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Post by Thad Wells on Feb 4, 2017 14:39:54 GMT -6
Just looking for ideas how you guys run scout teams as smoothly as possible.
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Post by blb on Feb 4, 2017 14:46:13 GMT -6
Have the head coach run Offensive Scout Team.
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Post by bluboy on Feb 4, 2017 15:38:17 GMT -6
Have the head coach run Offensive Scout Team. That's the way we do it. He runs the scout offense. BTW, we spend a good bit of time deciding who plays what on scout team(offense/defense-each coach has a list of O/D scout guys and scout back-ups) so that we get the best look that we can. We don't just throw a bunch of young kids out there. The script for scout offense is written in OUR terminology, and all runs/passses are drawn on cards (large enough for scout team to see). We try to get the best kids we can on scout team and keep them at the same scout position. If an opponent runs a difficult offense (ie wing-t, flexbone), the head coach will take the scout offense before practice and work on backfield actions with them. The d-line coach and I (DB's) run the scout defense. Again, we use the best kids we can get(could be starting defensive players). The offense is scripted, not only with what the offense is going to run, but also the look the offense wants to see for a particular formation/play (ie 43/cover 4, 43/cover 0). Listing the defense has helped A TON. As I stated in another thread, at the end of each week we announce an offensive and defensive scout team player of the week. This announcement is made in front of the entire team, and these players are awarded some kind of t-shirt. At our end-of -season banquet, each weekly winner is announced as well as a scout team player of the year (both offense and defense). Last, but far from least, we make a big deal that our successes are the result of good scout team play.
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Post by coachphillip on Feb 4, 2017 17:19:37 GMT -6
Script your sessions and have cards printed out in the order you want them run. If you have play 5 the same as play 1, print it out twice and staple it together that way. Don't have assistants flip through cards.
Make sure you know who will be playing what scout team wise ahead of time. Have a depth chart for your scout coach if at all possible. For when you sub kids from the scout offense into the defense and vice versa.
Color code or label the positions.
I don't label the cards X and Z. I label it R and L for Right receiver and Left receiver. They don't switch sides. Versus Spread, SR and SL = slot right and slot left.
We usually script around 24 plays. 12 for the first team. 8 for the 2s. 4 for the 3s. All plays we try to accomplish in 20 minutes. If the 3s don't get in during the allotted time, that's on you and the other coaches for not going fast enough.
MOST IMPORTANT: Make your scout team fun! Don't grind on those kids the way you would the starters. They're doing their best to make the team better and not getting any game run for it. Don't be a douche.
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Post by calicoachh on Feb 4, 2017 21:34:05 GMT -6
don't use cards. put the plays into your terminology. we are a no huddle signal club so we just use our signals. no huddling, squinting at cards that they are going to run wrong anyway. more reps for our defense.
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Post by coachphillip on Feb 4, 2017 22:12:15 GMT -6
I always have questions about coaches who say that. We are a Power I team. We run Power out of Pro sets, Unbalanced sets, two TEs, Three TEs, etc. So let's say we are playing a Wing T team or a Spread team or a team that bases out of Empty. How the hell am I supposed to use my terminology?
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Post by 44dlcoach on Feb 5, 2017 1:45:04 GMT -6
don't use cards. put the plays into your terminology. we are a no huddle signal club so we just use our signals. no huddling, squinting at cards that they are going to run wrong anyway. more reps for our defense. What do you do if you block a play differently than the team you are playing does? Or protect differently, or run a similar route combination differently, etc.? Not trying to ask it like a douche, but what do you actually do in those situations? I think sometimes we as coaches get way too hung up on "more reps" and lose sight of the bigger picture. If we get "more reps" against what we are actually going to play against on Friday night that great! If we get more reps against a bastardized version of it that doesn't look like what our players are actually going to see? Save the 6 extra reps and show me what we are actually trying to beat in the game.
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Post by CS on Feb 5, 2017 6:05:11 GMT -6
don't use cards. put the plays into your terminology. we are a no huddle signal club so we just use our signals. no huddling, squinting at cards that they are going to run wrong anyway. more reps for our defense. What do you do if you block a play differently than the team you are playing does? Or protect differently, or run a similar route combination differently, etc.? Not trying to ask it like a douche, but what do you actually do in those situations? I think sometimes we as coaches get way too hung up on "more reps" and lose sight of the bigger picture. If we get "more reps" against what we are actually going to play against on Friday night that great! If we get more reps against a bastardized version of it that doesn't look like what our players are actually going to see? Save the 6 extra reps and show me what we are actually trying to beat in the game. I agree with this whole heartedly! We don't have a chance to run through plays with then scout team before we need them so if there are any fancy plays {usually counters} we go through them with everybody first then we get after it. It may cost us some reps but we get better looks in scout
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Post by realdawg on Feb 5, 2017 6:45:09 GMT -6
Draw up the play against the front or blitz you are running. I number the skill positions so that when we change formations the kids dont get confused about who goes where.
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Post by canesfan on Feb 5, 2017 7:39:02 GMT -6
Scout team coach had to coach the heck out of those kids. Make them do their jobs. They'll do what you allow them to do. In a week they're not going to be proficient in the other teams offense but they can give you a look.
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Post by bluboy on Feb 5, 2017 7:39:03 GMT -6
We are a spread team. Our scout guys have a tough time aligning in a wing-t formation, let alone blocking wing-t plays correctly without cards. If we play an under-the-center team, we have to have our scout QB's practice taking snaps. If the opponent runs a complicated play (IE wing-t counter crisscross), that will be the last play we run in team defense and we will have the offense walk through it. As mentioned above, it's not good enough just to get the look, the defense must get the right look.
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Post by wingtol on Feb 5, 2017 7:46:03 GMT -6
Remember the guys on scout are on scout for a reason. For the vast majority of us our scout teams are garbage. Be as organized as possible with the stuff to make it easier for them. I don't script the O cards but I also don't try and run a ton with the scout O, just their best plays and maybe a few that scare me. Keep it as simple as you can for them.
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Post by fballcoachg on Feb 5, 2017 8:05:33 GMT -6
Head coach running scout when at all possible Teach your team how to play against scout team especially if there is a huge disparity in talent, no reason for your interior DL to just launch kids in to the backfield and kill the play every time Use scout as a way to work with and teach your scout players, scheme may not be the same but skills are typically close Praise scout team effort
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Post by tabs52 on Feb 5, 2017 8:24:30 GMT -6
I agree with all these points and I know I have ask these questiosn before but how do you get the young guys to see the value of scout team. I remember my days in HS we loved scout team and took pride in it. Trust me it made me a better player and guys across from me better. It just seems some of these have the entitled attitude and scout team is beneath them
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Post by blb on Feb 5, 2017 8:39:02 GMT -6
I agree with all these points and I know I have ask these questiosn before but how do you get the young guys to see the value of scout team. I remember my days in HS we loved scout team and took pride in it. Trust me it made me a better player and guys across from me better. It just seems some of these have the entitled attitude and scout team is beneath them
That's why you have HC coach the offensive scout team.
"Entitled" attitude may not be as much a problem as kids playing "brother-in-law" - "I'll take it easy on you, you take it easy on me."
Nobody gets better if they aren't competing.
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Post by tabs52 on Feb 5, 2017 8:41:55 GMT -6
We have the brother in law effect all the time, or we get the guys tipping each other off so the know what is going and take it easy on each other
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Post by The Lunch Pail on Feb 5, 2017 8:52:02 GMT -6
Getting guys motivated to play on scout team is the hardest part. A lot of guys don't want to piss off their buddy and you have to drill that out of them. It's a culture that has to be built.
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Post by bluboy on Feb 5, 2017 8:53:07 GMT -6
We constantly stress to ALL our players that they are being evaluated all the time. We especially stress to our scout guys that scout offense/defense is their team period (since most of these guys don't get team reps). We also make a big deal(in front of entire team) over scout team guys doing something that is impressive (IE scout team receiver making catches on starter, scout team defender always around the ball,etc). We also have starters tell the entire team what scout guys impressed them on any given day. We talk about the good scout guys as much as we talk about the starters. IMHO, it's really about getting scout guys to understand their role, to understand its importance, and to take this role seriously. It's also about coaches coaching the scout guys. In our program, whoever is running a scout team coaches these guys the same way he coaches the starters.
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Post by 44dlcoach on Feb 5, 2017 11:09:45 GMT -6
We have been thinking about doing a scout team player of the week each week and guaranteeing that guy a certain amount of playing time in the game. Hoping that the promise of playing time by standing out on scout will counter some of that "brother in law effect" people have mentioned. Has anybody ever tried something similar and have any feedback?
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Post by phinfan on Feb 5, 2017 12:27:53 GMT -6
We run our scout team with cards drawn up. As DC I make those. I have each skill position colored. It's not what position are you it's you're green you're red etc. we don't hammer those guys for not blocking or executing unless they don't do anything close to what's on the card or just don't even try. We have a guy who runs the scout O and he's does a great job gets them in and out of the huddle quick. He swears if you get them in and out quick they look better cuz they aren't taking their time or trying to talk and it works. Anything too complicated he will talk it out with the ones he has to. I run the scout D and tell them you wanna play for me and I'm over here looking specifically so I can find players. Either starters, rotation guys, or special teams guys cuz I learned they can make a tackle. I found 3-4 guys who helped us on D this way including figured out our undersized DL was a heck of a LB but had always been a DL. Looking same thing on scout O looking for guys who can help us. Like that slot wr who it turns out runs the ball really hard much harder than we thought he would. I make a depth chart for both scout teams. I pick guys on offense who vaguely match the other teams offense and on D I Put guys where I want them to get reps even though it isn't exactly our system or where I want to see if they can play. I then try and coach up the scout D as much as possible. I figure out who I think is on the edge and watch them more and coach them up. Example is the DL from above I coached him up and taught him how to play LB. then I will go home and watch practice film and see if anyone I missed played well or a kid that's developing. Like that 10th grader who wasn't ready early but is starting to figure it out. Anyone who doesn't film practice I would suggest you do. We don't do anything fancy we just film the team sessions and we do it with an iPad. We have a young coach stand behind the starting O or D and film it straight into hudl so it doesn't take long at all to upload. That way I go home spend 15-20 min looking at what our D is doing things I missed techinque I can fix. As much as possible I show the kid the film and say here's what you did and how to fix it. Much better than just telling them now I can show him. Then I'll real quick look for scout team guys who might could help us.
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donk3y
Freshmen Member
Posts: 74
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Post by donk3y on Feb 6, 2017 13:05:06 GMT -6
We are a no huddle tempo team, and this has been golden for us. We do bands for our scout teams. As the OC I script run bands (front seven), team bands (full eleven- we use different colors for different coverages) and blitz bands. It saves us a lot of time and we are much more efficient in all our sessions. All our bands have lines on them telling the defense what to do- for instance the run bands have all the fits on them, team bands have pass drops on them etc.
Since we have gone to this, our scout teams have gotten much better. They don't have to actually know what to do- we tell them. It takes a few days for them to get used to it, but it has been a game changer for us. If you are interested in seeing how we do it, let me know.
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Post by coachfloyd on Feb 6, 2017 13:11:51 GMT -6
Remember the guys on scout are on scout for a reason. For the vast majority of us our scout teams are garbage. Be as organized as possible with the stuff to make it easier for them. I don't script the O cards but I also don't try and run a ton with the scout O, just their best plays and maybe a few that scare me. Keep it as simple as you can for them. I was just about to type this. Thank you for saving me the time.
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Post by coachluey on Feb 6, 2017 13:17:22 GMT -6
We are a no huddle tempo team, and this has been golden for us. We do bands for our scout teams. As the OC I script run bands (front seven), team bands (full eleven- we use different colors for different coverages) and blitz bands. It saves us a lot of time and we are much more efficient in all our sessions. All our bands have lines on them telling the defense what to do- for instance the run bands have all the fits on them, team bands have pass drops on them etc. Since we have gone to this, our scout teams have gotten much better. They don't have to actually know what to do- we tell them. It takes a few days for them to get used to it, but it has been a game changer for us. If you are interested in seeing how we do it, let me know. From the things I have seen, bands is the way to go. No one has to huddle, can go straight into it and just signal in a number and it tells them exactly what to do. The screw ups seemed to lessen as well once we put those on them. As it was said before, dudes on the scout team are not the dudes that will be seeing much time so it wont be perfect but being competitive and getting recognition will give them something to work for.
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Post by michwags19 on Feb 6, 2017 13:38:26 GMT -6
Head coach running scout when at all possible Teach your team how to play against scout team especially if there is a huge disparity in talent, no reason for your interior DL to just launch kids in to the backfield and kill the play every time Use scout as a way to work with and teach your scout players, scheme may not be the same but skills are typically close Praise scout team effort Our HC is my DB coach (i am DC) so we have our OC run the scout O. We are a two-platoon team so we sometimes get the first O vs the first D. Most of the time we use that time for the 2nd O to get some reps vs the first D. Even though the scheme isn't the same they are working technique. I draw everything up in practice scripts on hudl. all the blocking vs the front we will show the scout O on that particular play. that way the O and D are scripted and you can go fast. sometimes i put the D in a good position (think blitzing into a play) but most times i will blitz away from the play or not at all so my D gets to see a kind of worst case scenario. i change the scripts everyday but keep the same offensive player labels all the time.....skill players are labeled things like H, S, T, F, Z, X, Y, etc....depending on the type of O we are seeing. that way the scout O gets a feel for who should be playing where. I love practice scripts. sometimes i walk out to practice with three or four scripts on me....team D, skelly, blitz fits, inside run, etc... We will hammer a defender for doing what fballcoach says above - they won't be able to do that on friday so up front we teach to win their gap then find the ball instead of just physically beating a far weaker OL in practice. as DC i make sure i always give props to the scout O for good effort/execution. 2 reasons why.....1)i need them to push the first D and 2)I am going to hammer them when they don't push the first D so i want it to balance out. years ago our DL was pretty good but the rest of the D sucked so we created a way to run scout O vs just the LBs and DBs. we just removed the DL and replaced them with stand up barrels/trash cans and told the OL to get to their appropriate block and if it was a DL to just stop at the can. worked for a little. we called it either bones or skeleton to play off the skelly term...can't recall exactly.
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Post by 44dlcoach on Feb 6, 2017 14:08:47 GMT -6
I've thought about practicing our 2nd team DL with the first LB/DBs and vice versa, but haven't ever actually done it. Usually early in the year our first DL just destroys the scout and it's hard to get a look, but the scout OL always seems to improve enough to give a decent look within a couple weeks. Our HC takes a very active role in coaching scout OL, especially early in the year.
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Post by jgordon1 on Feb 6, 2017 14:42:14 GMT -6
I run the scout defense and I am the DC. We make it fun but I am COACHING my scout team..stance steps reads. some of those guys get more on the field coaching as my starters. i will also occassionaly watch the film for loafs etc. Guys that know theywill play in the next year are always trying to get on it..i have to make them take turns.
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Post by Stangs13065 on Feb 6, 2017 14:45:26 GMT -6
You could incentivize it to get them competing. Like losers have to clean up the field, or winners get to eat first at team meal.
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Post by Coach Klemme on Feb 6, 2017 17:56:05 GMT -6
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Post by reevekyle on Feb 6, 2017 18:15:30 GMT -6
We do some incentivizing things from time to time. One of our weekly recognitions at our team meeting is usually dedicate to a perennial scout team player.
Another thing we have found is that during our team sessions we try to go at as fast of a tempo as we can. Our O doesn't huddle, time in the huddle is just time for scout team players to goof off.
I'm our DC, even if the opposing O we play uses a huddle our guys will see a modified version of it and no huddle to increase reps and cut down on time between plays. We also use 2 binders to show scout team players play cards. One is for the scout OLine and one is for scout O Skills. Makes us much more efficient.
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fugulookinat
Junior Member
"Eye see DEAD people!"
Posts: 437
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Post by fugulookinat on Feb 6, 2017 22:16:50 GMT -6
We run our scout team with cards drawn up. As DC I make those. I have each skill position colored. It's not what position are you it's you're green you're red etc. we don't hammer those guys for not blocking or executing unless they don't do anything close to what's on the card or just don't even try. We have a guy who runs the scout O and he's does a great job gets them in and out of the huddle quick. He swears if you get them in and out quick they look better cuz they aren't taking their time or trying to talk and it works. Anything too complicated he will talk it out with the ones he has to. I run the scout D and tell them you wanna play for me and I'm over here looking specifically so I can find players. Either starters, rotation guys, or special teams guys cuz I learned they can make a tackle. I found 3-4 guys who helped us on D this way including figured out our undersized DL was a heck of a LB but had always been a DL. Looking same thing on scout O looking for guys who can help us. Like that slot wr who it turns out runs the ball really hard much harder than we thought he would. I make a depth chart for both scout teams. I pick guys on offense who vaguely match the other teams offense and on D I Put guys where I want them to get reps even though it isn't exactly our system or where I want to see if they can play. I then try and coach up the scout D as much as possible. I figure out who I think is on the edge and watch them more and coach them up. Example is the DL from above I coached him up and taught him how to play LB. then I will go home and watch practice film and see if anyone I missed played well or a kid that's developing. Like that 10th grader who wasn't ready early but is starting to figure it out. Anyone who doesn't film practice I would suggest you do. We don't do anything fancy we just film the team sessions and we do it with an iPad. We have a young coach stand behind the starting O or D and film it straight into hudl so it doesn't take long at all to upload. That way I go home spend 15-20 min looking at what our D is doing things I missed techinque I can fix. As much as possible I show the kid the film and say here's what you did and how to fix it. Much better than just telling them now I can show him. Then I'll real quick look for scout team guys who might could help us. I do all of this as well. Color coding cards has worked better for me over the years than labeling positions or using wrist bands. A couple of other things we do to help with tempo and overall quality. We use 2 offensive scout teams, group 1 will simply line up in a formation and possibly motion, we check alignment and adjustments vs this group; they will not snap a ball or run a play. This group is made up of primarily "Non-Defensive" personnel. This group will have offensive starters that don't play any defense. It is strictly conditioning for these guys. While group 1 is lining up their formation, group 2, which is our actual scout team, will be looking at a color coded play card. Our OC runs my scout teams. So what we end up with is a fast paced defensive practice, with tons of formations, that will simulate a tempo offense. Each group will break their own huddle every 20-25 seconds. Another thing we do is use a Nerf football to snap. Nothing will grind a practice to a halt like having your scout team center and QB screw up the shotgun snap. The center snaps the Nerf ball and the QB tags it with the regular ball( Like knocking down a ball in a dodgeball game). Once the nerf ball is snapped, everyone just ignores it and plays football. If it gets stepped on, no big deal, it'll squish flat and nobody rolls an ankle. Works really well.
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