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Post by mariner42 on Jun 15, 2017 9:34:15 GMT -6
I'm sure this topic has come up a bunch but I'm hoping people won't mind rehashing it.
I'm fortunate to have friends who play some serious big boy football and they've become friends with a national powerhouse and at my request they set me up so I can visit with this powerhouse this summer.
I'm nervous as f***! Like, I'm overthinking every interaction like I'm trying to get a date with Marissa Miller. "Don't come on too strong, play it cool, don't let them know how excited you are..."
My big questions (never really visited like this before):
1-how do you say "I want to know everything about running your offense" without wearing out your welcome?
2-I'm totally willing to do some kind of grunt work trade for their help, is this a standard deal? I feel like a jack ass just showing up empty handed.
I dunno. Socially awkward me strikes again.
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Post by fkaboneyard on Jun 15, 2017 10:14:43 GMT -6
How long will you be visiting? If it's one practice you're obviously not going to learn their entire offense. I'd contemplate my own biggest obstacle and get their advice on how to fix it. My $.02.
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Post by huddlehut on Jun 15, 2017 11:30:53 GMT -6
Honestly, I'd tell them that " I want to learn everything I can about your program without wearing out my welcome." Just be upfront with them. It's ok if they know that you're excited.
One thing NOT to do (what one of my assistants has a bad habit of): waste time explaining what YOU do in your program and why you do it. You're there to learn from THEM. Let them talk except when you're asking a question.
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Post by **** on Jun 15, 2017 13:38:48 GMT -6
One thing NOT to do (what one of my assistants has a bad habit of): waste time explaining what YOU do in your program and why you do it. You're there to learn from THEM. Let them talk except when you're asking a question. Lol God I hate that. |
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Post by badtotheflexbone on Jun 15, 2017 18:06:35 GMT -6
I'm sure this topic has come up a bunch but I'm hoping people won't mind rehashing it. I'm fortunate to have friends who play some serious big boy football and they've become friends with a national powerhouse and at my request they set me up so I can visit with this powerhouse this summer. I'm nervous as f***! Like, I'm overthinking every interaction like I'm trying to get a date with Marissa Miller. "Don't come on too strong, play it cool, don't let them know how excited you are..." My big questions (never really visited like this before): 1-how do you say "I want to know everything about running your offense" without wearing out your welcome? 2-I'm totally willing to do some kind of grunt work trade for their help, is this a standard deal? I feel like a jack ass just showing up empty handed. I dunno. Socially awkward me strikes again. Nothing gets the conversation started on the right foot like bringing Starbucks coffee and donuts. I think its a small simple gesture that could go a long ways in helping you build a connection with them. I did this once when visiting another program and they were nothing short of amazing. Very welcoming and we talked football for hours on end. Also, you are probably overthinking this, a couple things they reminded me while I was there was, 1) They do the same exact thing I was doing (visiting college programs/staffs to learn) so they were showing the same hospitality other teams showed them. They weren't going to be slapd*cks about it 2) It's not everyday you find guys who want to talk football much less want to pick your brain and learn from you. |
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Post by bluboy on Jun 16, 2017 9:35:03 GMT -6
"One thing NOT to do (what one of my assistants has a bad habit of): waste time explaining what YOU do in your program and why you do it. You're there to learn from THEM. Let them talk except when you're asking a question."
Wow! I thought we were the only staff who had a guy like that.
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Post by CS on Jun 16, 2017 9:54:19 GMT -6
"One thing NOT to do (what one of my assistants has a bad habit of): waste time explaining what YOU do in your program and why you do it. You're there to learn from THEM. Let them talk except when you're asking a question." Wow! I thought we were the only staff who had a guy like that. The guy I work for is pretty much the high school triple option dude in the state. He has people come and ask him stuff a lot and they constantly do that. He's a good guy so he just nods and says " yeah, you can do it that way..." It amazes me how people can come in to learn what he does and then try and change it on the spot. |
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Post by coachklee on Jun 16, 2017 11:34:34 GMT -6
"One thing NOT to do (what one of my assistants has a bad habit of): waste time explaining what YOU do in your program and why you do it. You're there to learn from THEM. Let them talk except when you're asking a question." Wow! I thought we were the only staff who had a guy like that. The guy I work for is pretty much the high school triple option dude in the state. He has people come and ask him stuff a lot and they constantly do that. He's a good guy so he just nods and says " yeah, you can do it that way..." It amazes me how people can come in to learn what he does and then try and change it on the spot. Who do you work for & in what state? |
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Post by fballcoachg on Jun 16, 2017 17:03:20 GMT -6
Myself and the HC I worked for once drove 7 hours to learn from thee passing school. The coach goes through his 40 minute talk then stops. Our HC looks at him, looks at me, and said "Coach, I'm sure you are used to people coming to talk and telling you what they do or why what you do won't work with their team. I didn't drive 7 hours one way dealing with this guy because we have the answers, you have the answers and we want to learn as much as you are willing to give." We then spent the next 5 or 6 hours learning as much as he was willing to give. Turns out most people were satisfied w the surface level info or to busy saying why the system wouldn't work for them/trying to tweak it to fit their situation.
Fast forward a couple of years, I'm fortunate enough to work for hands down one of the most successful programs in the state. A staff comes in to learn about our defense, 3 of the 4 guys including the HC keep putting things in "their terms," "troubleshooting" the defense, and talking about how they can't do XYZ with their players and so on. That meeting lasted under an hour and they left with little to nothing.
Moral to the stories, most people want to share with those that truly want to learn. If you reach out make sure you truly want to learn. Also important to understand guys, especially those doing something unique, aren't interested in hearing why their stuff won't work. As others said, I'd literally say, "I want to learn as much as you are willing to give from practice to scheme to why you keep what you keep."
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Post by groundchuck on Jun 16, 2017 20:00:38 GMT -6
A lot of good things have already been said. I think you should come in with a list of questions to (1) show you're organized and thought this thing through and (2) make sure you get your questions answered. YOu want to get into some depth about how they trouble shoot and teach stuff in their program. When I was learning the Flexbone I made three or four trips to meet with the coach I was learning it from. It was way more than getting the blocking schemes and diagrams. It was about how they teach, fix, adjust, fix, adjust to personnel, etc etc.
Coffee and donuts is a good idea.
Take copious notes and ask if you can follow up if you have questions.
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Post by coachjm on Jun 17, 2017 6:17:41 GMT -6
Not that I'm an expert on anything but I have had a handful of guys ask me what my favorite beer was and brought a 6/12 pack of that, some friends in Kentucky bring me some moonshine each time they see me. Ultimately, the times I have had the pleasure to meet with other staffs either as the learner or as the teacher I have gotten as much out of the relationship through time as I did learning that day. I really enjoy the time, discussion, and questions as well as learning about the other school their situation, their challenges, and how they have overcome those. Side note if you are meeting at a school don't take the beer in the school!
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Post by utchuckd on Jun 17, 2017 6:44:15 GMT -6
I'm sure this topic has come up a bunch but I'm hoping people won't mind rehashing it. I'm fortunate to have friends who play some serious big boy football and they've become friends with a national powerhouse and at my request they set me up so I can visit with this powerhouse this summer. I'm nervous as f***! Like, I'm overthinking every interaction like I'm trying to get a date with Marissa Miller. "Don't come on too strong, play it cool, don't let them know how excited you are..." My big questions (never really visited like this before): 1-how do you say "I want to know everything about running your offense" without wearing out your welcome? 2-I'm totally willing to do some kind of grunt work trade for their help, is this a standard deal? I feel like a jack ass just showing up empty handed. I dunno. Socially awkward me strikes again.  |
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Post by jgordon1 on Jun 17, 2017 7:01:42 GMT -6
I am assuming you are visiting a hs..I would watch A LOT their film before going. then ask to sit down and watch film/cutups together, asking questions that you know are going to come up while watching...hey lets watch your roll out cut up..what are the qb steps here..what is he looking at..why did the wr break there etc...you will be able to piece it all together..everybody loves talking about what they do
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Post by piratefootball on Jun 17, 2017 9:39:33 GMT -6
I always have an idea of what I am looking to improve on my defense and start with that. Ei: coverages, blitz techs, do ur blitzes read linemen, attacking pass pro, reads...fundamentals like tackling, block destruction, pursuit, and how they break it down, teach it, practice it. What a helmet only practice would look like (1/2 our summer practices are helmet only). I ask about practice design and what the best thing they do as a defense and program. I ask about difficult things to defend that I might not have answers to (rpo, empty, quads, 3 back stuff). I ask about technology they are using and how using it. I ask about their install philosophy. How they conduct meetings, what they look at for scouting, what their weekend workflow looks like(esp from HS coaches I visit). How they practice red zone and how often they practice goal line and their defense philosophies for both scenarios. If I start seeing something new that I really like schematically, I ask for how I will be attacked, weaknesses and adjustments. These are just some of the things I go to a visit with. When I visit a college, I always say I don't want to step on your toes so what is the best way to ask questions or get clarification when coaches are coaching?
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Post by Coach Vint on Jun 23, 2017 9:34:53 GMT -6
I try to visit two to three staffs a year. I do a lot of prep work before I go in. I don't go visit a staff without having a plan of what I want to get out of the visit. I don't walk in and just "hope" to catch something.
1. What do you want to get out of the visit? This might be a list of 3 or 4 specific things.
2. What questions do you need to ask to get you there?
3. Which coaches do you hope to speak to?
4. What film to do you want to look at?
If I am looking to learn their system, I ask them to take me through there install. What is the first play they install? Why is this the first play? What are the ins and outs? If I am looking to learn how to be more efficient with something, I will ask their install process. How do you install your stuff? When I visited with Dana Holgerson several years ago I wasn't interested in what they were doing. I wanted to know how they installed everything in 5 days. What did that look like? What were the positives and negatives? What does he want to change?
I then do some research about each coach on staff. I want to know where they came from and who they have worked with. What is their background? What can I use as a point of reference?
The more prepared you are, the more beneficial your visit will be. We have staffs come visit and the more prepared they are, the better their visit will be. Typically they are traveling several hours, and I don't want either of us to waste time. I have them email me a list of things they want to cover ahead of time. This helps us to have a better visit that benefits the coaches coming in.
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Post by tippecanoe41 on Jun 25, 2017 0:59:18 GMT -6
The way I see it, I don't think I'd be too starstruck. If they are the type of guy who wants to treat me like I'm stupid when they explain something to me that they think is obvious since they've done nothing but football for 30 years and I've never learned about yet because I haven't needed to, then heck with them. And, maybe I'm just not as thankful of things as I should be, but someone being willing to talk to me a few hours ain't the same as giving me a kidney. Their time ain't that damn precious, haha
This IS NOT TO SAY that I don't appreciate it, because I do appreciate any help. And I do respect the accomplishments that coaches attain, because there are guys that can change a program just because of how they coach. Definitely. But I ain't gonna bow before someone just to talk football with me. I love talking football. So if someone who knew less or different stuff than me wanted to meet up, I'd love it. But I wouldn't expect a pee-wee coach who has never coached to offer to do this or that for me since I talked with them about basic offense/defense.
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