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Post by buckeye7525 on Jan 3, 2010 18:51:27 GMT -6
One thing that I have tried to learn more about in the last year is the structuring of practice for a single platoon football program. My goal has been to have a practice that lasts no longer than two and a half hours while still trying to make sure that each side of the ball is practiced each day, and gets appropriate attention. I don't want to have kids out on the field any longer than two and a half hours, simply because I don't know how much you get out of them after that point.
Here are the ideas that I have come up with so far. They are all general plans, with no regard to the offense/defense that you would run, which would obviously make an impact on how your would practice. I am not a head coach, but hopefully someday I will get a chance to run my own show.
I would love to get any input that you guys have on this as ways it could be tweaked, or made better.
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Post by touchdowng on Jan 3, 2010 19:04:44 GMT -6
buckeye
just a few questions
1. how many players in your program?
2. how many coaches in the program? I'm not talking warm bodies but coaches who are committed to the program.
3. what levels do you have in your program? Varsity, JV, frosh?
What is your practice field situation each day.
Those are some of the big picture variables you'd need to look at.
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Post by kylem56 on Jan 3, 2010 19:06:25 GMT -6
Coach- Not bad at all. My only suggestions: Maybe instead of having a 30 minute scouting report meeting, you could break up by position groups and have a much shorter meeting. After a practice, I doubt you could keep a kid's attention for more than 15 minutes max. The only other thing I would change is maybe do flex by position groups so you can combine some sort of individual work (i.e. footwork for o-linemen, bag drills for running backs etc.)
Would you have a slightly different practice plan if your JV or Frosh practices seperate from varsity (taking into account they run less plays and need more fundamental work) ?
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Post by buckeye7525 on Jan 3, 2010 19:37:56 GMT -6
touchdowng,
1. Anywhere between 40-55 (on a given year)
2. 5 (we coach both sides of the ball)
3. We practice everyone together everyday (that is included in the total number)
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Post by touchdowng on Jan 3, 2010 19:56:10 GMT -6
buckeye
I think what you have looks really good. You guys will make the tweaks and adjusts as needed but it looks to be a good starting format.
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Post by buckeye7525 on Jan 3, 2010 20:04:17 GMT -6
Kyle, I like that idea about breaking up the position groups for scouting report meetings. The OL really don't need to be sitting in a meeting listing to the routes that the opposing team will be running. Would you just have two 15m meetings for offensive and defensive players?
Another thing I have been wondering is how beneficial scouting report meetings really are to kids. I know we as coaches think that they are, but do you think kids would get just as much out of on the field stuff, in their position groups?
As far as the different practice plan:
Yea I would probably change it from what I have there. I would keep the pre-practice session for sure, because I think that is a good time to work on the "little things" (OL - steps, start, etc). I would probably take away from the team take off period, and add that time to individual. I would also probably cut off 5m from special teams and add it that to the individual.
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Post by kylem56 on Jan 3, 2010 21:40:19 GMT -6
Kyle, I like that idea about breaking up the position groups for scouting report meetings. The OL really don't need to be sitting in a meeting listing to the routes that the opposing team will be running. Would you just have two 15m meetings for offensive and defensive players? Another thing I have been wondering is how beneficial scouting report meetings really are to kids. I know we as coaches think that they are, but do you think kids would get just as much out of on the field stuff, in their position groups? As far as the different practice plan: Yea I would probably change it from what I have there. I would keep the pre-practice session for sure, because I think that is a good time to work on the "little things" (OL - steps, start, etc). I would probably take away from the team take off period, and add that time to individual. I would also probably cut off 5m from special teams and add it that to the individual. Coach- Yes I would keep it at 15 minutes per side of the ball max. You may want to think about doing one side of the ball before practice and one afterwards or maybe offense one day, defense the next. I have never thought about bringing them in before school but it would be nice if it was possible. The only thing I worry about having meetings/film after practice for longer than 20 minutes is them just not paying attentin. Most of them are thinking about what mom's cooking for dinner while you go on about what coverages the oppoenent is going to use. I think scouting report meetings can be very helpful if you keep things to the point and your coaches know what to say beforehand. This is what my O-Line meeting outline was - Top 3 fronts (tell them what they will majorily see) - Blitz Percentage by first, second, and third down (the actual percentages by down and distance are in the report) - What we have to do to run the ball sucessfully D-Line Meeting Example - Top 3 Formations by % - Top 3 Runs by % - Any notes that might be of importance like they will go on 2 often or find the tackle wearing # because they like to run to his side I'm no expert but I would think the point of a scouting report meeting is to hammer out some main points that they need to know. Not every kid is going to study their scouting report but at least they get some of it. Make sure everything you are going to discuss is written and diagramed on the board beforehand so you don't waste time writing things. What we did on scouting reports was put them in a binder with blank templates and paper. During the meetings we encouraged them to take notes and/or draw things on the templates. We collected their binders every week so we knew who was taking notes and who wasn't. It usually showed on the field who actually paid attention in meetings and film and if it was hurting their play then we talked to them about it. I also believe that even if they do study their scouting report, in the heat of the moment Johnny 17-year-old isn't going to remember every single bit you put in the report but they at least remember the points you hammered out all week. Something we started doing last year too was watching film of the next oppoenent/watching film of the night before by position group. This moved things along alot quicker. So for example before we hit the field: Monday: Film Session- 15 minutes- Oppoenent Defense O-Line & RB QB's *had them by themselves so they could realy focus on what they needed to know, smaller group, more time to answer questions etc.* WR's *same reason as above* --We debated all year on where we should put the backs during film time. I felt that the fronts and pass pro were of more importance than coverages for a runningback. -- Then we would flip the next day with the groups being D-Line, Linebackers, and Secondary. Keep in mind also, each kid took home a DVD of cutups of the team we were playing so they had the opportunity for more film watching. To reinforce what they had heard/seen in meetings, film, practice etc. we gave them a film quiz that was due on Thursday before practice. I also gave my O-Line a tip sheet with some reminders and our base plays against their top 2 fronts. It was time consuming but I did not want to leave any stone unturned. I was watching a Jim McNally Q&A session from a COOL Clinic where someone asks him if they do pre practice stretching. His philosophy was: their pre-practice play walkthroughs and footwork time is their "warmups". We got rid of the traditional pre practice warm ups and stretches a couple years ago. Instead we do it by position group and add in some dynamic stretching 10 minute flex:- right, left lead step 5 yards each - right, left lateral 5 yards each - right,left flat pull 5 yards each - DART (Dip & Rip) right, left 5 yards each ^^^ under the chutes ^^^ - 10 yards walking lunges - 10 yards "hurdles"(best way to describe it- stepping over and under imaginary hurdles) - 1 minute to stretch on your own and get some water down right from there we go into indy session. We do this everyday from day 1. Our kids know what line to jump in, and the tempo we are going at. We have bottles of water at the end of the lines so once they do their rep and run back to the end of the line they can get their water in. During special teams, we will work on something and also during special teams is more individual time for our QB's. Another thing I wanted to add in on the younger level teams. I know this sounds micro-managing but we tried to help out our 8th grade team's coaches with their practice schedules. Along with a modified, scaled-down playbook of ours made specifically for them, We gave them examples of our practice schedules modified. I know it sounds time consuming and somewhat micro-managing but we wanted to pay attention to every little detail we could for the success of our program both current and future. -holy {censored} that was a long reply, sorry about that fellas |
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Post by hlb2 on Jan 4, 2010 16:02:45 GMT -6
The only thing I see I'd really tweak would be conditioning at the end of practice. We condition at the beginning because we want to be able to go through the mental stuff "after" they've been drained. We do this because as physical excertion increases, mental function is the first thing to go. We also build conditioning into some of our drills as well. Just a thought.
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Post by wis42john on Jan 5, 2010 12:23:53 GMT -6
Buckeye-
Three things that will help with practice efficiency and additional reps:
1. Video tape practice and watch practice film with players. This will cut down on the amount of time that is spent instructing on the field during team and group, which will allow you to increase the amount of reps during those periods. Although there will be moments where a correction will need to be covered immediately, by cutting down the amount of full team/group stoppage you get a chance to run more plays. Then, watch the practice film and take notes before watching with players so you can quickly go through the film and cover the coaching points that are necessary.
2. Script practice/situations. Have a script of situational plays (3rd down, red zone, short yardage, etc) along with a script for team, inside run, 7 on 7, etc to help create an uptempo flow to practice.
3. Cover any individual/group drills during meetings, pre-practice, or flex to help eliminate down time during actual practice. That way when they get to that period everyone knows what is going on and can get right in to the drill.
When you don't have full practices every day to dedicate to each side of the ball (2 platoon), you need to find ways to efficiently maximize your time and get as many reps as possible.
Kyle-
I think you have what seems to be a very organized structure to film sessions, scouting reports, and flex period. Do you happen to have a weekly practice plan format that you could attach? I've spent most of my time coaching at the college level, but now working at the high school level. I've been working with the head coach trying to come up with an efficient practice structure that will work, but I have limited experience working with a program that is single platooned. Also, do you watch practice film during your meetings? How/when do you lift during the week?
I've always been a big fan of breaking video in to position groups, as it allows you to cover many more important details with your position group, and you don't waste the time of other positions. It is very difficult for every coach to point out the necessary coaching points in a film session with the whole team in it. I also like the position group stretching, this gives the coach additional opportunity to give reminders while working position specific movements that you don't always have time for during individual.
As for giving guidance to your youth program, I see no need to apologize for micromanaging. I'm sure the youth coaches appreciate the assistance, and it also prepares these youth players to be ready for the system they'll be immersed in once they get in to high school.
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Post by hlb2 on Jan 5, 2010 12:44:22 GMT -6
We have a staff of 5 coaches, I have 1 filmer that cannot get to practice during the week (volunteer on Fri. nights). We have managers but...don't know about them filming. Also, don't you have to have a tower to film? We don't have that, so when there is a screw up on the field we have to correct it and this eats us up for time, as we usually try to run the play again. Any ideas? Right now we go pre practice which usually consists of the QB's and RB's running some sort of triple option mesh or pitch or both drill and the OL doing footwork, scheme, or chutes and the WR running routes. We also have at this time returners returning punters punting etc. if we so choose. This period is 15 min. long. After which: 10 min.- dynamic warm-up/flex (whatever you call it). 10 min.- conditioning (the time goes down as the season goes on). 5 min.- water break/announcements. 15 min.- special teams 20 min.- INDY (O or D, we alternate days). 5 min.- water break 20 min.- INDY 5 min.- water break 20 min. Team (O or D) 5 min.- water break 20 min.- Team 2.5 hours on the nose. I know what you are saying about the water breaks, but I'm in So. FL, it still gets above 90 in Nov. down here guys!  I'm a big fan of the fundamentals so we do INDY everyday except Thursday (most skill guys only do theirs Mon. and Tues. as we do 7 on 7 on Wed.). I just beleive the fundamentals win football games, but their are certainly times I'd like to do more. In the spring we will do offensive days and defensive days, and I would love to do this, but very hard to do in So. FL during the fall (thunderstorms have ruined more than 1 practice for us). Do any of you have all offense or all defense days? |
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Post by husky44 on Jan 5, 2010 19:13:31 GMT -6
Kyle, I like that idea about breaking up the position groups for scouting report meetings. The OL really don't need to be sitting in a meeting listing to the routes that the opposing team will be running. Would you just have two 15m meetings for offensive and defensive players? Another thing I have been wondering is how beneficial scouting report meetings really are to kids. I know we as coaches think that they are, but do you think kids would get just as much out of on the field stuff, in their position groups? As far as the different practice plan: Yea I would probably change it from what I have there. I would keep the pre-practice session for sure, because I think that is a good time to work on the "little things" (OL - steps, start, etc). I would probably take away from the team take off period, and add that time to individual. I would also probably cut off 5m from special teams and add it that to the individual. Coach- Yes I would keep it at 15 minutes per side of the ball max. You may want to think about doing one side of the ball before practice and one afterwards or maybe offense one day, defense the next. I have never thought about bringing them in before school but it would be nice if it was possible. The only thing I worry about having meetings/film after practice for longer than 20 minutes is them just not paying attentin. Most of them are thinking about what mom's cooking for dinner while you go on about what coverages the oppoenent is going to use. I think scouting report meetings can be very helpful if you keep things to the point and your coaches know what to say beforehand. This is what my O-Line meeting outline was - Top 3 fronts (tell them what they will majorily see) - Blitz Percentage by first, second, and third down (the actual percentages by down and distance are in the report) - What we have to do to run the ball sucessfully D-Line Meeting Example - Top 3 Formations by % - Top 3 Runs by % - Any notes that might be of importance like they will go on 2 often or find the tackle wearing # because they like to run to his side I'm no expert but I would think the point of a scouting report meeting is to hammer out some main points that they need to know. Not every kid is going to study their scouting report but at least they get some of it. Make sure everything you are going to discuss is written and diagramed on the board beforehand so you don't waste time writing things. What we did on scouting reports was put them in a binder with blank templates and paper. During the meetings we encouraged them to take notes and/or draw things on the templates. We collected their binders every week so we knew who was taking notes and who wasn't. It usually showed on the field who actually paid attention in meetings and film and if it was hurting their play then we talked to them about it. I also believe that even if they do study their scouting report, in the heat of the moment Johnny 17-year-old isn't going to remember every single bit you put in the report but they at least remember the points you hammered out all week. Something we started doing last year too was watching film of the next oppoenent/watching film of the night before by position group. This moved things along alot quicker. So for example before we hit the field: Monday: Film Session- 15 minutes- Oppoenent Defense O-Line & RB QB's *had them by themselves so they could realy focus on what they needed to know, smaller group, more time to answer questions etc.* WR's *same reason as above* --We debated all year on where we should put the backs during film time. I felt that the fronts and pass pro were of more importance than coverages for a runningback. -- Then we would flip the next day with the groups being D-Line, Linebackers, and Secondary. Keep in mind also, each kid took home a DVD of cutups of the team we were playing so they had the opportunity for more film watching. To reinforce what they had heard/seen in meetings, film, practice etc. we gave them a film quiz that was due on Thursday before practice. I also gave my O-Line a tip sheet with some reminders and our base plays against their top 2 fronts. It was time consuming but I did not want to leave any stone unturned. I was watching a Jim McNally Q&A session from a COOL Clinic where someone asks him if they do pre practice stretching. His philosophy was: their pre-practice play walkthroughs and footwork time is their "warmups". We got rid of the traditional pre practice warm ups and stretches a couple years ago. Instead we do it by position group and add in some dynamic stretching 10 minute flex:- right, left lead step 5 yards each - right, left lateral 5 yards each - right,left flat pull 5 yards each - DART (Dip & Rip) right, left 5 yards each ^^^ under the chutes ^^^ - 10 yards walking lunges - 10 yards "hurdles"(best way to describe it- stepping over and under imaginary hurdles) - 1 minute to stretch on your own and get some water down right from there we go into indy session. We do this everyday from day 1. Our kids know what line to jump in, and the tempo we are going at. We have bottles of water at the end of the lines so once they do their rep and run back to the end of the line they can get their water in. During special teams, we will work on something and also during special teams is more individual time for our QB's. Another thing I wanted to add in on the younger level teams. I know this sounds micro-managing but we tried to help out our 8th grade team's coaches with their practice schedules. Along with a modified, scaled-down playbook of ours made specifically for them, We gave them examples of our practice schedules modified. I know it sounds time consuming and somewhat micro-managing but we wanted to pay attention to every little detail we could for the success of our program both current and future. -holy {censored} that was a long reply, sorry about that fellas Coach, I love the idea of doing your flex period prior to individual time and using position specific work as a lead into individual. You have included some dynamic stretching movements but most reinforce good football specific drills. Does each position coach design their own or did your staff develop this together? |
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Post by kylem56 on Jan 5, 2010 21:26:21 GMT -6
Honestly coach I wish I could take credit for it. It is just a combination of talks amongst our staff, clinic talks, and visiting college practices. We will watch a college practice even if they don't run a particular O or D just to watch them from an organization point of view. We just modified some colleges to fit us. As for the flex period, each coach is responsible for putting together their own. We don't have the numbers to two platoon (only 35 kids 9-12) so what we do is
Monday: Flex / Pre Practice by Offense Position Group
Tuesday: Flex / Pre Practice by Defense Position Group
Wednesday: same as Monday
Thursday: same as Tuesday (the first couple weeks we may substitute in a "dress rehearsal" of our pre-game routine so come Friday night we don't look stupid)
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Post by lassen on Jan 6, 2010 6:10:24 GMT -6
Sorry to Hi-Jack this thread, but reading through these answers, you guys might be able to help me.
Could you guys give me a suggestion to what you would do in my situation?
It is as follow:
- Practice twice a week with 90 minutes of field time per practice
- 15-20 players where half are complete rookies, never having played before, and the other half have one years worth of playing time.
- I'm the only coach, but I have 1-2 guys showing up to help at every practice, that I can give drills to, however I don't trust them completely taking a complete section of the team, in other words, I want to see every player once in a while.
Here is what we are doing now, but I think it is possible to do it better:
15 min. warmup/stretch/form-run
30 min. tackling drills
20 min. indy session A
20 min. indy session B
5 min. buffer for water breaks, etc.
During the indy sessions, I take one group of kids and coach their position, an then another group in session B. The kids not doing indy are doing a conditioning program that I set up for them, which I have an assistant run.
However kids in both groups on a given night, don't get conditioning, and kids not in any indy group that night get the conditioning program twice in the same night.
Once again sorry, but please answer
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I'm a big fan of the fundamentals so we do INDY everyday except Thursday (most skill guys only do theirs Mon. and Tues. as we do 7 on 7 on Wed.). I just beleive the fundamentals win football games, but their are certainly times I'd like to do more. In the spring we will do offensive days and defensive days, and I would love to do this, but very hard to do in So. FL during the fall (thunderstorms have ruined more than 1 practice for us). Do any of you have all offense or all defense days?