When I sit in my teaching meetings, I no longer doodle plays...well, not at the time! Last year our school's theme was CHANGE.IMPROVE.ACHIEVE. I immediately loved it and start brainstorming how to apply it to my team. I tried it with my JV squad last year and it worked wonders! This year's plan is to use it for the entire team. The CHANGE and IMPROVE should be limited to two individual areas. The ACHIEVE area should be ONE weekly goal.
STRESS to your players to be positive.
Don't write DON'T FUMBLE, instead write BALL SECURITY.
Don't write NO BLOWN COVERAGES, instead write LOCK DOWN COVERAGE.
I put my name at the top along with columns for OFFENSE,DEFENSE, and SPECIAL TEAMS.
CHANGE (for the individual). This was used to correct last week's mistakes.
IMPROVE (for the individual). This was used to focus on technique or knowledge.
ACHIEVE (for individual and team). This is the weekly goal for the player.
After the game. I would grade each player. GREEN = success. YELLOW = "maybe". PINK = no.
YES I have been busy but I must give some props to Dan Gonzales. The new book is great! I have wanted to do a FULL review but life happens...So at least I wanted to give you some before the season starts.
9. Drill ideas: This is not just clinic talk, he diagrams "how to" ideas to coach the routes and concepts
8. A READY LIST that organizes all of his concepts. It makes you think if you have a complete pass game. 7. PLENTY of PICTURES!
6. A quote from Ben Franklin "Observe all men; thy self most"
5. A route tree that makes sense. Routes that are used daily...not just ones that make a TREE look pretty. 4. Acronyms! I love them! DOLPHIN = QB read in OUTSIDE to INSIDE HIDE = HITCH then IN BRONCO = Back Runs Option, Clear Out
3. Color coded blocking GREEN and GOLD = RB is GONE BROWN and BLACK = RB is check release 2. The backside chapter alone is worth the price. No more Mirror. Mirror...
1. So simple a system an8 year oldcan learn it! I have tinkered with some of these concepts. This Summer, my favorite has been combining our top concept with a Coach Gonzales inspired HIDE backside tag.
I hope to finish the FULL REVIEW soon. Coach Gonzales provided me with some excellent insight!
I will refrain from putting Notre Dame Clinic notes in the title. Last year's notes ended up on a MICHIGAN FORUM site!!! (It was titled KNOW YOUR ENEMY)
Answer: Listen and learn from other great coaches. I had the opportunity to check out National Football Academies camp this morning. WOW! To have the chance to see Coach Dub Maddox speak and coach in person...AWESOME. Here are parts of his talk.
You must affirm to your players, Let them know "What It takes"
We are looking for leaders and in today's society, they are hard to find.
Coach Maddox talked about the definition of a LEADER and HOW to LEAD.
How to Lead
1. It's not about me
2. "Moving the Chains" can be defined as doing the little things, making sacrifices, and doing things that make you uncomfortable
What do you LOVE about the game?
-You are looking for that affirmation that answers THE question.
-The people that you play the game with!
What do SUCCESSFUL people do?
1. They make it about others (serving) not about themselves.
2. They do the little things RIGHT!
3. They are willing to SUFFER for others
Coach Maddox showed a great collection of movie clips that represented heroes. He defined them as someone that sacrificed, overcame adversity and was mentored by someone.
He ended by saying...
"They are wating for YOU to be great. How do you do it?
STEP UP and LEAD!"
Coach DUB MADDOX in action (forgive me for the windy sound)
Bill Belichick "If you have to "light a fire" in the same players, everyday, that is a Red Flag." Marc Trestman "The BEST know WHY they do it." Chris Ault "The Pistol Formation presents a one back formation with the effect of a two back offense."
Sam Wyche "How do you learn? PAY ATTENTION!"
Marvin Lewis "Challenge yourself AND challenge your staff."
Brian Kelly "Stress to your players that BEFORE practice is critical:REST and HYDRATION." Mike Denbrock (WR Coach) "You must PRACTICE full speed so can PLAY full speed." Harry Hiestand (OL Coach) referring to the PUNCH in pass protection "Don't attack the rusher, be patience, to avoid overextending and losing your balance." Chuck Martin (OC and QB coach) "Don't complain about what they (players) can't do, Ask them to do what they can do." Kristin Sheehan (Co-Director Play Like A Champion Today Educational Program) "How do you find happiness? By serving others."
Don Fellows (HC Grand Rapids ChristianHigh School) "We want a double team block at the point of attack on all our runs."
During Coach Ron Zook's talk... IT TAKES NO TALENT to -COMMUNICATE -know your ALIGNMENT and RESPONSIBILITY -RUN TO THE BALL -have the proper BODY POSITION to make a play -have the proper PURSUIT ANGLE
I consider myself lucky to be coaching at this time. I'm a tech geek and I love my gadgets. I have seen the development explosion (I'm currently writing this note on my phone).
From
Overheads
to computer-laptops
to PowerPoint (Coach Andre Coverdale's are the best!)
to a brief affair with Visio, One Note, and Publisher
to VHS TAPES! > DVD > LANDRO > HUDL!!!
to Webinars and Skyping/FaceTime/Circles? It is March Madness for Football coaches
Coach Keith Grabowski's iBook
101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays is available on the iBookstore from your iPad:
Coach Grabowski is the Offensive Coordinator at Baldwin Wallace
University. Thanks to wonderful world of Twitter, Coach contacted me about his new creation.
Reviewer disclaimer: This “book” can only be purchased through iBooks and played on an iPad.
Review PROclaimer: I have been saving my money for an iPad. Coach Grabowski’s book allowed me to make an early purchase. RIGHT before the family headed off a Spring Break vacation.
I “read” it almost nonstop. I purchased it on a Thursday night and finished it the next Tuesday.
Places I viewed the book.
While I exercised. (no I didn’t do curls with it)
At School.
At Starbucks.
With my son…Actually he delayed my viewing of the book, I let him check out the new iPad first…(Dad of the Year 2013)
I took it to the weight room to show my HC, he was mesmerized for 20 minutes then started to write down plays on the board.
I was ready to read some of it while waiting at the Barber Shop…but I didn’t have to wait. I was pissed...could this be the only time someone was pissed about NOT waiting?
My first question, "How did you discover this ebook technology?"
Coach Grabowski answers
"I had
been looking for a way to publish a multimedia ebook and epub was just too
complicated to get dynamic content into the product. I saw iBooks Author
and initially there was a learning curve, but with some recent updates the area
which had been somewhat cumbersome-getting video into the ibook, became much
easier."
And it is
Dynamic…
VIDEO...PowerPoints...and some words to read too...
And with a quick flip...FULL SCREEN!
After overcoming the initial WOW FACTOR, I was thrilled to see that Coach Grabowski and I have the same run game philosophy.
“Gap responsibility, blocking angles, and a combo at the point of attack are key to a successful play”
I do like the ZONE SCHEME with double teams. But I could not “live” without a GAP SCHEME too…
Coach Grabowski’s offense combines a mixture of Zone, Gap and Option schemes which produces a POWERful and Multiple running attack.
My next question to Coach,
"How do you find the balance to coach the ZONE and GAP Schemes?"
Inside Zone, Outside Zone, Power and Counter...do you focus on one more than another per week?
He answers “We find the balance in our planning and truthfully what we may be better at upfront from year to year. Some years we've been better and heavier with zone, others with gap.”
As I read further I discovered the same we have followed the same path of issues. We have always read the backside on ALL gun runs. We then placed the RB behind the QB to provide a more downhill path. This past year, we wanted an even more quicker hitting run, so we decided, on some runs to have a direct handoff. It worked! But we still did not like the Play Action…
Until,
I came across…
“ In the spring of 2012, we decided to experiment with all of our runs being executed off of the quarterback reversing out after catching the snap. We spent time in each practice practicing the mesh and the naked or naked fake after the hand off. We wanted both to look the same.”
We will most definitely be adding a reverse out handoff to our run game. This will make for a more effective play action game.
The Baldwin Wallace Offense attacks different spots of the defense with an emphasis on a Downhill running game.
The POWER is an A GAP attack.
The OUTSIDE ZONE is a C GAP attack.
The play diagrams were color coded for each OLine assignment. I started doing this to help separate all the overlapping lines…GREAT IDEA!
The formation system combines numbers and base words similar to Coach James Vint.
Simple and easy to remember words for different "surfaces"
The Zone Read play has become multiple too...no longer do teams "just read the backside DE". Coach Grabowski uses some easy terms to change the READ KEY.
“Tags to create variations"
The following tags are used in our zone running game. Currently we don’t use all of these, but we want the structure to work like an operating system on a computer, so when we do install these variations, the structure is in place. Some of these apply to both inside and outside zone while others are used primarily with one or the other.They designate who we are reading or inserting for:
Split – back side defensive end Bob – back side linebacker Mike – declared linebacker Lead – weak side linebacker Boss – strong side support Wham – defensive tackle
And finally...some of my favorite plays from the "MINDBLOWER" (no more Scanners).
Wanna see them all? BUY the BOOK!
TIGHT BUNCH...(must run more of this in 2013!)
Verbiage to rival Coach Gruden!
WHAM! Madden would love this play.
ohh, so you want to pass too??
DOWN-DOWN-KICKOUT!
How could you NOT like a play with the word TRUCK in it???
Keep on Truckin'
DOWN-DOWN-PULL AROUND!
This play will be assimilated.
After talking with Coach Grabowski, he explained how he can incorporates Multiple Shifts and Motions into his No Huddle operation.
He mentioned that he has procedures for certain shifts and certain motions.
One procedure would be (for example) "End up in Bunch Strong". For this procedures the players can line up anywhere then shift on the QB's signal.
Another procedure would be more specific...(For Example) Line up in ACE RIGHT then shift to TREY LEFT"
I plan further discussions on this subject and will be using this next fall!
It truly is hard to sum up this "experience". This is a MUST buy!
WHEN: March 10. (SUNDAY) TIME: 9am-12 (REMEMBER DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME) Crete Monee High School IL 20.00 per coach SPOTS ARE LIMITED! Email me for details dacoachmo@homail.com DM for details https://twitter.com/dacoachmohuddle We will film it AND might try to LIVE STREAM IT!! SUNDAY MORNING slot fit our (family) Schedules the best!
I’m always looking to expand my library with worthwhile resources. One key for me is that I can reference the material more than once. I have experience running the Gun Option Run game for the last 10 years. I have seen it evolve a lot over this period of time. Zone Read, Veer Option, Midline Option, and now Dash Option. My favorite is the Veer Option, well actually it is Midline but it always seems to get my QB beat up too much…
My first exposure to the Gun Offense taught me that the tailback’s alignment in the Gun Offense started at even depth with the Quarterback.
Next. the tailback moved back so to provide a better mesh.
The problem is that it is a presnap key for the Defense. If the defender
is aligned away from the RB, they would key the RB running ZONE. If the
defender is aligned TO the RB, they would key the QB running ZONE READ
or SPEED OPTION. So put the RB behind the QB and NO PRESNAP KEY!
I had thought of
this idea about six years and then discovered it was Nevada’s base offense.
I referred to it as Power I Gun (PIG for short). Here are some old school clips from that “Era” (Coaching sophomore football…Forgive
me for the crude film job).
I decided to buy the eBook version and am
glad I did! I am able to read it on my Laptop and my iPhone (The iPad mini is a
near future purchase). For the teams I have coached, the Pistol formation has
provided us with a more downhill path for our tailback. When we are in a one
back set, it doesn’t give a presnap key to the Defense.
Coach Vint’s book is well laid out and easy to read.
The book contains sections on:
MIDLINE CONCEPTS
MIDLINE COMPLEMENTS
VEER CONCEPTS
LOAD and LEAD OPTIONS
ZONE READ GAME
TRAP READ CONCEPTS\
COUNTER READ CONCEPTS\
SHOVEL OPTION CONCEPTS
FRONTSIDE READ CONCEPTS
At first glance I thought I found a grammatical error,
complement. But I learned something new from our friends at Google. Complement
I am verbiage junkie. I love to see how other teams call
their formations and plays. Coach Vint uses a number to set his Fullback. It is
easy to learn and flexible. I may look into incorporating this into our offense
next year. Plus the tags are great too! (Boss,Cobra,Cowboy, and Hoss)
Coach Vint uses a phonetic system for his motions. I have
always been torn how to name motions.
Only one name for the motion and
tag the player.
Examples: H Zip, X Zip, S Zip
Motions that are specific to
players.
Examples: GLIDE is only used by
the HB, JET is only used by the SLOT
Use a Phonetic system.
Zip = Z into formation
Fip = F into formation
Yip = Y into the formation
Tip = T into formation
This is still been a challenge for me. Could the players confuse ZIP,FIP,YIP and TIP?
Coach Vint answered
"Never had an issue with it. We rarely have two guys go in motion, and they did a good job of remembering what the ips,aps, and ops meant."
He continued
"I built the system to be simple. The goal was for our athletes to be able to play fast. Our verbage was simple and allowed them to play fast without thinking."
I would have like to see Coach Vint go into more detail
about QB and RB steps for the base plays. However, I did understand all the plays and know that when you are in the gun, you can over-coach the footwork. For a more detailed look, check out an old article.
We are a big two back team, the problem was the backfield
set would give a presnap key. So we decided to try putting both back behind the
QB. I only have one clip…hopefully I will get myself into gear and breakdown
our whole season.
Here are my some of my favorites from the book, for the rest... you gotta buy the book!
I would highly recommend buying this book. Coach Vint did an
excellent job and he is very accessible…
