do you go both ways?

football

We coach both sides of the ball.

First half of practice is defense, second half offense.

I really like the format, all players have a primary and secondary position.

Coaching staff harmony stays intact, no fighting over players, blaming O or D.

sometimes when in that situation you have to replace more than two, as a starter at another spot might have to move in to that slot and then bump somone over

makes subbing correctly crucial

I know how to write a subject line don't I?
brophy fell for it, but got back on task real soon



ok
for those of you that limited both ways, how much do you try and keep the ol off of that equation?

from a coaches standpoint - this makes the game a heck of a lot funner (not that it's ever unfun) because when you get your entire offense / defense on the sidelines after a series....you can actually MAKE REAL ADJUSTMENTS during a game - you don't have to call time out or wait until half-time to counter the unexpected.

OL? Those guys I think are made to go one-way. We have had three guys play both sides (one QB split time as DE), but the way we see it. We try to coach 'em up as much as possible. Those big boys just cannot go both ways for a half, let alone a full game.
Our dumb and nasty big boys play D line.
Our smart and kind big boys play O line.
What can you do???!?
This also makes SCOUT time in practice a HECK of a lot more efficient. Our first O plays the first D (with some 'scrub' subs at times), so you're not facing the Napoleon Dynamite of your squad playing MLB, when the crosstown rival has Bill Romanowski playing that spot.

I've coached both styles (two way / one way) and really really appreciate the two-way time to invest in coaching each kid up. I would love to hear more about this from other coahces, though....

I think the BIG thing is this....you can develop team D / O solidarity, but you must emphasize EVERYDAY that we are ALL a team.....we tell the defense that if the offense doesn't score, they don't score....WE (Defense) have to be the one responsible for scoring as well - They can't win if they don't score....
If you don't work together as a staff, the kids pick up on it and it can promote the finger-pointing.
It also can help make the team more competitive - we've had sessions where we'd just let it fly and play OUR base offense versus OUR base defense for the a prize or whatever.....evened out it becomes a lot of fun.

we usually do this for offense:
we get a qb, 1 rec, 1 ol........defense picks next

in reality, though, it is more about who can help the team the most where, regardless of what is wanted. this year, our best receiver was needed most at the starting free safety so he was limited in the use by the offense. others years, it is reversed.....all depends on the make-up of the team and where we need him the most.

only had 1 o-line guy play defense really. he was used on goalline/short yardage defense. in the past we've had only 1 or 2 each year play both sides.

i am on the same staff as ogie, but i don't like it as much. i do like that i am learning more about both sides of the ball. i also like that because of the practice time/format you have to focus on the most important thing for that day.

what i don't like is the adjustment issue already mentioned. kids will ask me a question when they come off the field and its hard to answer right away because i am focusing on the position that's playing right now.

i also don't like that because you spend your time on that most important item, it can be difficult to work on other aspects of the position until you notice they become a problem and are now the most important thing.

i like the setup of the coaches that coach on friday night are coaching the players for their position from 10th grade through their senior year. it provides continuity, trust, and allows the players to build every single year. coaching both sides of the ball on all levels (9th, sub-varsity, and varsity) makes it harder to do that because a player can have a different coach almost every year in the program.

We play our guys both ways. Can't see keeping good players off of the field. We have offensive practice on Tuesday and defensive practice on Wednesday. We think that we get more comprehensive work by having a full practice for each.
How do we keep the OL off of defense? That usually takes care of itself.