Football Coaches Symposium

April 2008

Host: D1 S&C Coach

Participants:
Six high school head coaches
One retired high school head coach
One JC head coach
Two D1 G.A.’s
One D3 asst. coach
One D1-AAA asst. coach
One HS def. coord.
One HS head JV coach

Format: The symposium is a by-invitation-only event, and the number of participants is

relatively small (as can be seen from the list above). For each session, each participant writes a
question on a piece of paper and places it in a hat. Questions are drawn out, and each participant,
in turn, has an opportunity to respond to the question.

Topic Index
Team Philosophical Structures
A. Weekly practice routine
B. Meeting with players
C. 1’s vs. 1’s
D. Staff assignments & coaching roles
E. Off-season conditioning program
F. Game day coaching responsibilities
G. Program values
H. Spring practice
I. Pre-game prep
Defense
A. Defending 3x1 set – run & pass
B. Short-yardage defense in middle of the field
C. Spot-drop or read routes in Covers 2 & 3?
D. Preparation – focus on personnel or formations?
E. How to defend 4 verticals?
Offense
A. Pass Plays vs. Cover 2?
B. Working with middle school & youth programs
C. How to get O-line off the ball
D. Red Zone Offense
Special Teams
Miscellaneous

FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 1

Session 1: Team Philosophical Structures

A. Weekly practice routine:

D1-AA Asst. Coach: the most liquid aspect from program to program
**U – def., 25 min. ind’l session
15 min. tackling circuit
per OC – 3 reps of every play: walk-thru, speed up, full speed

HS Head Coach #1: tackling circuit – start Mon. & Wed. with it; in specific location: upfield,
sideline, in space
Mon. – inside run emphasis; Tues. – pass emphasis; Wed. – outside run emphasis
offense starts each day w/ blitz pick-up session
Thurs. – turnover circuit; livens up Thurs. pre-game practice
strip; scoop-&-go; batted/tipped ball; strip tackle
always condition by position

HS Head Coach #2: Mon. – formation recognition & motion recognition

spends more time with O-Line & RB together than used to

JC Head Coach: start individual time with warm-up drills; 15 min. total in individual positions;
by end, should be doing position-specific drills
move back & forth between position/group session & team sessions several times in a
practice
two 15-min. team sessions are better than one 30-min. team session

HS Head Coach #3: Sun. meeting 8 am – 4 pm

start practice w/ hitting sled & tackling circuit
end Mon. practice with 5 min. apiece on each special team

HS Head Coach #4: Mon. – Veer, Trap, Counter Play-action 3 Step pass
Tues. – Veer, Lead Play-action 3 Step pass
Wed. – Counter, Trap Screens & Draws 3 Step pass

HS Def. Coord.: tackling circuit every day, ~15 min.

HS Head Coach #1: practice structure changes as season goes along

early in season – more individual drills as teaching fundamentals
late in season – more group & team time

D1 G.A. #1: “Do it right, do it light. Do it wrong, do it long.”

1st – dynamic stretch & conditioning, 12 minutes – “tongues hanging out”
2nd – 5 min. of ind’l time
3rd – 2nd & long situation – 1’s v. 1’s, 2’s v. 2’s; play out series from there (i.e. if O gets
1st down, both teams get off field, next level comes in, reset ball/down &
distance situation; if D gets stop in 2nd & long, play 3rd & new distance,
occasionally 4th & new distance
keep score between 2 sides of ball; pride pushups @ end of session

FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 2

B. Meeting with players:

HS Head Coach #2: meets with players @ lunch to:

1) build relationships
2) keep players out of trouble

HS Head Coach #1: position coaches e-mail players in their group re: practice reminders
one day a week – defense comes in before school to watch film; another day, offense
comes in
key position players come in with coaches Sunday night to watch film
players given quiz on Thursday over key material for Friday night

D1-AA Asst. Coach: give DVD to every 2 players with set of questions to answer together

C. 1’s vs. 1’s:

D3 Asst. Coach: after intra-squad game, set up 2 teams that are mixed 1’s & 2’s with intentional
match-ups, e.g. #1 guard might be facing D-lineman who is also the #1 left tackle

HS Head Coach #1: in playoffs, when practicing offense, set up 2 defenses, 1 @ each end;
offense runs play @ 1 end; huddles, then runs play @ other end; same for defensive
practice – keeps scout team players fresh & tires/conditions the starting unit

D. Staff assignments & coaching roles:

HS Head Coach #5: 2 best coaches need to be the O-line coach and the DC

HS Head Coach #6: head JV coach should be best coach – keep players in the program &
developing

Retired HS Head Coach: frosh coach should be one best coaches

E. Off-season conditioning program:

D1-AA Asst. Coach: off-season – weight-lifting & kids organized own 7-on-7
avoided year-round demands of baseball & basketball; war of attrition – let the other
sports wear kids out & they’ll come to yours

D3 Asst. Coach: value multi-sport players

#1 priority – STRENGTH, want to make them stronger
·core strength most important
·give them a core strength work-out that can be done any time, anywhere – from
shoulders to hips
#2 – DYNAMIC – strength with speed
#3 – ELASTIC – repetitive strength with speed
getting #2 & 3 in other sports

FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 3

HS Head Coach #2: value multi-sport athletes
competition important

***3 of the 4 colleges represented affirmed they look for multi-sport athletes 1st when
recruiting

HS Head Coach #5: copied _______’s point system to be varsity-eligible

most points possible is from playing another sport – 75 for each season; 2 sports gets
them halfway to the necessary total
second most points possible is for academic performance (GPA)
2 pts. for each completed workout

F. Game day coaching responsibilities:

1. How do you get to the field, on field, with everything necessary?
2. Responsibilities during the game?

HS Head Coach #6: give each offensive coach specific player/position responsibilities to
watch during the game

HS Head Coach #1: treat intra-squad scrimmage as game-day & have each coach carry out their
responsibilities
draft list of coaches’ responsibilities in pre-season

G. Program values:

HS Head Coach #4: Season of Life book – “men built for others”
Bob ______ @ _____ HS – football players as servant-leaders; make seniors play that
role – carry bags out, clean up, make sure others eat before you do

HS Head Coach #3: KAWC – Kick Arse with Class

emphasis on “class,” defined as “play for the guy next to you”

JC Head Coach: use playing time as punishment/incentive

D1 S&C Coach: The Mask of Command book – 5 different types of leaders, 4 good that lead by
example; 1 bad leader

D1-AA Asst. Coach: Sun Tzu

HS Head Coach #1: ROLES = Respect

Ownership
Leadership: lead or follow – when following, you’re leading someone else;
“leadership by followership”
Effort
(Inner) Strength

FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 4

H. Spring practice:

HS Head Coach #1: identify specialty players – 2 long-snappers, 2 QBs, punters, kickers

I. Pre-game Prep

D1 G.A. #2 & D1 S&C Coach: clap session – before leaving hotel for game
Set up chairs to simulate the defense or offense you expect to see; coordinator calls the
offensive play or defensive set; players point to &/or step to assignment on a clap;
lets players be loosey-goosey, then provides focus point – quiet and focused from
then on

Session 2: Defense

A. Defending 3x1 set – run & pass:

HS Head Coach #5: bring pressure from weakside; hurry the QB

JC Head Coach: lock up on backside

HS Head Coach #1 (3-5 D): max coverage to 3-man side; pressure weakside

HS Head Coach #3: safety over the top, let no one cross the face
play zone to 3-man side

D3 Asst. Coach: the better the single receiver is, the more you should roll the corner (the
coverage?) to the
single rec. side
use the hashes to your advantage – corner to wide side of field cheat inside hashes
because that’s a long throw

D1 G.A. #1 & Dawes: Scout question – do they throw to #1 (outside rec.)? Probably rarely to
never, so lock up with him and play 10-on-10

B. Short-yardage defense in middle of the field:

HS Head Coach #2: 6-1/6-5 with man coverage

HS Head Coach #6: make sure someone’s “living” with the TE; don’t give up the TE pop pass

C. Spot-drop or read routes in Covers 2 & 3?:

D1 G.A. #2: likes combo coverage and progression off of the player

FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 5

HS Head Coach #6: drop to zone, then re-direct

JC Head Coach: paint the zones on the practice field

practice getting to the zone 1st

HS Head Coach #2: drop & recognize – “drop & check,” re-direct
coach the eyes and the hands

HS Head Coach #1: 4 rules:

1) read & jam (C.3 to C.1, or C.3 to C.2)
2) “B.O.R.C.” – back out, roll out, crossing route
3) cover deep & rally to short/flat
4) inside guy “pulls chain” on LOS
HS QBs have trouble throwing to the flat

D1-AA Asst. Coach: read routes – “carry the seam”

Drills: 2 defenders vs. 3 offenders – forces DBs to read
7 on 7 with 2 balls thrown – again, forces DBs to read

D. Preparation – focus on personnel or formations?:

D1 G.A. #2: problems presented when offense aligns in different formations with unexpected
personnel; e.g. 21 personnel but with FB as 2nd TE or TB split wide for Doubles
Twins look
option problematic, even with unathletic QB

HS Def. Coord.: use video scouting software to i.d. top formations and plays from those; give
kids only the top 3 formations and top 3 plays from those formations

HS Head Coach #2: most HS teams rely on 2-3 players; figure out who they are & plan to stop
them
Offensively, figure out who to attack – Who’s the “bull” (DL to trap)? Who’s the
“scraper” (LB to run at)? Who’s the “biter” (DB who bites on route fakes)?

D1-AA Asst. Coach: keeps notebook of the things that have beat him – “Notes to Self”

D1 G.A. #1: watch film of several games for flow, get a sense of who the coordinator is & what
he’s trying to establish
KYP – know your personnel

D3 Asst. Coach: give your players as much info as they can handle

D1 G.A. #2: the more stuff you’ve got to put in, the better teachers you and the other coaches
have
to be

???: give players the opportunity to teach each other, break film down themselves, and
develop own calls
“ownership” – key; don’t talk down to the players
FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 6
 put players on the whiteboard & do the teaching

E. How to defend 4 verticals?

D3 Asst. Coach: don’t let them get to the seams cleanly (seams = h.s. hashes)
when ball is on hash, QB can’t throw Out route to #1 on wide side of field, so that CB
can cheat inside & help on the seam
play-action & motion create difficulty for defense

D1 G.A. #2: make opposing QB throw the Out route

Session 3: Offense

A. Pass Plays vs. Cover 2?:

D1-AA Asst. Coach: against C.2, throw deep because you’re outnumbered underneath
a) Vacuum/UCLA
b) Post/Post-Corner combo
c) Slant-n-Go’s w/ 14 yd. Stops

D1 G.A. #1: Y Stick, then Y Curl – as 3-step routes

Double Slants – 1 under Will LB, 1 over the top

D1 G.A. #2: 3x1 formations, esp’ly vs. Tampa 2

HS Head Coach #4: Veer play-action [in base Veer play, FB at 4 ½ yards]
Brown 34 Arrow

B. Working with middle school & youth programs:

D1-AA Asst. Coach: when at high school level, clinic first Mon. of the month for middle school
and youth coaches
--talk about more general football topics
--elicits questions from youth coaches about technique-specific topics
--be ready with progression when they arrive as freshmen

C. How to get O-line off the ball:

D1 G.A. #1: drill – O-lineman starts on 1 knee with defender in front with shield; on whistle,
explode off knee and drive

HS Head Coach #1: drills from Brian Cassidy:

1) leap frog onto & under steeplechase barriers
2) leap frog over steeplechase barriers with legs wide
3) side flips over barriers, swinging legs from one side to the other
FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 7
 4) on-field: from 3 pt. stance; leap as far as possible; reset, leap, and bound into run
5) same as #4, except don’t stop to reset

D1 S&C Coach: All good starters…

1) set their hips (“hip hinge”) – evidenced by flat/arched back; like a basketball
player prepping to go up for rebound
2) always push off with both feet
Drills to teach/work:
1) double-leg bound
2) lateral bound
in both, projecting hips forward or sideways, and emphasize push off with both legs

Hip-pop run drills (in shirts & shorts) used before from Oregon:
1) player in 2 pt. fit position; partner facing and pushing down on shoulders; on
command, the player pops his hips and partner jumps to simulate/exaggerate
impact of hip-pop
2) same as above, but player drives partner, after jump, the designated difference,
with the partner applying downward pressure on the shoulders to simulate
need to keep hips down during block
3) same as above; add second partner standing behind holding strap around the
hips to keep hips loaded thru the drill

Hips Circuit – 8 stations

1) stepping over and under high-low hurdles set at 90° angles
2) stepping over and under high-low hurdles in straight line
3) chutes – walk thru length-wise
4) benches and steeplechase barriers set in a single line; 1st half , do “face-down”
flips; 2nd half, do “face-up” flips – can’t remember what that means; ? hands
on top, flip hips over top with head ahead, legs behind?; ? then, hands on top,
flip hips over top with legs in front and head behind?; i.e. old-school high
jump roll-style first, then Fosbury Flop style?
5) log – skip motion at walking pace along the top
6) balance beam – skip along the top
7) rope ladder
8) bags laid parallel to each other, 3 groups of 3, laid in straight line with short
break between each group; walk-thru straight-legged

D. Red Zone Offense:

consensus: use unusual formations – e.g. Y formation, double wing; adjust out to other forms.
add plays as go thru the season
put different defensive personnel in at FB & TE

FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 8

Session 4: Special Teams

D1 G.A. #2: Fordham model for practice –

5 KO’s & 5 KOR’s to start practice
5 min. punt pro session pre-practice
10 min. punt pro in middle of practice

Other info:
timing on scrimmage kicks:
snap = .8 secs.
snap to kick = 1.3 secs.
snap to punt = 2.2 secs.

put punter @ 14 yds.

online resource: sailorkicking.com

FB Coaches Symposium 2008, p. 9