Defensive Back School: Andover High School (Andover, KS) Nominated by: Mike Lee, Head Coach, Andover High School Hammer Strength is honored to present Alex Croitoru, WR/DB, Andover High School (KS) as the 2008 Hammer Strength High School Football Player of the Year. This award honors student-athletes who demonstrate consistent dedication in four key areas: 1. Academi

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

Historical Perspective of the Single Wing Offense
Historical Perspective of the Single Wing Offense By John Becker, Football Coach Often times we think that a new offensive formation or scheme is innovative and has never been seen before.  As a young man in the 1970’s, my father would often recount stories of his 1948 undefeated and untied (untied was very important) mythical state championship team in Marshalltown, Iowa.  He would tell my brother and me about this strange offense where the center had to be especiall




Football Player Evaluation - FREE FORM
We all know that adjustments are what seperate great programs from good programs. With this form you will be able to chart your protection adjustments for every play. It\'s easy to use and - best of all - it\'s FREE. Exclusively at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com...

Seeing is Believing
While the days of coaches scratching out X’s and O’s on a chalkboard or huddling around a 16mm projector to review game film are long gone, some football programs have not, until recently, taken full advantage of the high-tech teaching tools available to coaches today. Case in point – Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California. To call the Oaks Christian football program high-profile would be an understatement. Not only had Head Coach Bill Redell’s Lio

Starting from Scratch
When Old Dominion re-started their football program after a 68-year hiatus, they turned to Rogers Athletic for their practice equipment needs. The last time Old Dominion University played an intercollegiate football game, Franklin Roosevelt was president. Helmets were made of leather, and they didn’t have facemasks. Minnesota went 8-0 and was voted the national champion. The year was 1940. So, when it was announced that the program would be reinstated for the 2009 season, the un

Proven Performer
Top programs are increasingly choosing the DX300 sideline communications system from HME for its proven reliability and superior features.   Steve Lineweaver knows about reliable performance. As head coach of the Trinity Trojans in Euless, Texas, Lineweaver has built one of the most consistently outstanding high school programs in the nation. With 5A Division I state titles in 2005 and 2007 and a national top ranking for most of the 200

Helping an Unnoticed Player Get Noticed
High school football offers many great rewards for young men.  Unfortunately, due to state guidelines that are different across the board, not all players develop the same or receive the same type of coaching.  Occasionally at the high school level players develop late, new kids move into town or those athletically gifted kids walking the halls decide to play football.  If this is the case for a senior on your team, then you and he are going to be behind in the recruiting process.

5 Things Every Youth Coach Must Do Today to Win in the Fall - .COM
Welcome to my first article in American Football Monthly’s Youth Coaching Expert column. I have been fortunate enough to have had a success at the youth coaching ranks and it will be my goal to impart some of the lessons that I have learned, both good and bad, over the years. I will not be writing these columns for the coaches that get the super fast kids where you can just pitch them the ball and they go and make magic happen. You guys probably don’t need my help! Instead, I am goi

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

Q&A with Lou Tepper
The name Lou Tepper has been synonymous with defensive football. Considered one of the original gurus of linebacker play, Tepper has coached over 20 professional linebackers including the likes of Dick Butkus Awards winners and NFL standouts Kevin Hardy, Dana Howard and Simeon Rice while he was the head coach at the University of Illinois. Since being named head coach in 2006 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Tepper is enjoying a resurgence at the Division II level. The

The Strength Report - How to Utilize Your Space to Positively Effect Your Program
The High School Perspective: By Dave Brown, Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, Archbishop Mitty High School (CA) No matter how big your training facility is, you should be trying to utilize space to make your training efficient, challenging, productive and motivating. How do you train when resources are limited? Archbishop Mitty High School has one of the top athletic programs in the nation. Sports Illustrated, in 2006-2007, rated th

Specificity for Football Quickness
Of the many important aspects of football is movement speed and quickness. Quickness is near the top, if not on top, of every coaches list. Sometimes as coaches we get caught up with the forty times and we can easily underachieve for quickness development. When quickness and acceleration are coupled together we have the formula for the most dynamic results one can expect. Quickness applies for one step, several feet or yards, depending on the assignment. Another typ

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.”

Letter - Want To Be 1 in 11,000?
We all chase the same dream. Whether it lies in conference championships, state championships, national titles – we prepare endlessly for the honor of hoisting that trophy in glory. We’re living in denial if we don’t understand that the percentages are against us. There are terrific coaches that spend their entire life in this business and don’t ever get that opportunity. Ever wonder why they never get there? Sure, luck has its place but most of the time it can come down to one game,

Lessons Learned - From an NFL Assistant Coach
Besides coaching on defense, my most valuable learning experience took place while working with the quarterbacks. Prior to my NFL coaching days, I worked a summer football camp for two years at a Big Ten university where I befriended the QB Coach, (Presently an Assistant Head Coach in the NFL) who taught me the QB position. We spent hours upon hours watching film. The first words that came out of his mouth were, “If you want to learn football, this is the position to coach.”

AFM University Recap
RECAP: AFM University 2009 Thank you to each and every coach for making the 2nd Annual AFM University a huge success!

GEAR - American Football Monthly showcases products seen on the floor of the annual AFCA convention in January.
The Hip Thrust Sled is the ultimate off-season strength and conditioning machine to develop strength and power in the hips. It is the only sled on the market that allows you to drive with your hips under you instead of behind you. The unique design allows you to either start with your hips behind you in a “drive position” or start in a “power position” with your hips under your shoulders. Lightweight and portable, the Hip Thrust Sled is easy to move from indoor facility to outdoor pla

Drills Report: Training the Eyes
We emphasize “eyes” at Cal Lutheran. The most common remark we hear from our opponents is, “you guys play fast.” I believe the reason we play so fast is because we drill daily our eye placement. By drilling eye placement every day, keying becomes second nature and we are able to diagnose the play rapidly while reacting accordingly. We base our defense out of a 3-2-6. Each position group has a key progression that is drilled during individual time. The defensive line, ins

Schutt - FBS Coach of the Year Finalists
Nick Saban University of Alabama Nick Saban has won plenty of hardware in his illustrious career, and he’ll add more to his mantle this year. The Associated Press and SEC Coach of the Year has single-handedly restored the pride back in Alabama football. After struggling through a 7-6 record in 2007, Saban and his staff rolled the Tide to a 12-1 mark and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. At one point during the season, Alabama was the number one team in the countr

Schutt - College Coaches of the Year
Mike London University of Richmond Creating Competition in Practice – Making Players Perform Under Pressure After seven games into the 2008 season with a record of 4-3, nobody believed Richmond could win it all, except Mike London himself, who saw something special in his guys. “I knew that our losses could have gone either way early on,” said London, who was the defensive coordinator at Virginia before taking the job at his alm

Schutt - High School Coaches of the Year Regional
Midwest Region Chuck Kyle • St. Ignatius High School (OH) Ohio is high school football and Chuck Kyle at St. Ignatius is Ohio football at its best. Kyle, the longtime legend at the parochial school in Cleveland, is known for racking up state championships, and he capped this season off by winning his tenth in his 26 years as the head coach of his alma mater. Just don\'t ask him if this one was most memorable. “It likes comparing children,” says Kyle. �

Schutt - National High School Coach of the Year
Coaching Smart A Florida football legend, George Smith, is the Schutt Sports National High School Coach of the Year George Smith’s coaching career could have ended before it ever really got started. As a 27-year-old first-year head coach, Smith was getting his staff together after his first full season, a 6-4 campaign in 1975. “I was going around asking my staff in a post-season meeting who was going to come back for next year,” Smith recalls. “They al

Schutt - FBS Coach of the Year
“They pay coaches bigger salaries now, so you better not waste any time getting the job done. There is always someone else in waiting.” Simply put, Brian Kelly knows how to win football games. And he can win them at any level. Just as a craftsman works his plan to the detail, Kelly has executed his formula for success at every level he’s been – from Division II Grand Valley State to mid-major Central Michigan to a former Big East doormat, the University of Cincinnati.

Middle Cross Kickoff Return
Developing and repping a solid kickoff return team can be an explosive offensive weapon for your football team. With the kickoff team, you are generally looking to avoid negative momentum. However, with the kickoff return team, you can gain a huge momentum swing with a great return. At the very least, you want to give your offense the ball outside of the 30-yard line. The kickoff return team is important, because you can give your offense the ball in good field position, and could possibly ev

Central Missouri’s Tackling Drills
With the increasing pressure that offenses are posing for defensive coaches, organizing practice to maximize benefits is vital. Covering everything and still improving fundamental skills is nearly impossible. The fundamentals unfortunately get shorted more often than not. I think that coaches do a tremendous job at adapting to this dilemma by combining skills into one drill. With that in mind I want to discuss three tackling drills that accomplish that exact purpose. Drill: Fini

Pistol Spread Option Offense
The pistol offense is one of the latest crazes in football. Ever since Coach Chris Ault at the University of Nevada introduced it to the world, the variations have exploded across the high school and college ranks. Having been a spread option (Navy and Air Force-style) and spread offense coach, I decided to take a closer look at the pistol and have since adopted my own variation of it known as the Pistol Spread Option Offense. As a spread guy, I was married to option plays s

The Shot-Run Offense
I have had two 1,000-yard rushers at quarterback and one who rushed for 700 yards and threw for 2,300 yards. Both of the 1,000-yard rushing quarterbacks also threw for 2,000 yards. Obviously, I like to utilize the quarterback in the running game. If you have a quarterback who can run, but maybe is not the best at the zone read play, I have some very effective and simple running plays for the quarterback. The running plays will also help slow down the defensive line’s pass rush.




Pass Setting on an E/T or T/E Stunt
Ken Wilmesherr Offensive Line Coach Grossmont College Offensive linemen should anticipate a game or a stunt by down defenders, but never guess.  Through film study and game planning offensive linemen can anticipate E/T’s (end and tackle) and T/E’s (tackle and end) by the down defenders.  Horizontal and vertical alignments (different levels, one defender tight to the L.O.S and the other off the L.O.S.), and foot stagger by down defenders my dictate a game

Managing Team Dynamics - .COM
At the end of the day, if the coach isn’t going to manage the team’s internal and external dynamics, then who is?  In today’s non-confrontational society where conflict and upheaval are seen as overly-aggressively and negative actions, a large helping of moral courage is required to effectively manage inner and outer team influences; unfortunately, many coaches refuse to address team dynamics, often to the detriment of all involved.   Being able to manage team dynamic

The Multi-Option I-Bone Offense
In late 1983, while working as a publicist for the Alamo Community College District in San Antonio, Texas, I met Dr. James R. Smith, a local veterinary dermatologist who would forever change the way I looked at football. As if his occupation were not interesting enough (at that time, there were only four veterinary dermatologists in all of Texas, and only about 25 in the entire country), Dr. Smith would later give me another reason to find him interesting. On late afternoon in February 1984, b

.COM - Clinic: The Multi Option I-Bone Offense
\"The I-Bone is a four back attack with a split end. The basic formation is the full house set. The fullback aligns himself so that his heels are three yards from the ball. The halfback aligns either directly behind the offensive guard or straddling the guard\'s outside foot, about four yards from the ball. The tailback is directly behind the fullback from five and one-half yards to seven yards away from the ball.\" For the complete article, go to

Master Pass Plays: Protection Adjustments Chart - FREE FORM
We all know that adjustments are what seperate great programs from good programs. With this form you will be able to chart your protection adjustments for every play. It\'s easy to use and - best of all - it\'s FREE. Exclusively at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com...

Conditioning Evaluation Form : FREE FORM
Now that the start of the off-season is here, it’s time to organize a comprehensive strength and conditioning form for your players. This ‘Conditioning Evaluation Form’ includes an organized approach to measuring strength, speed, endurance and agility. This is the form you�

Mental Toughness: Quiet the Mind
How often have you heard these? \"We choked today.\" \"We started out flat.\" \"We play down to our competition.\" Or these…\"We were in the zone.\" \"Things just clicked.\" \"It was as if I knew what was about to happen.\" All of these statements reflect on a team\'s mental performance...how the brain affects outcome. Many times, a restless brain gets in the way of performance. Your body obeys dual voices from your brain. One of the voices is the strong silent type. Your bo

Alternative Training
Every offseason coaches begin their workouts and conditioning drills in hopes of producing superior athletes for the football field. Many exercises are designed to produce faster, stronger, more explosive athletes and reduce the chance of injury. The list of exercises can be endless and many are very sports specific. The goal is to produce explosive, powerful, fast football players, not bodybuilders, Olympic lifters, or strongmen. At the University of Central Florida we use a varie

The Trend to Turf
AFM: Thousands of high schools and colleges have switched to synthetic turf for football facilities in recent years. What major factors have led to this trend? Joe Fields of FieldTurf: Three main factors – cost, playability, and safety. Although the upfront cost is significant, it is the cost savings over time that needs to be considered. Another major benefit is the opportunity to turn a field into a multi-purpose facility. No longer just a football field, the facili

Developmental Aspects of Implementing the Front and Back Squat in a Training Program
The College Perspective: By Joe Kenn MA, CSCS, SCCC Director of Athlete Development – Football University of Louisville Utilizing a squat movement is highly recommended for any athletic-based program. The combination of hip and knee extension that this movement develops is a key component in an athlete’s overall physical development. At one time, the traditional barbell back squat was the primary squat utilized in our program. Now, we use a variety of

Football Coaches are Football Savvy, but Just How Movement & Speed Savvy?
For nearly 30 years I‘ve worked toward becoming an expert at movement and speed for sports performance. The time spent has been a labor of personal gratification. I’ve worked with the old pros and today’s modern superstars of the NFL. My forte has been developing players at the novice to elite levels. Over the last 29 years, I’ve consulted with 11 NFL teams on speed development and was once on the staff of the Seattle Seahawks. Three years ago, I was approached by Pete Carroll from USC a

The Shotgun Wing-T Bucksweep Series
Since moving to the Shotgun Wing-T, the Capital Bruins have led the state of Montana in rushing yards and have been to the State Championship twice, winning the title in 2006. We still run traditional Wing-T sets but have found the Spread Shotgun sets useful in spreading defenses out. Like many Wing-T teams, we occasionally get a defense that will load the box with eight or nine to stop our running game. The Shotgun Wing-T gives us an answer for this situation and allows us to take advantage of

Inside the Numbers – 2-Point Conversions
How many times did your team attempt a two-point conversion during the 2008 season? 0 – 5 Attempts: 57.4% 6 – 10 Attempts: 23.8% 11 – 15 Attempts: 8.4% 16 – 20+ Attempts: 10.4% Of those attempted 2-point conversions, how many times were you successful? 0 – 5 Conversions: 76.4% 6 – 10 Conversions: 14.6% 11 – 15 Conversions: 4.1% 16 – 20+ Conversions: 4.8% “Survey Says�

Coverage Adjustments vs. 3-Receiver Sets
Over the last couple of years, we have seen more offenses try to spread defenses out by getting the ball to the perimeter. Our philosophy at Northwest Missouri State University is that we want to keep the offense guessing what we will do to their 3-receiver sets. We usually go into a game with a couple of different adjustments. We try to change this up week to week based on the offense’s tendency. Three-Roll Coverage Versus offenses that like bubble screens or have a hi

The Little Things...
Presented by www.schutt-sports.com • 800-426-9784 Dead Ball Snap Bill Powers, Head Coach, Jupiter Christian High School (FL) “Out of our shotgun formation, we use the Dead Ball Snap which is pretty unique. I watch a lot of football and I don’t see a lot of schools doing it. This is great for programs who rely on the shotgun formation, but have problems with consistent snaps. We th

The Fly Guy
Take one of your quicker athletes, start him in full motion before the snap, get him the ball as he hits top speed and let him run. Sounds simple? Hardly. Sure, on paper, the concept of the fly or jet sweep is elementary, but to run it effectively – that takes some precision. It’s a precision that has made Mark Speckman at Willamette College in Salem, Oregon his living as a head coach. He’s known around the country as “The Fly Guy” patterning his offense around the fly sweep – a sch

Don’t Sleep on January – It Can be the Cornerstone of Your Success Next Season
Listen… Quiet isn’t it? So goes the sound of a culminating football season. Like most coaches, if you did it right, you’re probably spent. A full season with all its emotional ups and downs could suck the life out of every mortal. Which is why some of us may have a natural inclination to take it easy come January. But as most of us know the game is year-round now, so if you do it right, January may be the most productive month you will have in laying the groundwork of the success that may

Gear
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Focal Tackling - Using Your Eyes to Make Plays
We know that football has become a game played in space – there is no denying that. In the last issue of AFM, we discussed the way that tackling has morphed from a semi-barbaric method of driving someone into the ground, into a more detailed approach based on where you are in the field. Because spread schemes get their athletes the ball in space, most defensive coaches preach to their players to “leverage” the ball or keep it inside the numbers and know where your help is. Tackling used to

The Drills Report: Delaware’s Defensive Line Hip Emphasis Drills
As defensive line coaches, we all know the importance of developing strength, power, quick feet, active hands, and a relentless desire to get to the football. What I also add to that list is the development of the hips in relation to movements necessary to play defensive line. We work year-round on the strength, power and flexibility of the hips. Our training staff and strength & conditioning coaches work year-round improving this area and I incorporate drills that I feel are

Football Video – The Right Way
From the days of 16 millimeter film to the videotape era to today’s sophisticated digital video systems, recording and sharing game images for team analysis and opponent scouting has been an essential coaching tool. But do some coaches underestimate the importance of video and miss opportunities to get more effective use out of their video programs – possibly costing them future wins? According to David Affholter, the answer is, unfortunately, yes. “All coaches study game video o

Myths vs. Facts - The A-11 Offense a Year Later
It was only last spring when AFM first debuted this radical new offensive scheme that was conceived in the living room of Steve Humphries, the offensive coordinator at Piedmont High School in California. Back then it might have only been a fad when Humphries and head coach Kurt Bryan had just installed it the season before and really had only implemented it on offense around 70 percent of their snaps. But since, it has taken on a life of its own. Like any fad that starts to pick up sp

30-Stack Pressure Defense
When we went to the 30-Stack defense as our base defense, we did so for a few reasons. First, it suited our personnel. Traditionally, we are a school that does not have great size, but we were fortunate to have athletes who could run. This defense allowed us to feature our greatest asset: team speed. Second, we liked the idea of being in a defense where we could show a lot of different looks to opposing offenses in terms of fronts and coverages without having to change personnel. The 3




Charlie Stubb\'s Offensive Line Video Study Worksheet
CENTER VIDEO STUDY QUESTIONNAIRE 1. List #\'s of Nose Tackle\'s (Shade) - Reaction to the following blocks: a. Down Block b. Double Team c. Reach Block d. Zone Block e. Cut Block 2. List #\'s of 3 Tech\'s - Reaction to the following blocks: a. Down (back block) b. Pull & Overtake c. Zone Block 3. List #\'s of ILBer\'s - Reaction to the following blocks: a. Zone

Pass Protection & Condition Evaluation: FREE FORM
Download Free football forms at AFM. Available to all subscribers of American Football Monthly. Football Forms for the winning Coach.

Tackling Solutions
Editor’s Note: Due to the overwhelming response we’ve received from coaches on the issue of tackling, we are currently working with a group of coaches to publish a series of tackling improvement articles this off-season. Ok, so we’ve identified the problem. But how do we fix it? Each coach has their own suggestions as to how to improve our tackling dilemma, but we found that it can be broken down into three distinct elements of improvement – position-specific tackling,

The Tackling Crisis
As coaches, we spend countless hours and plenty of dollars sitting in clinic talks on the zone option or the odd-stack defense. These scheme-driven talks seem to motivate us more than anything. We shell out bucks on DVD’s about the most innovative offensive scheme or blitz-busting defense. After a loss, it’s never the scheme that bears the brunt of the loss – it’s fundamentals. “We didn’t tackle well.” If all of football comes down to blocking and tackling, then why are offens

The Off-Season: Preparing for Advanced Level Training (Part II)
This is part II in Dale Baskett’s column on eight elements of speed training in the off-season. In part I, Dale presented four of the eight elements starting with periodization, foundation principles, load work and assisted speed training (to read last month’s column, please visit www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com). This month Dale discusses elements five through eight.

Special Teams Time Management
Special teams is the aspect of the game where the “Hidden Yardage” can have a great effect of the outcome of a game. The MSU “Red Hawks” will win the hidden yardage weekly. This is accomplished through hard work, being well disciplined, knowing and executing the techniques and assignments and playing every play as a 101%er. Solid special teams are directly related to sound and effective time management. The old adage of “Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance” couldn\

The Sling-T Wham Series
The core of the Sling-T offense was developed using elements of the Wing-T offense and the Run ‘n Shoot offense. What we did at Port Richmond High School in New York City is expand the traditional Wing-T offense and give it more firepower. We run spread formations that give us four wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and the ability to run the traditional Wing-T ground game. In the Sling-T offense, we still run the sweep and trap series, but we can also run any of our four receiver pass pa

Reshaping the Shoulder Pad Industry – Again
It’s not often a man has the opportunity to change his world. Even fewer men get the chance to do it twice. J.C. Wingo is about to change the world of football for the second time. Twenty years ago, Wingo introduced a revolutionary new shoulder pad featuring an all-new technology called the Air Management System. That new design, the Wingo Power Pad™, soon became the standard by which all other shoulder pads were judged. The Power Pad™ has been the leading shoulder pad in the NF

Nose Guard: Establishing an Effective Two-Gap
As we all know, football schemes are cyclical. Trends seem to re-surface. The double wing has become the spread, the Wing T has morphed into elements of the fly sweep and the old sixty defense has transformed into a 4-2-5. While the schemes may come and go, one position has been as constant a cornerstone in defensive football as the name that it bears- the nose guard position. Usually, this denotes images of Ted Washington from the Buffalo Bills or Gilbert Brown of the Green Bay Packers stuffing

If it’s All About Tackling, Let’s Do a Better Job of Teaching It…
When was the last time you saw a clinic presentation on tackling? Or when was the last time you viewed a DVD on just the fundamentals of a pure tackle? We thought so. It is without question the most important aspect of defensive football yet for some reason it gets neglected in favor of some innovative offensive scheme or some zone blitz package. I think Chuck Clemens, the co-defensive coordinator at the University of Central Missouri said it best when he said that he hears all these offensive l

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Fundamental Offensive Line Leverage Drills
I want to thank all the tremendous coaches who I have had the pleasure of learning from over the course of my 25 years of coaching. The following fundamental drills are still my favorite for developing offensive lineman. I take great pride in getting my players better every day. I impose the philosophy of never taking a day off or a play off. All my drills are executed to create positive blocking habits. The three things I demand each and every snap are for my OL to learn how to get into their f

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Charlie Weis
In Charlie Weis’ first two seasons as head coach, the Notre Dame roster was deep with leadership from strong junior and senior classes – giving Coach Weis a record combined-win total for the first two seasons for any University of Notre Dame head football coach. The following two seasons found Coach Weis developing a squad of young, inexperienced freshmen and sophomores, resulting in two tough seasons. Now with his fourth season well underway (at time of printing), it appears that Coach Weis

Season Ending Evaluations of Players/Program
Jeff Shutter • Head Coach • Eastern York High School (PA) I always give the players a survey first to have them self evaluate their play, to evaluate their teammates, and to make suggestions for next season. I hold a meeting and distribute our lifting and conditioning calendar for the off season. I meet with the captains to have them write a brief note to help next year’s captains. The staff evaluates each game in hindsight and also evaluates returning players




Offensive Linemen: Developing Fast Feet
As an offensive line coach, you’ve probably learned by now that a football team has two types of players: skill and linemen. Players that are athletic and agile become backs and receivers while those that are slower, clumsier, and less athletic, inevitably, become linemen. Whereas I understand that backs and receivers need to have blazing speed and the ability to cut on a dime, as a line coach, I know that in order for linemen to be effective, they must have many of the same qualities, alth

Leadership Lessons for the Winning Coach
I have spent most of my adult life learning and practicing the art of leadership. I feel lucky to have attended the most famous leadership school in the world—West Point. This base coupled with a 20-year career as a military officer and coaching high school sports in Wisconsin, Washington and Texas has allowed me to develop some leadership principles that helped me achieve winning a state championship in football. I hope by sharing some ideas with you, it may help you achieve your goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Three Step Naked Package
We are an offense that likes to use multiple formations and motions to enhance our passing game. Our passing game is based on our three-step package and using the play action passing game to move the pocket. The three step naked package gives us an opportunity to incorporate both of these concepts into one play. The hitch naked package is something that I have been running since my days as an offensive coordinator at Millikin University. It is a play that we like because it is an easy

Turf Safety – The Verdict Is In
If you are fortunate enough to have a synthetic turf field at your facility, you know about all the advantages it offers. It holds up in any weather conditions, it’s consistent and durable and your athletes love playing on it. It provides unlimited practice time and can be used around the clock by other sports teams and activity groups. But is synthetic turf safe? A variety of issues have been raised by special interest groups, some rumored to have connections with the natu

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

The Big Picture
It has been the goal of this article series to provide coaches with the ability to design a safe and productive strength and conditioning program. In this article I would like to reiterate some of the information provided in prior articles and give you a sample template. Before designing a strength and conditioning program it is most important to define what it is you are trying to accomplish. At the University of South Florida we have five program goals: 1. To maximize the genetic po

The Off Season: Preparing for Advance Level Training (Part I)
When you begin the off-season with speed training, one of your major challenges will be organizing and periodizing your product. Obviously your periodization scheme stretches over many months. Your design is critical to the success of the progression you expect to gain during the year. One area that can be a little tricky and can have a distinct affect on your development for team speed is working with large numbers of players who are at two different levels of ability. My experience

Beaver Brawn
When Oregon State beat #1-ranked USC in September, most observers agreed that the Beavers out-muscled the heavily favored Trojans. That was satisfying, but not surprising to OSU’s first-year Director of Strength and Conditioning Bryan Miller. The Beaver’s strength and conditioning program is being transformed under Miller, who was promoted in his third year at OSU when Jeff Macy left to become Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. With the help of a new facility featu

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

An Adjustment No One Wants to Make
Funny how we always tell our players that football is like life. We have our ups and downs and we learn how to juggle both of them without compromising our integrity or losing our dignity. About a month ago, our starting senior middle linebacker and one of the nicest kids, went down with a severe knee injury. But it wasn’t during practice, it was in the minutes leading up to it. As he was taking his introductory lap before our stretch he had the bright idea (we know they don’t always use

555 Yards Per Game: The Shotgun I Offense
Quick trivia question: Name the winning est college football program in Alabama over the last five seasons. If you answered the Roll Tide in Tuscaloosa you’d be wrong – although much can be said about the job Nick Saban has done with that program. No, not the Auburn Tigers either. You can also count out such traditional powerhouses as Troy and UAB. Give up? Try the University of North Alabama, where the Lions, a Division II program in the town of Florence, have posted a record of 55-12 the l

Halftime Adjustments
Halftime…It may be the most under coached aspect of a football game, and it usually separates average coaches from good coaches and good coaches from great coaches. It’s thinking on the run at its best, when everything else fails – when everything you worked on the entire week isn’t going the way you want it to – and you only have twenty minutes to get it all worked out. You either come out of that tunnel with redemption or suffer continuing onslaught. It’s always interesting to

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The Drills Report: Auburn’s Running Back Drills
We practice a number of drills for running backs on a daily basis. These include ball leverage drills; movement and bag drills; decision-making drills; pass blocking drills; and pass catching drills. For this article, we’ll include our five ball leverage drills: A. Strip Drill-Side: This is protecting the ball from defenders trying to strip the ball in a crowd – usually linemen and linebackers – (See Diagram 1).

Results For Recruits
Tony Severino might know more about big-time college recruiting than any high school coach in America. As head football coach of perennial powerhouse and defending Missouri State Champion Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Coach Severino has compiled a record of 236-55-1 with six state championships over 25 years. With such a successful, high-profile program, Severino has seen literally hundreds of his players advance to play at the college level. From the 2007 team alone, 17 players have gon

Cal’s 3-deep Zone Coverage vs. The 4-Vertical Passing Game
As you coaches know, you listen and search for answers by reading magazines and attending clinics. You will learn and improve as a coach. I attended many clinics as a young coach in my lifetime and I have learned a lot. I have also had the pleasure of working with some outstanding coaches whom I would like to say thanks to. Please forgive me guys if I miss a name or two. First of all a very special thanks to all of the head coaches I have worked for: Tim Tierney, Dick Mannini, Cliff Hysell, Tom

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Paul Johnson
Early last December Paul Johnson was announced as the new head coach at Georgia Tech. He had spent six years at the Naval Academy where he turned their fortunes around. After a 2-10 record his first season, Johnson led the Midshipmen to five straight bowl games. While compiling an overall 45-29 record at Navy, his teams led the nation in rushing in three of the last four seasons. Johnson previously was the head coach at Georgia Southern where the Eagles won two national championships. His 11-yea

What Can You do as a Coach to Improve Academic Progress and Eliminate Ineligibility
Vic Wallace, former Head Coach Lambuth University and now Special Assistant to the President for Athletics Lambuth University is a small, academic university. The university provides, for all students, a person with the title: Director of Student Success, Retention and Academic Advising. Professors report to this person via e-mail, phone or note anyone who is struggling in class, not attending, not getting assignments in or any student that requires special assistance or




 - More Solutions to Problem #11
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 11: On field game/time management issues... what can be done if this is a problem within your coaching staff? We designate one coach as our time management coach, which is usually the coach(es) in the press box since they are away from the pressures

Hammer Strength High School Football Player of the Year Award-2008
(AFM recently interviewed Hammer Strength/Life Fitness about the award) Tell us about the origins of the Hammer Strength High School Football Player of the Year award? Each fall, strength, sweat and stamina are on display in high school stadiums, and performance is put to the test in weight rooms and football practice fields across America. Hammer Strength is recognizing the select young athletes who work harder and longer to be their best with it

Q & A With New Northern Illinois Head Coach Jerry Kill
Coach Kill is in his first season at NIU after turning the program around at Southern Illinois Q1-As you began your coaching career, who was your mentor(s) as a young coach? Coach Dennis Franchione and Coach Chuck Broyles at Pittsburg State Q2-Looking back on your coaching career, is there one lesson you learned early on that has stayed with you? Probably the organization of practice. That\'s where you win is the organizat

Valdosta State Defense - \"Code Red\" and Teaching Philosophy
First of all, I would like to thank AFM for asking us to share a few thoughts with you about Valdosta State and some thoughts about our \"CODE RED DEFENSE\". On behalf of our Head Football Coach, David Dean. and the rest of our Staff, we would like to share some of those thoughts that we believe helped us get through some halftime deficits we experienced throughout the year all the way to last year’s National Championship. Every group, unit, team, or some affiliation of people mu

Why The Spread? 11 Questions For A Coach To Consider
One of the greatest joys for me as a football coach is having guys that I have coached get involved in coaching after they graduate. I have been fortunate to have more than one decide to take this career path in the 14 years that I have coached. The most recent addition to this list is Jay Osborne who was recently hired as the wide receiver coach at McMurry University. Jay played in a spread offense for me a few years ago and I as a coach got to watch him grow in his knowledge of the spread o

Defensive Scouting Game Plan Checklist
Exclusively at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com... a FREE form given away each month to help your organization and game preparation... this month: ‘Defensive Scouting Game Plan Checklist.’

.COM
1 - *Why The Spread? 11 Questions For A Coach To Consider” Here are three: *‘What is the most critical element to running a successful Spread offense?’ *‘Can the Spread be successful with players of different abilities and sizes?’ *‘What defense gives the spread offense the most trouble?’ Go to www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com

Performance, Pain & Fear
Most athletes experience some pain, whether it is physical or psychological, during a season. Sports medicine has focused on helping the body heal and getting many athletes get back onto the playing field quickly, after a physical injury. But are we overlooking some need? Is fear a factor in the speed and completeness of recovery? Critical Emotion, Neglected? In last month’s article: Injury: A Mind/Body & Spirit Relationship? I reported how two fullbacks and a middle

Revamping the Wing-T
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Sure, the Wing-T offense has been around for over half a century and is continued to be used productively at every level of high school and small college football. The down blocks, traps and misdirection schemes have been giving defensive coordinators conniptions ever since the legend himself, former Delaware head coach Tubby Raymond, ran the Wing-T. This scheme has begun to morph into a different style. Good coaches are always trying to find wa

The Strength Report: Skill Development
These days a strength and conditioning coach has to be more than a weight lifting coach. They must be a mentor, counselor, nutritionist, etc. However, one area that must be well versed for a team to have great success on the field is skill development. Most seasons are between 3-4 months in length. This leaves 8-9 months of off-season time that position skills are often excluded. There must be a direct transfer from what is being done in those 8-9 months in the off-season to what will be done fo

The Speed Report: Variables For In-Season Speed Training (Part 2)
Last month we described many things that you can accomplish and sustain during the in-season. So very often in-season speed training becomes a burden to the football world in terms of time allotment. Football is about speed and the maintenance of technical applications that produce it. It never ceases to amaze me how much can be accomplished during the season with consistent training reinforcement. Conversely, the dissipation of technique can also be void of consistency when neglecte

Coaching Quarterbacks To Be Effective Runners in the Shotgun Zone Fly Offense
The evolution of the quarterback from a true pocket passer to a passing / running hybrid is one of the most lethal offensive combinations that defenses have ever faced. A player that can beat you in the air and has the skill and confidence to beat you on the ground as well is what many of today’s best offensive coordinators are aggressively looking for. The Shotgun Zone Fly offense relies on this type of hybrid player. The success of the SZF run game, in large part, comes from the a

Nickel Package: Matching Speed with Speed
With the continued advancement of spread offenses saturating the game of football, it becomes almost a necessity for defenses to match speed with speed by employing some type of nickel package in their scheme. It seems like not too long ago, coaches were fixated on putting their best eleven defenders in the game, regardless of the type of personnel that they were up against. Rarely was there any two-platoon system where players were subbed on and off the field defensively, like they were offensi

Stretching the Field With Your Tight End
Coaching tight ends at Marshall University has the best of both worlds. Our head coach Mark Snyder believes strongly in the use of the TE, while our offensive staff uses various schemes to implement them into the offense. Like most teams, we use a traditional TE with size to block defensive ends and also use their ability to be a part of the short passing game. In 2006, we found a hybrid TE to stretch the field and attack the defense with our vertical passing game. That year our TE’s combin

Getting Over the Mid-Season Hump
By the time you read this piece, you’re in the middle of the season and have a pretty good idea of how things will turn out. The best thing about the pre-season is feeling your kids out – who’s going to be a contender and who’s going to be a pretender. By now, at least you would think to have a handle on that. Hopefully, for most of us, we’re riding a win streak or rapidly progressing into “mid-season form”… whatever that means. For some of us, we have to deal with disappointment

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The Drills Report: Washington Linebacker Drills
We spend more time on block protection and tackling than any other skill sets we teach. Tackling is still best learned in team situations in practice. Getting in a proper tackling position in practice is the best way to simulate the live situations that come up in the game. The coaching points we emphasize in tackling are: 1. Eyes up and in front. 2. Bend the ankles, knees, and hips. 3. Time up the hit and explode on contact – hit through the runner. 4. Club with t

Q & A with Mickey Andrews
For twenty-four years, Mickey Andrews has been coordinating the Florida State University defense. His longevity in such a competitive field and his commitment to stay in one place in such a transitory occupation where most other coaches are looking for the “next best thing” speaks volumes about the type of character he possesses. Now regarded as somewhat of the elder statesman in major college football, Andrews spent some time with Mike Kuchar of American Football Monthly chatting about ever

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Mark Richt
An outstanding high school quarterback in South Florida, Mark Richt attended the University of Miami in nearby Coral Gables. There, he played for Coach Howard Schnellenberger and backed up future Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly. Richt coached later on Bobby Bowden’s staff at Florida State for over a decade and helped mentor two Heisman Trophy winners, Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke. The Seminoles also won two National Championships during his time in Tallahassee. Named the head coach at Georgia prio

Using Speed and Movement to Shut Down the Inside Zone
Every defensive coach knows that the Inside Zone is a base play for most offenses. There are many variations to the Zone scheme like lead, split, read, and bubble. At Adrian we start with the premise that it is important to beat the Zone from the inside out. We try to force the running back to bounce or cut back where we want. We will run down the read, bubble, and options off the Inside Zone. Here at Adrian College we believe in a smaller, faster, attacking defense that leaves the offense on th

What’s the Best Way to Grade Your Players During the Course of the Season?
Gary Chilcoat, O-Line and Outside Linebackers Coach Deep Run High School, Glen Allen (VA) “I have used film grades in the past, but they are so time consuming that you really know how they played before you grade. What I have found most effective is grading them during practice. We tell our players they earn the right to play Monday through Thursday. Most people can give great effort on Friday’s, but it takes a true believer to work hard during the week. We expect sta




  - More Solutions to Problem #12
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 12: Communication issues between the press box coaches and the sideline coaches...how do you improve this issue? As an offensive staff, which includes our head coach as an offensive position coach, we spend a lot of time in the off-season talking and me

Injury: A Mind/Body & Spirit Relationship? - A Need
There is a need to develop the mind, body and spirit because they constitute the whole person. They cannot be separated. This article addresses psychological response to physical injury. When there is a physical injury there is always a psychological response. Unfortunately, the psychological response is rarely treated even though the use of psychological techniques can safely reduce pain and speed healing and have the athlete back on the field more quickly than just treating the physical in

Preparing for the Dangerous Return Man
At 6:50 in the third quarter on Sunday, February 10th 2008, in Hawaii, Rob Bironas kicks off for the AFC. Devin Hester takes the ball on the 4-yard line, and heads up field. At the 18-yard line he suddenly stops and throws back across the field to Cowboy tight end Jason Witten who advances the ball 35 yards into AFC territory. When special teams coach Mike Stock of the NFC asked Hester ‘Why?’ Devin\'s response was, \"I saw him waving.’ In the last two years Devin Hester had advanced

  - More Solutions to Problem #10
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 10: Poor personnel management from the sideline; penalties for not lining up properly, offside penalties, and your athletes\' running onto the field late. Is it the coaches\' or the players\' fault or both? Our philosophy is simple: what you see on t

  - More Solutions to Problem #9
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 9: Special teams letdowns – losing a game because of special teams play...what can be done to improve special teams play? Our focus here at Holbrook is on kick coverage and punt/punt return, since these are the biggest change of field plays in the

5 Misunderstood Contractual Issues
Through my experience as an attorney for the NFL Coaches Association and as an agent with Coaches Inc., I have examined a myriad of coaching contracts over the last nine years. Due to the harsh, unpredictable reality of this profession, your contract is your only protection for you and your family when the stars fall out of alignment and you end up fired. Unfortunately, coaches tend to overlook the contracts they sign because they are happy to have a job and do not want to be considered ungr

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

Offensive Line Opponent Evaluation Form
Exclusively at www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com... a FREE form given away each month to help your organization and game preparation... this month: ‘O-Line Opponent Evaluation Form.’

   - More Solutions to Problem #8
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 8: Unproductivity in the red zone. Not being able to finish drives especially because of the lack of a strong field goal kicker...how to you deal with this issue? When we get within the red zone we limit our offense to what we do best: our ‘sainted

   - More Solutions to Problem #7
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 7: Dealing with academic and disciplinary issues like cutting classes or grades...what can be done to solve this issue? We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to these issues with both affecting playing time, depth chart, playing level, and eve

   - More Solutions to Problem #6
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 6: Tackling issues – the team’s consistency in missing tackles..how do you improve this problem? We go back to the basics as a team to reinforce the proper fundamentals of tackling. In defensive individual time we also spend a lot of time on var

   - More Solutions to Problem #5
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 5: Senior leadership issues among the team – upper classmen not taking accountability for THEIR program... how do you get your team back on the right track? We have instituted a leadership council and teaming concept this season to start developing

   - More Solutions to Problem #4
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 4: Dealing with an early season setback such as an injury to your best player...how do you counter this setback and what is the contingency plan if this occurs? Having multiplicity in one’s scheme is very important at any level. Being a small town sc

   - More Solutions to Problem #3
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 3: Not being able to get the ball in the hands of your playmaker and teams finding ways to limit his touches...what do you do to counter the frustration inherent to this problem? As the offensive coordinator in a triple option offense it is important

   - More Solutions to Problem #2
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 2: Your running back has ball control issues... if he’s prone to fumbling, how do you improve his ball security? Ball security by all players is priority #1 in our offense and great care is given to ball security. We have a series of drills where th

   - More Solutions to Problem #1
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 1. Not playing to the level of your opponent – avoiding a major let down early in the season... how do you deal with this issue? Are there ways to motivate a team that is under achieving? Our biggest issue is not so much playing down to our opponents,

The Strength Report: Core Training
If I told you I could guarantee that you would improve your strength, power, and speed would you do what I asked? When athletes are unable to perform football skills, one of the most common breakdowns is posture. Posture is primarily controlled by your core. It doesn’t take long walking onto a practice field to hear a position coach barking posture coaching cues. Everything from the stance to the transfer of power for a kicker is controlled by the core. A strong core is essential for optima

The Sprint Out Pass Game
With every offensive coach these days designing their scheme to find ways to get the ball to the perimeter, it seems like the sprint out pass game would be a viable option. But the truth is, many teams don’t utilize this package in their offense, mainly due to the fact that they may not have a QB mobile enough to do it or they don’t have the time to devote to a totally separate package. But what if we were to dispel those two myths directly in this article? It’s true. In fact

The Speed Report: Variables For In-Season Speed Training (Part I)
When the season starts coaches become so focused on football that speed development is often the last thing they are concerned with. Speed erosion is greatest during the season. We must be mindful that football is a game of collisions and moving fast to make plays. If speed enhancement is ignored during the season, the off-season becomes a point of diminished return. There is a lot one can do in-season to preserve off-season development and actually improve speed. Time is never your friend durin

32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season
Monitor and adjust. It’s probably the most useful axiom in the coaching and teaching profession. We’re all regimented people by nature, which is why we get into this in the first place. We have everything accounted for and leave nothing to chance – from the opening stretch period in practice to our awards dinner in December. But what if that plan starts to tumble and collapse right in front of our face? What if your all-area QB tears his ACL during two-a-days? What if your seniors are not

Implementing the Saluki Zone Blitz Blitz Package
In our March issue this year, American Football Monthly presented an overview of the zone blitz scheme and its concepts. It’s a scheme that has been around for over thirty years originating with the innovative mind of Bud Carson, the notorious coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers “Steel Curtain” defense in the 1970’s. Though it has been tweaked into some more of the style we see today, the general concepts of the zone blitz remained constant. In its simplest form, the zone bl

Building Better Bruins
Head Athletic Performance Coach Mike Linn of UCLA has come home. Raised in Southern California, Linn was a two-year starter for the Bruins on the offensive line and stayed with the program after graduation, eventually becoming UCLA’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach from 1999 to 2002. For the last several years, he’s been training individual athletes and supervising training programs nationwide for Velocity Sports Performance, a leading provider of individual performance training program

Missouri\'s Top Three Principles of Defense
I would like to discuss and illustrate the ‘Top Three Principles of Missouri Defense.’ 1. SPEED TO THE BALL. 2. VISION & BREAK (Break 1/3 The Distance The Ball Is In The Air). 3. TAKEAWAYS. I. SPEED TO THE BALL At Mizzou we take pride in running to the football. We evaluate our players’ effort on every single rep in practice and games. It is very important that Missouri players understand this is our #1 principle. Our succ

The Defensive Solution to Multiple Personnel / No Huddle Offenses
Traditionally, Middlebury College football has set their defensive calls in relation to the offensive personnel grouping on the field for that particular play. Most often, offensive personnel groupings dictate certain formations and favorite plays. Calling defenses based on offensive personnel groupings allows us to set the appropriate front and coverage, put our best personnel on the field and put our players in the best position for success. The Conflict Over the past

Give Credit Where Credit is Due: Reward the Program Kid
America loves the underdog. No question about it. There’s a reason why Rudy, the true story of Dan Ruettiger, the walk-on from Notre Dame, was arguably the best football movie of our era – better than the half-fantasy flicks like The Program and Any Given Sunday. There’s a reason why Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky won the 1976 Academy award over Martin Scorcese’s classic Taxi Driver. There’s a reason why Jason McElwain, the autistic team manager at Greece Athena High School in upstate

Unbalanced Formation
Surrattsville High School has been running the Spread Veer Offense for seven years. Surrattsville has the smallest enrollment in our county, meaning there are a lot fewer males to choose from to participate in the football program. The difficulty of having the smallest school is that we are scheduled to play schools that are not just one classification above us but sometimes two classes above us. We look to find ways to improve our chances for success. We have always run the Spread Ve

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The Drills Report: Advanced Quarterback Drills
As with many offenses in this day and age we run a spread out of many different personnel packages and motions. Unlike most offenses, we use the “Gun” exclusively because it fits our personnel best. The problem with this is that quarterbacks left to their own devices in the gun will start to develop bad habits, mainly throwing mechanics. For example, a QB who always throws out of the gun will start to develop lazy feet, bad body positioning, and not getting his shoulders in proper position.

AFM Subscribers Ask...with David Cutcliffe
After only 22 wins over the last 13 seasons, Duke turned their fortunes to new head coach David Cutcliffe last December. Coach Cutcliffe comes to Durham after serving the previous two seasons as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Tennessee. His coaching experience includes a six-year stint at Ole Miss where the Rebels had a 44-29 record and went to four bowl games. Cutcliffe was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading the Rebels to a 10-3 record. He has participated

The 5th Down: Dealing with an Unsupportive Administration
Marcus George, Head Coach Ansbach High School Dodds, Germany “Our main goal when we go to a new school or welcome a new administrator is to weave ourselves tightly with the aims and goals of the staff and administration. It is important to let the staff know that you support them and to hear what the administrator is saying. Many times, we don\'t initially hear what we want to hear from a new administrator but the tune usually changes when they realize that our pla




Mental Training For Performance Enhancement and Injury Management
This is the first in a series of articles exclusively for www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com by Dr. Raymond Petras, a sports performance and injury management specialist. The Objective The objective of coaching is to enhance performance. We all attempt to do this through practice, strength training and conditioning. I wish to pass on to those of you who are interested, concepts that will aid your coaching. Performance Enhancement Early one sp

Conditioning: Train Fast to Be Fast
In football, it is often said that speed is the great equalizer. It can negate the size and strength of opposing linemen and make the opposing team look like it is running in mud. It’s no wonder that many coaches devote much time and effort to developing this skill during in and out-of-season workouts. Ultimately, the question becomes, how can efficient speed development be achieved? After all, no one would want to put forth so much time and effort if what was being done was ineffective.

Interviewing for a High School Coaching Job – The Key to the Right Fit
As anyone that has stayed in the coaching profession for long can tell you there are jobs that will be desired and there are jobs that look good but by taking them it could be the beginning of the end of your coaching career. How do you run the gauntlet of the interview process and find out the true story of what is going on at the interviewing school for the good of your professional opportunity and family considerations? A job interview is actually two interviews; the school offic

Developing the Zone Scheme Using Man Blocking Principles
In the last issue of AFM, Castleton State’s new head coach Rich Alercio shared with us the importance of the heel to toe relationship in man blocking schemes. Regardless of the blocking scheme, it’s imperative to get that second foot down and make contact simultaneously in any blocking situation – man or zone. But the key is never to let that heel of the second foot advance further than the toe of the first for reasons of being too overextended and losing the power angles that are so promi

UConn\'s Play Action Passing Game
In the ever-evolving world of college football, the play action pass is one of the most threatening concepts as it has the ability to keep the defense from being able to ‘key in’ on any particular aspect of an offense. At the University of Connecticut we believe that one of the key elements to be an effective, attacking offense is the efficient integration of the play action passing game based on our most productive run plays. We attempt to keep the pass version of these concepts as simple a

The Strength Report: The Forgotten Three - The Neck, Traps and Grip
I have found over the years that training the neck, traps and grip often get missed. When coaches ask me to evaluate programs I look first for those three areas. I assure you that training these three areas both serves to protect the athlete and boost performance. The game of football is a collision sport. The most catastrophic injury in football is one that involves the neck. According to a recent study by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research for the Journal of

The Speed Report: Maintaining Maximum Speed Capacity During the Season
In the July Speed Report on final preparations for in-season speed, I stressed maximizing speed prior to in-season. Now we are in-season and we must have a plan for sustaining the qualities we worked to develop. The key emphasis here is quality, not quantity. As I have put forward the last two years of writing the Speed Report, everything is quality, not quantity. Speed is a precision skill which must be trained in that manner. Too much emphasis on over working the physical aspects of training w

Michigan\'s Rich Rodriguez
There is no doubt that Rich Rodriguez has continued to establish himself as one of the premier coaches in college football. Known as the modern grandfather of the spread offense, Rodriguez has continued to establish quick strike offenses while developing even more explosive players to lead it. Now after taking the West Virginia program to new heights by making them a perennial national title contender, Rodriguez has his biggest challenge in front of him – as the new head coach of Michigan.

Starting Over
Less than one out of every 1,000 tornadoes in the U.S. are classified EF5 – considered nature’s most concentrated destructive force. With winds in excess of 200 mph, EF5s produce what the National Weather Service terms “incredible” damage. Frame houses are leveled and swept away, large buildings are severely damaged and cars can be thrown over 100 yards. Whatever trees survive lose most of their limbs and are sometimes entirely debarked. There are thousands of small commun

Dance With the One Who Brung Ya
First heard the phrase from Mack Brown during an off-season clinic in 2005 right after Vince Young ran rampant all over the USC defense giving Texas the 2004 National Championship. The line was a favorite of legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal. It refers to finding a way to put your players in the best situation to make plays. And that’s what Coach Brown did – we all remember Young basically strapping the Longhorns on his back and carrying them to the title that year. Sure those plays were d

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The Drills Report: Special Teams Techniques and Drills - Drill What You Coach
There is more movement of the ball and yardage involved in the special teams game than any other phase of football. It controls field position, creates opportunities for the offense and defense and has the ability to score points. At C.W. Post, we believe special teams are the outcome changer, the difference maker that will lead to success. Bryan Collins, the head coach at C.W. Post, preaches to the players that “special teams are the foundation that great programs are built on.” B

The Winning Edge: Preparing D-Linemen for Game Day
Mike Waufle and Ray Hamilton know defensive line play. Between the two of them, they have a total of 49 years of coaching experience at the Division I level and professional levels of football. Among those in their tutelage are the likes of Andre Tippett, Russell Maryland and Michael Strahan. So it’s only fitting that the two guru’s of defensive line play collaborated on producing a scouting form called the “Winning Edge” which they give to each of their players during game week. Actu

Predicting Offensive Coodinators\' Calls
Dear offensive coordinators, Ever get the feeling that someone is watching you? I mean really watching your every move. We’re talking about pure diagnosis here, like the quintessential chess playing tactic of knowing your next move before you do. This is the science of breaking down and dissecting your every move before you do it – and Warren Central High School’s (IN) defensive coordinator Steve Tutsie has got it down pat and he’s just about to share it with you.

Undisputed Results
Can a strength, speed and agility training system that has been used by over 800 NFL players, including devotees Brian Urlacher and Champ Bailey, translate to high schools and produce champions? For years, the Competitive Edge Sports (CES) system has been the primary training regimen for hundreds of NFL players, with incredible success. Urlacher and Bailey are only two of the 300+ active players on NFL rosters that train with CES. That’s one out of every five players in

The Triple Screen
It started with a sophomore defensive end on the scout team during the 2007 spring practice. When this inexperienced defender was able to blow up our jailbreak screen because he recognized the tackle was leaving to block the perimeter, it was another sign that we needed to address the fact that defensive teams have improved in their defending of the spread and screen game. Only four years earlier, our jailbreak screen, at times, had easily become a big play. Now, everyone was catching on to the

Multiple Fronts & Coverages
“Everyone knows that Peyton Manning knows where to throw the ball vs. Cover 2.” This statement was made by Brian Urlacher, All-Pro linebacker with the Chicago Bears after the loss to the Colts in a recent Super Bowl. Brian was right. As a matter of fact most high school quarterbacks know where to throw the ball against a Cover 2 defense. So why are defenses still lining up in a 4-3 Cover 2 set and letting the spread offenses move the ball while the defense still runs the same front and cover

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Will Muschamp
Last fall, under Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp, Auburn led the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense and finished in the top 10 nationally in pass efficiency defense, total defense, pass defense, and scoring defense. Since then Muschamp has joined the Texas staff as DC and inherits a defense that set school records for passing yards (3,611) and total yards (4,825) surrendered in a season in 2007. While he has his work cut out for him, Muschamp has a proven track record of fixing defen

The 5th Down: How to Motivate an Unmotivated Player
Rey Hernandez, Defensive Coordinator, La Jolla High School, San Diego, CA “We have started using an off-season program that is patterned after those used at some colleges. In fact I got the idea from a recent article in AFM about Kent State’s program. We selected seven captains and we conducted an NFL style draft wherein the captains selected team members. All returning varsity and junior varsity players were drafted and these players composed the “active mem




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

South Florida\'s Zone Blitz Package
We would like to a take this opportunity to share some of our thoughts and beliefs on our zone blitz package at The University of South Florida. We realize there are many different zone blitz philosophies, but our staff and players are very confident in what we do schematically. Through researching other successful programs and combining it with our experience as coaches, we developed a system that we feel confident we can execute on game day. We began our teaching process with our ba

The Speed Report: Final Preperations for In-Season Performance
Many weeks and months go into preparing a team for in-season speed. Can you imagine running ladders or dragging a parachute for seven months? I can\'t either. Hopefully, your off-season speed development was thought out and well conceived for the many phases required. To truly perfect the art and skill of running fast on the football field is like baking a cake. Many ingredients need to be blended in certain amounts and the baker must know just how much of each ingredient is required. Too

Developing a Dominating Run Blocking Technique
Talk to any football coach worth his salt and he’ll tell you that you win or lose up front. Playing the offensive line at any level, is a high risk-low reward job occupation with an image encapsulated in grunt work, doing the bear essentials to help your team win. Perhaps nobody possesses that element more than Rich Alercio, the first head football coach at Division III Castleton University, in Castleton VT. Alercio and his 22 years of football coaching experience were hired last Fe

Three Plays for The Spread Offense
The spread offense is one of the most exciting offenses around today and is one of the biggest reasons why, at Wayland High School, we have had such great successes over the past couple of years. Over the last three years we have a record of 33-4 with two league titles and one state championship. It wasn’t always like this at Wayland. My first year as the head coach we were 1-10 while we were installing the spread offense but once the kids bought into the system we were able to turn things aro

Matching Leverage with Leverage Against the Spread Offense
To the average football fan who turns on the television every weekend during the fall to watch their favorite team play, it may seem pretty obvious that there are a lot more skill positions on the field. They may recognize three and four wide receiver sets, the absence of a tight end and the QB lined up in a shotgun formation. If they are even somewhat studied in their knowledge of the game, they may even start to formulate conclusions on why these teams are getting more skill players on the fie

Pardon the Interruption but We\'re on the Inside
Gotta start with a quick story – as coaches we love that sort of thing. I had the fortune two summers ago to come in direct contact with one of the game’s greats, Bobby Bowden at FSU. I was working on a football preview for ESPN Magazine, and before I knew it I was smack dab in the Mecca of college football – Bowden’s office overlooked the south end zone of Doak Campbell Stadium. Glossies of Y.A. Title, Dick Butkus, and various other gridiron greats – all autographed by the way –

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Offensive Line Drills for the Inside Zone
Inside zone blocking is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I always look to see if someone is talking on zone at a clinic or if there is an article in AFM because I don’t have all the answers and I love stealing ideas. I have played in or been coaching in a zone scheme for the past 18 years. At Blue Valley High School, we are an inside zone running team. In the past we were a single back ace and now we have evolved to the pistol formation. Even though we are different in the backfield,

The Drills Report: Auburn\'s Pass Rush for Defensive Tackles
At Auburn, our emphasis is on our players having great effort on each play. We want our players to have ‘relentless pursuit.’ If they get knocked down, they get up and sprint to the ball. We want them to know how to play hard and that loafing is never acceptable. This is the key to playing good defense and being a good pass rusher. We stress a three-and-out principle. Everything we do in practice requires three perfect reps before we leave the field. When you conduct practice that way, it g

Take What They Give You: The Veer Offense in Simplest Form
If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Though a little cliché, no truer words have been spoken about the football program J.T. Curtis established in River Ridge, Louisiana. Talk about tradition; since John Curtis Christian High School began playing football in 1975, the Patriots have won a total of 22 state championships in all three classifications in Louisiana with their last one coming in 2007. What’s more outstanding is that they have been crushing opponents running the same exact offense – t

Single Source
There’s no question that advances in technology have had a positive impact on football programs in recent decades. Digital editing systems have given coaching staffs play-analyzing capabilities that were unheard of just a few years ago. Wireless headset communication systems have become more powerful and more reliable and have freed coaches from the cumbersome wires of systems in the past. A long list of video accessory products such as duplicators have made tasks like sharing game footage wit

10 Mistakes You\'re Bound to Make at Pre-Season Practices
So the summer is winding down and you’ve put a stamp on your off-season conditioning; wrapped up the local seven on seven tournaments; and made all the necessary arrangements to have an intense and productive camp in preparation for another eventful season. But as the lazy days of July morph into the intensely crammed early days of August, there are some major concerns that need to be addressed before heading into summer camp. Sure, every good coach has a plan, but there are some major decisi

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Wisconsin-Whitewater's Lance Leipold
Taking over for his former college coach Bob Berezowitz last fall, Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Lance Leipold led the Warhawks to their first Division III National Championship. After losing to Mount Union in the title game in both 2005 and 2006, UW-W proved the third time is the charm as they upset Mount Union in their third straight meeting, 31-21. In the process, Leipold became only the second first-year coach to ever win a D-III National Championship. Leipold’s coaching career also began at

The 5th Down: Playing Time
Tim Dodson, Head Coach, Siuslaw High School, Florence, OR “First I think it is important to describe our school because size of school and coaching staff have a great deal on how playing time is handled. We are a 450 student high school and we have around 30 players on our varsity roster and 35 players in our frosh/soph program. We have three coaches with our frosh/soph team and three coaches with our varsity team. Our frosh/soph coaches are busy on our game night and

Special Teams Game Plan Design
In no other phase of the game can field position be changed so dramatically in just one play as in the kicking game; yet, coaches often minimize weekly preparation in the kicking game just to get a few more offensive or defensive reps. Also, in no other phase of the game can one play be so emotionally uplifting, or, conversely, so demoralizing as in the kicking game. Additionally, consider that nearly one-third of the game is consumed by some phase of the kicking game and that for eve

Valdosta State Defense: Code Red
First of all, I would like to thank AFM for asking us to share a few thoughts with you about Valdosta State and some thoughts about our \"CODE RED DEFENSE.\" On behalf of our head football coach, David Dean, and the rest of our staff, we would like to share some of those thoughts that we believed helped us get through those halftime deficits we experienced throughout the year on our way to the D-II National Championship. Every group, unit, team , or some affiliation of people mus

Technology Buyer\'s Guide
Every football program can benefit from today\'s advanced technology. The following companies are in the business of helping coaches become more successful through innovative technology solutions. We recommend that you save these listings for future reference. Coaching Software BW Software • 888-752-9625 • www.bwsoftware.com BW Software has provided specialized productivity tools for football c

Building a Championship Team: What Does it Take?
This marks AFM’s fifth annual State Champions survey. The results of the first four surveys indicated some clear-cut trends on the following topics: the consistent use of ‘feeder’ programs; a constant in the number of returning starters combining offense and defense; similar numbers of both juniors and seniors on varsity teams; the popularity of the four-man defensive front; and the consistency of overall football budgets. The latest survey – for 2007 State Champions – indicates simila

Simplifying the Zone Blitz
Today I am going to talk about our zone blitz package and some of the things that we do to simplify it for our kids. Over the last three seasons we have shifted our mentality from being a man blitz team to a zone blitz team. Our philosophy in doing this is to put as much pressure on the opposing quarterback as possible while at the same time putting our players in as safe of a situation as we can in the secondary. As with most blitz packages we try and have the ability to overload the offense�

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Zone Blitzing the Spread Offense
There are some major philosophical components that need to be taken into consideration when coaches devise defenses. The first are structural concerns – what base front will you imply, even or odd? What will be your base coverage – will you be in a one high or two high safety defense? How will you defend the run game – will you be a “box” team that filters all perimeter runs to the middle of your defense, or will you prefer to “spill” everything to the perimeter, making the speed

The Strength Report: Lower Body Training
In the last article I discussed the importance of training in both a multiple joint and single joint fashion. Multiple joint movements help to train the body to coordinate several muscle groups synergistically; protect the body from injury; and pre-fatigue muscle so that athletes don’t have to add extra stress by increasing workloads. Single joint movements are used to train the weak link in sport movement and identify muscular imbalances. Both provide necessary feedback to the strength coach

The Speed Report: Minimize Training Time, Maximize Performance
I’ve heard the concerns for years from football coaches that they only have a certain amount of time to implement new ingredients for their programs. Training year-round quite obviously can present challenges for fitting everything you want in place. I’ve discussed in speed training articles that team speed should be developed in phase increments (periodization). To train for speed you must plan for meeting the requirements necessary to get each player faster. My suggestion is to

iFutbol Fever!
As everyone knows, soccer is king in the Mexican sporting world. But did you know that football as we know it, Fútbol Americano to Mexicans, has been played south of the border at the collegiate and professional levels since the 1920’s and today enjoys widespread popularity? Or that the top conference in the ONEFA (the primary collegiate league) is known as Doce Grandes – the Big 12? Or that an ONEFA All-Star team beat a NCAA Division III All-Star team in 2003 to capture the annual Aztec Bo

The Pistol Offense: Keep the Defense Off Balance by Formation and Tempo
Offensive play callers are constantly looking for an advantage over the defense. One of the ways we try to achieve this is by using many different formations and changing the pace of our offense. We believe we force defenses into playing base fronts and coverages because they can never be comfortable as to what formation we will align; we add to their stress by changing pace of play with no huddle and quick running plays. In this article, we will outline the formations and tempo-changing aspects

Coaching Trends & Issues - 2008
As both a teacher and football coach at North Brunswick High School in New Jersey, Mike Kuchar has some interesting observations on the state of football today. The fact that he’s also AFM’s Senior Writer gives him a unique perspective on the subject. Over the past decade he has played high school and college football, coached at the high school and collegiate level for seven years, and spoken to 250 or so coaches at either clinics or as part of an interview. We asked Mike his thoughts on tr

The Drills Report: Minnesota Wide Receivers Drills
At Minnesota we believe there are keys to playing the wide receiver position in our offense. The topics that I would like to cover all build on one another with one being no greater than the other. The topics I would like to discuss with you are: 1 Route Expression. 2. Release Techniques. 3. Ball Catching. Route Expression Our offense relies heavily on our receivers getting good vertical stretch, running precise routes, and being abl

Stifling the Screen Pass
Why do offenses run the screen pass? Very simple – it’s a high risk, high reward play. It’s an easy completion percentage for the QB and if the timing is right and the play gels, it could be potentially devastating to the defense. The high percentage of the throw builds confidence for your QB and gets him through a tough set of downs. Plus, the screen play gets the ball into your playmakers’ best hands and gives them plenty of room to run. Just a few months back in the April issue of AFM

Renowned Rivalry
Together, the two teams have won the last 12 Oklahoma state 6A titles. They’re each regularly ranked in national polls. Their annual in-season game, known as the Backyard Bowl, draws over 35,000 fans – too many to fit in either of their stadiums so it’s played at the University of Tulsa. A documentary film about their rivalry called “King of the Mountain” was made in 2003. Last year they were featured in the premier episode of “Greatest High School Football Rivalries” – a nationa

The Wildcat Spin
The two-minute offense has always been a main emphasis of our situational offensive package. We want our players to be confident in a two-minute situation because we have drilled it in practice and executed it before the half and at the end of games. Not only do our players have to make our plays successful by understanding each responsibility, they also have to understand how to manage the clock. For example, one of the main rules we live by is when to get out of bounds. We teach our players to

Blocking Kicks - The Take Off, Bend and Approach
Think special teams isn’t as vital a part of the game as offense and defense? You ever sit back and think about what type of effect Appalachian State’s win over Michigan last year in the Big House had on the landscape of college football? Sure, Big Blue rebounded to have a productive season. What Appalachian State did on that Saturday afternoon in early September was not only pull off a made-for-TV Hollywood style upset, but it got every coach who was fortunate enough to be watching that ga

Gashing the Odd Stack with the Gap Scheme
It has become the most widely used defensive scheme in the country. Following the routes of its forefathers – Rich Rodriguez while at West Virginia and Joe Lee Dunn at Memphis – the odd stack defense has trickled down to most all levels of football and with good reason. Because of the three down linemen structure, coordinators could get their faster athletes on the field to match those spread offenses that have taken shape. But there is a weakness and it’s a glaring one. Ask any

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Valdosta State\'s David Dean
Last December Valdosta State’s Head Coach David Dean became the second coach to win the Division II National Championship in his first season. Dean replaced Chris Hatcher in January 2007 and then led VSU to a 13-1 record, culminating in a 25-20 win over Northwest Missouri State in the championship game. Dean served as Valdosta State’s Offensive Coordinator from 2000-2006 where the Blazers won another national championship in 2004. During that time VSU was a perennial leader in scoring offens

The 5th Down
American Football Monthly crosses into new territory with the beginning of a new cutting edge feature – THE 5TH DOWN. So much of the game of football happens outside the playing lines whether it be preparation, motivation, off-season training, analyzing your future opponent, dealing with an over-obtrusive administration or handling sensitive issues with your team members, such as playing time. It’s a new department and a new opportunity to share ideas, anecdotes and stories relative to yo




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

The Five Keys to Drop Back Pass Protection
Teaching fundamentals of drop back protection can be broken down into five phases. These five areas are the set, relative position, body position, lateral movement, and separation. In this article I will break down each of these phases in detail and provide a sound and proven fundamental approach to each. Before I go on I would like to say that this information has been gathered over several years of listening to and visiting with some of the top offensive line coaches in high school, college

Off Season Motivation A Key to In-Season Success
Gone are the days of the true off-season. Gone are the days when the only time we would see our players between December and August is when we passed them in the halls. As more programs become year round endeavors, the term ‘off-season’ has more appropriately been replaced by the phrase ‘out-of-season,’ a time when athletes are expected to begin preparing themselves both physically and mentally for the upcoming season. With out-of-season months being filled with strength training and co

Spin Offense
One of the great strengths of the Spin Offense is the excellent play action passing game that is available. Due to the fact that defenses must funnel quickly to the perimeter, they can be very vulnerable to a passing game that attacks the void left in the secondary by pursuing defenders. The mainstay of this passing attack is the Spin Pass. The basics of the Spin Pass have been presented in previous articles. However, here is a quick review. The Spin Pass is true play action

Meshing the Veer and Mid-Line vs. Odd and Even Fronts
It’s amazing what some old-fashioned ingenuity can do. For the most part, running the spread option usually means coming out of trips or four wide receiver shotgun sets and working some type of zone scheme-reading the backside end. It’s the type of option that is all over the collegiate landscape, with teams like Rich Rodriguez’s former West Virginia squad and Urban Meyer’s old Florida teams pioneering the movement. But as more programs decided to move to that scheme, many defenses found

The Speed Report: Quickness & Speed - What\'s the Difference in Football?
I travel the country month to month installing my progression – designed football speed training system. It deals with quickness and transition speed effectiveness. As teams and their staffs spend a few days learning to use the comprehensive package, I am always asked what’s the difference between quickness and speed? The common thought is that if a player has limb speed (arm and leg cycle frequency) then he has good speed. It’s the general thinking of most coaches but it’s n

The Situation
You’re on offense and have been running the traditional Wing-T with some success. The score is tied just before halftime and you\'re backed up on your own five-yard line facing a third and five situation. You need a first down to continue the drive and not give up the ball. Your opponent has been using a 30 Stack defense for the entire first half. What play would you call? Frank Laratta, Head Coach, Grover Cleveland Middle School, Caldwell, NJ. AFM subscriber since 20

Maximizing Your Time on the Practice Field
Detailed preparation and expert organization are essential to every winning program. The practice schedules leading to Saturday must be precisely crafted, minute-to-minute plans designed to produce maximum effort at kickoff. AFM asked Defensive Coordinator Bob Elliott for a specific breakdown of how he gets his San Diego State Aztecs ready for Mountain West opponents. Most important for his players he said is to get them accustomed to the same routine every day. The details of the sess

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,

How to Choose a Video System That\'s Right for You
In the early 1980’s, videotape replaced 16 millimeter film as the standard tool for coaches reviewing game footage and game-planning for upcoming opponents. While video had obvious advantages to film, coaches were just as limited in their ability to jump to the right video segment as they were with film. Watching game tapes provided video that could help a coach see a player’s problems and correct them, but rewinding and fast-forwarding through tapes was cumbersome and a big waste of time. E

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Overload Blitz Package
At Elizabeth City State University, we play a multiple 40 defense. We are an aggressive style defense that aims to disrupt the timing of the offense. We do this by getting pressure with the front four, disguising our coverages and blitzing. One of our favorite blitzes is the overload blitz. We run a strong side and weak side overload blitz out of Cover 0. These pressures are designed to outnumber the offense on the blitz side. Here are some of our overload blitz packages:

Fueling Champions
As Director of Strength and Conditioning at LSU, Tommy Moffitt knows how to train athletes to become champions. With his second BCS National Championship at LSU in the last five years, Moffitt solidified his reputation as one of the country’s top strength and conditioning coaches. The 2003 Samson Strength and Conditioning Collegiate Coach of the Year, Moffitt understands the critical role that nutrition plays in supplementing the hard work that happens in the weight room. AFM recently asked

The Drills Report: Connecticut Secondary Drills
The emphasis that we have chosen to take with our defense, and in this case our secondary, is on fundamentals. There are certainly many variations and philosophies to choose from and we have decided that what we do is the best thing for our program. We believe that tackling is 10% technique and 90% desire. We use a few drills to simulate the different scenarios a defensive back will find himself in throughout the course of a game; they include tackling, block protection and ball skills. The dril

Linebacker Block Protection & Shed Drills
We are an odd man front defense but no matter what scheme you are running, defense is the ability to get off of blocks successfully. To be a great linebacker and to have a defense that is successful against the run, you must know how to defeat and avoid blocks. The progression of how this is taught is as important as teaching it. The players must understand how to deliver a physical blow and to stop the run. 6 Point Explosion Progression We begin by teaching the 6 po

Developing Deception with the Spread Option
What do spread option and Wing T coaches have in common? A ton of consistency and an utter hell-bent philosophy of running their offensive scheme regardless of any situation or circumstance. For the most part, once you’re induced into the clan of one of these systems, it stays with you forever. Sure some coaches will tweak their systems slightly to fit their personnel, like riding the fullback more if he’s a stud or letting the QB get the majority of carries. But essentially you are what y

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Mark Banker
Last fall Oregon State finished first among all 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in rushing defense, surrendering only 70.6 yards per game. The Beavers also finished fourth in quarterback sacks (3.4 per game); sixth in tackles-for-loss (8.2); and eighth in total defense (306.2 ypg). In 2006 the OSU defense led the nation in tackles-for-loss yardage (528). The lynchpin of this defense is Mark Banker, Oregon State’s Defensive Coordinator. Banker has spent 12 of the last 13 seasons with Head C

Defending the Spread\'s Outside Runs with the 30 Stack
DISPELLING MYTH #1 The thinking with the first myth is that they only have little guys inside and you can pound them with your bigger offensive linemen. Not necessarily, says odd stack disciple Jim Girard, defensive coordinator of Massachusetts state champ Wayland High School. “Obviously when you are using smaller kids, then size becomes a concern,” says Girard. “But, if we can train our kids to stay low, then it shouldn’t be much of an advantage for the offen




Quarterback Development (off-season)
Many kids want to be the quarterback when they begin playing the game of football. However, few realize how much time, effort, and pressure come with the position. In today’s game, it is essential to establish an off-season “training” program for an incoming or returning quarterback. There are three areas that we focus on during the off-season. They are: mental preparation, mechanics, and recognition. The mental preparation is one of the most important aspects of the off-seas

Developing a Passing Attack that Fits Your Plans and Players
Throughout my twenty-nine years in the profession, I have had the opportunity to coach at both the collegiate and high school levels. During that time, I have had the pleasure of working with various coaching staffs that have helped me formulate my philosophies on dealing with the passing game. At the same time, I have had many athletes with various ranges in athletic abilities. Therefore, I have had to adapt each year to the specific situation. When you are developing a passing at

Running the Spread in the Red Zone
It was only two years ago that many coaches around the country turned their eyes to the University of Arkansas to see if Gus Malzahn’s Hurry-Up No-Huddle offense could make the jump from high school to college. Truly it was a trial by fire in the brutal SEC. Now, after a year in Fayetteville and one leading the Tulsa Golden Hurricane’s offense, the jury has reached a verdict. It works. Tulsa quietly finished second in the nation this past fall in touchdowns with 79. On

Boise State\'s Defensive Line - Teaching Progression
At Boise State, we break down our teaching progression for the defensive line into three distinct areas: knowledge, fundamentals and effort. Knowledge consists of stance, alignment and assignment. Knowledge is a mental emphasis that will be covered in meetings and players will process it pre-snap. Fundamentals include keys, get off, block protection, footwork, block releases, escape and pass rush. In this article I will concentrate on general knowledge, get offs and block protection and effort.

The Strength Report: Univ of S. FL - Upper Body Multiple & Single Joint Movement
The game of football is a multiple joint game. Sport specificity tells us that we should train athletes in the fashion they play. Therefore we train each muscle group in a multiple joint fashion. However, we have found that single joint movements have a place in our training program as well. Why Multiple Joint Movements? An exercise we do with our kickers each year is that we tell them to kick a field goal and then tell them to kick a field goal without using their arms.

The Speed Report: Playing Fast Transition Speed is Essential
Playing fast means winning games. Coaches in football love speed. The question is twofold: how do we develop it and what kind of speed works? Football requires what I term transition speed. Whenever an athlete has a change of velocity or changes the direction of any movement, a transition must occur. When this transition happens it may cause a physiological change. It will absolutely change the mechanical function of limb cycle and body positioning to force relationship. As athletes run, motor p

Defensive Game Planning
Game planning is all about prioritizing; sifting through all the infinite details that you and your staff have investigated; and pinpointing the most crucial elements. Every coach worth his whistle charts tendencies from every down-and-distance, from every formation, and from each hash mark. They scout blocking schemes and multiple personnel match-ups, just like you do. They document the number of times you run certain routes; they know what your go-to running and passing plays are an

The Situation
You’re on defense and have been effective with your 3-3-5 for most of the game. Your opponent’s high-powered offense has been held in check. They’re now at your 45-yard line and face a third and six at the right hash. The score is tied, 14-14, and it’s midway fourth quarter. For most of the game they\'ve been using a no back set; on this play they line up with trips to the left and a single receiver to the right. How do you stop this potential pass play and force them to punt?

Champion\'s Choice
On the surface, it wouldn’t appear that Fruitland High School in rural Idaho and Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas have much in common in terms of strength and conditioning. Lake Travis is a large suburban school with a Texas-sized budget to support their football program. It’s home to the largest high school weight room in the country, where well over 100 athletes can train at one time. In contrast, until two years ago Fruitland’s strength training facility had two squat

Tech Personnel Run/Pass Combo
On behalf of Middle Tennessee State Football and Head Coach Rick Stockstill, we would like to present to you our Tech Formation: two tights/one back/two wide outs (12 personnel). We value our 12 personnel formation as we can not only dictate defensive alignment but also become a hybrid team with movement from both tight ends to allow mismatches in the run and pass game (See Diagram 1).

Techniques for \'Effective\' Cover 2
The topic of this article is on playing ‘effective’ Cover 2 techniques. We need to first look at what our idea of effective means. This is crucial in how you teach the LBs and DBs to play their techniques, especially the corners. I truly believe you have to make a decision on what you want Cover 2 to do for you. Do you want to run Cover 2 to help in the pass game or to stop the run? To play effective Cover 2, I believe you need to emphasize one or the other. You can do both; however, you nee

An Official’s Guide To Controlling Pressure Situations
Dr. John Laurie has been a high school teacher and administrator for over 45 years and has also been a high school and college football official for 40 years. He has officiated Kansas state high school football and basketball as well as serving as a referee in the Big 8 for 13 years and 11 years in the Big XII. Dr. Laurie also has officiated in 11 different bowl games and been, over the last decade, a regular contributor to American Football Monthly. His new book, Managing the Game: An

Leatherheads - AFM Goes to Hollywood
George Clooney recognizes that the game of football has changed over the years. His film, Leatherheads, a movie about pro football in the 1920’s, opens in theaters nationwide on April 4th. And so when Clooney was looking for someone to coordinate the football scenes for the film, he wanted one thing above all others… to stay true to the way football was in the 1920’s. Many directors like Clooney who are making football movies hire choreographers, not coaches, to help them. As so

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The Drills Report - Central Florida\'s Ball Security
One of the fastest ways to lose a football game is by the offense turning the ball over to its opponent. Keeping turnovers to a minimum through techniques and drills that are practiced ensures the team’s chance of success. The offensive coaches’ motto at UCF is, “Ball security is a job, yours and mine.” If an individual is fumbling the ball away too many times, he will be replaced. If a position on the team is losing the football, the coach will be replaced. With this emphasis

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Jerry Moore
Appalachian State Head Coach Jerry Moore led the Mountaineers to one of college football’s all-time upsets last fall: ASU beat Michigan, in Ann Arbor, 34-32. Additionally, Moore and the Mountaineers completed last season as the first ‘three-peat’ in the history of Division I-AA or FCS football. ASU won their third consecutive National Championship beating Delaware, 49-21. Appalachian’s head man since 1989, Moore has an overall 167-70 record. In 2006 he was selected the Schutt Sports FCS

The A-11 Offense: You Have to See it to Believe it
Warning: Although completely accurate, the following information may seem preposterous, even downright offensive, to some defensive coaches and those conventional offensive coordinators who have grown accustomed to running the same scheme year after year and too set in their ways to change. All skill players on the field at the same time? Every player can be eligible on any given play? It’s real. It’s all real. So real that we got film to prove it – right now as a matter of fact




Game Day Contributors
Football offers the opportunity to work with others. Young men compete to make the team. Once they make the team, they need to understand that they have a role to play on the team. That role may be either a primary role player made up of starters and players in rotation or a secondary role player which includes a player off the bench for an injured player or scout team personnel. The head coach and position coaches must also understand that secondary role players need to be game day contribut

Fire, Football and Families
(The following article was written by John Torres, a 25-year veteran of coaching youth football. The feature describes the effect of last October\'s fires throughout the San Diego area and how it affected Coach Torres and his team). Saturday ­ October 20th, 2007 The SC Wildcats as an organization go 7-3 today. My squad, the J1 Navy team, brings home a win after playing a tough squad from Simi. A birthday is celebrated at local eatery and none of us are ready f

The Strength Report: University of South Florida - Total Body Movements
Like anything else, it’s a strength and power game you get from resistance training. That’s why most athletes do both total body movements and Olympic lifts. The other reason it’s important is to ensure multiple joint action and full extension. More specifically, triple extension of the ankle, knee, and hip. We incorporate that into our lifting strategy as well as work with injury prone areas with all the players. We also train multiple muscle groups and attempt to be as time eff

The Speed Report: The Essence of High School Combines and Your Players
High school combines nationally have mushroomed over the last five years. Is it a fad or is it here to stay? Personally, I think it will stay for a while. Some years ago I was living in Seattle and for a point in time was the speed coach for the Seattle Seahawks. I was obviously aware of the NFL combines that were conducted at that level. In those days the statistics recorded by the organizations were strictly confidential; they were not public knowledge. Today, the combines are liv

The Situation
You’re down, 21-17, late in the fourth quarter. Your opponent has been playing a multiple front defense based out of a 3-5-3 with a base Cover 3 behind it. It’s third and 10 with the ball on the right hash of their 35-yard line. You’ve been running the spread shotgun for the entire game with some success. There’s only 1:15 left and you desperately need a first down to continue the drive. What play would you call in this situation? Kevin Tallman, Ass

Samson\'s I-AA, II, III, NAIA, Juco and HS Strength & Conditioning Coaches of th
Division I-AA/FCS: Henry Briscoe Central Arkansas The Strength and Conditioning Coach at Central Arkansas, Henry Briscoe, has been influenced by a number of coaches and players over the years. But, in addition to that, one book that has helped his strategy is the Book of War by Sun-Tsu. “One of the concepts in the book is to analyze your weaknesses and make them your strengths,” says Briscoe. “We try to do that in the weight room and on the field. This can be

A Man Among Giants
Many football fans probably consider the New York Giants the surprise team of the year in the NFL. Certainly very few prognosticators felt they would make the playoffs, much less win the Super Bowl. After surrendering 80 points in their first two games, the Giants seemed lost, confused and in complete chaos. But they turned it around. Their offensive line improved dramatically; their defense was relentless; and their physical style and presence would make any coach proud. “My feeli

Complementary Runs Off of the Zone Read
We base our offense out of the Shotgun, while playing with one running back, one tight end and three WRs a majority of the time. Our ‘bread and butter’ run play that we hang our hat on is the inside zone read. We base our entire run game around finding ways to run that specific play while having complementary runs that allow us to be successful when defenses make it difficult to run the zone read. The first complementary run we employ is the one-back power (See Diagrams 1-3). We fe

Powerful Performance
A record-setting 12-1 season. The first top-ten final AP ranking since 1995, tying their highest ever. A stunning 24-21 victory against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Multiple Coach of the Year honors for Head Coach Mark Mangino. The only one-loss team in the top ten. By any measure, the 2007-08 season was a monumental success for the University of Kansas Jayhawks. For Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Dawson, the Jayhawks’ success on the field was the payoff for the long hours and

Building Team Unity with the Games Inside the Game
These days the game of football is broken down to a science. Sure, most coaches preach lip service about blocking and tackling but they are usually the same ones that spend a great deal of money and countless hours filing into clinic discussions trying to find the latest innovative offensive scheme or researching a bone-crushing defense. So instead of searching the ends of the earth for the newest scheme or end-all technicality, some coaches have turned towards the intangibles like developing t

The Bubble Screen: A High Percentage Perimeter Attack
As athletes continue to grow faster, quicker and more explosive, it has become increasingly more difficult to effectively attack the perimeter of a defense. Defenses have spread with the emergence and popularity of four and five receiver sets. Leverage advantages on the perimeter are much more difficult to create from spread formations. The numbers advantages that were created when defenses loaded eight and sometimes nine defenders in the box to stop the run are no longer as readily available to

4 Principles of Play Action Passing
Gary Crowton has seen it all. He has coached in the biggest stadiums, in the biggest conferences, in the biggest games. He has coached in the small stadiums of small conferences in overlooked games. But, one thing doesn’t change no matter where he coaches. It is all football. WHY PLAY ACTION? Crowton joined Les Miles’ staff at LSU this year as offensive coordinator and helped lead the Tigers to a National Championship using two quarterbacks and a handful of ball c

Letter From the Editor/Publisher: Playing Time: A Difficult Issue
Of the many responsibilities a coach has, one of the more difficult ones is playing time. In many cases, the decisions are clear-cut and the level of performance dictates one athlete is outplaying another. In others though, the level of play by two athletes competing for the same position can be miniscule. In this situation, who should be the starter with all things being relatively equal? Is it experience, attitude, performance in pressure situations or something else? And then you have the out

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Test for Success
Beyond any doubt, strength and conditioning programs are becoming more sophisticated all the time, especially at high schools. Education of coaches, modern equipment, improved nutrition and detailed training regimens have all contributed to the trend. • But one very important area, according to legendary strength coach Boyd Epley, has been overlooked – testing athletes to establish benchmarks that can then be used to gauge the effectiveness of a strength training program. “Without a well-d

The Drills Report - New Mexico Linebacker Drills & Techniques
Our defensive package is the 3-3-5 out of which we execute multiple fronts, stunts and blitzes. I will talk about the two types of man technique we use in our package: blitz technique and over technique. The focus will be the key coaching points that we emphasize each day. Man-To-Man Pass Defense There are two types of man-to-man pass techniques that we use. Our linebackers will play a cautious man-to-man when they don\'t have help in the deep zones. We call this

Shutting Down the Zone Option
Delta State head coach Ron Roberts knows the zone option. He sees it every week. Like most other conferences in college football, the Gulf Coast, a Division II conference, has become filled with teams who invest in running some form of option out of the spread. In fact, eight of the ten programs in the Gulf Coast are pure option teams. Whether it be zone, veer, midline, dart or speed option, chances are you will see some form of it. “We see it all, a little bit of everything to tell the truth,

Safety Play in Cover 4
The Army defensive scheme uses zone coverage 99% of the time and the reason for this is simple: it enables the secondary to keep everything in front, make the tackle and play another down. Since switching to a zone scheme four years ago, the number of big plays surrendered in the passing game has been greatly reduced. Army employs multiple coverages: 2, 3, 4 and many variations. However, the coverage which Army hangs it hat on is Cover 4. No coverage can defend everything and Cover 4 i

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Ron Zook
Illinois Head Coach Ron Zook and his staff and players recorded one of the greatest turnarounds in the last decade with the team’s performance last fall. The Illini, 2-10 in 2006, finished the season with a 9-3 record, a major upset win over Ohio State in Columbus and a berth in the Rose Bowl. That turnaround (+7) was tops among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Known as a tireless worker and recruiter, Zook’s first two campaigns resulted in an overall 4-19 record. But his recruiting p

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

Practice Planning For All Levels of Play
\"Winning is never an accident, it is the result of high intentions, determination and skilled executions\" When was the last time you or any coach you know complained of having too much practice time? As a coach with nearly 25 years of experience at the youth leagues, I have never heard a coach complain of this. I doubt sincerely that high school or colleges complain of this as well. One thing I have found out though, in the research I have done of successful coaches at all leve

Schutt Sports FBS I-A Coach of the Year - Ron Zook
A program that won eight games the previous four seasons combined – and went 4-19 his first two years – wasn’t about to tear up the blueprint and start from scratch. Zook, 53, believed in what he was doing and that belief paid off as Illinois finished 9-4, including an impressive victory at Ohio State. Going from two wins in 2006 to nine this past season gave Illinois the best turnaround season among Football Bowl Subdivision teams. “I’m really honored to be named the Schutt

Multiple Fronts Without Changing Personnel
No matter what defensive scheme you run, there are a few elements that must always be consistent for you to be successful. The athletes must believe in what they’re doing and they must understand what their responsibilities are. At the high school level we cannot recruit, so finding the great corners, the big Middle LB or the two big, strong, fast linemen may not happen each year. As high school football coaches we need to be able to adjust what we do depending on what the parents send us. No

Shotgun Zone Fly Sweep Play Action Passes
For any team that wants to establish the run, a good play action pass alternative is crucial. Play action keeps defenses from over-aggressively playing the run. This is especially true of the newer forms of the shotgun spread offense that are becoming the staple at the high school and college level. Coach Bryon Hamilton, at Foothill High in California, has found tremendous success in his own hybrid spread offense. One of Foothill’s favorite run plays is the Fly Sweep (outlined in dep

Blocking for the Triple Option vs. 7 Man Fronts
To be an effective option team, whether under center or in the shotgun, we feel you need to have a simple system that allows you to identify the Dive Key, Pitch Key and Run Support player from the secondary. We employ a simple one-two-three count system. Not only does this count system identify who the dive key, pitch key and secondary run support player are, it is also used to determine what type of offensive line and perimeter blocking scheme we use. Essentially we have two blocking schemes

7 Essentials to Kickoff Coverage
While most people would agree that special teams can be a ‘difference maker,’ the University of Pittsburgh’s Charlie Partridge feels it is especially true of high school programs. “Great high school teams win two or three games a year, I promise you, just on special teams,” says Partridge. Special teams is all too often the stepchild in coaching clinics, behind offense and defense. But the man in charge of the kicking game at Pitt knows better. Like many coaches,

Air Raid Offense Drills
In the book Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose is a quote by the author of Warriors, J. Glenn Gray: “Organization for a common and concrete goal in peacetime organizations does not evoke anything like the degree of comradeship commonly known in war. At its height this sense of comradeship is an ecstasy…men are true comrades only when each is ready to give his life for the other without reflection and without thought of personal loss.” The players on our team must build cohesiveness close

Schutt Sports College Coaches of the Year
FCS - DIVISION I-AA Mark Farley Northern Iowa (7th year) Record: 12-1, first Gateway Conference school to complete a perfect 11-0 season; upset Iowa State. Offense: Primarily a one-back, Shotgun West Coast offense, with 30-40% mix of I-formation. Defense: 4-3 Key Stat: Talk about balance – the Panthers averaged 227 rushing yards and 229 passing yards this season. The difference in Mark Farley’s f

Schutt Sports High School Coaches of the Year
EAST Jim Morgans, Parkland HS (Allentown, Pa.) After losing to the Parkland Trojans, opposing coaches invariably remarked on their relentless defense. Parkland’s defensive pursuit was no accident. The Trojans, who recorded seven straight shutouts en route to a 14-1 season, practice a different pursuit drill every day. One is the rabbit drill. “We toss the ball to a rabbit – he’s a kid who will run down the sideline,” coach Jim Morgans explain

Schutt Sports FBS I-A Coach of the Year Finalists
Gary Pinkel • Missouri One tested formula for success is setting priorities and then achieving them. After last season Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel met with his returning seniors and laid out a plan of attack for their ’07 opponents. First, play on a consistent basis. Second, win all non-conference games. Third, be a good team in November. Now, looking back, Coach Pinkel is satisfied they realized their goals. The consistency is evident in their

National HS Coach of the Year - Grace Under Fire
They say there are no hopeless situations; there are only men who have grown hopeless about them. But about this time last year, circumstances surrounding Miami’s Northwestern High School, one of the nation’s most respected football programs, certainly seemed hopeless. Antwan Easterling, one of the nation\'s most sought after running backs, was 19 years old at the time and had consensual sex with a 14 year-old freshman in one of the school’s bathrooms. Despite the fact that it was consider

Combating Offensive Speed with the 4-4 Defense
Whatever is being done at a higher level is usually filtered and quickly replicated through to the high school ranks. Packages like the zone read offense, the ‘spread’ rugby style punt formation and odd-stack defenses have become the norm now at lower levels. Although trends come in cycles, perhaps no scheme in football, except for the I formation offense, has had as much consistency as the 4-4 defense. Yet despite the popularity of the defense, teams have recently started to shif

No Compromises
A year ago, Tyler Hobson was frustrated. Despite having created what some have said was the best line of strength training machines in the world and building a blue-chip client list of NFL teams and Division I universities, he had strayed from the parts of the business he loved most. “My passion to design a unique and innovative line of strength training equipment led me to start Pendulum more than ten years ago,” said Hobson. “As a small family company, the more successful we became,

The Choice of Champions
As every coach will attest, effective and reliable communication between the coaches on the sideline and those in the press box is a critical element of any team’s success on the field. For two San Diego area high schools, this meant a change was needed for the 2007 season. Head Coach Damian Gonzalez’s Division I Poway Titans were coming off an 8-6 season in 2006 where headset communication was sometimes an issue. “At certain schools we would pick up a lot of static on our headse

Where Tradition Begins
Coach Laycock recently completed his 28th season at the helm of Tribe Football and is the program’s winningest coach with a career record of 178-127-2. Starting in 1980, his coaching career at W&M has included 18 winning ledgers and postseason games in nine seasons. To honor and build upon this proud tradition, W&M dedicated the new Jimmye Laycock Football Complex in the fall of 2007. This 30,000-square-foot building features a locker room, athletic training room and offices for coac

Strength Report: University of S. Florida - Static Stretching & Dynamic Warm Ups
At the University of South Florida we begin each workout with our Static Stretching and Dynamic Warm Up routines (See Charts). The goal of this article is to provide you with structure. Each of you have your own stretch routines and warm ups. They could be easily inserted into this part of the workout. However, I would like for you to consider the goals of static and dynamic stretching; the possibility of adding some sprint mechanics into it; and how strength training will benefit your flexibili

The Speed Report: Training Aids and Apparatus
We looked at sprint assisted and resisted aids in a past article. In this article I’ll discuss a few of the other popular training aids and whether or not they are a good resource for enhancing speed and movement in your program. Since speed and movement can be enhanced through training, entrepreneurs and manufacturers are attempting to make it easier for coaches and trainers to get the job done by offering a potpourri of training aids. Each month I receive magazines and catalogs to

The Situation
You’re down after just scoring, 17-14, with a minute to go in the first half. As you line up to kickoff, the coach signals in for an onside kick. Rolling the dice, you feel that if you recover the kick, your three time outs will pay dividends as you try to at least gain some yardage and kick a field goal before the first half ends. It would be great to go into the locker room tied (or ahead) since at one time you trailed, 17-0. What formation would you use for the onside kick and what respo

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Troy Calhoun
Under first year coach Troy Calhoun, the Air Force Academy finished the 2007 regular season with a 9-3 record. The Falcons had a five-game turnaround from 2006 (4-8) and it was the second largest in nearly fifty years. Air Force had entered 2007 coming off three straight losing seasons. Calhoun was hired from the Houston Texans where he was their Offensive Coordinator. A 1989 AFA graduate, Calhoun led the Falcons to the most wins ever by a first year head coach. After his military co

Letter From the Editor/Publisher: The Countdown is on to AFM University Clinics
The first of four AFM University clinics kicks off the weekend of February 8-9 in St. Paul. The last one is in Kansas City on February 29-March lst. Among the coaches speaking at the clinics will be representatives from the BCS National Champion LSU Tigers and the Junior College National Champions, Butler Community College. Each clinic will have a combination of national, regional and local speakers. Here is a sampling of some of the sessions on each weekend: St. Paul • February

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Dual-View Plays of the Football Game Tape
A dual-view football game tape can help both coaches and players and can be produced with less than a thousand dollar investment. My dual-view method simultaneously shows two views of the same play in a football game: 1) The sideline game film shot from the press box. This is the typical high school medium shot showing the halfback on one edge of the frame and the linebacker on the other edge. 2) The second view shows an extreme wide view shot from the same angl

How To Get The Most Out Of Practice Time ­ As An Assistant Coach
Football programs at all levels ­ from Pop Warner to the NFL ­ have to deal with similar challenges. Your practice time is limited. Your playbook is unlimited. Your next opponent presents numerous difficulties. As a result, many coaches struggle weekly with the same dilemma: How are we going to get all this done? The answer, of course, is that every staff must get the most of practice time. But how? While many clinics, books, and articles advise head coaches how to plan a week or day of practi

Warren Central\'s Overload Blitz
For years the hallmark of the Warren Central defense has been an aggressive pressure mentality. For many years, most of that pressure was tied into man-to-man coverage. However, as the game has started to change and we are seeing fewer 21 personnel offenses, more shifting, more motioning, and more quarterbacks who are running threats as well as passing threats, we have evolved into a zone pressure defense. This has allowed us to keep our aggressive mentality while being adaptable to the multiple

Time for Turf
The trend may be irreversible. Each year, hundreds of football practice and game fields are converted from natural grass to synthetic turf. That’s not surprising, considering that today’s turf systems provide safe, consistent, all-weather playing surfaces that can be utilized 24/7 by not just the football team but by a long list of other sports and activities. ¶ Rick Doyle, President of the industry support group Synthetic Turf Council (STC), recalled a remark made by a board member a

A Systematic Approach to Your Quarterbacks\' Thought Process
In my 28 years of coaching I have had the opportunity to work with whom I believe to be three of the finest offensive coordinators/quarterback coaches in the history of college football: Bob Toledo, Dennis Franchione and Brian Billick, all whom have been instrumental in my coaching development. It should be noted that Coach Billick was on his way out of Utah State when I was on my way in. He has been very gracious down through the years in terms of helping with the development of my thought proc

The Strength Report: Goals & Principals of a Strength Training Program
I am often asked about our off season strength and conditioning programs. At the University of South Florida we are very fortunate to have a fully outfitted weight room and five professional strength coaches working with our athletes. What we do at USF is not always available to others. Therefore it is important that I educate coaches so that they may be able to look at their current situation and make the most of it. It is my goal to provide coaches with a sound strength and conditioning progra

Did the Spin Offense Live Up to its Hype?
If you were to ask Cirtronelle High School (AL) Offensive Coordinator Barry Gibson or Catholic High’s (LA) Head Coach Dale Weiner a year ago if they thought they would have this much feedback from the Spin offense, neither one would have believed you. But the truth is since the first article on the Spin appeared in AFM’s December, 2006 issue, Gibson and Weiner have spent countless hours on the computer emailing coaches and in the post office sending out cut-ups of the Spin scheme. It has tak

The Speed Report: Pure Plyometrics or Just Exercises?
As coaches and trainers attempt to find ways to increase performance characteristics for football players, methods and techniques to enhance speed and movement capabilities are always at the top of their shopping list. Successful procedures have been cultivated from sources outside football, such as track and field, sports medicine rehabilitation and others. A prominent example is plyometric exercise. During the 39 years that I’ve been coaching I have seen many types of training meth

The Situation
You’re on defense and facing a spread shotgun passing attack with trips to your right side on the wide side of the field. A lone receiver is also flanked to your left. You are up seven, 35-28, late in the fourth quarter. Now you face the most critical play of the game: fourth and eight on your 18-yard line. What defense do you use and how do you play the four wide receivers so you can get the ball back? Don Smolyn, Head Coach, Lenape Valley High Scho

The Zone Read in the Pistol Offense
“This concept is rapidly growing around the country. Most high schools that are good at running this are doing it out of an off-set. We are doing it out of the Pistol alignment because we think it gives him a better downhill angle to attack the line of scrimmage and not so much sideways.” Coach Steve Rampy of Blue Valley High School in Stillwell (KS) won a state championship last year using the Pistol offense. But even though they didn’t win a state title this year, he is

Utilizing Play Action Passes With in Your Offense
To win consistently: Offenses – Must be able to run the ball. There are various styles of running the football effectively. Some like ISO, Power, Toss, Counter, Option etc. Other methods include Zone, ZoneRead, Speed Sweep, Reverses. Defenses – Must be able to stop the run. They must force offenses to be one dimensional and predictable. High powered offenses must complement their runs with a versatile Play Action Passing Game. It is important to slow d

The 7 Deadly Sins of Coaching Long Snappers
How many big games end with one team winning a nail-biter by only a few measly points? And how many of those games could have gone the other way, if that kicker had just made that one kick or if that punter could’ve gotten a little bit more on that one punt? Or if that one snap hadn’t been off and yet, how many coaches really know how to teach their specialists so they can make that difference? Long snapping has often been looked at as a skill that players either have or

Letter From the Editor/Publisher: Point-Counterpoint: Experience It
In just over a month, AFM University will be producing the first of four weekend clinics. The initial one is in St. Paul (February 7-8) followed by Indianapolis (February 15-16) then Dearborn (February 22-23) and concluding in Kansas City (February 29-March lst). In addition to a combination of national, regional and local speakers, each clinic will have a unique aspect to it: Point-Counterpoint. American Football Monthly introduced the ‘Point-Counterpoint’ series to the magazine i

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The Aggressive 8 Man Front
One of the best defenses in college football, over the last few years, plays on Long Island. C.W. Post is known for their tough 8 man fronts and for stopping the run. The challenge that most teams have in implementing an 8 man front is the pressure it puts on the secondary. But at C.W. Post, DB Coach Ernie Blount has managed to teach the skills required to his DBs to make sure that, even though the 4-4 scheme that the Pioneers employ leaves the defensive backfield on their own, the guys back the

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Chuck Martin
All Chuck Martin did in his first three years as head coach at Grand Valley State was lead the Lakers to two NCAA Division II National Championships, 38 total wins and the nation’s longest active winning streak at 28 games. This fall, Martin’s fourth as head coach at GVSU, the Lakers went 10-0 in the regular season and now have a 38 game winning streak going into the Division II playoffs. Previous to being named head coach, Martin was the Lakers’ defensive coordinator. The 2003 GVSU team a




The Truth About Recruiting
There is no doubting Ed Orgeron\'s passion for recruiting.. Just ask his former boss, Pete Carroll. But, unfortunately for Orgeron, his recruiting abilities didn\'t translate into victories during his three-year tenure at Ole Miss. He was fired Nov. 25, just a few months after Bruce Feldman\'s book \"Meat Market\" was published and shortly after this article was written. Plenty can still be learned from Orgeron\'s relentless recruiting efforts, which Feldman reveals i

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

Multiple Coverages Out of Zone Blitz Schemes
Several months ago American Football Monthly broke down the concepts and philosophies of utilizing a cover three zone blitz. The benefits of the zone blitz are simple: it puts additional pressure on the QB by rushing five defenders while playing softer zone coverage behind it. Not only does it provide a suitable alternative to a strict man blitz concept but its possibilities are endless. You can send any eleven on the field as long as you have three deep defenders and three underneath defenders

Match Up Zone Coverage vs. The Drop Back Passing Game
Cover 4 coverage is our version of a match up zone defensive pass coverage. It is a zone taught through the concept of pattern reading specific receivers to determine what routes can aggressively be attacked and covered by linebackers as well as defensive backs. Pattern reading gives our linebackers and safeties the best chance to play all receivers in all routes and make adjustments for a particular game situation. It’s based on counting receivers from the outside to the middle of t

Defending the Pass
In today’s brand of college football, teams tend to throw more than they run. In light of this trend, the coaching staff at UCLA has tried to be more creative with regard to how we coach and prepare our players to play against the pass. Also, because of his experience in the NFL, UCLA Defensive Coordinator Dewayne Walker, then with the Washington Redskins, brought information from studies done on \'Ball Disruptions.\' It is well known that combining pressure on the passer with the ja

The Speed Report: Resisted and Assisted Sprint Training
Since speed and movement control are two of the most sought-after athletic qualities, coaches and trainers are always looking for ways to help athletes improve in these areas. In this article, we will look at the topic of sprint assisted and resisted training and try to sort out the good from the not-so-good as it pertains to football. I travel the country and spend time with coaches presenting my Team Speed Workshops for their programs. These coaches constantly ask me what I think abo

The Situation
You’re on special teams where your opponent faces a fourth and four at their own 25 yard line. Your opponent leads 20-17 with just over a minute remaining in the game. They’re in punt formation with gunners spread on both sides and a personal protector lined up in front of the punter. There are also two blocking backs over each guard as signals are called. How would you align your defense and what strategy would you use to do everything to block this punt and get possession in your oppone

The Shotgun Zone Fly: Benefits of a Diversified Run Game
More and more teams are realizing the benefits of a diverse run game based out of the shotgun. Coach Bryon Hamilton, at Foothill High in Palo Cedro, CA, implemented his own shotgun system several years ago. The system, which he calls the Shotgun Zone Fly Offense, dovetails well with the popular Spread offense. Since developing the SZF, Foothill has become one of the top teams in their classification and is known for one of the most formidable running attacks in northern California. “

Success Story
Dave Schroeder faced a common dilemma among high school coaches in the 1970’s – how to create an effective weight training facility with a limited budget in an era when equipment was very expensive and would frequently last only a few years. As a coach of football, wrestling and track and field at the high school level in Texas and New Mexico and a former lineman and graduate assistant at New Mexico State, Dave was a pioneer in incorporating weight training into his athletes’ training regi

Gaining the Pre- and Post-Snap Advantage
It is commonly said that an offense has two distinct pre-snap advantages over any particular defense: one, they know the snap count and two, they know where the ball is going. Once the ball is snapped those advantages disappear, but there are other factors post-snap, such as movement and deception, to help leverage defenses. AFM talked to three of the more prominent coaches in the country: Dale Weiner of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge; Byron Hamilton of Foothill High School in Cal

Navy\'s Deceptive Linebacker Strategy
The Midshipmen also know the fundamentals required to make up for those shortcomings. That’s why Coach Paul Johnson’s program is poised for a fifth consecutive trip to a bowl game. Offensively, Johnson’s patented option attack helps minimize athletic mismatches. But, defensively, it’s tough for the Midshipmen to out-scheme superior opponents. It’s not that they don’t try. “We’re not very big and can’t just line-up and play with some people,” explained Navy

Letter From the Editor/Publisher: Coming in 2008: AFM University
One of the many benefits of being Managing Editor of American Football Monthly is building relationships. As in most professions, relationships begin by phone call or, more recently, email. They’re then strengthened with more communication and maybe a personal meeting. Over the last three years, I’ve had the good fortune to grow relationships with many coaches at the high school, college, and professional level. Some I’ve met but many others have become an on-going phone/email r

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The Drills Report - Zone Blocking: Run Game Drills
In this article we will cover some of the drills we use to develop our offensive linemen for the run game. Drills are where you develop your offensive linemen into playmakers. It’s difficult to teach technique and fundamentals during team practice. Instead, in team you should see your drills being put into use. Here are seven important points when teaching drills: 1. Teach a handful of drills. 2. Teach the fundamentals (‘Fundamentals Wins Games’). 3. Rep every

Common Bond
The contrasts could not be greater. The big school in the football-crazed state that routinely plays in front of over 10,000 fans and produces multiple D-I players every year. The small school in the small state that’s only playing in its eighth year and might draw 2,000 for the season’s biggest game. One tech-savvy coach who has grown up with computers and another who had, until very recently, never used a computer and still refuses to use email. But Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Kay of po

Five Things That Can Stop Your Triple Option from Being Successful
The Triple Option, when run correctly, can be a defensive coordinator’s worst nightmare. The Triple Option requires the defense to account for all the moving parts: the quarterback, the fullback, and the halfbacks. To account for each of these players every play can be a headache for any defense. However, like any other type of offense, the Triple Option can be its own worst enemy if not run correctly. In this article, I will address the five most common ‘offensive concerns’ in running the

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Hal Mumme
Changing the fortunes at colleges has been a way of life for New Mexico State’s Hal Mumme. The Texas native has turned around the programs at four colleges – Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, Kentucky and Southeastern Louisiana – and is now attempting to do the same at New Mexico State. Considered a mastermind of the Air Raid offense, Mumme’s teams have ranked among the top programs in both passing and total offense. Now in his third year with the Aggies, he answers your questions...




Muskingum College: Cover 2 (Parts 2 and 3)
Cover 2 - Part 2 * In Part One we discussed Why cover 2? We discussed how both offensively and defensively both parties feel like they are in a \"win situation\" both sides feel as if they have gained an advantage. We discussed how offensive personnel groups and formations can affect the coverage and we talked about the how the offense appears to gain an advantage at times in both gaps and #\'s. In Part 2 we want to shift our emphasis to the technical coaching

What Do You Mean You Guys Don\'t Bench? Not At All?
\"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect\"—Mark Twain I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve had to answer the title of this article in the past four years—from all factions: fans, players, parents and even other coaches. As you well know, in our profession anytime we go against the norm there is some inherent risk. There is safety in conformity. “If the league champ is running the spread, then we will too. So

Dynamic Stretching during Warm-Up?
On almost every football field in America, at some point before practices and games, the teams line-up and static stretch. Football teams have always done it, so what is the problem? The problem is that if anyone responsible for those football teams was asked why they are static stretching, they will probably not be able to offer a reason that is supported by current research. Is there a better activity to include in the warm-up? Dynamic stretch can generally be defined as controlled,

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

Multiple Formations in the Spin Offense
Offensive coaches have long recognized the benefit of running a group of plays from a variety of formations. While the adjustments for the offense are usually minimal, the defense often times must apply significant switching of responsibilities. This can result in defensive confusion and breakdowns. The Spin Offense is no different. While previous articles in American Football Monthly’s series on the Spin have focused on the base formation – the double slot, we do use several sets.

Techniques and Drills for Pass Protection
At Upper Iowa, our offensive linemen go out before practice and then stay after to work on proper pass protection techniques. If these drills are instilled on a daily basis, the players can work on their own technique and know what results to expect. When I was hired in January of 2006, my first priority was to have our offensive linemen dedicate themselves to fundamentals and techniques. Last year our offensive line averaged 270 pounds and two of our starters had never played O-Line in their re

Unsung Heroes
Monday, August 29, 2005. In the early morning hours, category 3 Hurricane Katrina slams into Louisiana and Mississippi, barely missing a direct hit on New Orleans. The worst damage is initially concentrated on the Gulf Coast, but within the next 24 hours it becomes apparent that the levee system designed to protect New Orleans is failing. Some levees are topped by the high water in Katrina’s wake and others are completely breached. By the end of the day on Tuesday, 80% of New Orleans is un

The Strength Report: Developing the Explosive Athlete - Auburn's Off Season Tra
Conditioning should be at the forefront of a football strength and conditioning program. This does not diminish the importance of the weight room but there always needs to be a certain level of fitness for each player. You can't overemphasize the importance of conditioning, especially in this day and age. No matter how great the player is in the weight room, if he can't run, he can't play. This not only applies to straight-ahead running but the ability to move athletically, to change direction a

The Speed Report: Maximizing Football Speed and Movement with A Weight Room Prog
Maximizing football speed development is a year round process. This is the case at the collegiate and professional level. The high school level is not as consistent with the application towards speed development as the upper levels of football. Most high schools cannot employ full-time strength and conditioning coaches. College and pro strength coaches utilize many essentials that cover strength and speed development aspects on a year-round time table. Many high schools across our nation are try

The Situation
You’re on offense and down 21-13 with only 1:15 left before halftime. Your opponent’s been using a multiple front defense based out of a 4-4 with a base Cover 3 behind it. It’s 3rd and 10 and the ball is on the right hash of their 35 yard line. Your spread offense has been somewhat successful but you need a first down to continue the drive and, hopefully, score before the half. What play do you call? John Flath, Offensive Line Coach, L

Odd vs. Even
At some point this off season, a lot of coaches are going to sit down and try to make a decision about what changes need to be made to improve for the upcoming season. With players moving on, and the opponents making their own adjustments, these coaches will likely think about choosing a different defensive system to make them more successful. So – to start with – should it be an Odd Defense … or an Even Defense? Some of the best high school coaches are here to help. They believe

Defending the No-Huddle Offense
The no-huddle offense can give even the most talented defenses fits. In Georgia’s season opener against Oklahoma State, the Bulldogs struggled to get lined up correctly when the Cowboys mixed in the no-huddle on two first half scoring drives. “Early in the game, they were getting us off-balance and we weren’t getting lined up (because of the no-huddle),” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “That was probably our biggest halftime adjustment – making sure we were lined up on time.

Letter From the Editor/Publisher: Being an Effective Linebacker
Chris Tormey is the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Washington. Having been a position coach, defensive coordinator and head coach, Tormey has learned from his mentors: Don James, Dennis Erickson, and Tyrone Willingham. With more than a quarter century devoted to coaching and especially linebackers, Tormey has formulated his own thoughts on a linebackers progress for success. He calls it: C.A.S.K.R.E.P.T. 1. “Communicate: It is the linebacker

How Kent State Creates Leaders through Year-Round Competition
Kent State University Head Coach Doug Martin remembers trying to figure out what went wrong following a 1-10 season (including 0-8 in the Mid-American Conference). Picking up the pieces after the team had gone a respectable 5-6 the previous year wasn’t easy. But one piece that certainly needed to be addressed was team leadership. “When coaches are losing, the first thing that comes out of their mouths is we don’t have any leadership,” Martin said. “Well, it’s our job as coa

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The Drills Report: Defensive Backs: Drills & Techniques
As a former player at Virginia Tech, I feel honored and privileged to have the opportunity to coach at my alma mater and work with such great people, coaches and players. I want to discuss our base footwork drills, the movements within the drills and how they coincide with the movements we perform during practices and games on a regular basis. I truly believe that repetition is the mother of learning. I try to have our base footwork drills mimic the movements that through repetitions n

How Boise State Runs Their Flood Route
Boise State was the darling of underdog teams everywhere last season when they beat traditional power Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Down the stretch, the Broncos used a couple of gimmick plays to take advantage of the Sooners’ aggressiveness. While the plays worked in that game, Boise doesn’t have a gimmick offense. Head coach Chris Petersen has led this offense for years, first as offensive coordinator under Dan Hawkins. Upon being elevated to head coach, he turned a lot of the res

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Jerry Glanville
The man in black is back...Veteran NFL coach Jerry Glanville accepted the head coaching position at Portland State earlier this year. The former head coach of both the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons, Glanville spent more than a decade out of coaching while serving as a television analyst. He returned to the coaching ranks on the college level two years ago, joining June Jones’ staff in Hawaii as Defensive Coordinator. After two years in Honolulu, Glanville accepted the PSU position on Febr




Arena Advantage
In the fast-paced world of the Arena Football League, where teams are pressured to score on virtually every possession, players seek to gain an advantage every time they touch the ball. That includes having the best jerseys available – ones that can’t be grabbed by would-be tacklers trying to prevent a touchdown. Dallas Desperados quarterback Clint Dolezel, the AFL’s all-time leader with 865 career touchdown passes, knows more about getting the ball into the end

How’s and Why’s of the 3-5 Defense
Mike Toop, now head coach at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, has a coaching resume that spans 31 seasons with stints at Union, Colgate, and UConn before accepting the top job at Davidson. So when Toop observes that a Big East powerhouse like West Virginia has caught his attention by utilizing a 3-5 defense it’s worth hearing him out. “The 3-5 is starting to come on,” Toop told AFM. “The thing about the 3-5 that people like is the ability to blitz

Quarterbacking: \'The Ritual\'
This can easily be a 20-30 minute practice routine, while it can be reduced/condensed to a pre-game routine. This is something we work with at every practice. As the season goes on, I reduce repetitions and \"speed\" things up to shorten the routine. It is excellent for \"warming up\" the quarterback before he works with running backs and receivers. It is very conducive for either a camp or high school practice situation. The drills are best completed with two or more quarterbacks. One of the n

High Maintenance vs. Low Maintenance
(The following article was written by David Buchanan, Head Coach at Mason County High School in Maysville, Ky. A similar questionnaire can be adopted for your program. Coach Buchanan can be reached at david.buchanan@kyschools.us ) * Turn in to Coach Buchanan at the beginning of practice on Monday! As a football player, you want to be a low maintenance player. High maintenance players require a lot of time and att

The Strength Report: Developing the Explosive Athlete - Defensive Backs
The philosophy on training high level football athletes is a basic one with simple principles. Each individual athlete, for the two to five years of their athletic career, will establish specific goals and objectives for themselves. As a commitment to ‘training’ as a high level or elite competitor, what can reliably be improved upon to develop a better skilled player or defensive back? Within the terms of training, for the game of football long term, is the length of the athlete

The Speed Report: In Season Conditioning: Specificity is Key for Game Endurance
Well, we’ve developed off season speed. Now how does it hold up during the season demands? Put on the pads and let’s go through the physical parameters of the body busting hell. Will he endure with the same speed and efficiency that off season was developed in shirts and shorts and no physical pounding? No! Why do you think that the world-class sprinters have not made a great impact in the NFL over the years? The demands of football’s pounding nature doesn\'t lend itself to the infinite pr

The Situation
You’re on defense and your team has continually defended your opponent inside your 40 yard line. It’s red zone defense again as the clock ticks midway through the fourth quarter. It’s 4th and 9, you’re up 14-7 and the ball is on your 20 yard line, set on the (Defensive) right hash. They come out in trips open to the right and have been using slide protection to the strength with the ace back blocking inside-out and releasing if the end gets washed inside. What de

Penn State Pass Rush Tecniques
One of our basic philosophies as a defensive unit is to make the opponent one dimensional. We tell our defensive linemen ‘To earn the right to rush the passer, you must first stop the run.’ The last three years against the run, we ranked 4th in 2004, 2nd in 2005 and 2nd in 2006 in the Big Ten Conference and nationally ranked 34th in 2004, 7th in 2005 and 7th in 2006. We really sell to our players the importance of stopping the run and getting to the quarterback. To be a great defen

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

How to Get Your Gamebreakers the Ball
University of North Alabama coach Mark Hudspeth has been coaching football in the South for awhile. “I grew up just south of Starkville, Mississippi, watching Emory Bellard run the option. So, I have been an option guy from way back.” Hudspeth has learned that the basic premise behind Bellard’s famous Wishbone offense, developed and implemented under Darrell Royal at Texas, is ball distribution and having the defense decide where the ball goes. Since Hudspeth’s arrival in 2002,

The Spin Offense: The Weakside Attack
Six years ago, I was the offensive coordinator at St. Andrews Episcopal High School in Ridgeland, MS. I was at a point in my career where I wanted to design an offense that would not only be different but would also help a team with average talent to compete against much stronger and more talented teams. With 23 years of coaching experience under my belt, I had run just about every kind of offense you could imagine. It was at that time I created the \'Spin Offense.\' By combining some

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The Drills Report - Advanced Wide Receiver Drills
I have been coaching college football for more than ten years, all of them as a receivers coach at various levels of competition and talent. One of the beliefs I’ve developed over that period of time is that many receivers do not know how to properly catch a football. They have not been taught nor do they use the proper fundamentals and techniques needed to accomplish this basic but critical task. Many coaches believe a player is either born with the natural ability to catch a footba

The Defensive End: Up or Down?
Chuck Martin is quite familiar with success. Martin will begin his third year as head football coach at Grand Valley State University, the winningest Division II football program in the country. He has led the Lakers to 23 wins, a D-II National Championship, a 13-game winning streak and a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) title. The Lakers’ success begins and ends with defense. Eleven of GVSU’s 13 opponents were held to 17 points or less and seven scored 10 points or fe

Inside Zone Read: Three Ways to Combat the Games Defenses Play
Our base running play is the inside zone read out of the shotgun. We don’t block the backside end and since we are in the shotgun he becomes our read. Our offensive staff has had the opportunity to ask a lot of defensive coordinators at various levels ‘how do you defend zone read?’ Most of them answer that they have one defender on the backside responsible for chasing the running back and another to stay at home and ‘rob’ the QB. This can be done out of many different fronts. Defenses

Defending Third and Long
The option has been grinding you up throughout the whole game. Three yards here, six yards there. It seems like your defense has been facing third and two’s all game. But, on the next possession, you stuff the fullback on first down. Your linebacker makes a good tackle on a quarterback keeper on second down. Finally, it’s third and twelve ... only to have your corner bite on an out-and-up and surrender a 15-yard completion. For a defensive coordinator, there are not many things wor

Winning with Arkansas\' Wildcat Formation: Going to Your Best Athlete
When All-SEC running back Darren McFadden lined up in a shotgun formation directly behind the center in the 2006 SEC Championship Game, the entire Florida defense was surprised, as were the 73,000 fans in attendance at the Georgia Dome. Catching the Gator defense by surprise, McFadden took the snap and connected on a two yard strike with Felix Jones, who was left uncovered in the left flank, cutting the deficit to 17-14. Although the score wasn’t enough to keep the Razorbacks in the game, it w

AFM Subscribers Ask...with Glenn Caruso
Macalester College’s football program began a new era on December 16, 2005 when the college named Glenn Caruso its new football coach. In his previous position as offensive coordinator at South Dakota, Caruso directed an offense that set 117 school records including points scored and total yardage. In 2005, the Coyotes went 9-2 while averaging 49.7 points and 583 yards per game. Last fall, in his first season as Macalester’s head coach, the Scots produced their two highest single-game, total




Effective Cover 1 Robber Coverage
John Burrell sits in his office on a warm afternoon in late July. The Western Connecticut State University coach wishes he could walk over to the clock on the wall and stop the hands from moving. But with a game scheduled for late August that clock just keeps on ticking towards another season. There never seems to be enough time to get ready. And getting ready for Burrell often includes creating something different. A new twist. A wrinkle no one has seen before. An adjustment here. An adjustment

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

Muskingum College: Effective Cover 2 Defense
This article will attempt to discuss and break down Cover 2 or a 2 deep zone coverage with five underneath. As with anything else there are many different ways to teach this coverage. We will break this up into three sections so that we can discuss in detail how we teach and approach this coverage. In this first section we will discuss the WHY of Cover 2 as well as the reasons that a defense would want to employ this coverage and conversely why offenses like to see this coverage. The interesting

Aerial Attack with the Tight End
The most amazing aspect of what Texas Tech has accomplished in Mike Leach’s reign in Lubbock is the consistency of a prolific passing offense. Since 2001 the Red Raiders have finished no worse than fifth in the nation in passing offense among all Bowl Subdivision schools. For four straight years – 2002 through 2005 – they led the nation. The players change, but the results don’t. After splitting duties as Co-offensive Coordinator over the past few years, Dana Holgorsen becomes

Zone Play Concepts and Techniques
We have a very diverse offensive system at TCU. The breadth of our offensive system forces our linemen to develop a number of skills. We try to have our schemes carry similar patterns, concepts and elements to reduce the amount of practice time used for learning plays. We try to invest most of our practice time in technique training. The Zone Play has been traditionally one of our most productive plays. We use it as well to establish a physical personality for our offense and we belie

The Strength Report: Developing the Explosive Athlete - Running Backs
The cadets at West Point are highly motivated. They are at the United States Military Academy because the objective and goal is that they all will be great officers and that is the number one priority; that is, to do everything possible so they will be great officers. The entire training mission at the USMA is to get the cadets to be leaders. At Army, my program is built around a year-long periodized program. We utilize the non-linear periodization cycle and we approach it with the fou

The Speed Report: Preparing for Football Performance: Proper Warm Ups
One of the more important aspects of practice or game performance is being ready to function mentally and physically. Whether your team is warming up for a practice or a game, certain aspects of readiness (prepared for action) must be applied. When elite athletes perform they are very good at mentally processing variable psychomotor movement activities. When a team takes the field to warm up for practice or a competition, they should approach it with a good mental focus each time. Prac

The Situation
Your team is playing its opening game against the top ranked team in the league. You’ve just come off a great summer camp that enabled you to put in three offensive packages (Spread, Pro and Wishbone) and this year you have the personnel to run them all. It’s been a tough game so far, having lost your starting QB in the second series of the game. The score is tied 28-28. The kick return team did a great job just getting the ball back to your opponent’s 40-yard line with 1:30 left on

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

Disguising Your Pre-Snap Defense
Sometimes the best way to disguise a defense is with no disguise at all. Miami (OH) defensive backs coach Tim Cooper relies on that type of deception to confuse offenses. Instead of throwing multiple looks at offenses, Cooper often prefers that the Redhawks’ defense looks identical to the way it did on the previous play. That doesn’t mean Miami will never use pre-snap movement. Stemming the line, bluffing pressure with creeping linebackers and showing multiple-safety looks are all

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

6 Steps to D-Line Get Off
My first National Football League coaching experience was in 1980 with the Los Angeles Rams. It was a spring research visit. I was introduced to Bud Carson, the famed Pittsburgh Steelers’ Defensive Coordinator. I was awed by this encounter. Bud was highlighted in a 1979 Sports Illustrated article titled “NFL Assistant Coaches: Better Than Working For A Living.” In my 29 years of coaching, although the article’s title was unusual, I have found it to be truthful. My career has been bless

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The Drills Report - Teaching Linebackers Proper Technique
Our base defense at SMU is the 4-3-4 alignment which allows our defensive package to include multiple fronts and coverages. With the variety and versatility of offenses today and the adjustments made defensively, it is important to be consistent in teaching techniques to your players. In this article I will focus on my strategy and teaching progression in developing linebackers. Strategy Coaches should have the ability to communicate with students, athletes, coaches a

Meshing the Option with the West Coast Offense
Not unlike the other service academies, when it came to running the football, the United States Air Force Academy prided itself on executing a balanced, three-back option attack. Focusing on four to five yards a carry – their patented scheme would burn up the clock and wear down its opponents. It was that ‘three yards and a cloud of dust’ mentality that former head coach Fisher DeBerry preached to his cadets for the 23 years of his reign giving them a chance to compete against bigger, stro

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




Keys to Great Defensive Back Play
In developing sound defensive back play I stress eight keys to success. The keys are precise clear communication, a solid stance, smooth backpedal, plant/drive, interception point, job and mindset. These keys are stressed everyday throughout practice, during every period. On game day the big key is mindset. Communication – An important key for the secondary is to communicate during the football game. The importance of talking cannot be overemphasized. They

Coastal Carolina In-Season Offensive Practice Outline
One of the more crucial aspects of in-season offensive practice planning is making sure that everything we plan to have in our arsenal on Saturday has been installed and practiced at some time during the week. Although that may sound simple, the limited practice time constraints we have make it imperative that we have a sound structure to our weekly practice plan so that no part of our game plan is left on the cutting room floor. The following schedule outlines how we break u

Major Upgrade
Any list of the most successful prep programs in the country over the last quarter century would certainly include the Jenks Trojans. Led by Head Coach Allan Trimble, Jenks has taken the Oklahoma 6-A state title crown 11 times since 1979, including six in a row between 1996 and 2001 and eight out of the last eleven. Trimble’s perennial powerhouse prevailed again in 2006, overcoming the tragic death of the team’s starting center, Garrett Bennett, just prior to the start of the season.

Linebacker Keys in Read Progression
Since the early days of the conference, the WAC has been known as a place where creative coaches experiment and become pioneers in various aspects of offense. And with teams like Boise State, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico State, not much has changed in that regard. Enter Mark Johnson, the Defensive Coordinator for Utah State’s Aggies. Two seasons ago, Johnson brought his unique defense to Logan, and has begun the process of building the Aggies into a defense that can match the offensive firepo

The Strength Report: Developing the Explosive Athlete - Linebackers
First and foremost our program is about producing results. Coaches can design the greatest programs on paper, but if athletes are not committed to the program then they are simply pieces of paper. Ground based and multi-joint exercises support the foundation of what we teach and coach. We use squatting, various single leg and hamstring exercises to gain strength in the hips and lower body. It is imperative that the top of the thighs be parallel during a squat – a shallow squat is not as effect

What You Must do to be a State Champion
For the last four years AFM has conducted a nationwide survey of championship high school coaches on a cross section of subjects that ranged from style of play to educational and coaching backgrounds. The results provided some clear cut trends while other topics illustrated subtle shifts that merit attention. The conclusions most apparent were: 1. The consistent use of ‘feeder’ programs among state championship teams. 2. A constant in the number of returning starters combin

The Speed Report: Athletic Speed Skills for Special Team Plays
Special teams is, of course, a major concern for every football program in America. Coaches must select the right people for the job. They then must teach the proper schemes for executing both cover and return deployment by the troops. The selection of talent available does not always provide the fastest people on the team. A player’s football savvy is sometimes a better skill than pure speed. This fact is often important to the special teams design. However, speed on the field is ne

The Situation
You’re on defense and have been using a 4-3, cover 2 defense for most of the game. Your opponent is in a Power I formation with one WR on each side. The ball is on your 30-yard line on the near hash mark and you’re facing a 4th and 2 situation late in the third quarter. As the ball is snapped the QB is in play action, the tight end on the right side flares out and both wide outs look to be in a crossing pattern. How do you cover this fourth down play and stop your opponent�

The Pass Action Run
The Origins Like many innovative designs in football, Glenn Caruso stumbled upon the next great offensive concept by chance. As a coordinator at the University of South Dakota in 2004, the Coyotes were cruising through their high rep, high tempo daily play polish period until something, or someone, kept putting a massive dent in their plans. “We kept trying to run the weak side isolation play out of pro slot, but that Will linebacker kept smacking us in the face. We couldn’t g

The Northwestern One-Two Punch vs. Cover 3
There are thousands of great coaches in this wonderful profession and we are very humbled to be able to write about our offense. In 2005 we finished fourth nationally in total offensive production. The plays we’ve included in this clinic had been a major part of our success and have been a staple in the Wildcat offense since the implementation of the Spread Offense in 2000. Attacking Cover 3 At Northwestern we see a lot of different coverages. However, one of th

Letter From the Editor/Publisher: Terry Hoeppner (1947-2007)
Terry Hoeppner (1947-2007) Football coaches are judged by the number of wins and losses on their record. But the real judgment is based on the lives a coach touches. Terry Hoeppner was an assistant high school coach, Head Coach at Franklin College, on the staff and then Head Coach at Miami University and then Head Coach at Indiana. A football coach for more than three and a half decades, we estimate he influenced the lives of about 1,875* players. That,

Motion Offense
It is an honor to write this article on behalf of Rick Comegy and the Jackson State offensive staff. We’ve been fortunate to be blessed with an array of talented athletes who have the ability to play multiple positions. Offensive coaches are always trying to find the edge on defenses. Using motion, shifting, and audibles at the line of scrimmage are just a few ways we try to create mismatches for every play. Defenses are doing an excellent job of recognizing different personnel groups and maki

D-Backs: Playing with Low Pad Level
One of the most important fundamental concepts that we stress in the secondary at Iowa State University is playing with low pad level. We believe as a staff that this improves the capabilities of our players in two ways. First, low pad level allows us to have phenomenal power when striking a ball carrier or when disengaging from a blocker. Second, it allows for quicker cuts and breaks, especially within the secondary. I have had the opportunity to work with both the linebackers as well

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The Drills Report: Three-Step QB Drills
In this article, I will discuss part of the three-step game that we run at Mendocino College along with some of the drills used for our quarterbacks. At Mendocino, we run a spread offense and rely heavily on the production of our quarterbacks and receivers. This past season, we finished tenth in the state of California in passing yards per game. Our three-step game is just one aspect of how we get the ball in our playmakers’ hands as quickly as possible. Hitches, double-slants and ou

Comebacks
Games can be-and often are-won at halftime. Last year in Division I-A, there were 129 comeback victories by teams that trailed at halftime. Houston’s Art Briles authored five second-half comeback victories in 2006, most in Division I-A. Having a high-powered, quick-strike offense helps, says Briles, but making sure the team believes it can get back into the game is equally as important. San Jose State’s Dick Tomey led the Spartans to four second-half comebacks en route to

AFM Subscribers Ask... with Ron Vanderlinden
Penn State Linebackers Coach Ron Vanderlinden answered questions from subscribers in the May issue of AFM. Because of the subscriber response, he answers additional questions about the linebacker position. A coach for more than a quarter century, Vanderlinden has coached at Bowling Green, Michigan, Ball State, Colorado, Northwestern, Maryland and Penn State. He was the Terrapins head coach from 1997-2000 and this fall enters his seventh year in Happy Valley. Q. What is the teaching




GAME PREPARATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL DEFENSE
It is an honor to contribute to American Football Monthly and to represent the Verona Area High School football program. A common challenge faced in preparing a defense for each game is that of making changes and adjustments to defend the opponent, while maintaining the base structure of the defensive scheme. A second challenge is to maintain a manageable level of sophistication in scheme while eliminating player confusion. Many staffs spend the off-season learning new schemes, mo

DRILLS, SKILLS, & CHARACTER: FOUNDATIONS OF THE O-LINE
\"Skill guys come with me, linemen - go with coach.\" Translation: Fast athletic guys that get to touch the ball get on the field and play catch - husky, slow kids go drive the 800 pound sled a mile or two. Anyone who has played football is familiar with this scenario. Especially those privileged enough to play on the offensive line. The group of young men that play offensive line are used to hearing these expressions. They have grown accustomed to not touching the ball, not gettin

OFF SEASON PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION: THE KEY TO SUCCESS
The off-season is key for our program and is my favorite time of the year. It is when we try to develop our team mentally, physically and build our relationships with each other. In the public school arena, we are dealt a group of players. We must develop them if we want to be able to compete in the fall. Player development and consistent evaluation is essential for a program. We believe you can change a player\'s ability through the weight room and competitive games throughout the spring.

The Strength Report: Developing the Explosive Athlete - Offensive Linemen
Training a football player is a year long endeavor. We have four years to develop the players under our charge. At BGSU we receive tremendous support from Head Coach Gregg Brandon and his staff in emphasizing the program to the players and allotting time for training during the NCAA imposed hour guidelines. The football staff also does a great job in identifying talent. When developing an explosive football player step one is evaluation. Players play certain positions because of body type, skill

Speed Report: Specific Speed Techniques and Drills for Outside Linebackers
Outside linebackers move through many types of speed changes. Sound mechanical control is vital if they are to be successful at each movement phase conducted. The thrust of this article will be directed towards sharing nuggets for outside linebackers. As indicated in the October issue on ‘Increasing Your Linebacker Speed’ once mechanical effectiveness is attained then we can move on to position specific movement applications. This month I will focus on specific movement aspects for some of t

The Situation
John Torres, Head Coach, Santa Clarita (CA) Wildcats, AFM subscriber since 1998. We would immediately go into an attack mode. We run the Double Wing-T so there is no doubt that the opposing team has scouted and prepared for us to run our base power plays, a wedge or toss. With that in mind, misdirection plays this close to the goal line work extremely well. We would run what we call Tight Rip 47 C Criss Cross. Our A back/left wing would go in short motion. At the sn

Letter From the Editor: Offense vs. Defense: Keeping it Competitive
How about a spring game in which the defense gets points for turnovers, fourth down stops, and third and outs while the offense receives points for first downs and plays over 30 yards? Well Oklahoma did just that in their annual spring game. “Having a scoring system that rewards the defense as well as the offense makes the game more competitive for all the players,” said Oklahoma’s Director of Football Operations, Matt McMillen. “Normally, teams play 1’s vs. 2’s and 2’s v

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The Drills Report: Defensive Line Drills
Here are the physical and mental characteristics we look for in defensive linemen as well as our philosophy of the D-Line attack: Physical: • Play with his hands. • React on the action. • Play with toughness. • Play the run first. • Attack at every snap of the ball. Mental: • Must be violent in the trenches. • Understands the role of a D-lineman. • Always plays at a high tempo but is under control. �

AFM Subscribers Ask...with J.T. Curtis
John Curtis Christian school was founded in 1962 by John Curtis, the father of J.T. Curtis. Having been head coach since 1969, J.T. Curtis has accumulated an overall record of 443-46-6 in 38 years. Already a Louisiana legend, his teams have won 21 state championships since switching to the Veer Option offense in 1975. The private school is located about ten miles from downtown New Orleans in the town of River Ridge. This summer a book on the team will be published. The book, written by Neal Thom

Setting Up the Pass with the Run in the Veer Option
When you think of running the option, you think of dominant programs that have run that offense: Navy under Paul Johnson, the Air Force Academy under Fisher DeBerry, and Georgia Southern under three different offensive option gurus: Erk Russell, Johnson, and most recently, Mike Sewak. Having been mentored by both Russell and Johnson, Sewak was OC under Johnson and then head coach at GSU for four years. Since leaving Georgia Southern in 2005, Sewak has served as an option consultant –

The Pistol Offense
For the past twenty-five years, I have coordinated the offense at Blue Valley High School. In all that time we have been either an ‘I’ offense or a single back offense. Making the transition from the single back/I offense under center to the Pistol offense in the shotgun has been much easier than we ever could have predicted. All the plays we ran in the I, we can run out of a Pistol alignment. Everything we ran in the single back look, we now do out of the Shotgun-Pistol. The greatest advant

Bandit 2 Read
Our base defensive alignment is a 4-3 gap control defense while we play a 2 read coverage behind it. I first learned the 2 read coverage from Sonny Lubick when he was the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami. I feel I have really refined Sonny’s scheme over the past 14 years. By using 2 read as our base coverage, it not only allows us to execute multiple coverages and disguises in the secondary, but most importantly, this coverage gives us the opportunity to run a covera

Winning the War in the Trenches
The first thing LSU D-Line Coach Earl Lane impresses on his guardians of the trenches in pre-season is that their contributions are just as vital to the Tigers success as the guys who change the scoreboard. “What I emphasize to my players right at the outset,” Lane says, “is the importance of the positions they play. When most people use the term ‘skill players’ they’re talking about quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. I want my guys to know we’re skill players as well. Foot

The X Factor
Defensive football coaches, from Pop Warner to the professional level, often encounter the same challenge: stopping the single dominant player on the opponent’s offense. This may be a running back, a scrambling quarterback or a top receiver. Often the outcome of a game will be determined by shutting down this individual – the go-to guy. Using the principles of the X Factor, defensive coordinators can keep their game plan simple, yet still adjust to stopping the opponent’s main threat.

Headset Heaven
Imagine the following situation: you’re setting up your headset system for a road game against a big rival. One hour before game time, you and your staff run a test of the system and it seems to be working fine. All five coaches on the sideline and four in the booth have good, clear signals. As the head coach, you know that effective game day communication between coaches is an essential part of winning. No coaching staff can expect to succeed without a well thought out sideline comm

Technique Over Talent
Coaching legend Bill Walsh has said that the essence of coaching is isolating the skills necessary to play a position and then finding the best way to teach those skills. And no position is more in need of solid skills than the offensive line. Longtime Cincinnati Bengal offensive line coach Paul Alexander has become known as one of the best technical experts in offensive line play. He has distilled the skills required for consistently solid linemen and has a system in place that consequently hon

Football Speed
Dale Baskett specializes in speed. Football speed. Having worked with college powerhouses like Ohio State and Texas A & M and a number of NFL franchises, he’s been making teams faster for 27 years. A former football coach, Baskett made the transition more than a quarter century ago and, in the process, has trained over 100 NFL players including 21 All-Pro’s. During the last nine months, Baskett has authored ‘The Speed Report’ in AFM which has included definitive drills for spec




Training Revolution
Ed Dudley, Head Football Coach for Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia faced a situation that plagues many coaches at top programs. He was confident that his school had a good strength program, but he knew his team had to become faster and more agile in order to go deeper in the playoffs. “We had several players going to a few different trainers and you could see a big difference in their foot work. I knew we needed to find the best speed and agility program that we could manage ourselves,

Situational Success - An Offensive Checklist
The content of this article will serve as a reminder as you prepare your offense each week. This article is based on some lessons I\'m continuing to learn as a play caller. When preparing team offensive practice, coaches need make decisions as to the nature of these sessions. How much time is given to live scrimmaging? Can our objectives be accomplished with \"dummy scrimmage\" or plays on air? What kind of defense will we be facing this week? I would encourage you to g

Wide Receiver Techniques
Our receivers are taught the techniques of receiver play by looking at the positions needs. We break the techniques required to play wide receiver into eight distinct categories. * Pre-snap - which includes stance and pre-snap defensive, reads. * The release - which includes the escape versus press coverage and the drive release versus hard or soft coverage. * The stem. * Body control - which includes the head-fake or head-bob and body mechanics at the break

The Strength Report: Wide Receivers Part II
Our next three phases are the Pre-Season Camp, Fall In-Season, and Bowl Preparation or Transition. During the Pre-Season Camp we will utilize different circuits in the strength program. The wide receivers will lift two to three times weekly for about 30-40 minutes. The volume of lower body strength training is decreased significantly, due to the demands that are being placed on the position group on the field during practice in camp. This is a time we focus on recovery and injury prevention with

Speed Report: Wide Receivers
Last month we covered the idea that just looking at linear (straight) speed is not good enough when preparing a receiver for the type of speed endeavors required. The key to being a truly effective receiver requires a multitude of speed skills. Quickness, the ability to move to a new direction (separation from an angle of velocity travel to another angle of velocity) requires either natural gifts or proper mechanical and physiological training. As you can now appreciate – by reading the articl

The Situation
It’s near halftime with your opponent at the 50 yard line in a Spread Shotgun set with trips on the right side and a single WR on the left. There’s time for one more play before halftime and it looks like a ‘Hail Mary’ is coming. You’ve been in a 4-4 defense but must adjust to a potential trick play or long pass. How would you defend this offense? Travis Cossey, Defensive Coordinator and Tim Schipper, Head Coach, Fennville HS, MI. AFM subscriber sin

Letter From the Editor: Free Coaching Clinics
Coach Brooke Stafford is the defensive line coach at Lufkin High School in Texas, one of the premier prep programs in the country. In addition to his coaching duties, he has another job: Stafford (pictured) is the Recruiting Coordinator for the Lufkin Panthers. With the guidance of Head Coach John Outlaw, the Panthers have had 131 players receive scholarships over the last 12 years. Having the normal responsibilities as a recruiting coordinator, Stafford spends time with the school cou

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The Drills Report: Ball Security Drills
At American International College, through the diligence of our staff and head coach Art Wilkins, the idea of ball security and turnover margin is given our top priority. We have been taught to view this statistic as second only to the score of the game. Also, I have been extremely fortunate to coach talented players with high character and the ability to work hard and buy into our principles. In this article, my objective is to share my beliefs on ball security as it pertains to running backs,

AFM Subscribers Ask... with Tommy Bowden
The first thing that comes to mind when you look at Tommy Bowden’s record is consistency. In ten seasons as a head coach, all ten of his teams have been bowl eligible at the conclusion of the regular season. Each of his last seven teams have finished with a winning record. In his ten seasons as a head coach (two with Tulane and eight at Clemson) Bowden has an overall 78-41 record, a 65.5% winning percentage. A walk-on wide receiver at West Virginia, Bowden’s first coaching job was

Zone Pressure
Virgina Tech has had tremendous success against teams that run spread-type offenses the last few seasons. In fact, the Hokies are undefeated against offensive-minded teams like Louisville, Clemson, Wake Forest, and West Virginia since 2003. So many teams struggle adapting their old schemes to these new formations without leaving their kids vulnerable to the run game. Or, they give up huge chunks of yardage in the pass game trying to put pressure on the passer and leave their defenders with too m

Texas Longhorn\'s Play Action
When Vince Young was a sophomore at UT, the Longhorns ran their Inside Zone over 200 times. After seeing those totals in their Self Scout during that off season, the Texas coaches vowed they would never do that again. The next year, the National Champs ran it 278 times. Why Is Everything Better In Texas? UT Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis brought a spread-type system several years ago to the traditional two-back Big 12 conference. This system incorporates the sho

The Pistol Offense - Part II
Last month, American Football Monthly showcased the run game of the Pistol offense, the first of two installments profiling the versatility of the University of Nevada’s prolific offensive scheme. This month, we take an in depth look at the complementary play action pass game the Wolf Pack uses as a change-up when teams start to load eight or nine in the box to stop the run. Strategy of the Pass Game These days, most college football teams are figuring out a way t

Converting on Third Down
One of the keys to turning our program around at Newberry College was developing consistency in our offense. We found that teams who convert their third and medium opportunities have the best success rate when it comes to the hallmark of offensive consistency, the long drive. We define a third and medium opportunity as anything ranging from three to seven yards to go on third down. We define a long drive as anything over eight plays and 70 yards. Time of possession is a factor but we do not fact

Defending the Spread
At Mendocino College our defense was able to finish #1 in the state of California Junior College football for sacks last season. We feel that sacks happen because your coverage is sound. If you can’t cover, the ball will be gone long before a sack can happen. This article is going to address the topic of “Defending the Spread Offense: Finding Holes in the Protection.” ‘The spread offense spreads the defense, while creating match-ups that the offense can take advantage of.’ I

Making the Most of 3 and Outs
Sure, some coaches like to preach about how vital special teams are, giving the cliché about it being one-third of a complete game. Yet it usually gets filtered down into pure lip service, with coaches dedicating the majority of their time to what is perceived as more important issues like stopping the spread offense or figuring out how to get their best offensive players in space – special teams becomes an afterthought. But for Lousiana Tech’s new head coach Derek Dooley, he’s

Talladega High School\'s Magnum Package
Our base defense is a 4-3 look (See Diagram 1). We have many stems, fronts and variations out of this package with one being our 4-4 Magnum (See Diagram 2). We feel that our 4-3 defense is the best for our personnel, but during the course of the season we had to change some things to accommodate the offenses we were facing. We were seeing a lot of spread teams with good running quarterbacks. A lot of the plays that were hurting us were the QB Dart, QB Trap and the QB Counter. To combat these pla




Giving Your Quarterback the Advantage
Quarterback Training & Development’s obligation to offensive skilled position players is to teach them the skills and techniques that give them a chance to succeed against players who are better than they are. We recently received the following email from one of our players: “Hey coach, the camp went really well. We did 1 on 1 drills which built my confidence because I found out that I could definitely play with some of the best.” This is a necessary part of competing at any level. At s

Pressuring Protection in the Trenches
This article will present some brief principles of pass pressure and thoughts on evaluating pass protection. It will conclude with two effective pass pressures versus a common pass protection. One pressure comes from the traditional 4-3 cover 2 shell and the other from the 4-3 eight-man front. Building Defensive Packages with Players in Mind I believe that it is in the best interest of the defense to have a \'base\' defense that the players feel they can play against

The Strength Report: Developing the Explosive Athlete - Wide Receivers (Part I)
Our football players are put through a year round periodized speed, strength and conditioning plan. Depending on what time of year it is, our focus for our football players will also change. The annual plan is broken down into six different phases: Winter Development, Spring Development, Summer Pre-Season, Pre-Season Camp, Fall In-Season and Bowl Preparation or Transition. Our football players are also grouped and categorized by strength and skill level along with the position they play on the f

The Speed Report: Wide Receivers - Seperation Speed and Body Control
As coaches we could look at the receiver position and concentrate our focus on linear speed and figure we’re okay. If our wideouts post good 40 times and catch the ball, then we’re good to go. This is not totally true. Linear speed is only a portion of the package for a receiver\'s speed. As a football coach you are well aware of the fact that running in a straight line fast can be impressive. However, displacing momentum while sprinting at maximum intensity levels on a football fi

The Situation
Scott Criner, Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, Bishop Kelly High School, Boise ID. AFM subscriber since 2001. We are a no-huddle offense and we expect to get a large number of repetitions per game. In this situation we would want to be aware of field position and how well our defense is playing the opponent’s offense. The worst thing we can do is force the ball and allow the opponent to gain field position by giving them a turnover. After taking the abo

Letter From the Editor: \'She Called me a Traitor...\'
Head Coach Chuck Martin of back-to-back defending NCAA Division II National Champion Grand Valley State University has an unusual distinction. In 2003, the Lakers won the D-II Championship when Martin was the defensive coordinator under Brian Kelly. After Kelly left for the head job at Central Michigan, Martin became GVSU’s head coach. In the three years since, the Lakers won national titles in 2005 and 2006. But what’s unique is that Martin made the complete transition to the offensive side

Gear
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Drills Report: Drills for Defensive Backs
When playing in the secondary, one must understand the thought process of a receiver. A receiver’s stemming throughout a route helps gain leverage on the defensive player. Stemming is the use of angles by the receiver to manipulate the DB into position, where it is difficult to make plays. The stems used by a receiver are utilized for a purpose; that is, what specific route a vertical stem is taken on the DB. The vertical stem will reduce the DB’s cushion and make the DB turn and run. When t

AFM Subscribers Ask...
Ron Vanderlinden, now approaching his seventh year as Linebackers Coach at Penn State, has developed a reputation as an outstanding linebackers mentor. Over the years, he has coached Penn State All-Americans Paul Posluszy and Dan Connor, Pat Fitzgerald and Barry Gardner of Northwestern and Chad Brown of Colorado. He also helped the Nittany Lions defense rank in the top 15 nationally in rushing, pass efficiency, scoring, total defense and sacks in 2005. Similarly, his Northwestern defense in 1995

Technology Tools You Need Today
There’s no denying that technological advances have had a significant impact on football and coaching. In only a few decades, we’ve come from cutting and splicing 16mm game film by hand in order to analyze opponent’s tendencies to today’s state-of-the-art editing systems and software that can give coaches information and advantages never before available. Coaches today are wireless, online, hi-speed and most definitely high-tech. Product innovation and falling prices are drivin

A New Way to Communicate
Amos Alonzo Stagg used a megaphone to convey instructions to players during practices in the early days of the game. Countless coaches have barked orders into bullhorns so they’d be heard by players 20, 30 or 40 yards away on the practice field. Many coaches, however, still rely on yelling, which can be an ineffective way to teach or motivate individual players. Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith have each demonstrated that a calmer, more educational approach to coaching can motivate players

The Spin Counter & Bootleg Series
The Spin Offense is designed to take advantage of speed and deception. Most defenses must make sure that a team using the Spin doesn’t make a living on the outside running game. Both the Spin Sweep and Spin Reverse are mainstays of the offense. If a defense can’t defend the perimeter, they will see a steady diet of those plays, as well as the Spin Option. When defenses do commit to stopping the outside running game, the offense must then have an answer. One answer is the Spin Counter/Bootleg

Coach-By-Coach Responsibilities on Game Day
Coaches across America at every level require their players to be prepared for every game so they can be as effective and efficient as possible. If you do not require the same game day plan from your coaching staff in both responsibility and communication, then you are not being true to the requirements you place on your players. In researching another project for AFM, we found a wide discrepancy on game day responsibilities and communication among coaching staffs at various levels. T

The Pistol Offense - Part I
Without uncertainty, two of the most popular schemes in high school and college football today are the inside/outside zone play and the play action that results from it. Imagine the offensive productivity you’d have by being able to combine those two concepts while adding an element of misdirection? It’s exactly this kind of productivity that Chris Ault, head coach at Nevada, is having with the Wolf Pack since converting from an “I” formation to his own invention, the Pistol offense.

Lufkin\'s Okie Blitz Package
Extremely versatile and aggressive, the Okie blitz package confuses offenses with up to 108 different pressures. Sound a little bit overwhelming? If your players have a hard enough time learning your base blitzes, where are you going to find the time to install 108, right? Don’t worry: Lufkin (Texas) High School Defensive Coordinator Todd Quick, an Okie blitz disciple, has simplified things. In 1986, Quick, along with Lufkin head coach John Outlaw, learned the Okie blitz from current

Implementing the Sweep Series Package
Growing up the son of a high school football coach, I was exposed to a brand of offensive football that utilizes a series of complementary plays off the same or similar formations, backfield actions, and blocking schemes. The Drive Series or Split- T offense that my father used in our high school combined full flow base runs with the misdirection of counter plays and play action passes. All fit neatly into a system that allowed the offense to keep the defense off balance by countering defensive

6 Keys to Effective Defensive Communication: From the Sideline to the Field
In five years as either the defensive coordinator or head coach at Olathe North High School in Kansas, John McCall’s teams won four state championships. In the other year they were runner-up, meaning that for five straight seasons Olathe North was in the state title game. The past three seasons McCall has served as DC under head coach Gene Weir at Richland High School in North Richland Hills, TX. McCall believes effective communication is the key to a successful defense. “Breakdown




DETECT: Diagnosing Concussion Immediately
Soon you won’t need to flip fingers in front of a dazed DB asking “How many fingers?” or ask your starting QB to count backwards by 7’s from 100. There’s a new device in the validation stage that can detect concussions on the sidelines or in the locker room – in five to seven minutes. This instrument, called DETECT (Display Enhanced Testing for Cognitive Impairment and Traumatic Brain Injury), is being developed by David Wright MD of Emory University in Atlanta and Mi

Does Current Research Support The Use of Dynamic Stretch During Warm-up
Traditionally, preparation for football practices or games includes warm-up and static stretching, with no particular preference for what order they are performed in. Dynamic stretch is becoming more and more popular; however, it has yet to have a major presence in football. This article reviews research on dynamic stretch to see if it is appropriate as part of the warm-up for football. On almost every football field in America at some point before practices and games, the

Letter From the Editor: Intangibles: What Makes the Difference in your Quarterba
About a month ago, AFM caught up with new Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh as he was driving back home from campus in Palo Alto. Harbaugh led Michigan to three bowl games, played in the NFL for 15 seasons, and just completed an outstanding three year 29-6 run as head man for the University of San Diego, a Division I-AA college in the Pioneer League. The Toreros finished 11-1 in each of the last two seasons. “You look for accuracy, location, how a quarterback practices from his on the

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The Shotgun Spread Wing-T Package : The Next Generation
We have experienced a great deal of success over the past four seasons running our version of the Spread Shot-Wing-T offense. This package developed from our desire to keep our base Wing-T system yet spread the field against defenses that were “loading the box” on us. The quarterback that we used was a classic pocket passer and could sit in there and deliver the ball to a receiver anywhere on the field. When that player graduated, we found that a more athletic quarterback could not perform t

Playing Aggressive 4-3 Defense
Q&A with Iowa State’s defensive coordinator Wayne Bolt If you could ask any defensive coach specific questions about strategy and X’s and O’s, Wayne Bolt would be on the short list. His reputation as a collegiate defensive coordinator is unquestioned. One of the first phone calls made by new Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik was to Bolt. The two had coached together over the years although Bolt had been out of football for a season. Bolt had previously worked as the DC at

The Slant Stunt in the 4-4 Defense
The slant stunt is a very effective change-up for teams that implement the 4-4 defense. It is designed to defend teams that have a tight end running attack. It is also very effective against offenses that run the option. Another good reason for using the slant stunt is if you have a quicker and faster defense than the offense you are facing. The slant stunt involves 7 out of the 8 men in the box. The strategy of the slant stunt defense has the defensive line moving on the snap of the b

The Strength Report: Developing the Explosive Athlete: Defensive Linemen
The job of the defensive lineman is very complex. He must first engage one, sometimes two blockers, gain position, shed the block and pursue the ball. Sometimes the play is coming to his gap and the process is over almost instantly. Other times once he sheds the block he may have to pursue the play to the opposite side of the field perhaps jumping over players on the ground to do it. Our basic philosophy for our defensive linemen at Sam Houston State University is to improve each play

The Speed Report: Developing Quarterback Speed
Baseball pitchers are the most difficult athletes to convince that speed development is important. Why? Because they stand on the mound and hurl the rock forward at incredible speed. That is all well and good. However, we need to look at the physiological aspect of the nervous system enhancement as indicated in our past article on speed for linemen. You will gain an insight on how the nervous system and high end concentration correlate to produce positive physiological changes. We must train sp

The Situation
Pete Saylor, Assistant Coach, Southern Columbia High School, Catawissa, PA. AFM subscriber since 1999. The field position does not put us in a panic mode. The staff has reminded the team that our opponent has some outstanding athletes with the ability to make some big plays. It is important that we keep our composure over the course of the game. We know that they like to take advantage of their team speed. With that said, we feel we can stay in our base defense and have succes

Drills Report: C.W. Post\'s Zone Block Teaching Progressive
The purpose of this article is to discuss how we teach the basics of zone blocking at C. W. Post. In our nine years as a staff, we have enjoyed great success. We believe this is due to playing great defense and being dominant in the run game. Over the last few years we\'ve had running backs that have gained over 2,000 yards in different seasons and in 2005 we had two running backs that both rushed for over 1,000 yards. Among all Division II colleges in 2005, we were fourth in total offense (517

Shotgun Movement & Pressure Techniques for Quarterbacks
We have found it very important that we drill our quarterback on certain techniques that can occur during the course of a game that are outside the normal structure of our offense. These are situations that are outside the optimum drop back technique area. These techniques are utilized in situations that can occur anywhere from three to six times a game. Oftentimes these situations can result in big plays or help negate potential losses or momentum swings. Some of these techniques incl

Stripping the Ball
Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter at Florida State last fall, Boston College defensive back Sulaiman Sanni rapidly closed on a short pass to the tight end in the flat. He stood up the receiver, securing the tackle, while another defender came in on the play and began to poke and pry at the ball – just like the Eagles had practiced all season. The ball popped loose. Safety Wes Davis didn’t hesitate, scooped up the fumble and returned it to the FSU 1 yard line. It was the first of three Semin

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

Man Blitz Packages
Developing an effective man blitz package takes a lot of creativity and a ton of repetition. Sure, it may all look easy on the whiteboard, diagramming stunts and blitzes at will. But what’s most important is fitting the scheme to your personnel. Aside from putting your best players in a position to make plays, your players have to know “how” to blitz, and not just when to blitz. Coming at the quarterback with full reckless abandonment usually results in missed tackles or knockdowns, especi

AFM Subscribers Ask...
Lew Johnston just completed his 22nd season as head coach for Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, VA. During that time, Johnson\'s teams compiled a 167-63-3 record with 5 District Championships and one Regional Championship. For the regular seasons 2001-2004, his Western Branch Bruins had a 32 game winning streak. A few years ago, Johnston installed the Shotgun Spread Wing-T package. Since that time, he has spoken at clinics around the country as well as completed a number of videos on thi




ANYWAY
In our profession as educators (teachers-coaches) we come in contact with many different people from many walks of life. Some of them are good for us, and we learn good things from them. Some of them may be bad for us, meaning that they have ulterior motives. We can also learn what not to do from those people. What we have to always remember is that we must always strive to do the right thing, regardless of what others feel about the decisions we make. In this profession there will always

Here There be Tygers - A Look at the Tyger Offense
In the years before adventure died and exploration became pointless, maps were filled to bursting with blank spaces where the roads stopped, mountain chains disappeared, and no flag claimed sovereignty. In these spaces European cartographers placed one phrase: Here there be Tygers. It was a warning; the territory so marked was virtually unexplored and potentially dangerous. As we wrote this article, it became clear that we had stumbled onto such a territory. In Coaching the Spread Bone

Developing the Explosive Athlete: Wide Receivers
Strategy My strategy when designing a strength and conditioning program for the Georgia Tech football team first starts with the word EFFORT. Over the last eleven years that I have been in this business, I have found that all of the successful teams that I have worked with were not always the most talented but won because of their willingness to put forth the extra effort and intensity needed for us to become successful. I firmly believe that the athlete’s motivation and dedic

Running Backs: Speed Skills Can be Taught - Part II
As previously discussed in part one of our article on running back speed, natural gifts are what we would all like to have at our fingertips. The reality is the resource per school doesn’t always match the desire for golden talent. When rubber meets the road, year to year we must be able to develop certain athletes who can perform at a consistant level coming out of the backfield. I am a huge believer that when working with youth you can develop the talent level with any program. The problem w

The Situation
Travis Niekamp, Linebackers Coach, Eastern Washington University. AFM subscriber since 2003. In this particular circumstance, we would definitely be playing the percentages. With the down and distance being third and ten our philosophy would be to stop the pass. Field position always plays a major role because of the fact that they are potentially in 4 down territory. This plays a factor because the offense could be treating it like a neutral down knowing that they have two

Preparation: 4 Points to Remember from Penn State
If you had the opportunity to spend an hour with Penn State Linebackers Coach Ron Vanderlinden, what would you ask him? Think for a moment about the tradition of Nittany Lion linebackers. I had that opportunity at last month’s American Football Coaches Association convention in San Antonio. While we were getting ready for a photo shoot, we talked informally, not about X’s and O’s but about game preparation. Coach Vanderlinden takes a special pride in preparation as we spoke about

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Drills Report: 10 Advanced Drills for Wide Receivers
Our March Drills Report comes from Denie Marie, a veteran high school, college, and professional coach who is now working in athletic administration at Virginia Tech. Marie has coached at various levels for over 20 years including St. Thomas More Prep, the US Coast Guard Academy, Trinity College, Brown, Kent State, Marietta College, Virginia Tech, and the Arena Football League II. Included are a selection of wide receiver drills that Coach Marie used throughout practices sessions. Each drill is

Blitzing with Controlled Abandonment
The Origin The roots of the zone blitz trace back nearly 25 years ago, when defensive guru Bill Arnsparger was calling the shots for the Miami Dolphins no-name defense in the early 1980’s. Like a mad football scientist, Arnsparger spent countless hours trying to drum up schemes to get to the quarterback without sacrificing holes in the secondary or having the long ball beat one of his cornerbacks in man coverage. He finally stumbled upon the zone blitz concept after moving stu

Free Weights and Your Strength and Conditioning Program
All strength and conditioning programs must work within the confines of their facilities, equipment and athletes. The program should consist of a variety of methods of training so that all aspects of athletic development are taken into consideration for the needs of each sport. The one common thread for all sport, though, is the use of free weights in the strength and conditioning program. Virtually every sport requires strength and power to succeed. There is no better way to develop t

The Middle 2 Defense
I’m presenting a coverage I call Middle 2, a basic form of Cover 2 which allows your Mike Linebacker to defend the deep middle one-third of the field (preferably the two receivers or two speed receivers) but at the same time keeping deep half safeties. This coverage is great vs. a spread formation team (three to four speed receivers) because it gives you excellent position down the middle. Plus, it forces the team to throw short-mid range passes. The following diagrams explain this by position

Strong Beliefs: A Key Ingredient in the Success of a Strength & Conditioning Pro
D I-AA: Kyle Speer • Sam Houston State Kyle Speer has been the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Sam Houston State University for three years. He has one assistant coach, Brian Wiseman, working with him, and together the two are responsible for 16 sports with more than 350 athletes. In 2005 and 2006, Sam Houston State won the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Award, which is a performance-based award for the best overall athletic program in the Southland Conference. Sp

Lightning Strikes San Diego Chargers\' Dave Redding\'s Unusual Methods to Effect
STRATEGY San Diego’s Dave Redding, the 2006 Samson Strength and Conditioning NFL Coach of the Year, describes football as an “awkward movement sport.” And that description shapes his strategy on training the Chargers. “I could really care less what they bench, squat or power clean one time,” he said. “I don’t test them on that. I do test them on their ability to sustain a very intensive effort for two hours, four days a week, year round. The o

Samson\'s Division I-A Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Jay Butler
Rutgers running back Brian Leonard knows strength and conditioning coordinator Jay Butler played a major role in the Scarlet Knights’ amazing turnaround. But that doesn’t mean he always enjoyed Butler’s tactics. “Along with the strength, conditioning and speed, he’ll do things to make you mentally tough,” said Leonard. “He’ll do the worst things you could ever think of. Like after a long day of winter conditioning, you’ll be real tired, and the next day, he’ll wake

Deadly Opponent-MRSA: An Invisible Killer
On December 7, 2003, Coach Frank Girardi’s Lycoming Warriors lost 13-9 to Bridgewater (VA) in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. A disappointment to the legendary coach, to be sure. But the pain was nothing compared to the tragedy the team suffered less than 24 hours prior with the death of their star wide receiver, Ricky Lannetti. The 3rd team All-American had led Lycoming throughout his senior season, setting team records for most catches in a game (16) and a season (7

The Backside Tackle in the Spread Run Game
In 2003 and 2004 seasons the Marist Red Foxes, using 21 players, went a combined 7-12 with an 0-3 record vs. conference champions. They averaged just five points per game in those three losses. In the spring of 2005 we installed the spread offense and experienced a dramatic turnaround. The Red Foxes went 7-4 with a 2-3 record against conference champions while averaging 26 points per game in those five contests. The inside read and triple option was the basis of our run game. The offen

Play Action to Complement your Spread Option Offense
At Blackburn College, we employ the Spread Option offense made famous by teams like the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Naval Academy. This offense fits our program due to three main factors: time constraints due to our work program (Blackburn College is a “Work College” – all students have a job on campus), size of the athletes we can recruit at Blackburn (Division III), and the type of high school programs in our general recruiting area. Since the Spread Option offe

AFM Subscribers Ask...
Catholic High School Coach (Baton Rouge, LA) Dale Weiner has been a coach for 32 years with the last 21 as the head man at CHS. During that time, his teams have a 201-48 overall record with 13 district titles and have been either a state finalist or semi-finalist a total of 7 times. CHS has a current playoff streak, as well, of 19 consecutive years. He has coached, among other outstanding athletes, Warrick Dunn, Major Applewhite and Travis Minor. During the 2001 season Weiner and his staff began




The Strength Report
I have had the opportunity to be a strength and conditioning coach for 11 years, and had the privilege of working in some great programs with some great head coaches. From Oklahoma, to Minnesota, to Kansas, I have been fortunate enough to work with many great athletes and had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about how to develop not only sport specific strength, but also position specific strength. Philosophy / Strategy The game of football is ever-evolving; howev

The Speed Report
Coaching is teaching and the successful coaches from year to year are usually good teachers on the field. Over the last 38 years I’ve been coaching I’ve observed that most coaches rely on natural talent and innate speed skills when choosing a running back. Running backs with quicks, vision and intuitive reaction capabilities are a choice commodity. Exceptional running backs come along infrequently. However, developing backs to have quickness, burst and acceleration capability while running w

Objectives in 2007
The editorial transformation of American Football Monthly has changed over the last 18 months, primarily due to subscriber research. From articles that profiled the philosophy and background of coaches, the features have become– we believe – more strategy oriented with detailed X’s and O’s. The reason: AFM’s readers in a number of surveys, have indicated that’s what they want. Therefore, our mission this coming year is to provide the specific content that you, the subscriber, want to

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The Drills Report
This month’s drill has been submitted by Kurt VanValkenburgh, Florida Atlantic University’s Assistant Head Coach and Linebackers Coach. Coach VanValkenburgh brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to the FAU Owls’ program. Coach VanValkenburgh has been an intricate part of the development of the football program at Florida Atlantic and his efforts helped launch the Owls during their inaugural season in 2001. During their third season, the Owls made it all the way to the

AFM Subscribers Ask...
Former Georgia Southern head coach Mike Sewak helped learn his craft from two GSU legendary coaches: Erk Russell and Paul Johnson. An oustanding lineman for Virigina in the late 70\'s, Sewak first coached at Hobart and Georgia Tech before joining Russell\'s staff for two seasons in the mid 80\'s. In those two years in Statesboro, the Eagles won national championships. He then coached at Hawaii and Ohio before coming back to GSU on Johnson\'s staff. As OC, Sewak and the Eagles won two more champ

2007 Spring Practices
2007 SPRING PRACTICES COLLEGE SPRING DATES FOOTBALL CONTACT

The Spin Offense
Coaches spend the majority of their off-season performing a great deal of self-scouting. Assessing each game film, they evaluate what plays were productive and which plays to scrap entirely out of their playbook. After the 2001 season, Dale Weiner and his staff at Catholic High (LA) realized that the hybrid they created called the “spin” worked exactly as planned – incorporating Wing T offense with traditional “I” formation misdirection in the run game. Opposing teams were l

The Situation
Your offense has been struggling against a very physical defense the entire game. However, you are only down by 6 points late in the fourth quarter. Your QB is rattled and has thrown 2 INTs, but he’s been in tough situations like this before and has always come through. It’s 3rd and 4 on your opponents’ 28 yard line. The ball is on the right hash which is your sideline. You have just used your last time out with only 30 seconds remaining. On 1st down you ran a sprint option play to the lef

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

Point Counterpoint: Quarterback Read vs. Defending the Inside Zone
Coach: Charles W. Bankins School: Hampton Running Backs Coach Scheme: A primarily two-back set that has steadily added more elements of the spread to the offense, including using more one-back sets. The result is a potent and extremely balanced attack that averaged 175 yards on the ground and 176 through the air. Experience: Spent last season as a special teams assistant on Mike Martz’ St. Louis Rams staff, before returning to Hampt

On Solid Ground: Conditioning Your Athlete
When it comes to creating an athlete who can withstand the rigors of competing, there is an awful lot that goes into it. While being in the business since 1990 I have come to identify what I consider to be the 4 most important steps in getting this done. When done properly, the results can not be denied. The Event (Step 1) When conditioning for an event, many factors must be considered. The requirements can vary dramatically from sport to sport. Some of

WHO’S GOT THE BEST SPECIAL TEAMS IN YOUR CONFERENCE?
At our first team meeting with our football squad in August before we opened camp I stated my goal as the special team’s coordinator was to produce the best special teams in the conference and win the national championship. When we finished our season we were co champions of the Midwest Football Association’s Western Division for which Saint Xavier University received the automatic bid to the NAIA Championship Series. In the final coaches’ poll Saint Xavier University was ranke

High School State Champions: 2006
State players of the year were selected based strictly upon high school achievement and not recruiting potential. The contribution that a state player of the year candidate made toward a team\'s championship and overall on-field success during the season was given considerable weight during the selection process. All athletes are seniors unless otherwise noted. ALABAMA 6A: Prattville 35, Hoover 21; 5A: Athens 10, Eufaula 7; 4A: Guntersville 28, Thomasville 27; 3A:

Bunch it Up - Part 2 of 2
In last month\'s issue I discussed the philosophy and strategy of our Bunch Package. Included in the article was our Boom-Boom Screen, Green Bay series, and the Alley Toss play. In this segment we\'ll concnetrate on two additional plays: the Weak Side Run Counter and the Play Action Sting Route. Weak Side Run Counter (See Diagrams 1 & 2) This is an off-tackle run to the open-end side with veer / gap blocking scheme at the point of attack and counter backfield action.

The Tools to be a Linebacker
Defining A Hawk Linebacker: In the 50 front, which is the Hawk base defense, the two linebackers are labeled Sam and Will. Sam is historically the strong side linebacker based around the offensive set and normally lines up on the tight end side. The other linebacker is labeled Will and normally plays on the split-end side of the offensive set. In an offensive set that has two tight ends the Sam linebacker will position himself on the tight end side that has the flanker present or a power

The Mental Aspect of Winning in the Trenches
All defensive line coaches have been embedded to believe that games are won and lost in the trenches. We would love to have that 6’ 8”, 290 lb. defensive end who runs a 4.5 40-yard dash and benches 500 lb. But for most of us that is not reality. As the old saying goes, “The game of football is 90% mental and 10% physical.” All coaches believe that the team that is most prepared will win the ball game. Here at Florida A&M University, we are fortunate to have a head coach, Rubin Carter, an

Schutt Sports High School Coach of the Year
Steve Tutsie
In just his first year as a varsity head football coach, Steve Tutsie led his Warren Central Warriors to a 15-0 record and an Indiana State Class 5A championship. The Warriors were as dominant as any team in the country, outscoring their opponents 722 to 124 and winning the state championship game by a comfortable 35-14 over Carmel in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Tutsie, 41, was so impressive under the head set that he was named the Schutt Sports National Coach of the Year. Tutsie doe

Schutt Sports High School Coaches of the Year
East Greg Toal Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, NJ Using the run to set up the pass isn’t exactly a breakthrough in game strategy. However, it worked to perfection as Don Bosco Prep put the finishing touches on a 12-0 season and New Jersey Non-Public State title with a 41-0 rout of St. Peter’s Prep in the championship game. The offense featured diversified looks out of the spread all season with a one-tight end, three-wideout look among the most used formations

Schutt Sports I-A Coach of the Year Finalists
CHRIS PETERSEN BOISE STATE The “other” unbeaten Division I-A school registered its 12-0 record in the tree-lined Idaho capitol virtually hidden from the harsh glare of the media limelight by the majestic Rockies. While undefeated Ohio State and its Heisman QB had a wire to wire grip on the nation’s number one ranking, the Boise State Broncos were chalking up another spectacular season capped by its sixth straight WAC title. Then, in one of the most incredible bowl ga

Schutt Sports College Coaches of the Year
DIVISION I-AA Jerry Moore Appalachian State 2006 I-AA National Champions (14-1) Offense: Spread option Defense: An aggressive 4-3 that can play an aggressive zone or man behind it Not long after the Mountaineers finished celebrating their 2005 national title, it was time to put it behind them and focus on the next task – repeating. “We had to tune out everything from the past season and focus on the goal




Preparing for the Media
Successful football coaches are prepared for every detail when it comes to preparing for each football game but when dealing with their local press representatives, many could/might consider changes in their media relations’ efforts. By understanding how media members cover their teams and especially their deadlines, coaches can create a better working relationship with their press representatives with some minor adjustments to their game preparation. As a retired Air Force public affairs s

Getting Everyone on the Same Page: Coach Ralph Munger Talks About
Preparing for the mental and emotional challenges of football can be confusing. How are coaches to know what works and what doesn’t? One way would be to ask successful coaches about how they prepare their teams. Another would be to learn about research in sport psychology. This article attempts to help you do both. Parts of my interview with my high school football coach, Ralph Munger, Head Coach of the Rockford High School Rams (2004 and 2005 Division 1 State Champions in Michigan), are

The Strength Report
Our philosophy and strategy at the University of San Diego is to develop players that are willing to persistently work towards achieving their goals and dreams, that believe if they dedicate themselves to their preparation they will deserve to be confident and expect to be successful. We teach players to perform with the fundamental habits that will enable them to be successful in their football career and life: by implementing a comprehensive program that teaches players to pay atten

The Speed Report
Defensive back speed is often perceived by coaches as having an athlete with great 40 speed and ability to spring back well, change direction quickly, etc. Normally speaking, the better athletes are your DB’s. So if their 40 is awesome, the ability to leap and change direction is awesome to awesome plus. But then how do we improve DB speed? Simple – the movement spectrum required athletically is probably the most complex of any position on the field of play. Therefore, I am providing a serie

The Situation
David Hartman, Head Coach Crossroads Youth Football League, Victoria (TX) AFM subscriber since 2002 44Base Crash Laser 54, Cover 1 Our play LASER 54 calls for 6-man pressure involving a dog by the LOU and ROB inside linebackers th

Letter from the Editor
Just about everyone that follows their alma mater or has a rooting interest in a particular college, has heard or experienced stories about ‘football boosters.’ Many of the anecdotes reported seem to be either comical or cynical or sometimes, both. When, in fact, booster organizations help fulfill the financial needs of an athletic department, the incidents the media tends to focus on inevitably deal with an outspoken ‘friend of the university’ who will stop at nothing to ensur

GEAR
DSV’s Football Professional editing system is the most comprehensive game analysis tool on the market today. The ability to project video cutups directly from various tendency reports and patent pending technologies like AUTOMATCH (auto-synchronizing camera angles), make it clear why so many programs have switched over to DSV editing systems. For more information: 800-821-9308 • www.dsvusa.com The Model 1551HTP protective football compression pant s

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

Synthetic Turf: Wave of the Future
Chances are very good that your team has either a) played at least one road game on a synthetic turf field or b) installed a synthetic turf field at your home facility. If neither applies to your program, expect that to change in the near future. • The “New Generation” synthetic turf fields, once considered a luxury only NFL teams or high-profile universities could afford, are being installed at high schools and colleges from Maine to California. The trend is so strong that industry leader

AFM Subscribers Ask...Arizona\'s Mike Stoops
Arizona Head Coach Mike Stoops recently completed his third season in Tucson as the Wildcats finished with a 6-6 regular season record after back-to-back 3-8 campaigns. A 21-year coaching veteran, Stoops had an overall 168-48-2 record as an assistant coach. For five years prior to taking the Arizona job, Stoops was the top aide to his brother Bob at Oklahoma. A defensive back while an undergrad at Iowa, Stoops also coached at Iowa and Kansas State. Having a reputation as an outstanding defensive

Zone Blocking in the Option Defense
For teams that run an option offense, zone blocking is often a key to making it work effectively. We talked with Brian Hughes, offensive coordinator at C.W. Post College in Brookville, NY, for a detailed explanation of the strategy and X’s and O’s of zone option blocking. Building Blocks Hughes emphasized that he didn’t come up with these schemes by himself. He worked off the ideas of Jim McNally, offensive line coach of the Buffalo Bills; Doug Marrone, offens

The Spin Offense: The Running Game (Part II)
When Dale Weiner and his staff at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge (LA) developed the “spin offense” as their primary offense in 2001, there were three aspects that they felt needed to be accomplished in order to be successful: develop a base run package with complimentary play-action off of it; keep the defense on its toes by using misdirection and motion; and keep it simple enough so that the players and coaches can make adjustments on the fly. Although the system is quite sim

Establishing a Dominant 4-Man Pass Rush
At the University of Rhode Island through our four-three defensive scheme we take pride in any opportunity to get to the quarterback. Being able to rush the passer can disrupt the effectiveness of an offense. As offenses put emphasis on the passing game, defenses in return must put emphasis on getting to the quarterback. An effective pass rush accomplishes three objectives: 1. Sack the quarterback. 2. Crush the confidence of the quarterback by hits and knockdowns. 3. Dis

Bunch it Up: Oklahoma State\'s Bunch Passing Package
One of the most intriguing formations that I have seen in recent years is the Bunch Package. This formation offers such a wide variety of plays, advantages and mismatches that force a defense to defend drop back, screens, quick passes, strong side and weak side running game as well as play action. This package causes a defense to reduce to your formation and therefore creates more field space and key blocking angles. By being able to do a wide variety of plays you will be able to take advanta

Lobo Cover 2
Our base defensive alignment is a 3-3-5 that allows us to execute multiple blitzes and coverages from various fronts. One of the primary coverages we have in our package is Cover 2. We will run Cover 2 with three, four and five man pressures. Based on the amount of pressure, the underneath drops and assignments may vary slightly. The one position that remains constant in their assignments and techniques is the cornerbacks. I will focus on our coaching progression with the corners in depth and ta

Attacking Offenses with the 3-5-3 Secondary
Many high school and junior college teams are turning to the 3-5-3 defense as a way to disguise their pressure in stopping both the pass and the run. We talked to Rob Manchester, defensive secondary coach for Georgia Military College in Milledgeville about how his secondary functions in the 3-5-3. GMC implemented the defense in 2001 and has enjoyed great success with it, leading the nation in total defense twice and capturing the NJCAA National Championship in 2001. Manchester\'s strategy:




Backed Up Against the Wall: Coming Off the Goal Line
Although many programs panic or go flat when their offense takes the field after the ball has been spotted on the minus one yard line, our program gets excited! In Hal Mumme’s Air Raid offense we have taken this negative part of the field and flipped the scenario into our favor. Many coaches may see it as an unorthodox approach to this situation, but we view it as a chance to demoralize our opponent. When backed up against the wall, we have three main goals: think touchdown, no negative

Helping Your Athletes Through the Recruiting Process
A football scholarship will change your life. If you are fortunate enough to get one you will have an opportunity to play in fantastic stadiums in front of thousands of people and earn a degree free of charge or at a reduced rate. The contacts you make as a student-athlete will help you in life after football as you make a life with a degree you earned. Football is the avenue that many kids use to make a better life for themselves as they barter their skills for a degree. As high school coac

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

AFM Subscribers Ask... Dan Hawkins
What Division I-A program was the only school to average over 40 points a game in the period, 2000-2005? The answer is Boise State and for 5 of those 6 years Dan Hawkins was the head coach. His five-year 53-11 record included three 11-plus win seasons and 31-game winning streaks in both WAC play as well as at home on Boise State’s famous blue artificial turf field. Last December he was named the 23rd head coach in University of Colorado history. Now in his first year in Boulder, he answ

Playing it Safe in The Red Zone
Keep it simple. The Cardinal Rule, no only for life in general, but also for football. It is a philosophy you may want to adopt to play better defense in the Red Zone. There is no question that the Red Zone is the most important zone on the field. Good Red Zone defense wins games! Typically on defense it is the most aggressive section of your game play; it quickly can become a high risk / high reward zone. However, I want to explain why you should

What a Rush! Getting the Most out of Your Pass Rush
Pass rush is the single most important part of our job. It should be a passion of any good rusher. We are committed to stopping the run to win. As we do this, it will give us more opportunities to rush the passer. It’s very important to be a complete defensive line with the ability to do both.     The sack is the most exciting play in football. It brings the crowd to its feet, lifts the defense and destroys the confidence level of a

Establishing a Multiple Attack Running Game
During my time as a coach, I have learned that it is extremely hard to be one-dimensional and have constant success. Some teams do it and have success but on an overall basis we as a staff feel better about our chances with a multiple attack running game. First of all, we think it is much harder for our opponents to prepare for and if a team has success stopping one phase of our running game then we easily can retract to another phase. In today’

7 - Keys to Kick Starting Your Special Teams
While all coaches extol the value of the kicking game, the reality is, when faced with the time constraints that all coaches have, the kicking game gets pushed to the back burner and ends up being last on the time priority list. The test of time is a test that every football coach faces each and every year, especially when it comes to the kicking game.     The good thing about time is that it is the one thing, unlike talent, that all coaches ha

Sticking to the Script
Many coaches believe in the philosophy of scripting your first 10-15 offensive plays of the game and a few less than that for the second half. The idea is to make it easier for your players to have early success and to learn how the defense will react to some of your core plays.     We talked to three coaches for their philosophies about scripted plays and for information about the kind of plays they actually put into their scripts. The coaches are Tommy Condell, OC of the C

Point-Counterpoint: The Spread Offense vs. The 3-3 Stack Defense
South Panola is the only team in its region not using the spread offense. Head coach Ricky Woods says the soggy Mississippi weather is the reason he prefers a power running attack out of the I-formation. But he is well aware of how potent a versatile spread attack can be. “If somebody has a really good running quarterback and a really good running back, it isolates you,” Woods said. “One mistake can cost you a touchdown.”     Coach Woods, meet Slidell (LA) offensive c

Blocked! 10 Essentials to Master in Blocking a Punt
Blocking punts can make a key difference in winning a game for you. Not only do punt blocks give you a better chance to score on your next possession (or perhaps even on the block itself), but also they provide a boost of confidence for your own team and represent a psychological blow for the opposition.  We talked to two coaches for their views on the details of blocking punts: Dave Ungerer, special teams coordinator at University of Alabama, an

The Spin: The Greatest Offense You\'ve Never Heard Of
The Strategy     Head coach Dale Weiner and his staff at Catholic HS in Baton Rouge (LA) began dreaming up the spin offense five years ago during the 2001 season. Bored with the conventional pro “I” sets they had been running, they looked for a different way to run their mis-direction schemes like counter and sweep. So after breaking down the previous night’s game film on Saturday mornings, Weiner and his staff started to lay down the

The Speed Report: Developing Reaction Speed for DBs
When developing a defensive back for speed we must consider the multitude of athletic speed requirements they must perform: •     Linear burst speed for short distances. •     Linear speed for lengthly distances. •     Backpedal speed at varying velocities and angles. •     Change of direction speed at high velocity, sudden angle changes. •     Multi-movement combinations, backpedal to lateral to spri

The Strength Report: Running Backs and Wide Receivers
As a strength and conditioning coach at the Division I-A level, philosophically, I feel you have to first develop core beliefs, which guide you in creating your specific training methods.  These core beliefs must first and foremost be grounded in scientifically proven methods, which speak to the specific athletic goals of the athletes and sports you are focused on.  The primary philosophy I follow in program design for football is a system utili

The Drills Report: Wartburg College\'s Cut Block Circuit
The cut block is very important to our offense. At Wartburg College, we utilize the cut block in several of our offensive schemes. Although we do believe in the cut block, we do not cut our own players in practice. Because the cut block is so important in our offense, we asked the same question everyone asks, “How do we practice cutting without cutting our own players?” In order to effectively teach the technique and practice the cut block, we

The Situation
The Situation You’re on offense and need to be successful with a two-point conversion. With the ball on the three for the extra point, you know you have to make this play work to force overtime, being down 21-19. Having a basic spread formation as an offense, how do you line up and what play do you call to get the game into OT! Your opponent is in a 4-4 defense. What do you call?

The Scouting Report
All you have to say about Jenks High School in Jenks (OK) is the fact that they’ve won 7 state championships over the past decade. The architect for much of that success is head coach Allan Trimble, compiling an overall 122-12 record during that stretch. A number of his players – year-in, year-out – go on to receiving scholarships at Division I-A programs. In addition to losing a number of blue chip players yearly, Jenks\' success has enabled many of Trimble\'s assistants to go on t

Gear: Products For Coaches
The X|Pload line brings world-renown Nautilus performance to plate-loaded training equipment. The line incorporates intelligent design and features that make it a cut above the rest for elite-level strength training: •    Strength curves incorporated through 4-bar linkage for most effective workout possible •     Low weight loading points – no need to load plates at eye level •     Integrated weight plate storage, standard •     Efficient footprint

Letter From The Editor: Those Days are Forever Over
In both small towns and large cities across America, the tradition over the years has been for a high school team to watch game films as a team. This has usually been a three to six hour process as coaches analyze the previous game\'s film and go back and forth about what worked and what didn’t on each play. If a future opponent\'s film was also available, that was shown to the team as well.     So much for what went on a generation ago. Now, in the digital age, editing equ

Staff Report: Landing the Interview
Your dream job comes open and you are in a time in your career that your experience and skills fit the qualifications for the position. How you proceed over the next days/or weeks will determine whether or not you will be interviewed by the search committee. Creating a Buzz Your gaol is to create a \'buzz\' about yourself with the athletic director and committee members. You want to create as much momentum as possible to have the committee excited to learn more about you. h

Evaluting a Receiver\'s Performance
Evaluating or “grading” a player’s performance has always been a topic of debate among coaches. Many of the coaches that I have been around use the +/- system of grading a players performance in a game (giving a + for carrying out an assignment and a – for a busted assignment). I personally have never liked this system of grading because I think it lacks objectivity. If a receiver runs a perfect route but drops the ball, do you give him a plus or a minus? If you give him both, then they

Inside the Option: Maximizing its Effectiveness and Keys to Defending it
The triple option offense has grown in popularity in recent years, with coaches appreciating the difficult adjustments that the option forces on a defense. We talked to three coaches who have had success running the option, and one who has had success defending it. On the offensive side, we spoke to Paul Johnson, head coach of Navy; Chuck Petersen, offensive coordinator at Air Force; and Mike Sewak, former coach at Georgia Southern. On the defensive side, Al Seamonson, outside lineb

AFM Subscribers Ask
Now in his 20th season as head coach at Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer has established the Hokies as a consistent top ten Division I-A power. Beamer ranks third among all active D I-A coaches in wins and last fall led the Hokies to an 11-2 record and their 13th straight bowl game. Year-in, year-out, Virginia Tech has a reputation of being one of the finest colleges in special teams play: the Hokies led all I-A schools in blocked punts in the 90’s.

Pursuit, Tackling, and Takeaways
As coaches, we have many formative years. We learn to scheme, we learn organization, we learn player relations, how to recruit, how to present, how to teach, motivate, package, adapt. There are certain things that have changed over time and there are some constants.     Tackling and pursuit have always been trademarks of great defenses. More recently, takeaways has been a great indicator of team success. The goal of this article is to

The Spread Punt
There are some general concepts I need to mention before we get into the spread punt: 1. Get off time     The snapper and the punter are a unit that must work together. By this I mean the faster your snapper is the more time your punter can take. The slower your snapper is the faster the punter must be at getting the ball off. From the snap to the punt, any time over 2.1 seconds increases

Becoming a Complete Back: Teaching Your RBs to Protect Your QB
During my career I have had the privilege to coach some outstanding running backs in high school and college. I have been fortunate to coach backs who have given me their undivided attention and were excited about reaching their potential as complete running backs.     Several of the backs I have had the opportunity to coach went on and played in the NFL. Tony Smith, Chris Buckhalter and Harold Shaw all had successful careers. All of

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

Offensive Minded: FAU - Mastering the Play Action Pass
Coaching legend Howard Schnellenberger, now heading the program at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, has forged quite a reputation as a master of offensive strategy, particularly passing. We spoke with the coach about his play action attack. He said it is important that the blocking scheme be the same for the passing play as it would be for the running play that is being faked and that the quarterback and running back are convincing in ma

Point-Counterpoint: The Rocket Sweep vs. The 4-4
According to coach Chuck Klausing’s title of his book, he “Never Lost a Game: Time Just Ran Out.” That’s not bad for someone that spent 46 years on the sidelines, including five as Bobby Bowden’s assistant at West Virginia. He’s now a charismatic motivation speaker, who claims to be “31-years-old looking.” The 81-year-old’s specialty is the Wing-T, more specifically jet and rocket motion.     C.W. Post defensive coordinator Frank Chimienti’s specialty is

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.

The Speed Report: Increasing Your Lineman\'s Speed
Each month I will be writing an article on football speed and guidelines for each position. Every position has unique speed characteristics that we can focus on for improving effective speed and quickness traits that are germane to football speed. When coaching linemen for speed and quickness we must take into account that they are large, unique people compared to other athletes. It is important to coaches to utilize training applications that are

The Strength Report: Defensive Backs
My philosophy for training the college football athlete is based upon the physical and mental demands occurring during the course of a normal practice and game. Football is a collision oriented game grounded in the physical skills of blocking, tackling, jumping, running, throwing and kicking. These are skills initiated by the lower body and lend credibility to the maxim of football being played on your feet. These highly synchronized skills are ex

The Situation
The Situation You’re on defense with your opponent facing a third and 7 from midfield. They’re in a spread formation with two receivers on the right side, one flanked left and another in the left slot. You’ve been in a 4-4 defense most of the day and effective with blitz packages. You see their quarterback drop straight back... How do you stop them from converting on third down?

The Drills Report
This month’s drill has been submitted by Coach Jason Phillips, Receivers Coach at the University of Houston. Coach Phillips brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Cougars football program as not only a coach but also a former player. Coach Phillips coaching career began with the Spring Football League’s Houston Marshals in 1999 with stops at the Minnesota Vikings (2001), Atlanta Falcons (2002) and Southwest Texas State (2002). While

GEAR: Products for Coaches
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Letter from the Editor
Special Teams: They Can’t Be Over-Emphasized When the term ‘Special Teams’ is mentioned each of us may have a different image or mindset as to what it means. One may recall a game that was decided by a kickoff or punt return while another may remember a fumble return for a score. There have been many dramatic finishes that ended in a special teams play. One of the most exciting games in college history was decided by not one but tw

How to Stop a Dominant Wide Receiver WEB ONLY BONUS
1. Scout him carefully to know what you’re up against. Is he a “burner” who will run by your defenders

AFM Subscribers Ask...
Three Heisman Trophy winners in five years… USC’s Pete Carroll has had three of his players – Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Reggie Bush – win football’s ultimate individual prize in his five seasons with the Trojans. He also has two National Championships, a 34 game winning streak (broken in last year’s BCS Championship with Texas) and an overall 54-10 record. Considered one of the outstanding defensive minds in football, Carroll has a combined 31 years of both pro and colle

Secondary Play - Kent State\'s Cover 2 Package
Part of our defensive package at Kent State is focused on defending on-back offensive sets from a 2-deep concept, particularly in pass down situations. When we feel we don’t have to match a lead back or pulling threat with one of our safeties, we like to play with rolled up corners and challenge the release of the receivers. In doing so, we hope to change the rhythm of the offensive play and give the offense something much different than our base Cover 4 look.     In Cover

Missouri: From the Shotgun to the Shovel Pass
In the past year of running the Shovel Play we averaged 5.5 yards per carry and it offered a great change-up to our inside zone play and our speed option. The Shovel Play is a great play for any shotgun offense because you can run it out of many sets and it forces the defense to prepare for the triple option. A common misconception is that you need a fast or running quarterback to run this play; this is not true. In our previous year at the University of Missouri our quarterback only kept

Three and Four Man Fronts vs. Multiple Pass Protection
Our base defense here at the University of Akron is primarily a 3-5 defense. We also have the ability to show some four-man fronts. In order for us to be successful against the pass in our three-man front our players have to be able to understand, recognize and react to different types of pass protections. They first have to know the different types of personnel groupings and what the favorite protections out of each grouping are – which I will

Maximizing the Shotgun Formation
The shotgun formation has become more and more popular, with some teams now using it to run as well as pass. We talked to three outstanding coaches about the intricacies of the shotgun. Lew Johnston, head coach of Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, VA, uses the shotgun as a change-up to his standard Delaware Wing T offense. New Mexico State quarterbacks coach Matt Mumme is part of a team that uses the shotgun about 50 percent of the time. A

Point-Counterpoint: Goal Line Offense vs. Defense
GAME TIME: INSIDE THE FIVE West Georgia and San Diego are located 2,103 miles apart. But in today’s transcontinental showdown, only four yards separates these two teams from a big win or disappointing defeat. Trailing by eight late in the game, San Diego has marched inside West Georgia’s five. Harbaugh has all his time outs left, so time is not an issue. Putting the ball in the end zone against a fired-up West Georgia defense is.

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

Henderson State\'s \'Scorched Earth\' Offense
Scott Maxfield, head coach at Henderson State University, a Division II college in Arkadelphia (AR), was one of the early adopters of the spread offense, as he started to employ it eight-nine years ago. It’s such a potent attack that it’s often referred to as the “Scorched Earth Offense.” We talked to him recently about how he deploys it.     One key issue, Maxfield said, is that so many offenses are going to the spread that defenses are starting to adjust. “It’s

Maximizing Your Down Lineman in the 3-5-3 Defense
It is often said that necessity is the mother of all invention. Such has been the case with the trend of the 3-5-3 (or the hybrid 3-3-5), or odd stack defense. While the scheme’s origins trace back to the mid 1990’s, when defensive coordinators Joe Lee Dunn at Mississippi State and Charlie Strong at South Carolina began penning its initial blueprints – now it’s trickled down to over a couple dozen teams at the collegiate level and some high school programs have even started to cat

The Speed Report: Increasing your Linebacker Speed
Every coach in America selects athletes year to year to play linebacker and must determine various characteristics needed to make the wisest choice. LB’s are the heart of the defense and a player must be multi-dimentional athletically able to hit, run, move quickly, and have the mental tenacity of a lightening bolt on a mission. Finding players each year with these skills sometimes is easier said then done. Lead with Speed     S

The Strength Report: Linebackers
My general philosophy of preparing players for competition in the game of football is that the game is played with the hips. Football is played on your feet – running, blocking, and hitting. You have a triple extension of your ankles, knees and hips. You need to be extended into your opponent or toward the ball, when you’re trying to catch it for example. When a receiver explodes off the line, he’s using his hips. When a defensive end exten

The Drills Report - West Virginia\'s Defensive Secondary Footwork Drills
This month’s drill was submitted by Coach Tony Gibson, the Defensive Backs Coach at West Virginia University. Coach Gibson is entering his sixth year as a member of Coach Rich Rodriquez’s staff. Coach Gibson has also made stops along his coaching career at West Virginia Tech University, Cumberland University, Glenville State College and Gilmer County High School. While at West Virginia University, Coach Gibson has been part of three Big East

The Situation
It’s midway in the fourth quarter and the game is tied, 10-10. You’re on offense with a third down and three on your opponents’ thirteen yard line. You need three yards to continue the drive in the Red Zone and get a first and goal. If you don’t make the first down, you’ll have to try a field goal. Obviously, you’d like to score a touchdown and go up 7. Your offens

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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

The Center / Quarterback Exchange
Every scrimmage down starts with the center’s snap; yet it can be one of the most neglected areas of football. There have been many games lost because of a fumbled Center / QB exchange. The snap is a procedure that must not be taken for granted. The fundamentals of snapping the football should be emphasized and practiced everyday, just as you practice the fundamentals of blocking, tackling, receiving, etc. All phases of snapping should be practiced with repetition until it becomes

Blocking, Tackling and Leadership
On behalf of our football program it is indeed a privilege for me to submit this article. As coaches we devote quite a bit of time and effort teaching the fundamental principles and techniques of blocking and tackling. We do this because we know what a tremendous impact these fundamentals have on our game. Another fundamental that I believe to be critical to an organization’s success is leadership. Leadership is becoming increasingly more critical in college athletics a

Free team websites offered to every high school in the U.S
Did you know that your high school football team has a personal assistant to help with the day-to-day management of your program? Yes, you now have a professional-quality website that can help you communicate with players, parents and the community, get alumni involved and raise funds for your program. It�

Head Start - Strength Programs Are Now Starting in Junior Highs
A growing national trend was illustrated this year in South Kitsap School District near Seattle: the installation of strength and fitness equipment in the district’s three junior high schools. It’s a trend that’s gaining momentum around the country, as football coaches, along with physical education administrators, recognize the benefits of having students exposed to strength and conditioning training at an earlier age.  

AFM Subscribers Ask
with Mike Van Deist A near legendary coach in NAIA circles, Carroll College’s Head Coach Mike Van Diest’s Fighting Saints have won the last four NAIA Championships. During that time Carroll has ranked among the top ten NAIA teams defensively. Last fall they led the NAIA in scoring defense and total defense and gave up only six rushing touchdowns in 14 games. Q. How do you prepare your players concerning the defensive game plan.

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

Linfield\'s Flat Drop Drills
Because of the high priority placed on defensive pass coverage versatility, many different positions need to learn how to defend the flat drop zone. Many teams will not only use the OLB to cover the flat, but will roll a safety and / or cornerback up to the flat as well. That can result in requiring as many as six different positions to be proficient at a flat drop and that is why we believe is needs to be drilled frequently. Fundamental Concep

In the Heart of Special Teams: Your Best Opportunity to Gain a Competitive Advan
At the University of Cincinnati, we believe that special teams is one area of the game where you can gain a significant advantage over your opponent simply through the commitment of your best players and the commitment of your entire coaching staff. In this article I will share ideas on how we attempt to get our players to buy into special teams and how we attempt to “out coach” our opponents.     Whether you coach high school, college or in the pros, each one of us sells

Point-Counterpoint: Third and Five In The Red Zone
Northwestern State and Wisconsin-Whitewater are locked in a low-scoring defensive battle. Tied 10-10, neither team has been able to move the ball consistently. The Demons’ pressure has bothered Zeifel’s offense throughout the game. Finally, with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Warhawks put together their best drive and move into Demon territory. But NSU’s defense stiffens and the drive bogs down. Zwiefel is facing a 3rd and 5 at the 20.

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

Blanketing the Spread Formation: How to Defend Trips in the Open Field
As the advancement of offensive football continues, many teams have shifted away from the traditional one tight end, two back scheme that emphasizes an inside power running game – and have implemented some form of a spread offense. Steve Spurrier made a living off of it during the 1990’s and it has since spread like wildfire down to all levels of football. Offensive coordinators are finding a way to get their best athletes on the field making

The Speed Report
Football has grown tremendously in the area of athletic development and strength development in recent years. The knowledge level in the weight room alone is nearly off the chart. The advent of the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Assoc.), which is now approximately 30 years old, provides certification for strength coaches nationally. The journals they supply are written by PHD scientists and are knee deep with physical science infomation

The Strength Report
I’ve been in the business of coaching athletes for over 20 years. I started at the high school level, moved to the junior college level and finally into the D-I College level. Prior to my coaching career I was part of the offensive and defensive line for my entire youth / high school / college football career. So in short I’ve always been interested in how to develop explosiveness and speed  in all athletes.     Throughout all o

The Drills Report: Defensive Line Progression and Drills: UW-Platteville
At UWP, seven areas are emphasized that will make a defensive lineman successful on Saturdays. These areas are: Stance, Starts, Hands, Blow Delivery, Block Recognition, Squeeze and Escape, and Pass Rush Techniques. We feel that these are the areas that must be repped each day at practice.     The first area that we work on is stance. Feet should be armpit width apart with toe to instep relationship. We want the toe to in-s

The Scouting Report
Having earned a reputation as one of the great innovators and teachers during his 36 years of coaching, Walt Harris became the head football coach at Stanford on December 13, 2004. A South San Franciso native, Harris came ‘home.’ Last fall, the Cardinal came within one win of its first bowl game since 2001, finishing with an overall 5-6 record.     Approaching his 60th birthday, Harris has coached in 14 bowl games, inc

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The Situation
You’re on offense late in the first half with just two minutes to play with a third and five on your own 10-yard line. The score is tied and you want to convert this third down play and not have to punt. You come out in a Pro Set offense with the tailback and fullback lined up behind the QB and both the tight end and wide receiver on the right side. Your opponent is in a basic 4-3 defense with one corner lined up on the WR at the LOS. What play do you call to attack this defe

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

New Equipment
Wrestling Knee Pad From Bike Athletic 800-251-9230 www.bikeathletic.com Bike Athletic\'s wrestling knee pad, which can also be used to provide support in other sports, is made with foam padding for patella protection and side-roll motion. Using lycra and neoprene, the pad covers the full knee. It is lined with special fabric that keeps sweat off the skin. Air ventilation holes and a behind-the-knee cutout prevents binding. Sold individually, the pads come i

New Equipment
Calf MasterFrom ARC International877-272-1468 Calf Master\'s plate-loaded seated calf machine (Model m400) is a new design in calf training equipment. The seated calf machine uses an arched foot plate that allows athletes to get a full range of motion while taking pressure off the ball of the foot. The Calf Master m400 is beneficial for anyone interested in physical fitness — from the novice to the elite athlete, from the young to the old. It lets beginne

\'Do Right...\'
As William \"Billy\" Joe sat in his hotel room in Tallahassee on that January afternoon in 1994, awaiting his job interview with Florida A&M University officials, hardly anybody in Florida\'s capital city knew who he was or why he was there. Nearly all of the city\'s residents were caught up in a parade through the downtown streets for Florida State as the city celebrated the Seminoles\' first national title. Little did the football-crazed fans realize that Joe was formulat

The Diary of a New Coach - Part I
Norman, Okla., is 17 miles south of Oklahoma City and perhaps most famous for being home of the Oklahoma Sooners. Football has deep roots in Norman. Norman High School, a Class 6A school with a strong football tradition itself, has nine state championships. NHS runs out of the offset I-formation and our base plays are either 42/43 Crunch (an iso on the playside backer) with a complimentary 26/27 Counter, or an option attack, depending on our personnel. Most of our passing is from a three-step

News & Notes
Former NFL Europe head coach Dick Curl joins the Chiefs Dick Curl, who joined NFLE in 1991 as Barcelona Dragons offensive coordinator and spent the last three seasons with the Frankfurt Galaxy as their head coach, has been named pro personnel assistant with the NFL\'s Kansas City Chiefs. In each of his first two seasons in Frankfurt, Curl was named NFLE Coach of the Year after leading the Galaxy to a berth in World Bowl. The Galaxy lost to the Rhein Fire in 1998, but beat Barce

News & Notes
Mountain West \'in the room\' on BCS talksMountain West Conference schools have gone from outsiders in the Bowl Championshp Series to non-voting members, thanks to a recent development in the BCS. The MWC, which is made up of eight former Western Athletic Conference schools such as Utah, Wyoming and UNLV, will participate in BCS meetings and discussions over the next six years. Only Conference USA and the Mountain West are non-voting members on the BCS panel. \"We\'re in the

Mike Leach Q & A
Q: You didn\'t reach the Division I-A level until 1997 at Kentucky. Before that, you had coached in Division II and the NAIA. What did you learn from your experiences at small colleges and how did you reach your current level?A: When you work at small colleges, you have to know a little bit about everything involved in a football program. A lot of things at major college that are done by someone else, I\'ve actually done myself. I\'ve actually been an equipment guy while coachi

New Equipment
Scouting/Editing Compatibilityfrom CoachComm800-749-2761www.coachcomm.comCoachComm has combined the popular Digital Scout and PowerTouch scouting software packages with their powerful video editing products. Simply enter the play information (down, distance, formation, etc.) into the portable Palm computer or the fast-entry PowerTouch tablet. Then print out your customized reports and open the CoachWin or DSE editing programs. Import the game files into CoachComm\'s

Coaches of the Year
Division I-AA Coach of the Year:L.C. COLE, TENNESSEE STATEBefore leaving the city of Nashville to take on the role of Alabama State University\'s new head coach, L.C. Cole left his mark at Tennessee State, leading the Tigers into the elite ranks of Division I-AA. Cole leaves in his wake at TSU a regular-season winning streak of 19 games - the longest active streak in Division I-AA. The 1999 season, in which the Tigers were 11-1 and finished the regular season ranked No. 1,

Coach of the Year Runners-Up
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech11-1 record No. 2 national ranking by APAP, AFMA Coach of the YearFrank Beamer had a \"blueprint for success\" when he took the reins of the Virginia Tech program 13 seasons ago. And in the 1999, that plan of attack began to pay its biggest dividends to date. The Hokies, which had been making steady progress since Beamer came to Blacksburg, closed out its first undefeated, untied regular season in 81 years and collected a Big East championsh

The Situation- WEB ONLY RESPONSES
We asked our subscribers what they would do in the following situation. We had such a tremendous response that we were unable to print all of them inside the magazine. Here is the situation and the remainder of the responses: You’re on defense near your goal line. While you’ve contained the run, your opponent now has a first down at your four-yard line. They are in a spread offense with a flanker on one side and a split end on the other. Your opponent decides to pitch to the tailb

AFM Subscribers Ask... Texas Tech
Premiering with this issue American Football Monthly begins ‘AFM Subscribers Ask…’, an in-depth Q & A session with a different coach each month. Subscribers are asked to send in their inquiries with specific questions for the coach featured that month. Our first coach to answer your responses is Texas Tech’s Mike Leach. One of the top offensive minds in the game today, Leach begins his seventh season in Lubbock thi

How To Stress Out a Defense
Stress Value: Setting Up Your Formation to Maximize Defensive Stress I recently spoke at a clinic in Minneapolis. The topic I chose is an idea that I have been working on for the better part of a year now and one that I used this past season as an offensive coordinator. In the weeks following the clinic, the feedback I received from the Minnesota High School coaches was overwhelming and many asked me to put the philosophy down on paper;

Being a Secondary Technician
Press Man Technique: Defending Against a Receiver’s Release Moves When breaking down the game of football, or any other sport, it comes down to taking proper angles and using them to help increase the odds of making plays which helps teams win games. Angles in the game of football can either make or break a team’s success. Understanding angles through geometry and understanding the physics of the body through the prope

The Spacing Concept: How to Maximize Your Offense
I have had the great fortune of learning under some of the best offensive minds in college football in Coach Urban Meyer and Coach Gregg Brandon. Here at BGSU we have a great staff that is an honor to work with. Our staff is comprised of Greg Studrawa (OC), Mick McCall (QB), Dennis Springer (RB), Troy Rothenbuhler (TE) and Russ Kuhns (GA). These men do a great job and any ideas that I share in this article are BGSU staff ideas. The concept that I want to share is our Spacing

Punt of No Return
10 Ways to Guarantee Your Opponent Won’t Score on a Punt Return When your offense has stalled and you have to punt the ball away, the last thing you want to give up is a punt-return touchdown. We spoke with three experts about how to prevent such a disaster – Rick Sang, director of American Football Specialists/ Ray Guy Kicking Academy in Bowling Green, KY; Granville Eastman, defensive coordinator and special teams coach

Point-Counterpoint: The Two Minute Offense
Defending the Two-Minute Offense Baylor vs. Edinboro

LRSSports Hot Coaches 2006
Division I-A Mike Haywood, Offensive Coordinator, Notre Dame: The Notre Dame alumnus (Class of ’86) had an impressive performance last year, his first in the job. The Irish offense averaged 36.7 points a game, which put them at No. 8 in the nation. The team had a particularly potent passing attack, averaging 330 yards per game, fourt

The Drills Report
This month’s drills are from George Godsey, quarterbacks coach at the University of Central Florida. A standout quarterback at Georgia Tech, Godsey played for his current mentor, UCF head coach George O’Leary. Last fall, the Golden Knights engineered one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history – after going 0-11 in 2004, UCF hosted the Conference USA Championship

The Scouting Report
At the entrance to the Katy High School (TX) athletics field house, there’s a high trophy case with the inscription, “When excellence becomes a tradition, greatness has no limits.” The Katy Tigers have developed both a tradition and greatness. Named as the ‘High School Team of the Decade’ by the Houston Chronicle, Katy won Texas State Class 5A football championships in 1997, 20

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The Situation
You’re on defense near your goal line. While you’ve contained the run, your opponent now has a first down at your four-yard line. They are in a spread offense with a flanker on one side and a split end on the other. Your opponent decides to pitch to the tailback and sweep right end. How do you defend them from scoring? What defense do you use to stop their attack?

Letter From the Editor
Over the last year, American Football Monthly has evolved from a magazine that included regular features on coaching profiles to more specific articles on both strategy and x’s and o’s. This has been reflected not just in the subject matter published but also in a new section of the magazine, ‘The Drills Report.’ The change in philosophy has been a result of subscriber research; that is, the results of a number of detailed surveys by our marketing department attempti

Impact Stats: The Most Critical Statistic in Football
Obviously the most important statistics in a football game are points scored and allowed – that will determine the winners and losers. But what comes next? What statistic plays the biggest role in determining a game’s outcome? We asked nine successful coaches that question. And eight of them answered that it’s turnover margin. One said average starting field position. Here are the coaches’ explanations.     “Obviously every possession is very valuable,” said Mike

Inside Linebackers: Drills and Assets
At Trinity we run a 3-4 defense with a 4-3 mentality. Our defensive line attacks offenses as opposed to staying on the line of scrimmage and keeping blockers off of our inside linebackers. With this philosophy come some obstacles for our inside linebackers. We begin our first inside linebacker meeting each year stressing the use of our ASSETS. If we are aware of and we master our ASSETS, then we will develop and improve our game dramatically. Our ASSETS help us to diagnose situations and

Loading Up the Box and Playing Man-to-Man Defense
In order for any scheme or technique to be successful your coaches must believe in them, understand them, and be able to properly teach them. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by a group of coaches who do all of the above with passion and excellence!      At Carthage College, our defensive philosophy is to stop the run by “Loading up the Box.” We do this by playing Man-to-Man defense. Our Man-to-Man Package includes bringing maximum pressure or playing Man Free. No ma

Advanced Level Techniques for Today\'s Quarterback
I have had the fortune of coaching at many different levels through the years. One thing that I have found is that at the ‘Non D-I levels’ it is hard to find a quarterback with good mechanics. The higher levels take their pick from the kids that are gifted athletically as well as mechanically. This becomes especially tough when you run an offense that revolves around the pass. This article will focus on what I believe to be the proper mechanics of the QB throw. From the

Pre-Season Practice: The Importance of Making Every Minute Count
Pre-season practice plays an important role in getting your team prepared for the upcoming season. We spoke to two successful head coaches – Mike Leach of Texas Tech and Terry Hoeppner of Indiana University – about how they conduct their pre-season practices and what they hope to get out of them.     NCAA rules dictate that teams can begin practice about a month before their first game. Teams aren’t allowed to practice in full pads for the first five days.

Temperature Rising! Pre-Season Practices: Proper Hydration
Pre-season practice means hot weather, which brings with it the risk of dehydration and heat illness. While many people function quite normally with mild dehydration in everyday life, fluid deficits and heat illness are no laughing matters in football. The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries stated that 19 high school football players died of heat stroke on the playing field between 1995 and 2005.     We spoke to two experts about how to prevent serious dehydra

Point Counterpoint: Defending the Kickoff vs. Maximizing your Kickoff Return
TALE OF THE TAPE Kyle “Bubba” Schweigert Minnesota-Duluth Head Coach 3rd year 2005 North Central Conference Coach of the Year Bulldogs led Division II in kickoff returns in 2005

Exclusive: Inside Mickey Andrews\' Florida State Defense
Great college football teams are designed to STOP great college football teams. And when you play the kind of brutal and challenging schedule Florida State University lines up against each fall, you better be prepared to STOP great college football teams. Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who has been at the school for 22 years, is the architect behind the strategy, philosophy, instruction, motivation and guidance of one of the game’s stingiest defenses. Throughout his

Turnaround: How do you Turn an Ailing Program Around?
When you inherit an ailing program, one coming off a series of poor recruiting classes, one that’s subsisting on a steady diet of one or two wins a year, what’s a coach to do? Prospective recruits don’t want to play for a loser, especially if your campus lacks glamour. Alumni and community businesses don’t want to show financial support. It’s harder to find talented assistants, and the administration and the student body will be hard to placate. What often happens

The Drills Report: Georgia\'s Offensive Blocking Circuit
This month’s drill has been submitted by Coach Neil Callaway, the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach of the 2005 SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs. Since Coach Callaway became a member of coach Mark Richt’s staff in 2001, the Bulldogs have won two SEC Championships, three bowl victories and three top six finishes in the final polls.     Coach Calloway explains his blocking circuit: “We implemented the Blocking Circuit at

The Scouting Report
Todd Graham returned ‘home’ this past January. A native of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Graham was named Rice University’s 17th head football coach on January lst. In his previous coaching stops, Graham played major roles in reversing the fortunes of struggling programs. It started at East Central University where, in his three seasons as DC, ECU improved from a break-even program to the NAIA national championship in 1993.     As

Letter from the Editor
I still marvel at the almost daily improvements in communication. The advances in technology can boggle the mind. Just think about ‘Google’ for example; it’s an instantaneous research tool for any one working on a term paper to an editor helping fact check a magazine for football coaches.     With the almost hourly advances in this field, we are proud to announce AFM’s new and vastly improved web site: AmericanFootballMonthly.com. As AFM is the #1 resource for footbal

Gear
American Football Monthly showcases the hottest new products to help your team gear up for a championship season Redesigned MuellerHinge™ 2100 • Mueller Sports Medicine The new and redesigned MuellerHinge™ 2100 now fits either leg right out of the package - no need to set the brace for right or left leg.  Secondary compression wraps help hold the upper and lower cuffs in place and imp

The Prep Report
Quick Takes: Voices & views from the top prep coaches across America “Nobody in Indiana has ever won four state championships in a row, so it might as well be us. We’re going to embrace it.” – Steve Tutsie, head coach at Warren Central (Indianapolis), on the upcoming season. Tutsie, the Warriors’ defensive coordinator the last five seasons, was elevated after Kevin Wright became head coach at Tulsa (Okla.) Union. The

Media Training: A Coach’s Playbook for the Media Game
If you don’t know what media training is, you are not alone. However, in the next five years, every team in major and mid-major collegiate and professional sports will include media training as part of their preparation for the season – or wishing they had. High school coaches who want to prepare their student-athletes will also embrace this cutting-edge trend as a life skill they need to pass on to their players to be successful in sports and in the real world. So, what

How to Climb the Coaching Ladder of Success
American Football Monthly asked me about climbing the coaching ladder of success.  I had to go to Webster’s Dictionary to define what success is.  Some words I found are “to do well, achieve, or gain satisfaction from your accomplishments.” Some people believe it is to lead your team to win the Super Bowl, to be#1 in Division I football, to be Coach of the Year.  These are all satisfying accomplishments but I believe it is satisfying just to coach this great game of



















Do Penalties Help or hurt? You be the Judge
The NCAA officially recognizes 24 different statistics for college football. Everything from Rushing Offense to Passes Had Intercepted is updated on a weekly and seasonal basis. Most recently, an additional statistic is Fewest Yards Penalized Per Game.     The top five leaders last fall in this category among Division I-A schools were Vanderbilt, Michigan, Navy, Penn State and Iowa. The combined record of the colleges: 38-

Defensive Line Attack: Read Rules for 6 Offensive Line Steps
This article will focus on the reads for an attacking style defensive front. These reads are based on the idea of offensive linemen being able to take 6 initial steps that will tell the defensive lineman how to react. The reactions are based on whether the defensive player lines up in an inside shoulder technique (a 7 tech for example) or an outside shoulder technique (a 5 tech for example). The reads and techniques are the same for both outside a

The Beauty of the High/Low
Creating quick reads for your quarterback that can  lead to receivers gaining big yards after the catch. The beauty of the high/low read is how it can create success for every position group on the field. We succeed with big receivers or fast receivers and with strong-armed quarterbacks or smaller, more athletic quarterbacks. In addition, it creates a quicker passing game so the offensive line does not have to protect too long. It even

High Percentage Throws: Valdosta State\'s Shallow Passing Game
Offensively, we go by a simple rule in implementing our game plan each week. We try to make positive yards on first and second down, then pick up the remaining yards needed to move the chains on third down. We feel the best way to do this is using mostly high percentage passes and mixing in an occasional run. In this article, I am going to concentrate on one such high percentage pass play in our playbook: The Shallow Game.     Our Shallow Game has been one of the most successf

2006 High School State Champions Survey
In our third annual survey of  high school state football champions, a total of 340 questionnaires were mailed to those head coaches in the 50 states. When compared to surveys conducted in 2003 and 2004,  certain trends seem to stick out: more head coaches have masters degrees, the pro style/spread offense is clearly gaining in popularity and feeder systems are becoming more and more common. Here is a complete summary of the 2005 State Champions survey:

Improving Your Running Game
The commitment to run the ball has to start when a head coach lays the foundation for his system. Portland (OR) State’s Tim Walsh sees this mentality as key to any coaching staff. “Coaches have to find a way to instill a belief in their players that they can run against anybody. At Portland State, we’ve created a mindset for players over several seasons.” Walsh and his assistant coaches stress the team’s prior success to new recruits, while returning players have already been in

Point Counterpoint - The Spread Offense vs the 4-3
The spread offense has become a potent weapon, especially in the college and high school ranks. It forces teams to defend the entire field, while also putting an offense’s best athletes in open space. But what if it’s the defense that possesses the best athletes? What if their 6-foot-1, 200-pound All-American corner continually gobbles up your 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver? What if your offensive line and empty backfield can’t handle even just the defense’s front four? Is it tim

Hide and Seek: Disguising Your Blitz
The blitz can be a potent weapon to nullify a high-flying air attack. But blitzes must be disguised to insure their effectiveness. If the offense knows they are coming ahead of time, it can easily adjust and burn the defense for major yardage.     We talked to three successful coaches about how to disguise blitz packages: Mickey Matthews, head coach of former Division I-AA champion James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA; Chuck Martin, head coach of defending Division II

The Secrets of Urban Meyer\'s Spread Option Offense
The legend lives on: From the flat lands of northern Ohio to the depths of Salt Lake City to the swamps of Florida, Urban Meyer, at the young age of 41, has already earned the moniker of legend. He has been called a football genius, an offensive innovator and is considered the architect behind an offense that even the best minds in college football can’t harness, let alone stop. His spread option offense helped change the game and in turn brought respectability to Bowling

The Drills Reports: Louisiana Tech\'s Defensive Tackle Circuit Drills
This month’s feature drill is from Randy Bates, Defensive Coordinator for Louisiana Tech University. Under the leadership of Coach Bates last fall, the La Tech bulldog defense ranked third in the Western Athletic Conference. Also, the 2005 defensive WAC statistics ranked the Bulldogs first in overall turnover margin (+13), second in rushing defense, and third in both passing and scoring defense.     Coach Bates began his career 24 years ago at Muskingum College as an offens

The Scouting Report
If two words describe Mira Mesa High School in San Diego they are tradition and excellence. One of the top academic schools in the city, the Mira Mesa Marauders also have an outstanding football legacy. Led by Head Coach Gary Blevins and Assistant HC Chris Thompson, Mira Mesa plays in the prestigious San Diego Eastern League. This fall they play Long Beach Poly in a non-league game. Poly, a perennial Southern California power, has the most alums of any school in the nation playing in the

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Prep Report
PREP FACT Last fall’s game between Louisville Catholic school rivals Trinity and St. Xavier drew 38,500 to the University of Louisville’s Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium Monthly Roundup Terry Eidson dropped athletic director from his list of duties at De La Salle (Concord, Calif.). The long-time Bob Ladouceur assistant (profiled in April Prep Report) will continue as defensive coordinato

Letter From the Editor
In this issue is our third annual high school state champions survey sponsored by Schutt Sports. A total of 340 questionnaires were sent out to head coaches in all 50 states. While some trends – over the three years – seem to be taking place, there were some fascinating responses among last fall’s champions. Among them: •  The age of the youngest head coach among all state champs was 26 while the oldest was 72. •  The head coach with the shortest tenure was

Luggin\' The Leather
by TJ Troup Coach and Author How many times have we heard a coach say how important it is to run the ball successfully during a game? With those words in minds, let us use the 100-yard individual rusher as our benchmark. And see how often we win? We can see that historically, in the National Football League, that the winning percentage will vary between 62 and 86% (depending on which team). Every team at one time or another has had a su

The #1 Category in Building a Championship Team: SCORING DEFENSE
“Scoring Defense is, without question, the most important of all statistics for football,” says Trinity College (CT) new Head Coach, Jeff Devanney. “The bottom line is how many points you give up, not how many yards your opponent gets on your defense. You can examine other stats – rushing offense and time of possession – which are also important, but limited; the bottom line is your scoring defense.”     Devanney speaks from experience where Trinity has an incredi

Preparing your Defensive Game Plan
Every football coach, at one time or other during the season thinks “If only there were more time to prepare for this game, we could…”. DC’s are under great pressure each week to develop and implement a scheme that puts their players in the best possible position to make plays. This type of defensive game planning requires many hours of preparation – first breaking down game tape and determining an offense’s tendencies, and then selecting fronts, stunts and blitzes from the De

Teaching WR\'s the Critical Skills
One of the main problems that have plagued football coaches for a long time is how to teach the necessary skills needed to play the game during the fifteen to thirty minutes in practice known as individual. Just at the wide receiver position, we must teach stance, start, footwork, route running, releases (press and open field), blocking (push blocking, wall-off, cutting, middle block), catching the ball, running with the ball, and many other skills needed to be a good wide receiver.

Its All About Options
3 Ways to Utilize the Option in the Shotgun and the Spread Offense The option remains one of the most successful concepts in football. It forces the defense to play assignment football and account for each ball carrier. On offense it allows you to leave defenders unblocked at the point of attack. Option concepts have evolved over the last 40 years. Most offensive coordinators have incorporated some form of option into their offenses. In this article I will discuss three dif

Point CounterPoint
The Air Raid Offense vs The Zone Defense Valdosta State vs Grand Valley State Whether you feature a zone or are attacking one through the air, it’s all about the YAC. That four yards your wide out manages to pick up on the quick screen or that tackle your running back breaks on the swing pass can be the key to the game. Face it, if the defense is sagging back in a 2-deep zone, you’re not going anywhere deep. So it’s the little dump offs that need to gobble

The Internet Video Exchange: A Major Assist for Coaches
Sharing game tapes through the internet has streamlined the process while saving both time and money Coaches, say goodbye to your UPS bills. It used to be that the exchanging of game film was just that, literally. A staff member – be it a coach or video coordinator – would make a copy of a particular game film and overnight it to an opposing team. Reel-to-reel turned into VHS tapes, which morphed into DVDs and hard drives. But the concept was always the same – you send

Generation X\'s and O\'s
Game Simulation Technology Allows you to Teach From the Field Level in Real Game Situations When Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid missed significant practice snaps last fall and quarterbacks coach Larry Fedora was forced to prepare junior Al Pena for his first start, Fedora turned to technology. Fedora put a state-of-the-art football simulator produced by GridIron Technology, Inc. in the hands of his quarterbacks, allowing Reid a chance to stay mentally

Scouting Your Opponents Quarterback
Scouting an opponent’s quarterback is crucial in developing a game plan, as the quarterback often represents the most important player on the field. Here are what four accomplished coaches view as the key elements in scouting the opposition QB.     For Warren Maloney, defensive coordinator at University of Saint Francis, an NAIA school in Fort Wayne, Ind., the first question is whether the quarterback is the one who makes the offense go. “We like to see whether the guy makes bi

An Eye for your Opponents
Mike Van Deist keeps a close eye on personel match-ups and ways to exploit them. It’s been repeated almost too many times to say again. But, here you go: defense wins championships. Hold the urge to roll your eyes until you look at Carroll College in Montana. During Mike Van Diest’s seven-year reign as head coach at Carroll, the Saints have become an NAIA powerhouse, winning the national championship the last four years after reaching the semifinals

The Fundamentals of Combination Blocks
This month’s drill is from Joe Gilbert, Offensive Line Coach for the University of Central Florida. Last fall the Golden Knights engineered the greatest turnaround in Division I-A football. From an 0-11 season in 2004 and a string of 17 consecutive losses, UCF rebounded to an 8-3 regular season, hosted the Conference USA Championship Game and earned a trip to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.     In Gilbert’s first season at UCF in 2004, he coached the nation’s youngest offensive lin

The Scouting Report
Mark Speckman has been coaching Willamette University football for the past eight years. The Bearcats are 46-34 under Speckman and in 1999 he was named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year after Willamette won the NWC title and earned a trip to the D III national playoffs. Speckman was the Bearcats’ offensive coordinator for three years prior to being named head coach. He also spent 14 seasons as a high school head football coach, compiling an overall mark of 113-48-3. But he’s more

Prep Report
Monthly Roundup Valdosta (GA), the nation’s all-time winningest program, hired its 14th head coach. Rick Tomberlin, who compiled a 157-31 record with three state championships in 14 seasons at Washington County (Sandersville, GA). He was hired following a national search that reportedly drew more than 80 applicants. Tomberlin replaced Rick Darlington, who resigned after leading the Wildcats to records of 11-4, 8-5 and 7-5 with one state championship game appearan

Letter from the Editor
Are Penalties Really a Negative? Last July, American Football Monthly featured an article entitled, “10 Impact Stats to Build a Championship Team.” Statistical categories were examined among the top ten teams in NCAA Division I-A football over the last five years and matched with where they finished over that period. A total of 20 different statistics were included in an effort to determine which were the more meaningful stats that translate to success.

Do your Players Measure Up?
As a coach, you tell you players that to be successful, they must work hard. This is true whether they are on the field, in the classroom or in the weight room. But players want proof that they are indeed improving. How can you reassure and motivate them so they will remain diligent in their training? The answer is simple: testing. With a basic testing program, you can measure, evaluate, set goals for and motivate your athletes. Testing will also let you design workouts to meet the sp

The Big Squeeze
ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT times to get a football player into the weight room is during the rigorous two-a-day practice sessions before the start of each football season. During this time the athlete\'s body is pushed to the limits of exhaustion. It\'s a time of major concern to most strength and conditioning coaches and athletic trainers because of the chance of overuse/overwork muscle strains and pulls that can occur. During this time the question arises as to what would be the best

Third and Short
Celina’s state-record win-streak ends at 68 Celina High School in Celina, Texas, had its state-record winning streak end at 68 games Saturday, Nov. 23, with a 21-20 loss to Daingerfield in the second round of the Class 3A Division II playoffs. Celina had won four straight Class 2A Division II state titles, including a state-record 25 straight playoff games during the streak, and its first 11 games this season. The Bobcats entered the playoffs as 3A’s third-ranked t

Linebacker Play The Minnesota Way
Linebackers are usually the leaders of the defense. The good ones have poise, intelligence, leadership, mental and physical toughness, dependability, intensity and football instincts. They must have knowledge of the defense. They must be able to defeat offensive linemen weighing 320-plus bearing down at them. They must be able to react quickly and trust what they see and know. Finally, they must, must, must, be a

Dominate the Perimeter
I have one of the greatest privileges in the game of football. I get to teach young men in this self-oriented, egocentric world how to do the most unselfish, team centered activity in football – BLOCK! Wide receivers no less. You know, the ‘pretty boys’ – the smooth, silky, dancers and prancers with their jerseys neatly tucked, clean uniforms with no mud and no grass stains. You know those guys in their slick upright stances before the ball is snapped, and their dazzling route

A Record to Remember
Risk and reward. Maybe it’s no accident those two words appear so often together. It was the risk taken by Dan Devine, leaving his job as a Michigan high school football coach for a lower-paying job as a graduate assistant under Coach Duffy Daugherty at Michigan State that led to a long, highly successful coaching career, including a national championship as coach of Notre Dame. Devine didn’t remain a graduate assistant for long. He soon became a full-time coach and, i

The Problem with Legends? Replacing Them.
On the day he was officially announced as Florida’s new head football coach, Ron Zook made his point loud and clear. In fact, he made his point repeatedly. Eleven times, to be exact, but then whose paying attention? If you’re Zook, only everybody. “I am not Coach Spurrier. I am not going to be Coach Spurrier,” Zook said. Get the point? Ron Zook isn’t Steve Spurrier. He isn’t the most successful head coach in the history of Gator football. He didn’t

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

Know Your Field, After All it\'s Your Turf
When it comes to player safety, what is your most important piece of equipment? As a coach you’ve been taught to properly fit helmets and shoulder pads, both essential tools that can keep players safe. But what about your field? How safe is it? Without proper care and maintenance, your field can cause severe injury – just like ill-fitting helmets or pads. With overuse – repeating drills in the same place – and misuse – using a field already in poor condition or beyo

Deep Impact: Redhawk Punt Team: Protection and Coverage
We always hear in football that no other play has a bigger impact on the game than the punt. We all know that it is true, so to be effective in this phase you must make your scheme simple and sound. Here at Miami University we feel that we have achieved this with our scheme of punt protection. There are three basic principles we follow as a punt team. 1st, we must have a constant split by our personnel. We cannot get forced wide or down inside. 2nd, our sets are vertical, not diagonal.

Impact Stats
What do all of the following colleges have in common after the end of the 2005 season? 1. Ohio State (Division I-A) 2. Duquesne (Division I-AA) 3. Edinboro (Division II) 4. Trinity (CT) (Division III) 5. Missouri Valley College (NAIA) 6. Vermilion CC (JC) All were the leaders in overall Rushing Defense in each of their respective divisions. “I believe Rushing Defense is the most important of all the statistics,” says Edinboro Defensive C

The Drills Report
As coaches, we are always looking for new and innovative ideas to help improve the play of our athletes. As in any other setting, practice makes perfect and practice on the football field involves drills. American Football Monthly’s newest feature is dedicated to finding creative drills that coaches can implement into their programs. The subject matter will be broad in scope and will be selected from coaches of all levels; from high school through professional. This month’s feature

Letter from the Editor
According to Webster, the word ‘adversity’ means ‘a state of wretchedness or misfortune, poverty and trouble… or an instance of misfortune or calamity.’ When applied to the sports world, we often hear the term ‘overcoming adversity’ when referred to players. You can debate whether it’s an overused phrase or not but three instances come to mind: • Lance Armstrong: Arguably the athlete of this decade, Armstrong overcame cancer to win seven consecutive races of the Tour

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

Building More than Strength
How to incorporate Leadership, Teamwork, and Sport Psychology Training into Your Strength and Conditioning Program. \"We have found a direct correlation between the team strength and the success on the field.\" - Kevin Vanderbush Football success is often attributed to having great leadership, positive team chemistry, and athletes who possess the proper mental mindset. Often times, teams who have mas

How do you Scout your Opponents Offensive Line
It always seems to work this way, things filtering down from the colleges to the high schools. As technology with digital editing has advanced and pro teams have become more intricate in their scouting, so, too, have colleges and high schools. One place that’s as prevalent as any other is picking apart your opponents’ offensive linemen.     Anton Stewart, the defensive coordinator at Pittsburg State (KS), is among the growing number of coac

The High-Powered Shotgun Option Offense vs. Defending the Option
The High-Powered Shotgun Option Offense vs. Defending the Option CHARLESTON VS. VIRGINIA TECH TALE OF THE TAPE Tony DeMeo University of Charleston Head Coach Entering 2nd Season Triple Gun Offense Turned programs around at four different colleges with the option off

Running Wild
HOW TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE RUNNING GAME THAT WILL BOOST YARDS AND WINS For all of football’s passing progress over the past decade, the running game remains a fundamental cornerstone of winning football. Whether you’re punching the ball across the line in short-yardage situations or controlling the clock, every team must be able to get the ball into the hands of a capable runner who can read and follow effective blocks downfield, breaking tackles and making defenders miss.

The Scouting Report, Patrick Walsh - Serra HS (CA)
“If the breakdown is done right, building a game plan becomes easy off of the printed reports that uncover tendencies and holes in the offensive gameplan.” Patrick Walsh, Serra HS (CA) This coming fall Patrick Walsh begins his sixth season at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, CA. A high school rich in athletic tradition – alumni include Jim Fregosi, John Robinson, Lynn Swann, Gregg Jefferies, Tom Brady and Barry Bonds – Walsh helped bring th

Prep Report - Flying Under the Radar
TERRY EIDSON: A LARGE PART OF DE LA SALLE’S TRADITION Much has been said and much has been written about the football program at De La Salle in Concord, CA. The Spartans and coach Bob Ladouceur won a national-record 151 straight games and six National Prep Poll titles from 1992-2003. Although De La Salle has developed a handful of NFL players and its share of college stars, Ladouceur gets more acclaim for his ability to exact every last drop of ability out of his pla

The List
In the last issue, we profiled 10 of the top assistant coaches in prep football from the East. This issue, we take a look at 10 more from the Western half of the U.S. 1. Wayne Cichon, DC, Colgan (Pittsburg, KN): Has helped coach Chuck Smith win five state titles with four runner-up finishes in 23 years. The Panthers won 66 straight games from 1999-2004. Cichon has also coached Colgan to four state titles in basketball. 2. Greg Clough, DC, Minnetonka (M

Inside Linebacker Play & Progression
Like any position on the football field there are a lot of different ways to prepare your players for game days. Of course linebackers are the backbone of almost every type of defensive scheme. They are involved in every run and pass play and must have the skill to find the football on every play. Since there are so many multiple defensive schemes a linebacker must be ready to line up in a three point stance and stop the run or line up against a flanker and cover against the pass. Ther

Looking For a Boost in Your Offense?
Why Mid-Line? Our first season at Bucknell we had installed a spread option offense. We invested a lot of time into our base play: the triple option. As the season progressed we had been able to execute the triple with some moderate success. At the end of the 2003 season we had averaged just a little over six yards per attempt. We had run some mid-line in 2003 but were not majoring in it. We, as an offensive staff, knew that in order for us to compete on a yearly basis with the


Running Wild How to create an effective running game that will boost yards and wins. By Richard Scott

Third & Shorts
Prairie View names new head coach By Bob Speights N.E.T. Sports Gazette HALLSVILLE, Texas –– Prairie View A&M announced Friday, Jan. 10, that it had selected 1973 Prairie View graduate, C.L. Whittington, as its new head coach of the Prairie View football program. Coach Whittington brings to Prairie View a vast wealth of experience as a player, coach, administrator and educator. Whittington has spent four years of high school football, four years of college fo

10 Impact Stats to Build a High Scoring Machine #3 Scoring Offense
In its most simplistic terms, Scoring Offense is probably the most basic of all football statistics. After all, the team that scores the most points generally wins the game. And, as former NY Jets-now Kansas City Chiefs coach Herman Edwards put it so eloquently… “We play to win the game.” With a potent offense, good things generally happen. Texas was the highest scoring team in the country – through all colleges among I-A, I-AA, II and II

2005 High School State Champions and PLayers of the Year
List compiled and State Players of the Year chosen by Jamie DeMoney, PrepNation.com. Players of the year were chosen based upon high school achievement, and not recruiting potential. All players seniors unless otherwise noted... ALABAMA 6A: Hoover 56, Daphne 14; 5A: Homewood 45, Buckhorn 13; 4A: UMS-Wright 42, Deshler 16; 3A: Pike County 10, Cherokee County 6; 2A: Clay County 31, Southern Choctaw 0; 1A: Addison 21, Brantley 12. AISA: AA: Clarke Prep 35, Patrician 7; A: Sout

The Rocket Sweep
In 1999 I wrote a book called “Win with the Jet Sweep.” Many people ask me about this offense. I feel that defenses have caught up with the Buck Sweep system and we have to develop another series. The rocket motion takes a back that runs a 5.0 forty yard dash and makes him a 4.5 runner. The Jet Motion is putting a back in full speed motion, one yard behind the quarterback and in front of the fullback. Here is the basic sweep (See Diagram l).

Secret Weapon: Turning your Punt Team into an Offensive Weapon
It is a pleasure and honor to be asked to represent Carthage College by contributing to American Football Monthly. Our staff at Carthage looks forward to this magazine and all the fine coaches who submit ideas and philosophy on a monthly basis. At Carthage we have had a very unique and increasingly productive punt formation that has not only been a solid punt formation but an offensive weapon. This year our “spread punt” produced the followin

Spreading the Bone
We had learned the spread passing game from spending time at one of the best air-attack schools in the country, Trinity University (San Antonio), and yet we knew that something, something absolutely vital, was still missing. The question we faced was the same question college and high school coaches have faced nationwide: how do we utilize a powerful and versatile running game out of the Spread? The answer, we felt, was the offensive philosophy we dubbed the SpreadBone, which utilizes the spread

Point Counterpoint - The Blitz
Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts were helpless against the Pittsburgh Steelers and their blitz packages in last month’s AFC playoff game. Manning, the master of the audible and game’s best gunslinger, spent most of the afternoon forcing passes, trying to avoid getting crushed or getting crushed. After the game, Manning hinted that he didn’t have the best protection. The offensive line, running backs, extra blockers and offensive co

Samson\'s College and High School Strength and Conditioning Coaches of the Year
Division I-AA: Russell Patterson-Appalachian State The pace of an Appalachian State football game is dictated by their no-huddle offense.The breakneck scheme results in a high number of plays and keeps both sides of the ball in constant readiness. Having them prepared for the full 60 is the job of strength and conditioning coach Russell Patterson. It must be working. The Boone, NC Mountaineers captured the Southern Conference title with a 6-1 mark, were 12-3 overall,

Off Season Workouts
Off-season training should take a different focus then your typical change of just changing the amount of reps. It should take a turn to pre-hab (exercises that help prevent or minimize injuries), technique, and individual or positional needs. In my past twelve years of really getting involved in NFL programs I’ve seen something that is a trend among strength coaches and athletic trainers that is very alarming. One of greatest concerns to me is

The Need for Speed
From the time young football players figure out they’re faster than the other players on the field, many assume speed is simply a gift that some have, some don’t. They figure it’s all a matter of nature, genetics or a divine blessing. While it’s true that some young men are simply born and raised faster than others, no football player has to be content with his speed – or his lack of speed. “A lot of the kids we recruit have

Samson\'s NFL Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Seattle\'s Mike Clark
Take a look around your living room. If you are an average adult in your 30s, 40s or 50s, chances are a young person is taking up space in your house, sleeping in a bed you provide, eating your food and wearing clothes that you have bought. That young person is likely to be on the couch watching TV or playing video games. The thought of why this young person is inside on a beautiful day giving his opposable thumbs a workout on toggle switches a

Texas Sized Strength
Speed kills. Just ask most of the Texas Longhorns’ opponents during the 2005-06 season. That can be attributed largely to the players that head coach Mack Brown and his staff recruit. As big of a factor in the team’s success, however, is the strength and conditioning program the Longhorn players endure. Sure, endure. “Oh, I’ve been known as a guy that works them and works them hard,” laughed Jeff Madden, the University of Texas as

The Drills Report
Sponsored by: Rogers Athletic Company As coaches, we are always looking for new and innovative ideas to help improve the play of our athletes. As in any other setting, practice makes perfect and practice on the football field involves drills. American Football Monthly’s newest feature is dedicated to finding creative drills that coaches can implement into their programs. The subject matter will be broad in scope and will be selected from coac

SCOUTING REPORT
Mark Panella is the Quarterbacks/Receivers Coach at De La Salle High School in Concord, CA and has served on coach Bob Ladouceur’s staff – except for a brief period – since 1989. He has just about seen it all – from the team’s incredible 151 game winning streak to the lows of an unheard of consecutive losses. He also serves as the team’s Video Coordinator. The starting quarterback on the 1984 De La Salle team that went 11-1, Panella s

Lakeland’s Right Hand Man
Lakeland (FL) again did a lot of winning in 2005. In fact, head coach Bill Castle’s Dreadnaughts were downright dominant, outscoring opponents by a combined 580-93 while capturing their second consecutive Class 5A state championship and 30th straight win. The dream season was punctuated with Lakeland’s best-ever finish in the national rankings (No. 2 National Prep Poll and No. 1 USA Today). As expected, Castle picked up his share of personal

Letter from the Editor
Our ‘Scouting Report’ feature this month includes an interview with Mark Panella of De La Salle High School in Concord, CA. The Spartans’ Quarterbacks/Receivers coach, Panella also serves as the teams’ video coordinator. Panella has been an integral part of Head Coach Bob Ladouceur’s staff for over a decade and witnessed a good portion of what is known as ‘The Streak’: De La Salle’s incomprehensible record of winning 151 straigh

Third & Shorts
College Football Transactions: Head Coaches: UNLV Head Coach John Robinson announced his retirement at the end of the 2004 season. Robinson, former mentor of both USC and the Los Angeles Rams, led the Rebels for six seasons... Becker announced David Dunn as head coach... The program is to begin varsity competition in 2005. Football Assistants: Newberry chose Mac Bryan as offensive line coach... Mansfield named Scott Milanovich

Cover Story
Samson\'s D I-A College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Texas\' Jeff Madden The BIG MAN on campus: How Jeff Madden Builds Power and Speed at Texas By Matt Fulks

The Prep Report
Flying Under the Radar Bud Wright and Sons: a Family Business For Larry “Bud” Wright of Sheridan (Ind.) and his sons, coaching is a family business. So is winning. Earlier this season Wright, 64, became the fifth Indiana coach to win 300 games. Among the great players Wright has coached: Chicago Bears punter Brad Maynard and former Indiana University running back Brett Law, whose 55 touchdowns in 1988 set a national record. The 300-win milestone is the culmination

Three Basics for your Athletic Training Game Plan
Every coach should have a game plan when it comes to athletic training. Here are some points to consider: 1. Emergency Plans: As a coach you should have an emergency plan in place for your practice sites and football field. Your plans should include: A) forms of communication such as phone, walkie-talkie, etc. B) Directions to the location of the practice or game facilities C) Access to the field or practice area (Any locked gates? Do you have a Key?) 2. Athlet

Video a Necessary Part of Every Program
“It was film in the old days, up to about ‘88 or 89,” recalls Clemson’s veteran video coordinator Rick Bagby, a pioneer in his field who led the video revolution that enables football coaches better use their time to develop sophisticated, smart, systems, and, he hopes, winning game plans for the ACC program that’s been a big winner for decades in the South. Across the country in the Pacific Northwest, Steve Pohl has been running Oregon’s football video operation since 19

Third and Shorts
Since 1996, the Frank Broyles Award has gone to the nation’s top assistant football coach. The award is named in honor of longtime Arkansas athletic director and former Razorbacks coach Frank Broyles. During his coaching career Broyles developed a reputation for producing outstanding assistants with more than 25 becoming head coaches at the college or professional level. Among the former Broyles’ assistants were Joe Gibbs, Hayden Fry, Jimmy Johnson, Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill, and Barry

Overcoming a Devastating Defeat
We are a nation obsessed with it: from reality game shows, to toothpaste whiteners. Winning it seems, has become the “the only thing” – as Vince Lombardi so prophetically proclaimed nearly a half century ago. And today, that bar inches ever higher. So what happens when we lose? And not just lose . . . but lose badly? The Pittsburg State Gorillas (KS) put the big hurt, on nearly every Division II opponent they faced in 2004 – setting an NCAA record of 837 points scored: besting

Impact Stats: Total Defense
Tommy Tuberville’s Auburn Tigers placed fifth in the nation among all Divison I-A teams in Total Defense in 2004, surrendering just 19 total touchdowns, the second lowest total that year. They were first in the country in Scoring Defense. “When you’re consistently good on defense, it gives your offense a lot of chances to go for big plays. You’re going to give your offense more turnovers and more balls in better field position and, to me, where it really starts is defense. You

The Top 25 Public and Private High Schools of 2005
PRIVATE SCHOOLS TOP 25 1. St. Xavier (Cincinnati) Record: 15-0 Coach: Steve Specht The Bombers became the fourth consecutive Cincinnati school to win Ohio’s big-school title. St. X’s defense allowed only one opponent to score more than 17 points, and the offense was sparked by super talented sophomore RB Darius Ashley (5-9, 170). 2. St. Bonaventure (Ventura, CA) Record: 14-0 Coach: Jon Mack The Seraphs finished as the highest ranked team in Cal

Punt Protection and Coverage
At Olivet Nazarene University we prioritize our special teams as follows (in order of importance): 1. Punt Protections and Coverage 2. Kickoff Coverage 3. Extra Point Protection 4. Punt Return and 5. Kickoff Return. Time spent on a particular special team unit is based on our priority list; thus, we will spend more time and effort on the punting game than we would spend on the kickoff return. This article will focus on our number one priority – Punt Protection and Coverage. Punt Per

Fire Away A Multiple Pass Game with \'Four Vertical\'
I have been fortunate enough to learn the pass game from several good offensive football coaches in the past ten years – both at the high school and collegiate level. Every offense I have coached has included some version of a “four vertical” passing game. Hopefully you can take something from this article that will be helpful within your system. The “four vertical” pass game has become multiple here at Kent State University, in which we teach “hybrid” versions that may include fiv

Three Deep Coverage Principles
College football programs across the country are currently in a huge transition period, both offensively and defensively. Offensively, teams are spreading the field with receivers, creating run and pass situations that require defenders to tackle in space. Defensively, zone pressure and eight man front defenses are being designed to create pressure and eliminate an opposing offense’s run game. In doing this, we are seeing a shift back to the three deep coverage concept used so regularly throug

Pass Efficiency Defense
One of the more crucial categories relevant to the success of a team at any level is turnovers. No coach or even member of the media can argue that a team’s Turnover Differential at the end of a season is analogous to that school’s success or failure. Even more sophisticated today is the statistical category, Pass Efficiency Defense. Important to every team, Pass Efficiency Defense evaluates the following categories that result in an overall PED rating: • Opponents pa

The Prep Report
14 TITLES IN 35 YEARS With a record like Chuck Lenahan’s, it’s almost impossible to fly “under the radar.” But national prep football rankings and other similar recognition happens in New Hampshire about as often awards for maple syrup making go out to folks in Florida. So, it’s safe to say that Lenahan and his Plymouth Regional program is very much soaring under the radar. Even with a 2004-05 NFHS Coach of the Year award in his pocket, Lenahan and his old-school bran

Point-Counterpoint Third and Long
Heading into December, USC\'s overwhelming offense was tops in the nation in third-down efficiency. After outlasting Pat Hill’s impressive Fresno State squad in November, the Trojans were converting on an amazing 54% of third downs. Having Reggie Bush doesn’t hurt. Pete Carroll’s explosive bunch was also No. 1 in turnover margin. It’s not hard to figure out why Matt Leinart and company keep rolling. The third-down efficiency rankings are filled with explosive offenses, includi

Stopping the Spread Offense
Defending the spread offense. Where does one start? Maybe on the other side of the ball. What exactly is a spread offense? And understanding what it is you are trying to defend will go along way in answering how you are going to defend it. The spread offense means many things to many people. Sure there are some consistencies, but it seems every coach has added his own twist and own purpose to running the spread offense. And while trying to stop the spread offense, you better know what

Point Counterpoint: The Screen Pass
When the rule was changed allowing downfield blocking on any pass completed behind the line of scrimmage, the quick wide receiver screen, also known as the “tunnel” or “rocket” screen, gave blitz-weary offensive coordinators a counter attack capable of causing of mass destruction. “It’s such a good football play,” said James Madison head coach Mickey Matthews. “It’s changed football. If they get the play executed, and you’re in a blitz, it’s going to be a big pla

Dominating Run Defenses
Different teams. Different schemes. Different coaches. Different levels of play. But Ohio State, Duquesne, Edinboro and Trinity all shared one very important distinction at the end of the 2005 college football season. They all led their respective NCAA Divisions in stopping the run. And while the way they accomplished their No. 1 ranking varied, a closer look at each program revealed some common threads to their success. All four agreed that personnel is the biggest determining factor

Schutt Sports Regional High School Coaches of the Year
East Region: Jeff Weachter Bishop McDevitt HS, Harrisburg (PA) Jeff Weachter, 40, led Bishop McDevitt high school in Harrisburg, PA to a 13-1 record this season, reaching the semifinals of the state 4A division. Pure football talent explains a lot of the school’s success, Weachter said. Five of his players were recruited by Division I colleges. But the team had to overcome some adversity. LeSean McCoy, ranked as the top running back in the country by some recruiting

A Winning Tradition: Lakeland\"s Bill Castle
When you’ve been in coaching 36 years, 35 at the same school and 30 as the head coach, you see a lot of players and teams come and go. Some are more memorable than others. Some kids, some teams, some seasons, they all start to run together. Did that Smith kid play tackle or guard? Or was that his older brother? Was it the 1991 team or the 1992 team that was so fast? Was it the second state championship or the third state title that overcame all that adversity? Some teams and players

Schutt Sports College Coaches of the Year
Joe Taylor Hampton Joe Taylor made a decision last off-season that helped lift his Pirates to the Div. I-AA playoffs. During his regular off-season evaluations – which involves looking at every play of every game, interviewing coaches and writing a letter to his players – Taylor realized his defense needed to change. “You must look at this as a bu

Schutt Sports Div. I-A Coach of the Year Finalists
Charlie Weis had amassed an impressive coaching resume punctuated with four Super Bowl rings, three with the New England Patriots and one with the 1990 New York Giants. This season the challenge was to transfer his success in the pro ranks to his first season in charge at Notre Dame. Could the magic he devised for Tom Brady translate to Brady Quinn? Would the genius of the master offensive coordinator in the NFL rub off on the defense and special teams in South Bend? Those were critica

Heart of a Lion: Joe Paterno
Football is a funny business. It is a war-like game in which the biggest, strongest and toughest will often come out on top. Throw in the elements of brains and intelligence and it can either amplify the preceding characteristic or eliminate it. The teams on the sidelines – on a given autumn afternoon or evening – want to humiliate, eliminate and defeat their opposite numbers. It is the most competitive of all sports. Yet there is a fraternity among its players and coac

Scouting Report
Coach Jim Kunau just completed his 13th year as head coach at Orange Lutheran High School. In 2004 the Lutheran Lancers received the ultimate prize: a CIF Championship. With an overall record of 131-32-3, Kunau has seen it all and established LHS as one of the elite programs in southern California. From a school approaching 500 students in which 22 players were football players a decade ago, Orange Lutheran has evolved to an enrollment of nearly 1,200 with 200 student-athletes now a part of a hi

The Prep Report
With seven 5A championships and a 118-16 record during the ‘90s, Skyline (Salt Lake City) was among the very elite prep football programs in the nation. But things changed slightly for coach Roger Dupaix (AFM’s West Coach of the Year in ’99) and Skyline in the first half of this decade. The Eagles still were no slouches, making at least the state semifinals each year, but endured what seemed like forever to them – five years – without another championship. The “sl

Great Coaching Stories at Every Level
While much of the media focuses on Division I-A coaches, there are many great coaching stories at every level of professional, high school, and college football. Who could have forecast the turnaround at the University of Central Florida: the Golden Knights had lost 17 straight, were 0-11 last year, lost there first two games this fall but then rebounded to finish 8-3 and host the Conference USA Championship Game. Bill Cubit inherited a 1-10 Western Michigan team. He and his staff

Table of Contents
Cover Story Heart of a Lion: Joe Paterno Schutt Sports Div. I-A Coach of the Year After fou

Open Door Policy
Bob Johnson’s coaching experience spans nearly 35 years with stops at Los Amigos High School, El Toro, and, for the past 7 years, Mission Viejo High School. He won his 200th game as a head coach last fall and is closing in on the Orange County record of 236 wins held by Los Alamitos’ John Barnes. Undefeated thus far in 2005, the Mission Viejo Diablos completed a perfect 14-0 season last fall, winning the CIF Southern Section Division II Championship and have won 78 of their last 79 games. La

University of Richmonds Defending the Pro Formation
I would like to share with you our defensive philosophy on defending two-back formations with an eight-man front. When we first began developing our two-back package, we wanted to adhere to a few base principles. This article will be devoted to the decisions we make in each of these areas. Defending the pro-formation is one of the major responsibilities for defensive coaches at Richmond. Hopefully some of these ideas, while certainly not revolutionary, will spark some meaningful discus

Letter From the Editor
Sports Illustrated’s first issue appeared in August, 1954 with Milwaukee Braves third baseman Eddie Mathews on the cover. He promptly got hurt and missed 10 days of playing time with a bad ankle. Thus, the Sports Illustrated cover jinx was born. Over the years millions of superstitious readers and many athletes believe that an appearance on the cover of SI is the kiss of death. In the six decades the magazine has been in print, the argument can be made that the jinx is certainly a re

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

Crunching Numbers
Now that the season is over and the dust has settled, it’s time to look back and evaluate your season. As offensive coaches, we all accumulate a huge amount of statistical data over the course of the season. We also know that statistics can be deceiving. Using all the data we collect can help us understand our own offense as well as determine those areas which need improvement. In this article I will discuss how to collect data, evaluate your statistics, and implement the necessary changes to

The Audible: How to Make it Work
In the third quarter of this season’s Michigan-Ohio State game the Wolverines had the ball on the Buckeyes’ 2-yard line. With 10 seconds to go on the play clock, the Wolverines were still in the huddle and appeared confused on what play to call. But they knew exactly what they were doing. Michigan broke the huddle and raced to the line of scrimmage, snapping the ball almost instantly. The play ended in the end zone and the Wolverines had their touchdown. Because they were “late” to the l


Cover Story The Audible: How to Make it Work In the third quarter of th

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Swinging Momentum With Int’s
Few plays in a game are more significant than an ill-timed interception. Offensive coaches can argue that there’s never a good time for one but no play seems to have more of a psychological impact than the interception. Last fall some of the leaders in passes intercepted included Troy, Boise State, USC, Coastal Carolina, Cal Poly, Shippensburg and Carthage. Coincidentally, all those colleges had outstanding seasons. “The interception—more than just about any other play – swings

The Brute Rack System:
Tony Santee is the strength and conditioning coach at Central High School in Grand Junction, CO. He also serves as a football and track coach. With more than 27 years experience as a coach in various capacities, he understands the importance of a strength and conditioning program on the high school level. “With the help of our administration and boosters, we were recently able to purchase a new weight room for our student-athletes that encompasses 3,000 square feet,” said Santee. �

Quarterback Fundamentals
Throughout the course of football history there have been many great quarterbacks to play the game of football. Some of the quarterbacks that I have enjoyed studying over the years are Joe Montana, John Elway and recently Peyton Manning and Ty Detmer. Ultimately the one thing that each one of these quarterbacks has in common is great fundamentals that took each one of their games to another level. In our offensive scheme there are many demands on the quarterback. So repetition is the m

Defensive Back Play in Quarters Coverage
Stopping the run in football has always been paramount. Over the years coaches have devised different ways to get extra defenders into the box. Often times this has benefited the run game and it has also left the pass game vulnerable. I believe that quarters coverage provides an answer for both run and pass. It allows both of the safeties to be primary run support defenders while also allowing the defense to defend a vertical passing game.

Pattern Reading
This article is part two of a two part series. Part one was entitled: Landmarks: The Foundation of Zone Coverage. Pattern Reading serves three purposes for the defense. Defenses utilize a system of ‘Pattern Reading’ to get an early indicator of what type routes the offense is going to execute. It also serves to reduce the number of possible route combinations that the defense must anticipate and defend. Thus, maximizing the efficiency of how we leverage routes in zone pass coverage.

True Football Speed
We can all agree, speed is one of the most important factors in football. And in recent years we have seen a huge increase in the availability to many effective and productive speed and plyometric training workouts. Unfortunately, most of these workouts are made to increase linear speed and not true football speed (TFS), a multi-directional, non-consistent type of speed that is determined by reaction to someone or something. In this article, I will illustrate plyometrics specifically

From Scouting Report to Game Plan
Know thy enemy. On the battlefield or the football field, few statements ring truer than that. Being able to effectively size up an opponent, identify their weaknesses, recognize their tendencies and formulate an attack puts you that much closer to victory on Saturday. In today’s high-tech world, scouting the opposition is often done with the latest in digital editing equipment. And when the lights go out, every program, every coach and every player is scanning their scouting report for the ex

Celebrating 10 Years of schutt sports coaches of the year
Terry Hoeppner, Indiana He won the Schutt Sports Division I-A Coach of the Year Award in 2003 as head coach of the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks and that did not go unnoticed. How could it? QB Ben Roethlisberger went on to become a first-round draft choice for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004 and was thrust into the starting lineup when No. 1 QB Tommy Maddox went down with a knee injury. All Roethlisberger did was lead the Steelers to 14 straight regular-season wins and a berth in the AFC cha

Point-Counterpoint
There is no need for punt coverage, if the punt is blocked. “A blocked kick can turn the momentum of the game more than anything else,” said Air Force legend Fisher DeBerry. “It’s won a lot of football games for us and created some field position for us.” Yet, more and more coaches, including DeBerry, are utilizing the “Shield Punt,” which, admittedly, sacrifices protection for coverage. “There’s been some kicks blocked if the shield breaks down,” DeBerry said. “

Innovators of the option
The number of coaches who are proponents of the option offense exclusively are like members of a select fraternity. They are relatively few in number and show mutual admiration for one another. The officers of this would-be Sons of the Option order might include Paul Johnson of Navy, Rice University’s Ken Hatfield, Mike Sewak of Division I-AA Georgia Southern and the Air Force Academy where Chuck Petersen is Offensive Coordinator. AFM spoke to all of them and others about their potent scoring

Open Door Policy
Last spring Sports Illustrated published probably the most selective ranking in all of sports. Of the more than 38,000 high schools in the U.S., fewer than one in a thousand made their listing of the nation’s top 25 athletic programs. Criteria emphasized all-around excellence during the last ten years and included both state titles won and college athletes produced. Ranked #6 on the list was Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. Having a tradition of outstanding football teams, Mat

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. National Football Foundation programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/

The Option: Still an Offense of Beauty
In a recent viewers poll conducted by ESPN research after the October 15 USC-Notre Dame historic match-up, people were asked to vote on the best regular season football game in the past 50 years. The winner: the ND-SC encounter that left Trojan fans relieved and Notre Dame followers emotionally drained. The game had everything a viewer could want: outstanding plays on both offense and defense, a lead changing hands a number of times, and a dramatic and controversial finish as Trojan qu


Cover Story Innovators of the Option The number of coaches w

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Passing Efficiency
10 IMPACT STATS TO BUILD A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM #7 Pittsburgh Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a quarterback rating of 158.3 – the highest attainable by NFL standards – in the Steelers opening game of the season. He passed for 253 yards with 9 of 11 completions and without throwing an interception. The NFL’s formula for rating quarterbacks combines pass attempts and completions, percentages of completions and those intercepted as well as touchdown passes and –

Fire Zone Scheme
Coaching defensive football has taken on a whole new look in recent years with the advent of the “Fire Zone” or what is popularly referred to as the “Zone Blitz.” These schemes, first utilized by several NFL teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s, allow defensive coaches the capability to send five rushers (and in some cases six) while still being able to stay in a zone coverage shell behind the blitz. This scheme first evolved to help defenders take away the offense’s ability to thro

4 Technical Components of Punt Coverage
At Austin Peay, we are a spread punt team. We like the spread punt because we believe it gives us big play capability in the coverage part of the punt as well as a chance to cover our punts more efficiently. To us, our punt is like a defensive play that occurs some 35-40 yards downfield. We like to directional kick so that we can put our ends (also referred to as ‘Gunners’) into play. Because every phase of our kicking game is installed and taught as a ‘Part to Whole’ concept, we break d

Attacking Defenses With The Veer
Over the past 22 years we have been running the split backfield veer at Bridgewater State College. We have had only one losing season during this period and our teams have been consistently ranked in the top 30 in rushing offense among all Division III programs. When we first put in the veer, we ran up against mostly 5-2 monster defenses. Our basic formation was a two tight end alignment (See Diagram l).

What Are You Worth?
American Football Monthly concludes its first annual college coaching salary survey this month with figures for two skilled position coaches: running backs coaches and quarterbacks coaches. In many respects, the argument can be made that these two position coaches are the most critical when determining the outcome of a game Salaries for all levels of college coaches are included as well as their other responsibilities and tenure.

Legends of the Hall - Darrell Royal
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. National Football Foundation programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/

Can Big Mo Be Stopped?
It doesn’t take long for Larry Kehres to teach a reporter a lesson about momentum. Kehres, whose ridiculous resume includes seven Div. III national titles since 1993 for Mount Union College, is making dinner at his home and talking to the reporter on the phone at the same time. “Don’t let a mistake bug you,” he said. “Just think about it. You have periods of frustration, happiness and boredom every day. You just have to –.” That’s when the phone dies. The reporter calls

Email Recruiting
Talking with a teen-ager. Oftentimes a daunting task for any middle-aged coach. Many coaches have an uncanny ability of knowing the best way to communicate with a high-school recruit. Still, staying ahead of the competition while finding the best way to be noticed and remembered by a teen-ager takes communicating in the way that they’re most comfortable. “From the standpoint of what kids read, I’m not sure how we get noticed,” joked Tom Creguer, the recruiting coordinator at No

Point-Counterpoint
TALE OF THE TAPE Ken Hatfield Coaches

Time of Possession: The most important statistic?
All football coaches would agree that the most important statistic is the one flashing on the scoreboard at the end of the game. But there are other statistics that help contribute to that final result up on the big board to the right and left of the zeros. Is time of possession one of them? High school and college coaches might disagree on the final answer, but they all believe that time of possession is something to keep an eye on. Valdosta State Coach Chris Hatcher has the

Open Door Policy
In his 13th season as head coach of the Portland State Vikings, Tim Walsh has the distinction of being the longest tenured and winningest football coach in the program’s history. After taking over for legendary Vikings coach Pokey Allen, Walsh helped lead Portland State to three straight NCAA playoff appearances. In 1996, the Portland State athletics program made the move to Division I-AA (from Division II) in football. That placed Walsh in the position of having to build an under-fu

The Prep Report
PREP FACT Only 3 active coaches have over 50 years as a head coach: Summerville’s John McKissick (SC), St. Edmond’s Dick Tighe (IA) and Bethpage’s Howie Vogts (NY) FLYING UNDER THE RADAR Camden County (GA): 20 Shutouts in 34 Games Before you can find a way to beat the Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.) Wildcats, you better first figure out a way to score on them. Putting up a single point has been a

Letter from the Editor
The stories seem to be endless about football players that – when finally given a chance – blossom into becoming stars. On the high school, college, and professional levels, each year there are the second, third, and fourth stringers that, finally given a chance, perform almost heroically. A few weeks ago that’s what happened in Baton Rouge. Tennessee’s back-up quarterback, Rick Clausen, came into the game midway through the second quarter and led the Volunteers to an improbabl

It Starts in the Trenches
Juan Castillo has coached offensive linemen at the high school and Division II level. He’s also spent the past 11 years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Throughout this career, the daily principles he brings to his job have remained the same. “To me it’s still the same – it’s all about fundamentals,” Castillo said. “When I was at Texas A&I, I was fortunate to learn a lot of my drills from NFL coaches and major college coaches, but I still break it down the way I did at the s


Cover Story It Starts in the Trenches 5 Coaches d

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Open Door Policy
Having not had a winning season since 1991, Steve Kragthorpe rolled into Tulsa two years ago and led the Golden Hurricane to an overall 8-5 record. In the process, Tulsa played in the school’s first bowl game in 12 years. His coaching job helped produce the biggest turnaround in Division I-A in the 2003 season and Kragthorpe was named WAC Coach of the Year. While Tulsa slipped to 4-8 last fall, optimism is high this season as the Golden Hurricane begin their first season as a member of Confer

The Prep Report
Flying Under the Radar The Triple Option is Alive and Well The triple option – it was college football’s offense de jour in the 1960s and 70s, highlighted by the ultra successful wishbone systems at Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama. Now, only a handful of Division I-A programs such as Rice and Air Force employ an option system. But the triple option is still very much alive and well on high school football fields across the nation. Especially at Warren Cent

Total Offense: Balance is the Key
A team’s total offense, many coaches will say, will not just help determine a win or a loss, but ultimately, whether the season is a successful one. Today, having a high-powered passing game but a limited running game – or the reverse – just doesn’t cut it. To be consistently successful, a balanced offense is necessary. “I feel you have to have balance in your offense to be a consistent winner,” says Rush Propst, coach of Hoover High School (AL) and winners of four state ti

Rogers TredSled
A great addition to the Central Michigan University weight room – as well as our football program – has been the Rogers Athletic TredSled™. This versatile apparatus has given us the ability to train our players in a sport-specific fashion, while also providing training opportunities for all athletes. We utilize the TredSled™ for the following: OL & DL – Pass blocking, drive blocking TE & LB – Hit and read RB, WR, DB, QB – Resi

The Staff Report
The start of a new season always involves the coaching staff’s discussion of personnel. We have sat in these meetings as a GA, as a volunteer, as an assistant, as a coordinator and as head coach. It seems that in every one of these meetings the discussion of depth creates quite a bit of emotional dialogue. Who wants the player on offense? How many tailbacks do we need? Do we need that many at wide out? Can we get by with the amount of defensive and offensive linemen? After the discussion,

Zone Blitz Package
Diagram 1. Flex: Okie Sword Wk 2 Diagram 2. Flex: Okie Sword Wk 3

The Wing-T vs. Multiple Defenses
For defensive coordinators, there is no peskier offensive scheme than the good, old Wing-T. They keep trying to pop that guard trap over and over. Then right as your linebackers have forgotten what a pass looks like, they go play-action. Absolutely aggravating. Western Branch High School (Chesapeake, Va.) Head Coach Lew Johnston is a pesky Wing-T guy. Orchestrated 75-percent of the time out of the shotgun, Johnston’s T really drives D.C.’s crazy. Pearl River High School (LA) H

Stopping the Wing-T
It is one of the most confounding offenses found in either high school or college football. Mention the Wing-T at any meeting of coaches and the majority – if being honest – will admit that it is one of their worst nightmares. It is an offense that is as unpredictable as any in the game and the team that is unprepared for it will be placed in peril and will most likely be embarrassed. Few coaches will put their team at that disadvantage. Through scouting and film study, most coache

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

Letter From the Editor
A legendary coach was once asked, ‘if you could have your best athlete play one particlular position – offense or defense – what position would that be?’ Without batting an eyelash, the coach responded, ‘middle linebacker – he sets the tone and leads our def

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. National Football Foundation programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/

What Are You Worth?
1. As a Defensive Ends Coach, what is your total compensation package? D I-A D I-AA

C.W. Post Defensive Line Play
Defensive line play at C.W. Post has been an integral part of our team’s success over the past eight seasons. We have led the country in rushing defense four out of the last five years. Despite losing players to graduation we have been able to stay on top of most conference defensive categories such as sacks, tackles for loss and rushing defense. Our defensive line teaching progression has been consistent throughout our years at Post. The progression is basic and allows our players t

Spreading It Out
At Santa Rosa Junior Coillege our offensive philosophy is to spread people out with formations and to keep the pressure on with a no huddle attack. We want to spread the ball around to our four WR’s and RB and throw the ball short to people who can score. We also believe in keeping it simple. We only run a few plays but expect our players to execute to perfection. By keeping our play list short, it allows us to utilize our practice time to prepare for any defensive look we may see

Back in Black
Jerry Glanville will be the first to insist he’s not re-inventing the wheel in his return to college football. “I’m not bringing anything back to the game people aren’t already using,” said Glanville, who hasn’t coached in the college ranks since 1973. “Whether I’m coaching defense or the kicking game the way I coach is to try and take opponents totally out of their comfort zone, that there’s no play where they can feel like we aren’t coming after them, like we’re sitting t


Cover Story C.W. Post Defensive Line Play Defensive line play at C.W. Post has been an integral part of our team’s

Blessed Sacrament
Entering into spring practice Mike Henderson, head Football Coach at tiny Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Academy has a lot to reflect on. Just seven short seasons ago he took over the High School\'s 0-10 program and capped off last season with consecutive C.A.A. State Championships. a remarkable achievement. An amazing achievement considering the severely limited physical and personnel assets he was given to work with. Mike Henderson was hired as the Head Football Coach at Hu

Third & Shorts
College Football Transactions: Lawrence appointed Chris Howard as head coach to replace Dave Brown... Southern awarded Pete Richardson a three-year contract extension… Guilford head coach Mike Ketchum stepped down to become assistant

A Part of the Master Plan
The voice on the phone said it was Linda Knowles, Bear Bryant’s secretary, but Al Miller knew better. Growing up just 40 miles from Bryant, Miller, a coach himself, had fallen for the ‘Bear Bryant’s on the phone’ gag before. “OK, yeah, sure,” he sarcastically replied to the imposter secretary.

Top Of Their Class
Bruce Harbach Head Football Coach and Strength Coach, Lancaster Catholic High School Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, Wilson High School • Lancaster, PA Bruce Harbach is a coach and a teacher. Problem is, it’s at two different schools. Harbach is the hea

Tuesday Morning Quarterback
Most of you have experienced plenty of Monday morning quarterbacking from fans, media and even parents. You don’t need more of the same old thing. You need someone on your side, someone who believes in you and your profession. That’s why this column is called Tuesday Morning Quarterback. While the out

The 25% - 75% Rule
The training program I designed is real simple, and on paper, or in a clinic talk, is probably not going to turn a lot of heads. Our emphasis instead is on cultivating attitude and effort, combined with a year-round climate of discipline and toughness. In summation, 25% of our program is WHAT we do, while 75%

Letter from the Editor
One of the major elements of a football program – at just about every level – is a strength and conditioning program. While somewhat under the radar for the last decade, both the quality and quantity of a strength and conditioning program has emerged as both a prerequisite for a successful program but also a major recruiting strat

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Fo

The Wing T Shotgun Offense
We have over the last three years taken our traditional zone and wing-t running game and adapted it to the shotgun formation. We have had very athletic quarterbacks that have allowed us to show off their running abilities as well as their passing skills in the shotgun set. We firmly believe that the QB can best be featured as a runner from the shotgun formation. It truly enables the QB to be a two-way threat. Our base o

Heavy Impact
It’s the youngest, and certainly in many respects, the most important element in developing winning athletic programs, especially football, other than the head coach himself. The strength and conditioning coach and his staff can be difference makers between a winning program and mediocrity. Before the earl

Sharks In The Water
We base out of our 3-3 Stack Defense. In Diagram 1 you will see that we have a Nose in a zero technique. Our Ends are in a tight 5 technique. The Mike linebacker is stacked behind the Nose and is responsible for running the track of the FB. The L and R are in 50 techniques and are responsible for B gaps. The Nitro and Diamond are 3 by 5 off the TE or a ghost TE. This is our pressure package and we want the offense to have to account for blo

Postion-Specific Training
When you lose your keys, you’ve often left them in the last place you’d think to look. Coaches and trainers, in search for a competitive edge, do the same thing. Typically, they look outside for answers when the secret ingredients for a successful training program might already be right und

The Prep Report
FLYING UNDER THE RADAR Gus Malzahn Springdale (AR) Located along U.S. Highway 71 just north of Fayetteville with a population of about 50,000, Springdale is already on just about any map of Arkansas you can pi

An Insider’s Perspective
I have been involved with many staffs that have different ways of handling half time. Some did not have any organization, while some were very strict. All in all the procedure that is most comfortable for the coach is the best. There are numerous different situations that your team can come up against as you are entering half-time – behind, ahead, tied and with different subtleties within each that was aforementioned. No matter what the situation a team must come out as fre

Letter from the Editor
What’s the secret to having a successful football season? What’s necessary to be a consistently winning program, year-in, year-out that produces a playoff caliber team? Is it strictly talent on the field or a combination of other ingredients? Many coaches will list the following and not in any particular order: • Talent – the skills that perform on the field • Assistant coaching staff – a loyal, professional staff • Resources – fields and practice faciliti

Letter from the Editor
The first college football game was played in 1869. This fall will mark the 137th year of this annual autumn ritual. The game has obviously changed dramatically over time – the rules, the officiating, the coaches, the size, strength, and speed of the players, the turf and equipment, and the information age with more games – high school, college, and professional – being broadcast via, radio, television, and the internet. What has also changed over the years is the evolutio


Cover Story Gorilla Warfare: Chuck Broyles\' Pittburg State Gorillas\' Scary Offensive Attack Chuck Broyles doesn’t pretend

10 Impact Stats to Build a Championship team • #9 - Turnovers Gained
Turnovers Gained, the statistic that ranks No. 9 in the overall listing of “10 Stats to Build a Championship Team” correlates to the success of teams at all levels of competition. USC led all Division I-A schools with 38 Turnovers Gained and, in the process, won their second consecutive National Championship. Hampton was the Division I-AA leader with 43 Turnovers Gained and they finished last fall with a 10-2 mark.The colleges with the most interceptions in Division II and

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Kicking It In
There is a saying among football coaches that “kicking a football is like swinging a golf club.” This statement is true because both incorporate the upper and lower body to work simultaneously. However, the two skills are very different. As a former Division I-A place kicker, I have included in my article a set of techniques and drills for soccer style kickers to help any coach work with their athletes.

Get a Grip
I have been asked to write about the program that our offensive staff implemented this past season for ‘Ball Security.’ In 2004 we were fortunate enough to go through the entire season (695 touches) with only one offensive lost fumble. This put us first in the Big Ten and tied us for first in the nation. Ball Security is an aspect of our game that our team and coaches take personally and very seriously. We make it a priority at each position to make sure our players understand that fu

Tackling Circuit Drills
We feel that one of the most important fundamentals is the ability to tackle and tackle well. As a staff, we try to emphasize the proper tackling techniques through a tackling circuit. The ability to tackle well shouldn’t ever be taken for granted. We use a four station circuit that touches on four key points that we must emphasize in order to be a good tackling unit. Although each position coach works tackling techniques into their individual periods, we use the tackling circuit to fur

What Are You Worth? Wide Receiver and Tight End Coaches
Coaching skilled players at both wide receiver and tight end has become both more specialized and technical over the last decade. With the preponderence for today’s spread formation passing attack, the performance of both positions is crucial to the success of the offense. Now, more than ever before, the intricate routes and blocking schemes are part of the norm of today’s sophisticated offenses. American Football Monthly continues its first annual exclusive college c

The Wing-T: An Offense for the Ages
Jim Roth taught the Delaware Wing-T in a week. Granted, it was a very basic version. It was for an all-star game at the end of last season, and Roth already had one running back from his own team in the backfield. Two other running backs already had experience using a two-point stance, so the Wing-T wasn’t that different. The offensive system itself, based on timing, deception and athletic blocking schemes, worked. Roth’s team won, 29-7. “I had a lot of coaches s

High Powered Passing Offenses: Why Are They Really Successful?
High-powered, spread-’em-out, throw- the-ball-on-every-position offenses come and go. Or do they? Are aerial offenses that treat a running back with limited respect fads and gimmicks? Or are these offenses formulas for success that can win on a consistent basis over the long term? Keith Simons is one coach with an answer. All he has to do is point to his record. Simons’ Santa Rosa Junior College Bears won the Mid-Empire Conference Championship with an 11-0 record and finishe

Mass Confusion
TALE OF THE TAPE Texas Tech New Mexico State Mike Leach/TTU Hal Mumme/NMS Spread Offense TTU has won 3 straight NCAA passing titles Mumme’s SLU led Div. I-AA in total offense and passing in 2004

The Art of Play Calling
A good play is easy to spot on game day. It’s the decision to go for it on fourth-and-one that yields a fresh set of downs, a blitz-beating touchdown toss, or even a basic trap play, executed perfectly a handful of times, that marches your offense down the field. But while these plays unfold in the moment, it’s the weeks and even months of preparation that ultimately make them work. Good play calling is the result of repetition and trial and error without the glare of the lights or th

Gorilla Warfare
Chuck Broyles doesn’t pretend to hold the “secrets” for winning. But through an aggressive style of play, a loyal staff and players, and an offense that works to stay one step ahead of defenses, Broyles and his staff have turned Pittsburg State (Kan.) into a perennial power in NCAA Division II. During the last 15 seasons, under Broyles, Pittsburg State is 154-30-2. The Gorillas have won the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championships nine times, missed the

Open Door Policy
AFM:What was the feeling like when you were named head coach and in charge of the Southlake Carroll program? TD: I’ve competed against Southlake Carroll over the years and I was truly honored to be named head coach. Like the University of Texas, there is tremendous tradition here and I was honored and humbled about the job. At the first spring booster club event I attended I remember the slogan: ‘Protect the Tradition.’ It meant a lot. AFM: Tell me how your office

Legends of the Hall • Frank Broyles
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/NFF Coaching Acade

AFM’s Exclusive 2005 Collegiate Salary Survey - Part II
Across all levels of coaching probably the two most underrated position coaches are the Offensive Line Coach and the Defensive Line Coach. Not only underrated but almost under the radar. Yet, ironically, the argument can be made that the performance of the O and D lines determine, more often than not, the outcome of a game. The old cliché is true: ‘Football games are won and lost in the trenches.’ American Football Monthly continues its first annual college coaching

Turnover Margin
Of the more than 20 statistics the NCAA publishes, one of the most important – and maybe least recognized – is Turnover Margin. It’s not just a coincidence that consistently successful teams place high in this category. Last fall the leaders in this statistic included USC (Division I-A); Coastal Carolina (Division I-AA); Valdosta State (Division II); Carthage College (Division III); and Central Methodist University (NAIA). Over the last five years, the D I-A leader is Miam

Gear
BW Software announces TD Video Viewer for Microsoft Windows ($395). TD Video is a Macintosh based software product that provides affordable digital video editing for football ($895). With our new Windows based TD Video Viewer, you can analyze plays, enter scouting data and print scouting reports. You still need to capture the game video with TD Video for Macintosh. N

Spread Shotgun Wing T Offense: The Running Game
To recap the information presented in our first article in the December, 2004 issue of American Football Monthly, we felt we needed a means to spread the field against defensive teams that wanted to gang up on us on the line of scrimmage. We had a young man whom we were developing at quarterback that we knew was going to be very talented as far as throwing the football. But I did not want to abandon our Delaware Wing T base philosophy. We took the Wing T formation and spread

Attacking the Red Zone by Air
When you get to the 15-yard line your field space for a passing team is really starting to change. The area you have to work with is condensed. Although you are in scoring territory it becomes difficult to score unless you can run the ball. When you get to the 15-yard line your field space for a passing team is really starting to change. The area you have to work with is condensed. Although you are in scoring territory it becomes difficult to score unless you can run the ball.

The Buzz
Learning how to adjust to the strengths of your athletes without straying from your defensive philosophy is essential at the Division III level. At Baldwin-Wallace College we do not eliminate players from our recruiting pool based on what they look like or their size. Our goal is to recruit quality people who are productive in the classroom and on the field. As a result of this philosophy we may have players who don’t fit the traditional mold of their position, but have abilities that c

What Are You Worth? Offensive and Defensive Line Coaches
Across all levels of coaching probably the two most underrated position coaches are the Offensive Line Coach and the Defensive Line Coach. Not only underrated but almost under the radar. Yet, ironically, the argument can be made that the performance of the O and D lines determine, more often than not, the outcome of a game. The old cliché is true: ‘Football games are won and lost in the trenches.’ American Football Monthly continues its first annual college coaching

Point-Counterpoint VEER Option vs. the 4-4
TALE OF THE TAPE JOHN CURTIS CHRISTIAN HS PATRIOTS SCHOOL

2005 Top 25 Prep Football Rankings
Public Schools National Top 25 l. Mission Viejo (Calif.) 2004: 14-0, CIF Southern Section Division II champion Coach: Bob Johnson (69-10, 6 years, 198-69 overall) The Diablos return six all-CIF players and have won 55 of their last 56 games. The offense will miss national player of the year quarterback Mark Sanchez (USC), but welcomes back bruising tailback Chane “The Train” Moline (6-2, 235). 2. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) 2004: 15-0,

4,733 Wins, 5 Coaches, 1 Question
Glenn Robinson Men’s College Basketball Coach • Franklin & Marshall Franklin & Marshall head coach Glenn Robinson is the most successful basketball coach in Division III history with 697 wins. He has been coaching for 37 years and what he learned at the very beginning helped set him on his course for success. “One of the first things I got to do when I became a coach was meet Dean Smith,” Robinson said. “He was very successful and had that great staff

LRSSports presents 80 Hot coaches for 2005
Many coaches – from the NFL to high school – are ready for a break-out season. But will it be a sizzle or fizzle? So often expectations don’t match performance. This year American Football Monthly again looks at the falls ‘hot’ coaches. This year’s listing includes those primed for success like James Madison’s head man Mickey Matthews (left). Division I-A Gregg Brandon, Bowling Green: When Urban Meyer made his college head coaching debut at

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/NFF Coaching Acade

Open Door Policy
There are football ‘turnarounds’ and then there are incredible turnarounds. Andy Lambert and his staff at Sterling College inherited a team that had lost 20 consecutive games starting the 2004 season. Last fall, in his first season at the NAIA college, the Sterling Warriors lost their first four contests-making it 24 straight losses-but then won five of their last six games to finish with a remarkable 5-5 record. Lambert came ‘home’ to Sterling from Trinity International Unive

Table of Contents
Cover Story 80 Hot Coaches for 2005 Many coaches – from the NFL to high school – are ready for a break-out season. But will it be a sizzle or fizzle? So often expectations don’t match perf

10 Impact Stats to Build a Championship Team
There are lies and myths in the game of football. There are tried-and-trues that coaches cling to. But one thing is for sure: Statistics don’t lie. American Football Monthly examined every statistical category among the top ten teams in NCAA Division I-A football over the past five years in search of the numbers that define success among the best of the best. But moreover, these are numbers that define success at every level of the game: Pro, Div. I-A, Div. I

Hammer Force Defensive Technique
“The new scheme, combined with our players’ great attitude, paid giant dividends for us in stopping the run last fall.” - Santa Cruz & Willmer In the spring of 2004 we made the switch from an even front to an odd for its recruiting advantages (since it is difficult to recruit four solid defensive linemen at our level) and for its aggressive nature. The new scheme, combined with our players’ great attitude, paid giant dividends

Program Architects
Shortly after Jerry Kill took over the football program at Southern Illinois in 2001, he went to the Missouri Valley Conference basketball tournament to watch the Salukis. Call it school spirit. A chance to root for his new school. It also was a chance for his Kill’s wife, Rebecca, who was still living in Emporia, KS and getting the family’s former home ready to sell, to see her husband for the first time since he became the SIU coach. Kill

Letter from the Editor
The world of statistics is both fascinating and annoying. While they don’t always tell the whole story they certainly indicate trends. In football, you can really accumulate statistics in just about any category your want: rushing first downs, third down passing accuracy, or forced turnovers. The NCAA has a total of 24 statistical categories that they update weekly for Division I-A, I-AA, II, and III. They range from Total Offense to Net Punt

Tuesday Morning Quarterback
Have another bowl of big ice cream. Make it a big one. Pour on some of that chocolate syrup, too. Have another fast-food cheeseburger. Make it a double cheeseburger, with extra cheese. And fries. Or better yet, onion rings. How about some fried chicken? How about more caffeine? Choose your poison: coffee or cola. How about a few too many beers? Maybe a few too many mixed drinks? Or perhaps a big dip of smokeless tobacco? Or a cigaret

What Are You Worth?
American Football Monthly just completed its first annual salary survey among college coaches throughout the country. All levels of coaches were included – Division I-A, I-AA, II, III, NAIA, and Junior College – as well as all coordinators and position coaches on staff. The results were tabulated from the 860 questionnaires with a response rate of 30% and will appear in AFM over the next six issues. This month’s salary survey focuses on h

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/NFF

Open Door Policy
Tradition is the operative word when Joliet Catholic Academy and football are discussed. Since the start of a formalized high school playoff system throughout Illinois in 1974, the Joliet Catholic Hilltoppers have won the most state championships (12) of all the high schools throughout the state. The first four titles came under the direction of legendary coach Gordie Gillespie (1975 through 1978) and continued under the direction of Jim Boyter (1986) and Don S

The Secrets to Efficient Practices
“Whatever you accept (in practice) that’s what you’re going to get. If you accept lackadaisical performance or lack of effort, then you can be assured that’s what you’re going to get.” - Kansas State Head Coach Bill Snyder Richland (Fort Worth, Texas) head coach Gene Wier has a problem. “I’ve not had many good practices in my time,” he said humbly and with a chuckle. His six state championship rings beg to differ.

Take Advantage of the Blitz... Screen It
The Colorado School of Mines football program has earned the reputation for relying on the forward pass to move the ball offensively. Over the past four seasons, we have averaged 322.1 passing yards a game. The success that we’ve had throwing the ball has increased the amount of blitzes we see from the defense. We needed to develop other phases of our offense to make the blitz a high-risk endeavor for the opposing defenses. Two ph

Defensive Drills for Every team: Pursuit & turnovers
Sponsored by Rogers Athletic www.RogersAthletic.com As I talk to many coaches across the country, I have learned the #1 drill each defensive player must perform exceptionally is the Pursuit Drill. The main goal of the drill is to set the tone for everyone on the field to get to the football every play. Over the past months, I have reviewed game film from the past few years. I have been ama


Cover Story 10 Impact Stats To build a championship team. AFM has researched and ranked the top statistical categories t

Boise State\'s Defensive Line Run Technique
“The instant we recognize the blocking scheme we shed the block and either make a play or run to the ball.” - Romeo Bandison Between the 2002-2004 season, Boise State ranked in the top 25 at number 12, 15 and 13 in the final collegiate poll. In those three seasons, our defense has also been in the top 20 in the nation versus the run: #16 - 2002, #11 - 2003, and #10 - 2004. At Boise State we play a

The Mind Zone
Editors Note: The Mind Zone is a recurring AFM feature in which the nation's experts answer your questions. We have a good player who could be better, we feel, if he lost some weight. But, this player has seen guys like Jerome Bettis and Craig "Ironhead" Heyward on televison, and, given their success, he doesn't feel motivated to take the extra steps to be in good shape. Suggestions? If your player is truly overweight and that is the reason for him not performing as w

Kentucky's Best Passing Game Drill
Football coaches often ask each other, "What is your best drill?" At the University of Kentucky, our best offensive drill is called Routes On Air. It is the cornerstone of how we teach and practice our pass offense with our quarterbacks, receivers, and running backs. One of the reasons that our staff was hired at the University of Kentucky was because of our pass-oriented offense. This same offense was very successful for us at Valdosta State and Iowa Wesleyan. At both schools,

Learning on the Job
The days immediately following the 1997 college football season weighed heavily on the head and shoulders of Mike DuBose. In his first season as Alabama's head coach, the Crimson Tide had slipped to a 4-7 record, only the second losing season at Alabama since Coach Paul "Bear Bryant" Bryant returned to Tuscaloosa after the 1957 season. Losing at arch-rival Auburn by one point in the final seconds was one thing. Losing to programs such as Louisiana Tech, Kentucky, Arkansas and M

Heartbreak in the Heartland
Not unlike like millions of fans, players, coaches, alumni and followers associated with what became known as the Big Red Machine, Frank Solich had no idea what a profound effect Tom Osborne would have on his life. In 1962 Solich was a fullback for Bob Devaney's Huskers, and a young assistant football coach named Tom Osborne was teaching classes on the side to help supplement his meager coaching stipend. Solich was enrolled in an educational psychology. Osborne was his i


Special Show Issue Features Heartbreak in the Heartland: Tom Osborbe's Retirement Learning on the Job: Alabama's Mike Dubose A Sample L

Top 15 Advancements in Football Products & Services
Digital Editing Systems - Arguably the greatest advancement (in any sport) in the areas of scouting and teaching aids, digital editing systems give teams an unprecedented advantage in obtaining and presenting detailed information. The best part – the last several years has seen a drop in pricing. Artificial Turf - The one thing coaches preach to their players is the one thing that today’s grass-like artificial turf provides – consistenc

An Insider’s Perspective
The key to success is the foundation of the knowledge you possess. To increase your knowledge base is of extreme importance. The natural question that arises is, “where do I go to learn from the best in the profession and get my individual questions answered?” In addition, important insights can be grasped in a one-on-one encounter. The great teachers of football are at every level and can be encountered at numerous places. The hope of this article is to gi

What’s the Make-up of a State Champion?
The average won-loss record for last fall’s high school state champions was 11 wins and one loss. Of respondents to American Football Monthly’s second annual state champions survey, the best record was 15-0 and the worst was 8-3. Over 360 detailed surveys were distributed to state champions in all 50 states. The results: an informative and intimate look at the makings of successful programs. Factors such as age, experience, education, team mak

Letter from the Editor
A few years ago I lived in Chicago and was the Managing Partner of a sports marketing company. At one time we were commissioned to work on the feasibility study of a women’s sports channel; more specifically, was a 24-hour channel devoted exclusively to women’s sports viable? Our research indicated it was. The advertising dollars, availability of programming, and sponsorship support were all there. A plethora of live sports – youth, collegiate, and prof

High School Strength and Conditioning
“But if I knew then what I know now, we might have won a few more championships.” - Mike Nitka In Indiana, basketball is king. Except at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. Sure, the basketball teams have enjoyed modest success recently. But since 1984, the football program has won seven state championships, been nationally ranked three times, including a national championship in 1991. Strength coach Kevin Vanderbush is la

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

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College, the NFL/NFF Coac

Open Door Policy
Chuck Broyles of Pittsburg State followed a near legendary coach – Dennis Franchione – when he became head coach of the Pittsburg State Gorillas in 1990. Franchione, now the head man at Texas A & M, had compiled a 56-6 record in his last six seasons at PSU. Since that time, though, Broyles has not only continued the tradition, he has become near legendary himself. In his fifteen seasons as head coach he has guided the Gorillas to 13 post-season

The Multiple Screen Passing Game
Various screen passes have been an important part of our multiple offensive attack at Iona College and all the other schools I have coached at (St. Joseph’s College, Morehead State University, Lehigh University and Fordham University) throughout my career. We have always emphasized the use of multiple formations, multiple personnel groupings, and a multi-dimensional offense that attacks the whole field and attempts to keep the defe

Feeder Frenzy
No one would have predicted it. No one in Elizabethtown, Ky., in 1998 and ‘99 would have looked at the seventh and eighth graders playing for T.K. Stone Middle School and guessed they would someday reach the 2003 state championship game as high school seniors. “I don’t remember their record but they were pretty much a .500 team in seventh and eighth grade,” former Elizabethtown High School coach Brett Burnett said. “But that was a group of

Defending the Red Zone
All football coaches understand the importance of winning those two or three games each season that are won (or lost) by a touchdown or less. The difference in those types of games can usually be determined by getting at least one big stop in the red zone. We spend two 15-minute segments per week on our red zone package. Our red zone coverages are easy adjustments (1 zone and 1 man) from our base coverages. In this article we will concentrate on t

1/2 Block 1/2 Wall Return
\"Over the past four years our Punt Block team has been responsible for 18 blocks and 5 touchdowns.\" - Jay Sawvel It is certainly an honor to share some ideas regarding our Punt Block team. When we arrived at Southern Illinois University four years ago we felt that being aggressive on special teams served two main purposes: 1) in our early days at SIU we had to generate plays in the kicking game in order to be competitive, and 2)


Cover Story What\'s the Make-up of a State Champion? AFM\'s Second Annual State Champions Survey By AFM Research Staff

Back to Basics
During the last three years, the Ponderosa football staff has committed itself to focusing on the fundamentals of defensive football. The first twenty minutes of every defensive practice are spent on either a team pursuit drill or a circuit. Our circuits are something we feel are unique and they have allowed us to emphasize the importance of executing basic football skills. Since the inception of this philosophy in 2001, we have amassed 53 inte

Letter from the Editor
Just like the real estate adage that the most important thing in buying a home is ‘location, location, location,’ the analogy is that recruiting is the name of the game in football and it goes on 365 days a year. Recruiting used to be a seasonal activity while many teams stockpiled talent before the start of limitations on scholarships. The number of scholarships have been reduced dramatically over the years so selecting the right player for your

Mastering the Recruiting Process at the Small College Level
At the NAIA level, recruiting student athletes takes on so much more than just a high school visit and a few recruiting weekends. We are not blessed in so many cases to just show up with our school names on our shirts and have recruits begging to come to our schools. We have to be more creative through phone calls and mail flow. For us at Bethany College, we are very fortunate to have a lot of tradition based on what the previous Head Coach, Ted Kessinger, did h

Tuesday Morning Quarterback
When coaches approached the AFM booth at the recent AFCA Convention in Louisville, we tried to make a habit of asking the coaches what they wanted to see in the magazine. Some wanted more Xs and Os. Some wanted more technology information. Others wanted career and financial planning. However, many coaches wanted help balancing their jobs with marriage and family. Meanwhile at a nearby hotel, the wives who attended the convention attended semina

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield C

You\'re Now Undefeated
Well, it’s that time of year again, the off-season. Now you’re all undefeated and some of the more important decisions you make regarding the upcoming year will be made now. It’s time to evaluate where you are and what is going to help you be the most successful team you can be next year. There are a number of approaches to handling the off-season and each situation is always different, but in my experiences there are at least three things that all teams

Redefining Murphy\'s Law
Harvard coach Tim Murphy is enjoying rare success despite dealing with handicaps many Division I coaches might bristle at facing. He works at the nation’s oldest college, one of the world’s elite educational institutions, so Murphy and his teams must live up to traditions nearly as old as America itself. He must also recruit student-athletes who can handle academic standards that might appear impossibly high. In addition, Murphy has zero athletic scholar

Madness in the Midwest
Kerry Coombs has lost control. He’s Colerain High School’s assistant principal and head football coach, but he’s not in charge. The kids, he says, are the one’s in control of his day. His office looks like the inside of several file cabinets or in his words, “absolute chaos.” “A really wise guy once told me that if I could get to where I’m only touching paper once that I’d be more efficient at my job,” Coombs said. “I’m

In Good Hands
PURPOSE: To increase the number of catches per day in a short time period. COACHING POINT: During each drill, the coach can emphasize the proper techniques he is teaching. Emphasis should be placed on stance, start, release, controlled run, stick and separate. Also very important is stem, quickness in and out of the break, proper route technique, steps (plant foot), body control and hand and eye coordination.

Open Door Policy
A perennial pre-season top ten team among high schools, Jenks (Oklahoma) is the model of consistency. Under head coach Allan Trimble, the Trojans have won seven state championships in nine years. His record at the school is 112-11 with a number of players receiving scholarships to I-A college programs yearly. Jenks plays in Oklahoma’s largest classification, 6A. Between 1996 and 200l, Trimble’s record was 79-4 and he was named the

The Country\'s 30 Best Recruiters
John Blake has a secret. Along with other members of coach Bill Callahan’s staff, the defensive line coach helped recruit what many called the best incoming class of the 2005 season. Blake recruits the talent-laden areas of Southern California and Southern Texas, in addition to Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee. “Some people have a gift,” said Blake, who was the head coach at Oklahoma from 1996-98. “One of my gifts is to speak to peop

Five-Step Protection Scheme
At Olivet Nazarene University we base all of our passing philosophies on protecting the quarterback first. Our five-step passing game is based on three different protection schemes, the ability to have 7, 6, or 5 men to stay in and protect the passer. Which protection we use is not always based on formation, but rather we base our protection scheme on the needs of a particular route concept. Sometimes we will line up with two backs in the backfield. But a par

Third and Shorts
Head Coaches - Tulane awarded head coach Chris Scelfo a contract extension through 2009. Scelfo has guided the Green Wave for six seasons... Greg Robinson was hired as head coach at Syracuse... Aurora tabbed Rich Duncan as head coach... Arne Ferguson was named as interim head coach at Western Oregon to succeed Duke Iverson, who will continue as an assistant with the program at least through the end of the academic year...


April 2005 Cover Story Redefining Murphy\'s Law By David Srinivasan

College Strength & Conditioning coach of the year
Mike Gentry has built a foundation of success in Virginia Tech’s weight room and is becoming a legend among his peers The weight room. You want to talk about the basics and building blocks of any football program, start with the weight room.That’s where the foundation is built. Players are in the weight room nearlyevery day, working on getting stronger, quicker, more flexible and more explosive.Mike Gentry, the director of strength and condi

Open Door Policy
One of the nicknames for basketball hall of fame player Larry Bird is ‘Larry Legend.’ In Alliance, Ohio, there is another \'Larry Legend\': Mt. Union College’s Head Coach Larry Kehres. Quite simply in his 19 years at the helm of the Purple Raider football fortunes, he has built one of the most successful programs in college fo


Cover Story Solid Ground

Regional High School Coaches of the Year
MIDWEST REGION Kerry Coombs, Colerain HS, Cincinnati “I think being a high school coach is one of the best things anybody can do.” That holds especially true for Cincinnati Colerain Coach Kerry Coombs, whose Cardinals blazed away to win one of high school football’s most prestigious titles, the Division I state championship of Ohio. Most important, Coombs’s Cardinals saved their best effort for the tit

High School Coach of the Year
For Southlake Carroll head coach Todd Dodge, the 2004 season brought intense pressure and the highest of expectations. With 11 returning starters from last year’s state runner-up team, including All-State quarterback Chase Daniel, the Dragons were not only the favorites in Texas but also in the nation. Yet, while a strong nucleus of players returned, six of Dodge’s eight coaches did not, including defensive coordinator Charlie Stalcup. He succumbed to a fiv

Running Back Routes in the Air Raid Offense
When you think of the “Air Raid” offense, the first thing that comes to mind is great quarterbacks and elusive receivers. Over the years this offense has generated a great deal of yardage through the air. A large portion of that comes from the involvement of our running backs. Our running backs play a vital part in our offense because they give us the opportunity to create mismatches with different defenders

2004 AFM Pro Coaches of the Year
NFL: Marty Schottenheimer San Diego Chargers The National Football League is filled with outstanding coaches. There’s Bill Belichick in New England, Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh. All three of them could easily be named as this year’s AFM NFL Coach of the Year. But to do that would be to ignore the coach who has done the most with the least, the coach who many prognosticators believed would

Coach of the Year - A Season for the Ages
He knew it was over. Tommy Tuberville and his whole staff would soon be shown the door, despite four consecutive winning seasons, four bowl games and share of thee division titles in five seasons at Auburn University. One more game, against archrival Alabama, and they would all be out looking for new jobs. “I had already put in my application to be a greeter at Wal-Mart,” he would later joke. Laughter helped. Gallows

Evaluating Your Next Job
There are a Number of Considerations Before Commiting to That Next Positon AFM talks exclusively with Urban Meyer, John L. Smith, Mike Stoops, Chris Hatcher, Brian Kelly and Al Borges It’s that time of year when the coaching business is buzzing with changes and rumors, with coaches preparing resumes and working the telephones to promote, save or launch a career.

Can Your Quarterback Handle the Clock?
The topic of clock management can be one that is talked about a great deal in coaching meetings, but one that can be easily overlooked, especially in the overall preparation of the quarterback. I hope you will find the following information helpful in some way. Clock Management as defined is the QB’s ability to control the clock efficiently in all situations:, A. Dea

Changing the Tempo of the Game
On behalf of the Hargrave Military Academy postgraduate coaching staff, we would like to thank American Football Monthly for printing our clinic article on changing the tempo of the game. Hargrave Military Academy is one of the premier one-year prep schools in the country where we are faced with teaching our offense to a whole new group of athletes on a yearly basis. We quickly found out that our athletes become bored with the same stale offensive scheme

A Part of Every Season
The end of every football regular season generally means a number of inevitable happenings: coaching hiring and firings and a multitude of awards. While all of us have seen and read what seems like an incredible number of coaching changes – at all levels – there are probably more to come. In a somewhat ironic sense, it also seems like there are more and more post-season awards to players at just about every position. While most high

Disruptive Behavior
The old cliché “The Defense Wins Championships” is definitely true. I can also speak specifically to this after our team, the Pearl River Community College Wildcats, won the 2003 MACJC State Championship and the 2004 National Championship. Not only do I believe this defensive philosophy to be true and to work toward maintaining a defense that will produce champions, but any and all championship contenders must work on developing a defense that will keep th

Schutt Sports College Coaches of the Year
Tim Murphy Harvard Triumph – thy color is Crimson Tim Murphy choreographed every step of the way for Harvard, and he led his team to a 10-0 record – the first time since 1906 the team had recorded a double-digit victory total. Since replacing the well-respected Joe Restic in 1994, Murphy has led Harvard to four Ivy League titles in nine seasons, including two unbeaten and untied seasons.

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

Letter From the Editor
The end of every football regular season generally means a number of inevitable happenings: coaching hiring and firings and a multitude of awards. While all of us have seen and read what seems like an incredible number of coaching changes – at all levels – there are probably more to come. In a somewhat ironic sense, it also seems like there are more and more post-sea

Red Blaik
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield

A Look Inside Coaches Office: Troy Morrell
AFM: What was it like the first time you stepped into your office knowing that you’re in charge of Auburn football? TT: When I first stepped into the office I was amazed at how large it was... it’s probably bigger than all the offices I’ve had as an assistant coach combined. It was built by Coach (Pat) Dye and the complex itself houses everything. With all the windows,

Multiplicity
In the world of offensive football, some coaches believe “the simpler the better.” They will use three to four formations per game, which will allow for the reduction of assignment errors by the players. However, the offense becomes limited in its options. Other coaches take the approach of creating personnel mismatches through multiple formations; they will enter a game with as many a 15 to 20 formations. The first step is to introduce your team to the bas

I-A COACH OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
With two strong seasons at Bowling Green and two more extraordinary seasons at Utah, Meyer’s immediate success as a head coach led to two more head coaching offers from two major powers this fall, with Meyer eventually picking Florida over Notre Dame. That’s what happens when you go 38-8 in your first four seasons as a head coach. After 15 seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio State, Illinois State, Colorado State and Notre Dame, Meyer engi

Spotlight
Bob Casciola President, National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc. (Retired) Why You Should Know Him: In the world of college football, there isn’t much that Bob Casciola hasn\'t done. An All-Ivy tackle for Princeton University, Casciola spent 20 years in the college coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Princ

2004 High School State Champions
Ricky Woods, coach of Mississippi’s 5A state champion South Panola, confers with the state’s Player of the Year, Derek Pegues. At 5-10, 190-pounds, Pegues – who has 4.4 speed on the field and a 2.9 GPA in the classroom – led South Panola to back-to-back 15-0 seasons and Class 5A state championships. Despite rushing for 1,659 yards as South Panola’s QB in 2004, Pegues is looking to play corner in college. ALABAMA 6A: Hoov

2004 Final AFM Overall National Top 25
1. Carroll (Southlake, Texas) The coach: Todd Dodge 2004: 16-0, 5A/II state champion. The Dragons have won two state titles and are 47-1 in three seasons at the 5A level. They were the first Texas team to win a National Prep Poll title since 1990 (Aldine). 2. Mission Viejo (Calif.) The coach: Bob Johnson 2004: 14-0, CIF-SS II champion. The Diablos played the toughest in-state sc


Cover Story COACH OF THE YEAR Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville

An Insider’s Perspective
Talent evaluation is a primary factor that leads to wins and losses. It can also be the most subjective. The numerous tools and criteria that are being offered today to facilitate this process can lead to paralysis of analysis. It becomes apparent that your organization must have a sound structure in place to defeat this. At the heart of this structure are the questions, “What is important to you? What type of player fits in your scheme? Which do you enjoy

Letter from the Editor
An overall football budget includes a variety of items: equipment, field maintenance, health issues including doctors and a support staff, salaries for staff, travel, on-the-road meals, security, and a number of other factors. Obviously, the budget for a high school football team differs from that of a Junior College or Division I-A program. But more and more programs-at all levels-are including funding for the growth of a new position with the structure of the

Sterling College\'s - Principles of the 3-4 Defense
Every coaching staff in America has to have a starting point when they put together an offensive or defensive scheme. Our defense staff at Sterling College is committed to four main principles. First of all, we are committed to having our best eleven football players on the field. Secondly, we want to position players where they will be able to make plays by being deceptive. Thirdly, we want to be assignment proof. And, finally, we want to minimize the ability

Tuesday Morning Quarterback
College football is big into labels. Some coaches are “ball coaches.” Some are “Xs and Os guys.” Some players are “solid.” Others are “raw.” Those labels seem harmless enough, but the subtle context they carry can be negative. Not sure? Then ask yourself this: what do you think of when someone says, “he’s a recruiter?” Do you think of a guy who works the phones, hits the road, charms mamas, wows daddies an

5 Tips for Breaking Down Film
Every coach starts somewhere. Whether it the first year of freshman football in high school or on a Pop Warner team or in a coach’s meeting, most football coaches can remember the first time they started watching film. For Matt Kelchner, it started at home. Kelchner, head coach of Div. III Christopher Newport, still remembers seeing grainy football film for the first time. It was at home. His father, a college coach, would bring home a film projec

Legends of the Hall
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in today’s young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College

Unsung Hero
A week in the life of Tulsa’s video coordinator, Gabe Haney Good coordinators are vital to the success of any college football program. But if all you’re thinking about is the guys in charge of your offense and defense, then you’ve overlooked a key position. When time is tight and the stakes are high, you better make sure that you’ve got a top-flight video coordinator who can break down every bit of information about your opponent and your own team in

Zone Blocking Principles
Zone blocking occurs when two offensive linemen are responsible for blocking two defenders in a certain area towards the point of attack. The purpose of using the zone blocking scheme is to stop penetration, create movement on Level I (build a wall) and also seal off the onside linebacker. All zone blocks initially start out as an inside-out double team. A

Open Door Policy
A legendary coach leading a storied program at one of the nation’s most respected institutions...that’s the story that unfolded in December of 2003 when the United States Military Academy announced the hiring of Bobby Ross as Army’s new football coach. A head coach in the college ranks for 15 years, Ross also coached the San Diego Chargers and the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He helped lead the Chargers to their only Super Bowl appearance in history in 1994.

Defending the Triple Option
At UW-Platteville we run a 3-4 defense because we believe it gives us the best opportunity to compete in our conference (See Diagram l). Diagram 1. We utilize speed because we are often undersized on the defensive

Football Video Technology:
When a football program is on the smaller scale, we have to imagine that when it comes time for budgeting, there are certain items that take precedent. Obviously, the team must be equipped with the proper tools: helmets, shoulder pads, shoes and those items necessary to outfit a college or high school football player. The next item that must take precedent is

Technology and Your Budget: Hints and Suggestions
NFL teams are spending millions on video technology and complex computer systems. Division I-A teams are spending hundreds of thousands on their own versions of the same technology. So what? What does that mean for NCAA Division II and III, NAIA, junior college and high school programs with limited budgets and resources? Do you find yourself at clinics and conventions walking right past the tech booths and ignoring the tech seminars, afraid you�

Third and Shorts
Head Coaches: Massachusetts Maritime selected Jeremy Cameron as head football coach and associate director of athletics for recruiting. Cameron, who replaces Joe Domingos, has been an assistant coach at Wagner since 2000... Minnesota State Moorhead chose Chad Eisele as head coach to replace Ralph Micheli. For the past five years, Eisele has worked as head coach at Lake Forest... Todd Whitten was hired as head coach at Sam Houston


Cover Story Unsung Hero: Tulsa’s Video Coordinator Gabe Haney By Keith Roerdink


2005 December 2005 Innovators of the option • From Scouting Report to Game Plan • True Football Speed • Quarterback Fundamentals November 2005 It Starts in the Trenches • Attacking Defenses with the Veer • 4 Technical Components of Punt Coverage • Teaching

Science & Common Sense
Systematic resistance training and conditioning has become accepted as a precursor to increased athletic success and an important component for reduction of athletic related injury. Nearly all high school and college football programs participate in some type of weight training, speed, agility and conditioning regimens. The football coach can find the available information relat

Screen your way to success
If you liked this article, here are three others just like it:

Strength in Numbers
Tommy Knotts Quarterbacks Coach, Duke Former Head Coach, Independence High School Charlotte, N.C. 2003 football team: Class 4A State Champions Whether it be a rigorous strength and conditioning program or an abundance of talented players such as Florida quarterback Chris Leak – most likely the two feed off each other – Tommy Knotts has mastered high school football in

Letter From the Publisher
In preparing this annual issue, we had the privilege of talking with some of the most successful football programs at the high school, college and professional levels. And what we found was no surprise – the single most common factor to their success was their commitment to researching, implementing and maintaining an effective, year-round strength and conditioning program. Thus concluding one of the most

Developing Power in the Weight Room
At LSU we are going to train with free weights and perform barbell exercises that require a great deal of concentration and effort. These exercises are total body exercises and require you to exert a great deal of energy every time you step into the weight room. It is important that the readers understand that we are not bodybuilders, weightlifters, or power lifters but we will perform a great deal of the same exercises that many

Hard Core
The core region of the body has the most significant impact on athletic development and performance. The core (abdominals and low back) is the link between the upper and lower extremities of the body. All actions in athletics require a power transfer and effective stabilization from the core to create movement. They not only allow the transfer of power between the upper and lowe

Discipline & Confidence
Related Videos American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this

Pride in the Work Place
Tommy Moffitt demands and gets results. He’s just not always there to see them. Moffitt, AFM’s Samson Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year, helped tighten up Tennessee as the Vol’s head associate strength and conditioning coach from 1994-97. In 1998, after Moffitt had accepted a position under Butch Davis at Miami, Tennessee upset Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl to capture the first BCS National Championship. Bad timing. Moffitt spent the next two y

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship season to their f

Maximum Focus Maximum Results
Directly after Super Bowl XXXVIII, six parked buses sat out in front of the locker room area outside Reliant Stadium. Three for New England, three for Carolina. The Patriots had just won their second Super Bowl in three years. Adam Vinaterri’s 41-yard game-winning field goal capped off an exhausting fourth quarter that saw 37 points scored, 18 in the last three minutes. Carolina strength and condi

Football Speed
If you’re the fastest team on the field, great! If not, you have a problem. So let’s prevent that from happening. Sound easier said than done? Well, it’s easier than you think. In most cases, when a linebacker gets beat by a running back around the corner, we simply think the running back is just faster. But in more cases than not, the running back didn’t get around the corner because he had more speed;

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


Cover Story Samson’s 2003 Pro Strength & ConditioningCoach of the Year: Carolina’s Jerry Simmons By David Purdum March 2004 T

Rutgers Passing Attack
Related Videos American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this

2003 High School State Champions
ALABAMA 6A: Hoover 22, Daphne 17; 5A: Briarwood 31, Russellville 7; 4A: Trinity 24, Deshler 14; 3A: Pike County 30, Oneonta 7; 2A: Randolph County 21, Luverne 14; 1A: Parrish 20, American Christian 17. AISA: 3A: Morgan d. Faith; 2A: Wilcox d. Edgewood; 1A: Jackson d. Shelby. ALASKA Large schools: East Anchorage 33, Juneau 15; Small schools: Kenai 46, Eielson 0.

2003 Pro Coaches of the Year
NFL Europe Doug Graber, Frankfurt Galaxy Frankfurt head coach Doug Graber led the Galaxy to a league-best 6-4 record and its third World Bowl championship in 2003 with a 35-16 win over the Rhein Fire. Along the way, the Galaxy also set a record with its fifth appearance in the NFL Europe championship game. Graber, a former defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Black Bear
Related Videos American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this

Schutt Sports Regional High School Coaches of the Year
West Regional Tom Joseph Mountain View HS (Mesa, Az.) 2003: 13-1, 5A East Valley Regional Finalist Record at school: 27-1, 2 years Career record: 94-40 Tom Joseph’s Mountain View High School football program has established an incredible tradition. In the 25-year history of the school, Mountain View has won eight state ch

Leading the Charge
Every college football head coaching job is tough in its own way. Every job presents its own trials, its own pressures. For Miami (Ohio) coach Terry Hoeppner, some of the most unique and heavy challenges in the history of college football surround him and try to stare him down every day. Every college football head coach has an office, too. None of them are like Hoeppner’s office complex. His place of work is

Letter From the Editor
With the 2003 season officially over, I can’t help but look back at the outstanding coaching jobs done this past season. In high school football, Bob Ladouceur continued to do the unthinkable by adding to De La Salle’s monumental streak (151 and counting) and solidified his legacy as one of the game’s greatest coaches. At age 77, St. John’s (Minn.) head coach John Gagliardi not only broke Eddie Robinson’s all-time college wins record by six victories (414),

2003 Final Top 25 Prep Football Rankings
1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) The coach: Bob Ladouceur 2003 record: 13-0, CIF-NCS 4A champion The resume: The Spartans have now won a national-record 151 straight games, 12 consecutive CIF titles and four straight National Prep Poll championships. Wins included an ESPN2-televised defeat of preseason No. 2-ranked Evangel Christian (Sh

Sharing Information Just Became Easier
For nearly a decade, thanks in many ways to publications like American Football Monthly, technology in football has become the norm rather than the exception. Every major football program, college or pro, has relied heavily on the latest forms of capturing, editing and exchanging video to enhance its ability to compete both on and off the field. Yet, very few football programs have the mega-million dollar budgets of major college football – much less t

NFL Coach of the Year - Foxworthy
The NFC Championship Game in 2001 featured a classic match up of the Minnesota Vikings’ high-powered offense, led by first-year starting quarterback Dante Culepepper and wide receivers Chris Carter and Randy Moss, versus the stingy Giants defense, led by sack master Michael Strahan. The Vikings came into the game confident and favored, hot off an impressive 31-16 win over New Orleans. Minnesota had been lighting up the sco

Schutt Sports National High School Coach of the Year
Pictures Perfect
To find out something about Kelly Donohoe, the coach, all one needs to do is examine his record the past four years at Blue Springs High School. Under Donohoe’s direction, the Wildcats have gone 45-5 with two perfect seasons and a pair of Class 6 state championships. To find out about Kelly Donohoe, the man, spend an afternoon at his fashionable Eastern Jackson County home and watch him interact with his wife Jennifer, his high school sweethea

Schutt Sports College Coaches of the Year
DIVISION I-AA HOWARD SCHNELLENBERGER Florida Atlantic University It’s a long way from the Super Bowl and the Division I-A national championship to Division I-AA coach of the year, but it didn’t take long for Howard Schnellenberger to close the gap. At age 69, Schnellenberger is not only in his third season as the head coach and director of football

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship s

Schutt Sports I-A Coach of the Year Finalists
PETE CARROLL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA When Pete Carroll arrived at USC in 2001 with a 33-31 career in four years as a head coach with the New York Jets and New England Patriots, Trojan fans were understandably skeptical. Over the past three years, Carroll has offered plenty of proof, with a 29-9 record that includes a 12-1 record in 2003 and the national championship fro

Multiple 3-3-5 Defense
Following the 2000 football season our defensive staff was faced with the stark reality that the system/style of defense we were using was not only unproductive – it was unacceptable. Harding University has a history of physical, hustling, technically sound defenses primarily built around the philosophy of minimal fronts and coverages with an emphasis on execution and individual technique. Our dissatisfac

AFM & Sportexe Rocks Convention
What was the hottest ticket at this year’s coaches convention? The Coaches Sideline Party hosted by Sportexe and American Football Monthly where 500 coaches gathered for a night of dining & dancing. 1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) The coach: Bob Ladouceur 2003 record: 13-0, CIF-NCS 4A champion The resume: The Spartans have now won a national-record 151 straight games, 12 consecutive C

NFL Finalists
Bill Parcells: Give him some time to bring ‘his players’ in and then watch out. Scratch that. Give Bill Parcells a team coming off three consecutive 5-11 seasons and go ahead and make reservations for the playoffs, somewhere Parcells has been to with four different teams. He’s the only coach ever to accomplish that feat. In his first year at Dallas �

Spotlight
Danny Arnold, Floyd Keith, Gary Korhonen Danny Arnold Director, PLEX Sports & Rehab Why you should know him? Danny Arnold is the Director of all operations for Plex Sports & Rehab. Together with his staff, Danny Arnold is recognized as the leader in providing innovative training and Transitional Sports Therapy (TST) to help athl


Cover Story Schutt Sports 2003 Coach of the Year Miami of Ohio\'s Terry Hoeppner takes command of the college coaching landscape. By Richard Scott February 2004

Rodeo Circuit
Related Videos American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this

Defensive Creativity
Each year an opponent’s offense, becomes more and more complex. Defending multiple formations and special play designs has become a daily occurrence. No matter where you are as a defensive coach, you must be able to adjust and deal with changes and find an answer. You have more players with multiple abilities these days that increase the anxiety level of all coaches. Using the one-gap system will help, in many ways, to defend the multiple

Southern Columbia High School\'s Two-Minute Offense... Anytime
The success of Southern Columbia High School over the past twelve years is eye-popping: ten league titles, twelve straight district titles, eleven state play-off appearances, eight state finals, and two state championships. To maintain this level of play, many adjustments must take place. One of those adjustments is being able to score quickly, whether it is to take the lead late in the game or to set the tone during the game.

3-5-3
It seems like the phone never stops ringing at Georgia Military College. Since installing a new defense in 2001, the small college in Milledgeville, Ga., has become the de facto expert on the subject. And it seems that the more people hear about the 3-5-3 defensive scheme that they run, the more the phone keeps ringing, with coaches from high schools to colleges trying to find out GMC’s secret. “I can’t beg

Vikings Field Position Football
It is our belief that for our offensive team to function aggressively as a unit without hesitation and with maximum efficiency, we must have a systematic scheme. Our philosophy is first to avoid losing, and secondly, to win. By this we meanto avoid mistakes and, at all times, maintain field position. We know that wemust not, if at all possible, relinquish the football to our opposition in ourterritory. We must force the opposition to d

Finishing Strong
We’ve reached the midpoint of the season. You spent your spring and much of the summer training your players, evaluating up and coming talent, and refining your game plan – adding a few wrinkles that you picked up from the pages of American Football Monthly and coaching clinics you might have attended. The end of summer marked the beginning of the football season with the introduction

Job Search
For most observers, the process colleges use to find a head coach appears swathed in mystery. You hear reports, rumors and innuendo in the mass media, and sometimes surprise candidates are selected, not the obvious or “smart-money” choices.But this is the glamour job at most high schools and colleges. How do schoolssearch for the right candidate? Well, many high-profile programs go to smallfirms that specialize in suggesting lists of coaches and

A Dramatic Jump
It’s not supposed to be this easy. Teams simply cannot make the jump from Division I-AA to D I-A and immediately be competitive. The talent, the depth, it just isn’t there. Division I-A has the SEC, the ACC, the PAC-10 and the Big 12. That’s where the athletes are. That’s where the good teams are. Not in Maine, Delaware... or Connecticut? The game is ‘a-changing.’ The o

West Coast Offense
I have always been a proponent of the controlled passing game, mainly because my career has been highlighted with examples of its effectiveness. One instance in particular sticks out in my memory during my time as Head Coach of the London Monarchs in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The WLAF (now known as NFL Europe) was in the process of kicking off its inaugural year. Unlike many new leagues, teams in this leagu

6 Issues That May Be Effecting You
In the early part of the 20th century, there was a loud hue and cry to ban football. The game was violent, dangerous and apparently out of control. President Teddy Roosevelt had decided it was a brutal activity. There had been many deaths in one year. Football coaches who would soon find themselves out of a job took it upon themselves to clean up the game and make it acceptable. They rewrote the rules, got rid of the flying wedge – a syst

Letter From the Editor
While the business of searching for the right coach is an age-old process – at every level – the actual process has changed over time. While the financial implications of making the wrong choice weren’t as crucial as they are today, finding the right fit – the right coach for the right high school or college – is a difficult and often times frustrating process.The pressure to find the right person seems, today, to

A Look Inside A Coach\'s Office: Bob Stoops
Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops, now entering his sixth campaign in Norman, is approaching the near legendary status of some of his predecessors – namely Bennie Owen, Bud Wilkinson, and Barry Switzer. With a National Championship, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, and a 55-11 overall record entering the fall, the Sooner tradition is clearly continuing. We spoke with Coach Stoops about the Okl

Spotlight
THE NAMES YOU SHOULD KNOW John Bankert, Chuck Neinas, Mike Van Diest John Bankert President, Pro Football Hall of Fame Why You Should Know Him: John Bankert began working at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in the film library and theatre as a


Cover Story Coach Searches: Making the Right Fit By David Srinivas

Maximizing Player Performance
Coaches don’t need as much reminding these days. The summer of 2001 brought heat-related football illnesses to the forefront. The death of the Minnesota Vikings’ Korey Stringer in 2001 brought a rash of media attention to the issue of staying cool during football training camp. It was indicative of a larger issue – from 1960 to 1998, there have been 91 documented heatstroke deaths related to football. When the story became national news,

Building a Championship Team
What Does it Take?
More than a decade ago, Dr. Stephen Covey revolutionized the business industry with his best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In October of 1997, Forbes magazine declared the book one of the top 10 most influential management books ever. Since its publication, companies at all levels have changed their philosophy and approach to both their employees and business

510 And Counting
For the Record John McKissick’s Record as head coach at Summerville High School: 1952-2003

Talking Cutups
Breaking Down Game Tape
Before the 2002 season, Purdue University Defensive Coordinator Brock Spack and his staff created a dozen tutorial tapes on various aspects of the defense. “We don’t cover everything,” says Spack, “just the most basic things, like fronts and covers, and the most complicated things, like blitz packages.” Players check out the tapes and watch them in the football offices. “These babies don’t lea

A Coach\'s Perspective: How to Deal with Kids
You can make a significant mark if you put 40-plus years in the coaching business. And Pat Collins certainly hasn’t been cheated during a career that began in 1963. Collins’ experiences have been many and varied – he has coached in high school, college and the pros. He was an assistant at Louisiana Tech when a sophomore named Terry Bradshaw was tearing up the college ranks. Collins won a Division I-AA championship as head coach at Northeast Lou

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

Adjusting To Your Talent
At St. Bernard’s Catholic School our football program was able to win a North Coast Section Championship in the 2003 season. Our coaching staff was blessed to work with some gifted young men. As the head football coach, I feel that at this level of play a coach must design the entire team’s systems (Offense, Defense, Specialties) around the talents and abiliti

Industry Watch
There has been much advancement in the game and profession of football throughout its history – advancements such as the forward pass, film study and television. Today, football is currently experiencing one of its greatest advancements in one area of the sport. Walk into any football facility at any level and you’ll see products that you would have never seen just a decade ago. It’s not uncommon to see a digital video

Command of the Line
Since the installation of the 3-5-3 defense, Georgia Military College has consistently been ranked among the nation’s top defenses. Our defensive packages are easy to learn and execute. We strive to control the line of scrimmage with our front eight players. We are able to use different fronts to change an offense’s blocking rules and attacking points against our defense. Ev

The Way It Used To Be
American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship season to their first losing season, AFM has captured it all – coaches provide AFM with an exclusive journey down memory lane. Maybe you can’t walk in their shoes, but perhaps

Spotlight
Kevin Weiberg, Pete Richardson, Tony Moss Kevin Weiberg Commissioner, Big 12 Conference Why You Should Know Him: Under the leadership of Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, the Big 12 is regarded as one of the nation’s top conferences and has made progress in the


Cover Story 510 & Counting: A Look at John McKissick, Football’s All-Time Winningest Coach By David Purdum June 2004 TABLE

The Grass is not Always Greener that is, on Natural Grass
Michael Vick is, arguably, the most exciting player today in the National Football League. Considered an outstanding runner as well as passer, one of the most essential ingredients to his success is wearing the proper football shoe. The way he cuts and slides as a runner and the way he pivots and changes direction as a passer, the right cleat is clearly indispensable to someone at his level. Vick, though, wears a

The Long Red Line
As football coaches, we have all heard the theory that the difference between winning and losing close games often comes down to special teams play. At Monmouth College, we believe sound execution, communication and efficiency in the kicking game are the cornerstones for success. Special teams demand a great deal of preparation, organization and attention to detail. Philosop

If at First You Don\'t Succeed
One nasty defeat gnawed away at Kirk Ferentz’s gut for a full year. When Iowa rolled through the Big Ten schedule in 2002 and won eight straight games without a loss, it was one of the top stories in college football. Ferentz, then in his fourth season as head coach of the Hawkeyes, figured his team would be competitive in the Big Ten, but critics saw them as a middle of the pack team. With mobile Brad Banks at

Randy Shannon
Ray Lewis, Phillip Buchanon, Ed Reed, Duane Starks, Warren Sapp, Vince Wilfork, Sean Taylor, Jonathon Vilma ... the list goes on and on ... and on and on. Clearly, the University of Miami wins because of one reason – talent. Actually, there are 36 reasons, as in 36 NFL first-round draft picks since 1984, the most of any college or university. With all that talent, Sebastian, the ‘Canes mascot, might as

Stepping Out of the Shadows
When George Lumpkin was a young assistant coach at Hawaii, he worked alongside an assistant with big hopes and dreams for his career. That assistant started at Kent State, moved to Hawaii, made stops at San Jose State, Cal, Tennessee and Ohio State before finally moving on to an extended pro football career. Lumpkin and his friend kept in touch and he even visited him professionally over the years, tapping into his friend’s

Letter From the Publisher
Quick. Pick a legendary head coach that you most respect from football’s past or present – it could be Rockne, Bryant, Osborne, Paterno, Bowden, Gagliardi, Robinson, McKissick – anyone. Now guess the one thing that you have in common with your choice. Wins? Probably not. Championships? Keep working at it. Longevity? Let’s give it a few more years. How about this – aside from the passion for the game and profession of football, they wer

Crunch Time
Diagram 1. Diagram 2.

Rushing Ahead
Over the past five years we have had quarterbacks who have been 6-foot-1 or less. For this reason we have been in the shotgun a considerable amount of the time. We wanted to have threats with plays other than the passing game. We have been good throwing the ball but we needed more. We are always trying to gain yards but we also want to eliminate the negative yardage plays.

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship season to their f

Spotlight
Larry Kennan, Chuck Stiggins, Joe Juraszek Larry Kennan Executive Director of NFLCA Why You Should Know Him: Larry Kennan was named Executive Director of the National Football League Coaches Association (NFLCA) on February 1, 1999. Since being elected to that position, the NFLCA has seen a number of accomplishments. With the s

Growing the Family Tree
It’s not the coaching Dave Wiemers minds. It’s what so many coaches go through when they become a head coach… You see, the pressures of diagramming a game plan and mentoring Division II players at Emporia State isn’t that difficult to him. Drawing up plays, inserting the right personnel – that’s easy. You’d think it was easy too if you grew up where Wiemers did, sharing a house with the same family that he did. Coaching is work, but it isn’t work. It�


Cover Story Randy Shannon: Miami’s Defensive CoordinatorBy David Purdum April 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Maximizing Player Performance
It’s the summer of 2003, and the Oklahoma Sooners football team doesn’t have much to complain about. The squad is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Preseason Poll, and the Sooners are enjoying the return to national prominence brought upon by coach Bob Stoops and his dominating defense. The team is preparing for a season that would see it lose the National Championsh

2004 Top 25 Prep Football Rankings
1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) The coach: Bob Ladouceur (287-14-1, 25 years) – school record 2003: CIF-NCS Class 4A champion, 13-0 The record: The Spartans have won a national-record 151 straight games (more than doubling the next best total), and have beaten at least one nationally ranked team each season since 1998. The Bay Area power won its unprecedented fourth consecuti

The Next Level
There’s nothing obvious about Gary Patterson’s background that would suggest he could be one of the nation’s hottest college football coaches. There’s nothing that stands out on a life resume that starts with growing up in a small Kansas town, playing Juco ball on an academic scholarship, walking on and playing special teams for a perennial college football loser, coaching at places most college foo

Keeping Drives Alive: Effective Third Down Game Planning
At Western Michigan University, we utilize a multi-faceted approach when it comes time to game plan third down. It is a cooperative effort, involving all of the members of the offensive staff and the head coach. Before any meaningful discussion on third downs takes place, you must develop the down and distance parameters that will guide you through your game planning. We have two general categories, run situatio

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

Letter From the Editor
This month AFM continues its tradition of selecting its choices for the 2003 Coordinator of the Year awards. Normally, the task of announcing a list is difficult because of the many outstanding programs – at all levels – around the country; what made this year’s selections more difficult was the research involved which indicated statistics were only one measure of success. While statistics were important, many i

Flexibility of a Split 4 Defense
I am currently the defensive coordinator at Boyd-Buchanan School. I have coached for eight years and in seven of those eight we have been to the state playoffs. In 2002, we finished state runner up and in 2003 we won the Class A State Championship, 26-3. Our starting defensive unit only gave up 14 touchdowns in 14 games, and here’s how we helped achieve success:

2004 Hot Coaches
DIVISION I-A RANDY SHANNON, MIAMI: Defensive Coordinator of the ‘Canes, Shannon is our top selection and a head-coach-in-waiting. A member of this listing last year and the feature of an AFM cover story in April, he has all the tools and experience as well as an organizational plan to get to the top-whether it be Miami

The Art of Punting: What is Needed to Coach Punting Properly
You must set a punting and kicking training program that has an emphasis on technique development. Regardless of the level of performance your punter has accomplished, a period of technique evaluation, film evaluation and drill development is needed. Too many punters that just kick for their training will be their downfall. The player can develop bad habits if a proper training

The Way It Used To Be
American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest personalities for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship season to their first losing season, AFM has captured it all – football insiders provide AFM with an exclusive journey down memory lane. Maybe you can’t walk in their shoes,

Spotlight
Mike Cleary, Larry Kehres, Bernie Kish Jason Dannelly Owner/General Manager for Dannelly Media Why You Should Know Him: When football and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics are mentioned in the same sentence, the name Jason Dannel


Cover Story Gary Patterson: The Next Level Following the success of former head coach Dennis Franchione, Gary Patterson\'s intensity, professional experience and strong work ethic has helped take TCU\'s football team - along with it\'s attendance and graduation rates- to a whole new level. By Richard

His Own Man
Delaware’s K.C. Keeler doesn’t have many bad days. And since his return to his alma mater in 2002, neither have the Blue Hens. “I’ve never seen him in a bad mood,” said Mike Corey, co-host of the “K.C. Keeler Show” on 94.7 FM, the River. “Even if he is having a bad day, you would never be able to tell it.” Maybe that’s because, these days in Newark, Del., there’s

Attention! Forward March!
No one is more excited about the upcoming season than Bobby Ross. And, yes, he knows all about his new team’s recent struggles. “I still have the energy so I might as well use it,” says the 67-year-old head coach, who received the nation’s longest losing streak as a welcome back gift. Ross became the 34th head football coach at the United States Military Academy in December. He returns to the sidelines

From High School to Division I - Football Programs to Work for
Presented by LRSSports Software When football hounds gather to talk about schools with a fine tradition of producing coaches, talk usually begins and ends with

Letter From the Publisher
Arguably the single best career advice we’ve ever heard time-tested, successful coaches give is to outline one’s professional goals and to develop a plan-of-action to achieve those goals. More specifically, it is important to identify where you want to be at the pinnacle of your career – whether that is a specific coaching position, playing level, school or conference. The idea is that by knowing the exact dire

National Footbal League Coaches Association
American Football Monthly and the National Football League Coaches Association have formed a partnership that will include periodic information on NFLCA projects as well as clinic articles by both former and current NFL coaches. Included below is Executive Director Larry Kennan’s letter to AFM readers on the NFLCA’s new Affiliate Membership Club.

LSU
It is an honor to represent Coach Nick Saban and the entire LSU football program, and to share some thoughts on our organizational structure that we feel are paramount to having consistent and productive special teams play. Almost every program claims that they are committed to special teams, but as Coach Saban constantly reminds us, “Your actions speak so loud I cannot hear what you say.” At LSU, we fe

Open Door Policy
With this issue, American Football Monthly begins a new section of the magazine entitled Open Door Policy... it’s an inside look at the office of a head football coach. But not just the inner-workings of a day in the life of a coach, but what goes on behind the scenes; that is, the good, the bad, and the unusual. It’s an intimate look inside a coach’s den.... Our first Open Door

3-Step Passing Game
It is my pleasure to share with you the cornerstone of our offense at Blinn College which is our 3-step passing series. This series has been the foundation of our offense and helped us be very successful as an offensive unit. During the past two seasons we have completed 73% of our 3-step passes and averaged 12.2 yards per completion using this series. At Blinn College

Spotlight
Troy Morrell, Richard Scott, Brandon Misener Troy Morrell Head Coach, Butler Co. Comm. College Why You Should Know Him: Troy Morrell, in just about a decade, has gone full circle. As a two-time high school all-state offensive lineman from B

Trojan Pride
It’s clear to me that I want to put together a program that can win on a consistent basis and compete for championships year in and year out. This is a grand opportunity here,” a proud Pete Carroll said early this summer during a break at his football camp on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles. “USC has all the elements you need for a championship program.” Coach Ca


Cover Story From High School to Division l: 16 Football Programs to Work For AFM’s annual listing of successful programs that have a tradition of developing coaches By David Srinivasan September 2004

Landmarks: The Foundation of Zone Coverage
Zone coverage contains one simple fact that is often over looked. You are defending zones of the field. As such, you must have a base knowledge about the depth and width of what you are defending. I call this the geometry of football. A football field has specific landmarks. The playing surface is 53 & 1/3 yards wide and 100 yards long with two scoring areas, the end zones, at ei

Zone Read
The theory behind the Zone Read Play: • Simple in its’ scheme • Can be run to the TE or SE side • Can be used out of a one or two back set • May be run out of a variety of formations • Offensive line does not need to be overpowering to be effective

What Next?
Jim Emery remembers many things during his career: a college football player at Ohio Wesleyan University, a graduate assistant, recruiting coordinator, college coach, mentor of many varied club football teams in Italy, and now, COO of Digital Scout, one of the software companies that helps football coaches at all levels prepare for their next opponent. “I coached in Italy for a good part of 18 years and saw a r

So You Want to be a Video Coordinator
“There aren’t too many positions available-there are 117 in Division I, 32 in NFL, and that’s it. (Smaller) schools usually don’t have enough money. It’s an extremely important position, but you’ve got to provide a decent product. Some schools provide terrible video. “There are chances to get into a job like this, but it’s tough to crack into (the business). You can’t go to school to be a video coordinator.

Leaps and Bounds
Marshall’s Brad Helton refers to him as “The Godfather of Video Coordinators.” But like most of his colleagues, UCLA’s Ken Norris is a cipher unless you are intimately familiar with his work. Over the years, Norris has worked with and for a number of football giants – men such as George Allen, Terry Donahue, John Robinson and Norv Turner. Norris has been a big help to the coaches for whom he has worked. But like all good video c

Coach Potatoes
More than 83,000 Crimson Tide fans just got real excited. They were packed in Bryant-Denny stadium to see the first ever No. 1 team visit Tuscaloosa. Alabama had just capped off a six-play, 80-yard drive with a Brodie Croyle 20-yard touchdown pass to Triandos Luke, cutting top-ranked Oklahoma’s lead to 13-10 midway through the third quarter. With the momentum clearly on their side, ‘Bama’s defense forced th

Double-Digit Defense
Diagram 1. Diagram 2.

Letter From the Publisher
In the five years that we’ve been publishing American Football Monthly’s annual Technology issue, we’ve seen many advances in the various software and hardware designed specifically for football. Today’s technology allows coaches to merge diagrams and video together in presentation formats, trade game film over the Internet, introduce DVD options for film quality, track the frame-by-frame movements

In the Eyes of the Beholder
It’s been about fifteen years since video tape has come into the world of college and high school football. It has imparted many changes on the way coaches do business. Film was the format of the day. It was a great format with a few important exceptions. It was not easy to work with, attested by the phrase cut-up as in actually cutting it up to get what you wanted. It was not an easy process to get the final product as it had to be sent out for proce

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship se

This is the CSVA:Collegiate Sports Video Association
The objective of the Collegiate Sports Video Association is to promote the role of the Video Coordinator position in the sports industry. The CSVA will be a forum to: • evaluate professional standards among all Video Coordinators • facilitate the exchange of information and technological innovations • advance ethical procedures and quali

Spotlight
Pat Coleman, KC Keeler, Steve Pohl Pat Coleman Publisher & Editor, D3Football.com Why You Should Know Him: Pat Coleman has been following Division III football since the early 90s, ever since the likes of Duquesne, Iona and Georgetown played D-III. He is a 1994 g

Identity
Out of all the special teams units at Southern Illinois University the kickoff team may be one of the most important units to our football program. We strongly believe the kickoff team creates the identity and establishes the attitude of our football team. This unit must set the tone for the game. It is critical that this team send a message to the opponent that


Cover Story Leaps & Bounds: UCLA’s Video Coordinator Ken Norris - So You Want to be a Video Coordinator: UCLA’s Ken Norris on the position By David Srinivasan

The Mental Game
This article looks at ways that instructional technology and principles can be used to improve the mental performance of your football players. The focus is on decision-making. That breaks down into a player’s ability to recognize an opponent’s actions, to know his team’s schemes and his individual assignments, and to choose the correct response. It does not include executing the response. Coaches spe

The Use of Formations to Gain an Advantage
Garrison High School has a long tradition of a winning football program. We have been in the playoffs 28 times and won 22 district championships. This was the first time in my coaching career that I had taken over a program that had a winning tradition and the opportunity was there to make a good program great instead of trying to turn an unsuccessful program into a winning program. I was hired in July of 1999 an

Learning Curve
Mark Hudspeth has not wasted any time traveling down his career path. Yet, at each stop along the way – some more rocky than others – he has made sure to slow down, take his time and learn. “I think it’s very important to focus on the job at hand,” says Hudspeth, now in his third year as head coach at Division II North Alabama. “Concentrate on where you are at and where you are working. Sometimes guys are too busy looking for t

From Gloom To Glory
Here’s a warning: like every season, this story starts with a test. You thought you were done with those when you finished college, huh? Well at least it’s a multiple choice test, so you can always make an educated guess. Question 1: When your team slips in September and loses a game or two (or three), you: 1. Call all your coaching connections and start looking for another

Better Equipped For Life
Jeff Boss touched a lot of people in his 24 years at Louisiana State University. Not only was he a trailblazer in his field of endeavor – athletic equipment manager – he was a kind, gentle soul who always took care of everyone – regardless of their standing in the LSU pecking order. Boss graduated from McNeese State in his native Lake Charles, La., but it was his time in Baton Rouge that helped cement his reputation as

Letter From the Publisher
What is black and gold, weighs in at a hefty 5lbs and is getting the attention of some of the top recruits in the country? The University of Missouri’s 2004 Media and Recruiting Guide. Careful. This thing is big. It’s big in size and it’s bigger in potential on the national recruiting scene and it is currently landing on the kitchen table of some of the nation’s top recruits with a resounding ‘thud’ – opening their eyes to Mizzou Football.

Georgia Military College’s 3-5-3 Defensive Package
Georgia Military College’s, 3-5-3 defensive package, is an extremely easy package to implement on any level. We as a defensive staff, feel that this package gives us the greatest advantage of being successful against our opponent’s offense. While running the 3-5-3 defense, GMC is continually one of the statistical leaders in the NJCAA in total defense, run defense, and pass

Sunshine State of Mind
The state of Florida produces over 80 percent of the United States’ supply of citrus. Every year, the Sunshine State sells roughly $4 billion worth of oranges, tangerines, pineapples and other goods grown within its borders. About $3.5 billion worth of orange juice is exported from Florida to the rest of the country – and world – every year. As dominant as the citrus business is in the state of Florida, th

Three-Step Pass Protection
The Doane College football program has an historically successful tradition. Over the past 20 years Doane College has competed in the national playoffs during the 1980’s and 1990’s (last appearance in 1999), and has proven the test of time with consistency by accumulating a .603 winning percentage. We run the “West Coast Offense” at Doane College. Our offensive philosophy is a balanced attack that u

Open Door Policy
AFM continues the new section of the magazine with the second installment of Open Door Policy: an inside look at the office of a head football coach. It’s not just the inner-workings of a day in the life of a coach, but what goes on behind the scenes; that is, the good, the bad, and the unusual. It’s an intimate look inside a coach’s den... This month’s subject is USC’s Pete Carroll, las

Spotlight
THE NAMES YOU SHOULD KNOW SPOTLIGHT John Bankert, Chuck Neinas, Mike Van Diest John Bankert President, Pro Football Hall of Fame Why You Should Know Him: John Bankert began working at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in the film library


Cover Story From Gloom to Glory

Mean Green
As much as any other coach in the country, Darrell Dickey, the persevering and successful head football coach at the University of North Texas, lives with the reality of college athletics, where aspiring football programs like his, are locked on a collision course with 21st century fiscal reality. “We have an athletic department that’s really struggling for money, so we have to play a very demanding sch

Into the Void
In the early years of football an end was not overly involved in the game. An end lined up next to a tackle and usually blocked the man over you, blocked the man inside of you or, on occasions, ran a post route or a corner route. Well, times continue to change and most coaches under 40 probably don’t remember when there weren’t wide receivers on an offense. Those of us that

Rebirth of the \'Blue Death\'
Family. Above all else, the one element that most contributed to our success as a team and as a defensive unit was a family atmosphere brought to the program in the Spring of 2003 by our head coach, George Small. More important than the success experienced on the football field was the way that kinship maintained us as we endured the passing of one of our young and most talented

Surfing the Turf
Sponsored by Eastbay 1-800-826-2205

Family Values
“My door is open. 24-7,” says the University of Arizona’s new 42-year old football coach Mike Stoops. It’s the first policy Stoops instituted when he became the 28th coach in the 104 year history of football on the Tucson campus last November 29th. Stoops’ declaration signaled the start of give-and-take between players and coaches, a family-like feeling at a place crying for it. It’s a rare concept in the big business-like atmo

Letter From the Publisher
Pop quiz. Name as many coaches as you can from your coaching network that you could call in the next five minutes and talk X’s & O’s. Times up. How many names do you have? Fifteen? Ten? Five? If you were able to quickly open your address book or recall from memory the contact information for coaches that you’ve developed a relationship with to talk X’s & O’s, it will certainly bode well for your future. It’s no secret. Being

An Alabama Legend
If you seek success akin to that of Hoover (Ala.) High School’s Rush Propst, there’s a simple formula you can follow: • Start from the bottom and work your way up – paying attention to detail not salary. • Make plenty of friends in the business, and stay in touch – frequently. • Understand your limitations. • Al

The Way It Used To Be
American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship season to their first losing season, AFM has captured it all – coaches provide AFM with an exclusive journey down memory lane. Maybe you can’t walk in their shoes, but perhaps

Bridging the Generation Gap
77, 77, 68, 74, 67, hut? No, it’s not some ill-fated snap count devoted to offensive linemen. Instead, those are the ages of some of the most respected coaches in the business. Men like John Gagliardi of St. John’s (Minn.) University, Dick Vermeil of the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Paterno of Penn State, Bobby Bowden of Florida State and Lou Holtz of South Carolina. There’s no doubt about the track record of these men as all are championship-level coache




An Eagle Among Us
At what point do the perceptions disappear and give way to reality? At what point do people in the football business, as well as the media and the fans, stop looking at the outside, at the skin color, at the last name, at the perception that his place in the world must be the result of a handout, a favor or a quota? What would it take to change the assumptions and move on to the facts? Would a man have

The Ravens\' Nest
At Anderson University, we are committed to throwing the football on any down and distance anywhere on the field. We led NCAA Division III in passing offense at 383 yards per game last fall while finishing 7th in total offense at 470 yards per game. Throwing the ball 505 times last season, we gave up 19 sacks in which only 12 were due to protection breakdowns not on the quarterb


Cover Story One of a Kind: Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Line Coach Juan Castillo By Richard Scott July 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Air Raid Offense
When you think of the “Air Raid” offense, the first thing that comes to mind is great quarterbacks and elusive receivers. Over the years this offense has generated a great deal of yardage through the air. A large portion of that comes from the involvement of our running backs. Our running backs play a vital part in our offense because they give us the opportunity to create mismatches with differen

Evaluating Your Next Job
It’s that time of year when the coaching business is buzzing with changes and rumors, with coaches preparing resumes and working the telephones to promote, save or launch a career. Coaches are renewing old contacts, making new ones and mining every source they can find to help them make the next move. “There are two types of coaches: those who are sought after, which I’ve been, and those who are not,

Getting the Most Out of a Football Clinic
It’s been a good but not great season. A 6-4 record was good enough to finish in second place in the division, but not good enough to earn a spot in the postseason playoffs. The year has been strangely similar to last year and the year before. It seems that a rut has developed and your team is stuck in it. That’s not all bad since there has been a lot of winning - but not en

Being in the Right Place at the Right Time
There are several key points that can be helpful in developing your Defensive Backs. Many coaches have used these ideas and techniques over the years. It is my hope that you will gain something that will help you in some way 1. Stance - Specific Points for Stance: • Head and eyes should be up • Outside foot up with a heel/toe relationship on the inside

Letter From the Editor
What are the criteria for evaluating a new job? Every one of us has been through it and more often than not, timing is of the essence. Usually decisions have to be made quickly and there never seems to be enough time to research the pro’s and con’s of a new position whether it be a first job or the last one... The same is true in coaching. In the process of evaluating a potential

Fighting Adversity
Ask Todd Berry about the coaches who’ve influenced him in his 20-plus years in the business and he’ll rattle off insights obtained from names like John Cooper, Johnny Majors, Steve Logan and even his old high school coach, L.D. Bains. But the one lesson that stood out from all the X’s and O’s and motivational techniques came from his late father, Rueben, a former head coach in the Canadian Football

Open Door Policy
Butler County Community College head coach Troy Morrell began his fifth season this past fall as head coach of the Grizzlies. Last fall, Morrell led BCCC to an undefeated season and the NJCAA National Championship. The team has been ranked number one all throughout 2004 and recently completed another undefeated season and beat Coffeyville Community College in the regional district final. An All-America lineman as

Scorching the Defense
>Scott Maxfield is confident, maybe even a little cocky. Running his no-huddle spread offense at Blinn College, he deserves to be. After leading the nation with 558.7 yards per game at the junior college level last season, you get the impression that Maxfield’s Buccaneers can move the ball at will. In fact, he’ll come close to telling you that himself. “It doesn’t matter

Spotlight
John Bankert, Chuck Neinas, Mike Van Diest John Bankert President, Pro Football Hall of Fame Why You Should Know Him: John Bankert began working at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in the film library and theatre as a part-time employee in August of 1964. Over a 40 year period he became an Administrative Assistant, Busi

The Spread Shot-Wing Offense
For years, we were a basic Delaware Wing T football team. We had great success with it, using the 3 basic series (buck sweep/trap; belly/down and power) and mixing in a good dose of play action and 3 step drop-back passes to keep defenses honest. But four years ago we started a 15 year old freshman at quarterback whom we knew was going to be somebody special as far as throwing the football before he g

No Huddle? More Chances
In 2002 the Lambuth University Eagles went 6-4 and averaged 55 snaps per game. During the spring of 2003 we put in the no-huddle offense. Our general offensive scheme did not change, just the tempo at which we ran the plays. In the 2003 season we increased our snaps per game to 70 and improved our overall record to 9-3, won a conference championship, and a trip to the playoffs. This is roughly a 27% i


Cover Story Evaluating Your Next Job There are a Number of Considerations Before Commiting to That Next Positon

Recruiting: More of an art than a science
While football recruiting over the years has become more scientific and sophisticated, the bottom line is that it is still an art in making a decision on a high school senior. No matter what the overall assessment concludes and no matter how many interviews are completed, there is no sure fire way of knowing if a player will perform up to both his abilities and/or the recruiters expectations. Like many things in

Combo coverage from a cover 3 look
Diagram 1. Diagram 2.

Inside The Hornet\'s Nest
As coaches we are always looking for a new idea or concept that agrees with our own personal offensive or defensive philosophy. When it comes to seeking out new information, I am no exception. An article that captured my attention was featured under AFM’s old name, American Football Quarterly, entitled, “High-flying Hornets” (Volume 4, 1st Quarter). The article focused on current Texas State University-San Marcos (formerly Southwest Texas

Does Anyone Really Know Norm Chow?
How can a coach that has produced six of the NCAA’s top 12 career passing efficiency leaders in the history of college football go virtually unnoticed for the majority of his 34-year coaching career? How can a coach who has taught two Heisman Trophy winners and a slew of NFL quarterbacks fly under the radar for nearly four decades? How can a coach involved with squads that hold 11 of the top 30 single sea

High School Scouting
It’s Wednesday night, and for Salt Fork coach Brian Plotner and his linebackers and defensive backs, that means film night. Every Wednesday during the season, that group meets at the home of a player or coach to learn more about its next opponent. “They pick up on tendencies,” said Plotner. “They re-familiarize themselves with the formations they’ve seen in practice. “Sometimes they pick up on things I didn’t see by looking at it from a differ

Letter From the Editor
It seems as though coaches have taken a beating in the media lately. Although you never want to see anyone’s laundry aired out in public, some of the scrutiny has not been without warrant. Coaches behaving badly are not the norm, but out of the thousands and thousands of coaches out there, there are sure to be a few bad apples in the bunch. But for the most part I believe the coaching profession, especially football coaches, to be among the best people

A Whole New Ball Game
Warren Moon carved out a pro football career in the Canadian Football League before the National Football League finally came calling and gave him the chance to be one of pro football’s all-time most productive passer. Kurt Warner found success in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe before becoming one of the NFL’s best passers and a Super Bowl winner with the St. Louis Rams. Brad Johnson laid the foundation for an NFL car

Attacking the 3-3 defense with the Inside and Outside Zone
On behalf of our staff at Southeast Missouri State University I’d like to say that it’s an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to share some of our thoughts and ideas on attacking the 3-3 Defense with the Inside and Outside Zone. The problem the 3-3 presents is that it is an odd front with a 4-3 linebacker set. It neither fits your odd front rules or your 4-3 rules and if you try to full zone it – more times tha

The Last Rep
Practice scheduling is becoming more important with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top head coaches from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning their industry. What is a coach’s mindset entering a new season? “Coaches in Division III are at a disadvantage because we

Miles Apart
Respect: What does it take to get a little? Last season, playing in arguably one of the toughest divisions in all of sports – the Big 12 South – the Oklahoma State Cowboys posted W’s in six of their last seven, including a pair of wins large enough to end the careers of two sets of goal posts at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Okla. But despite beating Nebraska for the first time in 41-years; and despite e

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their first job to their last, the


Cover Story Norm Chow: Does Anyone Really Know Norm? Searching for the identity of college football\'s most intriguing and mysterious offensive coordinator By Aaron S. Lee September 2003

Relocating?
Team 2002 coach 2003 coach Alabama Dennis Franchione Mike Price/Mike Shula

Maximizing Player Performance
Every year in the month of August thousands of coaches from around the country prepare their players for yet another season of football. And every year thousands of football players are at risk of succumbing to the threat of heat illness linked to dehydration. In recent years several athletes from high school to the professional ranks have died from heat stroke, causing many to take a closer look at the importance of proper cooling and hydration techniques f

Cramping in Summer Sports: The Sodium Solution
The adult body contains 200 to 250 grams of salt (sodium chloride), which is about a half-pound and more than enough to fill a few salt shakers. But in August football, in five sets of summer tennis or in tropical triathlons, some athletes can lose 25 to 50 grams of salt in sweat. So athletes going hard can lose up to 10 to 25 percent of their total body salt! Massive salt loss like this – along with dehy

Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
With such noticeable improvements in training regimens throughout the years, there is one method that is still underutilized – resistance “speed” training (RST). RST is a method that will add explosive power and speed to any athlete, if done correctly. The reason for this is because muscle contraction force is generated by the recruitment of the necessary number of muscle fibers to meat the load demand placed

Helmet Fitting: The Perfect Fit
In today’s environment, a Football Coach must be proficient at more than organizing practices and teaching football skills. He must not only coach the football team, he must run the football program. This entails selecting, ordering, sizing, issuing and fitting the protective equipment. The proper fitting of helmets can be a time-consuming process, however, it is very critical to a properly run football p

A Clear Picture
Potatoes? Can we just forget about the potato jokes for a little bit? This story isn’t about spuds. It’s about football. Football in Idaho. Boise to be exact. It’s about a winning football program. It’s about winning tradition, high expectations and making the most of what you’ve got with players who want to be there. It’s about blue artificial turf and quality of life. It’s about a head footb

Special Forces
If you liked this article, here are three others just like it:

High School Hardware
1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) The coach: Bob Ladouceur (274-14-1, 24 years) 2002: CIF-NCS Class 4A champion, 13-0 The record: The word “record” is now synonymous with the Spartans. The Bay Area barons have won an all-time best 138 straight games and have been National Prep Poll titlist a best-ever f

Letter From the Editor
In a longstanding tradition, American Football Monthly has finally announced its winners for the 2002 Coordinator of the Year awards. As always, this year’s selection was not an easy task. However, with the help of several top experts in the industry, AFM has compiled a list of winners based on their accomplishments on the field for the 2002 season. All collegiate and professional offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators were e

Airing It Out
If you liked this article, here are three others just like it:

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their first


Cover Story A Clear Picture: Boise State’s Dan Hawkins Please don’t adjust your TV set... Yes, the field IS cool blue, but Boise State’s Dan Hawkins leads AFM’s 2003 red hot coaches’ list. By Richard Scott

Two-A-Day Recommendations
The key to a successful two-a-day training regime is full awareness of dangers, appropriate planning and preventive measures. The following tips could help your athletes get the most out of two-a-day practice while remaining safe: Plan every minute of two-a-days carefully and stick to your plan. Be sensitive to varying factors of heat, humidity, tempo of practic

Where There\'s Smoke There\'s Fire
Every year certain coaches separate from the pack … and this year will be no exception. Whether they are relative newcomers or wily veterans, these coaches are the future of high school, college and professional football. With the help of some of the top sports writers and football experts in the nation, American Football Monthly has compiled a list of coaches that it believes will make such an impact in

Coaching the Player
I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts concerning coaching the player. As you well know, the hub of your program is the players and the effective job you do in coaching them. I. Coaching – Teaching and Parenting II. Challenge of Coaching (raise his self image) A. Making each player the best he can be. Total Person – student, player and person.B. It starts w

My Three Sons
In Bill Mallory’s Bloomington, Ind., office, there is a picture hanging on the wall of the former coach celebrating on top of his team’s shoulders. Like all good pictures, there’s a story behind this one, and it reflects what family and football is all about. In 1987, Mallory, in his fourth year as head football coach at Indiana, had his team off to a 5-1 start, and with wins over Ohio State, Northwestern and Minnesota,

Making a Point
Over midway through the 2003 season in which he has a team potentially bound for Florida state championship hardware again, there probably aren’t many prep coaches who wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of Palm Bay’s Dan Burke, who considers himself one of the luckiest in the business. Burke, with his team on the radar of the USA Today top 10 all season long and a nationally televised game on The Football Network, has buil

Indiana: Turnover Drills
Much like a lot of football programs, we work hard to force turnovers. At Indiana, there is no exception. We work a turnover circuit at least once a week during the season. We divide the defense into three groups: Defensive Line, Linebackers, and Defensive Backs. At each circuit, we work a turnover drill that is position specific. • The drill is set the same for all positions.• The drill is set with two stand-ups on the s

Hired! Now What?
Last month, American Football Monthly gathered a panel of experts to give you the tools you need to get your next job in part one of a two-part series focused on career management. AFM discussed everything from networking, resumes, interview skills, salary negotiations, coaching agents and dealing with the media. This month, AFM pulls out all the stops in part two as we show

OSU: Defensive Fundamentals
Two basic defensive fundamentals that we teach at Oklahoma State are 1) How to defeat a block and 2) Pursuit angles to the football. Both fundamentals are key to the success of any defense. In order for a player to be productive, he must first get himself in position to make the play. Defeating a block The first block sequence that we teach is how to defeat a base block. The progres

Right Place Right Time
Brian Kelly will tell you that luck put him in position to be one of the top head coaches in Division II football. His record at Grand Valley State will tell you otherwise. Yes, it’s true that Kelly was coaching linebackers and coordinating the defense in Massachusetts at his alma mater, Assumption College, when an old friend called Kelly and told him he was leaving his job as Grand Valley State’s defensive coordinator to become a head coach. �

Letter From the Editor
With a 29-26 come-from-behind victory over then-No. 10 Bethel College (Minn.), John Gagliardi of St. John’s University (Minn.) surpassed Eddie Robinson to become college football’s all-time winningest coach with 409 wins. The 77-year-old Gagliardi, who has coached at St. John’s (Minn.) for 51 seasons, has averaged eight wins a year in his 55 years as a head coach. Grambling State’s Eddie Robinson averaged seven wins

Illinois: Tackling Fundamentals
The tackle is the most important fundamental of football. The following is an explanation of the progression of a good shoulder tackle. Good Football Position When teaching a player how to perform a tackle, begin by teaching a good football position. A good football position is a position of leverage, mobility and power.The feet should be a shoulder width apart with the toes pointed straight ahead.The weight of the body should be forward on

Building the Best Defensive Linemen
When building the best defensive lineman, you have to think outside the box of traditional training. You have to be innovative in your training program as much as you are in your defensive stunts. The following are a few of the defensive linemen drills we use with some of our clients that include such names as Tommie Harris (University of Oklahoma), Casey Hampton (Steelers), Shaun Rogers (Lions), Juliu

The Last Rep
With each snap of the ball, football players are at constant risk for career-ending concussions. American Football Monthly has gathered seven of the industry’s top experts to discuss this epidemic in a Last Rep two-part series. AFM encourages coaches to use this platform as a first step in their continuing education on player safety. Please contact medical experts and gear manufacturers to

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches’ wives for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their life on the road to idle chit-chat, A

Vilanova\'s 5-man Protection Series
Over the past six seasons, Villanova University has thrown for over 20,000 yards. One aspect we stress is constantly attempting to stretch the defenses that we see both vertically and horizontally. We will try to force the opposition to cover the entire field. We will do this by incorporating multiple formations and personnel groupings. We will also attempt to stress the defense by having the ability to get

Stepping Into Retirement
Forget about Bob Stoops, Jim Tressell and Larry Coker. The best college football coaches in America are the former coaches who show up when they want to at home football games, sit in their suites or club level seats surrounded by family and friends and thank the football gods that they no longer have to sweat the outcome. There’s nothing like retirement to make a head coach the second most popular guy in tow

Spotlight
Dr. Thom Park Nancy Cubit Larry Haylor Dr. Thom Park President, Thom Park & Associates, Inc. WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW HIM: Dr. Thom Park, president of Thom Park & Associates, Inc., located in Tallahassee, Fla., provides the career coach and their family a comprehensive, intellectual,


Cover Story CEO: Fisher DeBerry Leads Coaching into the New Era By Aaron S. Lee December 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CEO: Transition from War Room to Board Room
It doesn’t take an expert to see how the game of football has evolved over the past few decades. Coaches like Paul “Bear” Bryant and Vince Lombardi could focus more on the X’s and O’s than the multitude of hurdles that face today’s modern coaches. Head coaches today more closely resemble Fortune 500 chief executive officers than they do their coaching counterparts back in the 20th century. Coaches today are teach

Starting From Scratch
No matter what level of football you’re coaching or playing, it’s hard enough to maintain a successful program these days. From high school to Division I to even the NFL, there are budgets, injuries, ever-growing parity with technology and those inevitable peaks and valleys. That’s talking about established programs. What’s it like to try to create all of those things programs strive for: fans, top-tier

Avoiding Major Mistakes in the Interview Process
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

A Little Psychology For a Winning Focus In Job Interviews
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Double Threat: Making Your QB a True Rushing Threat
Over the last two seasons the Capital University football program has taken a step towards the upper echelon of Division III football. Competing in the always-tough Ohio Athletic Conference against traditional powers Mt. Union, Baldwin Wallace, John Carroll and Ohio Northern is quite a challenge. Now people are including Capital when they talk about the top teams in the OAC. One of the reasons for our success is

Dealing With the Media During the \'Silly Season\'
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Steppin\' Out
Former coach and forever Grambling State legend Eddie Robinson doesn’t come on campus as much these days. Maybe it’s because, at 84-years wise, Coach Robinson’s sideline agility isn’t what it used to be. Winning 408 football games will do that to you. Or maybe it’s because he’s satisfied, knowing that a budding superstar has filled his giant shoes, which were left behind upon college football’s all-time winning

Should a Coach Employ an Agent?
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Letter From the Editor
The sign above the Marshall High School (Texas) weight room door reads: “If you can force your heart, mind and body to serve you long after they are gone, and you can hold on when there is nothing left within you except the will that’s says to then hold on – then you will be a man.” Those words are paraphrased from one of history’s greatest poems. Now, I’m not sure why poet Rudyard Kipling wrote tho

Seperating From the Pack
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

The Last Rep
With each snap of the ball, football players are at constant risk for career-ending concussions. American Football Monthly has gathered seven of the industry’s top experts to discuss this epidemic in a Last Rep two-part series. AFM encourages coaches to use this platform as a first step in their continuing education on player safety. Please contact medical experts and gear manufacturers to

Resume Tips
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

How to Handle Coaching Salary Negotiations
Networking: Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Robber Coverage Out of an 8-man Front
On behalf of Frank Solich and the entire University of Nebraska Football family, I would like to say that it is an honor and privilege to be asked to write an article for American Football Monthly. As a firm believer in trying to gain knowledge from any source available, I have found American Football Monthly to be a valuable asset. Throughout my career I have had the fortune to

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship

One Step Back ... Two Steps Forward
Bryan Collins never wanted to leave C.W. Post in the first place. He enjoyed his job as an assistant coach and felt like he could grow and succeed at Post. But with a wife and a child on the way, the idea of a part-time coaching job was enough to convince him it was time to leave Post for another opportunity. “I had been a part-time coach for three years,” Collins says. “I did enjoy my time here but with only two full-ti


Cover Story Steppin’ Out: Grambling State’s Doug Williams Casts his Own Shadow. By David Purdum November 2003 TABLE

Going For Two
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Getting Defensive
When Woody Widenhofer decided to end his seven-year relationship with Vanderbilt (1995-2001) as the school’s 25th head coach, the legendary defensive guru, who won four Super Bowl rings as a defensive coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, thought about leaving football for good. “I was going to retire after I stepped down at Vanderbilt, but Hal called me and convinced me to come down here,” said Widenhofer. “I just met so many people that have such tremendous passion abou

Resurrection
What They’re Saying ... “ Starting a new program is an enormous challenge. The fear of knowing that you have to bring a football team

Tiger Attack
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Coast to Coast
ALABAMA 6A: Hoover 39, Jeff Davis 29; 5A: Homewood 31, Russellville 28; 4A: UMS-Wright 7, North Jackson 3; 3A: T.R. Miller 38, Colbert County 6; 2A: Southern Choctaw 12, Lineville 6; 1A: Clay County 29, Autaugaville 0. AISA (champions): AAA: Bessemer Academy, AA: Marengo Academy, A: Jackson Academy

Stalking Down Ball Carriers
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Etched In Stone
Perhaps Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden, of Tampa Bay, said it best when describing the profession of coaching when he told American Football Monthly, “Coaches are like offensive linemen, you don’t hear much about them unless they are in the transactions section changing jobs.” Unfortunately that is sometimes the case, but the fact remains that coaching is still one of the most rewarding

Sunshine State of Mind
With a 48-21 victory over his former team, the Oakland Raiders, in Super Bowl XXXVII, Jon Gruden, 39, became the youngest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as he guided Tampa Bay to its first world title in franchise history. Gruden was also the first non-rookie head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl in his first season with a new team. In fact, Gruden has accomplished a lot for a man that is keepin

Letter From the Editor
You know, believe it or not, I have not always had the greatest job in the world. I was once a struggling freelance writer in New Orleans not so terribly long ago. I was always looking for the next big story or the next big break. I was always looking into the future at the possibility of writing for a national paper or magazine, writing a column and even becoming a published author. However, I could

The Last Rep
Offensive schemes are becoming more intricate with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top defensive back coaches from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning their positions. When facing a balanced offense, what can you do to help give your seconda

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their fi

Goin\' Up
It would be so easy to say it’s all the head coach. Take a look at his success, his overall record, his impact on the program and the fact that seven of his assistant coaches have left the program in the past three years and moved on to higher levels of college football and the program hasn’t skipped a beat, and it’s easy to say the head coach must be the reason. But what about the university? The tradition


Cover Story Resurrection - Hal Mumme and Woody Widenhofer return to football to revive Southeastern Louisiana football and their careers. Read the complete article >>> April 2003 Staff Meeting

Attacking the Blitz Defense
Related Videos American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this clin

High School Top 25 of 2002
1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 13-0 2002: Won 11th straight CIF-NCS 4A title, fifth National Prep Poll title, national-record 138 straight wins. Coach: Bob Ladouceur 2. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 15-0 2002: Captured third straight AAAAA state championship and has 45 straight wins. Coach:

The Last Rep
The strength and conditioning industry has gone from being an afterthought in most football programs to being the cornerstone of any championship foundation in just the past 20 years. Men like Kim Wood, Boyd Epley, Dan Riley, Joe Juraszek and John Dunn have carved a path of knowledge and success – sometimes thru trial-and-error – for all those to follow.

The Life of Riley
Riley’s Thoughts on Supplements ... “When I started in this industry, a strength and conditioning coach could tell an athlete anything. We cou

Training Mr. Everything
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Scorching the Competition
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Times Change: So Should Your Workout
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Making \"Quality\" a Priority
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Maximizing Player Performance
Presented by Gatorade Sports Science Institute By their very nature, football coaches are always looking for the latest drills to teach championship-winning techniques, for the best strategy for goal-

Letter From the Editor
Every great coach is only as good as the cast that surrounds him ... the supporters, the players, the staff. After all, it’s that surrounding cast that can often make the difference between success and failure. The same can be said of American Football Monthly. This magazine’s sole purpose is for the further enhancement of your coaching career, and that is something that we take very seri

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their first job t

Nutrition for Muscle Mass
Do your athletes ask you how they can “bulk up” to better compete against bigger and stronger players? If so, empower them with the following information about the critical components for muscle gain – strength training and proper nutrition. Adding Calories to Add Muscle If the ultimate goal is enhanced muscle

The Basics:
Initially our routines were very basic. Space, time and equipment were limited when our players trained in the Astrodome. We had 97 players on our roster. We were introducing many of our players to new exercises, new equipment and a new training protocol. We have been changing and adding routines since our relocation from the Astrodome to the Reliant Stadium weight room. We now have more


The Life of Riley - When Dan Riley joined the Houston Texans as their first strength and conditioning coach, many asked why? Hear Coach Riley’s answer and find out why he is among the most respected coaches in his industry.Read the complete article >>> March 2003

It Takes Two (Backs) at GMC
Junior college football at Georgia Military College has been synonymous for years with great defensive football. In addition to setting an all-time NJCAA mark for total defense at 67.6 yards per game in 2001, our defensive unit has finished in the top five nationally four out of the last five years. Our defensive unit has also developed a number of All-Americans, including the defensive player of the year i

Throwback
Attention all coaches: Think conditions are tough where you are? Try taking a group of talented, but often-immature, teenagers and transforming them into not only Division-I football players, but also into NCAA-caliber students. Oh by the way, you have only two years to do it. Seems like an impossible mission – for the average coach. Luckily for 24 Georgia Military Bulldogs, who, in the last three years, hav

Using The Inside Screen as a Weapon
It is an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of what I feel is the best football publication in the world. I have had the chance to read American Football Monthly religiously in my collegiate coaching career. I will be a first-year offensive coordinator at Marietta College. I came from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where I began coaching tight ends as a graduate assistant and eventually became an offensive line coach. I have

Letter From the Publisher
We approach publishing American Football Monthly magazine much like you approach developing a successful football program. Like you strive to get better each game, we work hard and diligently to produce a magazine better than the last. Just as you recruit the best coaching staff and players, we search our industry to improve our publishing staff to build arguably the best coaching magazine in the world. As

In Your Face and Aggressive!
In order to be successful against today’s high-powered offenses, and all the skilled personnel they can throw at you, defensive backs must possess incredible physical talent and mental tools. They must be able to run with the fastest, jump with the highest and hit with the hardest. In addition, they must have very selective memories, be without conscience and have no guilt or remorse. Their abilities and

Full Circle
Coaching didn’t appear to be in the cards for Sam Wyche when he took his bonus money from playing in Super Bowl VII with the Washington Redskins and invested in a sporting goods business. Legendary NFL coach and owner Paul Brown had already told Wyche, a career backup quarterback, that he would be a coach someday, but Wyche’s original investment took off and soon grew to 13 retail and wholesale stores in North and South Carolina.

The Last Rep
Although playing both ways is very rare in college and professional football, coaches are often forced by need to utilize two-way athletes to increase their team’s odds of success. American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top college position coaches in the nation that have experience in working with two-way athletes. How do you prepare a two-way a

The Punt: The Most Important Play in Football?
I would like to first say thank you to American Football Monthly for allowing me the opportunity to write this article for my peers. Additionally, I thank our head coach Don Hill for giving me the chance to control such a big part of the team’s success. It has been a great experience to be part of such a big turnaround. Under his guidance, we were able to take a team with a 23-year losing streak and go

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship season to their f

Nice Guys Finish First
Former Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher was often quoted as saying that “Nice guys finish last.” But perhaps in the case of Garden City Community College (Kan.) head football coach Bob Larson, that isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, trying to find someone with something negative to say about Coach Larson is like trying to find a proponent of the Bowl Championship Series at a mid-major. The fans love him, the ath


Cover Story Throwback Georgia Military College’s Bert Williams uses bulldog tenacity to take a bite out of the JUCO elite. By David Purdum October 2003

Solid to the Core
Core strength, the new frontier ... what is core strength? Where is the core? Some people refer to core strength as abdominal strength, while others refer to it as the strength of the back. I think it is a little more than that. I refer to the core in its entirety as the area of the body from the middle of the sternum to just above the knees. Think of it as the bridge between the strengths of the lowe

Balance: Walking the Fine Line Between Career & Family ...
I think the mentality of some football coaches today is this: To be successful, you have to eat, sleep, and coach football 24-7. Both players and coaches alike spend a major portion of their lives training, preparing for, playing in, and reviewing football games during the football season. Success in football for some coaches is a priority, which can lead to an unbalanced life. One purpose of mine is

Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime
Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. ... This is not just a slogan for the University of Southern Mississippi, located in the piney woods of Hattiesburg, Miss., it is a way of life that has defined the character and grit of Southern Miss football for all of its 86-year existence. Schools like Southern Miss have embodied the pure essence of competition that envelops college football and al

LSU\'s Offensive Line Drills
First of all I would like to say it is an honor to be able to represent head coach Nick Saban and the LSU football staff in American Football Monthly. As coaches we know the game is always changing, but some things never change. You must know fundamentals, you must be able to block and tackle. There are many ways to skin a cat but these are some of the basic fundamentals that we “hang our hat”

Getting an Edge on the Blitz
This past season at Emporia State University we finished with a 9-3 record ending our season with an overtime win in the Mineral Water Bowl. Our defense is based out of the 4-2-5 set. Our defensive philosophy with the eight-man front is to stop the run while having an aggressive blitz package. One of our most efficient blitz packages this past season has been our edge blitz game.

Dominate 4th Down
Starting a program from scratch in 2000 brought enormous challenges for the coaching staff at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. One key foundational element that allowed us to challenge the best teams on our schedule in such a short period of time was the commitment to be productive offensively on fourth down. Field position gained by effective punting has become a trademark of ETBU fo

Letter From the Editor
Wouldn’t it be great if a foolproof plan existed to guarantee success? You know, one that we could study to ensure success at everything we attempted. After all, that way I could be assured of a Pulitzer Prize and you, the coach, could be guaranteed national championships and Schutt Sports Coach of the Year awards presented by this magazine. Sounds nice, huh? T

The Right Way
Unlike the NFL, where free agency allows a team to upgrade its roster yearly, rebuilding a struggling college team can be a long, grueling process, usually filled with defeat and frustration. However, a successful resurrection can be one of the most gratifying, fullilling and respected accomplishments of a coach’s career. Before Bill Snyder took over at Kansas

The Last Rep
Practice scheduling is becoming more important with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top coaches from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning two-a-days and pre-season preparation. How do you get yourself and your players prepared for two-a-days? “More than anything, I

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their first

The Home Team
8 Tips In an effort to keep football coaches on good terms with their significant others, AFM has compiled these eight tips to help you maintain balance between career and family: 1) Pick Up the Phone - That’s right, call. Your wife understands the demands of your job, but at least pick


Cover Story Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime... Three coaches, Three schools, One Philosophy... A look inside college football\'s most underrated football programs...By Aaron S. Lee July 2003

Pressure Points
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Virtual Recruiting: High Tech Leverages High Touch
The world is changing at lightning speed and athletic programs that don’t change with it will be left to scavenge through the leftover talent and limp into tomorrow. For the purpose of this article, change equals the Internet and the best of the Internet is laden with “rich media.” More on rich media later. If your football program isn’t exploiting this new recruiting tool, chances are you will be l

Against The Grain
It only happened once. And it never happened again. Maybe that’s because Southern Miss video director Chris Hooley is too busy doing her job to let her status as the first woman in her position in Division I-A college football become an issue. There was a time when an NFL scout came to visit her video office for film on some potential NFL prospects. He made a rather unnecessary comment about her not belonging in a man’s game and then slipped in a couple of other snide remark

Tech Talk: Technology\'s Most Common Terms
VHS - A comman tape format. Linear/Non-linear - These two terms are used in the video industry. The word linear is described as events that follow each other. When you are working with the VHS or any tape or film format you are working in a linear fashion. Conversely, when you are working on you computer organizing video clips in a preferred order you are working in a nonlinear fashion.

Focus the man behind the camera
Nearly nine years after the fact, Brad Helton can finally admit it. When he became Marshall’s video coordinator in 1995, Helton re-wired his entire office area. “That way the coaches couldn’t even come in here and make a tape,” Helton says, laughing. “At the time, I didn’t know how many programs even had video coordinators or how many people were doing it or what they were doing it with, so I did it for job security. I figured

Technology Game Plan
The arrival of spring means that spring football has begun at many college campuses across the country. Springtime also provides coaches the opportunity to visit other coaching staffs and observe their practice routines. In Texas, high school coaches especially like to take this opportunity to visit with area college staffs. Its during these times that visiting high school coaches ask me to offer my thoughts on

Simplicity
At Westminster College, we like to keep things simple and sound in all of our protection schemes. This enables us to make adjustments on a weekly basis without too many contradictions to our base rules. As we all know when you introduce specific schemes the rules change with regards to personnel and game plans. By keeping simple and vague we are able to adjust rules as the season progresses. We feel, and our play

Film School
I started in 1992 as graduate assistant in the football video department at the University of Illinois. Prior to that I had no idea what went in to preparing for a football game. In 1996, I became the video coordinator here at the University of Oregon where I have spent the last seven seasons. Aside from trying to explain to my friends what I actually do, and convince my Mom and Dad that I ca

Letter From the Editor
Well, it’s no secret that football is ever changing and not just with personnel, uniform colors, helmet design and Xs and Os. In fact, the most noticeable changes often occur off the field, hidden from the millions of fans that pack the stadiums each weekend. Football has indeed changed for the many coaches who teach the game, a game that is now seemingly dominated by laptops, keyboards and hard drives. Once again,

The Last Rep
Technology is becoming more intricate with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top video coordinators and recruiting coordinators from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning their industry. What is the hottest new technology in your industry? �

Outline for Technology Game-planning
With the growth of technology in football and the ever-increasing demands on coaches’ time game planning and scheduling has become even more important providing the foundation for a successful football program. This is an outline of the weekly schedule we use at Fordham University for offensive game planning. The outline also highlights the manner technology makes our film study either more efficient or allows us to study

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their fi


Cover Story Focus - The man behind the camera. Take a close look at what video coordinator Brad Helton is doing for Marshall’s football team both on and off the field . By Richard Scott Cover Photo by Jim Robinette Cov

Releasing is the Key
Through the course of coaching receivers at four different colleges, one thing has stood by itself as being the task that has frustrated both players at that position and some coaches on those staffs. Invariably, the release (a clean release without sacrificing vertical speed) is what we are all striving for on pass plays. But that has become a bigger issue to deal with as offenses have attempted to

Schutt Sports 2002 Regional High School Coaches of the Year
Southwest Regional J.T. Curtis John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) 2002: 14-1, Class 4A state champs Record at school: 393-43-6, 27 years Career record: 393-43-6 J.T. Curtis began his head coaching responsibilities at John Curtis

The Staff Report
Career: 8 Guidlines for the High School Assistant Coach So you dream of becoming the head coach someday? Well, there are a few things you need to know and do that will help you earn that dream job you’ve been looking for. Anyone who wants to be a successful assistant coach and eventually a successful head coach must have certain qualities that set them

Everybody\'s All-American
Coker\'s 24-Game Winning Streak 2001 (12-0) Miami 33, Penn State 7 Miami 61, Rutgers 0 Miami 43, Pittsburgh 21 Miami 38, Troy State 7

Making The 46 Package Work For You
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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

Schutt Sports College Coaches of the Year
DIVISION I-AA WINNER Dave Clawson Fordham Dave Clawson did not rest on his laurels after guiding his squad to a 7-4 record and being named Co-Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2001. No, Clawson joins former Holy Cross mentor Mark Duffner (1986-87) a

One Day at a Time
Bob Ladouceur has always had a good feel for football, a good sense of spacing. “I think I’ve always been able to see the whole field pretty well,” he said. This, in part, explains why the unpretentious, self-effacing De La Salle High of Concord, Calif., coach has never worn headsets or never been one to scream or holler. He’s

Letter From the Editor
Another football season has come and gone and as usual, many new faces have come to the forefront and many older faces have remained steadfast and stoic. The turbulent world of coaching tests a mans soul and strengthens his resolve ... yet by season’s end the truly great have stepped to the plate and performed. Each year American Football Monthly proudly presents the Schutt Sp

The Streak: 138 & counting ...
1992 (13-0) De La Salle 34, Merced 14 De La Salle 54, Riordan-San Francisco 0 De La Salle 41, Fairfield 20 De La Salle 48, Ygnacio Valley 0 De La Salle 44, Pittsburg 7 De La Salle 64, Berkeley 6 De La Salle 43, El Cerrito 0 De La Salle 59, Clayton Valley 6 De La Salle 49, Antioch 14 De La Salle 62, Pinole Valley 12

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their first job t

Schutt Sports I-A Coach of the Year Runners-up
Jim Tressel Ohio State Jim Tressel, who went 7-5 last season as head coach of the Buckeyes, led Ohio State (14-0) to a national championship in just his second season in Columbus with a 31-24 overtime win over defending national champion, the Miami Hurricanes. This was Tressel�


Cover Story Schutt Sports 2002 Division I-A Coach of the Year: Larry Coker - Miami\'s Larry Coker entered the 2003 Fiesta Bowl with a 24-0 record as head coach, a national championship ring on one finger and an opportunity to win one for another finger. Rockne, Warner, Wilkinson, Bryant, Robinson... none of them did that in their first two years as a head coach.

Solid Ground
If you liked this article, here are three others just like it:

unCommon Ground
At this moment, it’s probably rainy in Juneau, Alaska, sunny and hot in Key West, Fla., hot and humid in El Paso, Texas, and dry and windy in Howells, Neb. In The Bronx, it’s doing whatever New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner says it’s doing. OK, just kidding. But we’re not kidding about this: in these five culturally, socially and economically diverse areas, some

A T.V. Star too
J.T. Curtis seemingly had done it all by 1991, winning championship after championship in the 80s.Yet, he believed high school athletes weren’t receiving the recognition they deserved. “These (kids) are really the foundation people for what are community is going to be,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of the kids that play high school athletics are not going on to play in college. They need that positive reinforcement. The publicity that says, ‘you’re doin

Choosing the Right Football for your Program
Sponsored by Rawlings Great coaches everywhere have one thing in common. A thirst for knowledge, particularly

Why Five is Better Than Four
Sponsored by Rawlings Death. Taxes. Four-panel footballs. In life and footba

High School Booster Clubs
Behind every successfully funded athletic program, there is usually an active and thriving booster club helping to pave the way. Without a properly running support branch, athletic departments and alumni would be forced to constantly operate and support under a dark cloud of uncertainty, debt and cutbacks. “Booster clubs are an essential part of not only the fundraising process, but also the community process

Gold Rush
In 1969, a 22-year-old college student, nine credit hours shy of graduating, accepted an offer to become the head football coach at John Curtis Christian High School – the school his father, John Curtis Sr., had founded eight years earlier in River Ridge, La. It was a dream come true for the young coach, and he eagerly arrived that summer to meet with players and organize a weight program. The summer wound down, and on the first day of pract

The History of the Wing-T
It is an honor to have the opportunity to write this article and especially since the article deals with a topic as dear to my heart as the wing-t. In my 33 years of coaching I have seen many different cycles of football but the wing-t has remained a fixture since the time before I played and throughout my time as a player and a coach. I am sure that it will continue to be a very popular system long

A Cyclone of a Secondary
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Elevation
Jenks or jinx, nothing could stop Bill Blankenship’s Tulsa Union team from running the table in 2002 for the school’s elusive first state championship in 11 seasons under his leadership. A 52-3 thrashing of Broken Arrow stifled any chuckles about Blankenship and his veteran staff not being able to win the big one and validates what has been one of high school football’s better-kept secrets outside of the Sooner State.

Undersized? No Problem
If you liked this article, here are three others just like it:

Letter From the Editor
You know, I have been fortunate to meet some of the best people that the football industry has to offer, establish some longlasting relationships and have the opportunity to hear some pretty fantastic stories along the way. One of my new favorite stories, which – depending on who asks me and when – changes daily, was a story told to me by Tommy Condell, the offensive coordinator at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Maximizing Player Performance
Presented by Gatorade Sports Science Institute It has been more than a year since the death of Korey Stringer,

The Shoe Review
2003 Shoe Review Pricing: $ - Below $80 $$ - Above $80

Getting Footballs Game Ready
It doesn’t matter whether you purchase a dozen footballs at a time or 244 like Auburn equipment manager Frank Cox has each of the last five seasons. Once they are delivered, these footballs have to be made game ready. While you could simply throw the footballs out of the shipper’s box and into your players’ hands, there are a few guidelines you may wish to follow. While routines vary from program to program and even season to

The Last Rep
Practice scheduling is becoming more important with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top head coaches from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning their industry. How important is practice scheduling? “Practice is the most important time that you have. T

Putting Your Best Feet Forward
Sponsored by Eastbay Finding the right shoe for the right foot can be a daunting task for anyone, much less a h

Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Over the last 13 years, I have had the opportunity to train over 40 NFL players. Some of the players I have trained are: Brian Urlacher, NFL Rookie of the Year and three-time Pro Bowl player, Garrison Hearst, Pro Bowler and NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Keith Brooking, Champ Bailey and recent top draft picks, Dewayne Robertson, fourth pick in the 2003 NFL draft; Terrance Newman, fifth pick in this

Simple Formations Take Advantage of Complex Defenses
J.T. Curtis’ offense isn’t complicated. Rarely will the Patriots line up in anything but the basic pro set. And you know what is coming – the veer option. Yet, for 28 years, teams have had trouble stopping it. Since 1975 – the first year Curtis utilized the split-back veer – the Patriots have reached the championship game 22 times, winning 18 titles. Since 1977, they have lost only two district games. The Patriots made 10 consecutive appearances in t

The Way It Used To Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their fi


Cover Story Gold Rush: J.T. Curtis In his 33 years as head coach, J.T. Curtis has brought John Curtis Christian High School’s trophy case a national record 18 gold footballs. And counting... By David Purdum A TV Star too

How to Lose a Game
Every coach has that call he’d like to have back. It might be that defensive set on that goal-line stand that gave up the go-ahead score on third-and-goal from the five. Or that time he passed three times from inside his own 10 leading with less than two minutes left in game. If he’s lucky, maybe it’s one or two a season. Tulsa Union coach Bill Blankenship knows his share about losing, even though he hasn’t done that much of i

Counter Attack
The past two seasons we have experienced tremendous success as a team and as an offense at Northwestern College. In 2001, we were one of only seven undefeated football teams in the country. Statistically, our best running play for each of the past five seasons has been the counter play. In 2000 and 2001 we averaged 6.9 and 7.1 yards a carry respectively using the counter. When we included all of the plays that ca

Quarterback High
Without a doubt, during their short 13-year existence, Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La., has left a permanent mark on the landscape of high school football. With seven state titles over the past 13 years and one national championship, the Eagles have etched their dominance in the Louisiana record books from 1A-5A and everywhere in between. But perhaps the only thing that st

Urban Development
The record book said Bowling Green was in trouble when Urban Meyer went to interview for the university’s head coaching position in December 2000. The record book said the Falcons hadn’t had a winning season since 1994. The record book said the university had replaced coach Gary Blackney in mid-season that year after nine years on the job and two conference championships. Meyer loo

Five Steps to Maximize Player Potential
Five Steps to Maximize Player Potential Spotlight Five Steps to Maximize Player Potential Football players of the 21st century may look like they did way back in the 1900s – you know, three years ago – but let’s face it, times have changed. In order to fully maximize bot

The Adventures of John L. Smith
He is a man who believes in the basic lessons of life – strength, discipline, love and respect – but don’t think for a second that Louisville head coach John L. Smith is willing to go through life being satisfied with the routine and mundane. “The teams in the power conferences (the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, Pac-10)

Hawaii: One State, One Class
Hawaii high school football is not without its warts. The biggest is its lack of classifications. Because the state’s best teams are among the nation’s best, no classification leads to lots of lopsided scores. Two years ago, St. Louis beat Damien 84-0, and Damien president Greg O’Donnell said the Monarchs would forfeit rather than play th

The Big Play
There is not a head coach in the country that won’t expound on the importance of having good special teams play. We all know how to say the right thing, but unless a head coach is truly committed to special teams, your players will look at the “teams,” as we call them at Michigan, as just a break between offense and defense. But most importantly, special teams must be important to the head coach.

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

Preps in Paradise
Duffy Daugherty had his own little Polynesian Pipeline back in the day, ages before people began to abuse the phrase, “back in the day.” He knew all about the high school football talent waiting to be discovered in Hawaii during the 1960s. That is why he brought Charlie Wedemeyer, Bob Apisa and Dick Kenney all the way to East Lansing from Oahu.

Letter to the Editor
You see, long before cable television, microwave ovens and electric-powered automobiles ... people lived simpler lives filled with even simpler conveniences. One of those simpler conveniences was the icebox. Similar to the modern refrigerators that most of us are familiar with, iceboxes were not electric refrigeration units, but standard metal boxes that used blocks of frozen water to

Breaking the Mold
Imagine a day when young men still stood at attention when young ladies entered the room or when a teacher could put their arms around a kid in need or when coaches led more by example than strong words. Imagine a day when kids would say “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am.” Or when kids lost they graciously accepted defeat and proudly shook their opponents hand. Imagine a day when students a

Maintaining the Vision
Legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi once muttered, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” And even though that particular ideology throws political correctness completely out the window, it does, however, remind those who play the games that victory is – without a doubt – the desired end result. The game of football is a primary example of the win-at-all-cost

Words of Wisdom
Whether you like him or not, one thing is abundantly clear – you will never, ever forget Steve Spurrier. The former University of Florida head coach has never been known for his bashfulness or his unwillingness to let it all hang out – both on the field and on the podium. Spurrier, a 1966 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback at Florida, was and always will be a proponent of ex

West Coast Offense: East Coast Style
Seven years ago, Ithaca College made a philosophical change to our program by incorporating the West Coast Offense. Rule changes, the excitement of the passing game and the ability to effectively match up against more talented defenses were all factors for this decision. We needed to develop a system of plays rather than a series of plays based on our background in option football. Therefore,

Maximize Player Performance:
Basic strength training is the cornerstone of any football program. After all, stronger muscles produce more force, thus increasing the athlete’s ability to produce greater speed and power, that typically means a higher level of on-field performance. Well-conditioned athletes are also less susceptible to 4 Tips to maintain speed and agility while buildi

The Staff Report
Within the game of Football the difference in many athletes performance stems from flexibility of the hips. Whether your need is to engage a man on the line of scrimmage or to come in and out of your cuts faster, your results will depend on this. An interior lineman will be able to drive through the more forcefully and the skill position athlete will be able break down faster and more efficiently. Throughout

Running with the Bulls...
EDITOR\'S NOTE: On Dec. 12, 2002, Jim Leavitt signed a new five-year contract with a total base salary worth $2.4 million. The salary escalates from $407,173 in 2003 to $596,143 in 2007, the final year of the contract. Leavitt had been under contract through 2005. In addition to base salary, the new contract includes a $25,000 annual annuity and television/radio money that escalates from $40,000 to $50,000 over the course of the five years.

Reconditioning
Days, weeks, and especially months of incessant contact, unrelenting abuse and inevitable overuse can take its toll on football players. The same can be said for those players’ equipment. The off-season can be a time for both players and coaches alike to rejuvenate and recharge from an arduous season – successful, disastrous, or simply somewhere in between. But who

Disciplined Destruction
We have been fortunate to have many really good defenses at Furman over the past 20 years and that system has evolved from what use to be the 50 Defense to what we now call our Stack Defense. This is not the only defense that we run but it is our primary system and what we start teaching with. Like most schools it is our primary objective to stop the run first and then the pass. We do have some consistent

Straight Through the Uprights
History As field goal percentages at the pro level have risen in the last 10 years, kickers’approach angles have become narrower and the steps back shorter. Soccer-style kicking took the sport by storm in the 1960s because it utilized torque to create added power. But it wasn’t until kickers began to “manage” their torque properly that soccer-style kickers’ field goal percentages

The Science of Recruiting Letters - Part II
Whether you like it or not, recruiting is a necessity. It is the only means to rebuild fallen programs and reload successful ones. More often than not, recruiting has become an endless saga filled with repetitive approaches that have changed little in the past four decades. Recruiting is something that everyone does, but does everyone do it well? In last month’s issue, the staff of American

Letter From the Editor
You know, my experience as a sports writer has been a pretty good one. I have been places and met people that I will forever remember with a tender heart and a warm smile. East Texas is no exception. And although I did not realize it while I was there, my time as the sports editor at the Marshall News Messenger in Marshall, Texas, created some of my fondest memories. I r

The Way It Used to Be
If there is one constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident than in the profession of coaching college football. American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college football. From their firs


Cover Story Running with the Bulls - With a base salary of $140,000, South Florida’s Jim Leavitt may in fact be the best bargain in college football, but one thing is for certain - he is no longer a secret. Read the complete article >>>

Running From The Shotgun Formation
When coaches think of running the football, they generally get in two tight ends and two backs, and MASH. The personnel on the field allows you take care of blocking most defenses and when you finish drawing your play everyone, at least in theory, can be blocked. You also believe you have a bigger, as strong, or stronger blocker then the defense. Many great coaches use that theory today.

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

Technology Crossroads
Bobby April had reached a crossroads in his career and his life. When the New Orleans Saints fired Mike Ditka’s staff after the 1999 season, April – the special teams coach – found himself without a job. April also found himself with a year left on his contract, and decisions to make. “I had a daughter who was going to be a senior in high school, and I wasn’t going to

2001 Coordinators of the Year
DEFENSE - BUD FOSTER, Virginia Tech OFFENSE - MIKE BORICH, BYU After more than two decades as one of college football’s most prolific passing and scoring teams under former coach LaVell Edwards, Brigham Young fans thought they had seen it all. Then Gary Crowton an

Roll Call at the Ball
In order to have a great defense, you must have great pursuit and gang tackling. In order to have great pursuit, you must emphasize running to the football throughout the entire practice. This includes the time spent in our individual and team periods. You must grade the effort of your players everyday. We’ve had outstanding defenses the past few seasons. In 2000, we finished first i

Use Video Technology to Enhance On-Field Performance
Once a high school wide receiver myself, I remember the way our football coach would stress the importance of two things – execution and fundamentals. During the season, both play crucial roles in any team’s on-field performance. The off-season, however, is the best time to develop them. Free from the day-to-day headaches of game planning, the off-season

High School News & Notes
With fall drills just a few months away, AFM begins its preview of the 2002 high school season. Here is our first look at some teams across the nation that figure to be contenders for national rankings during the upcoming season. 10 Teams to Watch (Please note: This list is not at all final nor comprehensive and the teams are listed in alphabetical order.) De La Salle (Concord, C

Letter From the Editor
It’s time for American Football Monthly’s annual look at new technologies in the game of football. We began this annual series in May 2000 because when it comes to technology, coaching is similar to many other jobs. Innovators and entrepreneurs are looking at ways to develop technology to make your job easier and to make you more efficient. For all that technology can do, it can’t add to the number o

A Legend Says Farewell
“Nothing lasts forever, and so it is with me.” With those simple words, coaching legend Harold R. “Tubby” Raymond announced his retirement after 36 years as head coach at the University of Delaware. While with the Blue Hens, the 75-year-old Raymond became only the ninth college coach to win 300 games and only the fourth to win them all at the same school. In an era when pressu


May 2002 Cover Story Information Age Bobby April of the St. Louis Rams uses technology to gain a coaching and career edge. Technology Crossroads - St. Louis Rams special teams coach Bobby April is one of a growing

Georgia Military College’s Devastating 3-5 Defense
Following the 2000 season, our staff met to discuss what we needed to do to give our team a chance to play for something special in 2001. We had just finished the season 7-3 with the #2 ranked defense in the NJCAA, but we knew we had the talent returning to do better in 2001. One of the things we decided to do was to revamp our defense and change to a 3-5 scheme. While some may question the sanity of rebuilding

Back to School
Chan Gailey File: 1974-75 University of Florida - graduate assistant 1976-78 Troy State University - defensive backs coach 1979-80 Air Force Academy - defensive assistant 1981-82 Air Force Academy - defensive coordinator 1983-84 Troy State University - head coach 1985 Denver Br

No Excuses, No Apologies, Just Football
The Morriss File 1988-89 New England Patriots - Offensive Line 1991 Mansfield, Tex., HS - Offensive Coordinator 1992 Washington (PSFL) - Head Coach 1992-93 Valdosta State - Offensive Line 1994 Arizona Cardinals - Offensive Line 1995 San Antonio (CFL) - Offensive Line

ROAD TRIP
During his formative years as a high school coach, Barry Alvarez religiously studied the game while absorbing knowledge from a variety of sources. One spring, he decided to prove he was willing to go the extra mile (or miles in this case) to learn everything he could about the X’s and O’s of football. So he piled into his car with one of his coaching buddies (a former college teammate at Nebraska) and they

Who Is Jock Sutherland?
Full games would go by and not a single pass would be thrown at the University of Pittsburgh. That is, when Jock Sutherland was the head coach. That is the brand of football he sold. As a well-known critic of the passing game, he instituted a single wing offense that perfectly matched his personality. His teams won their battles in a cloud of dust, pounding opponents into the ground with the runnin

ATTACKING THE PERIMETER WITH THE QUICK GAME
Why use the quick game? A big reason for this is our staff has always believed in the philosophy to take what the defense gives you. I know this is probably an overused cliché, but it is one that both our staff and quarterbacks believe in 100%. ADVANTAGES OF THE QUICK GAME • Protection - Don’t have to hold them out long. • Safe - High percentage completions, closer to th

Self Scout
Football is a forever-changing game. Almost everybody has access to film editing systems and computer scouting systems. We all are trying to get an edge. Where does that edge come from? Everybody scouts their opponent. We know as offensive coaches, what their favorite blitzes are and when they come. My question is, do we know enough about ourselves? I believe good teams have tendencies. I think if you are

A Rare Breed
For a head coach of a professional or college team the bottom line is always the same – it’s all about winning. But it’s the road traveled that makes the man. A coach needs to put a game plan together, teach his players how to perform and find a way to inspire them. It is the motivational aspect of the job that often gives a coach his opportunity to show his individuality.

Letter From the Editor
Granted, I am not a coach – never have been, never will be. To make matters worse, I don’t even play one on TV. But then again, I don’t have to be a coach to fully understand what American Football Monthly brings to the coaching profession. Coaches have often been a misunderstood sort – always receiving a bit too much credit when things go well and way too much when

The “B” Word
Five sure signs that you’re coaching football at a basketball school: 1. The booster groups insist on inviting the basketball coach to your summer kickoff functions. 2. The basketball coach’s line for autographs outnumbers your line 10 to 1. 3. The basketball staff has a nice spacious office set-up up high in coliseum. You and your staff are stuck in the basement.

Words From a Legend: Lou Holtz
Granted, University of South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz has never looked much like a stereotypical football coach, but then again he has never acted like one either. The 65-year-old coaching icon, who coached the NFL’s New York Jets in 1976, has enjoyed a successful career which includes stints as the head coach of William and Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas and

Media Guides
Universities across the country are paying close attention to the content in their media guides. Schools are forced to do so in order to insure themselves of not facing a controversial situation that could jeopardize their reputation. In response to specific cases involving false information and slandering comments of opponents in recent media guides, some schools have altered the manner in which they comp

Special Delivery
At Missouri Western we try to make special teams special. Many coaches have made the statement that special teams are one-third of the game, but actually as far as time spent on the field, they are less than that, but in impact they are more. Special team plays have a major effect on the results of the game. Blocking a punt for a touchdown or returning a kick for “six” more often than not results

NFL Coach of the Year Runners-up
BUTCH DAVIS When the Cleveland Browns hired Butch Davis as the second head coach in the three-year history of the new Browns franchise, Davis was told to beef up the defense and the running game and field a team that resembled the aggressive, hard-nosed kind of football Browns fans have been accustomed to back in the old days. More important, he was instructed to take the core of a

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

The Swedish Airforce
When head coach Dr. Ted Kessinger arrived at Bethany College 26 years ago, he brought an offensive philosophy in which the pass will set up the run. During this time period the Swedes have relied on the passing game to move the football. The offensive philosophy at Bethany College is based on the following ideas: 1. Always attack - we must have the attack

In The Line of Fire
A good pass rush is at the core of good pass coverage. A defensive scheme must choose between maximum rush or maximum coverage. When the Front 4 can pressure the QB on their own, this will allow the defense to commit 7 players down the field to be in position to intercept the ball. This will then allow the linebacker blitzes to become more effective as an element of surprise rather then the norm.

The Nature of a Quiet Man
Dick Jauron is by nature a quiet man. Not given to yelling, screaming or grand statements. But as head coach of the Chicago Bears, he was able to get his team to achieve grand accomplishments in 2001. Try worst to first in the NFC Central Division. Try the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, earning a bye and a ticket to a home game in the divisional playoffs. That ticket was torn u

High School News & Notes
Alabama 6A: Daphne 48, Hoover 21; 5A: Benjamin Russell 20, Homewood 13; 4A: UMS-Wright 28, Cleburne County 12; 3A: Hokes Bluff 23, Tarrant 0; 2A: Gordo 14, Leroy 7; 1A: Reeltown 46, Notasulga 6; AISA Champions: 3A: Monroe Academy; 2A: Marengo Academy; 1A: Clarke Prep Alaska Large Schools: Dimond 28, Colony 21; Small Schools: Nikiski 35, S

Words of Wisdom
Think of Hank Stram and you can’t help but recall NFL films classic-footage of Super Bowl IV. A championship coach was wired for sound for the first time, and there was Stram, cackling and bragging to his “boys” that the “coach pumped it in there” after the Chiefs scored an important touchdown en route to their upset of the Minnesota Vikings, the AFL’s second Super Bowl victory. It’s har

New Equipment
LOK-CUP SHOULDER PAD Austin Athletic Mfg. Co. 800-813-7706 www.austinathletic.com The Lok-Cup™ shoulder pad is back by popular demand. Austin Athletic Mfg. Co. presents a new and improved line of our popular Lok-Cup™ shoulder


April 2002 Latest Cover Story NFL Coach of the Year Getting to know the Real Bill Belichick 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.

Snake Bitten
Our defensive philosophy is to have 11 hats with speed to the ball. We accomplish this by doing a pursuit drill every day, and by coaching effort on every play. We also watch film after every practice to evaluate fundamentals, techniques, proper execution of the defensive scheme and, most importantly, effort. We believe that with great effort from all 11 players, we have a chance to win. We feel that playing with great effor

Bush Administration Supports Title IX - Sort Of
The Justice Department has asked a district court in Washington, D.C., to dismiss a lawsuit from the National Wrestling Coaches Association that challenges the way in which Title IX was implemented with respect to equal participation. While the legal case does not directly involve football or its coaches, the outcome could. Title IX mandates schools provide sports participation

Path To Victory
While there is no such thing as an easy head coaching job in football, some present as more challenging than others. In 1993, one of the more challenging jobs available was to be the next head coach of the Colorado State University Rams. The facilities were among the worst in the Western Athletic Conference (now the Mountain West Conference), with no signs of improvement

A Step In the Right Direction
It’s the important question every coach asks when he steps onto an unfamiliar field or playing surface: What kind of cleats should the players wear? It’s a great question. The right footwear decision can have a significant impact on player endurance, mobility, speed and agility. Being able to maintain performance at the highest level in those four areas could be the difference betw

Practice With a Purpose
It is an honor to represent head coach Nick Saban and the LSU football staff in American Football Monthly. As coaches, we constantly stress to our players the importance of knowing what to do, but do not always explain when and how a scheme applies itself in a game situation. Here at LSU, we stress to our players knowing what to do, how to do it and when it applies. Our in-season practice schedule helps ou

Class of 2002
They are a pair of the most significant shoes in all of the college football coaching world. When you step in at Florida for Steve Spurrier, there is no hope of warming or going through a learning experience. Make no mistake about it. The heat will be on from Game One for Ron Zook. The Gators were one of the most consistent and powerful teams in the country under Spurrier. When Spurrie

Letter From the Publisher
As the 2002 football season is about to start, the attention given to coaches is only going to increase – especially new coaches. In some cases the double-whammy for new coaches is not only the “win now” mentality, but to reach the level of expectations set by their predecessors. Fans, alumni, media, administration, parents and just about every person in a coffee shop will be clo

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

Third & Short
University of Colorado co-defensive coordinator Tom McMahon has died of cancer at the age of 53. McMahon was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in the spring of 2000 and given a 10 percent chance to survive. He continued to fight, likening it to the fight against an opposing offense. He also continued at Colorado for as long as he could. He joined Gary Barnett’s staff prior to t

Embrace the Past
For new coaches attempting to fill huge shoes, history suggests it is smart to embrace the legend and make the most of it instead of trying to cut ties with the former coach and his assistants. When Gary Crowton took over at BYU for LaVell Edwards following the 2000 season, he reminded Cougar fans, “I’m not LaVell Edwards. I tried my imitation on the sidelines, and I’m not him. But I’ve learned fro


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

Freshmen can work with strength coaches
The NCAA has changed its rules to give incoming freshmen players more access to the strength and conditioning coach. The move comes on the heels of a pair of training-related deaths prior to the 2001 season. The new rule is thought of as a no-brainer by most coaches because of the disadvantages freshmen can sometimes face going against upperclassmen who have been working out all summer

Bell Tolls for Mississippi State
Southeastern Conference visiting teams tired of hearing the cowbells ringing at Mississippi State’s Scott Field can thank the SEC presidents if the bells are silent this fall. Conference presidents voted 11-1 to penalize the home team if fans use artificial noisemakers during games. Under the rule, the home school would be given a warning the first time, then penalized five

Simple, Yet Sophiscated
In order to effectively overcome the myriad of problems presented by modern defenses, a complete passing game must possess both diversity and learnability. These two factors result in a highly sensitive balancing act for offensive coaches. The passing game must be able to attack a defensive structure on all levels, yet be learnable enough to yield a high degree of efficiency; the pass offense installed at

Third & Short
BCA to create minority hiring report card for universities The executive director of the Black Coaches Association, Floyd Keith said in late October that his organization and others intend to create a Hiring Report Card by August 2003 to grade and track the progress of minority football coaches, while giving players something to use when making their decision on which schools to attend.

Fighting Sioux, Through and Through
Under a dark, late-afternoon December sky in Florence, Alabama, the University of North Dakota faced the possibility of letting a national football championship slip through its hands. The Fighting Sioux trailed Grand Valley State of Michigan 14-10 with less than three minutes to play. The mist that had blanketed Braly Municipal Stadium for much of the game had turned into a drizzle,

Past, Present, Future
“I don’t have all the answers. As soon as I retire, then I’ll have all the answers. I’ll stay up in the stands with the rest of the fans who have all the answers, and I can answer it all then. Right now, I still have to go do it. It’s never easy to go out and get it done.” - John Gagliardi SO HOW MUCH LONGER IS JOHN GAGLIARDI GOING TO keep coaching? It’s a ques

Gary Gaines Trades Lights for Sunny Saturday Afternoons
GARY GAINES WILL BE THE FIRST ONE TO TELL YOU that nothing comes easy – especially in coaching. In fact, the Abilene Christian University head football coach wouldn’t have it any other way. Gaines, who led teams to nine playoff appearances in 17 years as a high school coach, gained national attention as the head coach of

Getting Hooked On Marshall\'s Passing Game
Coach Bob Pruett has a .862 winning percentage in his six years as the head football coach at Marshall University. Of all the head coaches in Division I football, Coach Pruett has the best winning record percentage in the NCAA for the first four years. Check it out! I firmly believe that what has led to his success is his philosophy towards running a football program. Coach Pruett keeps his philosophy

Linebacker Key Drills
The objective of this drill is to get as many reps as possible with all the linebackers. This drill lets a coach focus on flow and pulls by the offense. With small linebacker groups, you can still get quality work. First, have the offensive line hold bags to lower the impact, however, the offensive line must still bend down into a good stance. Then place the

Dale Lennon\'s 3 Keys to Success...
You don’t just win the Division II national championship without a plan. And University of North Dakota head coach Dale Lennon had one of his very own. The Fighting Sioux alumnus and former assistant coach returned to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and within three short years guided the Big Green to the national title. Recently American Football Monthly had the opportunity

Letter to the Editor
Football has always enjoyed a special relationship with the South, especially the University of Alabama. No team in the country – other than Notre Dame – has ever duplicated the Crimson Tide’s gridiron success. In fact, even the heralded Fighting Irish barely edges Alabama in the national title race with 13 trophies compared to Bama’s 12. Former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi

The Science Of Recruiting Letters Part 1
What if you could have an in-home visit with any football recruit in the nation at any time during the NCAA’s mandated recruiting period? What if your in-home visit could take advantage of every possible opportunity to share your program’s tradition, goals and intentions with a potential game-breaking superstar that could help make the difference between a 5-6 also-ran and a 6-5 bowl run?

Words of Wisdom
Just the mention of Alabama football conjures images of hound’s-tooth hats and championship trophies; images of football past, present and future; images of great players led by even greater men. Paul “Bear” Bryant immediately comes to mind when referring to the University of Alabama. But without question, former Crimson Tide head coach Gene Stallings is a close second.

NCAA retools off-season football workout plans
Although the NCAA has had policies in effect for more than 30 years regarding the safety of players from heat-related illnesses, the Association has doubled their efforts to create an off-season conditioning program for football to make student-athlete safety the primary goal. With several heat-related deaths during the summer of 2001 in both the collegiate and professional rank

Equipment Room
Defensive Reaction Machine From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com B.C. Cruncher Two-Man Sled Defensive Reaction Sled (DFR) \"Over 70 Years of What Works...\" Quality Reconditioning 1-800-544-5564 www.continentalathletic.c

Troubleshooting in Man Coverage techniques.
There is one intangible in today’s aggressive multiple front multiple blitz defenses. No matter how well your front seven and safeties are stopping the run, the one factor in truly shutting down an offense is good man coverage. To coach good man coverage, a coach must understand what the receiver is trying to accomplish versus different man-coverage techniques, and then coach his players to play the

Rocky Mountain High
Dave Logan sits comfortably in his hotel room at Kansas City’s posh Crown Center talking football with me while stealing looks at the Oakland Raiders-San Diego Chargers game on the TV. As we talk, his cell phone rings. It’s his teenage daughter, Cassidy, back home in Colorado checking in for the evening. Near the end of the interview, the room phone rings. This time it’s Logan’s broadcast partner,

Turf
Artificial turf has undergone a major makeover. Instead of a hard, abrasive surface that players feared and fans despised, the newer version of artificial turf provides a softer, more cushioned playing field that wears well and can stand up under heavy usage. That’s the key to today’s artificial grass-like surfaces. For universities, colleges and high schools with

High School Coaches of the Year
SOUTHEAST Cecil Flowe Parkview High School (Lilburn, Ga.) 2001: 15-0, Class AAAAA champs, Record at school: 103-18, 9 years If Cecil Flowe were not guiding a high school football team to victory after victory, he’d probably make a good CEO. Attention to detail, hard work, planning - all qualities Flowe possesses, but the 45-year-old Parkview High Sc

High School Notes
Not even a trip to powerhouse Long Beach Poly could end De La Salle’s national-record winning streak and run to an unprecedented fourth national title. When the top-ranked “Spartan Express” – engineered by coach Bob Ladouceur – chugged south down the Pacific coast to meet No. 3 Poly at Long Beach’s Veterans Stadium on Oct. 6, there were many who believed that De La Salle would be derailed

Words of Wisdom.
The address for the Georgia Tech football office is 150 Bobby Dodd Way NW. The mere fact that a school would honor a coach with a street name speaks volumes of the accumulated respect and reverence the institution has for the coach. But, naming a street on campus after Coach Dodd hardly begins to tell the story of the adoration this distinguished gentleman of southern football

Attacking Modern Day Defenses with the Pass and Run.
Two things defenses agree on these days are making the offenses one-dimensional by stopping the run and forcing the quarterback to execute under tremendous pressure. They play mostly man coverage (at least on the corners) and place more defenders near the line of scrimmage than the offense has blockers to block for the run. Placing their defenders near the line of scrimmage puts them in

Division I-A Coach of the Year Runners-up.
GARY BARNETT COLORADO Back in late July, Colorado Coach Gary Barnett visited Dallas for the Big 12’s annual preseason media event when he decided to take some of his players on a trip to Texas Stadium, home of the 2001 Big 12 championship game. Then he told his players that the season would be a disappointment if they did not return to Texas Stadium at the end of the

New Equipment
Recruiting Software From CyberSports 1-315-732-4333 members.home.net/cybersports CyberPalm allows you to take all your recruits information on the road with you, and sync any changes you made on the road when you return to the office. Now all the coaches can have access to any new information you have gathered on your recent recruiting trips. With a few clicks of the mouse, selected prospec

Division I-A Coach of the Year Ralph Friedgen
The Big Man knew. The Big Man had a plan. Sure, he had plenty of Xs and Os spinning around in that bald head of his, but he also had hopes, dreams, goals and plans. Big plans. Plans to build a program. Plans to transform a program. Plans to tear down all the old bad habits and all the losing ways and re-teach the right habits, instill a winning confidence from the ground up. Pl

Press Box or Sideline?
Let’s face it: whether you’re coaching in the NFL or the local youth league, the sideline can be a dangerous neighborhood. No one is safe as aggressive athletes, wearing suits of armor and running full speed, hurtle toward their destinations with violent intent. Usually they knock the spit out of each other, but every once in a while, they end up plowing into the innocent crowd on the sideline, scatter

Division I-AA, II, III, NAIA and Junior College Coaches of the Year.
DIVISION I-AA WINNER JACK C0SGROVE MAINE It’s never fun to lose in the quarterfinals of a tournament, but for a Maine football program that experienced its most memorable season ever, just reaching the NCAA Division I-A quarterfinals gave the Bears cause to celebrate and look forward to bigger, better things in the future. In

Smashing Pass Coverage
The smash concept has become very common in today’s more wide-open brand of football. Its popularity is based upon the fact it is both versatile and effective. It flexible enough to be tailored to any offensive attack and can be easily woven into the fabric of the overall scheme. We have had substantial success with the smash concept at Truman State. In the 25 games heading into the 2001 season, we threw 76 passes using the sma


Cover StoryCoach of the Year Ralph Friedgen February 2002 Division I-A Coach of the Year Ralph Friedgen When the University of Maryland went looking for a football coach, they wanted someone who cared about UM, its past, present and futu

A Guide to Empowering and Educating Your Athletes About Supplement Use
Let’s face it, supplements are here to stay. The lure of Bigger, Stronger, and Faster is irresistible, and all the glossy ads and quick fixes draw athletes like magnets. A Blue Cross and Blue Shield survey of teens using performance enhancers estimates that at least 1 million adolescents have tried these products. A survey conducted by the NCAA estimates that approximately 60% of college athletes have or

Why Split?
Meeting with an informal group of offensive line coaches at the national coaches convention this year, the question was asked about our wide splits in the bowl game. After some conversation with the group, it was clear that many of them had not watched us play prior to the Alamo Bowl. The truth of the matter is our offensive line has always used wide splits in some form.

Power G
First and foremost, our offensive philosophy at New Mexico State is to be a physical football team. We believe in running the ball with a mix of power and option, along with a play-action oriented passing game. Our intent is to make a defense defend the entire field, keeping them off balance, while we control the clock, and, most importantly, score points. An important component of our power package is the Power-G. We f

Poetic Justice
My job as defensive line coach is to help my players attain our team goals, our defensive goals, and their individual goals. One of the ways I do this is by preparing them during the week for situations they may encounter during the game. On Saturdays, I do not want them thinking; I want them reacting. For this reason, I am very careful with respect to what I expose them to during the week. I try to keep i

Football Strength
It’s no longer just about lifting weights, Washington State develops flexibility, speed, skill development and conditioning to get the most out of their players. By Steve Silverman The role of the strength coach has changed dramatically over the years. A couple of decades ago, the concept of the strength coach was a relatively

Jake Gaither
For 25 years, Alonzo \"Jake\" Gaither was Florida A&M football. The juggernaut he developed in Tallahassee was every bit the equal of the powerhouse that Eddie Robinson built at Grambling. Coach Gaither, who called every player \"Baby\", won an astonishing 85% of his games (203-36-4), and more importantly made men out of the young boys who showed up at FAMU. Current Florida A&M athletic director Ken Riley,

Strong, Fast, Agile
The job of the strength coach is not a complicated one. It is to build stronger players and to do it with efficiency and organization. If you help develop stronger players, your program has a better chance of playing winning football. And it\'s not just about building stronger players – it\'s about developing faster and quicker players. Give strong, fast and ag

Using Video Technology to Enhance Performance
It’s the middle of the off-season. And like normal you find yourself searching for techniques and tools that can help your athletes become better, more fundamentally sound football players. As a coach, you know there are certain attributes that make athletes successful on the field of competition. Diehard performance in the weightroom, for example. Crafting bigger and stronger athletes enhances perfo


March 2002 Latest Cover Story Behind Oklahoma's Strength Jerry Schmidt - Before coming to OU, Schmidt worked as a strength coach at Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Florida. It seems everywhere he goes athletes get stronger and faster. As the Director of S

The 80\'s Series
One of the most effective run option, pass series used at Delaware State University is our 80’s series to the tightend. This series can be run from a one or two back set. It may be used against any front and is very effective against blitzing defenses. In red zone and short yardage situations, the 80’s series has proved to be an effective scoring weapon. Our blocking schemes for the 80’s series are p

To Macho and Back with Stephen F. Austin
To start with I would like to thank American Football Monthly for providing coaches with valuable articles and ideas from some of the top coaches in the game. I am honored to submit this article and I hope it will live up to the standard of previous publications. The subject of this article “To Macho and Back with S.F.A.” is a brief overview of how we call, adjust and stem out of our Double Eagle or �

Who’s Hot?
DAN HAWKINS, HC, BOISE STATE After serving as Dirk Koetter\'s assistant head coach, special teams and tight ends coach and overseeing Boise State’s highly successful community service and public involvement program, Hawkins moved up to the head coach’s job when Koetter took over at Arizona State following the 2000 season. During his time as an assistant at Boise State, t

Red Hot
RANDY SANDERS Most first-time college football coordinators get their new jobs in the offseason, with plenty of time to prepare for spring practice, more time to teach in the spring and then even more time to work toward the coming season. If they’re really fortunate, they’ll open the season against East Bugtussle State Teachers College

Are Football Coaches Overpaid?
Washington Redskins Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier is probably the highest paid football coach in the world today. Coach Spurrier is reportedly contracted to earn $25,000,000.00 over a five year term, a deal valued at $5 million dollars annually. Despite that he may also be one of the best coaches, he has little need to worry about 3% inflation. After all, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne was highly compensated too at

Triple Option Means Triple Threat
The Rice University Triple Option traces its roots to West Texas High school football. Emory Bellard invented wishbone triple option football in the summer of 1968. Coach Bellard always liked option football and the advantages three back formations gave an offense. He started toying with the concept while coaching at Ingleside and Breckenridge High Schools. Coach Bellard felt to be successful on offens

Coast to Coast
We\'ve identified some of the coaches who made a move following the 2001 season 1. West Georgia named Mike Ledford as interim head coach. 2. Mark Matlak was named head coach at Allegheny, where he replaced Blair Hrovat. 3. Colorado named Vince Okruch as defensive coordinator; he was co-defensive coordinator with the late Tom McMaho

Stagnant Change
It’s not about interviews. It’s not about getting close. It’s not about making a good impression. It’s all about getting the job. For minority coaches, it’s time that progress is measured by the actual number of head-coaching slots that get filled. In the past, African-American coaching candidates had a hard time getting interviewed for head-coachi

Top 25
1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) The coach: Bob Ladouceur (261-14-1, 23 years) 2001: CIF-NCS Class 4A champion, 12-0 For the record: Not only have the Spartans won a national record 125 games, they’ve also scored in a nation’s best 269 straight contests and were National Prep Poll titelists in 1994, ‘98, 2000 and ‘01. 2002 resume:

Letter From the Guest Editor
Hot Coaches
Hot or not, it’s how you play the game. Or, in the vernacular of coaching, it is how you coach the game. The obvious definition of ‘hot’ is a coach that is being looked at and considered for a major coaching position, or at least is on a short list. In other words, it means that as a coach you have bloomed where you were planted, and someone inside or outside the profession has determin


2002 Hot Coaches RED HOT Tennessee’s Offensive Coordinator, Randy Sanders and Kansas State’s Defensive Coordinator, Bob Elliott are two assistant coaches that have studied and performed under some of the best head coaches in the game. Following the 2002 season, many athletic directors will be calling to enlist th

A Big New Play from Pasadena
I selected the Statue play to write about because prep coaches and college coaches alike constantly ask me about it. It is simple to install and it’s a lot of fun. Statue is a glorified lead draw. It is a deception causing defenders to react to a pass. It is a mis-direction as the ball carrier runs off tackle away from the pass action. There is a signific

Maximize Your Booster Club
Fundraising. Lots of wins. New equipment. Playing time. Coaches and booster clubs have lots of things on their respective agendas and rely on each other to make them happen. For one side or the other, some aspects of the experience may be a bit distasteful. For some coaches, fundraising is a chore that distracts from team preparation. For some boosters, you can never win enough games.

Big-Time Boosters
Maximize Your Booster Club - Tips to excite your boosters about fundraising, helping your program succeed. Innovative Fundraising Ideas - Here are some fundraising ideas your booster club can consider to raise anywhere from a little to a lot of

Innovative Fundraising Ideas
Here are some fundraising ideas your booster club can consider to raise anywhere from a little to a lot of money to support the football program: 1. A Golf Tournament The best part about a golf tournament is it gives people in the community who support your team a chance to do it while doing something else many people enjoy: playing competitive golf. You can cha

Paths to Success
On first glance, the high school football programs at Artesia (N.M.) High School and Carol City (Fla.) Senior High School look considerably different. Artesia head coach Cooper Henderson’s club works out in state of the art, modern facilities built with the help of bond issues passed by its citizens, while Carol City coach Walt Frazier’s main source of support is the fans and paren

High School Coaches You Should Know
You don’t see them on the headsets on TV each week. With the exception of an occasional piece in American Football Monthly, you seldom read about them in the national press. Unlike their NFL and college football brethren, people in their hometowns usually call them by their first names. They are high school football coaches, and they form the very backbone of the sport. They are the

Room for the Punt Returner
The goal of the vice technique is to flatten the forcer’s release and keep him from getting vertically down the field. Also, to make him stop his feet and force him to take as much time as possible to get down the field toward the returner. The player to the side of the release is involved in the “stun” phase and technique. The “stun” to the forcer

Personal Decision
The questions hang around the high school stadium whenever a veteran coach with some championships and a reputation for excellence stalks the sidelines. If this guy is so good, why didn’t he get a coaching job at the college or professional level? Why is he still coaching high school football? Frank Lenti has heard those questions before. As one of the na

Letter From the Editor
“Everyone loves a winner.” Every coach knows the value and impact of winning football games. Depending on your level of coaching, it means some combination of more job security, more job opportunities more money, better recruits and more community support. For most coaches, at least the ones I’ve had the good fortune to speak with, the term “football philosophies” is a slight

Player Hand-offs
Recruiting is an interestingly complex part of football that isn’t getting any easier on coaches at either the high school or college levels. It was never easy for college coaches to recruit players, traveling the country relying on tips and grainy videos and news accounts to try and form a college football roster. While the Internet has made it easier to find out information about

A Coach of Life
Texas high school coaching legend Gordon Wood wasn’t interested in talking about the 396 wins, the most by a football coach at any level in history. “No one with a good record thinks about it,” Wood says when asked about a career that spanned 43 years and resulted in nine state championships in Texas. Wood began his coaching career at Rule High School in 1940, working his way thr


June 2002 Cover Story Paths to Success - First rate facilities a plus, but people ultimately determine program success. An inside look at successful high school programs in Artesia, N.M., and Carol City, Fla., shows that coaches, communities and players are the bes

The Universal Route That Is Good Versus Any Coverage
In today\'s World of multiple defenses, getting the right play called at the proper time is becoming harder and harder. The answer to this problem has come down to a couple of potential solutions. One is the audible, which everybody uses. The problem with this is that a defense can audible when you audible, or they can simply change their defensive coverage on the snap of the ball. The other answer is to call universal routes that can adapt to any coverage with a few basic and simple reads.

What Football Taught Me that the Classroom Rarely Did
From the day I was born, football has been important in my life. My father, Joe, has coached more than forty years in Texas and my brother, Chad, has been in the profession for a decade. Most of my formative years were spent at the field house. I helped my father cut the grass on the fields and lay the boundary lines. By the time I was ten, I roamed the sidelines helping him chart plays. Thinking back, I cannot believe that there was a better childhood. Because my father was a coach and a fo

Follow The Leader
When the University of Texas whipped out the wishbone in the 1960s, it didn\'t take long for college football programs all over the South to follow the trend and come up with their own version of the triple-option. When Florida coach Steve Spurrier brought a wide-open passing attack to the run-oriented SEC in the early 90s, it didn\'t take long for the rest of the conference to pick up on the trend and discover the joys of passing.When Nebraska and Kansas State starting using press-man def

Attacking the Line of Scrimmage
Philosophy: At the University of Arkansas our attitude is to attack, disrupt and create a new line of scrimmage. Our terminology is to attack, bend and spill the ball outside. We want to create one on one match-ups for our front. Our LB\'s are fast flow, thus creating stress on an offensive lineman to execute two-on-one-combo blockers. We expect to turn those two on one combo\'s into one on one match-ups. Our linemen are playmakers are not space eaters. The only exception would be tru

Letter From the Publisher
In the space of less than two hours on September 11, 2001, the heinous acts of a group of misguided followers, persons too weak to think for themselves and choosing to accept the dogma of men filled with hate and enmity for our way of life, changed the perception of a nation and the uniforms of our heroes. Football and its many symbols have become and will remain a very important part of the fabric of the American life, but they in no way are the stitches that hold that fabric together. It

Climbing to the Summit
He\'s coached at the high school level, at the small college level, and the major college level for the past 24 seasons. Along the way, he\'s been an assistant head coach, an offensive coordinator, a running backs coach and a receivers\' coach. Someday, Woody McCorvey would like to be a head coach on the college level.That\'s why McCorvey is a position coach at the University of Tennessee. He knows being a coordinator or an assistant head coach might be the most obvious path to a head coachin

On the Circuit
At the University of North Dakota, we have one major goal for our defense to attain each season. That goal is to lead the North Central Conference in fewest points allowed. This is not an easy task in one of the most balanced and powerful Division II conferences in the country. Yet we have reached our goal of allowing the fewest points in our league in six of the last nine seasons. During six of the last seven seasons, we have also been first or second in our conference in total defense. While w

High School Notes
1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) , Coach: Bob LadouceurOctober schedule includes a date with No. 3 LB Poly as the Spartans look to extend the streak. 2. Jenks (Okla.) , Coach: Allen TrimbleThe Trojans have a nasty defense led by DE Bryan Pickryl, DB Jason Carter and transfer LB Lawrence Pinson. 3. Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) , Coach: Raul LaraCan the Jackrabbits, with their speed and talent, defeat De La Salle? We\'ll see on Oct. 6. 4. Lincoln (Tall

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

Words of Wisdom
In 1972, BYU was 172-232-23 (.431), with only one conference title and no bowl appearances in 47 seasons. That same year, the Cougars hired Utah native, LaVell Edwards as head coach and in the next 29 seasons saw one of the greatest turn-arounds in college football history. From 1972 to 2000, LaVell Edwards guided the Cougars to 20 conference titles, 22 bowl appearances, 13 top-25 finishes (including four top-ten seasons), a Heisman Trophy winner (Ty Detmer, 1990), over 20 Academic All-Amer

2000 College Coordinators of the Year
Every season we highlight the men behind the scenes, the coordinators who direct some of the finest units in the country. By recognizing the annual coordinators of the year, we shed the glare of the spotlight on the offensive gurus, who design schemes that leave their opponents confounded and devastated, and the defensive scientists, who discover the cure for the newest forms of offensive schemes that drive some coaches to the insurance business. In the year 2000, our winners included two rep

Best of the Best ...
What makes an outstanding coaching staff? Experience? Expertise? Knowledge? Communication? Teaching ability? Team building? Is it all of the above, plus the ability to recruit in the college ranks, and the ability to scout in the pro ranks? It depends on how you measure success. Is it national championships, something the Oklahoma, Florida State and Tennessee staffs can all claim over the past three college seasons? Is it Super Bowl victories, something Baltimore and St. Louis own from the

Blood Brother
When Rutgers University Athletic Director Robert Mulcahy began his search for a new head football coach last November, die-hard Scarlet Knight fans and a large contingent of New Jersey high school coaches wanted one thing ... they wanted a \"Jersey Guy.\" They wanted what another favorite son, Bruce Springsteen, refers to in song. What they wanted was one of their \"Blood Brothers.\" They wanted a guy who spent his July weekends down on the Jersey shore cruising the boardwalk, and his Novem

Running Out of the Spread
Northwestern has certainly had a long football history - but it has not usually been very glorious.The Wildcats first started to line up and play football back in 1882 and since that time they have put together a record of 412-563-43. A lot of head shaking and fist-banging has been done by their fans over the years.The team had endured 23 straight losing seasons heading into 1995 when a bit of magic dust was sprinkled over Evanston. The Wildcats suddenly got good and got nasty. They went f

News & Notes
Veteran NFL assistant coach and New England quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein died during training camp. The 45-year-old Rehbein died of heart failure at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The Patriots said Rehbein, who had heart disease, checked himself into the hospital complaining of discomfort. Rehbein joined the Patriots in February 2000. Rehbein, who had an internal pacemaker because of cardiomyopathy, suffered an apparent heart attack and extensive resuscitation efforts failed.

Efficiency in the Scoring Zone
From the time we watched our first game, we all understood the fundamental role of the offense in the game of football. The purpose of the offense is not to control the clock, nor is it to create field position or give the defense a rest. Although these are all important by-products of an effective offense, they are not the primary focus. The role of the offense is to score points, period. It is with that basic premise in mind that we communicate and develop our philosophy for the area between t


Cover Story Greg Schiano October 2001 Blood Brother - Perennially bad and lacking for direction, Rutgers turned its fo

Prehabilitation
There are many goals that the weight room and conditioning fields wish to obtain in order to increase the strength, stamina and speed of a football team. One of the most important facets, however, lies in their ability to prevent injury. By properly utilizing available resources, it is possible to recognize and steer away from potential injuries that could eventually take away from the team\'s caliber. This type of preventive measure is known in the field as prehabilitation. It is important to b

Equipment Room
Defensive Reaction Machine From Rae Crowther Co. 1-800-841-5050 www.raecrowther.com B.C. Cruncher Two-Man Sled Defensive Reaction Sled (DFR) \"Over 70 Years of What Works...\" www.elitestrength.com From Elite Strength Training www.elitestrength.com Elite Strength brings you a total strength training site from experienced sports conditioning specialists. This site was put together to give coac

How to Avoid the Dangers of Lightning
Lightning storms are among our environment\'s most spectacular displays. How many times have you caught yourself drawn to the window - or even outside - to watch Mother Nature\'s fireworks? Opportunities are plentiful. According to the National Lightning Detection Network, 27 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occurred in 1997. But disregarding the dangers of lightning is perilous. When those hazards are overlooked during a sporting event or other outdoor activity, t

Attacking Quarters Coverage Through 6 Stress Points
Cover 4 (4 man rush, 3 under, 4 deep zone) is a pass defense popular on all levels. In this article, we will provide the basic overview of the steps involved in attacking cover 4 with the pass by looking at six stress points inherent in a cover 4 scheme. 1. Corners are not guaranteed post help 2. \"Banjo\" call when 1 and #2 are close 3. Trips formation dilemma 4. Unfavorable match-ups (WRs vs. LBs.) 5. Gray area outbreaks by #2 receiver 6. Create confusion ov

H20
Working out means working up a sweat. In fact, many people believe the more you sweat, the better the workout. But losing all that fluid is just your body\'s way of cooling itself. You have to give back what\'s lost in a workout. If you don\'t, you are putting yourself at risk of dehydration that could end with serious consequences. The National Athletic Trainers\' Association has a Position Statement explaining the role of proper hydration in athletic performances. Take the time to r

Red Raider Run Stunts
Defensive football today is characterized by a wide variety of philosophies and styles. Some teams are committed to a front that penetrates, while others hit and read along the line of scrimmage. A team may have multiple fronts and personnel packages designed to both maximize its personnel as well as to offer differing looks to an offense. But no matter what your preferences and beliefs are, almost all defenses utilize line movements to help both attack the run and pressure the passer.

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

The Truth About Turf
Your quarterback is on the run. Coming from his left is a 275-pound defensive end charging with a full head of speed. Coming straight at him is a blitzing middle linebacker. You watch from the sidelines and know the inevitable is about to happen. It\'s just a matter of who is going to get to your quarterback - the end or the linebacker. The linebacker wins the race. He explodes past a would-be blocker and wraps up the quarterback with a nasty hit punctuated by his head bouncing off th

Longevity
Frank Broyles, who has been with the Razor-backs for 44 years, is now in his 28th year as athletic director, and the accolades continue to pour in. Recent awards include the Bobby Jones Award by the Atlanta Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the John L. Toner Award, given annually by the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame to the athletics director who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics a

The Protector
When Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Damien Robinson is asked how important athletic trainers are to his game, he whips out his cell phone.\"He is the No. 1 number,\" Robinson says of Bucs head trainer Todd Toriscelli. Once thought of as those guys who toted water or taped ankles, athletic trainers are now as important to winning football programs as quarterbacks with cannons for arms or receivers who can sprint downfield undetected to catch those powerful blasts.\"I think the i

High School Notes
An Eye to 2002 In the past few issues, we\'ve brought you a look at the top Class of 2002 prospects from the \"big three\" states - California, Florida and Texas. This month we turn our attention to the rest of the nation. Here is a state-by-state look at the top prospects in the U.S., according to the Prep Recruiting Network. Alaska: Ski Davis, WR, 6-1, 180, 4.6 West Anchorage - Coach Bob Garman Ala.: Kyle Tatum, OT, 6-7, 270, 4.8 Prattville - C

Words of Wisdom
With innovations such as the pocket pass, loose-leaf playbooks, year-round coaching staffs, classroom teaching and tests, advanced scouting, grading player performance from film review, and sending in plays from the sideline, some say Paul Brown was the greatest coach who ever lived. Add to that coaching legendary high school teams at Massilon, Ohio, a national championships at Ohio State, all four AAFC champions, and three NFL championships, it\'s hard to get much argument to that claim. Brown

NFL Europe 2001
Kurt Warner. Scott Mitchell. Brad Johnson. Jon Kitna. George Coghill. Bill Schroeder. Michael Sinclair. La\'roi Glover. Marcus Robinson. Damon Huard. Darren Bennett. Chan Gailey. Mike Riley. What more could you possibly ask of a developmental league? Since 1991, the NFL has been the only American sports league to create, fund, and operate a separate league anywhere in the world. The league was founded primarily to develop American football in Europe, but more importantly for those of

Everyone on the Same Page
In the absence of a certified athletic trainer, the head coach or coaches have many responsibilities as it relates to an injured athlete. During the course of a game, as one can imagine, all coaches are very involved with focusing on the next play, making the right substitutions, calling or signaling the right signs and searching for a way to win the game. One of the most difficult responsibilities for a coach is when an athlete is injured and his or her attention has to be refocused on ensuring

Little on Size Big on Protection
Mouthpieces are one of the required and fundamental pieces of equipment of football. Yet, many coaches do not realize that there are more options than just \"boil and bite\". Despite this requirement, a study of Arizona High School coaches states that 53% of coaches polled believes that not all of their players wore mouthguards. This same study shows that 33% of these same coaches believe they have the greatest influence over compliance of their athletes. Yet, many coaches do not realize that th

Emergency Situations: What\'s the Coach\'s Role?
Football is a collision sport and by its very nature invites injury. Participation in football requires all out exertion. There are numerous situations involving oftentimes high speed contact with other bodies or with the ground. While coaches focus on strategy and victory, they also must be aware of injury risks and know their role when a situation does transpire. Fortunately most injuries do not result in emergency situations, however, when emergencies do occur, prompt care is essential. With

News & Notes
Trojan and Buccaneer legend McKay Passes Away John McKay, the legendary coach of USC and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, known as much for his memorable sense of humor as he was for his tremendous success as a coach, passed away on June 10 from complications associated with his diabetes. McKay, who won four national titles at USC and was later the coach of the expansion Tampa Bucs, was 77. \"John McKay never bit his tongue,\" said former Bucs quarterback and current Grambl


Cover Story Sports Medicine July 2001 The Protector... - As head athletic trainer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Todd Toriscelli

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
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Buried Treasure
It\'s so easy to be wrong about what you see on the surface. So easy to dismiss the dirt on the surface and ignore the treasure below. Sometimes it takes a little more time and effort to dig for what really matters, for something precious, for the truth.When it comes to UAB head coach Watson Brown, it\'s easy to see the record and miss the point. It\'s easy to see his .378 winning percentage and draw knee-jerk conclusions. It\'s easy to see those 112 losses, compare them to 68 wins and

HOW TO REAP THE REWARDS OF PLAY DIAGRAMING SOFTWARE
No one needs to remind you that coaching is a time-consuming profession. Game planning. Practice planning. Scouting. Play diagraming. All of these things take valuable time.Perhaps you know a resourceful coach who always seems to find new ways to make more efficient use of his time. These coaches are usually the successful ones. Managing your time and your team are both necessities. So is preparing your team. One tool that can help you become more efficient and also help you prepare yo

NEVER A DOUBT
An upset? Don\'t call Oklahoma\'s national championship or its Orange Bowl victory over Florida State an upset. An upset is when a team that shouldn\'t win beats a team that should win, and that wasn\'t the case when the Sooners completed their undefeated season by beating the Seminoles 13-2. So what if Florida State was favored to win by nearly two touchdowns? So what if the Seminoles were playing for the national championship for the third time in four years? So what if the Sooners w

The Right Place at the Right Time
Pete Carroll has done the coaching tour. His life has been in football for more than three decades and he has done it all. From graduate assistant to NFL head coach with many stops in between. And now he begins the one job that hadn\'t appeared previously on his resume - college football head coach.Carroll has taken the reins at one of college football\'s traditional powerhouses - USC. The problem is the Trojans haven\'t been in national title contention for years. They haven\'t

Leading By Example
Just four short months after assuming the reigns of the University of Oklahoma athletic department, Sooner athletic director Joe Castiglione made a decision that would shake the OU football program out of its recent doldrums and head it toward a sudden and glorious future. He hired Bob Stoops as head football coach.Prior to his arrival in Norman, Castiglione - a former football walk-on at the University of Maryland - spent 18 years rebuilding the pride and solidifying the infrastructur

Letter from the Publisher
Having grown up in the heart of Dixie and the middle of the Bible belt in Alabama, I have heard more than my share of sermons about the unmitigated power of prayer. Now, it is important to know that I am firmly convinced that through prayer many miracles can happen. I need look no further than the faces of my children to understand that prayers are indeed answered each and every day. But, I have always tried to balance my belief in prayer with a strong sense of feeling that God will help

The Relentless Pursuit of Excellence
Each year coaching staffs spend countless hours and large amounts of money searching for new and innovative ways to improve their defensive performance. Descriptive phrases such as \"swarming defense\" and \"relentless pursuit\" depict the type of play coaches are seeking from their defensive units. While using innovative coaching aids, advanced computer technology, and attending professional clinics can help a coach in his pursuit of these levels of performance, perhaps the most effec

Level the Playing Field
When we came to Martin a year ago, we knew that we were nearly starting from scratch. We only had thirty-eight players on our team for our first spring practice. Knowing that our numbers were low and we were going to have to play a very tough I-AA schedule with many young players, we had to try and find a way to do something different that would level the playing field. Having seen the Academies become very successful with less talent than their opposition by playing option football, and

High School Notes
Heart attack claims life of Ohio State recruit Drushaun Humphrey, one of the nation\'s top prospects from the Class of 2002 and unofficially an early verbal commitment to Ohio State, died April 30 of an apparent heart attack during a pickup basketball game. Humphrey, a standout running back/linebacker at Rogers High School in Toledo, arrived at the Medical College of Ohio in full cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead. An autopsy was planned to determine an exact cau

Words of Wisdom
Rarely showing emotion over his three-decade reign as the first head coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Landry become known as one of the best innovators in the game of football. Landry helped implement the 4-3 defense, the multiple shift offense and is one of the first coaches to use a computer. Under Landryís direction, the Cowboys had 20 straight winning seasons and 19 playoff appearances. Landry lead his teams to the Super Bowl five times, winning two in 1972 and 1978. From 1960 t

Method to the Madness
This article is an analytical look at scheduling practices of some major college football programs. Some teams seek to insure victories. Other schools look for tough opponents for one of three reasons: 1) to prepare for the balance of the schedule; 2) enhance exposure for the program; or 3) increase revenues. While we are not advocating any one type of philosophy, we do understand that a program\'s success or lack thereof can be determined by the scheduling policies put in place. The r

Artificial Oasis
This isn\'t your father\'s artificial turf. It\'s a line that rolls off turf salesmen\'s lips nearly anytime they are asked to talk about their product. And it\'s a line that few associated with the fine art of field management dispute. Artificial turf has changed dramatically since it was first rolled out at the Houston Astrodome 36 years ago when dome officials, desperate to prove that the much-maligned facility was truly state-o

The Final Four
As coaches, we want to be prepared for every situation that may happen during a game. One of those situations is having 30 seconds left on the clock, one or no timeouts, and needing a field goal or touchdown to win or tie. How many times will this happen to you? It\'s only happened to me once - in the 1992 NAIA I national championship game between Gardner Webb University and Central State (Ohio). I was offensive coordinator for head coach Woody Fish at Gardner Webb. I wish I could t

News & Notes
Fiesta Bowl changing to an afternoon game and will host 2003 title game The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is switching to an afternoon kickoff on New Year\'s Day 2002 rather than the night schedule of recent years. Officials announced that the game will match the Pac-10 and Big 12 champions if those teams aren\'t playing in the Rose Bowl. If those teams aren\'t available for the Fiesta Bowl, its officials will turn to a pool of at-large teams that includes the champions of the Big Ten,


June 2001 Cover Story Buried Treasure... UAB's Watson Brown - Sometimes numbers can be deceiving, and in the case of Watson Brown, his career cannot be measured by wins and losses. Acclaimed by all who know him a

Equipment Room
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Class of 2001
When Ralph Friedgen met the press during hype week at Super Bowl XXIX in January of 1995, he faced an important question. \"Wouldn\'t you like to be a head coach some day?\" the media asked.At the time, Friedgen was the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers. His team was getting ready to battle the 49ers in a contest that would become one of the most devastating offensive performances in Super Bowl history. The Chargers would be on the wrong end of those offensive fireworks.Frie

NFL Hot College Coaches 2001
What does it take to get to the throne of an NFL franchise? It is not a secret formula. The men making the decisions on who will lead a NFL team are not by nature risk-takers. They want the safe choice, either a proven winner or a hot assistant on the rise.For the proven winners like Dick Vermeil or Marty Schottenheimer, their records are clear and unambiguous. Owners can look at what they have done and choose to seek their leadership for their floundering franchises. However, the choice

Special Delivery: Pete Rodriguez
Pete Rodriguez has a motto to match his moxie. Here it goes: No matter how nervous he might get sometimes as the special teams coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, the blood, sweat and tears of his work are the last thing you\'ll see on his sleeve, skin or collar.\"Don\'t ever let them see you sweat,\'\' Rodriguez said. \"I try to believe in that commercial. You need to have control, and however you handle it, reflects your own personality. Some guys are real vocal and holler and scream. I

Letter From the Publisher
Storm clouds gathered over the landscape of football. The first effects were felt in Tallahassee in February when freshman linebacker Devaughn Darling died after a strenuous off-season workout. Then, on July 25, incoming University of Florida freshman fullback Eraste Autin died six days after he collapsed following a voluntary workout. As if these tragedies were not enough to make everyone associated with the game of football look hard at the types of workout programs athletes are participating

High School News & Notes
(This list based upon an equal combination of high school achievement and recruiting potential.) WR Rhema McKnight 6-3, 195, 4.51 JFK (La Palma, Calif.) Extremely explosive and productive last season, with 2,341 all-purpose yards and five punt returns for touchdowns. Head coach is Mitch Olsen. WR Wali Lundy 6-1, 195, 4.5 Holy Cross (Riverside, N.J.) A true double-threat last season for the Lancers, surpassing 1,000 yards receiving and 700 yard

On A Mission
It\'s 8:30 on a humid Friday morning in June, and Ralph Friedgen looks frazzled, as if he\'s already worked his standard 18-hour day. Sweat sits on the face of the 54-year-old, who appears out of breath when arriving at his University of Maryland office.For the Terps new football coach, the morning has been about three hours old - and hectic at that. Friedgen chased down three of his freshmen to get them to their academic tutor on time and coordinated details for Maryland\'s ongoing high scho

Words of Wisdom
To the people of he state of Minnesota, Bud Grant is an icon. To many in the NFL during the 1970s and 80s, he was iconoclastic. His belief in treating his players like men, as opposed to dogs, was more than unique; it was rebellious. His shortened training camps and less than arduous emphasis on hitting made Grant a coach who might have been run out of the good ol\' boy club were it not for the fact he won at an amazing rate. What kind of coach was Grant? Just like Sergeant Joe Friday used to

Multiple Looks Create Havoc
We are often asked, \"Just what is your base front and coverage?\" When people who watch us play or opposing coaches ask, I know we are accomplishing our top priority of creating multiple looks. I believe our defensive system is one that is very simple to teach, and creates problems for opposing coaches (especially in preparation), plus it allows our players to be athletic, creative, and develop ownership. We have developed a teaching progression of both assignment and technique that

Capitol Will...
A year ago at this time, the Washington Redskins were the most hyped team in NFL history - Super Bowl expectations, $100 million payroll, marquee free agent signings. These days, the volume in Redskins land is at a monotone. One person took it upon himself to bring the franchise down to earth: Marty Schottenheimer.After a two-year stint as an ESPN analyst, the NFL\'s 12th all-time winningest coach is back on familiar turf. Since becoming the Redskins head coach and taking charge of the tea

Play Action for the Big Play
The past three seasons we have experienced much success at Jones Jr. College. In 1998, we were fortunate enough to finish the season 12-0 with a #1 ranking in one national poll. Our no-huddle, one-back offensive attack has averaged 29 points per game in the three seasons we have been together. In the spring of 1997, our staff decided to put in the one-back offense with the objective of spreading the defense. Our offensive philosophy is fairly simple. We want to determine where the defen

News & Notes
Tragedy strikes Florida as freshman FB, Autin diesEvery coach and parent\'s nightmare happened in Gainesville, when incoming Florida freshman Eraste Autin died of complications related to heat stroke, six days after collapsing and falling into a coma following a workout with teammates. Autin fell unconscious just outside Florida Field in late July while jogging back to the locker room after one of the football team\'s voluntary summer conditioning sessions. Although no autopsy wa

The Clemson Zone Combo Package
The Clemson Tigers offensive style of football was developed in accordance with and is a reflection of head coach Tommy Bowdenís personality. The offense was designed as an aggressive, up tempo, attacking style that continuously applies pressure to the defense. This attitude has produced one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the nation over the last four years. His teams have consistently averaged more than 190 yards, both rushing and passing, and have generated on average more than 440


Cover Story Pete Rodriguez September 2001 Special Delivery: Pete Rodriguez - Pundits always argue that special teams p

State of Emergence
A huge photograph of a college quarterback appears, mural-like, on the side of a building across from Madison Square Garden in New York City during the past summer, touting the senior\'s candidacy for the Hesiman Trophy. Two of his teammates will appear this season on promotional billboards in San Francisco and Los Angeles.You think: Notre Dame, maybe?At the rival school up the road, they\'re hyping the star running back for the Heisman Trophy. They pose him in a photo with a prominent alu

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Balance : Steve Spurrier
Nearly every coach would like Steve Spurrier\'s recruiting base in Florida and the talent on his roster. Almost any coach would covet Spurrier\'s financial resources and facilities. A majority of coaches would give their left ... pinkie toes ... to have Florida\'s fervent fan support and outstanding administrative backing.With all those advantages going for Spurrier and the University of Florida football program, winning ought to be easy, right? Now ask yourself this: would every coach pro

Letter From the Publisher
Little Things Define Big Men Year-after-year and season-after-season, scribes attempt to define why some coaches are constantly successful and why some men are mired in the muck of mediocrity. I am not certain I know each and every reason why the big-time winners get it done. But, I point to one thing I firmly believe all thriving coaches and, for that matter, all businessmen do: They take care of the little things. As I watch seasons unfold and see scores reported o

A Defensive Code of Divine Guidance
For any revolution to succeed, a core of basic guidelines must be established. Basic laws must be followed and strict rules enforced. No one teaches us these things... you learn them on the job. And so the time has come where I now feel the need to lay down these laws. When I am through, Social Order on the football field will be the glorious achievement. My defensive line strategy is

15 Key Tips for Effective Drop Back Passing
Over the years, I have found fifteen key tips, or points, in regard to the coaching of effective drop back passing fundamentals. Although they are treated individually, they are fundamentals that build upon one another in an effort to produce a smooth, coordinated execution of the drop back pass action. It is the interrelation of the execution of these drop back passing fundamental tips that helps to produce effective drop back passing. 1. Athletic Stance - A quarterback\'s stance, on

High School News & Notes
When Loveland (Colo.) High School opened the postseason in defense of its Class 4A state championship, it did so without the services of head coach John Poovey. That½s because Poovey was suspended for the remainder of the 2001 season after it was discovered that some Loveland players had applied non-stick cooking spray (Pam) to their jerseys during a 21-12 win over Greeley Central on Oct. 26. The us

Words of Wisdom
From 1964 to 1988, the name Dooley was synonymous with Georgia football. Despite flirtations with other schools, most notably his alma mater Auburn in the 70\'s, Dooley remained top Dawg for 25 seasons and led UGA to 201 victories. In 1980, with Herschel Walker running through, over and around the SEC, Georgia won the national championship by defeating Notre Dame 17 to 10 in the Sugar Bowl. During his career, he won 6 conference titles and numerous coach of the year awards. Along with his brothe

Spurrier Q&A
Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is a hands-on boss who coaches his own quarterback, coordinates his own offense and calls his own plays, and does it as well, if not better, than anyone in football. In many ways, his coaching style is an extension of his playing career, when he played quarterback for the University of Florida and three NFL teams during a 10-year pro career.During the week before a recent open date, Spurrier took the time to talk with American Football Monthly\'s Richard Scot

Jon & Jay: The Gruden Brothers
He has become one of the best coaches in the NFL. Jon Gruden may be small of stature, but his commanding presence on the sidelines has been one of the main reasons the Raiders have become one of the elite teams in professional football after a long stay in mediocrity. Gruden speaks volumes with every grimace and every gesture. But coaching for Gruden is more than just an emotional display. In the m

Putting Nine in the Box
We have been fortunate to achieve an extremely high level of success at Trinity over the past five to seven years. Obviously, there is no one single factor which has allowed us to develop into a consistent winner. Playing with strong special teams, and having an offense which scores 30+ points a game has definitely helped us gain an advantage over our opponents. From the defensive side of the ball,


Cover Story Balance: Steve Spurrier December 2001 Balance: Steve Spurrier -

The Big 10
Every year thousands of coaches try to take the next step up the ladder of success thatleads to the land of head coaching. Most of these men fully believe they have \"what it takes\" and all they need is a chance. Yet, many of these same men will tell me they feel totally disenfranchised and do not know how to \"get in the loop\" or make it to the next level. So many coaches seem to feel if they wor

Scout\'s Honor
WORKING IN THE NFL ISN\'T ALWAYS ABOUT THE GLORY. Despite working in the richest and most successful league in all of professional sports, there are still a great number of key employees who aren\'t household names. Yet without them, head coaches, star players and backups couldn\'t have the degree of preparation that is seen on a weekly basis. Scouts are generally in the game for the love of it. O

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Complete Coach
WHETHER YOU\'RE ENJOYING THE WARMTH OF southern California or you\'re in the snowbound regions of the Northeast, most football programs across the nation have one thing in common this time of year: all are in the throes of off-season conditioning.Since next month\'s issue of American Football Monthly will be dedicated entirely to strength and conditioning, we decided to kick off discussion of the weighty issue by offering some advice for selecting and maintaining equipment and addressi

Schutt Sports: Coaches of the Year
Coaches of the YearDIVISION I-AA COACH OF THE YEARDoug WilliamsGrambling StateRecord: 10-2SWAC championsBest season in six yearsReplacing a legend isn\'t easy. Just ask Doug Williams. But three years after the former NFL star returned to his alma mater to replace Eddie Robinson, Williams is starting to shake the shadow of the man who coached the Tigers for 56 years and prove he is more than capable of filling Robinson\'s oversized shoes. A

Letter from the Publisher
There is a perception among the general public about what makes a coach qualified and someone who is ready to be a head coach. The accepted logic is a coach who is a proven winner as a head coach or coordinator is an acceptable choice. Athletic directors understand, and buy into this perception. Unless and until this perception is changed, jobs will continue to be filled in the traditional manner.It is understandable that decision-makers use qualifications that allow them to minimize

The Mouse That Roared
He is talking football, as usual, as he veers his black 1991 Mercedes 300 SE into the parking lot of the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.There are other interests in his life, but nothing quite captures Mouse Davis\' fancy like throwing the football.\"Visiting with Mouse is like talking to Mr. Football, and it is not an artificial enthusiasm,\" says another man with a passing interest in the game, Dick Vermeil.Davis is discussing how to attack the latest defensive phenomeno

High School Coach of the Year
ON A WARM SUMMER DAY LAST JULY, CATHEDRAL Prep coach Mike Mischler and 13 of his senior football players loaded into his Jeep Cherokee and a rented passenger van to begin a journey through the nation\'s heartland. The two-vehicle caravan\'s four-day swing through the college towns of South Bend, Ind., Iowa City, Iowa, East Lansing, Mich., and Ann Arbor, Mich., was an informal meet-and-greet trip for Mischler and his players - a way for them to see some campuses, meet some coaches, and

Schutt Sports: Regional High School Coaches of the Year
SOUTHEASTNick ColemanVenice High School (Venice, Fla.)2000: 15-0, Class 5A state champs, Record at school: 21-5, 2 yearsVenice High School coach Nick Coleman is a little ahead of his time. At 31, he\'s already led a team to a state championship and a national ranking. Rarely has such a young head coach accomplished so much in the highly competitive world of Florida prep football. And when Coleman started his second full season as head coach of the Indians la

High School Notes
De La Salle snars No. 1 with 113th straight win The winning continues at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif. The Spartans, coached by Bob Ladouceur, finished the season with their ninth consecutive North Coast Section Class 4A title and 14th overall, posting a perfect 13-0 record. De La Salle has now won a national-record 113 straight games dating back to the 1992 season which explains why they were crowned national champions by the National Prep Poll for the third time. The

In Praise of the Power Trap
Troy State University\'s power trap play has become a very dependable one for us. It is a hard-nosed play that we can run strong or weak out of our two-back sets. We can run it against any front. We can run it against just about any blitz. We can run it out of the shotgun. We have actually checked to the play versus certain defenses. The basic principles of the play are simple and sound. We are \"gap\" blocking frontside and building a wall backside. There are slight variations that ar

Words of Wisdom
\"A winner never quits and a quitter never wins.\"\"Football is a game played with arms, legs and shoulders, but mostly from the neck up.\"\"Yards don\'t win games. It\'s scoring points that counts.\"\"Courage means to be afraid to do something and still going ahead and doing it.\"\"The world pities a loser but it loves a winner. Don\'t ever forget it - in any game you\'re in.\"\"It probably sounds farfetched now but I see the day coming when most college teams will be going by ai

Practicing What You Preach
Too many times, we as coaches are guilty of talking out of both sides of our mouths. We stand before our players in meetings or in front of our peers at coaching clinics and expound on our philosophies, values and beliefs about the keys to winning football games. Yet, when we go out to the practice field, our practice structure does not mirror these beliefs. Instead, we spent too little time on what we say are the important things and get caught in the trap of using our limited practic

Tightening the Tight End
Tight ends are deeply involved in the run game, the pass game, formations, and pass protection. We want our guys to be competent in all of these areas. A one-dimensional player is going to have a difficult time excelling on a full-time basis.Football has changed tremendously in various areas. However, through the years, some basic fundamentals remain constant. Players must learn to play with a base, play with a knee bend, have sound footwork, and play with leverage, both vertically and

The Old Dog Has Some New Tricks
He\'s 64 years old, he\'s been a head coach for 29 years, he\'s won 223 games, taken six different teams to a combined total of 22 bowls, and won a national championship at one of the nation\'s most prestigious programs.He\'s the first to admit he\'s stubborn, sometimes to a fault. He didn\'t have to change his coaching methods. He didn\'t have to change his offense or his defense or his staff management style. He didn\'t have to try anything new. He didn\'t even have to take this job

News & Notes
Schottenheimer heads back to the field Marty Schottenheimer is leaving the broadcast booth and returning to the football field, this time as head coach and director of football operations for the beleaguered Washington Redskins. At a press conference in early January, Schottenheimer said that while he loved the two years he spent as an NFL analyst for ESPN, he just couldn\'t pass up the opportunity to return to coaching. \"It\'s in my blood,\" the 11th winningest coach in NFL histor


Cover Story Lou Holtz February 2001 Division 1-A Coach of the Year Lou Holtz - It was enough that the Notre Dame coaching lege

Coach of the Year Runners-up
Bob StoopsUniversity of OklahomaRecord: 13-0Won National ChampionshipWhen Bob Stoops was hired at Oklahoma two years ago, school officials had high hopes. How high? How about No. 1 in the nation? In two years, the former defensive coordinator at the University of Florida took the powerhouse team out of the pits and turned it back into the premier team in the nation. This year\'s 12-0 regular season record not only earned the Sooners their first consecutive bowl

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

Built to Last
When Dimitri Jacques was courted by Florida Atlantic University, the 18-year-old senior at Miami Beach High School didn\'t know what to think. Since he was a kid he had always wanted to play for the University of Miami. But at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, he just wasn\'t big enough to play defensive end for the mighty \'Canes.On the surface, going to Florida Atlantic seemed like a risky move. Here, after all, was a school that had never even had a football team, much less a winning season.On the

Hot College Coaches 2001
In the year 2000, a plague swept across the land of college football. At 25 cities, in various corners of the country, the disease of fan impatience and athletic director intolerance dealt death blows to good men. ADs were forced to pull the plug on coaches who were left on life-support by too few wins or too many losses versus the wrong opponent. Unfortunately there is no cure for the malady that has invaded the system known as college football and it has reached epidemic proportions.With t

Option for the new Millenium
We came to Campbellsville in May of 1987 to start a new football program and played a JV schedule that first season. In our first varsity season (1988), we did not win a game. However, since the season of 1989, we have had a record of 57 wins, 57 losses and 1 tie, plus 2 Mid-South Conference Championships (1992 and 1997) and one trip to the NAIA national playoffs. We have attained a ranking as high as second in the nation as a team, and had several top 10 rankings in team offense and team defens

Letter From the Publisher
On a Sunday afternoon this past spring as I watched a game from NFL Europe, my five-year old daughter Lillie jumped into my lap, looked at the TV and disgustedly said, \"Daddy, do you have to work for football?\" As I tried to convince her that football was how I made a living, provided our family with a house, clothes and more, she jumped off of my lap. Before she left in search of a more entertaining playmate, Lillie turned and gave me the look that stirs feelings only a small daughter can

Two Hot to Stop
According to the old cliche, defense wins championships and offense sells tickets, so if the rising number of offensive-related hires in recent years tells us anything, it\'s that college presidents, athletic directors and major boosters doing the hiring must be more interested in selling tickets than winning championships.But what factor sells tickets more than winning championships? Just ask the folks at Oklahoma, where coach Bob Stoops and the Sooners are the hottest ticket West of the Mis

Getting the Ball to Your Playmaker
Our motto at Stephen F. Austin is \"Let players be playmakers,\" and we as coaches attempt to put the players in an environment where they can succeed and we get out of the way! We emphasize the importance of \"explosives.\" Explosives are defined as plays (run or pass) that gains twenty yards or more. We want our players to understand that these gain have a positive impact on the game. Not only do they lead to scoring opportunities, but they also lead to huge shifts in field position that a

High School Notes
Pre-Season Top 15De La Salle of Concord, Calif., has won 113 consecutive games and three mythical national championships since \"the streak\" began in 1992. You\'ve heard it before, the chitchat from those who insist that De La Salle is simply too good to be true. Each year, they hold the Spartans up to the light and hope to discover the demise of \"the streak\" It was all supposed to end, you\'ll remember, when DLS faced Southern California power Mater Dei for the firs

Minority Opinion
There are 117 Division I-A football programs and five (5) are led by minority coaches. Is this acceptable? Absolutely not. Can this situation be corrected? Absolutely.Take this test- write down the names of all five I-A football coaches; its not that difficult (Tyrone Willingham, Stanford; Jerry Baldwin, Louisiana-Lafayette; Fitz Hill, San Jose State; Bobby Williams, Michigan State; and Tony Samuels, New Mexico State). Now, use that same piece of paper and list all minority D-IA head basketb

Words of Wisdom
When he was informed of his coach\'s death on June 10 of this year, former Tampa Bay QB and current Grambling head coach Doug Williams said, \"John McKay never bit his tongue. He said exactly what he thought all of the time.\" For all of us who ever heard or read quotes from Coach McKay, we can all say a collective \"thank you.\" McKay was easily one of the brightest and most articulate coaches of the last 50 years. From his legendary comical musings, to his thought-provoking insights, John McKa

Attack and Score
Our basic K.O. return is predicated on attacking an opponent\'s left or right flank. We will make minor adjustments or possibly tweak the blocking scheme slightly but we are going to run our left + right return and force the opponent to over-compensate the coverage in some manner to stop our return. When we find the opponent is over-compensating to stop our return, we will run our counter or middle return to take advantage of the coverage adjustments. Otherwise, we will continue to run our base

Cover Your Bases
When coaching cover two to your athletes it is essential that they know that their first responsibility is to defend the pass. Undisciplined safeties and corners spell one thing for the offense ­ a big play. The secondary must be able to distinguish between what is an aggressive play and what is an over aggressive and undisciplined play. Most secondary breakdowns occur when there is an over-reaction to an initial read, which occurs at the snap of the ball. A simple illustration of this is a saf

Stop the Spread
Kansas State defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has been a popular man this off-season.Not a week goes by without another coordinator calling for some advice on defending an offense that was hard to tackle last season. It is an offense responsible for Oklahoma winning the national title, Oregon State completing its best season in school history, Purdue going to the Rose Bowl, and both Northwestern and South Carolina rising from the depths.It\'s the spread offense and the debate on how to,

News & Notes
Dolphins name Paton director of pro personnelThe Miami Dolphins have named George Paton their director of pro personnel. Paton, who spent the last four years working in the Chicago Bears\' player personnel department, performing scouting duties, will be responsible for monitoring the rosters of all 31 NFL teams and clubs in other leagues. He will also scout Dolphins opponents. He was a defensive back at UCLA, graduating in 1991. Duke to appeal ruling in favor of former femal


Cover Story Two Hot to Stop August 2001 Two Hot to Stop - For the past several years, head coaching vacancies have been fille

Equipment Room
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Letter from the Publisher
Every morning as I take my first glance in the mirror, I cOme face to face with the man who is rapidly (and to my amazement) starting to look like my father. And, as if I needed any further evidence that I am getting old, every half-hour I hear myself saying something to one of my four children that years ago I swore I would never say. (\"There are starving children somewhere who would love those green beans ...,\" or, \"Not everyone can be pretty, but everyone can be polite...\").I ru

Building Bigger Athletes
WHILE THE REST OF THE WORLD STRUGGLES TO lose a few pounds, for athletes often the hardest thing to do is gain weight.In fact, it actually takes longer to gain weight than to lose it. That\'s why it\'s important to devise good programs to help those skinny athletes bulk up.The ideal program, of course, would allow the athlete to achieve maximum muscle gains without adding much fat. It may be unrealistic, however, to expect an athlete to gain only lean tissue on a weight gain program

Out With The Old and In With The New
While the towering Payne Whitney Gymnasium at Yale University is known as the \"cathedral of sports,\" for Steve Plisk and his strength and conditioning staff, it was an ungodly mess.Stuffed in a former wrestling room, the 3,600-square-foot weight room had long outlived its usefulness.\"Athletes would show up at their assigned time and have to wait 10 minutes for it to clear out,\" says Plisk, describing one of the many obstacles he faced trying to run a strength and conditioning pr

High School Notes
The road to a national championship begins on the first Wednesday of February, Signing Day. The day when a couple thousand high school players briefly become media superstars, even before they\'ve played a down of college football. The rich almost always seem to get richer on Signing Day, and this year was no exception. Though Florida State fell short in its bid to finish No. 1 in the polls last season, the Seminoles were the consensus winner of this year\'s recruiting wars. \"F

Power
UNDERSTANDING POWER CAPACITY AND HOW IT can be created is one of the primary keys to optimizing athletic performance. Power should not be confused with strength. Power is the capacity to do a given amount of work as rapidly as possible. By this definition, power includes the elements of strength and speed. It is dynamic strength coupled with movement speed. Speed is the ability to apply force rapidly when snatching, cleaning, throwing or sprinting.One of the major advantages of being p

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

Fast Facts On Fast Food
Let\'s face it, most football players aren\'t sitting around training tables at meal times. Most are standing in line at fast-food restaurants debating whether they want the No. 3 or No. 4 and whether they should super-size it or not. So what\'s a coach to do to help his or her athletes eat healthy? Well, for starters educate them. This chart, produced by health educators at the University of Illinois, clearly shows that while a lot of fast-food is good for little more than producing

The Power Behind The Thrown
They\'re the Rodney Dangerfields of the football world. They\'re overworked, underpaid, overlooked and under-appreciated. If they do their jobs well and their teams win, they get little, if any, glory. But, if they put a squad on the field that can\'t go the distance and collapses in the fourth quarter, there\'s hell to pay.In short, with rare exception, strength and conditioning coaches just don\'t get no respect.\"The unofficial rule when dealing with the football staff

Big Man On Campus
When Boyd Eply told Nebraska head coach Bob Devaney he was going to teach his Cornhuskers how to lift weights, Devaney was about as excited as if Eply had told him he was going to teach them how to fumble in the end zone.\"Why would you want to do that?\" Devaney asked. \"I have a friend at Michigan State and he doesn\'t lift weights. I have a friend at Ohio State and he doesn\'t lift weights. In fact, I don\'t know anyone in the whole country who lifts weights. The way I understand it

Building Stronger, Faster Players In the Off-Season
There is no doubt that strength training has become one of the most integral parts of football programs at all levels, including high school, college and the professional ranks. Increasing explosive strength helps improve performance and also helps prevent and reduce injuries. Increasing explosive strength is also integral to increasing movement and the development of speed.Absolute strength, although important, is not the essential ingredient of playing football. The ability to dev

Future stock
IT WAS AS TRADITIONAL AS 10-CENT BEER NIGHTS AND double-headers. Before any baseball player stepped into the batter\'s box, he would put a weight on the end of his bat and take a few cuts, knowing it would make his swing more powerful, faster and increase his chances of popping one over the fence.Then, guess what?Researchers discovered that the once popular bat doughnuts not only didn\'t help baseball players become home run hitters, they actually hurt them.\"It slowed down their swing,

Running On Empty
FOOTBALL PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN TIMING PLAYERS in the 40 yard dash for years and making evaluations based on the results. But while the test is time-honored, is it really an accurate assessment of how fast a player will be on the field on any given Saturday?As an expert in speed development for football players, I feel that straight line sprint speed is only a partial assessment of an athlete\'s playing speed. The reason is obvious. Few football players run full bore for 30 to 50 yards dur

News and Notes
Waiting for the XFL to call If Rich Brooks has his way, he\'ll be coaching in the XFL next year. Brooks in January abruptly resigned his three-year post as defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons, sold his house in Atlanta and moved back to Eugene, Ore. to wait for a call from the upstart league. \"I guess my time has passed in this league,\" he said, refering to the NFL, as he announced his resignation from the Falcons. Last fall the 59-year-old turned down a job


Cover Story The Godfather March 2001 Big Man on Campus - Nebraska's Boyd Eply didn't set out to change the game of football

Spread Offense
A GREAT COACH ONCE SAID, \"Good football teams either do something different or they do it better.\" At Rhode Island, we try to do both. The offense we run is a combination of the run and shoot. We call our formation the spread and have found that it allows us to use alignment to stretch a defense both horizontally and vertically. It stretches a defense horizontally with the option and vertically with four quick receivers at the line of scrimmage. This approach, we think, keeps defenses

Putting New Muscle in the Weight Room
The world of technology is now entering the weight room. Yes, it\'s true. As much as strength and conditioning coaches may want to stay far away from anything remotely resembling technology, the fact is that it can help enhance the performance of your athletes. At Winona State, technology has become an essential part of both our academic and football programs. The university was one of the first to initiate the Laptop University concept. This means that every student is provided with

Equipment Room
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Packaging Your Passing Game
As the passing game has evolved, problems have arisen in packaging the pass routes for all protections, personnel groups and formations. For example, we have 10 different personnel groups, ranging from three tight ends and two running backs, to five wide receivers. Making the passing game flexible enough to encompass all the variables can get difficult. Our offensive staff has put a great deal of time and thought into this, and has developed a comprehensive, yet very user-friendly, sy

Virtual Football
It\'s the end of a long practice in an even longer week. But despite your best efforts, your quarterback clearly needs more work. He\'s having a hard time throwing long against the blitz and there\'s no way he\'s going to master it without spending a lot more time on the field. Time, however, is one thing you can\'t give him. Don\'t panic. Just hand him his virtual reality mask, program it for a rush and send him on his way. Tell him you\'ll see him in the morning to discuss the compu

Building a Hungry Defensive Line
Our overall philosophy with our front four is to create 1-and-1 match ups as quickly as possible. We are fast flow with our inside linebackers, therefore the 2-on-1 combinations quickly turn into 1-on-1 blocks. We expect our defensive lineman to win those 1-on-1 battles. We expect these guys to be playmakers, not space eaters. The only situation that we actually tie up two is the double-team block with our three technique. Other than that exception, we are coaching technique to escape blockers a

Cover Too
It may come as a surprise to some that computers have been helping high school and college coaches build game plans for nearly 20 years. Starting with the early Apple II and IBM personal computers, technology that had previously been available only to larger colleges and professional teams began working its way into the high school and small college ranks. Innovative coaches, facing many obstacles, began to integrate computers into their game planning processes during the mid-1980s. C

Letter From the Publisher
In my parent\'s backyard, there lives a pack of stray cats that seemingly rule the neighborhood where I grew up and my parents still live. My mother, being the kind hearted soul she is, has seen fit to feed this pride of baby lions for what my father tells me is going on two years and $10,000. The leader of the pack is a one-eyed tomcat affectionately dubbed Big Boy. Now, it is important to note that Big Boy has taken on celebrity status and mythic proportions to my three-year old son Christophe

Stop in the Name of the Law
When two back-to-back bad calls wiped away Illinois\' chances of beating Michigan last fall in the final minutes of a game, the cry went up.\"Instant replay,\" shouted coaches who have long believed that the NCAA should change it\'s rules to allow referees to review game film on the field if there is any question that they made the right call.To Illinois coach Ron Turner, the issue is a simple one. \"The technology is out there these days, so we might as well use it,\" says Turner, a forme

To AD or not to AD...
Can you see this happening? A new coach is hired. He wants new computers and video equipment for his staff. So, off to the AD\'s office he goes. The athletic director, anxious to do everything to make the new coach happy, tells the coach to get him a proposal. Thereafter, the coach instructs his video coordinator to \"... write something up.\" The coach and his video guy then return to the AD\'s office to make their pitch. The AD will most oftentimes try to approve the expenditure, and then find

The Money Chase
When Michael Christensen needed money to buy high-tech equipment to revolutionize his football program at Lakewood High School in California, he got it that old-fashioned way: He went to his booster club with his palms outstretched.\"Luckily, we have a real active booster club,\" he says of the group\'s ability to raise the money he needed to buy a $13,000 video-editing system.Without a good booster club or a well-heeled sugar daddy, however, most high school and small college coaches are

High School Notes
Privates may vie for championships in TexasThe days of public and private schools competing for separate state championships in Texas might be coming to an end. A bill approved in March by the Texas state Senate would allow private schools with enrollments of over 500 to compete with University Interscholastic League (public) schools for state championships. Texas is currently one of three states that do not allow private and public schools to compete with each other for distr

Words of Wisdom
He\'s one of the most successful coaches ever to pick up a whistle and one of the most controversial as well. In fact, if it wasn\'t for the controversy that erupted during his reign at the University of Oklahoma, most agree Barry Switzer would have been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame last year, his first year of eligibility. Instead, last month he was again passed over even though his winning percentage (.837) is the fourth-best all-time in Division I-A and the best overall in

Cutting the Chord
Coaching great Knute Rockne is known for his motto \"Winning - it\'s not everything ... it\'s the only thing.\" But as any successful coach can tell you, perhaps the only thing you can really count on are the long, often tedious hours. No one needs to remind you that coaching is a time-consuming profession. You\'ve been there. Late nights followed by early mornings. And if by some miraculous intervention more hours were added to the day, you\'d probably just spend this surplus time in your offic

The Information Age
It\'s the kind of argument that breaks out hundreds of times during hundreds of coaches meetings that are held at hundreds of school across the nation each week.The coaching staff at Pittsburg State University in Kansas was mulling over the team\'s weak spots and one coach insisted that a glaring problem was the team\'s inability to convert on third down. The idea caught on quickly and pretty soon the entire staff was in agreement that the Gorillas simply weren\'t very good in third-down situ

Achieving Maximum Benefit from Your Use of Technology in Game Planning
ALL STAFFS INVEST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF time and effort in game planning. Strategic preparation for an opponent is a big part of what we do as coaches. It\'s a major element of the intellectual challenge of coaching which attracts us to the profession, and it forms the basis for the way in which we as coaches compete on game day. Play calling success is dependent upon a knowledge of the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of both your own team and of your opponent. We all know that ot

From Athlete to Administrator
When Arizona State University appointed Gene Smith as the school\'s 18th director of athletics on July 27, 2001, the Pac-10 school gained both an experienced and accomplished leader. Before arriving in Tempe, Smith served as athletic director at Iowa State University (1993-2000) and at Eastern Michigan University (1986-93). At Iowa State, he coordinated the financial and physical transformation of the Cyclone athletic department, including the construction of a $6.1 million three-story football

News & Notes
Sooners visit the White House President Bush honored Bob Stoops and his University of Oklahoma national championship football team at the White House March 5, 2001 in a special ceremony held in the Rose garden. The team was recognized along with the women\'s softball team, which beat UCLA 3-1 for its first national championship at the Women\'s College World Series in Oklahoma City last spring. The teams also toured the U.S. Capitol and were recognized on the Senate floo

Going on the offensive
The old days of calling the game from the \"seat of the pants\" are quickly fading into the past. To become more effective, offensive coaches must know their team\'s tendencies and start looking at the tendencies of their opponent\'s defense. The first step is for offensive coaches to begin seriously scouting their own offense by using a good scouting software program. The next step is to start scouting the opponent\'s defense and then to use the information to modify their offensive game p


May 2001 Cover Story The Information Age - Computers and the countless software applications have forever changed the face of coaching... a look at how the changes have affected coaches like Pittsburg State's OL coach Bill Kroenke.

Evaluating Offensive Linemen
Assessing the abilities and skills of an interior lineman is one of the most coach\'s job. Many coaches do not realize the true capabilities of their players. Countless times determinations and selections are made solely on the candidate\'s height, weight, speed and potential as a football player, without much, if any, regard for the player\'s ability as a performer on the field to actually \"get it done.\" There are all types of offensive linemen. Some are short and stout. Others are simply

Equipment Room
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High five
At Mississippi State, we play with five defensive back all of the time as a part of our base package. We have used this personnel grouping for the last five seasons with great success. It is our opinion that with all of the different formations and personnel groupings offensive coordinators are currently employing, it is in our best interest to be able handle these multiple and varied looks and personnel groupings with our base defensive package. It is our philosophy that the best way to pl

He Knows the Way In San Jose
In a geographical area of California well-known for its technology innovations and sports achievements\' San Jose State\'s Chuck Bell knows that his athletic teams must be competitive if people are to identify with, much less attend Spartan athletic events. But grappling for attention in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, where competitiveness is cutting edge, can be difficult. All the same, Bell, who is nearing the end of his third full year as athletic director at SJSU, doesn\'t sh

What a Tangled Web We Have Weaved...
Rewind your football clock 30 years, to a time when legendary Alabama coach Paul \"Bear\" Bryant used preseason practice to install the wishbone in total secrecy and used it to ambush an unsuspecting USC team in the Crimson Tide\'s season opening 17-10 win over the Trojans. Fast forward that clock to August, 2001, to a time when first-year Alabama coach Dennis Franchione attempted to prepare his team for its season opener against UCLA. Franchione, following an Alabama tradition, opened his p

Letter From the Publisher
In August over a lunch of bar-b-q ribs, a friend of mine asked me a question that seemed innocuous enough and easy to answer, but upon reflection became the genesis for the theme of this issue of the magazine. My buddy, Ian Wylie, a business executive and astute football aficionado, offhandedly asked, \"Who is the best coach in football?\" Quickly, in my mind, I began to create the list of the usual suspects: Shannahan, Billick, Bowden, Spurrier, Stoops, Carr, Brown, etc.. All of these coach

Moving On...
You are coaching at good, old State U. There have been a few bumps and bruises over the years, but that\'s in the past. You have just led State to a second consecutive 8-3 record and a second straight bowl game. Times are good. The shoe company has just offered you a new deal. Your TV show - the one where you review yesterday\'s game with the local yahoo sportscaster - is a success as ratings are up 20 percent. One of the local alums has offered you a part-ownership in the new restaurant tha

Ten Coaches You Should Know
Bobby Bowden. Joe Paterno. Steve Spurrier. Phillip Fulmer. Even the casual college football fan knows those names, and they\'ve earned their fame and fortune through time, experience and victory. But what about those head coaches who don\'t make the headlines, but still do a great job? The NCAA record book is filled with the names of outstanding coaches who never coached a game in the so-called \"big time,\" but there\'s no doubt that men such as Amoz Alonzo Stagg, Ron Schipper, Frosty Weste

High School News & Notes
The Streak lives! The Game of the Century. A high school football contest finally took a turn at carrying that all too often used adjective when California powers Concord De La Salle and Long Beach Poly met before 17,321 fans at Long Beach Veterans Stadium on Oct. 6. Prep football historians say the matchup was the first ever between two t

Words of Wisdom
In 1982 after a 41-year hiatus, Georgia Southern returned to the gridiron led by long-time Georgia Bulldog defensive coordinator Erk Russell. In what has been described as the Miracle of Beautiful Eagle Creek, Russell took a start-up program to a NCAA I-AA national championship only in his fourth year, and led the Eagles to the playoffs five-straight seasons, three more title tilts, and won two more national championships. In his eight seasons, Russell was 83-22-1. More importantly, Erk set the

A Wizard in the Land of Oz
When Tony DeMeo left the tight confines of the East Coast for the wide-open plains of Topeka, Kan., and Washburn University in December 1993, what he found was pretty alarming. The school, though getting ready to begin its 103rd year playing the game, was one of the barren wastelands of college football. Five years had passed since the Ichabods last posted a winning record and the program was languishing through a 12-game losing streak. Even worse, DeMeo found only 29 players on the ro

Breaking Bonds
It had been one of the most embarrassing nights of Marty Schottenheimer\'s career. After a two-year absence from the head-coaching ranks, Schottenheimer decided to get back into the business when Redskins owner Daniel Snyder came calling. While that decision may have been questionable considering Schottenheimer\'s criticism of the Redskin owner, he ultimately decided to take the job because he thought he could get the Redskins back to the playoffs and into the Super Bowl. Schottenheimer is o

News & Notes
Notre Dame gets a new sponsor In a deal announced in September, Notre Dame has signed Chevrolet as a major sponsor of its athletic programs. The automaker will now be one of five corporate sponsors with an ongoing presence at university athletic events. The deal was set to commence with the Irish football home opener against Michigan State on Sept. 22. Terms of the one-year deal were not revealed by either the university or Chevrolet. Notre Dame\'s ot

Gaining an Edge Through Special Teams
As football coaches, we have all heard the theory that the difference between winning and losing close games often comes down to a special teams play. At Arizona State University, we believe that in order to achieve success, sound execution of special teams play is paramount. We approach special teams with the perspective that the difference between winning the PAC-10 Championship and finishing at the bottom of the league could very well be determined by the effectiveness and efficiency of our s


Cover Story Tony DeMeo November 2001 A Wizard in the Land of Oz - Tiny Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas may not win conference

Leader of the Pack
The door was open for Marvin Lewis last winter - at least for a few days. Shortly after the Ravens demolished the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, Lewis had the chance to interview for the Buffalo Bills head coaching job. Blow their doors off and he\'d get the opportunity to run his own franchise. Sure, there was the matter of competition from Tennessee defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and N.Y. Giant defensive coordinator John Fox, but it was Lewis who was thought to be in the driver\'s seat.

Northwestern University Offense Practice Sturcture
It is an honor to represent our Head Coach Randy Walker (one of the best coaches in the college game today); a tremendous offensive staff (Mike Dunbar - TE / FB; Howard Feggins - WR; Jeff Genyk - RB; James Patton - OL; and Kevin Johns - Offensive Graduate Assistant); and the best group of young men that I\'ve ever been associated with in college athletics with this article for American Football Monthly. We are truly blessed here at Northwestern University with excellent opportunities that are

Developing Your Two-Minute Offense
Using your two-minute offense as efficiently as possible can really make your offensive unit much more explosive. Think about what it does to an opponent when you have demonstrated consistently the ability to score from anywhere on the field by driving the ball and using the clock with great management skills. As we all know, two-minute is a form of hurry-up no huddle procedure that can keep a defense on its heels. On offense, we are attacking somewhat oblivious to the defense because we

The Saints Go Marching In
Some people in the NFL and the media thought Jim Haslett was so desperate to be a head coach that he\'d simply taken the first offer he got. After all, he\'d interviewed for openings in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore and come up empty. Others thought the New Orleans Saints were the desperate ones that they had no idea what they were doing when they hired Haslett last year. After all, this is the same franchise that had never, ever won an NFL playoff game, one of the most

Feeling Pressed?
So, you\'re not witty, charming, and entertaining all the time. So, you tend to be serious, stoic, cautious and devoted to film study and game preparation. That\'s just fine with reporters. Well, maybe not all reporters (TV folks aren\'t journalists, they\'re entertainers), but you might be surprised to learn which qualities the average college football writer respects in a football coach. How about honest, approachable, discerning and perceptive? Those are the qualities any beat wr

Letter from the Publisher
To those who subscribe to the theory of \"primacy and recency,\" it is what you do either first or last that matters the most. This hotly-debated field of behavioral study focuses on which areas of persuasion influence people more than others. I certainly do not have a Ph.D., but after publishing this magazine for over eight years, I know that with coaches it is what they do last that matters most. Clearly, this is no different than society as whole and its \"what have you done for me la

High School Notes
An Eye to 2002This month we begin a look at some of the rising prospects from the Class of 2002. Each issue we\'ll feature a different state or region, beginning this issue with the talent-rich state of Texas. In alphabetical order, here are the Prep Recruiting Network\'s early top 10 list of prospects to watch from the Lone Star State: Justin Allgood QB, 6-3, 190, 4.8, The ColonyA top member of a very strong upcoming class of passers in the state, A

Moving Target
Over the last several years, no team in Ohio Athletic Conference has attempted more passes and completed more of them than Capital University. Needless to say, we are a passing team and philosophically go into every ball game thinking pass first and run second. Our pass offense is multi-dimensional. We use multiple formations, but for the most part use one back and four wide receivers. We throw from a variety of launching points, use a multitude of actions, and run patterns designed fo

Words of Wisdom
When Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder was hired by then-Athletic Director Steve Miller in 1988 he was warned, \"Kansas State is flat on its back. You must have heard it\'s one of the toughest jobs in the country. It\'s not. It\'s the toughest.\" From 1946 until Snyder arrived in 1989, the Wildcats only had four winning seasons. Today, it is considered one of the top college programs in the nation, and no one questions who is reponsibile: Snyder. Here\'s Snyder on what makes Snyder suc

In Praise of the Three Technique
Early in my career I was influenced by three very good defensive line coaches. They are: Bob Karmelowicz of the Kansas City Chiefs, who I spent time with during the spring of 1999, John Pease of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who I had the opportunity to work with in the Jaguars Minority Fellowship Coaching Internship Program, and Cliff Yoshida, who recruited me and was my position coach while I played defensive tackle at East Carolina University. I practice a style of coaching that has been influenc

The Computer is Up
I don\'t necessarily like all the things that go along with (coaching) ... all I want to do is coach the team and that\'s it.\" Perhaps you would agree with Tampa Bay\'s Tony Dungy who spoke these words back in 1998 when he was named this magazine\'s NFL Coach of the Year. No matter what level you coach, you undoubtedly have tasks, obligations or perhaps people whom you\'d rather not have to deal with. But whether it\'s recruiting new players, scouting next week\'s opponent, or teaching

What Reporters Really Want
I have a soft spot for football coaches. I respect them. I admire them. I still look at my favorite coaches with true appreciation for their time, commitment, energy, intensity and passion for the game, and the life lessons that came with being part of it. I empathize with the challenges they face, the hours they work, the fragile nature of their job security and the expectations they face from outsiders who understand very little about what they do. And I am a member of the media.S

If coaches had crystal balls,would it help them win the big one?
Matt Cavanaugh\'s eyes were red - almost blood shot. The Baltimore Raven offensive coordinator was meeting with the media for the last time before his team would take the field against the N.Y. Giants in Super Bowl XXXV and he looked worn out and emotionally overwrought.But looks can be deceiving. It wasn\'t emotions that made Cavanaugh look like he\'d been on an all night crying jag. His eyes were swollen from staring at hours and hours of the Giants on videotape.\"I\'ve looked at

The Linebacker Shuffle
We, as coaches, spend countless hours trying to develop the ideal offensive or defensive scheme. As impotant as these schemes are they cannot be practiced at the expense of developing fundamentals. As we all have witnessed, in crunch time it is the execution of fundamentals that often determines the outcome of a game. This is exemplified at the linebacker position in many ways but none more than stance and movement. A coach can drill key reaction and devise schemes to get a linebacker

The Best of Both Worlds
As a youngster, Kathy Schniedwind was fascinated with medicine. \"When I was in fourth grade I told people I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up,\" she says.But in addition to her interest in dissection kits, anatomy books and games like Operation, she was also drawn to the athletic field. An avid athlete, she played lacrosse, softball, field hockey, basketball and ran track in high school and college.So when it came time to pick a career, she knew she had to alter her fourth-grade

Just for Kicks
The punt return means big play time for us. Players at Western Maryland pay special attention to this part of the game. We have had success blocking punts and we have returned punts for touchdowns multiple times over the past four seasons. More importantly, we make things happen on every punt return and have an opportunity to score. Statistically, having a return average of 10 yards or more is important, but the goal should be to accumulate yardage consistently on each return. Put Pressur

Keeping the Gators on top
University of Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley sits atop an athletic program that has consistently ranked among the nation\'s 10 best. Since 1992, when he assumed the reins of the Gator athletic department, continuing that legacy of excellence has been one of his top goals.Named an honorary alumnus by the Florida Alumni Association in October, Foley, 47, started his career at UF as an intern in the Gator ticket office in 1976. Since then he has worked in nearly every aspect of th

News & Notes
Fassel gets giant raise While Jim Fassel didn\'t win the Super Bowl, he won the respect of the New York Giant\'s brass. Exactly a month after the Giants lost to the Baltimore 34-7 in Tampa, team officials announced that they had signed Fassel to another four-year contract even though he had another year left on the contract extension he signed after the 1999 season. While the terms weren\'t available, Fassel will reportedly earn $11 million over the four years - more than doublin


Cover Story NFL Coach of the Year Jim Haslett April 2001 NFL Coach of the Year Jim Haslett - When Jim Haslett came marching into New Orleans last year, few expected him to turn around the most bedeviled team in the history of

Coach of the Year Runners-up
Andy Reid Philadelphia EaglesRegular season record: 11-5Eagles first playoff in four yearsIt didn\'t take Andy Reid long to establish that the 2000 season wasn\'t going to be a run of the mill one for the Eagles.On the opening play of the team\'s opening game against Dallas, the second-year coach called for an onsides kick that was ultimately converted into a touchdown as the Eagles blasted the Cowboys 41-14.Criticized in 1999 for being too conventional, Reid was anyt

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Paradise Found
June Jones would be lying if he said he expected this. The same is true of his coaches, his players and friends in the coaching profession. That\'s because it\'s not supposed to happen. Teams don\'t go 19 games without winning, then turn around and win eight regular-season games, capture a share of the conference championship, earn a bowl bid and then win the bowl game. It\'s not supposed to happen, especially to a team that faces the unique geographic obstacles that are part of Uni

Letter from the Editor
I always liked Tom Landry. I liked everything he stood for in life: character, calmness in the face of turmoil, confidence and a steely determination to win. In reading the many accounts of his life and career since his death on Feb. 12, I understood that much of what I do not like about many current coaches is because of what I did like about Landry. I have never liked the type of coach who screams at officials, throws his headset and completely loses his cool during a game or at half

High School Notes
The returns are in. Another college football signing day has passed and it\'s now time to assess the winners and losers - who signed the most impact players and where the top prospects are going. Here is a look at American Football Monthly\'s Top 40 prospects from the Class of 2000 (based upon a consensus of top recruiting experts and AFM staff evaluations) and where they signed along with a ranking of the Top 10 recruiting classes. The Top 40 RecruitsRan

Conference Standings
Division I-AACC Conf.OverallFlorida State 8-0 12-0 Georgia Tech 5-38-4 Virginia 5-37-5 Clemson 5-36-6 Wake Forest 3-57-5 North Carolina State 3-56-6 Duke 3-53-8 Maryland 2-65-6 North Carolina 2-63-8 Big East Conf. OverallVirginia Tech 7-011-1 Miami (Fla.) 6-19-4 Boston College 4-38-4 Syracuse 3-47-5 West Virginia 3-44-7 Pittsburgh 2-55-6 Temple 2-

Words of Wisdom: Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno coached his first game as a Penn State assistant under Rip Engle in 1950. It\'s hard to imagine it now, but at the time, Paterno was merely a fresh-faced, recent graduate of Brown University, eager to start making a living in the coaching profession. Now, half a century later, JoePa is still in Happy Valley, and his 317 head coaching victories (No. 5 all-time in college history), five perfect seasons and two national championships have secured his legacy a place as permanen

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

When to Go for 2
The two-point conversion adds an interesting strategy option to the game of football. Its frequency of use is usually related to the level of play and, in particular, the quality of place kickers. At the high school and recreation level one sees many two-point attempts, while in the NFL there tends to be less than one attempt for every two games played. Even when its use is slight, its impact is often great. The decision to \"go for two\" is peculiar in that it is not really a \"football\

Air Attack
There are more than a few Division I-A offenses around the nation that can keep a defensive coach\'s eyes wide open in the week leading to that Saturday\'s encounter. The trouble with Joe Tiller\'s record-setting air show at Purdue, however, is that the sleepless nights don\'t always end when the final gun sounds. Just ask Penn State defensive backfield coach Tom Bradley. His Nittany Lions actually survived their late-October showdown with the Boilermakers (31-25) at

News & Notes
Osborne: The Distinguished Gentleman from Nebraska? After weeks of speculation that he might make his next career in politics, former Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne announced in January that he is running for Congress. Osborne, who led the Huskers to three national titles before retiring in 1997, threw his hat into the ring in his hometown of Hastings on the campus of his alma mater, Hastings College. The 62-year-old Osborne, a Republican, said he had been contemplating whether t

Complete Coach
Whether you coach at the high school, college or professional level, you've probably taught your players the importance of goal setting. To help your players reach their goals, you instruct them almost daily on proper weightlifting techniques, correct tackling form and to explode off the ball. But how about proper nutrition and hydration? Football, especially at the championship level, is an explosive game. It demands rigorous training and extols excessive abuse on the body. You


March 2000 Would you like to read a past article from American Football Monthly Magazine? Or are you looking for an article on a specific subject not in this month\'s issue? Try back issues. Staff Meeting Let

Division I, I-AA All American Teams
NCAA Division I-A OFFENSEPos. Name College Head Pos. Coach H.S. (Hometown) H.S. CoachWR Peter Warrick Florida State Bobby Bowden Jeff Bowden Southeast (Bradenton, Fla.) Paul MaechtleWR Troy Walters Stanford Tyrone Willingham Mose Rison A&M Consolidated (College Station, Texas) Ross RogersOL Chris Samuels Alabama Mike DuBose Neil Callaway Shaw (Mobile, Ala.) Tommy DavisOL Cosey Coleman Tennes

Quarterbacking the Quarterback
The fundamentals of any position are important, and perhaps they are most crucial at the quarterback position. Quarterback fundamentals are both physical and mental. We have a list of beliefs in training a QB and they are:1. Never take a sack. Know when to take a chance and when not to by considering down, distance and field position.2. Throw against blitzes every time. Every play is a blitz until proven otherwise. This teaches the QB to be prepared, play under control and not to hu

The Look
Every Friday in the fall of 1998, John Parchman would watch a big offensive lineman walk through his office and a ritual would beginParchman, a growing West Texas coaching legend, would look up from his desk at Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, give Rex Richards his famous look and ask the kid his famous question.\"Rex,\" Parchman would say, \"you ain\'t scared, are you?\"\"No sir,\" Richards would inevitably answer.\"Good,\" Parchman would continue. \"I guess we\'re going

Letter from the Publisher
It is hard to believe the 2000 football season is all but over. Sure Bob Stoop and Lou Holtz are the big stories of the season, but what about the other guys? Here are my thoughts on some of the coaches that deserve mention for jobs well-done:• Bob Ladouceur continues to keep his amazing streak alive at De La Salle (113 and counting). To say that he is doing a good job is about as much of an understatement as saying the presidential election was just a little screwed up i

High School Notes
Late-season top performancesQuarterback Mike Pfisterer of North County (Glen Burnie) became the all-time passing leader in Maryland on Nov. 3. Pfisterer threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns in a 39-26 loss to Annapolis, and finished his career with 6,351 yards and a state-record-tying 67 touchdowns. Hawaiian powerhouse St. Louis (Honolulu) exploded for 77 first-half points in an 84-0 rout of Damien on Oct. 28. The Crusaders scored 42 in the first quarter alone, which

Hiring the Enemy
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN CARL TORBUSH AND MIKE O\'Cain were enemies. At least that\'s the way fans and media painted their relationship. Coaches at rival schools are supposed to hate each other, right? They\'re supposed to spread evil rumors about each other, undercut each other at every opportunity and wish the worst for each other, aren\'t they? And they would never, ever profess to respect each other or, heaven forbid, actually like each other.In truth, even though they coached at r

Words of Wisdom
When Ara Parseghian arrived at Notre Dame in 1964, the Fighting Irish had just completed a 2-7 season. A year later, under his tutelage, they were 9-1. By the time he retired due to health problems in 1974, he had amassed an overall record of 95-17-4, won two national titles and three bowl games. But his biggest fight actually came after he left the gridiron. Since 1994 he has been raising money to find a cure for a rare genetic disease that has already claimed one of this grandchildren a

Voodoo Magic
TODAY\'S SPREAD ATTACKS require defenses to be extremely flexible. Nowhere in the country is a defense more challenged by the spread then here in the Northwest. On a typical Saturday, we see three, four and even five wideouts stretching the field sideline-to-sideline while quarterbacks and receivers play pitch and catch at least 50 times a game.A defense must also contend with strong running games. A one- or two-back scheme, the inside zone, stretch or counter, power lead and even t

Dashing the Defense
AS DEFENSES HAVE CONTINUED to downsize in an effort to get more speed on the field, the offense has had to find creative ways to change the quarterback\'s launch position in the passing game. And although the drop-back passing game is still a staple, we utilize our Dash series to move the QB in the shotgun.PROTECTIONThe field offensive tackle\'s rule is to block the B Gap defender. The OT\'s technique is the same as a down block. He will \"seal\" a 3 technique defensive tack

So Sue Me!
WHEN NEWS SURFACED THAT A GEORGIA TECH offensive lineman and his mother wanted criminal charges filed against head coach George O\'Leary after the 314-pound player was roughed up in practice, everyone had an opinion.\"This is getting out of hand. Soon we will have to arrest Dale Earnhardt for a hit-and-run accident at the Daytona 500,\" one Atlanta man wrote in response to a reader survey conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Still others, had a far different view. \"This

Mickey Andrews\' Secret
Wickey Andrews doesn\'t mince words when talking about Florida State\'s early-season loss to Miami, a defeat that hung over the Seminoles like the state\'s ever-present humidity, threatening to wash away their hopes for a second consecutive national championship. \"It was a mistake on my part,\" he offers even though the question isn\'t on the table. \"My biggest mistake was I didn\'t play more kids than I did. I had kids that played almost the entire game. By the end, they were pooped

News & Notes
San Jose player loses part of his leg For the second time in a year, a Northern California college football player lost part of his leg after being injured in a game. Doctors were forced to amputate the foot and ankle of Neil Parry, 20, a San Jose State sophomore, nine days after he sustained a compound fracture during an October game against the University of Texas-El Paso. Parry, who was injured on a kickoff return, developed a severe bacterial infection. Unable to stop th


December 2000 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom from legendary Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian

The Survivor
Here he was, scaling a fence in a driving thunderstorm, with a blank videocassette under his rain jacket. The coaching staff desperately needed video of its next opponent, but a lack of sufficient technology at the team\'s training facility prevented the team from finding the game on television. That did not, however, prevent the team\'s head coach from finding another solution. So with the rain pouring down and thunder rumbling overhead, he found himself climbing the fence betwe

Letter from the Publisher
One day early in June as I entered my home, my wife met me at the door and told me my \"Nanny\" had passed away. Nanny was the elderly African-American lady who raised me from the moment of my birth until well past my high school days. Nanny was my coach for life. It is an unfortunate part of the human experience that we cannot recall the things that happened to us when we were infants and small children. It seems that the earliest memories most of us have begin when we are about 6 y

Bum Philllips
From 1975-85, there was not a more colorful personality in the NFL than former Oilers\' and Saints\' coach O.A. \"Bum\" Phillips. As Houston\'s coach from 1975-80 and the New Orleans Saints\' coach from 1981-85, Phillips\' homespun wit, sense of humor and Texas drawl made him a non-stop quote machine. What was sometimes forgotten was the fact he was a veteran football man who was mentored by Bear Bryant and spent more than 30 years in the game. Also lost in the shuffle is that \"Bum\" is the

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

Flash
In an effort to create a fully dimensional offense it is the opinion of this author that protections must be changed constantly to create defensive dilemmas. The ability to \"free release\" the running back in a one-back offense is critical to create a burden on the defense. It is essential that the running back be perceived as a viable receiving threat. This can only be accomplished through a protection that allows for the running back to release without regard to protection and a patter

Cover 4
At every level of football, the ability on defense to effectively control the opponent\'s running game is the foundation by which productive defenses are forme. Having the means to add players into defending the core of the formation (the box) without compromising the coverage disguise is the essence of what I would like to share. Cover 4 is the covererage term for Zone Quarter Coverage (3 under, 4 deep). Depending on the front that is utilized with it, it gives the defenseive secondary speci

News & Notes
AF2 kicks-off season The arenaleague2 opened its inaugural season the week of April 8th. The league, which was introduced to bring Arena Football to small to mid-sized communities, features teams in cities such as Augusta, Ga; Birmingham, Ala.; Charleston, S.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Greenville, S.C. and Huntsville, AL. Nine other cites make up the league with the addition of three new teams planned for the 2001 season. After opening the season with league highs in total attendan

Back with the Pack
For eight consecutive years, football schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference have been looking up to Florida State in the league standings. Nobody has hit upon a formula to unseat the Seminoles as one of the most dominant programs in NCAA history. So North Carolina State decided to take a new approach in its search for a football coach. Instead of hiring a big-name head coach like Georgia\'s Jim Donnan or Stanford\'s Tyrone Willingham, both of whom were considered, the Wolfpack decid


July 2000 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom from former Houston Oilers' coach Bum Phillips News and Notes Vandy, DiNardo settle lawsuit ... North Texas

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The Best Coach I ever Had
Speaking to a group of 750 business executives in Tampa, Fla., NFL Quarterback Trent Dilfer got choked up as he described the profound impact Tampa Bay Head Coach Tony Dungy has had on his life on and off the field. \"Tony Dungy is more than a football coach,\" Dilfer said. \"He\'s a man whom I look up to because of his faith and character. He is the type of husband and father I hope to be for my family. \"Tony provided an example for me in multiple areas. He helped me better contro

Letter from the Publisher
In May of 1999, we changed the format of our magazine from a quarterly publication to monthly. We made this change as a result of a demand from our readers, who wanted up-to-the-minute information about their profession. We had lived four years as a quarterly magazine, and it was time to grow. At that time, we chose the name American Football Coach as our new title. It was our thinking that as a magazine for the real heroes of the game, the thousands of men who toil hour-after-hour on

Hot NFL Coaches
The path to the top of the NFL coaching ranks is somewhat well-defined: serve an apprenticeship as a position coach; become a coordinator for a successful playoff or Super Bowl team; then teams seeking to reverse their woebegone fortunes come calling like school boys looking for a prom date. Although 2000 was an aberration with two new head coaches not serving as coordinators in 1999, Al Groh was the LB coach for the Jets before his promotion, and Dave Wannstedt was the assistant head coa

New Equipment
Double Sided Multi Safety Rack from Samson Equipment, Inc.800-472-6766 www.samsonequipment.com Samson Equipment, Inc. introduces its newest power rack, the Double Sided Multi Safety Rack. The Rack allows you to perform all of your core free weight lifts in one area with the added versatility of 2 stations. Choose Samson and you\'ll realize why they are the choice of many top professional, college & high school programs as well as health clubs and gyms all across the

Southern Pride
BLITZ SYSTEM At Southern Mississippi, we are a multiple front defense. When we are in 50 defense, we refer to this as Okie. This is our Okie blitz system.1. Each of our players are described by a letter: LinebackersB - Bandit M - Mike S - Stringer W - Wolf Def. LineT - TackleN - Nose E - End Def. BacksFC -Field CornerR - Rover F - Free SafetyBC - Boundary Counter

Best of Best...The Top Coaching Staffs in Football
Taking into account all of the factors that go into the composition of what makes a great coaching staff, the following is our second annual look at the best coaching staffs in football. Just as last year, it is extremely difficult to choose one staff over another. It is somewhat analogous to trying to decide which dessert you want in a buffet. But, what makes a great staff? Is it the number of championships won collectively? How about longevity at the institution? C

Building the Foundation
The past decade has seen NFL offenses evolve evolve the past decade by using multiple substitutions and formations to create mismatches in the run and pass game. Therefore, it is more important than ever to properly plan for an opponant and develop a sound base package to build a foundation to stop either the run or pass. The No. 1 goal of a defense must still be to stop the run. With multiple formations the offense can spread a defense out and make it tough to stop the run. Defenses are for

AIR RAID Running Back Techniques and Drills
The most productive running backs in the SEC over the last three seasons combined have been from the University of Kentucky. Anthony White and Derek Homer have combined for more yards (rushing and receiving totals) than any other two-back combination. White had three straight 1,000-yard seasons from rushing and receiving yards combined, and Homer combined with White in 1997-98 to put the pair over 4,000 yards combined for those two seasons. White also became the third player in NCAA h


September 2000 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher News and Notes Dick Curl leaves Europe and joins the Chiefs... Bama's DuBose makes a sick young man's day...NCAA legislation may hurt I-AA football...Mizzou seeks to get out of future

Equipment Room
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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

High Schools That Went High Tech
When Rob Scheidt took over the program at Merced (Calif.) H.S. in the spring of 1996, he faced a rebuilding job. The historically strong MHS program, which won a state championship just five years before, had spiraled downward into a two-year playoff draught and was stinging from a 1-9 record the previous season. Scheidt, who became head varsity coach at Merced while he was still in his mid-20s, saw a couple of problems that needed to be addressed right off the bat. First, the school

Letter from the Publisher
The forward pass. Integration. Facemasks and new equipment that makes players seem more prepared for a battle than a game of football. TV, radio call-in shows and 24-hour a day media coverage. All of these changes have dramatically altered the game of football. Yet the sum total of these alterations pale in comparison to the virtual metamorphosis that is taking place in the year 2000. Computers, the associated software programs, and enhanced video equipment are dynamically changing the ga

Reaching the Top
With its groundbreaking use of computers, video cameras and advances in research in human kinetics (just to name a few), the University of Nebraska has become known as \"the birthplace for strength and conditioning in collegiate athletics.\" The person most responsible for the inception of not only Nebraska\'s strength and conditioning program, but also programs throughout the country, is Director of Performance Boyd Epley. Epley began his career with Nebraska in 1969 when he became th

High School Notes
Based in South Florida, Mark D. Steiner has been covering high school football for 24 years and is one of the nation\'s top experts on underclassmen football prospects. Steiner can be reached by calling (954) 726-2919. QB Travis Jackson 6-4 215 4.5 South (Olathe, Kan.)Has a great arm and can throw on the run; threw for 17 TDs and ran for five more as a junior. QB Ingle Martin 6-3 190 4.7 Montgomery Bell (Nashville, Tenn.)A strong and elusiv

Success is Coming in Bunches at Wisconsin
According to the Acromania Index on the Ziff Davis website www.zdnet.com, Information Technology is defined Pronounced as separate letters, IT refers to the broad subject of managing and processing information. In contrast, Vince Lombardi noted, \"football is only two things - blocking and tackling.\" How can one reconcile the differences between the general study and application of data and this strict, physical discipline? Barry Alvarez and company at the University of Wisconsin have b

On Target
During the 1990s many defenses were transformed from \"read and react\" defenses into attacking defenses. An effective attacking defense is not just a loose cannon, it\'s a guided missile. To be effective you have to know when and where to attack. Sophisticated scouting software of an opponent\'s offense through statistical analysis gives the defensive coaching staff the tools they need to create a \"smart-weapon, guided-missile\" attacking defense. Creating Defensive Call Sheets t

Glossary
American Football Monthly (a-mer- -kan fut-bol koch), noun 1. the only trade journal designed exclusively for the football professional. 2. the one-stop place for all football coaches to go to obtain up-to-the-minute information on everything from xs & os to sports nutrition that will help their program. 3. the magazine found on the desk of every successful coach in the nation. Analog- a process whereby the recorded video image information is a continuous equivalent of

Editing Systems: Getting What\'s Right for You
ADVANTAGES OF EDITING SYSTEMSUsing an editing system will not only make your video sessions run more smoothly but also allows you to easily scout your opponent and your own team - not to mention helping you teach and grade out players. You\'ll save time by watching only the essential video clips, because an editing system allows you to customize videotapes to your team\'s needs. You can create separate tapes for offense, defense and special teams. Imagine the benefits of sending sc

Technology Q&A with the NFHS
As is the case in any industry, change and evolution in football have sparked the need for constant examination and discussion of the rules that govern the sport. And anytime improvements are made that affect how teams prepare for and play the game, a tradeoff is often necessary in order to ensure no team gains an unfair advantage over its opponents simply because it has greater access to advanced technology. American Football Monthly discussed some of the issues related to technologi

Stripes—Life as a Zebra
Making the Right Call with Help from Technology The goal is training us to call fouls that truly affect the game and be more accurate with judgment calls. The improved video critiques we now receive have helped dramatically in this area. The advent of telestrators and the ability to zero in on particular players and aspects of a play facilitate our understanding of what we did well and might do

Football and The Internet
When the editors of American Football Monthly approached me with the challenge of projecting the impact of the Internet on the game of football, I was torn. On one hand, I could go on and on about all of the sites that focus on recruiting and our collective infatuation with athletes who weigh 250, bench press 375 and run sub-4.4 40s. But the \'Net offers many more uses and opportunities beyond the recruiting arena that will make a real impact on coaching and the game of football. I

6 Hours to 5 Minutes:
How would you like to add several hours of \"free\" time to your schedule each week, especially during the football season? Time to view some additional videotape, review the game plan, or maybe just get some rest. A major catalyst in freeing time for the staff of the Minnesota Vikings has been the use of computers within our football operations. We have never viewed computers as a magic bullet to solve problems. We still rely on the intelligence and creativity of our staff to make

News & Notes
McKittrick Loses Battle with Cancer After a 14-month battle with cancer, San Francisco 49ers' OL coach Bobb McKittrick died on March 15. He was 64. McKittrick, who worked with five Super Bowl winning teams in 21 years, courageously continued working on the 49ers' staff while fighting bile duct cancer. A former Marine Corps officer, McKittrick was known for his toughness, hard work and dedication to the game and to his players. His on-field coaching duties were assumed by Pat Mo


May 2000 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher News and Notes 49ers' McKittrick loses battle with cancer ... Pitt gives Harris contract extension ... Gilbertson OC at U of Washington again ... Notre Dame hires new AD from ASU ... Okl

The Calm After The Storm
It was the cruelest possible irony. Less than two weeks after the worst natural disaster in North Carolina history had crippled 66 counties, caused what was later estimated at $6 billion in flood damage, and cost 51 people their lives, the football forecast at East Carolina called for Hurricanes. By that time, however, Steve Logan was the last person on which such madness could be lost. He was, by trade, a head coach. But in the days leading up to East Carolina\'s Sept. 25 date

Letter from the Publisher
A few months ago we started The Winning Point, a newsletter created to provide our readers with even more in-depth information about the game, the sport and the business of football. I thought rather than tell you about the newsletter, I\'d give you a sample of what is found in each issue. The March edition included The Terranova 5 - a summary of who\'s hot and who\'s not in the world of college coaching. Here is a taste:The 5 Best Hires Following the \'99 Season

Curtain Call
After two long seasons in St. Louis, the experiment was failing badly. Dick Vermeil, in his attempt to reinvent himself as a football coach and erase the lingering, distasteful image that haunted him when he left the Philadelphia Eagles in 1982, appeared to be hitting another dead end. The 1998 season ended with the St. Louis Rams losing six of their last seven games. Their 5-11 record, preceded by a 4-12 mark in Vermeil\'s first season as Rams head coach, was only half the problem

USFL—The $1 League
They were supposed to be the rot and refuse, a bunch of has-beens, never-weres and never-will-bes. Their value? One dollar. One lousy buck. But for three action-packed spring seasons - 1983-85 - they were the United States Football League - the USFL - the latest failed attempt to wrestle the monopoly on professional football away from the NFL. During its three years on the field, the USFL sported four Heisman Trophy winners: Herschel Walker, Mike Rozier, Doug Flutie and two-time winne

Words of Wisdom: Don Shula
Thirty-three years as an NFL head coach. Thirty seasons as head coach or vice-chairman of the Miami Dolphins. These numbers embody unparalleled longevity. All-time NFL-coaching bests of 347 total wins and 328 regular-season wins. A career winning percentage of .676. Six Super Bowl head coaching appearances, with two championships. Only two losing seasons in 33 seasons as a head coach. And, still untouched by history, an immortal 17-0 season in 1972. These figures exemplify unrivaled succe

Stripes—Life as a Zebra
As coaches, I\'m sure all of you know that Division One and NFL games are officiated by seven-man crews, consisting of the referee, umpire, head linesman, line judge, field judge, side judge and the back judge. But are you completely aware of the mechanics of each position? And do you know about the changes that have taken place within the past few years at each position? Furthermore, how familiar are you with the preparation each official puts forth, both individually and as a crew, befo

Rolling to Victory
The 1999 season was very successful for the players, coaches and staff of City College of San Francisco. We were fortunate enough to complete our season with a perfect 12-0 record and win the 1999 J.C. Gridwire National Championship and California state championship. We also achieved this same feat in 1994 after completing the season 11-0. In the 90s, we won our conference nine times in 10 years (1990, 1992-1999) and we are three-time defending Northern California champions. In all, we ended the

Working the Right Angle in Your Passing Game
Since the days when the great Sid Gillman started using the angle-type route for the running back, there have been many ways that teams have coordinated it into their passing games. The route is being used at all levels of football, and with every conceivable formation and personnel grouping. With the variety of offenses using the angle-type route, there have been many ways that the pattern has been run. While all of them can be effective, there are some pros and cons to each that we

The Anatomy of a Coach\'s Deal
Reading the transactions column in the daily sports page, studying the waiver wire and reviewing the latest sports deal on the Internet have become habits of mine. To the uninitiated, what a good head football coach should be awarded in his contract might translate only into dollar compensation. Let me suggest, rather, that the deal\'s design and structure, the performance incentives, roll-over provisions, outside income, retirement benefits, split-dollar collateral assignment cash-va

News & Notes
NCAA Adopts Rule Changes Changes in the rules of college football aimed at protecting defensive players from dangerous blocks and keeping offenses from using quick substitutions to gain an advantage were approved by the NCAA Football Rules Committee, which met in Indianapolis in February. Among the alterations to the rulebook is an expansion to the definition of an illegal block to mean any high-low block by two offensive players when the initial contact clearly occurs beyond the


April 2000 Would you like to read a past article from American Football Monthly Magazine? Or are you looking for an article on a specific subject not in this month's issue?Staff MeetingLetter from PublisherWords of Wisdom

NFL Coach of the Year Runners-up
Jeff FisherTennessee Titans13-3 regular season record AFM ChampionsWhen the boxes were finally unpacked, and Jeff Fisher had settled into his new office at the Titans\' new Adelphia Coliseum complex, he knew he and his team were finally home. No longer were the Titans the vagabonds of the NFL, moving from Houston to Memphis to the campus of Vanderbilt University during the course of three consecutive 8-8 seasons. Rid of the distractions of sharing gameday lockers and facil

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Letter from the Publisher
In each month\'s issue, I often spend time discussing the news in the world of football, be it good or bad. I received a letter from Ron Schipper, the legendary former coach of Central College (Iowa) in which he responded to my Letter from the Publisher in this year\'s June issue. As the coach of Central, Schipper, knows a few things about coaching, guiding the Flying Dutchmen to 36 consecutive winning seasons (an NCAA record) and a Division III title. My original letter talked abou

Who\'s Hot?
When Clemson offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez thinks about the right quarterback to run his offense, he can\'t help but compare him to a point guard. The ideal QB for Rodriguez\'s offense is someone who can distribute the ball, step back and hit the 3-point shot, but most importantly, is someone who\'s on the ball. Rodriguez, the second-year offensive coordinator for the Tigers, is known throughout college football for his \"On the Ball\" offense, a no-huddle, two-minute drill-type

High School Notes
The lazy days of summer have finally morphed into the anything-but-leisurely period in mid-August when two-a-days become the name of the game. Before the high school season officially kicks off, let\'s take an early look at some of the teams and players who could be making headlines this fall. 10 Teams to Watch in 2000 (in alphabetical order; 1999 record in parenthesis) Cathedral Prep (Erie, Pa.) (13-1) Coach: Mike MischlerThe Ramblers are picked by many

The Man Of Steel
Back then, Gary Darnell couldn\'t help but feel like Superman. Darnell, then Kansas State\' defensive coordinator, had just helped fly K-State to a new plateau in football success. Darnell\'s the current coach of the Western Michigan University Broncos, who in just three seasons at WMU has put together three-straight winning seasons, compiled a 22-12 record and guided the Broncos to a Western Division title in the Mid-American Conference and the MAC championship game. He\'s seen atten

Bobby Bowden
When talking about successful coaches in college football in the 1990s, the conversation can be considered meaningless if Bobby Bowden is not mentioned at some point. Bowden, who has been at the helm of the Florida State Seminoles for the past 24 seasons, took over a mediocre FSU team and made it great. In his time in Tallahassee, the Seminoles have won two national championships (1993, 99), six ACC titles and have won more games in the 90s (109) than any team has in any previous decade in NC

New Equipment
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Red Hot
Every year around the time families begin to think of gathering for Thanksgiving, some unfortunate athletic directors begin to ponder a much less joyous occasion ... hiring a new football coach. Needless to say this is very seldom a time for celebration. It does not happen often where the replacement of a coach is a pleasant and easy transition. As opposed to an anointment, it more often resembles a coup d\'etat. The AD will be beset by hundreds of calls, some wanted and most unwanted, f

Sudden Impact
All coaches preach turnovers as a deciding factor in victory. What impact does the interception return really have on the outcome of a game? From 1946-99, there have been 25,001 interceptions in AFL/NFL history, with 16,409 (65.63 percent of those) accounting for victories. The percentage of victory by interceptions during this 54-year span has never been lower than 57.67 percent (1962 season), and never higher than 69.92 percent (1977). Thus, year after year, there is little fluctuati

Unusual Options
Head Coach, Washburn University With the coming of eight-man front defenses, popularized by Virginia Tech and the use of zone blitzes, bear blitzes and other pressure defenses, the option game has resurfaced in college football. Just about every team, regardless of their offensive philosophy, has added some form of an option attack to their playbook. I think everyone realizes the value of a mobile quarterback and it seems logical to use his mobility to run an occasional option t

Attacking the Red Zone
There are several considerations that must go into your staff\'s planning a comprehensive red zone ready list. As I present these concepts to you, you will have to establish your own answers to some of these factors and hopefully, be able to work your offensive system into each concept.1. Determine where the red zone begins. If you are fortunate to have a computer printout of your opponent, you may be able to see where they change their philosophy. Many times you can sense that yoursel

Prevent the Completion...
Over the last several years, we have gained some national notoriety for our defensive play under the leadership of Coach Widenhofer. Playing in the SEC we have had to use a tough, aggressive defensive style to attempt to keep Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, etc. from using their wide-open offenses to take us out of games. Most of our success at slowing down explosive passing games has come from our ability to play tight man coverage. The fundamental premise of our style of play is to


August 2000 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom from current Florida State coach Bobby Bowden News and Notes Mountain West 'in the room' on BCS tal

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Behind Bowden
With two national titles, 13 years among the top four teams in the country and six Atlantic Coast Conference championships in the 1990s, the Florida State Seminoles have the track record to prove they know what it takes to be a champion. It is that knowledge of the means to reach success that has not only fueled FSU\'s success on the field, but also it\'s success in the Don Fauls athletic training facility. Randy Oravetz, the Director of Sports Medicine at FSU, heads up the te

Letter from the Publisher
Two recent games in the SEC gave vivid and contrasting examples of how coaches can react after losses. One is the right way to do it, and a way for a head coach to serve as a role model for his team, and a leader. The other is nothing more than simple excuse making and serves no one well. Do you remember playing wiffle ball in the back yard as a youngster, and if you hit the runner with the ball he was out? Well, if you watched the annual Tennessee-Florida bloodbath in mid-September, y

The Diary of A New Coach
THIRD GAME WEEK: As I said before, our number one objective is really not to win, but to prepare. This week was the exception. We were playing our cross-town rival, Norman North, a school that had never scored against any Norman High team in their two-year existence. Our varsity and J.V. had already scored shutouts the week before so this was a must win. For the game Tuesday, our emotions were high. Our team was more pumped up than they had been all year. We got the b

Brain Damage
A minor knock on the head can have big consequences In the past decade, researchers HAVE concluded head injuries, which seem relatively minor and insignificant, could cause permanent brain damage. Due to the potentially serious consequences, even minor head injuries should be a concern to coaches, trainers, and players.The reasons are obvious: Football players are prone to head injuries. Surveys have shown that roughly 10 percent of all college football players will sustain

High School Notes
Early Season Top Performers Cline Engle from Burns (Lawndale, N.C.) kicked a 61-yard field goal on Sept. 1 to establish a new state record. Unfortunately, the boot was the Bulldogs only points in a 48-3 loss to Shelby. Noah Ingram from Ruleville (Miss.) broke his own single-game state rushing record with a 506-yard outburst against Gentry (Indianola) on Sept. 9. Ingrams Tigers won the game 74-71. Running back Frank Gore from Coral Gables (Fla.) is off to a

The Five Most Common Injuries in Football
Identifying the five most common injuries in football is a difficult task considering the large array of choices. After all, football is a contact sport, and contact breeds injury even in the best circumstances. According to a 1995-97 NATA injury surveillance of 10 high school sports, football players suffered more injuries than any other athletes, with more than half of those injuries occurring in practice. Keep in mind that many things can be done under the guise of prevent

Words of Wisdom
\"They call it coaching, but it is teaching. You do not just tell them it is so. You show them the reasons why it is so, and then you repeat and repeat until they are convinced, until they know.\"\"Don\'t ask questions you can answer yourself.\"\"Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The one who win get inside their players and motivate them.\"\"To be a good coach, you have to be the opposite of what you feel. When your team is going bad, you want

The Other Coordinator
Throughout the life of our magazine (now American Football Monthly), I have very seldom written articles. But, when we conceptualized this special issue on sports medicine, I immediately decided to author a piece on the role of the sports medicine staff for a football team. I wanted to do this because I strongly believe athletic trainers and sports medicine staffs are potentially one of the most under utilized and overlooked aspects of a successful football program. Lets face i

Shotgun Quick
As with any offensive system, several aspects must be executed with consistent precision in order to effectively move the ball and score points. One of the most important aspects we feel is crucial to our success is the quick passing game. Because we run about 80 percent of our offense out of the shotgun, we must be able to execute the quick game out of the gun as well. As everyone knows, you mu

Being at your best when things are not going well
Bruce Snyder, an avid reader, has noticed that books are rife with stories of people who retreat when faced with crisis. If you are doing a good job and are confident in yourself, he believes that you will retreat to your basic core values, and that it\'s important to remind everyone of what those core values are. \"I think that\'s playing the percentages,\" he says, \"and I think that\'s what I do in those cases. I don\'t go against percentages. The percentages are, over the

The Basics
It\'s been called the sick tank, the warm-up room - and in at least one case, the wildlife sanctuary. It\'s where players go to prepare for battle and where they return to let their game faces down as they confront the pain of injury. It\'s not a simple place. The athletic training room, even in its most basic form, is a microcosm unto itself. Building one entails careful attention to the structural requirements, which are more detailed than finding four walls and a ceiling.

News & Notes
Utah rewards McBride with an extension 60-year old Ron McBride has agreed to a contract that will keep at the the University of Utah team for four years and presumably allow him to finish his career with the Utes. Under the terms of the deal, McBride will earn a total of $310,000 a year, including incentives based on the team\'s performance in the classroom and on the field. Offering a bit of levity to the announcing of the extension, McBride said, \"Little does the univers


October 2000 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom from legendary Vince Lombardi

The Turner Network
Both head coaches had their backs to the wall entering the season, Norv with the Washington Redskins and Ron at the University of Illinois. Norv had gone five seasons without reaching the playoffs, the longest stretch of any active NFL coach, and Ron had crafted a 3-19 record in his first two years. New Redskins owner Daniel Snyder applied volumes of extra pressure on Norv by telling him to make the playoffs or find a new job. Ron was in the critical third year of a five-year contract.

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Schutt Sports High School Coaches of the Year
SOUTHJohn Parchman,Hoboken HS, Hoboken, NJRobert E. Lee HS, Midland, Texas 1999: 15-0, Class 5A, Div. I state champsRecord at school: 57-8-1, 5 yearsWhen you win a football state title in Texas, you\'ve done something. When you do it two years in a row, that\'s really special. And special is a very accurate way to describe coach John Parchman\'s Midland Lee Rebels. In the last two seasons, Lee High School has claimed back-to-back Class 5A Texas Bowl

Letter from the Publisher
I recently had the opportunity to spend the day with coaching icon Don Nehlen. The 64-year old West Virginia legend certainly lives up to his advance billing as one of the real gentlemen and \"class acts\" in all of football. As I listened to coach Nehlen\'s stories of his life in the profession, I began to wonder how many young men entering the coaching ranks in 2000 are doing so for the right reasons. The staggering high six- and sometimes seven-figure salaries that the modern coache

Decade of Dominance
At the conclusion of the 1999 season, at which point De La Salle H.S. (Concord, Calif.) had extended its national-record winning streak to 100 games, DLS lineman Tosh Lupoi was asked to describe his All-American teammate D.J. Williams. Lupoi is an expert on Williams, a 6-2 230-pound linebacker who will play this fall at the University of Miami (Fla.). Then again, all of the Spartans are pretty much experts on all of the other Spartans. \"I\'ve been with him almost every day of my life

HIgh School Notes
National signing day was only a couple of months ago, but it\'s never too soon to begin identifying and evaluating the prospects who will top every coach\'s wish list come next year. In this issue, we look at the top recruits on defense from the LB and secondary positions for the Class of 2001: MLB-TE Joe DiPre 6-4 240 4.8 Cathedral Prep (Erie, Pa.)A very tough, intense and physical player with good instincts; had a big game in last year\'s AAAA state cha

Marv LeVy
Scholar. Advisor. Friend. College Head Coach. Professional Head Coach (CFL, USFL & NFL). Winningest coach in the history of the Buffalo Bills (123-78 .625). The only man to lead a team to four-consecutive Super Bowl appearances (1991-94). TV commentator. And, most importantly, one of the most respected, genuine good guys in the history of the sport, Marv Levy has seen it all in more than 40 years in the game. From his college days as the head coach at New Mexico, California, and William & Mar

Do It Your Way
Throughout my twenty-two years in the profession, I have had the opportunity to coach at both the collegiate and high school levels. During that time, I have had the pleasure of working with various coaching staffs that have helped me formulate my philosophies on dealing with the passing game. At the same time, I have coached many athletes with various ranges in athletic abilities. Therefore, I have had to adapt each year to the specific situation. When you are developing a passing attack, it

A Killer Pass Rush
As Defensive Line Coaches, we work and create many pass rush games. The object is to give our players the best chance to rush the passer. We also create situations that allow our best pass rushers opportunities to highlight their pass rushing ability. Most of the time we call pass rush games from the sideline as a part of a defensive call. At Stanford, the problem we experienced were that we were calling the games, but we were fifty-fifty at best versus offensive line protection slides

News & Notes
Barnett\'s Colorado Contract Finalized After more than one year, Gary Barnett and the University of Colorado finalized a five-year contract. The multi-year contract, retroactive to Jan. 22, 1999, when he accepted the position, is one of three positions the State Legislature allows CU to exempt from standard contract rules. All other deals are limited to one year. \"We\'re delighted to have finalized the agreement with coach Barnett. This gives us the opportunity to accomplish the g


June 2000 Staff MeetingLetter from PublisherWords of Wisdom from Buffalo Bills¹ legend Marv LevyNews and Notes Barnett and the Buffs finally ink a deal... Tennessee¹s academic

Hurricane Butch
For the better part of 12 seasons, fear and loathing fueled the University of Miami. Dressed in orange and white, but invariably cast in black, the Hurricanes were the unofficial scourge of college football. They were the team you loved to hate, but dreaded seeing on your schedule. And with good reason. Embarking on one of the most dominant stretches in the sport\'s history, the Hurricanes ravaged the Division I-A landscape with NFL-bound talent and WWF-like attitude. Be

Nothing teaches like an example...
You could call it Jeff Tedford\'s School for Quarterbacks. Graduates include NFL first-round draft choices Trent Dilfer, now with the Baltimore Ravens, and Akili Smith of the Cincinnati Bengals. The professor\'s preferred prerequisites for admission are toughness, intelligence, competitiveness, athletic ability and arm strength. In that order. Required supplies are pencils, paper, a VCR and a football. Oh, yes, and a set of checkers. Class is in session virtually all year at the Unive

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Speed Training for Combines
Whether a player attends the NFL combine in Indianapolis, or one of the ten NFL-sanctioned Scout Camp regional football combines, he will be tested in a variety of areas. But when the combine is over and all the data has been collected, there is typically only one question that gets asked about a player: How fast is he? Because this is the reality of the situation, all combine participants should be well-prepared to face the \"holy trinity\" of combine tests: the 40- yard dash, the short shu

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\"

Mark Speckman
Mark Speckman, like every football coach and player on this planet, has seen many a penalty flag he thought absurd. One in particular, from his playing days at Menlo College, stands out. The memories have faded, but the irony has not. Speckman, a linebacker, was asked one game to fill in on the offensive line for a few snaps and was penalized for illegal use of the hands. The ironic part is that he was incapable of committing the infraction. Speckman was born without hands.

Letter from the Editor
If it is true that hard times are the test of a man\'s character, a test in the life of Tony Dungy came on Sunday night January 23. At approximately 6:30 p.m. St. Louis time, staring straight into the face of one of his most disappointing losses as a head coach, Tampa Bay\'s leader showed why the once struggling Buccaneers are now one of the model franchises in the NFL. The answers all begin and end with Dungy, a man of class, a man of dignity, and a man to be admired and emulated by everyone he

Joe Cool
For the record, the song was called, \"In Heaven, There is No Beer.\" And the first time he heard it being belted out by a senior citizens band from the local Kiwanis club on that late summer day in 1989, Joe Glenn began to realize just how much work he had ahead of him. It was his first game as head football coach at the University ofNorthern Colorado, and although the afternoon would end in a narrow victory over Idaho State, it was a truly humbling experience. It had been seven years

High School Notes
Columbine football team brings home state title Seven months after the school lived through the worst high school massacre in U.S. history, Columbine (Colo.) High School had something to cheer about again. The Rebels capped an improbable state-title run with a 21-14 victory over traditional power Cherry Creek for the 5A state championship. Chants of \"We are Columbine\" echoed during the game from an estimated 8,000 Columbine students and fans filling the stands. The chant

Q And A: Larry Kehres
Q.You graduated from Mount Union with a major in business administration. If you hadn\'t gotten into coaching, what do you think you\'d be doing now?A.I suppose I\'d be doing something in the business world. But to tell the truth, right now I can\'t picture myself doing anything but coaching.Q: a head coach for 14 years, are you still learning?A:Yes, of course. That\'s part of the changes a coach needs to make. Anticipating problems is how I\'d put it. When s

Words of Wisdom - Eddie Robinson
In the world of sports, there are certain numbers that stand alone, needing no words to aid in the description of their meaning. In baseball, that number might be 56, signifying the amazing hitting streak compiled by Joe DiMaggio. In basketball, that mystical number might be 100 - the number of points scored by Wilt Chamberlain one night in Hershey, Pa. And in football, a pretty good number to remember would be 408. That\'s the number of wins the immortal Eddie Robinson accumulated ove

Husker Power
Looking back, it\'s hard to believe it. But just 30 years ago, coaches at the University of Nebraska were actually discouraging athletes from lifting weights for fear it would make them muscle bound and slower. My, have times changed in Lincoln. I first came to Nebraska in 1968, competing as a pole valuter on the track and field team. A back injury halted my valuting career in the spring of my junior year. To rehab my back, I went to the weight room every day where a few injured Husker foo

The Winning Business
The work ethic that has steered Larry Kehres to some amazing heights in college football coaching began to take shape a long time ago. The man who has earned four AFMA Coach of the Year awards at Mount Union College in Ohio, Kehres as a youth performed tasks before and after school and had his first job when he was just 10 years old. \"We didn\'t feed chickens every day or anything like that,\'\' says Kehres, who grew up in rural Palmyra township near Alliance. \"But when I was t

The Triple Shoot
During the early winter months of 1999 the University of Wyoming installed a new run-and- shoot-style offense called the \"Triple Shoot.\" We knew going into the season that we would have the usual growing pains associated with the implementation of a new offense. We also had the added concern of starting three freshmen on the offensive line, a freshman at superback (running back) and a freshman in the starting rotation at receiver. We tried to stay as balanced as possible and were

Passing Drills for Young Quarterbacks
Coaching quarterbacks is unique for a number of reasons. First, the spaced repetition time needed to master the mechanics of throwing, setting up to throw, optioning - along with all of the footwork that accompanies the position - is extensive. Secondly, the mental preparation is more demanding than with any other position on the field. Finally, the need for the quarterback to be an on-the-field extension of the head coach and offensive coordinator requires that a unique bond develop between pla

News & Notes
Once Under Fire, DuBose Gets Contract Extension Just months after rumors swirled that he would be fired, Alabama Coach Mike DuBose signed a two-year contract extension at season\'s end. \"I can\'t say enough about how proud I am of Coach DuBose and the entire football staff for their accomplishments this season and the classy way they have run their program,\" Athletic Director Mal Moore said in a statement. \"This agreement gives our coaching staff the security they deserve and ne

Complete Coach
21st Century Uniforms and Apparel You look good, and you feel good; you play well.by Rod Smith It\'s an adage as old as the game itself. But as we stride into a new century, does this axiom still carry the weight it once did? You bet it does. At the onset of the 21st century, the fusion between sports, entertainment and fashion has never been stronger. Football uniforms are continually becoming more customized, form-fitting and durable. Yet at the same time, t


February 2000 Would you like to read a past article from American Football Monthly Magazine? Or are you looking for an article on a specific subject not in this month's issue? Try back issues. Staff Meeting

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Intercepting the Game
Playoff football in the NFL leaves little margin for error. Teams survive the regular season by limiting mistakes, and taking advantage of the opposition\'s errors. Occasionally, there\'s a team that truly dominates their opponents to reach the playoffs. But over the years, one thing is clear: The team that is most likely to win is the team that snags the interception. During the regular season, interceptions are undeniably important. A review of all AFL/NFL games from 1946-1999

Class of 2000
BACK TO THE FUTURE For many newly-hired college head coaches, it\'s a new job in an old place Chuck Amato waited more than 20 years to return home to North Carolina State. And, so far this season, it appears the wait was worth it for both Amato and Wolfpack fans. Amato, who toiled as an assistant coach under Florida State\'s venerable Bobby Bowden for 18 years, isn\'t the only member of the Division I head coaching class of 2000 that is returning to his roots.Like Amato,

Hoop Dreams
When I was named head coach at Juniata College in 1998, my staff and I needed to determine what type of offense best suited our personnel. We had a number of quality receivers, an inexperienced offensive line and a quarterback with a great deal of potential. We decided to develop a passing attack that would teach our quarterback a few basic principles and carry him through an entire season. We did not want to make many play changes from week to week, and it was imperative that our coaches

Letter from the Publisher
Sometimes media pundits will make the comment that \"coaching is overrated.\" These same geniuses will say that it is simply a matter of the team with the most talent wins. \"Look at Florida State University,\" they say, \"anyone could win there.\" Well, anyone involved with football will tell you there are hundreds of games each season where one team will get beat by a team with inferior talent because the staff on the opposite sideline developed a superior game plan and coerced th

High School Notes
Mid-Season Top Performances Quarterback David Koral of Palisades (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) set a new national single-game record by passing for 764 yards during a 48-30 win over Grant (Van Nuys) on Sept. 22. The old record of 672 yards was set by Rhett Lashlee of Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.), according to the Student Sports national record book. Tyler Ebell of Ventura (Calif,) rushed for over 300 yards in five straight games - including one 400-yard perform

Words of Wisdom
Charles \"Bud\" Wilkinson is known as one of the best coaches in the history of the game and his 154-49-4 record speaks for itself. But the man who is one of the winningest coaches in the all of college football is also immortalized for the words he uttered when his team lost. Those who were on the field in 1957 when the University of Oklahoma\'s 47-game winning streak came to an end with a 7-0 loss to Notre Dame remember the mood in the stadium: stunned silence. But the players also remembe

Robber
With today\'s high-flying passing attacks getting all the national acclaim, here is quite arguably the finest mode of counter-attack. So many times defensive coordinators have to change their entire defensive package just to deal with a one dimensional aerial circus, but here is the way in which you can pressure their protection schemes, all the while baiting the quarterback to throw into a mine field known as Robber coverage. The following is an outline of the Robber coverage package we run at

Adversity? What adversity?
Gary Barnett never thinks about what could have been. No way, Barnett said. What\'s done is done. The Rose Bowl season in 1995? No time to think about it. All the job offers he got in 1996? His answer is a resounding, \"No. I made the right decision.\'\' Even after he inherited the nation\'s toughest schedule this year in his second year at the helm of Colorado, Barnett talked only about how much he and his team liked the idea of facing the best of

The Conductor
While other coaches spent the off-season boning up on the latest offensive drills or figuring out how to defend against the pass, Texas Tech\'s Manny Matsakis was curled up with the latest issue of Psychology Today and wondering whether the heavy metal band Metallica could help his kickoff coverage team stop the run-back. So far, Matsakis is convinced his time was well spent. \"Every time we play it, something good happens,\" Matsakis says of his growing love for Metallica w

What\'s the Rush?
When New Mexico State head coach Tony Samuel selected a coaching staff to join him in Las Cruces three years ago, the first priority was to put a physical team on the field. The other coaches and I made a commitment to run the ball. During the past two seasons, the Aggies were ranked 7th and 13th in rushing offense.Since all of the coaches have worked with Nebraska teams, it\'s easy to understand why the option is an integral part of our offensive package. The G-Option is one of the options

News & Notes
St. Cloud coach reprimanded for prank St. Cloud State officials didn\'t think it was funny when head coach Randy Hedberg asked a player to pick up a non-existent Australian player from the airport. School officials reprimanded Hedberg and ordered him to seek counseling to improve his interpersonal skills in the wake of the prank. Hedberg asked running back Scott Schmitz to pick up an Australian football player from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when h

Frantastic
When Texas Christian University stomped Arkansas State in its third game this year, it was more than just another win in a season that is supposed to put the once hapless team on the map. The 52-3 drubbing stretched the Horned Frogs\' winning streak to eight - their longest since 1938 and the fourth longest in the country. TCU Coach Dennis Franchione shrugs amicably when asked about the historic victory. \"The only stat I worry about is the \'W,\'\" he says.


November 2000 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom from legendary Bud Wilkinson

Equipment
Issues | November 1999 Equipment Room Chronomix Corp.1-800-538-1548www.chronomix.comThe Practice Timer is a multi-use training tool. It can be programmed for circuit interval training or practice segment timing. When not running programs it can be used as a hundredth of a second stop watch for timing the forty yard dash or laps. Accessories

Why They Return
George Seifert had what seemed like the perfect life. He did what he wanted when he wanted to do it, a leisurely existence that he earned as a retired football coach with the highest winning percentage in NFL history. Following the 1996 season, he left his beloved San Francisco 49ers — the team that once played home games at Kezar Stadium where he served as an usher in high school — after 17 years and embarked on a lifestyle that qualified him for a Robin Leach prof

Follow the Leaders
Contrary to the opinion of many people, leaders are not born. Leaders are made; and they are made by effort and hard work." —Vince Lombardi Providing leadership is one of a football coaching staff's fundamental responsibilities. Coaches are expected to dictate the direction, set the standard and mold the attitude and character of their team. One of the outcomes of effective leadership is the development and empowerment of other leaders. Are you devel

Wannstedt—Winning Again
Given their shared passion for late-night cheese nachos over a few Heinekens, the average nutritionist might suggest that Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt need the afternoon jog for which they've become notorious. But those who understand and appreciate their seemingly symbiotic relationship—one forged over the past two decades—will tell you otherwise. Johnson and Wannstedt were born to run. Together. After all, that's how the Miami Dolphins' head coach and

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

High School Notes
Three of preseason top five teams loseThe 1999 season has taken its toll on some early national contenders in the ranks of high school football. Preseason top 5 picks—as rated in AFM's High School Power Rankings—No. 3 McKinley (Canton, Ohio), No. 4 Northwestern (Miami, Fla.) and No. 5 Jenks (Okla.) have all dropped games during the first half of the season. Behind the record-setting passing of super QB prospect Brock Berlin, No. 1 Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport,

Boys to Men
Football's great, but it's not everything. Not all coaches would agree with that statement, especially not those who have won close to 90 percent of their games. But Mount Carmel head coach Frank Lenti is not like most coaches. Lenti has won at the all-male Catholic high school on Chicago's south side at an amazing rate. So you might expect him to talk at length about NFL players like Simeon Rice and Donovan McNabb, who prepped under his tutelage at Mount Carmel. Or maybe brag

New Equipment
HeavyRopefrom Strength Systems, Inc.800-451-5867www.strength-systems.comThe HeavyRope is a weighted jump rope, allowing an athlete to gain both a cardiovascular and upper-body strength workout at the same time. It is available in one, two, four, five and six-pound weights. A suggested training program is included with each rope.The reason that it's called a HeavyRope is because the rope is weighted with sand. The product is made of a rubber materia

Balancing Act
On behalf of the University of Arkansas, Coach Houston Nutt and offensive staff, it's a pleasure to be asked to write an article for American Football Monthly. 1998 was a great year for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Our offensive unit was explosive with big play potential on every snap. Our players executed well, averaging almost 400 yards per game with a scoring total of 32.6 points per contest. Of course, a solid offense was accompanied by a swarming defense and great kicking game. We hav

Dragon Attack
Throwing the football is done in many ways and for many reasons. In Barcelona, we want to be aggressive with the football. We always want the defense to be concerned with our ability to attack them deep and often. We are a one-back, multiple formation team that will run the ball because the defense is trying to take away our vertical passing game. Our most frequently used pass concept is Jets — getting four receivers to threaten the defense deep. We know that a major impact on w

Darrell Royal
A legendary homespun wit and an innovative mind have made former Texas boss Darrell Royal a coaching icon. UT football teams amassed 167 victories (including 30 straight), won three national championships and played in 16 bowl games during the 20 years Royal patrolled the sidelines in Austin. The Longhorns flat-out dominated the Southwest Conference during the Royal era, with 11 league titles (including a record six straight) and 77 players named all-SWC from 1957-76. Royal's overall 23-year

News
Prognosis for Beth Holtz termed 'excellent'The wife of South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz had successful surgery in October to remove her adrenal gland and a cyst on her ovary. The procedure on Beth Holtz was performed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. In a statement after the surgery, Holtz said that the operation went extremely well and his wife's prognosis is excellent. He said she will recover at the family's home in Orlando, Fla. Holtz left his team fo

Complete Coach
The smallest edge on your competition can mean the difference between a championship and a season-ending loss. Complete Coach is an educational series helping coaches learn more about products and services dedicated to giving you the edge you need. As a coach some things are out of your control. After all, athletes are born—not made, right? The biggest players always have the biggest heart. And you can't teach someone how to be fast, right? Wrong. If t

Frank Lenti Q & A
Q.Is "pride" a word you would use to describe how you feel when you see a former player like Donovan McNabb or Simeon Rice selected in the first round of the NFL draft?A.I guess pride is an acceptable term. More than pride, I'm probably just happy for them. There's a saying, "When the sun shines on one, it shines on all of us,"...at Mount Carmel, we helped develop their value system, their work ethic and we helped develop their athleticism. We spent a great deal of time not just


November 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom from legendary Darrell Royal

Equipment Room
Chronomix Corp.1-800-538-1548www.chronomix.comThe Practice Timer is a multi-use training tool. It can be programmed for circuit interval training or practice segment timing. When not running programs it can be used as a hundredth of a second stop watch for timing the forty yard dash or laps. Accessories are available for printed results or automatic timing. ContinentalAthletic Supply1-800-544-5564www.continentalathletic.com

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?

Walking the Sidelines
Every week during college football season, fans routinely cast their eyes on somebody's Top 25 poll - Associated Press, ESPN/USA Todayand several lesser-known ranking systems now incorporated into the Bowl Championship Series formula - to see where their respective schools might stack up with the rest of the nation. These polls are anything but perfect. They spur controversy, often drawing the ire of people in places like Blacksburg, Lincoln, Knoxville, Manhattan and State College

100 Years of Football Development
1900-1909 College football had been in existence for 31 years, but in the early days the game resembled something more like soccer. Not until Stanford's Walter Camp started tinkering with the rules in the late 1800's did the game we now know as football take shape. In 1900, prior rules changes had called for an eleven-man scrimmage system, and the "flying wedge" - invented by a Harvard chess expert - was outlawed. In 1906, St. Louis University became the first team to score on the ne

Crystal Ball
Ever wonder what the future holds for the game, sport and business of football? Will attendance increase? Will stadiums continue to expand to the point where Michigan Stadium will be the "Little House?" Will the new millennium bring with it unimaginable technology that will enhance the game? No doubt, in a scant few years, we will see revolutions in equipment that will be as drastic as the change from leather helmets to the modern battle armor. Will the game prosper? Wi

1999...Out With A Smile
Throughout the years I have written letters to begin each issue of our magazine, I have seemingly always focused on serious and, oftentimes, somber subjects such as a coach\'s suicide, dealing with troubled players, burnout and more. But as I contemplated how to end the 20th century, I thought, \"Why not go out with a smile?\" So, for this special end-of-the-century look at football, I have decided to relate a story that I hope will bring a smile to your face and a chuckle to your hea

Earl Blaik
When Earl "Red" Blaik took over a floundering Army program on Christmas Day in 1940, it marked the start of a new chapter in the history of West Point football—what became the most successful era in the history of the U.S. Military Academy. The Black Knights would win 121 games and three national titles over the next 18 seasons. In addition to winning football games, Blaik will forever be remembered for coaching back-to-back Heisman Trophy winning Cadets Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard in

High School Notes
Top 5 RankingsEvangel Christian (Shreveport, La.) continues to march toward a fourth straight state title - and possibly a national title - behind the record-setting arm of quarterback Brock Berlin. Berlin, an early verbal commitment to Coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators, had passed for nearly 14,000 yards and 150 touchdowns for his career through Evangel's 34-14 playoff win over John Ehret (New Orleans) Nov. 26. With up to two games remaining, the total left Berlin only about 5

New Equipment
InstaSports.comfrom AWS, Inc.800-835-1881Finally, coaches and athletic directors have a single, simple and free resource to manage local sports information. Introducing InstaSports.com, the new way to collect and report your team's game results to the entire community. With the stroke of a key, InstaSports.com publishes scholastic game scores and stats for everyone - television sportscasters, newspaper reporters, administrators, teachers, parents, grandparents, neighbors,

The Fly-T
The Fly-T offense is an offshoot of George Halas\' T-formation.\" Its development is attributed to former L.A. Rams offensive coordinator Hamp Pool. From 1950-55, the talented Rams used this offense to lead the NFL in total offense four times and finish a close second the other year. I played in the Fly-T in high school. And I\'ve been using the fly series sparingly for several years - mainly as a distraction to defensive coordinators. Our present head coach and defensive coordinator,

3-Step Passing Game
A three-step passing game has become a vital part of most offenses. At Troy State, we utilize quick passes to enhance our running attack. Our players refer to the three-step game as \"long handoffs.\" The reason we believe the quick passing game is such an important aspect to the running game is the advent of eight- and nine-man fronts being employed by defenses. These fronts have made running the football a huge challenge. By including the three-step passing game with our running gam

Lightning Bolts
Very quietly, the San Diego Chargers defense has been among the NFL's elite forces during the 1990s. The Lightning Bolts led the AFM in fewest total yards allowed last season and topped the conference in fewest rushing yards allowed for the fourth time this decade. One of the primary reasons for this success has been the Chargers' defensive line play. In order to have an effective defense, you must start with a defensive line that can put pressure on the passer. If the quarterback do

News & Notes
Raiders, municipality will get their day in courtThe Oakland Raiders have a February court date with their municipal rivals in the team's bid to break its lease. The trial will take place in Sacramento, the city chosen after Oakland and Alameda County asked for a change of venue. The proceedings could run as long as eight weeks. The ruling will decide whether the nomadic Raiders are free to move again - most likely back to Los Angeles — or whether they must remain in Oakla

Complete Coach
As a coach, your time is not only valuable, it's also restricted. And with a finite number of hours in a day, you can only accomplish so much. While many of your daily obligations - such as family, school and boosters - have little or nothing to do with coaching, these obligations force you to become more effective during the short stretches of time when you actually get to focus on coaching. With this in mind, how can you both save and manage your timemore efficiently? The answer li


December 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom Army Coach Earl "Red" BlaikNews and Notes Raiders

New Equipment
New Equipment Chronomix Corp.1-800-538-1548www.chronomix.comThe Practice Timer is a multi-use training tool. It can be programmed for circuit interval training or practice segment timing. When not running programs it can be used as a hundredth of a second stop watch for timing the forty yard dash or laps. Accessories are available for printed results or automatic timing. ContinentalAthletic Supply1-800-544-55

1998 American Football Monthly Coordinators of the Year
OFFENSEMike LeachUniversity of Kentucky*(*now at the University of Oklahoma)Sure it is easy to coach one of the best offenses in the country when you have All-American Tim Couch (7 NCAA, 14 SEC and 26 school records) as your QB. But to dismiss the accomplishments of the UK offense and the staff that led it as purely the play of Couch would be a failure to look deep into the system that has produced huge numbers at every stop over a 11-year period. 1998 Amer

Beating the Clock
Walk down the halls of the Minnesota Vikings' picturesque Eden Prairie compound, and you'll come to the end of a hallway where there's a familiar name on the door: Bud Grant. Whether you will find him there or not is anybody's guess. His role as consultant to the franchise doesn't demand the 100-hour work weeks "required" in coaching. But then, Grant was never the type who believed you needed to put in a 100-hour week just to win a ballgame. To find Grant, you'd better get dressed up and h

Q&A With Bud Grant
Q: What is your philosophy on staff management?A: Philosophy is something you are asked about a lot, but I am not so sure everybody has a philosophy or that I have a philosophy. Your coaching staff is vitally important; there is no successful team that doesn't have a good staff. As much as coaching might be overrated, your assistant coaches certainly can't be or shouldn't be. They are really the backbone of the team, because they do most of the work. I think it is important for

Letter from the Publisher
Several weeks ago I had the chance to go to deep in the heart of New York's Bronx and the playing field of John F. Kennedy High School to see first-hand what can be done to help save the game from the disease of decreased numbers. Like everyone who works in football, I am concerned with the problem of kids not playing the game. "Are there going to be enough kids to play the game in 2015?" people ask somewhat sarcastically. But "soccer mom" is a dirty term in many a room filled with footba

Quarterback to the Future.
Pick your poison. A classic drop-back quarterback with a shotgun arm and the vision and brains to pick apart a defensive scheme, or a quick, elusive option runner who can turn small openings into big gains and make plays on the perimeter. But what if you could have a combination of both? What if you could have a quarterback who possessed evasive running skills and effective passing skills? You can. Just look around. It seems like he's everywhere in college football these days.

Oklahoma's Passing Game Drills
For over 10 years, I had the opportunity to work with University of Kentucky coach Hal Mumme. I was his offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State and UK, and we were fortunate enough to enjoy some tremendous success. Mumme is as committed to moving the football through the air as any coach I have ever known, and, needless to say, I learned a great deal from him. Since we were going to commit to the passing game, we created an offensive practice plan around developing the ski

New Equipment
Aqua-BreezeFrom J.E. Adams Industries800-553-8861Looking to keep your team cool this season? J.E. Adams Industries of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, introduces the Aqua Breeze Mobile Cooling System. This unique and totally-integrated mobile cooling system utilizes flash evaporation cooling. Flash cooling uses the ultra-fine atomization of water droplets by forcing water through high-impact nozzles to lower the ambient temperature of an area. The unique flash evaporation u

The Bulldogs Bark
Ten years ago, Corky Rogers found himself at a crossroad for the first time in his illustrious coaching career. He faced a decision that would ultimately have implications on two of Jacksonville's most storied high school football programs. And there was no way he could please everybody. Rogers, then 45, was wrestling whether to leave his alma mater, Lee High School, after 17 successful seasons and take a job at The Bolles School. What made the decision so difficult was Rogers spen

Letters to AFM
Dear AFM: Thank you for your selection of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch to your 1998 NCAA Division I-A All- American team. Tim had a great season leading the Wildcats to their first New Year's Day Bowl appearance in 47 years. Thanks, too, for listing Tim's high school coach, Joe Beder, and his UK position coach, Chris Hatcher, along with head coach Hal Mumme. Your magazine is for "all football coaches", and AFQ (AFM) does a great job of recognizing the contributions of all coaches inv

Techniques and Drills. Part One of a two-part series.
JAM TECHNIQUEThe Jam technique is one of the most important techniques a corner must master when his responsibility is to roll up to defend the flat or when it is a pass play, such as in two-deep zone. At the snap of the football, the corner's alignment should be five-to-six yards deep and head up on the receiver with his outside foot up. The defender's key should be the quarterback. If the quarterback comes straight down the line of scrimmage, as when running an

News & Notes
Jayhawks and Irish set to open the 1999 season in the Robinson Classic Notre Dame will open the 1999 season by playing host to Kansas in the second Eddie Robinson Classic on Aug. 28. It will be the first time the Irish and Jayhawks have met since 1938, and the Aug. 28 season opener is the earliest in Notre Dame history. The classic benefits the Eddie Robinson Foundation and honors the former Grambling coach who retired after 55 years following the 1997 season. He was inducted into


June 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from PublisherReader Feedback News and Notes Eddie Robinson Cla

Family First
For Houston Nutt, his coaching philosophy is crystal clear. It's all about family. Sounds simple enough, but when he arrived at the University of Arkansas, the plan didn't look so easy. He was dealing with 15 seniors who had one season left in a football program that certainly had seen better days in the Southeastern Conference. The players went to him and said, "Coach, we want to win, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to do it." Nutt could have slid into a pessimistic fra

\'The Punch\'
*Photos/Diagrams are no longer available* Every snap is a hand-to-hand war at the line of scrimmage. Somewhere along the line offensive linemen have been taught that they should be passive and \"take the blows,\" \"deflect the force,\" or \"re-direct\" their defensive line opponents. I do not buy into that thought process; never have and never will. That type of thinking will get you beat. I believe that the \"PUNCH\" technique has revolutionized how offensive linemen are tau

NFL Coach of the Year: Picking Up the Trash and Raking the Leaves
It was gut check time for the Atlanta Falcons. At halftime of an NFC playoff game against San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons sat in their locker room of the Georgia Dome, reeling from a series that of odd calamities that turned a potential 21-0 halftime lead into a tenuous 14-10 edge. "The mood wasn't good. It was like, 'oh man, what's happening?'" recalled Falcons wide receiver Terance Mathis. "Then Dan came into the room." Just one month after undergoing quadruple-bypass heart surge

The Other Side of the Ball
While most of the attention on our football team during the last few years has been focused on the offensive side of the ball and the great job of our former head coach Gary Crowton (now offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears) and the play of our quarterback Tim Rattay and record-setting wide receiver Troy Edwards, we've also had some success on defense. We have accomplished this success by working as a staff to discover new and innovative ways to maximize the time we have with

The Sinking of the Viking Ship.
A bunch of readers have asked me to analyze the clock-management decisions in the Vikings-Falcons NFC Championship game held on January 17th. They disagree with two Vikings' decisions, one at the end of each half. Atlanta won in overtime and advanced to Super Bowl XXXIII. Would better clock management have sent Minnesota to the Super Bowl instead? Yes. With 1:17 left in the first half, Minnesota fair-caught a punt at their own 18. They ran three pass plays. The first two were incomplet

Q&A with Dan Reeves
Q: Would you say that your experiences as a successful player in college (South Carolina) and the NFL (Dallas) have helped you as a coach?A: I think it has helped me a great deal. I first got involved in coaching as a player-coach for the Cowboys. Coaching was not something I had thought about. I was not one of those people that always knew I wanted to become a coach after my playing days were over. It wasn't until I hurt my knee and Coach Landry asked me if I would be intere

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

Letter to the Editor
Four years ago, in a one room office, in the middle of Kansas, our magazine American Football Quarterly was born. As with most ideas, initially it was a "labor of love" for the few involved in the project. But the love affair that was shared by just a few grew to an overwhelming outpouring of devotion throughout the country. As soon as coaches heard about what quickly became known as AFQ, they had to have it. Thousands sent in their subscription cards and thousands more called the

Splitting Ranks
Don't mess with tradition. That's what Lawrence High School head football coach Dick Purdy might have told voters prior to the November 1994 bond issue vote that would eventually split Kansas' largest high school and most dominant football power into two separate schools. However, this was a battle that even tradition couldn't withstand. Voters approved the $36.9 million bond issue and in the fall of 1997 the city's second high school-Free State High School-opened its doors to the pub

"What I look for in hiring a coach."
As I stated in Part one of this article, there are many reasons why one coaching applicant or candidate is hired as opposed to the others. Sometimes it is because he is the best applicant, many times because of a favorable first impression. In Part one, I covered some of what I believe are the critical factors in getting hired:1.) The importance of being a good teacher. Never underestimate how important it is to be an effective teacher. Make certain that this comes through in

New Equipment
From Samson Equipment, Inc.800-472-6766Samson Weight Training Equipment, Inc. from Fairacres, N.M., introduces its Samson Power Station. The Power Station enables athletes to perform a wide variety of exercises in a limited amount of space. The Power Station is unique in that it allows athletes to perform a variety of different exercises including: Squats, Cleans, Bench Press, Incline, Shoulder Press, Chins, Dips, Calf Raises, Olympic Lifts, etc... in one station.

Letters to AFC
Dear AFM: I am currently the offensive coordinator at the University of Loughborough in the UK, where we have won the Northern Conference championship for the past two seasons. Football is very popular over here and I want to do all that I can increase the quality of the game. The reason for my letter is to solicit your help in finding a program (high school or college) in the US that would have a position where I could serve as a graduate assistant or volunteer coach. I realize

News and Notes
Judge sends message to the NCAA: "No more SAT!" 302 NCAA Division I programs were cast adrift in a boat without a rudder or sail by a decision that sent shock waves throughout all of college football. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Buckwalter ruled that the NCAA and its institutions may not use a minimum test score as a basis for eligibility. However, on March 31, an appeals court issued a temporary stay order to halt the imposition of the judge's ruling which would have completely disa


May 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Reader Feedback News and Notes No more SAT? • H

New Equipment
Chronomix Corp.1-800-538-1548www.chronomix.comThe Practice Timer is a multi-use training tool. It can be programmed for circuit interval training or practice segment timing. When not running programs it can be used as a hundredth of a second stop watch for timing the forty yard dash or laps. Accessories are available for printed results or automatic timing. ContinentalAthletic Supply1-800-544-5564www.continentalathletic.com

The AFM System for ranking active college coaches in Division I-A
This system has been designed to provide a quantitative method to examine the careers of current coaches. While it is impossible to factor in every variable, such as strength of opponents, conferences, budgets, etc., this is a way to look at all current coaches under the same microscope. The AFM Index analyzes coaches' careers in the same manner batting averages in baseball are determined (i.e. merely a reflection of the total number of hits versus at bats, the quality of pitchers faced,

Fulmer's Way
In Knoxville, Phillip Fulmer Way intersects with Peyton Manning Pass right in front of the main entrance to Neyland Stadium. But, no one really needs directions to the famed shrine of college football that has seen Phil Fulmer emerge as one of the nation's top collegiate coaches. Tennessee appreciates their favorite son. His face graces the covers of books and magazines and now the street that leads loyal Volunteer fans to the football stadium has been renamed in his honor. The 19

Letter from the Publisher
One day early in September, I was involved in a conversation that both reminded me of one of my favorite feel good "heck yeah... he's doing it right" stories of last summer, and compelled me to make a mental note to remember to share it with you. A very good friend of mine has a son who is currently a freshman player at one of the country's top football schools. This kid is a player and was recruited by virtually every school in the nation. At practice in August he quickly showed promi

The Communicator
He is everywhere in Baltimore. The slender face with the receding hairline and jutting jaw is on several Baltimore-area billboards or in team advertisements in national sports magazines. He has been active in the community, not selling just the Ravens, but himself. One day could include several motivational speeches that might have stops at the Baltimore Teachers Association or a high school football clinic with 200 coaches. Brian Billick has enamored fans in Baltimore. He quote

Bo
Glenn E. "Bo" Schembechler retired after the 1989 season as the winningest coach in the illustrious history of Michigan football (194-48-5). Schooled as an assistant under the legendary Woody Hayes, Bo's name became synonymous with toughness, winning, Wolverine football, and dominance in the 1970's as his teams won more regular season games than any other school (96-10-3). During his 21-year tenure at the Big House, Michigan won or tied for 13 Big 10 championships, and he guided 17 teams to bow

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

New Equipment
Endurox R4 Performance/Recovery Sports Drinkfrom PacificHealth Laboratories, Inc.800-397-7683Endurox R4 Performance/Recovery Sports Drink from PacificHealth Laboratories, Inc. represents a new generation of sports drinks. Developed by leading exercise physiologists and based on cutting edge research, Endurox R4 has been shown to increase endurance performance by 55% and reduce post exercise muscle damage by 36% when compared to the leading selling sports drink.

Brian Billick Q & A
Q.In your decision to take the job, how important was the philosophical commitment from the top management at Baltimore for the development of a winning franchise in your overall analysis of the situation?A. Without the proper commitment and support from the overall organization, winning on the field is virtually impossible. This means having the same passion and commitment for the game as the players and coaches. I have experienced many times, particularly at the college level,

Be Careful How You Identify Defenses
Conventional names for defensive alignments—like Eagle G and Four Across—do not tell you what your plays will face. Certainly, computer analysis will not if it is done after inputting conventional names. What a given play will face is: (1) either a balanced or an unbalanced alignment, relative to your formation; (2) one defender who can keep himself free of pass routes, fakes, and blocks—an unoccupied defender, the counterpart of the offender who has the ball; (3) a

Zone Pressures
*Photos/Diagrams are no longer available* The philosophy of our Zone Blitz Package at Widener is built upon the following concepts: simplicity, accountability and relentless pursuit to the football. Our package can be run with any of our defensive fronts, everywhere on the field and in all game situations. This allows us to give the offense a lot of different looks while maintaining our shell integrity in the secondary. As a result, we have a system that has multiple looks,

News & Notes
It was the surprise of the off-season. Washington AD Barbara Hedges lured then-Colorado head coach Rick Neuheisel to the University of Washington for big money. In August the two made it an official marriage as coach Neuheisel signed a contract for nearly $1 million a year. Neuheisel was named head coach Jan. 9. He was hired away from Colorado after former Husky coach Jim Lambright was fired following Washington's 6-6 season. The new Husky head man's total compensation is $997,000 a year

Complete Coach
The adage is the bigger they are the harder they will fall. Not necessarily. If your athletes can develop speed and agility along with size, they may very well be able to withstand almost anything the competition throws at them. The key to developing bigger, stronger, more agile players is the weight room. How do you as a coach get the most out of each weight room session? How can you create a weight room, or revamp your present facility into one that helps your players achieve their goa


October 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Words of Wisdom from legendary Bo Schembechler News and Notes Neuheisel finally gets his deal d

Offensive Minded
When University of Kentucky athletic director C.M. Newton was searching for a football coach after the 1996 season and called Florida's Steve Spurrier for suggestions, the Gator boss didn't throw out any names. Just a formula. "I told him to go after an offensive-minded guy because that's how you move the ball up and down the field, win games, win championships and put fans in the seats," said Spurrier. In other words, somebody like, well, himself. Newton took Spurrie

The Best Coaching Staffs
What makes a great staff? Is it the number of championships won collectively? How about longevity at the institution or team? Could it be the number of future head coaches being apprenticed by the current head coach? Is the best staff the one that consistently recruits the top players? The answer to what makes a great staff most assuredly is defined by each of the components listed above. For some staffs, they have been together for so long that each of the staff members feels like par

New Equipment
Chronomix Corp.1-800-538-1548www.chronomix.comThe Practice Timer is a multi-use training tool. It can be programmed for circuit interval training or practice segment timing. When not running programs it can be used as a hundredth of a second stop watch for timing the forty yard dash or laps. Accessories are available for printed results or automatic timing. ContinentalAthletic Supply1-800-544-5564www.continentalathletic.com

High School Coaches of the Year
SOUTHDale Mueller, Highland HS, Ft. Thomas, KY1998: 15-0 record, 3A state champsRecord at school: 61-9, 5 yearsDespite being a 3A school, Highland left little doubt it was the best the state of Kentucky had to offer in 1998. Not only did coach Dale Mueller's squad post a perfect 15-0 mark, but it knocked off the 4A state champion during the regular season to lay claim to being the best of the best. Along the way, an amazin

Win-Win Situation
If it had been a marriage last January - so sudden, so shockingly surprising - the town gossips would have had a field day. Dashing Dennis Erickson, the coach who won two national football championships at Miami, and Oregon State, the ungainly spinster of college football? No way. It can't last, the gossips would have said. Oregon State just got him on the rebound from that nasty mess in Seattle. Gosh, he can't be the desperate, can he? After all the bright lights, and the fame

Q & A
Q. If you went back to coaching high school football again, with all your experience, how would you approach it?A As a teaching job. I think you really have to focus on what's important to you in a high school job. What's important to me, with the way things are anymore, is to teach them the fundamentals of the game, first of all. Be a teacher and a coach. Don't get carried away with Xs and Os, get carried away with teaching them how to block and tackle, the thing that football'

Letter to the Editor
Sometimes when you do something day after day, you lose sight of the importance of what you are doing. Toyou, it becomes "just a job". Do you ever coast through the day on cruise control? Teach classes. Go to practice.Look at film. Is it that way for other people you come into contact with during your work week?Do you ever wonder if the dentist is really thinking about you and your cavity, or is he just performing another filling, while daydreaming of his upcoming vacation to Hawaii?

New Equipment
Creatine Edge EffervescentFrom FSI Nutrition888-331-6601FSI Nutrition, an Omaha, Neb. company, now offers Creatine Edge Effervescent. With Creatine Edge Effervescent, creatine molecules break down in water and become readily available to the body, giving athletes an absorption rate of about 95-99 percent, compared to about 35 percent with conventional creatine pills and powders. This absorption rate, proven by two independent university tests, frees athletes from

Letters to AFM
We want your input! Letters to AFM should include the name, address and telephone number of the writer. Mail to: AFM, P.O. Box 13079, North Palm Beach, FL, 33408. Or, you can e-mail your letter to us at letters@americanfootballmonthly.com or reach us via fax at (561) 627-5275. Visit AFM online at www.americanfootballmonthly.com. Dear AFM: I am writing to you because I would like to plug our football program

The Big Six
Many years ago I sat down and attempted to encapsulate our passing game. The rationale for this was simple. We had too many pass plays and the quarterback was becoming confused by the potpourri of route combinations. After some careful thought and extensive research, I came to the conclusion that it made more sense to "group" our passing offense into six concepts (Delta, Flood, China, Option, Crossing, and One-on-One). This seemed more logical than teaching 90 to 100 different route combi

Slant to Win
To say that the war is won by winning the battle in the trenches is not a cliche. As the defensive line coach at Boston College, my entire philosophy about defensive line play is based on this idea. However, winning the battle in the trenches does not necessarily mean that defensive linemen have to make plays. To win, we must have an impact on the run and pass game. In the run game, the battle up front is won when we keep the offensive line off of our linebackers and safeties, and co

Bobby and the Boys
Unlike many colleagues in their nomadic profession, they remain anchored to a cozy town in northwest Florida. They have kept the moving vans at bay, instead preferring to work for the same boss while turning down more lucrative job opportunities elsewhere. Coaches at other Division I-A schools would likely jump at thechances that have presented themselves to Florida State's staff over the years. Jim Gladden, the 58-year-old defensive ends coach, reinforced his status as a Seminole

News & Notes
Ravens loaned $65 million from NFL lender The NFL has arranged a $65 million, short-term loan for the Baltimore Ravens, backed by the eventual sale of part of the franchise to a new investor, according to The Baltimore Sun. Team owners voted overwhelmingly to approve the bailout for Ravens controlling partner Art Modell, one of the league's longest-standing owners. His financial problems have prompted several NFL actions in recent years, including the 1996 vote to all


September 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Reader Feedback News and Notes Ravens loa

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

New Equipment
New Equipment Chronomix Corp.1-800-538-1548www.chronomix.comThe Practice Timer is a multi-use training tool. It can be programmed for circuit interval training or practice segment timing. When not running programs it can be used as a hundredth of a second stop watch for timing the forty yard dash or laps. Accessories are available for printed results or automatic timing. ContinentalAthletic Supply1-800-544-5564

Main Attraction
It's not like Mack Brown didn't have enough to worry about in his first year at the helm of the University of Texas football program. There was picking up the pieces from a dreadful 4-7 season and the enormous expectations of the "Hook 'em, 'Horns" faithful. Not to mention the separate controversies that precipitated his arrival in the Lone Star State. One being the firing of his predecessor, John Mackovic, and the other the bitter feelings that lingered in North Carolina when B

No Time to Huddle
Huddling when you are behind is like lighting your cigar with $100 bills. Let's say your team is behind by five points with 10 seconds left to go in the game. You have the ball first and 10 at midfield. You can run two plays before time runs out, if you can stop the clock after the first one. To go 50 yards in two plays, you have to average 25 yards per play. The rule I am applying to arrive at that answer is: The number of yards you need on your next play is whatever you need to ge

Letter to the Editor
Watch any basketball game and you'll see some of the best swimmers in the world. Men and women who truly understand how to navigate through the ebbs and tides of emotion that run through every athletic contest. Take for instance, what happens if a game is tied and one team steals the ball goes for a break away and slams the ball uncontested through the hoop. Then, this same team steals the in-bounds pass and scores an easy lay up. Next, they force a turnover and score quickly (let's

Box Mania:Jump and Step to Success
As many of you know or have learned through recent instruction, using a plyometic box and associated exercises is a practical way to enhance your athletes' body power, agility and ability to change direction. While the "box" itself is often a simple device, variations of lower body power developers (box jumps) or strength developers (step-ups) are simple to adapt and can be used to add variety, intensity and more sport-specific movement.About Box Design Remember, there are ma

New Equipment
Training PartnerFrom Burke Spencer U.S.A., Inc.888-862-8753Uniquely designed belt, ankle cuffs, hand pads, and break-through Tensor technology mark the Training Partner developed by Linden, N.J.'s Burke Spencer U.S.A., Inc. Tensor resistance provides approximately 10 pounds of smooth, unrestricting resistance per Tensor, working muscles fully through concentric and eccentric muscular movements. Muscles quickly adjust to this seemingly insignificant load. Musc

The Warhawk Way
Special teams practice and organization of time is always critical to any good football team. At UW-Whitewater, we have been very fortunate to have an offense that averages 40-plus points per game over the last three seasons. Along with a high-point average, comes a huge number of kick-offs and field position changes for our defense. We select kick-off coverage personnel mostly from the defensive side, particularly linebackers and defensive backs. Occasionally, we will use a fast, agi

Letters to AFM
We want your input! Letters to AFM should include the name, address and telephone number of the writer. Mail to: AFM, P.O. Box 13079, North Palm Beach, FL, 33408. Or, you can e-mail your letter to us at letters@americanfootballmonthly.com or reach us via fax at (561) 627-5275. Visit AFM online at www.americanfootballmonthly.com. Dear AFM: You recently asked, "Why does America love football?" There are a

Attacking the Zone Blitz
Every year we all come up with "new" and improved ways to out-attack our opponents. The zone blitz of the 1990s is one such defensive innovation that has created havoc for quarterbacks at all levels. Historically, QBs have been taught to pre-snap read safeties to alert themselves of the potential of a "dog" (LB) or blitz (DB). The difficulty caused by the zone blitz is that effective use of the package does not allow the QB to trust any pre-snap gathering of information by alignment, maki

Techniques and Drills
TECHNIQUE DRILLSIn part one of this article, I covered some of the philosophies and techniques we use to defend and control our opponent's passing game. I outlined our teaching progressions for the jam, trail, streak, close the post, post flat, press (bump and run), and the sideline and go techniques. Also, I discussed how we teach proper alignment and how to strip the ball from wideouts. Now I will detail the drills we use to teach our fundamental techniques.Drill No. 1: Press (

A Bronx Tale
It is said that New York City is like no other place on Earth. To its public school football coaches, the phrase takes on an entirely different meaning. The Big Apple is, in many ways, high school football's final frontier. The sport somehow is managing to survive in an environment where all too often it seems the forces are aligned to squelch it out. By and large, high school teams in the city are under funded and many operate with no money provided by the Public Schools Athle

Bellotti Q&A
Q: What is your approach to disciplining players? You have a three-strikes policy. Please explain.A: We ask for commitment from our players. Generally, we ask them to be accountable and responsible. They know right from wrong. We tell them to 'do right.' It's pretty simplistic in its approach. We have a commitment time (requiring an early morning wake-up) and if they screw up initially, they're remanded to that. If there's something more serious, where there's an outright br

News & Notes
Notre Dame may have more problems with the NCAANotre Dame has hired a law firm which specializes in assisting colleges under investigation by the NCAA to help the school in the continuing saga of a booster who gave improper gifts to Irish football players. It appears the program may be in more trouble with the NCAA than originally thought concerning the case of imprisoned booster Kim Dunbar. "Notre Dame wanted us to accept this case as a secondary infraction investig


July 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Reader Feedback News and Notes Notre Dame booster drama • Auburn saga continues

What Do You Expect?
Over the years, Bishop Amat Memorial High School (Calif.) has achieved notable success. The school has been recognized by the U.S. Congress as one of the "Exemplary Private High Schools in the Nation" and consistently receives the highest possible accreditations from the various associations and boards responsible for scholastic certification. This tradition of academic achievement has found its way onto the athletic fields of Bishop Amat, as well. Since their first varsity football s

Hot Coaches
His phone is ringing off the hook. A university president or an athletic director is calling, wondering if he's interested in making a big career move. The media is calling, asking if he's had any official contact or offers. Potential assistant coaches are calling, looking for a job. He's the coach at the top of the "hot" list. He's the one on everybody's list and lips. He's the media magnet, the answer to somebody's prayers, the savior in waiting, the guy who can come to your school a

New Equipment
New Equipment Wilson NCAA Footballs773-714-6400www.wilsonsports.comAll Wilson NCAA Game Footballs are made of Horween® 864 leather with tanned-in tack and lockstitch construction with 3 patterns to choose from 1001, 1005 and 1004.1001- Most Division 1 Schools use the 1001, same pattern and size as the NFL Game Ball.1005- Better known as the "small ball", the 1005 is growing in popularity as a ball that is easier to grip and throw for play

Youth Issue
The following pages dedicated to youth football are the first of what I know will become an annual supplement to our magazine. This is our effort to help the thousands of men, who give so willingly of their time to enrich the lives of the young men playing youth football at parks and sandlots across the country. Whether it be Pop Warner, Police Athletic Leagues, Park and Rec. leagues, or NFL Flag teams, the youth coach is the backbone of the sport. These teachers are coaches and mentors in th

Star's Trek...
Just as James T. Kirk passed the baton to Jean-Luc Picard, Bob Stoops, Brian Billick and Chris Palmer have now ascended to the heights of the coaching world and the time has come for the next wave of "hot" superstars on the rise. The following is our look at the 25 coaches who are sure to be on the list of every athletic director or general manager looking for a savior for his or her program. These men will inspire confidence in the faithful and rally the troops because they are the next

Head Game
Wouldn't it be great to be able to match player personalities with particular football positions to get the best performance from the entire team and thereby improve the chances of success for the players and the team? The focus of this article is on a new and promising line of research that links a player's personality with his playing position on the field. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality test that has been used for years in various settings, especially in the

Woody Hayes
While Woody Hayes walked the Ohio State sidelines (1951-78), the Buckeyes won five national titles (barely missing four others), captured 13 Big Ten crowns and won 205 games, including 152 conference matchups. Under Woody, the Buckeyes played in 11 bowl games, including eight Rose Bowls. Hayes, a man of strong inspiration and direction, will always be remembered for his on-the-field accomplishments. Some of his colorful remarks won't be soon forgotten, either. "Me, I can't b

Letter to the Editor
What makes someone a "hot" coach? What does it mean when someone is described as "hot?" Why is it that every year when job openings occur a short list of the same names seem to appear? Before Bob Stoops took the Oklahoma job, he was rumored for every opening for three years. Brian Billick was supposed to be the next coach for about six teams last year. Sometimes a coach becomes hot by having success as a head coach at one program and other schools take notice (Gary Barnett at Northwe


Issues | August 1999 All In the FamilyGene FrenetteFlorida Times-UnionOn December 1, 1998, Bob Stoops broke from family tradition and finally reached an inevitable position that many viewed as practically his birthright: he became a head football coach. Not at your run-of-the-mill program, but at Oklahoma, a school where fans have grown accustomed to their coaches becomin

New Equipment
Rocket Pop-upFrom Rogers Athletic Company800-248-0270Help young players develop aggressiveness and safely master the blocking and tackling skills needed for victory. The Rocket Pop-up comes to its feet after every hit, freeing other players from holding or righting standard dummies. Jersey-style numbers give youth aiming points for practicing correct techniques.The Rocket Pop-up is a foam-filled dummy so there is never a loss of practice time due to leaking air

2 Minute Defense
We have all heard TV analysts saying "Prevent defense. What does it prevent?" To an extent, this question seems to have some validity. However, defensive coaches must have the necessary "ammo" to make a variety of calls with regards to score, time remaining and time outs. Having the flexibility to use a three- or four-man line gives you an advantage in the two minute, no-huddle situation. Our "rover" package gives us a chance to play both a three- or four-man line within the context of

Letters to AFM
We want your input! Letters to AFM should include the name, address and telephone number of the writer. Mail to: AFM, P.O. Box 13079, North Palm Beach, FL, 33408. Or, you can e-mail your letter to us at letters@americanfootballmonthly.com or reach us via fax at (561) 627-5275. Visit AFM online at www.americanfootballmonthly.com. Dear AFM: I had to send you this poem that one of my seventh graders wr

Power & Protection
The Washington Redskin offense, under head coach Norv Turner, is a power running football team. There are two things we must do to be a power running team. One, we must be physical. We must finish blocks, and we must finish runs. As ball carriers, we must run behind our shoulder pads with great pad level. We call it downhill or north-south running. The second thing we must do is protect the football. We stress tucking the ball away with two fingers over the nose of the football and both

Getting Five Out . . . and Still Protecting Your QB
The philosophy of our offense at Clemson University is to spread the field both horizontally and vertically. We believe that if we force the defense to defend the entire field, we can move the ball successfully. In order to spread the field effectively, we must be able to get five receivers out in some of our route packages. These packages must be coupled with a five-man protection scheme that will give our quarterback ample time to throw the ball. We've been very fortunate in the past

News & Notes
Colorado vs. Colorado State will continue to play in DenverThe rivalry between Colorado and Colorado State will be played at Denver's Mile High Stadium for two more years. The two in-state rivals, who played their first 69 meetings in either Boulder or Fort Collins, met last season at Mile High Stadium for the first time. School officials signed a contract to continue the Invesco Rocky Mountain Showdown in the final two years of Mile High Stadium's existence. Mile High will be replace


August 1999 Staff Meeting Letter from Publisher Reader Feedback News and Notes Colorado

Q&A with Bill Snyder
The problem with miracles is you never know where to look for one. Here's a clue. Take I-70 west, approximately two and one-half hours from Kansas City, turn right on exit 313 and head eight miles north to find home to one of the real miracles in the history of college football . . . Manhattan, Kansas. The stories of the turnaround have been told over and over again, but to put it plain and simple, Bill Snyder -- the quiet, professorial, unassuming and non-self-promoting head coa

Letter from Publisher
On January 13th, the same day that Michael Jordan retired from the NBA, Jimmy Johnson decided to resign as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Feeling the pain of losing his mother and his father's illness, tired of 30 years of 16 hour days, a failed marriage and lost precious time with his sons, coupled with the frustration of dealing with multi-millionaire players, who refuse to "run through a brick wall like they used to," Johnson told his boss, team owner Wayne Huizenga, he was ready to

Balance
Our basic offensive philosophy at Western Michigan is to remain as balanced and unpredictable as possible, by incorporating the run from a variety of looks (i.e., different combination of personnel, shifting, and motion) in as many different strategic situations as possible. Our balance is achieved by the percentage of run/pass relative to repititions, not yardage. As a result, we have a system that is flexible, simple to learn, and easily adapted to our personnel. The quarterback is

AFM Asks...
"Every great player I have coached has had. . ." Mike Dikta, New Orleans Saints" . . . a commitment to excellence, a will to excel and a will to win. They were willing to do all they had to do to maximize their talents. 'Effort without talent is a shame, but talent without effort is a tragedy.' The great ones were great off the field also." Fisher DeBerry,

Coach of the Year Runners-up
Tommy Bowden TulaneLiberty Bowl Champions11-0 Regular SeasonConference USA ChampionsAsk 1,000 coaches to give you the names of their colleagues who did the best jobs in 1998, and it is a sure bet that Tommy Bowden's name would appear on every list. In his two years at Tulane, Bowden was 18-4, at a school not exactly known for its football prowess. To best appreciate the job that he did, it is important to look at the school's pre-Bowden f

Whiplashed:
When Mark Whipple was on his way home last spring from the Atlantic-10 Conference meetings, the rookie head coach at the University of Massachusetts decided to buy one of those preseason football magazines to see where the so-called experts believed the Minutemen would finish in league play. Much to his dismay, UMass was the only team among 11 conference schools not mentioned in this magazine's A-10 forecast. It was as if the program didn't even exist. "We weren't in there, m


Volume 5, 1st Quarter www.americanfootballmonthly.com Last May, American Football Monthly debuted its website at www. americanfootballmonthly.com. Since that time, AFM's online presence has grown to over one hundred new visitors a day with many of its online population coming back again and again. The main purpose of www.americanfootballmonthly.com is to be an online resource for you, the football professional. We are continually adding

Coach of the Year
Division I-AA Coach of the YearMark WhippleMassachusettsThis is the one people will be talking about for a long time, the gophers-to-governors turnaround of the Massachusetts Minutemen under first-year man Mark Whipple. Whipple simply took a 2-9 team from 1997, installed his schemes, recruited a quarterback and some other key components, entered the national playoffs as the No. 11 seed with three losses, and won out&-beating three (McNeese State, No.

Letters to AFM
Last issue, we asked for your letters stating your feelings about why football is the game America loves. We'll continue featuring selected letters here, as we did the following two. Keep them coming, we want to hear from you!Dear AFM: I just read AFQ publisher Barry Terranova's letter in the newest issue and I thought I would give you a response to add to your survey. Before I do that however, let me first tell you how aprreciative I am of your magazine. I consider AFQ the "Bible" for

Coach of the Year: Bill Snyder
There's a story to illustrate the apathy. Its authenticity is tough to attribute, but the tale is too good not to share. A kid, who undoubtedly had room to roam in empty KSU Stadium, had enough by the fourth quarter and began acting up. His father in all likelihood a diehard since he hadn't fled for the exits, reportedly told his son, "If you keep that up, I'll bring you back next week." Cruel punishment indeed. Today, the bleacher space that kid could have used to se


Volume 5, 1st Quarter Spotlight Bill Snyder, Division 1 Coach of the Year Division 1 COY Runners-Up


Volume 4, 4th Quarter Spotlight Steve Mariucci: Climbing the Ladder Q&A with Steve Mariucci The Ups and Downs of Recruiting Lincoln's Southe

\'Hey Ref!\'
I am convinced that during a 10 game football season, the coach and the players who understand the rules will win at least two more games than their opponents. Therefore, if 20 percent of your season is predicated on knowledge, it is imperative to learn the basic rules of the game. There is a responsibility for coaches to share their knowledge and expectations with their players in order to give them an edge in competition. My comments are not intended to take advantage of game sit

It Starts at the Top
Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr carefully selected the metaphor, just like he did the two previous years. Inspired by the book Into Thin Air, Carr decided his team's journey through its arduous 1997 schedule loomed like an assault on Mt. Everest. Now look who's sitting at the top of the mountain. It's not just his team, the 12-0, Big Ten champion, Rose Bowl champion, national champion Wolverines up there. It's not just the staff, the coordinators and position coaches upon whom the hea

Stories from Statesboro
Ninteen seventy-eight turned out to be one hell of a season for us at Georgia. Not just because we won nine ball games, but more because the so-called "experts" had predicted that the Dawgs would be "underdawgs" in eight of our 11 games. During the preseason, our staff suggested to the players that we were the "wonder dogs" not the underdogs the media would've had them and anybody else willing to read their wit believe. I guess that's why pundits are writing instead of coaching. We lo

Ducks Two-Step Punt Skills
For the sake of clarity we will assume the punter kicks with his right foot. To properly coach the punter you should stand directly behind or beside him on his right side. Goals: The first goal is to get the punt off. We would like the punt to be away in 2.2 seconds, have a minimum of 4.5 seconds of hang time, and travel a minimum of 40 yards. Hang time is more important than distance. A general rule of thumb is always to demand more than one second of hang time per 10 yard

Clock Management
A year ago, I wrote a book called Football Clock Management. In the course of writing it, I did a great deal of research. One category of that research was games that were won in dramatic fashion in the final seconds. That category contains a surprising number of downfield-lateral plays-although fewer in recent years than in the past. It should not be that way. In fact, there should be infinitely more downfield laterals in today's football games. The most famous downfield-late

Jeff Bower: My Coach of the Year, this, next, and every year
Jeff Bower is the successful (43-35-1) coach of the University of Southen Mississippi Golden Eagles; the school where he was a record-setting quarterback from 1973 to 1975. As a coach, he has known a great deal of success (coaching Brett Favre, leading his team to two consecutive Conference USA titles and two bowl trips) and, also, has suffered his fair share of setbacks. Both success and discouragement have forged the foundation of the man that has been high on the list of potential

The Philosophy of Gaucho Football
Note: The following pages are directly out of the staff manual of one of the nation's top junior college programs. While it is somewhat different than anything heretofore offered in "Outline to Victory," we feel that the thoughts contained wherein may help crystallize the views of you and your staff. Special thanks to Bill Cunerty, who, due to health concerns, recently stepped down. ELSIf you are reading this, you are a member of the best coaching staff in community college football.

1997 Division I, I-AA All American Teams
OffensePOS NAME/COLLEGEHEAD/POSITION COACHHS/ HOMETOWN/HIS COACH OL Kyle Turley/San Diego StateTed Tollner/Ed WhiteValley View HS/Moreno Valley, CA - Leo Brouhard OL Alan Faneca/Louisiana StateGerry DiNardo/Hal HunterLamar HS/Rosenburg, TX - Don Landes OLAaron Taylor/NebraskaTom Osborne/Dan YoungRider HS/Wichita Falls, TX - Wayne LeBleu OLChad Overhauser/UCLABob Toledo/Gary

Youngstown's 'Dave' Play
Over the past 12 years, fans and opponents of Youngstown State have come to understand that Penguin Football is tailback football. Our "Dave" play is one that can average four-plus yards on any down and can consistently gain the yardage needed for a first down when facing a short yardage or goal line situation. During our championship years, we have called this play over 220 times a season. Because of its use and the nature of our offense, we must prepare two tailbacks while a third a

UConn's Bracket and Vice Defensive Techniques
We play different types of man coverage with our nickel package. The advantages of this coverage are that we can take away our opponent's number one receiver, or the number one route they run. Bracket Coverage Diagram 1Diagram 2 Diagram 3Diagram 4 In bracket coverage, we double the number two receiver from a horizontal viewpoint, meaning we will find his release and then react. In Diagram 1, you will see the initial ali

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

Parting the Waves
The single most important ingredient of a receiver is football intelligence. The skills and abilities required to become a good receiver can be learned and developed to be a complete receiver. "Getting open" requires numerous skills such as reading coverages, running stems, getting in and out of the cut (separation techniques of the route) and bursting full speed away from the defender. While all these skills are requirements to becoming a top receiver, for the purpose of this articl

Letters to the Publisher
Dear Publisher: First, let me congratulate you and AFM on your article outlining minority coaching issues (The Dilemma of Black Coaches, Vol. 3, 3rd Quarter). The article's fair and objective presentation of the issues dealing with minority hiring presented the problems well. Yet, as we now sit in the midst of another hiring season, there is an even greater reason for concern. On the heels of a dismal hiring record in '97, we must ask: Are we off to greater disappoitment in 1998? T

When Tragedy Strikes
When the home telephone of a college football coach rings late at night, it's often the kind of news he'd rather not hear. Usually, it means a player has been arrested, violated a rule or done something to anger someone. Such thoughts ran through the head of Mississippi State Coach Jackie Sherrill when he picked up the telephone at his home on the evening of August 5. The news was, indeed, bad. But this time, it was so bad it made an arrest or a rule violation seem small and insignific

Pay Attention
In order to be a successful football player, one must be able to focus his attention on the right cues at the right time. The position a player plays often determines whether that player's focus of attention should be broad (large) or narrow (small), internal (from within), or external (from outside sources, i.e. teammates, opponents, playing surface). The purpose of this article is to focus on the kicker. Here are some guidelines to help increase your kicker's ability to direct his at


Volume 4, 1st Quarter Spotlight Coaches of the Year, Various Divisions Alabama's Blount HS Head Injuries: A Current Drama Delaware's Tubby Raymond When

Closed Head Injuries in Football
When his eight concussions in nine NFL seasons forced New York Jets wide receiver Al Toon to retire on November 27, 1992, the event was overshadowed by another, arguably more serious injury. Two days later, in a contest between the Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, teammate and defensive end Dennis Byrd suffered a fractured vertebra when he collided violently with teammate Scott Mersereau, leaving Byrd partially paralyzed and requiring surgery to stabilize his spine. The lack of natio

1997 AFM Coordinators of the Year
OffenseAL BORGESUCLAChico State '81What a difference a year makes when shaping the identity of a program. Take, for example, the Bruins of UCLA and offensive coordinator Al Borges, who recently participated in year two of Bob Toledo's tenure. From the moans and groans of an inaugural 5-6 campaign came the hope for progress in 1997. A young, learning quarterback. Five starters on the offensive line. Experience on both sides of the ball. "We wanted to

The Cowboy Way
At the University of Wyoming great offenses have been the norm. The Cowboy defense has taken a "bend but don't break" mentality. That scheme and mentality gave up a lot of yards and points in 1996, but the Cowboys were strong enough offensively to earn a 10-2 record and a Pacific Division Championship. With the arrival of Coach Dana Dimel as the Cowboys' new head coach, the philosophy and focus went towards establishing the Wyoming defense as an "attack" style defense. As defensiv

NFL Coach of the Year
Picture Sir Edmund Hillary, circa 1953. How might he have felt, standing atop Mount Everest for the first time, if some anonymous Sherpa guide suddenly tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Nice job on this Everest thing and all but, uh, have you seen the really big one behind you?" Tony Dungy might know that feeling. Having just scaled his own Everest in '96 as he finally landed the NFL head coaching job that had eluded him for 10 years, Dungy was presented with this Tibetan-siz

Q&A With Tony Dungy
Q: It seems to me you believe coaches and players have a responsibility to the kids that look up to them. How do you feel about the role of an athlete in the community?A: Whether you want to be or not, you have to face the facts that you are a role model and that's part of the job. I don't necessarily like all the things that go along with it, like dealing with the media and doing interviews. I'd much rather just sit here--all I want to do is coach the team and that's it. But it is part

Letter From Publisher
I may be accused of 'Monday morning quarterbacking,' but, during the 1997 season I saw a growing trend of what I believe to be an under-utilized weapon in the arsenal of coaches: clock management. I remember each time telling myself. 'How can this be?' 'I am not a coach, I must be wrong. These guys are the experts; there must be a good reason they did not do this or did do that.' Yet, certain results or potential results could be avoided with proper time management and the exercise

Ole Miss' Tommy Tuberville Rebel With A Cause
Legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant used to say that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. With his quick climb up the college coaching ladder, Tommy Tuberville might seem like a lucky guy, but he's really just living proof of Bryant's coaching axiom. From his days as a high school in Arkansas to his current job as the head football coach at Ole Miss, Tuberville has met every opportunity with commitment, enthusiasm, planning and a broad vision for both the big picture and

Extraordinary Success Miami's Onside Kicking Game
At Miami, we teach and use the onside kick in two specific ways: (1) a "surprise" kick where we attempt to catch our opponents off guard; and (2) the desperation situation-the typical onside kick circumstance where you have to get the ball back. We have been exceptionally efficient in this phase of the game. As a matter of fact, during 1997 in our game versus New England (November 23, 1997), our kick coverage team recovered an NFL record three in the same game. I am convinced our success

Wisdom in a Multitude of Counselors
The NFL Draft covered so colorfully this April by an array of ESPN expert commentators has once again captivated the American football psyche with an over-analysis of this "game within the game." The annual reloading of America's major college and professional football teams through the recruiting and drafting process challenges to exceed the game itself in importance. Any wise coach knows having the right names on the backs of the jerseys can overcome any number of coaching shortfa

Letters to the Publisher
Dear Publisher: I enjoyed reading the Clinic Bonus Clock Management (Vol. 3, 4th Quarter), by John T. Reed. Mr. Reed brings up some interesting points that all coaches must be aware of when the game gets down to crunch time. At Ohio State, we use the time/down/ time out table on our game plan call sheets. We take it a step further by having a second table which is the situation of having just made a first down. We can roughly add 24 seconds to the change of possession table so we ar

Texas Tech's Double Screen
One of the biggest advantages an offense can have in a game is an ability to keep the opposing defense off balance. At Texas Tech, we try to gain such an advantage in a variety of ways. One of our main goals is to mix the running game with the passing game using a large variety of formations. Another of our biggest weapons on offense is our screen game. I would like to talk about one of our most successful and unique screen passes. We call this play "Double Screen." Double


Volume 4, 2nd Quarter Spotlight Schutt Sports NFL Coach of the Year: Tampa Bay's Tony Dungy Q & A with Tony Dungy AFM Div. II & III

Schutt Sports Coaches of the Year
North Jim O'Leary St. John's Preparatory, Danvers, MA 1997: 11-0, Div. 1 Super Bowl Champions Record at School: 96-38-2, 14 seasonsOn a drizzly and cold Thanksgiving morning, the earliest onlookers could be found claiming their seats as early as 6:30. Eventually, 10,000 interested followers would turn up in their coats and blankets to watch one of the most hyped contests in Massachusetts football history. In a state without a true playoff, t

Q&A With Mack Brown
Q: When you came in, you talked about reaching out to the high school coaches. Now did you find the things that you did were any different than your philosophies at Carolina, or just something not done in Texas in recent years? A: I'm not sure what's been done in here in the past, and I'd rather not look back. We're doing the same things here that we did at Tulane and at North Carolina. We enjoy the high school coaches, we know they are the lifeblood of college football regardless of wh

Hawaii's 3-4 Slide Flex
I am not one to believe that schemes or alignments, in and of themselves, win games. They are tools with which, after thorough and concise evaluation of talent, we fit personnel into. And the players, if competitors, can best utilize their talents in to make plays. We want to make full use of their strengths and, at the same time, have a means whereby we can cover for their weaknesses. We do not want that possible "weak link" to become an excuse for not being productive as a unit.

Champions by the Numbers.
The athletes from the following institutions may not been the biggest, fastest or the strongest coming out of high school. They may have not even been the best "pure athletes" on the nation's football fields last fall. But certainly, their teams achieved the level of success in 1997 for which every program strives - national championships. For the information of your staff and players who aspire to play at the nation's colleges and universities, we are happy to present true empirical high

Clock Management
With 10:10 left in the second quarter at the Cotton Bowl, Texas A&M quarterback Branndon Stewart stepped out of bounds at the line of scrimmage after being flushed out of the pocket on a first-and-ten play. No one thought anything of it. They should have. Stewart's "one small step" for an Aggie turned out to be "one giant leap" for UCLA. It cost Texas A&M the game. I have discovered about 145 principles of clock management-and counting. One of them is that football teams sho

Letter From the Publisher
Bud Grant, the Hall of Fame coach of the Minnesota Vikings (18 years, 158-96-5, 12 playoff teams and four Super Bowl appearances, all after a successful Hall of Fame career as a CFL coach with Winnipeg: 10 years, 102-56-2, and four Grey Cup championships), was an innovator in the "self-scouting" concept. He was a great believer in "coaching people" and getting to know what made them tick. Grant was known for creating rules during training camp simply to test his players. He wanted to know fo

The Eyes of Texas are Upon Brown
The youthful looking forty-something coach had told everyone who would listen he wasn't going anywhere. His team, the media, the fans. North Carolina had become home, and he was just dandy there, thank you. Kids in school. Roots. A wife with a lucrative land development business. Perhaps more compelling, Mack Brown had a top ten program two-years running, a program he had nutured from the brink of abandonment 10 years before. Those close to Brown, personally and professionally

The Truth About Creatine
Athletes in all sports, especially football, are always looking for ways to become bigger, stronger and faster. To attain the quintessential trifecta of size, strength and speed, athletes have been known to use any and all means necessary. Unfortunately, even alternatives with documented harmful side effects such as steroids have been seen as viable options. The current "magic potion" for many athletes is creatine monohydrate. But what is it? What will it do? And, does it actually do w

Keep the Chains Moving
Achieving results on third down is one of the biggest keys to winning any football game. Third-down situations are often pivotal in determining the outcome of a game. A key stop for the defense can change momentum or significantly alter field-position advantage. Conversely, a conversion by the offense can keep a drive alive, eat up clock time, and keep scoring opportunities available. For the offense, the objective is simple: keep the football by making the necessary yardage. Severa

Letters to the Publisher
Dear AFM: Thank you for your great magazine. My interest is in locating previously published coaching information (books, magazines, film, videos, etc.) that can be used to coach youth football. Mixing the schemes and techniques taught of years ago while still coaching the recent changes in the rules to allow more use of hands and never dropping the head, for example, make for a good combination in coaching youth coaches. Information about how to use the defenses and offenses of


Volume 4, 3rd Quarter Spotlight Mack Brown at Texas: A New Home Q&A with Mack Brown Cleveland's St. Ignatius High School "Newcomers" of th