FOOTBALL IN A NUTSHELL

Football can be broken down into 4 broad but related areas. First is EFFORT.  I evaluate effort and encourage you to do so as well.  You can tell when a player doesn’t get off the ball on time. You can tell when a player pulls up before the whistle blows.  You can tell when a player is not thinking and reacting as fast as he should.  It takes no talent to play harder than your opponent. There are approximately 4 seconds from the snap to the whistle. Is it asking too much to get players to give it the very best they have for 4 seconds? I think not. They have approximately 40 seconds between plays to rest! Football is one big game of interval training! Effort is an area most coaches neglect … they give it lip service, but truly coaching effort means defining exactly what it is you expect and then stressing those behaviors consistently.  As you coach, ask yourself what percentage of time you spent coaching effort.  How do you measure it?

Great teams develop great habits of effort including going all out for the entire 4 seconds of every play. Sports psychologist estimate that if a player goes as hard as he can go…meaning 100%….he would be physically exhausted at the end of 4 consecutive plays. I think this gives a good indication of how far most teams are from producing 100% effort.

TECHNIQUE is next. You will need to evaluate the technique of your players. Again, the technique on each play should be clearly defined.  You will need to prioritize what is most important and stress those behaviors consistently.

FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE. Tactics are a part of this area, but tactics is not a complete description. You have to take vocabulary into account in the game of football.  At levels beyond Pop Warner and youth ball I would encourage you to give tests over the various terms involved:  fronts, formations, defensive techniques, offensive personnel descriptions etc…. The more players understand the vocabulary, the more they will understand the game. This knowledge cuts down on reaction time which we all know is important. Every subject has a vocabulary all to its own. I am currently studying investing in which I have had to learn terms like dividends, short sell, trailing stop, put, etc… Prior to my study I had no idea what these terms meant. Football is no different. It has its own vocabulary one must understand in order to coach or play the game effectively. Take the following statement for example. “Verses split eagle I want you to take a half bucket step and reach the 9″ This is a common statement any college coach would understand, but we often assume our players understand it as well. You can’t assume anything in teaching and I would evaluate what your players understand from a football knowledge standpoint.

The 4th broad area of football is the most coached. Although I would argue this is a mistake in many cases, coaches seem to base the majority of their instruction on where to go and what to do from an X’s and O’s stand point. This area is called SCHEME.  Scheme is important, but scheme that is too complicated takes away from the time and dedication to the other areas of the game.  The game is still won by the team who blocks and tackles the best.

EFFORT / TECHNIQUE / FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE / SCHEME …….this is coaching football in a nutshell.