FOOTBALL PHILOSOPHY

OVERALL

DO RIGHT – PLAY HARD – HAVE FUN

These are the three axioms that my philosophy is based on. Athletes need to know that coaches care about them as more than football players, before they will give them the trust and respect the coach’s want. Football should be a time when athletes can get away from whatever problems are bothering them and have fun. It teaches players many life lessons such as: teamwork, discipline, and perseverance that they will use later on in life.

DISCIPLINE

DO RIGHT

It is my philosophy that people know what is the right or wrong way to do things. Anytime a player chooses to make the wrong decision he needs to know that he will be punished fairly and quickly. Situations will arise during the season that I will have to deal with on an individual basis, but every player will understand that team rules must be followed and each player and his parents will signify that they know this by signing a contract that will spell out each rule and the punishment for that rule.

We will use the three strike policy. Meaning that each player will get three strikes and when they break any rule for the third time they will be dismissed from the team. That doesn’t mean the player in question will no be punished for the first two strikes; on the contrary, he will be expected to do whatever punishment the situation calls for.

The eyeball policy will be used to deal with situations such as missed practices and anything that the player will be responsible for telling the coach. The eyeball policy means that the players are responsible for looking the coach in the eye and telling him what the reason is he is missing practice or whatever the situation may be. Parents aren’t responsible for this, other players aren’t responsible, the player and only the player are responsible to do this and by doing this he will be trusted that he is telling the truth. Discipline is the cornerstone of any good program and nothing can be accomplished if it is not firmly in place.

FAMILY

Football stresses family values in that the team must be thought of much like a family unit. Players must demonstrate a level of commitment to their teammates and coaches. Getting the entire family involved with the players is something else that can be a benefit of the football program. Events such as: a mom’s clinic, in which only moms are brought in to discuss such things as equipment, rules of the game, basic strategy of the game, ect., ad dads night, that allows dads to follow their sons from the time schools out until the kickoff, and using little brothers sisters as managers and ball boys, are all ways to promote family involvement and extend the football family.

BOOSTER CLUB

The role of the booster club is to be a supportive of whatever activities the football team has planned. All money that the booster club raises should be put to use for such things as: Monday afternoon meals for the sub varsity teams, pre game meals on game days, awards during the season, awards and banquet after the season. More important than raising money, the booster club should foster positive support throughout the community. The head coach must be in control of all booster club meeting and activities. Discussing strategy and personnel moves do not need to be discussed at the meeting.

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

Getting parents involved is a must for any successful football program. It will be necessary to have two parent meetings each year. One in the spring to discuss the summer schedule and what will be expected of each athlete during that time. The one in preseason will serve the purpose to inform parent what the season schedule will be, not only game but practice. Practices are always open to parents but meeting and films are not. Coaches will never discuss another player with a parent, only the child of that parent.

PRACTICE

Practice organization is one of the most important duties of the head coach. What the team gets accomplished during the week will be greatly reflected on the field on Friday nights. It is important that everyone on the teams feel they are involved in practice. Practices will be fast paced and planned to the minute. They will stay on schedule and be as short as possible to get accomplished what we need to accomplished. It is the responsibility of the head coach to get the practice plan to all coaches first thing in the morning so they can make plans for their positions for the day. Position coaches will be allowed to coach their positions, and in order for this to happen they need to do some planning of their own. An overview of practice will be presented Sunday before the coaches leave so they will know what to expect for the upcoming week.

Fundamentals will be taught and worked on each day. Nothing can be accomplished without good fundamentals and they must be included in all position repetitions. Blocking, tackling, and ball protection are the three main fundamentals that will be stressed.

OFFENSE

Flexibility is a must for any high school offense. The ability to make adjustments to the talent present for that year is very important. Being very multiple in our formations gives us the opportunity to take advantage of whatever skills is presented to the coaching staff. Within our offense we can go from having three backs in the backfield to having none. Limiting the number of plays we run and being able to run the same plays over and over from the multiple formations gives the defense the look of different plays each time.

Running the spread offense allows for the flexibility we need and allows us to create open space for the playmakers that we have. It is my belief that through repetition catching and throwing the football is something that is easily learned and fun for players to practice. Few passing games are successful without developing a running game to coincide with it.

The success rate of any offense is dependant on ball security. Ball security will be the focal point during practice everyday. It will be stressed in any drills we do and any group or team periods we have.

DEFENSE

The defensive coordinator will be in charge of his side of the ball as far as calling the defense and running practice. However, I would want to make sure we had an aggressive, attacking defense that stressed running to the football and gang tackling when we get there. Obviously tackling is the backbone of every defense, and must be practiced daily. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we will have full contact everyday but tackling can be practiced on sleds, dummies, and going less that full speed. The proper form in tackling should always be stressed.

SPECIAL TEAMS

A special teams coordinator will be assigned to one coach, through that coach every assistant and the head coach will be assigned a certain special team. I believe that being creative is a plus in special teams. Each coach will be expected to scout the opponents’ special teams and during the week present a plan to the special teams coordinator that will allow us to win the game on their particular special team. Practice time is always and issue in dealing with special teams. It is a must that we devote whatever time necessary to be successful I this area. This will be the only reason we would stay past the schedule time for practice, if we did not feel we get enough special team work done.

ACADEMICS

Academics are the reason we have football and we must never lose sight of this fact. An academic plan will be put in place that includes positive reinforcement for good grades by recognizing those that will include grade checks of every player every two weeks, a tutoring program before school, during lunch, or after practice for those not making about a 70% in all their classes.

Being accessible to teachers is also the responsibility of the head coach, having an open door policy for teachers and seeing them in the hallways are all ways to improve the faculty-coach relations. Involving teachers in the program will help the teachers see how much the young men put into football.

COMMUNITY

It is part of the head coach’s responsibility to be accessible to the community. The head coach should always be available to speak to any community group or organization. Community service by players and coaches are always good ways to garner community support and make the players will good about themselves. Events like Special Olympics, Race for the Cure, and helping out churches are examples of events the players can get involved with and volunteer for.

ASSISTANT COACHES

Assistant coaches are expected most of all to be loyal, not only to the head coach, but other coaches and also the players. Loyalty has to be a two way street between the coaches. Caring about the athletes they coach is the number one quality needed by an assistant coach. Athletes need to know that the coaches care about them when they are away from the field as well as when they are on the field.

A family atmosphere around the field house will be encouraged. Coaches will spend enough time away from their families, anytime we can involve the assistant coaches’ families in team activities. This will bring the team and coaches closer together. Junior High coaches will be included in everything the coaching staff does, including: clinics, camps, retreats, and get-togethers. They must know they are a vital part of the staff. Hiring great coaches and letting them coach, and making sure they have what they need to do their job is an important part of the head coach’s job.

SUB VARSITY PROGRAMS

Monday night games are very important to the building of the overall program. It is my philosophy that everyone that is dressed out will play on Monday nights. We want to try to win but not at the expense of the team on Friday nights. All coaches should be present at all sub varsity games. The athletes need to know that the coaches feel that these games are important and giving anything less than their best will not be accepted. Practice will be scripted to insure the junior varsity and sophomores get work that they need to prepare for a games. Two a day practice can be broken up into two separate practices if the number of players dictates that.

JUNIOR HIGH PROGRAM

Communication between the junior high coaches and the head coach is vital for any program to thrive. Junior high coaches are the life blood of the coaching staff and they need to know that the senior high coaches always have their door open to them. Senior high coaches will be at every junior high game and will be at as many practices and functions as possible. Every varsity game there will be at least 2 junior high players on the sideline in their jerseys. It is the job of the junior high coach to keep the head coach informed of any problems he needs to be aware of with players, parents, teachers, grades, etc.

ELEMENTARY PROGRAM

The elementary program will be supported by the head coach with a coaching clinic for the youth coaches in the community. This clinic will be to answer any questions youth coaches might have and to familiarize them with our program and terminology. Being as visible as possible in their elementary program and having the athletes know I care about their program is used as a building block for the future. Making equipment available whenever possible will be another way the high school program can be supportive.

OFF SEASON

Most football games are won or lost before they are even played. These games are decided in the off season, for this reason I feel it is the most crucial time of the year. The time we have in the off season is the same for all teams. What we do with that time will determine how we will do next season. Some of the most important aspects of off season are developing teamwork, leadership, and trust of your teammate.

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING PROGRAM

A systematic strength and conditioning program that will give us the greatest advantage possible will be applied. The goal of any strength and conditioning program should be injury prevention and an increase in athletic performance. Testing in the weight room will be done periodically to ensure that we are making the proper gains and to provide motivation to the athletes. Conditioning is a factor that decides many football games and is a major focus of our practices and workouts. Taking pride in being the best conditioned team on the field is always our goal. Practices will be geared to be fast paced and include as much conditioning in the flow of practice as possible.

OTHER SPORTS

Athletes will be encouraged to play all other sports. It is my belief that the best thing an athlete can do in the off season is compete. Anytime they are competing in any sport it is helping them learn what it takes to be competitive.