Building Unity Among Your Offensive Lineman

Anyone who coaches offensive football knows that success starts with your big boys up front. The better your offensive line plays, the better your offense tends to perform. Of course you still need good athletes, but a good offensive line will maximize the talent of your skill guys.

One of the most important tributes of an offensive line is unity. That group, more than any other, must be able to play as a unity. They must all be on the same page. I am blessed to work with a tremendous offensive line coach who is passionate about developing his group. He is one of the best at building offensive lineman into a unit. I asked Ty Palmer to write about how he builds unity with our offensive lineman, and he has put together a great article.

Building Unity Among Offensive Linemen

Ty Palmer

Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator

Seminole High School

Seminole, Texas

Offensive linemen are a very unique and special group. It is a fraternity to coach and/or play offensive line. We as a whole tend to stand up for and defend each other at all costs even if we do not know the other guy. The only thing we have to know is he is a lineman like me. This is what makes coaching the offensive line so special yet so challenging at the same time. There are not many kids in the backyards and parks of America that dream of being a center on 4^th and 1 in a state championship game and getting a pancake block that keeps the drive alive. If you find that kid, please call me because I will adopt him right now. Most linemen grow up wanting to be quarterbacks and running backs whose dreams are crushed in the 7^th grade when they get sent to the other end of the field. It is seen as a disgrace to be one of “us” by most kids. However, it is a badge of honor and courage to be one of “us.”

As an offensive line coach, you have a unique challenge ahead of you. You must be able to take a group of kids who may or may not like each other, come from various backgrounds and beliefs, and often did not grow up dreaming of being an offensive lineman and make them play as one unit. I believe to be an effective line coach, you must be a psychologist as well. You have to be able to figure out what makes your group run and how to get them to do it day in and day out in the most thankless role on the field. I am blessed that my head coach, Kent Jackson, was my offensive line coach in high school. He gets it. Our offensive coordinator, James Vint, has coached the line before, and he makes sure his quarterbacks make them feel appreciated. People do not realize how far this can get them in life with the hogs. They expect me to love on them, but it goes a long way when other people recognize them. I tell my guys, “Me and your momma are the only ones who know you exist and love you.” They have to learn to depend on both you as their coach and also themselves. I know you have all heard the universal “BLOCK LINE” from the stands, when ultimately, it is the back that hits the wrong hole. This is part of being a lineman; no one knows you exist until they “need” you.

I have done several things with my guys to promote unity and build togetherness amongst them. This year we started a Hog Meal every Tuesday night after practice. We would meet at a coach’s house to eat dinner and just get away from the field house together. I did not want to watch film at this meal or do anything related to football. They needed to get away from it and be around each other in a relaxed environment. It also allows your kids a chance to see you outside of coach mode and be yourself. This goes a long way in allowing them to see you care and love them as people and not just as football players. I have always heard, “Kids do not care what you know until they know you care." I firmly believe this statement to be true, and I think this is one of several ways to show them you care. It is amazing what some cheap hotdogs and cookies can do for a group of linemen. I know that sounds like a fat kid joke, but it isn’t. I think this is something that can be done with any position group.

 

Another thing I do is always have some sort of saying for the season or theme to bring them together. This varies from year to year to keep it fresh and new for my guys. I usually allow my upper classmen to help in this process.  Kids can be very creative if you let them help, and it means more to them when they have ownership of it all. We try to keep it a “secret” for the linemen, and it is our thing. It is funny to watch the skill kids trying to figure out what we are doing or what something means and how bad they want to know. I think this gives my linemen some pride in having “their thing” and helps bring them closer. Last year our rally cry became “LOCK THE GATE.” I was watching a show with Hugh Freeze, and he was giving a speech before the Alabama game and he told them, “They are good men, but we will lock the gate and go looking for a fight.” It just so happens that our field has a gate that locks during the game to keep people off the field and is right by our pre-game warm-up spot. The kids rallied around that and it worked for us. You have to find your thing and what will work for your kids. Each one had this hanging in their lockers and they loved it. 

Last season, I used a chain link as their rallying point. Everyone has heard the saying, “A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link,” so I bought each one of my kids a chain link and they had it with them at all times. They wore it on a necklace, kept it on their key chain or even laced it on their shoe laces. I still hear from my seniors about how they have theirs with them still in college. Nothing is new in this profession, and most good ideas are stolen. It’s no exception that I stole this idea from my head coach in high school (he is a master of motivation). To this day, I still have a dog tag he gave us my senior year in high school on my key chain. Right beside it is my chain link from last year. I know these may seem like little insignificant things to you, but to your kids, they are huge. They give them a common battle cry and rallying theme, which is what a group of linemen need. 

I tell my kids, “You are five bricks but one wall,” all the time. I firmly believe it, and you must too as a line coach. You are their lifeline and their support; you must be bought in as a line coach. They know when you are not fired up to be a part of them. You have a challenge to make them love being linemen and staying out of the spotlight. This is why the Coaches Of Offensive Linemen (C.O.O.L.) association’s logo is a mushroom. Mushrooms grow in the dark and are fed garbage yet continue to flourish. That is the perfect picture of being a lineman. You must find a way to help them understand that and flourish through the garbage.

These are just some of the things I have done to help build unity with my guys. They may or may not work for you, but hopefully there is something here you can use to help you out. I always love hearing what others have done or are doing with their guys as well, so feel free to contact me. I love talking offensive line play and techniques.  My email is ty_palmer09@yahoo I can be found on twitter at https://twitter.com/OLCoach_Palmer, so feel free to contact me on either one. 

Shameless Plug:

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

Simple Concept, Explosive Plays

My background on the offensive side of the football is with Option principles. My first opportunity to be an offensive coordinator was running an I-Based offense that focused on running the Midline, Load, and Veer option concepts. When we evolved into a gun and pistol offense, we continued to be option based. We try to find new and innovative ways to read defenders.

Perhaps the easiest and most popular read play to install is the inside zone read. Offenses from youth football all the way up to the NFL have adapted some form of the inside zone read. While many programs have put their own stamp on this popular concept, the principles are the same. The offense is going to block the box defenders while reading the backside C gap defender. 

The inside zone read allows the offense to cancel a defender without having to block him. It can give you a man advantage. You essentially can get one more blocker to the second level. Defenses have to not only have to cancel gaps, but now they must make sure they account for the QB as a runner. Defensive coordinators have to make sure they have a player assigned to the QB and to the running back. When defenses have to account for the QB, they have to borrow from the secondary, or ask their defenders to react very quickly to get in a position to make sure the QB doesn't run free.

The bowl games were fun to watch as several teams employed different versions of the inside zone read. UCLA ran it well against Kansas State, hitting several big plays. Perhaps the biggest play came in the fourth quarter when K-State was mounting a furious comeback. UCLA needed a big play... and they got one. 

The Bruins aligned in a one back gun set with a TE. Essentially this is a pro set, but putting the H back in the slot to the open side forced K-State to have to essentially defend an extra gap up front. K-State's answer was to roll their safety down to 5 yards put him man on the H back.

As you can see from the picture below, Kansas State has a dive and a QB player by alignment. 

Because they had two players outside the read side tackle, one of them could play the dive, and one could play the QB. 

On the snap of the ball the QB meshed with the dive back and saw the defense had a dive player and a QB player. We teach our QB, "when in doubt, give it out." This is a principle we used back in our option days. We would rather have our back getting downhill and being physical. 

The problem for K-State is that both players worked to the QB. Instead of playing their responsibilities, they made a choice to do their own things. The two things that kill a defense faster than anything are blown option responsibilities and missed tackles. Both of these will get defensive coordinators pulling their hair out!

When both players went to the QB, they left a huge void in the C gap. The UCLA's read side guard and tackle did a great job of comboing the 3 Technique to the backside backer, leaving no one to play the dive back. 

With the secondary in man coverage, there was no one left when the RB got through the first and second levels of the defense. The result was touchdown run that put UCLA up two scores.

I am sure K-State spent many, many reps drilling their guys on option responsibilities. However, UCLA did a great job of mixing up their looks on the perimeter. That is one of the reasons I love the zone read game. You can show the defense several different looks without having to change your blocking scheme.

Adding RPO's makes the inside zone read a lethal concept! 

 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

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

If you are looking at adding the Inside Zone Read, or looking for a new wrinkly you can use, 101 Pistol Option Plays is now available as an interactive ibook. It has play diagrams, slides, blocking scheme descriptions, and hours of video! It is divided into two books, and the IS Zone Read and other read game concepts are found in Part Two, which consists of plays 54 to 101 and can be found here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/101-pistol-option-plays/id954951972?mt=11

You must have an ipad or Mac to view the ibook. It will not work on an iphone. If you have a Mac or an ipad, you need to check out this book!

I also have several videos on the pistol and spread offenses. They can be found here: https://coacheschoice.com/m-63-james-vint.aspx

I can be found on twitter a www.twitter.com/coachvint. 

Coach Vint has authored several books and instructional DVD's with Coaches Choice. His book 101 Pistol Option Plays is actually available now as a 2 volume interactive ibook for the iPad! It is similar to a traditional book, but it contains several hours of video as well!
Order Part 1 Here: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 1- Traditional Option Concepts
Order Part 2 Here: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 2- Spread Concepts

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/

101 Pistol Option Plays is Now available in ibook Form!

It is amazing how far technology has come in the last 15 years! The technology that is now available has made vast amounts of information available for coaches at all levels. We have come a long way from the days of waiting 5 hours for 16mm film to get developed!

My first year coaching I went to the MegaClinic in Atlantic City and bought a video by Jerry Campbell, who would become a great mentor to me. Jerry's video was a VHS tape on the installation of the option game. I played that video so much I wore it out! In about 2005 I ordered my first instructional DVD. You were able to skip from chapter to chapter and more easily find information. I thought that was high cotton! Little did I know what the future held.

Several years ago I was asked to record my own coaching DVD's with Coaches Choice. We started with a set of 4, then did another set, and all of a sudden we had about 18 DVD's. Dr. Peterson, who owns Coaches Choice, asked me to write a couple of books on the pistol. In 2012 we released 101 Pistol Run Plays and 101 Pistol Option Plays.

Last year Keith Grabowski called me and told me he was writing his own pistol book through the ibooks publisher. When he completed it he offered me a chance to download it. It was amazing! He incorporated videos and power point slides into the book. Coach Grabowski opened the door to the future of publishing! It is also a great book! 

This fall, Dr. Peterson called me and said we were going to transform my two pistol books to the ibooks format. I was ecstatic. After seeing the finished product, I am very pleased. 

101 Pistol Option Plays is actually so large that it had to be converted into two ibooks. There is so much video that one book would be too large of a file! Part 1 contains more traditional option concepts like midline and inside veer. Part 2 contains option concepts from the pistol that are more spread oriented. A large part of the book is inside zone read, power read, and counter read. Each chapter has a detailed description of the schematics of the concept being introduced.

One of the greatest features of the book is the ability to incorporate film room walk throughs! I will actually talk you through concepts just like if we were in the film room! It is an amazing way to interact. 

The coaches film room allows the author to talk you through a concept, brining the film room right onto your iPad! 

The ability to incorporate power point slides and full color pictures really brings the book to life!

This is going to be an exciting clinic season as the way you purchase books and videos has forever been transformed! You can now get a book that you can take anywhere, as long as you have a mac or an iPad. That is the one drawback to the ibook format, is that right now it only works on iOS products. The great thing as that you can find refurbished iPad 2's, 3's, and 4's for very reasonable prices!

In addition to my pistol books, there are several other books available using this same technology. Gus Malzahn's book on the Fast Paced No Huddle is also available. Rich Hargitt has some awesome air raid books available on the ibook platform.

If you are looking for more information on the pistol, check out 101 Pistol Option Plays! It has hours of video and hundreds of slides and pictures to go along with the diagrams and descriptions of each concept. Here is a link to 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 1: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 1

Part 1 focuses on traditional option concepts like midline and veer.

And here is a link to 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 2: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 2 Part 2 contains more spread concepts including inside zone read, outside zone read, counter read, and power read.

101 Pistol Run Plays will be released in the next few days. 

This is a tremendous platform for coaches to research new concepts, and I am very excited to see what will come down the pipeline in the future!

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

It's a Numbers Game

There is nothing I love more than bowl season! For a two week period there is football on pretty much non-stop on ESPN. If you are a football coach, bowl season is a great time to begin your winter research and development period. I love getting out a pad and paper and taking notes on what teams are doing on offense, defense, and special teams. I record nearly every game and go through each play several times. I firmly believe the inventor of DVR was a football coach!

There were several takeaways from this year's bowl games. First, it's all about numbers. Every offensive team was trying to gain a numerical advantage at the point of attack. If we can get one more blocker to the point of attack, we have a chance at a good football play. If we can get an angle here and leverage there, we can make a big play.

It seems nearly everyone is running some sort of a read or "option" concept. The premise is that it is easier to "read" a defender than to block that defender. By reading a defender, the offense can block a second level defender they normally wouldn't be able to block. 

One great example of the numbers game was UCLA running inside zone read against Kansas State. UCLA is aligned in a 1 back set with both the back and the H back to the boundary. Kansas State aligns to defend the field, putting only 3 defenders to the boundary side. They are going to be a gap short.

UCLA is going to be left a man short to the boundary. UCLA runs the inside zone read with the boundary end being the read. The end takes the QB leaving K State with no one to play the QB. The QB pulls the football and attacks the second level of the defense.

Three things are happening in the above illustration. First, the LG and LT from UCLA are executing a zone combination block perfectly. They are delivering the down defender to the linebacker. The linebacker is working to the A gap, but because the defensive lineman has been driven three yards off the ball, the linebacker is caught in traffic. 

The second thing in the picture is the read key is squeezing to take the dive back. If the read key squeezes to take the dive, Kansas State needs to have a player for the quarterback. Typically this would be the inside backer working over the top. However, the Kansas State linebacker is playing into the A gap. With no QB player, the defensive end should have played the QB.

The third thing in the picture is the outside receiver running a quick hitch route at the LOS, with the H back working to block the corner. The QB is going to attack the second level with the quick hitch essentially becoming the pitch man. The key is the quarterback getting downhill to stress the defense. Because K-State is playing to the field, they have no force player to the boundary. Essentially the corner has become the force player, and he is being blocked. There is no pitch player for K-State.

The QB sees the corner commit inside with the H back riding his hip. He flips the ball out the the #1 WR who sprints up the sideline for a big gain. This is a very simple triple option concept off the base inside zone read play. 

When the offense can get a numerical advantage over the defense, big plays are often the result. Offensive and defensive coordinators are matchup in a game of strategy trying to counter what the other is doing. 

In my career coaching football I have had the opportunity to be both an offensive and defensive coordinator. On offense we are trying to gain a leverage and numbers. On defense we were trying to cancel gaps while making sure we were not exposed in the pass game. With 11 players on each side of the ball there are a ton of factors that come into play on whether a concept is successful or not. It comes down to execution and athleticism! 

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

Coach Vint has authored several books and instructional DVD's with Coaches Choice. His book 101 Pistol Option Plays is actually available now as a 2 volume interactive ibook for the iPad! It is similar to a traditional book, but it contains several hours of video as well!

Order Part 1 Here: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 1- Traditional Option Concepts
Order Part 2 Here: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 2- Spread Concepts

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/

 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

Why We Must Teach Character and Leadership

When I first started coaching I was all about feeding my own competitive spirit. I wanted to win because that's all I had really done. Every team I had been a part of had been very successful in the win column. My first coaching job was with a losing program that had no history of winning. The mentality was that of a downtrodden group that had no hope. While we won some games and changed the culture, we didn't do as well as we probably could have done.

My next job was at Christopher Columbus High School, a large, inner-city school in the Bronx, New York. I was hired by one of the greatest developers of character in coaching today, David Diaz. When Coach Diaz was hired, the program was in the midst of a 27 game losing streak. Participation was way down, and the players didn't believe they could win. As a coaching staff we were all very fiery, demanding, and enthusiastic, and that translated into some success. We had the first winning season in school history our first year, and in the second year went to the playoffs. We thought we had begun building a strong foundation for significant success.

We are at a point where we felt like we were ready to get over the hump and win a playoff game. We had taken a program that had never had a winning season to the playoffs. We had a talented group coming back. Everything seemed to be lined up for us to have a big year. Then we ran into a buzz saw. Our kids were making some very poor decisions off the field. We had to suspend several players and lost others to grades. It was one of the most disappointing seasons of my coaching career. We were mentally weak on and off the field.

After the season we were complaining about how we had a lack of leadership. It was about this time we met Dennis Parker at a clinic and he talked about implementing character education into a football program. We talked with him for an hour after his talk and decided this is what was missing. This turned out to be the most important clinic talk of my coaching career.

We made a decision that we were going to teach character and leadership with intent. We were going to be as intentional in teaching character as we were in teaching our guys how to squat. Too often we think the sport itself teaches character. If this were true, every kid that played football would demonstrate high character. Sports don't teach character, coaches do.

That was an important epiphany we went through. What are we teaching? Are we teaching them to act a certain way? We are, but it may not be what we intend to teach. If we wanted to develop a culture of high character, high energy, mental toughness, everything we had to do had to build this culture.

Too often we think that character and leadership just happen. We say things like, "this group just weren't very good leaders." Or, "this senior class didn't know how to lead." This is when a good self-evaluation is needed. These are the questions we need to ask:

1. What did we do to develop positive leaders in our program?
2. How much time did we spend focused on teaching character with intent?
3. What might we have done that was detrimental to the leadership and character of this group?
4. Where can we find time to improve the leadership and teach character lessons with this group?

The biggest hindrance for us was the worry about what we would have to give up to take time to teach character and leadership? How much time in the weight room would we give up? How much film time would we give up? Where would we make up the practice time?

After talking with Dennis Parker and D.W. Rutledge, we made a decision that we wouldn't have to give anything up. With stronger leaders and a better foundation of character, our workouts would be better and more efficient. We would have higher intensity and better focus. While we would use some of our time to teach leadership and character, this use of time was actually an investment. We would get a return far greater than what we put in.

It was early February when Coach Diaz made the decision that we were going to go "all in" on teaching character. We took one week where we went into the classroom, focusing on character. On Fridays we had our seniors to be go through  leadership development program. After the first week we spent 20 minutes a day, three days a week before workouts in the classroom. One of the reasons this was successful is that each of our coaches bought in to what we were doing and sold it passionately to our kids.

One of the first things we did in the classroom was had our athletes fill out a sheet that gave us some information on them that was deeper than simply who they are. We wanted to know who they lived with, what their home life was like, what their dreams were, and what their goals were. We wanted to learn about their hopes and dreams and fears. We wanted them to understand that we loved them unconditionally because of who they were, not because of what they did.

Up until this point we had coached in a very transactional way. We told them what do do and expected them to do it. If they didn't we expressed disappointment. Often we had conflict and there was a genuine mistrust. They began to fear screwing up because they would face our wrath. Because they feared screwing up, they began to taking any risks at all. They wouldn't try to break personal records in the weight room. They wouldn't try to make a difficult play on the field. They sometimes would freeze under pressure. How did we respond? We yelled at them more. And then we wondered by they weren't improving their performance.

Character education and leadership development changed all this. Instead of a transactional form of coaching, we began a transformational form of coaching. Not only did our players begin to change, we began to change as coaches. Instead of yelling at our players and berating them, we began to coach them through mistakes and remind them of how they can do it better. This doesn't mean we didn't yell. The difference was the purpose of our yelling. Our purpose was to uplift and build them up!

Part of our leadership component involved empowering our players to take ownership of the successes an challenges we faced. We wanted them to know it was their deal and all about them. Instead of us setting the goals, we had the players set team goals. We had them set our goals for the winter and spring, goals for the summer, and goals for the season. We had them come up with a framework of expectations. It was amazing to watch them blossom through this process.

The Results
The results were outstanding! They began to think about the man next to them and the good of the team when they made a decision. Their decisions began to improve both on and off the field. Our players began to walk a little bit taller.  Their grades improved and they began to show excitement for their future. When we first arrived most of our players were taking summer school to get eligible. After implementing a character education program we rarely lost a kid to eligibility.

Perhaps the biggest thing that happened was the trust that was built. They began to trust that we really cared about them as more than athletes. We cared about them in life. We cared about what happened to them when we weren't around them. Our relationships with our players improved and we built bonds that will never be broken. And the relationships they built with each other were strengthened. They began to care about each other and truly became a family.

Did we win more games? Yes we did. We enjoyed a very good six year run of sustained success. We won playoff games for the first time in school history. Our kids were much better at handling adversity. They learned to push themselves to new limits. They developed a solid mental toughness that powered them through challenges they faced. Most importantly, they learned it isn't about them. It is bigger than them. Everything they do and every choice they make will impact others.

Teaching character and leadership will help you leave a lasting legacy. Everything we do as coaches will have an impact on our kids. That impact can be positive, or it can be negative. By teaching character and leadership we can greatly increase the chances that our student-athletes will have a very positive, life-changing experience in our program.

My experience at Christopher Columbus High School gave me tremendous appreciation for the value of teaching character and leadership. While I was a coordinator at the college level we emphasized character and leadership with our student-athletes.

I was blessed to get hired by Kent Jackson when I moved to Texas, one of the best men in the coaching business. We teach character with intent at Seminole High School. We invested a lot of time during two a days introducing our players to the concept of our character and leadership component. We use each day teach character and life lessons with our players.

At some point the good lord will present a head coaching opportunity,  and you can be sure that character education and leadership development will be paramount to our program. It is our duty and responsibility as coaches to develop our players into great leaders with a strong moral compass.

The R.E.A.L Man Program
There are several character programs that are out there. One program I really like is called The R.E.A.L Man Program by Coach Frank DiCocco. It is simple to implement and all the materials are ready for use. I have used this with my athletes and in my classes. This program is being used by several high schools and colleges throughout the US. You can find more information clicking here: The Real Man Program

The Texas High School Coaches Association also has several resources available with their Game Changer Program. I highly recommend these resources as well! Game Changer Coaches

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

If you are looking for information on the Pistol Offense, I have written two books on the pistol offense with Coaches Choice. If you are interested in learning more about those, click this link: https://coacheschoice.com/m-63-james-vint.aspx

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/

Champions Train Mentally and Physically

If you believe you can, then you have a shot. If you believe you can’t, then you won’t. Too often, we fill ourselves with negative thoughts. We justify why we can’t do something. We tell ourselves we are tired, too sore, too old, too young, too stupid, too smart, too tall, too short, too skinny, too slow, etc, etc, etc. We are defeated before we have even had a chance to begin.

The first person we have to overcome, before we can every think about beating an opponent, is ourselves. We have to be able to mentally tell ourselves we can accomplish what we set out to do. We then have to feed our confidence with positive words. We have to continually reinforce to ourselves that we have the ability. 

During my 19 years in coaching I have had opportunities to be a part of turning programs around. My first coordinator job was at a school that lost 27 straight games and was shutout 6 times the year before we got there. The principal told me we can't win their, and tried to talk me out of accepting the job offer! My first task was not teaching an offense. That was the least of our concerns. Like many losing programs, the kids were beat down after years of failure. Our first priority was teaching our kids to believe they were capable of more than they thought possible. Our job was to build a championship culture.

The change in mindset was not overnight. It also was not by accident. It was a process of continual improvement. We dedicated time to training the mind as well as the body, and we did so with intent. We developed specific activities, both individually and as a group, that allowed our athletes to experience success. 

One important aspect was building in a four week boot camp that ran from the first week in January through the first week in February. We started off in the classroom for the first three days. It was in the classroom that we set very clear expectations, and defined things in a very detailed manner. We used a variety of avenues to provide our players with character and leadership lessons. We spent time each day talking to them about focus and mindset. We defined adversity and mental toughness. We asked them to create an identity. We had them come up with a list of qualities of a championship program. We then had them develop a set of standards of performance. Then, we helped them meet the standards they set.

After we set our standards of performance, we began our mental and physical toughness activities. We focused on holding our athletes accountable to our standards while coaching them on the details. Our goal was always to have a "perfect" day. From arriving on time to how we stand to how we move to how we transition from station to station, accountability was key. We also introduced stress into their environment. We can't simulate the stress they will face on Friday Night, but we can put them into stressful situations with tremendous adversity. 

While our boot camp only went 20 days, the culture we built grew throughout the winter, spring, and summer. The weight room and track were very important for our cultural transformation. We set up the situation each day and clearly laid out the expectations. We talked about focusing on the process and the details. Our players began to learn that if you take care of the process, the outcome will be more favorable. 

The key is that everything had to build confidence. As their confidence grew, we began to stretch them physically and mentally. We didn't ask them to climb Mt. Everest day one. We created situations where they were able to string small victories together. As they gained confidence, we begin to put them in situations that stretched their limits farther and farther. We reached a point where they became comfortable being uncomfortable. They began to embrace rather than fear their shirts being drenched in sweat. That sweat became a badge of honor. They felt empowered!

When you empower young people and it becomes their deal, they will work harder. They will push through more adversity than what they thought possible. They take ownership, and once they take ownership, you have something special. 

The results spoke for themselves. We enjoyed tremendous success. We won 6 games our first year, scoring over 50 points three times. We went to the playoffs for the first time in school history our second year. The next year we won the first playoff game in school history. Each year we continued to improve. We became a consistent championship contender every single year. 

The important thing to understand is that beliefs and values can be taught. You are not at the mercy of your circumstances. There are so many things which we have complete control. We realized early on that we could control how we developed leadership. We could control how much we empowered our players. We could control the process of building a championship culture and mentality. We control whether we make the most of our ability!

If you want to change your program, take time to train your athletes mentally. Tie your strength and conditioning program into a character education and leadership program. Give your players ownership and watch them excel in ways you never 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/

Talent Isn't Enough

One of the funny things about athletics is that anyone can win on any given day. Sure, the team with the most talent is the team you would expect to win, but how many times have you seen the more talented team lose? How does a Mercer beat a Duke? How does an Appalachian State beat a powerhouse like Michigan? How does a program enjoy sustained, consistent success?

The fact is simple: TALENT IS NOT ENOUGH! And yes, I said it in all caps. Over the years I have had numerous players who had talent. A few of them went on to have an opportunity to play at the highest level on Sundays. Others went on to play college football where they earned a degree. And a few of them, unfortunately, thought they could get by solely on their talent. Most of them never had a chance to follow their dreams. Why did some of them enjoy great success while others did not?

They all had five things in common, that made them uncommonly good!

1. A Great Attitude
They were always positive regardless of the situation. They had tremendous enthusiasm. They had a joy about them that people were drawn to. They rarely, if ever complained about anything. They were always fully engaged in every activity we did. They listened and asked questions.

2. Relentless Work Ethic
The greatest players had the greatest work ethic. Those who enjoy great success rarely, if ever, miss a workout. They never cut a rep or set. In fact, they do much more than what they are asked to do. Every rep they put forth their best effort. They are drenched in sweat regardless of the difficulty of the workout. They learned to embrace the grind to the point it wasn't a grind.

3. Mental Toughness
They are able to overcome adversity without a loss of enthusiasm or effort. They like to be challenged, and in fact, thrive when they face pressure and adversity. They don't complain when things don't go there way. They are always searching for the solution.

4. Tremendous Discipline
They rarely put poison in their body. These guys all made a choice to avoid drugs and alcohol. They put their long term goals ahead of their short term desires. Self-discipline is simply about making right choices. When faced with a dilemma, they made the choice that would take them one more step towards reaching their goals.

5. Bring out the best in others
They were able to help those around them perform at higher levels. That is when you are truly a championship quality player. When you can help elevate the game of others, you are well on your way to being a great player. Michael Jordan exemplified this fact.

I have seen first hand what happens when players, coaches, and programs think that talent is enough. They consistently underachieve.

Our job as coaches is to do everything in our power to develop our student-athletes to be the best they can be. This takes time. It is hard. Putting a plan together is not easy. Coaching the details takes effort. This is why most programs are not able to enjoy tremendous success. They are not willing to do the things it takes to be their best.

As coaches, it is our job to do everything we can to help our players perform in the five areas listed above. It is our job to build a culture that leads our players to accomplish more than they should. If we expect them to outwork their talent, then we have to outwork ours.

There is nothing that disappoints me more than when coaches give mediocre effort. And then, they try to justify that mediocrity. We have to look in the mirror and know that we have done everything in our power to develop our players to be the best they can be. Anything short of that is cheating our athletes.

In January of 2016 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/