How much is too much? This is the age old question of offensive coordinators everywhere. At what point do we have too much installed? Why does this even matter? Is there such a thing as too much?
The first thing I will say is that I never once thought we had too little installed. There never was a season where I said, man, we didn't have enough in our system. There have, however, been several seasons where we felt we had too much installed. And often, it showed on the field.
When you have too much installed, there are 5 things that you will find.
1. You never get good at anything
2. Your players can't execute at a high level
3. Your coaches struggle to troubleshoot during games
4. It becomes harder to call plays, especially the right plays
5. You don't have an identity.
When you have too much installed, it is hard to be good at anything. You will find that you become really good at being average. How many times have you called the perfect play, only to have a kid bust on assignments? This is going to happen at times, but it is going to happen far more often when you have too much installed.
I equate installation to a jar full of sand. Once that jar gets full, you put the lid on. You can't add any more sand because there isn't any room. When you add some more sand to the jar, you can't put the lid back on. If you do get the lid on, you risk the jar breaking. How many times have you overloaded your players to the point they can't execute? Everything you install has to be practiced. It has to be rehearsed. You have to be able to run it against any front. The more things you try to do, the less time you have to practice each thing.
Another big issue that comes up is troubleshooting. When you have too many plays in your playbook it makes it really difficult to troubleshoot. Your guys come to the sideline after a series, only to be overloaded with information. They are not going to be able to process that information. Your kids won't be able to make adjustments on the fly. If I am a receiver who has to adjust my blocking based on who the force guy is, I have to be able to determine if this is one high or two high. I have to know based on depth, eyes, and leverage if the corner is a force guy, or a deep zone dropper, or playing man. The more I have to remember, the harder it is going to be for me to make an adjustment and block the right guy. It is why we have receivers blocking no one. They are unsure. This happens all the time in games. Or, a guy will run the wrong route. An offensive lineman will step with the wrong foot. Having too much creates confusion and makes it harder to troubleshoot.
The hardest thing to do as a play caller is choose the right play to call when you have too much installed. You are looking at your call sheet, and it is just filled with information. There are really great things on your call sheet, and you can't pick what to call. Or, you can't find something you are looking for. You become indecisive. When you are indecisive you are not going to be as effective as a play caller. If you are targeted in your preparation, you will find yourself being a better play caller.
What is your identity? You have to have an identity concept if you are gong to be successful. What is the one play that you can run in your sleep when you need a first down? What is the one thing people must be able to stop if they are going to beat you? That doesn't mean you aren't good at other things, but knowing your identity and identity concept are vital for you to be explosive on offense. Your kids also feed into your identity. When you don't know your identity, they won't know your identity.
As you prepare for the upcoming season, ask yourself these three questions.
1. What is our identity?
2. Who is your dude, or who are your dudes?
3. How much can your kids handle mentally?
Once you answer these three questions, you then begin to build your system. You list your base formations, motions, runs, and passes. What are your complementary plays? What are your trick plays? Then, build your install schedule. As you install, begin to eliminate and adjust. If you get time in the spring and/or summer to install, you can gauge what your team can handle.
One very important thing to understand is that just because you can draw it on the board, doesn't mean kids can execute it on the field. Have this in mind as you begin to develop your offensive package.
And finally, who are your guys? Who are the dudes who you need to get the ball to? Make sure as you build your game plan each week and plan for the season, that you have ways to get your best guys quality touches.
To help you to be more targeted with your game planning, I came up with a set of game planning documents that we use. These documents helped us to be more targeted with our preparation, while saving us time on the weekend because we were more focused. I made these available to coaches a couple years ago, and every coach that uses them has found tremendous benefit!
These documents are fully editable and customizable to be tailored to your exact needs. Everything from wrist band templates, to scouting reports, to call sheets, to practice plans, and much more are included. State champions from more than a dozen states use these documents, and each one tells me they were a game changer. Click this link to order and download! https://coachvint.sellfy.store/p/AndN/ You will be able to begin to prepare for next season right now!
I know that these documents will make a huge difference for your program, the same way they made a difference for so many others. If you are not an OC or head coach yet, you should still download these and begin to put together simulated game plans so you are ready for that big moment!
I don't want to leave out your defensive coordinator. When I was a DC, I had several documents I used that helped us to be more prepared, and ultimately, win more games! We posted 6 shutouts, and a big part of that was using these documents! https://coachvint.sellfy.store/p/AY1u/
For your special teams coordinator, I have a complete special teams install package, that includes everything from drill tape, to game film, to playbooks, to teaching presentations! https://coachvint.sellfy.store/p/tJwz/
I would also invite you to check out my CoachTube courses! I have courses available that will help you be more explosive on offense! https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint
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