Knowing Where Your Going

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The full text of “Knowing Where Your Going” by John Clark, from the Vol 2 — Spring 2024 issue.

A.I. and Next Gen Play Calling A.I. and Next Gen Play Calling by Kevin Kelly - 9x State Champions, Veteran Head Coach In my last article I wrote on AI, I touched on simplifying what it actually is and how it can be applied in a few different areas. I mentioned some general areas that it is currently being used within current technology. I had some questions about how it really affects us? Many of you probably don’t think about AI and how it helps you on a daily basis.

For me, when I get in it in the morning, my GPS automatically pulls up my work address and assumes I am going there. When I get in my truck after school, it pulls up my home and wants to direct me there. After I go home, if I get in my truck, it assumes I am going to a place where I workout and train some kids in the evenings. That is AI. My GPS “learned” as it got used to the day and time I got into my vehicle.

When you want to “google” something and you type in letters of a subject or a word and the phrase finish - es your word or phrase for you (I know sometimes it is wrong), that is AI learning from previous searches from you or popular searches at that time of day. AI is prevalent all over the world in so many places and with so many things that we don’t think about. I have Youtube TV. When I am on there, it gives me suggestions that it “thinks” I would want to watch based on what I usually watch.

It is right most of the time, making it easier for me. When I began dabbling with the idea of how play callers could use it to help get the team in the best play possible, I touched on some of the thoughts in the previous article. As I have been thinking about it and processing, I do realize that there would be a lot involved in the initial process of setting it up according to what system you as a play caller run, formations, routes, etc.

But in the end, it could really help the effi - ciency of an offense because of the way that we have to come up with plays in the moment. I am hoping the rest of this article helps explain what would go into that so some of you will open yourselves up to the possibility of it helping your team win more games. We already mentioned plays, formations, routes, etc. Think about having a program that someone in the box could access that you had every front, coverage, and leverage in to start the season and that someone

17 made adjustments to during the season as you watched film on your opponents. So now, you start calling plays to fit that defense. Someone is entering results and as you go along, your program starts to learn the most efficient plays that you have run during those moments against those defenses and leverages.

It begins by suggesting two, three, or four plays (you decide) and you could even have it to be asked which plays out of certain formations because you like the way those matchup during the game to that particular opponent. Now, instead of having to find it on a play or game sheet, your AI guy (some teams have analytics guys) calls off the top two plays out of the formation you want. It has happened by the program instantly, and the only time used is how long it takes the coach on the AI to relay the choices to you.

It is a lot faster than using your game sheet and is much easier to pay attention to with the distraction of emotions, crowd, and players around while you are having to find what you are looking for on that game sheet. It would take time in the offseason for sure, but that is what offsea - sons are for, doing things to help your team when the seasons come. The extra bonus would be that watching all that film and processing the entry data into the program just sharpens you up in the offseason for the season.

During that time, it might stimulate thoughts of different plays or concepts. You could even get your quarterbacks involved so they would have to be deep in knowl - edge of plays and play calling in the offseason. I know on my game sheet I might have 10 plays under certain situ - ations and as smart as I am and as well as I call plays, I make some mistakes, forget how well a play worked earlier in the game and that would have a great chance to work again, etc.

We as humans have shown in studies that we are simply not as good at making decisions when emotions are involved like the game of football puts us in. We also are not as good at making them when under stress. I can picture an AI play calling program being just like that GPS in my truck when I got in. It shows me the best route that day to my destination. Oftentimes, it is the same one that got me there yesterday.

But some - times, it shows me traffic, a police radar setup, an accident that is slowing things down, and the best route with all that going on that would impede me. That’s very similar to football games and winning and being efficient. I want to know what my best route is for a TD on this drive. Why not have our own personal GPS that WE HAVE HELPED INITIATE, to get us headed that way. I think it offers us the chance to relax knowing we have another tool in our toolbox to help us.

It offers us the chance to really dive in during the offseason. It allows us to be more efficient in season. It also highlights the complete thinking that we are able to do if we had MORE than 40 seconds to come up with a play, get it in while our team has to have time to line up and run it, and possibly still have time to check to another play if we don’t like what we see.

Much of our thinking would be done well before that clock was ticking and then we would allow our AI program to “learn” during the season just as we do.

And I will be totally honest, I have been checking myself for a while now on efficiency. I have my O’line coach pick out what he thinks our best three running plays were during the season and to what side, left or right. I pick out the most efficient pass plays that I think are the best Yards Per Play Call. The O’line coach usually gets one out of three right and I usually get one or two. I once chose a pass play that I thought was our second best during a season.

We had 3 completions out of 27 attempts with 1 Int and 2 TDs. I wanted to bang my head into a wall for being soooooo wrong. But I wanted to know why. Those 2 TDs had occurred in very meaningful situations that had helped us win and I remembered them as we tend to remember the emotional moments in life. I had forgotten a lot of 1st and 10 passes that fell incomplete because we don’t usually associate those as being crucial or emotional.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have AI help us learn DURING the game instead of after the game or even the season? I want my GPS to tell me BEFORE I get to the traffic accident where it causes me to waste time and I want my Football Program AI to tell me before I call a play that causes that accident. And I think it’s coming soon.

Fastest coach in Arkansas History to win 200 games. Modern day record winning 5 state championships in 6 years. 18 years as head coach. 216-29-1 record as a head coach. (Multiple Coach of the Year Honors). During the first 18 years, A made the quarterfinals of the state playoffs all 18 times, the semifinals 15 times, the championship game 12 times, and won 9 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, the latest in December of 2020.

In the state championship YEARS (not games) of 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020, we punted a total of 6 times. 2016 year was highlighted by being featured in an ESPN 30 for 30 “short” 2017 as we beat Dallas Highland Park power - house (6A school in Texas) that ended the longest home win - ning streak in the US (they had not lost since 1999 at home) 1 year as head coach at Presbyterian College, a D1 school in South Carolina. Led country in passing offense and 3rd in total offense.

Set overall national collegiate record for passing TDs in one game with 12. Spent short time in NFL working for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in 2022. Represented Arkansas picking up wins ON THE FIELD vs schools (most top 5) in Florida, Texas, Mis - souri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Louisiana (on National TV ESPNU) and losing a close one to the eventual sectional state champion in California. 2016 USA Today National Football Coach of the Year.

We have been in the top 10 in total offense for the 14 of last 15 years out of over 16,000 high schools. -coached players or teams that have set 12 national high school football records averaging over 563 ypg including State and National Record 644 per game in 2019.

Hold all 12 of the top total offense seasons in Arkansas state history. - coached players or teams that have set 40 or more state high school football records. - Time Magazine recognized as the “No Punt Theory” as the 33 best invention of the year in 2009. - Panelist for MIT’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in 2010 and 2014. Kevin Kelley - 9 TIME STATE CHAMPION

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