Post by doublewing on Feb 21, 2008 16:29:04 GMT -6
• Find your best 22: Make sure you find out who your best players are and get them into a starting position. Spring is the time to experiment and move players around from offense to defense and position to position. That way, when the season starts, you don't have your best ones backing somebody else up or taking too much time developing at the wrong position.
• Work on fundamentals: Winning football almost always comes down to blocking and tackling. They are the fundamental foundation upon which a successful football team is built. Since you have very little time during the season to work on technique and fundamentals, it is absolutely essential that you get the basics down in the spring.
• Experiment on offense and defense: If you are thinking about changing anything on offense or defense, you better take a look at it in the spring. Maybe you feel that you need to add the shotgun zone-read play to your offense and you don't know if your quarterback can handle it. Work out all the kinks in the spring so you can focus on your opponents during the season. My philosophy was to have the playbook completely ready before preseason football practice began and spring football is the only time you have to experiment.
• Develop depth You never know who is going to get hurt, quit, or flunk out so you better have a couple of kids ready to go at each position. Spring ball is a time to focus on drills that utilize as many of the players on the team as possible so they all are being developed. During the season, the first team gets almost all of the reps, so depth must be developed in the spring.
• Will he fight or will he quit? Every coach has his own way of answering this question about his players, but on every team - without exception - it must be answered. When the game is on the line, when everyone on the field is totally spent and exhausted, when there is nothing else left to give, will a player fight or will he quit? Will he bow up and lay it on the line or will he lay down and let the man across from him have his way. I don't care how you do it, but you must have as many "gut check" drills as you can in the spring so you know how each player will react during the season.
Being a champion is an every-day thing. With only 365 days in a year, those who know how to be a champion understand how to utilize each and every one of those days in order to get better. Getting the most out of spring practice is a big part of that championship equation.
• Work on fundamentals: Winning football almost always comes down to blocking and tackling. They are the fundamental foundation upon which a successful football team is built. Since you have very little time during the season to work on technique and fundamentals, it is absolutely essential that you get the basics down in the spring.
• Experiment on offense and defense: If you are thinking about changing anything on offense or defense, you better take a look at it in the spring. Maybe you feel that you need to add the shotgun zone-read play to your offense and you don't know if your quarterback can handle it. Work out all the kinks in the spring so you can focus on your opponents during the season. My philosophy was to have the playbook completely ready before preseason football practice began and spring football is the only time you have to experiment.
• Develop depth You never know who is going to get hurt, quit, or flunk out so you better have a couple of kids ready to go at each position. Spring ball is a time to focus on drills that utilize as many of the players on the team as possible so they all are being developed. During the season, the first team gets almost all of the reps, so depth must be developed in the spring.
• Will he fight or will he quit? Every coach has his own way of answering this question about his players, but on every team - without exception - it must be answered. When the game is on the line, when everyone on the field is totally spent and exhausted, when there is nothing else left to give, will a player fight or will he quit? Will he bow up and lay it on the line or will he lay down and let the man across from him have his way. I don't care how you do it, but you must have as many "gut check" drills as you can in the spring so you know how each player will react during the season.
Being a champion is an every-day thing. With only 365 days in a year, those who know how to be a champion understand how to utilize each and every one of those days in order to get better. Getting the most out of spring practice is a big part of that championship equation.
