Making the Most Out Of Clinic Season

With clinic season ramping up, I wanted to share some thoughts with you to help you grow as a coach and in the profession. Building a network is one of the most important aspects of growing as a coach. 

There are two ways to build a network. First, is social media. Social media has made coaches more accessible than ever. You can communicate with coaches and share ideas 24 Horus a day, 365 days a year. Social media can be a powerful tool. 

While social media is a powerful networking and learning tool, going to clinics and conventions in person is even more powerful. Virtual learning is very good and technology has opened doors, but there is no substitute for the personal connections you can make at a clinic or convention. So when you go to a clinic or convention, what do you do to get the most out of it?

Professional Growth

Clinics and conventions give you an opportunity to meet coaches and develop professionally. When you attend a clinic or convention, you are going to be able to listen to a variety of speakers who are teaching different aspects of the game. In addition to listening to coaches on your side of the ball and coaches talking about your position, listen to coaches on the other side of the ball. Also, listen to speakers to fill your gaps in knowledge. 

If you are an offensive line coach, listen to quarterback and receiver coaches. Learn about the pass game. If you are a quarterback or receiver coach, listen to some offensive line coaches. If you coach defensive line, listen to secondary coaches. If you are an offensive line coach, go listen to defensive line coaches and defensive coordinators. This will help you learn more about what you will be going against each day. If you are an OC, go listen to DC's and secondary coaches. Learn what they are doing to defend what you are doing on offense. 

You also want to be flexible as a coach. A good ball coach can change positions to meet the needs of the staff. You also open doors of opportunity if you can change positions to pursue an opportunity. 

Discipline and Penalties

One of the things that hurts teams most is a lack of discipline. A lack of discipline will lose you games you should win. Disciplined teams do the things that take no talent really well. How well does your team do the things that take zero talent? 

 

Two issues that display a lack of discipline that will lose you games are:

 

Pre-Snap Penalties

Pre-snap penalties are drive killers on offense and drive extenders on defense. There is nothing more frustrating than having a 3^rd and 3 become 3^rd and 8 because someone moved before the snap. Defensively, think about how it’s 3^rd and 3, and now your opponent gets a free first down because someone jumps offside. It is hard enough to win football games without having pre-snap penalties. Pre-snap penalties should be extremely rare. Don’t ever justify pre-snap penalties. Instead, find the cause and make them happen. 

 

In an analysis done of NFL games, offensive pre-snap penalties resulted in fewer drives ending in points. When the defense jumps offside, the chances the offense will score is greatly increased. Pre-snap penalties are 100% within your control, and come down to discipline and focus. 

 

Dead Ball Penalties

Dead ball penalties will get good teams beat by teams they should lose to. Think about how many times you get the ball carrier to the ground, only to have a player push an opponent after the whistle. Instead of 2^ndand 12, it’s first and ten and your opponent is closer to the end zone. There are times when you play through the whistle that you might get an occasional 15 yard penalty. I am not talking about those. I am talking about the reactionary penalties where a player does something out of frustration. 

 

When an offensive team gets a 15 yard penalty, they greatly reduce the chance they will score. This also changes the field position. Conversely, when the defense gets called for a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, they greatly increase the chance the offense will score. They also give up field position.

 

Like pre-snap penalties, dead ball fouls like unsportsmanlike conduct and personal fouls are completely under your control. 

 

Three Keys to Building a Dominating Offensive Line

Coaching offensive line is a privilege for any coach. There is no other position like offensive line. In my career I was blessed to have an opportunity to coach every position on the field, and I can tell you that there was no experience that comes close to what it was like to coach the offensive line. It also helped me early in my career as an offensive coordinator. It is vital that an offensive coordinator not only understand the blocking schemes they install, but it is very important they understand the techniques involved in making the blocking schemes work. 

This summer I had an opportunity to work with some offensive line coaches in preparation for the upcoming season. We were able to spend some time talking about what it takes to build a successful offensive line. One thing you have to understand is that the level of talent you have does not have any impact on your coaching. There are going to be seasons where you have better talent than other seasons. That should have no impact on your intensity as a coach. On Friday night and Saturday afternoons there are no excuses. Everything you have done to prepare your offensive line will be on full display. 

If you are a new offensive line coach or you are a veteran, having a successful offensive line comes down to three things. But before I get into the three keys, I want to talk about leverage. Leverage is a huge part of success in football. We define leverage as an advantage. If you have leverage, you want to keep it. If you don't have leverage you need to go get it. We want to have leverage at the point of attack. Sometimes we are blocking a player who has us leveraged. What does that mean? It means he has the advantage. We need to move our feet to work to get our hat to a leveraged position. Sometimes we are blocking a guy where we have leverage. What do we want to do? We want to keep leverage. 

With that said, here are the three keys to building a dominating offensive line. 

First, you have to build unity within your group. This might be the most important factor to having success on your offensive line. You have five guys on the field at a time. If you also coach the tight ends, you might have 7 on the field for some plays. No other position has the same number of players on the field. There must be complete unity among the offensive line. They are a team within a team, and they must function as one. 

There are many ways to build unity, but I have found there is no substitute for spending time together outside of the locker room and field. Have your offensive line guys to the house for dinner. Spend time with them talking about goals as a group. Each year I had the offensive line over before the season and we talked about our unit goals. We spent time talking about what we needed to do to be the best we could be. I took every opportunity I could find to help them to bond as a group. 

When they trust and care about each other, they will work better together. They will communicate in the meeting room and pre-snap. They will be more vocal with their line calls, and they will gain more confidence in the ability of the guy next to them. They will not have to rely on their own strength, but they will draw strength from the group. 

Game Planning Key: Find Their 11th Guy

 Whether you are a seasoned offensive coordinator, or it is your first year leading the offense, there is something important you can and should do every single week when you are game planning. We found this one thing was really good against everyone we played, but especially when we played someone who was very talented. 

When you build your game plan you are are always going to look for leverage, numbers, and green grass. You are going to find the formations you think will give you a numerical advantage. You are looking for great angles for your offensive line. You want to find green grass for your skill guys, because green grass gives you explosive opportunities. You are always going to look at personnel, and today we are going to drill down to one thing within personnel that can give you an advantage.

One thing that is often overlooked is finding their 11th guy. Every single team has an 11th guy. That is their 11th best guy. Everyone, no matter how good they are, has an 11th best guy. Even teams you play that are loaded with 4 and 5 star recruits have an 11th best. 

Most teams you play have at least one guy they are hiding. They have one guy they are protecting because he isn't as talented as their other players. Some teams might have two or three of these guys. When you play someone who is really good, or even someone who isn't as talented, spend time looking for the 11th best guy. 

If the 11th best guy is a defensive end, figure out how you can attack him with your identity concept. If their 11th guy is a corner, find ways to match your best receiver up with that guy. If he is a safety and your best skill guy is an outside receiver, how can you adjust a formation to match up your receiver with that safety? Just because a guy plays outside receiver doesn't mean you can't move him around to match him up on a linebacker or a safety.

One example of this was when we were playing a top ranked team who was very, very good. They ran the 4-3 and played 2 high. They played base most snaps because they could. They had a dominant defensive line and their secondary and outside backers were really good. The Mike was really good, but he was their slowest defender. He was a guy who was very physical, but he didn't run well. We wanted to get him in coverage situations. 

Growing, Developing, and Promoting Your Coaches

Promote Your People 

If you are in a position of leadership, work hard to promote your people every chance you get. One of your important responsibilities is developing and growing the people who work for you and giving them opportunities to grow in their career. You want to help them grow personally and professionally. If you are a head football coach or AD, you want to help your coaches to be able to pursue opportunities to better their carer. You want to help your coordinators become head coaches, and your position coaches to become coordinators. If you are a coordinator, you want to help your position coaches to become coordinators. If you are a principal, you want to develop your assistant principals to become principals. 

One of the AD's I worked for used to say, "if people aren't fishing in your pond, you need to stock it with better fish." He loved when people would call about coaches on staff. When we hired coaches, he wanted to know what their goals were. He would then tell me as a coordinator to help them find opportunities to pursue their goals. He wanted to see guys have an opportunity to grow professionally and he worked hard to make that happen. 

One of the hardest things to do is to get a head football coaching job in the state of Texas. There are often over 100 applicants for each job, and many of those applicants are more than qualified. Finding coordinator jobs is also very difficult. Most people are going to hire someone they know, or hire someone who is recommended by someone they know. Having people in your corner who can get you to the front of the line is important. It is much harder to get hired if you don't have connections who are respected. This is the same if you are trying to get hired at the college level. Help your guys when they have an opportunity to move up. And if you want to move up, ask your head coach and athletic director to help you do so. 

It is important that you know the goals of your coaches. Know what they aspire to be so you can help them get there. You also can help them grow the skills they will need to take that next step. If you know you have a coach who wants to lead a program, provide him opportunities to learn about budgeting and personnel management. Take him through the day-to-day operations that exist behind the scenes. Help him to learn about the things you do that he doesn't see. 

If you are a coordinator, do everything you can to help your guys become coordinators. Give them responsibility in game planning. Divide the game planning and practice planning tasks up among your coaches. Let them script practice. Divide up your game planning areas and allow them to take on more responsibility. Have them be involved in building the call sheet. Talk to them about the why behind what you are doing. And when an opportunity comes up for them to become a coordinator, help them get that opportunity. 

The Biggest Mistake Coaches Make With Accountability

In my coaching career I have made more mistakes than most. It would be impossible to count the number of mistakes I have made, unless you had one of those NASA supercomputers. Some mistakes I made were bigger than others. 

Today I am going to focus on one of the biggest mistakes you can make that leads to mediocrity. Often coaches don't realize they are doing this, and they don't understand the impact this mistake has on your program. Coaches are very competitive and driven, and want to be successful. The programs that have consistent, sustained success are the programs do not make this mistake.

Everyone focuses on talent with the best teams, and yes, talent matters. But there are plenty of talented teams that underachieve every single year. You might play some of them. Hopefully you aren't one of them. What we are going to look at today has the potential to destroy your program. 

As we look at this, let's focus on two things that you must do. First, you must build relationships with your players. Great relationships are founded on Trust and Unconditional Love. Second, you need to have standards of performance that are clearly defined. If you don't have clearly defined standards, how does anyone know what to do? This seems like a simple question, but many programs don't have clear standards. They have implied or inferred standards. They don't have a standards that help to reinforce their identity. They talk about things, but they don't live them. They live in the world if "ish." Everything important needs to be clearly defined. If you don't have standards, you will not achieve at high levels. 

Now let's get to that one thing... This is what happens at so many programs. What is that one thing...

Inconsistent Accountability to the Standards

Once you have your standards, you need to consistently hold people accountable to the standards, and do so on a consistent basis. You won't tell them what they want to hear, you will tell them what they need to hear. John Wooden said coaching is "correcting someone without causing resentment." This is where trust and consistency are important. Trust and Consistency are foundations of coaches building strong relationships. Most resentment comes from players not trusting that their coaches. They don't trust their coaches because of inconsistencies in correction and accountability. 

There are three ways coaches are inconsistent with their accountability... 

3 Keys to Consistent Accountability

Championship Level Accountability

Coaches that enjoy consistent, long-term success at an elite level have one very important secret to their success. These elite coaches are not accidentally successful. Success didn't just happen. They understand that success and high level performance comes from consistent, intentional accountability from everyone in the organization.

Consistent Accountability comes down to three principles. First, you have clear standards of performance. Your standards are clearly laid out and everyone in the organization understands the standards. Second is consistent accountability to the standards. Every single person is held accountable to the standard. Third, you care enough about people to have difficult conversations.

Clearly Defined Standards

Your standards must be clearly laid out, and everyone must understand and know the standard. If they know the standard and understand it, they will know when they don't meet it. The problem lies when they think they met the standard, but didn’t, and it wasn't clearly defined. This is when you, as a coach, have to teach the standard in a different way. The greatest teachers know that not everyone learns the same way. Most people tend to be visual learners, but others are auditory. A good percentage of athletes are a combination of visual and kinesthetic learners. This means they have to see and do before they learn a skill.

I once heard a coach say, "telling isn't teaching." Just because you tell someone something, doesn't mean they learned it. How many times have you heard a coach say, "well I told him." That is not coaching. That is telling. And that should never be our excuse. How do you know they learned what your are teaching? You have to obtain feedback. Instead of asking if they understand, ask them a question with a specific answer. If you told them to arrive by 2pm, don't say, "do you understand?" Replace that with, "what time do you have to be here?" If they say 2pm, you know they learned the expectation.

When you teach, you need to have coaching points. The business world calls them bullet points. What are your buzz words that kids must learn? This helps them to remember, retain, and recall information.

If your players don't know the expectations, how can they meet them? You cannot assume something is understood by everyone if you haven't laid it out clearly. You most likely will have to repeat the standard over and over again. But if you never define the standard, don't be upset when your players don't reach it.

Consistent Accountability

Every single person must be held accountable to the standard. There are two things I see in organizations that destroy trust. First, some athletes are held to the standard while others are not. And second, the standards change based on which coach the athlete is with at that moment. 

If you hold one person to the standard but you don't hold another person accountable, you are going to be frustrated. Your team is going to be frustrated. If you have a standard that says no one will wear earrings in the weight room, and you allow one athlete to wear earrings in the weight room, tomorrow you will have 5 people wearing earrings in the weight room. Permitting is promoting. Now you have lost the standard. You have two choices. You can either reteach the standard and tell the athletes you are going to hold them accountable and actually do it. Or, you can get rid of the standard. The best way is to consistently hold people accountable to meeting your standard. 

A standard that I see consistently violated on average teams is the "no one walks off the field" standard. You go to their practice, and you see guys walking off the field. Then you watch them in a game, and guys are walking off the field. If your standard is that you jog off the field, then hold guys accountable to the standard. Teach them the standard in practice. Don't wait until games to try to teach a standard. Do a drill in practice where they have to jog off the field. Remember, what you permit, you promote. 

The second issue comes when one coach holds an athlete accountable and another does not. I see this a lot with parallel squat. One coach is making sure athletes get to parallel, while another coach accepts a squat that is above parallel. There needs to be consistent accountability from coaches for standards of performance to mean anything. Each coach must be clear on the standards and hold athletes accountable. 

Care Enough To Have Difficult Conversations

A sure fire way to show an athlete you don't really care about them is to allow them to not meet the standard. I have seen this at a lot of programs and it always involves guys that are considered really good players. Coaches must be willing to hold their best players accountable. If you don't, you not only hurt the program, but you hurt the kid. When you let things go with your best players, accountability is lost for everyone. 

Nick Saban talked about how special his team was this year. It was special because his best players were accountable to the standard and led others. When your best players are your best people, you will have something special. But a big part of this came from those players having consistent accountability. They were held accountable to meeting the standards, every single day. They were coached with intentionality. 

Players will rise or fall to the level of accountability to the expectations. If you have high expectations and high accountability, you will have a high performing organization. If you have high expectations and low accountability, you will always fall short of your expectations. 

Players want structure and accountability. They want someone to care about them enough to set high expectations for them. They also want someone to care enough about them to hold them to those expectations. The biggest reason coaches don't want to have these conversations is that they don't want conflict. Listen, if you don't want conflict then don't be a coach.  Go be a gardener. But you don't have to confront mediocrity in such a way that causes a lot of conflict. There are athletes who will test you. "Will coach really hold me accountable?" When they know you will, they will rise to the level of the accountability to the standard. 

Players want you to see the best in them. They want you to love them enough to hold them accountable and push them to be their best. 

Meeting The Standard

If someone doesn't meet the standard, it is usually because of one of two reasons. First, they didn't understand the standard of performance. Second, they know there are no consequences and the act will be ignored. This is often when we say the athlete doesn't care. No, they care, they either don't think you are going to hold them accountable, or they are going to test you. Inconsistent accountability is a mistake a lot of coaches make. They have inconsistent standards. The standard changes from athlete to athlete and coach to coach.

Our standards must be consistent and unified across the coaching staff and everyone in the organization. The standard can't change from one day to the next. This confuses our athletes and isn't fair to them. It will also lead to failure. If the athlete doesn't clearly understand the standard, reteach it. The second reason is simple. Hold them accountable. Care about them enough to hold them accountable to meeting the standard and being their best.

As you prepare for your season, begin to evaluate your accountability. Do you have clear standards of performance, and are you holding your athletes consistently accountable? Do you care enough about your athletes to have difficult conversations with them?

I wish you the best as you prepare your team for the upcoming season. I hope this has given you some actionable ideas for your program. Clearly define your standards, and have a consistent, high level of intentional accountability with your players. It will make a difference in your program while having a positive impact on your players.

And remember, it doesn't matter how much or how little talent you have to hold athletes accountable.

Additional Resources:

A few years ago I was speaking at a clinic about our game planning and an FBS coordinator asked me after the talk to go through what we do. I shared with him our offensive game planning resource and he used it through the spring. He emailed me back that it was a game changer. It was an honor to have him use these documents. After speaking at clinics and hearing that more coaches didn't know where to start, I decided to make these available.

Here is a link to my offensive game planning documents: https://sellfy.com/p/AndN/ 

It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today and start preparing for your first game right now! At one time this was $99, but it is available right now for less than $13!

Here are a couple of screen shots to show you what our call sheet looks like: 

This shows you a small portion of it. It is a fully editable, customizable two sided call sheet. It gives you the ability to better organize and be prepared on game day. It helped us to be better play callers on game day. There are eight other fully customizable documents! Some of the top high school programs in the country use this, as do several college programs!

When I was a defensive coordinator we adapted this to our defensive preparation! 

Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/ These are what we used to post 6 shutouts when I was a defensive coordinator. Defensive coordinators at all levels of football are using this. Again, it is less than $13 right now!

And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/ This helped us to build dominating special teams! 

I wanted these to be available at a very reasonable cost. These can help you to be more successful on the field and more efficient in the office! 

 Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points! 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points. 

The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season. 

My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts. 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

New Book

Over the last several months, I have stepped out of my comfort zone and wrote a new book about faith and purpose. The book is available as a paperback on Amazon, and as an eBook for the Kindle App. The cool thing about the Kindle app is that you can read the book on any device. I invite you to read it, and discover the power you receive when you make a decision to walk with the Lord. Here is a link to the book: Finding Faith

Since publishing the book, I have received numerous texts, calls, and emails, from people who are going through similar trials and tribulations. They were feeling many of the same things I was feeling. The found comfort in the book. They also found they had a desire to change and to live better. They wanted more joy. 

I would invite you to read the book and discover the possibilities that God has planned for your life.

Coach Tube Courses

 Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points! 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points. 

The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season. 

My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts. 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

10 Keys to Great Coaching

Before I even start this, I must preface by saying that I am battling every day to be a better coach. I am not on a soapbox preaching. I am talking to myself in the mirror in this article. Many of the things I am about to talk about are things I need to continually improve. I am lucky to be surrounded by a great group of coaches who hold me accountable everyday to being better than I was yesterday.

1. Coach Every Single Rep
Great coaches are willing to coach every single rep! Every time a player takes a rep, say something to him to help him get better. If his stance wasn't good, tell him. If his hands weren't in the right place, tell him. If his eyes were on the ground, let him know. The worst thing you can do is not say anything.

Back when I was first getting into coaching I had the opportunity to watch Tyrone "Moe" Murray from Kennedy High School in the Bronx, coaching his lineman. Moe was a master of talking to his guys every single time they took a rep. He never took a rep off. Kennedy's offensive line was unbelievable. Moe coached those guys with a relentless attitude. He loved each and every one of them and they knew it. He coached them to be great every single day. They had some very, very talented lineman, but even the guys who weren't talented were very technically sound. They also played with an edge.

Reps are a valuable commodity, like money. You are only allotted a certain amount each day, week, and season. Every time you use a rep without coaching something, you have thrown it away. You have cheated the player you are working with because he did not receive immediate feedback. It fires me up to go to a practice and see a coach not talking to his guys. There are guys at all levels who do this. They waste reps each and every day. 

I was at a practice a few years back and saw a coach leaning on the chute. He couldn't even see the feet of his lineman. His body language said, "it's time to relax and I don't really want to be here." I am big on posture. How you stand matters. If you have poor body language your players are more likely to do this as well. During the drill he said very little to his guys. In fact, I think all he said was "set go." He never made his guys better. 

As football season begins we all have a choice. We can choose to be passionate or to be lazy. We have a choice to coach them every rep or to take reps off. We coach them to improve or we can let them get worse. 

2. Improve Your Craft

Schedule 30 minutes a day to watch drill tape of the position he coaches. Spend a few $ and order a couple of instructional videos from really good coaches. Watch 30 minutes of video each day and take notes. There are no exception to this. Make the time to improve your craft. When the spring comes around attend at least on clinic and watch coaches who speak on your position group. Watch several speakers and take great notes. 

At clinics I am always looking for one thing that can help me improve. I want to find one new drill, or one new coaching point that I can use with my players. The internet has put information in our hands very readily, and it needs to be taken advantage of. There is no excuse for not being able to learn more about the position you coach. I once worked with a guy who complained that I went to too many clinics each year. He said it wasn't fair that I got to go and he didn't. But the funny part was that he never once asked to go to a clinic. When he was invited to go (For Free) he said no. He didn't want to improve and he tried to keep others from improving. He didn't last very long on our staff. Stay away from guys who don't have desire to get better. 

3. Coach and Correct Mistakes
Never be afraid to tell an athlete what he did wrong and how to fix it. Never let a mistake go without fixing it. Correction is caring. Correction is the ultimate form of love. It tells your athlete you care about him enough to help him be his best. If he stepped with the wrong foot, tell him. If his eyes weren't where they were supposed to be, tell him. "Here is where your eyes were, and here is where they should be." Tell him the mistake and the correction. Keep correction the mistake until he gets it right. If the mistake continues, find a new way to correct it. Don't come in the office and say, "Mike keeps screwing it up. I keep telling him, but he just won't do it." Find a new way to teach it. Great coaches figure out how to communicate with each player in a way they understand. They never give up on teaching that player.

4. Encourage Your Players and Fellow Coaches
Constantly reinforce to your players when they do something well. Even when you correct them you can encourage. Tell them you believe in them and that if they keep working they will do it right. If yo constantly beat them down they will not improve. They will eventually tune you out. Build them up every single day.

Do everything you can to help promote your players and fellow coaches. Help the guys in your program to advance personally and professionally. Help promote your players to college coaches. Help the guys you work with to advance. When I was an OC I took great pride in helping every position coach I worked with get an OC job if they wanted one. It was awesome to see them advance themselves and be able to grow.

5. Coach Them to Greatness
Coach them to what you want them to be and they will get there. If you see a guy as a future all-state player, you will coach him that way. If you see him as a lifetime 7th grade B team player, that is exactly how you will coach him. I hate hearing a coach talk about how a player can never improve. Or they downplay a kid because he is a terrible athlete. He may not be a good athlete, but he can be better than where he is right now. But he will only get better if you coach him every play. If the kid is at practice working hard, coach him to be better. The only kid you can't coach is the kid who isn't there. Every other kid deserves our best! And darn it, you need to believe in them. You have to believe in them before they will believe in themselves! 

6. Get to the Point
Keep your coaching points under 8 seconds. If you have to stop a drill to give a clinic you will lose your kids. NO CLINICS ARE ALLOWED ON THE FIELD! I like to have short, concise coaching points in 3 to 5 words. If we can say it in one word that is even better. Todays generation needs constant, immediate feedback, and they need it in short bursts. They text, tweet, instagram and snapchat. They get their information in 140 characters or less. We need to coach them that way.

7. Build Relationships!
If you don't care about your players. GO DO SOMETHING ELSE! You have to care about their success on the field and in life. You have to be willing to get to know them for more than what they do on the field. Learn their hopes, goals, and dreams. Learn about their families. Learn about the things they love and hate. Learn about their struggles. This will build trust in your athletes. Many of our players have a great distrust for male figures because every male in their lives has walked out on them. They face broken promises every day. Why should they trust you? Trust is earned by your actions over time. Once you build that relationship and they trust you, the coaching can go to another level. 

8. Be Loyal
This is vital. Loyalty is a championship quality. If you don't like how something is done talk to the person making the decision. Don't go talk to someone in the office or in the community, telling them how the OC or DC screwed something up. Don't go tell another coach that you would do it this way and the head coach or coordinator is wrong. Talk to the source. This is a great way to destroy your coaching staff. The term I will use is Chicken***t. That is the best way to describe it. Go to the source, tell them how you feel, and accept their decision. Championship programs have coaches that are loyal to each other, to their kids, and to their program as a whole. You need to build up your coaches.

9. Accept Criticism
I love when the head coach tells me I did something wrong, or that I could do something better. It means someone is willing to hold me accountable to being my best. Great coaches want to be challenged to improve every single day. If you want to be a better coach, ask your peers to challenge you. Ask them to hold you accountable to being better than you were yesterday. If you aren't coaching every rep, you want to be around people who will call you out. The only thing that hurts when someone tells you that you aren't doing something as well as you could is your ego. And your ego heals fast.

10. Appreciate Managers, Trainers, and Custodians
No one notices the trainers until there isn't water on the field. When your players can't go on because they are gassed and don't have water, you'll realize how vital they are. You need to appreciate what they do and thank them for their efforts. Tell them how important they are to the program. No one notices the managers until the equipment isn't set up. Tell the managers how valuable they are. Thank the custodians for all they do to keep your offices clean. Tell them thank you and let them know you appreciate them. Everyone in your program matters. Everyone is vital. Make people know you realize how important their job is. And don't do it because you want something in return. Do it because what they do really is vital to the success of your program.

This list is far from exhaustive, but it covers 10 things I think we can all do to get better everyday. Every one of these things could be at the top of the list. I work on these things everyday, and I have a long way to go.

Every single day to everything you can do to be the best you can be for the kids you will coach. Every day make your decisions with the best interests of our kids at heart.

Shameless plug... I have to mention that I do have some resources available that might help improve your program. Several coaches have told me the Game and Practice Planning Resources I have available for both sides of the ball are going to save them time and help them be more organized. These are documents that you can download and edit to help you plan for your install and for each game and practice of the season. I have received hundreds of emails from coaches telling me these were the most detailed and usable documents they had found. Here is a small sample of what is included in the offensive packet:

It can be found here: https://sellfy.com/p/AndN 

Here is a sample of the defensive documents:

 The defensive documents can be found here: https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/

This year I also wrote a book on RPO's that will give you a systematic process to build RPO's into your offensive system. The book has an iBooks version and an Amazon Kindle version. The iBooks version can be read on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It is an amazing book that gives you over an hour of video! It has been read by coaches at all levels, and they have all loved it! This book gives you a systematic process for installing and teaching pre snap and post snap RPO's! This book will greatly enhance your offense! It can be ordered clicking here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959.

It is also available on Amazon for the Kindle Clicking Here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B12YSCG?keywords=james%20vint&qid=1453738070&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4

 Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points! 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points. 

The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season. 

My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts. 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

You Are Not "Just" Anything

I was speaking at a clinic a few weeks ago and a coach came up afterward and introduced himself. He said his name and then said, "I am just a middle school coach." No way, you are not "just" a middle school coach. You are the first football coach many of the young men you coach have ever had. You are the MOST important in that young man's life. If you give him a great experience, he will love the game forever. If you coach him like it's all about you, he will quit and never play the game again.

It is vital we all understand that regardless of our title, or level, or location, we are vital to someone. The job of that middle school or youth coach is as important as Jim Harbaugh's job. It may even be more important than Jim Harbaugh's job. Too often we measure our value by our title or position. We measure our value by our wins and losses. Our value is much, much bigger than any scoreboard, record book, or nameplate on a door. 

The value of a coach, or anyone for that matter, comes from the influence you have on others. We have an opportunity to change the lives of those we coach. We have the ability to influence young people to do more than they ever thought possible. We have the opportunity to be the one consistent person in their lives. We can show them the unconditional love that many of them are missing at home.

That middle school coach is a vital link to the success of that young man. I remember several years ago a friend of mine said he had a middle school player who was 5-2, overweight, and very awkward. He wasn't very strong and he couldn't run very fast. My buddy said his middle school coaches gave this kid such a great experience, and were so encouraging, that this young man continued playing into high school. The coaches realized the game is not about them, but about the kids. My buddy said that kid played at least 20 snaps every game. In fact, everyone on that B team played at least 20 plays. The A team played at least 20 snaps He said they lost a few games they might have won, but every kid had a great experience. Every kid practiced hard because they knew they were going to play. And they all got better.

Fast foreward a few years, and that small, overweight, unathletic young man hit two growth spurts. He went from being 5-2 to 6-3. He was 195 pounds. He never missed a workout. He ran a 4.7 in the 40. He was a team captain. He ended up being a 3rd team all-state safety and went on to be an NCAA Division II all-american. He received a scholar athlete award at a huge dinner, and who do you think he invited? Not his college coach. Not his high school coach. He invited his middle school coaches who believed in him when others wouldn't. 

It pains me when a 7th grade B team kid is standing on the sideline every week knowing he will play one or two plays. We are all competitive, but middle school and youth football is not the NFL. When a middle school or youth coach applies for a high school job, no one asks them what the record of the 7th grade B team was. The real test is, "what did you do to build up the spirit of your players?" What did you do to believe in them when no one else would?

My buddy said his middle school staff is the reason they were able to win a state title. His middle school coaches didn't let their ego get in the way of building a love of the game and a love of being coached in those kids. They made EVERY player feel like they could accomplish more than what others might think. They didn't coach the kids where they were. They coached those kids to the level they saw them getting. 

Another interesting story happened with a team I coached several years ago. We had a young man that didn't play a whole lot, but he was one of the best leaders we had. He had a great attitude regardless of circumstance. He was a selfless player who would do anything to help his teammates succeed. We had a really good receiver with a rough home life. He struggled to get to school for workouts. He often wanted to skip practice. This player didn't miss a workout as a senior. He blossomed into a leader and star player. At our awards banquet he got up and talked. While fighting back tears he thanked the young man who wasn't a great player for giving him a ride everyday, and being a rock that he could lean on. This kid wasn't "just" a third team player. He was the most valuable teammate we had. 

If you are a middle school coach and you are coaching the defensive line, be the best defensive line coach you can be. Be the best role model you can be. Be the best encourager of your players. Love them unconditionally and teach them to love the game. Don't coach with a negative attitude because you think you should be the defensive coordinator, or the head coach. It's not about you and your ego. It is solely about the kids you coach. If you dog cuss them and break their spirit, you are not making them tough. Coach them FOR them, and with their best interests in mind. Coach them to be their very best, whatever that might be. Give them a love of the game and a love of being coached. 

Regardless of what level you are on, or what your title is, work hard to improve your craft. Go to clinics, talk to coaches, and soak in as much information as you can. Coach everyday with the purpose of helping the young men you coach to be the best they can be. Some of the best coaches I have been around are at the middle school and youth level. Your level has no bearing on the quality of coach you are! 

You are not "just" anything. You are the most important coach in the lives of your players right now. Coach with enthusiasm and passion knowing you are going to help them achieve more than they thought possible. 

A few months back I published a couple of iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense.

If you don't have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can order the Amazon version for the Kindle. It has everything except the embedded video. You can order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Installing-Explosive-Concepts-Into-Offense-ebook/dp/B01B12YSCG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

I also wrote a book on Tempo. It will greatly help you build a multiple tempo system with simple communication that will allow your kids to play with confidence. It also had over an hour of video clips! You can order the ibooks version here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270.

Order the Amazon Kindle version here:

http://www.amazon.com/Using-Multiple-Tempos-Create-Explosive-ebook/dp/B01ATOL46A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

One of the keys to our success was tremendous preparation!The key to  preparation was our outstanding group of documents we used for all three phases. If you are looking for fully editable and customizable documents that you can tailor to your program, I have made mine available. 

Here is a link to my offensive game planning documents: https://sellfy.com/p/AndN/

It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today for under $15 and download them tonight!

Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/

And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/

Using Tempo to Create Explosive Plays!

Offensive coordinators are always striving for new ways to gain an advantage over the defense. We go to clinics and visit coaching staffs trying to find new ways to gain more yards and score more points. One very important area that has helped the evolution of football is tempo. Over the last ten years we have seen a significant increase in the number of teams who use elements of tempo in their offense.

Back about 15 years ago I began my own experiment with tempo. We were getting ready to play a team that had us physically overmatched. They were better than us up front. They were faster than us in the secondary. They had dominated everyone they played. We decided to play at Nascar Tempo for entire drives. We were in the I Formation for the most part, and we were option based. We did jump in the gun to run our zone read concepts, but our identity was being in the I and running the ball.

In the first quarter we ran 30 plays and racked up over 180 yards on the ground. We had two drives that started inside our own 10 yardline. We were able to consistently move the football. As soon as the play ended we were sprinting to the line and getting set. We were going as fast as we could and the defense was lost. They couldn't communicate their fronts and coverages. They couldn't get lined up properly. Despite being overmatched we were able to consistently move the ball. Our tempo system was born.

"We ran 30 plays in the first quarter and racked up over 180 yards on the ground!"

The second tempo we added was our Freeze or Look tempo. We are going to make it look like we are going to run a play at Nascar Tempo. We would sprint to the line and the quarterback would say, "ready go." If the defense jumps we snap the ball and run verticals. We essentially get a free play. If the defense doesn't jump the quarterback says, "easy-easy look-look." The offense looks over and we signal to them the play we are going to run. When we use the freeze/look mode I have a chance to look at the defense and call a play based on how they are lined up. I found I called a better game when I could see how the defense lined up each play.

We then added four more tempos to our offense. Playing fast is great, we like to do it, but the defense will adapt to whatever speed you play. If you play fast, the defense will get acclimated and play fast. If you play slow, the defense will get acclimated. But if you change tempos the defense will not be able to settle into a comfort zone. Each tempo we added had a specific purpose, and the defense never knew when we were going to run a specific tempo. We are able to change speeds from one play to the next. Because we can play fast every snap if we want to, the defense must prepare that way. They must get their call in immediately, regardless of what speed we actually go.

Adding an element of tempo has helped us to become much more explosive on offense. When we change speeds we have more explosive plays than when we play one speed. The biggest mistake I have made is slowing down when we had injuries and trying to shorten the game. When we did this we sacrificed effectiveness on offense. We eliminated what might have been the most dynamic part of our offensive system.

Coaches ask me about tempo and how we implement it into our system, and I decided to write a book about it. There really wasn't a book that gave a systematic approach to building a multiple tempo system into an offense. This book I wrote talks about how to incorporate tempo into any offense. It gives you a process that can easily be adapted to anything you might do. What is special abut this book is that it contains video! It is built on Apple's Ibooks platform. The downside is that it can only be viewed on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. I also have version for the Kindle with text and pictures! There is no video on the Kindle version.

I shared the book with a few close friends in coaching, and they believe this is one of the best pieces of information available on tempo! It takes you through a simple process for each of our tempos, and how you can fit them into your system. Whether you are running a wing-t system and huddling, or you are an Air Raid team, you can benefit from what I talk about in the book.

One very important aspect of the book is the price. I wanted it to be affordable to coaches. There may not be a better value out there!

Here are a couple of screenshots from the book:


The book includes over an over of video clips so you can see each tempo in action! I include practice footage as well, so you can see how we teach and install each tempo! And, I show you how you can build picture boards as one method of communication! I also take you through a simple communication system you can use to implement tempo into your offense!

If you are looking to learn more about tempo, this is a book you NEED to purchase! Here is a link to the book:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270

Here is a link to the Amazon Kindle Version: http://www.amazon.com/Using-Multiple-Tempos-Create-Explosive-ebook/dp/B01ATOL46A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1453231742&sr=8-3&keywords=james+vint

This book will give you something you can use with you program!

One of the keys to our success was tremendous preparation!The key to  preparation was our outstanding group of documents we used for all three phases. If you are looking for fully editable and customizable documents that you can tailor to your program, I have made mine available. 

Here is a link to my offensive game planning documents: https://sellfy.com/p/AndN/

It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today for under $15 and download them tonight!

Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/

And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/

Improving Our Craft

One of the things I like most about the winter is having the opportunity to research innovative ways to improve our program. Regardless of whether we went 16-0 or 5-5, or 0-10, we want to find ways to do things better. This time of year is vital to improving our programs.

There are three things every coach can do to improve this off-season. There are actually about 3,000, but we will focus on three. First, attend at least one clinic each year. Whether you are in your first year as a coach or in your 40th, there are areas you can improve. At each clinic I attend I try to find at least 5 things that I can use with our players and our program. It may be a small coaching point, or a way to communicate something in a way our kids will understand. It may be tweaking a blocking scheme, or a new route combination. The key is finding things that can practically be applied.

The first high school coordinator job I held was for David Diaz at Columbus High School. Coach Diaz took us to the Megaclinic in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where we heard some tremendous speakers. As a young coach it was overwhelming to hear some of the top high school and college coaches in the country giving clinic talks. Coach Diaz had our staff divide up where we would go so we would get the most out of the clinic for our program. Megalinics actually bought out Frank Glazier and adopted the Glazier name.

It was in Atlantic City that we met Jerry Campbell, who was the offensive coordinator at Westwood High School in Round Rock, Texas. Coach Campbell took time to talk me through an overview of the option game. We flew him up to visit our staff and coach our kids and coaches up on the midline, load, and veer options. Coach Campbell became a great mentor and role model to me, and is one of the great men in this business. If you haven't met him yet, you need to!

In addition to attending clinics, we would visit college staffs in the spring. Typically we would visit one or two local staffs. Our goal was to learn what other people were doing that worked, and figure out the best things to incorporate into our program. You can never think you have it figured out. You have to always be trying to improve and get better.

Third, talk ball with guys who come to visit your school recruiting. When coaches came through the door recruiting our guys, we were going to ask questions. It may be scheme related, or it may be about practice organization. Mike Simpson, who was the defensive coordinator at The University of Albany when I was coaching in the Bronx, was very helpful to talk to. As we watched film of a player I would ask him technique questions. How could we play this better? What could this kid of done better to take on this block? What drill do you have that could help our defensive lineman spill the trap? Most coaches want to help, but you have to be willing to ask.

At the time I didn't realize how lucky we were, but New Hampshire's offensive coordinator walked through our door to recruit a running back. We watched film and he noticed were were running some zone read concepts from the gun. This was back in 2001. The coach was Chip Kelly, and he got on the board and talked us through some things they were doing. He talked to us about tempo and how they were snapping ball fast without huddling. We all were amazed at his passion and knowledge. I wish I had taken the time to ask him more questions. You never know where that guy coming through your door is going to end up. Take time to pick their brain and learn something new.

Make sure you don't get caught in the trap that you already know everything. I have never understood coaches who say they never get anything out of clinics. They aren't looking very hard. There is always something you can pick up. I once worked with a guy who said, "we do what we do, and none of these guys are going to share anything valuable anyway." I may not be very smart, but to me that is a bull crap excuse to not go to a clinic.

Here are a couple of thoughts for younger coaches figuring out how to get better...

1. Listen to small college and high school speakers
   These guys tend to have material that is most applicable to high school coaching. They tend to have a lot of knowledge, but they face a lot of the same battles high school coaches face. When they talk scheme it often can be applied to the high school level.

2. Listen to Division I position coaches
   It is very cool to listen to big time head coaches talk, but they are not going to give you a lot schematically. The guys who you can take the most from are position coaches that are talking technique. James Franklin was a tremendous speaker on receiver play when he was at Maryland. It was easy to see that he would one day lead a major program.

3. Get a card from the speaker
   The card will most likely have their school email address which cannot be found on many staff directories. This can help you when you have a player that you would like them to look at, or when you have a question.

4. Here are some NFL speakers you need to hear
   Jim McNally, Alex Gibbs, and Pat Ruel. These are three guys that are offensive line gurus that know their football!

5. Join XandO Labs! These guys do a tremendous job of putting together a variety of clinic reports and research projects. Their website is xandolabs.com. For just $49 a year you get access to information from some of the top coaches at the high school, college, and NFL levels.  xandolabs.com

6. Buy DVD's and Books
  Books and DVD's are great resources for you to get more information and have it available to review at your convenience. There are books and DVD's for just about every title available. Often you can save 50% on DVD's at clinics. Keep your eye out for sales around the holidays as well. If you are looking for pistol resources check out my website at www.coachjamesvint.com

7. Check out footballscoop.com every day. In addition to reporting on coaching changes in college football, football scoop has insightful articles about programs from NAIA and D3 up through the top BCS programs. I have picked up a ton of program building tidbits from them over the last couple of years.  www.footballscoop.com

8. Talk to coaches who are successful
   I am constantly in contact with guys who have information I think can be beneficial. Be on the lookout for guys who do things really well. If I am looking for information on screen game I call DJ Mann @Thamannjr at Crosby High School in Texas. If I want to talk about program building I am going to reach out to someone like Randy Jackson @Coach_RJackson at Grapevine High School, or Joey McGuire @Coach_McGuire50 at Cedar Hill. If I want information on getting my athletes the ball in space I am going to call Will Compton @CoachWCompton. Create a database of guys who do certain things well so you can contact them.
9. Use social media
   Social Media has really taken off and has become a great place to share information. Not everything on social media is trustworthy, but there are several Facebook Groups and Twitter Chats where coaches share information. #txhsfootballchat on twitter Wednesday nights is a great place to start.

10. Visit Coach Huey! www.coachhuey.com is a great place to find information. Coaches from all over the country and even internationally share information.

The biggest deal is to take time to research and improve. It is vital that we work hard to improve as coaches in the winter and spring. We must always be on a  quest to be our best! Use the resources that are available to continually improve as a coach and as a person. Our kids deserve nothing less!

I wrote two new iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense. 

If you don't have an apple device, you can order the paperback version! It is available on Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520447485

I also have a Kindle version for Windows and Android devices. It has everything except the embedded video. You can order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Installing-Explosive-Concepts-Into-Offense-ebook/dp/B01B12YSCG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8