AFQ X's and O's

Free football coaching strategies, play diagrams, X’s and O’s for coaches at all levels

Coaching



Advice to Young Coaches

Through my experience as a Graduate Assistant at The University of Southern Mississippi and as a high school and Division III coach, I have been fortunate to learn from some tremendous coaches. Here are 10 things that I would like…

Posted on


Bobcat Legs’n’Lungs Summer Off-season Program

The countdown continues, with under one month left before we strap up the helmets and shoulder pads to begin the 2016 football season. Many coaches are finishing up their final phase of the off-season during the summer months. Conditioning and…

Posted on


Coach Russell’s Summer Ruminations

College football hasn’t had the best run of PR over the course of this past spring and early summer –  and deservedly so. We’ve seen some truly horrific allegations come to light, and learned of some truly terrible decisions which…

Posted on


The Young Assistant Coach Who Could Not Stop O.J. Simpson

  In going through my dad’s stuff, I have been very pleased to find some great things that remind me of him. Here are the three team pictures from his years at Lafayette in Lexington, KY- 1966, 1967 & 1968….

Posted on


Coach Russell’s Ruminations – December

Happy Holidays to all! I’ve just returned from a month on the road recruiting. So, for this for this month’s post, I’d like to share some general thoughts on recruiting, and high school visits. The month of December tends to…



Moral Coaching: The Value of Preparation

Fall has rushed through the east coast and the season is over for many high school and college teams. For the first time in nearly twenty years I was not a part of it. That’s not totally true – I…



A Tough Season, A Good Season – Remembering My Dad

After starting the season 0-5, we finished the season with 6 straight wins including a district championship and two home playoff games. I was very proud of the toughness displayed by our kids and staff. During the season, three of…



Coach Russell’s Ruminations – November

The thought I’d like to share with you this month started in the form of a question I was asked… “Were you embarrassed?” That question was asked after I presented an award at our annual football banquet last February. Our…



Coach Russell’s Ruminations – October

In this great game of ours, we talk a lot about the culture of our programs. We frequently use terms like “family” and “one heartbeat”. An interaction I had with a player recently led me to spend some time thinking…



Weekly Opponent Preparation Plan

Many of us are through the first third to half of the season and as we continue to attack the schedule, the emphasis increases on teaching our players equally as much about our opponents as we do ourselves.  What follows…

Posted on