Importance of Relative Body Strength In High School Athletes
This generation of high school athletes is unique in many ways. One of the ways in which they are unique is their lack of strength in terms of relative body strength. This is a generation that for the most part…
Selecting a Game Call Sheet Format
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…
Are We Teaching Speed and Quickness?
It has become somehow universally accepted that if you increase your strength and perform specific running drills, you will increase your speed and quickness. However, I have not seen any results posted after athletes undergo these programs. In other words,…
Incorporating Lessons From One’s Own High School Coach
“Did you feel the earth start shaking under your feet?” Coach Larry French asked me. “No, sir,” I responded. Coach French continued, “Then, I don’t want you to run the ball.” My high school football coach was Larry French….
Defensive Back Drill: Stick Tackle
I got this one from our Defensive Coordinator, Jeff Moore, who is one of the best in the business. He was a 2012 finalist for D3football.com’s Division III Coordinator of the Year, and his defense has led us to a…
Shallow Cross Pass Concept
In our offense, we currently hang our hat on four main drop back concepts and five quick throws. Today, I plan on discussing our “shallow” game. When looking at different passing schemes, we felt that the “Air Raid” shallow cross…
Why You Should Use A Tight End and/or Fullback (Or 3)
I was always told as a young coach that everything works in cycles. After many years of running a four wide receiver offense, I have in the last few years started using one, two, and sometimes three tight end’s in…
Fire 3 Zone Pressures Concept
Before we teach our players any of our pressures, we introduce them to the four rules of engagement, which are our standard blitz rules EVERY player on defense should know and understand. We also focus on teaching the rules and…
Gun vs. Pistol
There are pro’s and con’s for both the Shotgun and the Pistol alignment. Since we now use both alignments, I thought I would share a few of the good and bad I have found up to this point. Pistol Alignment:…
Quick And Easy D.O.B. Drill
In my opinion, there are three key components to playing excellent defensive football. When I work with my linebackers, everything we do in our individual periods is explained to them as “building a house”. The most basic, fundamental skills we…