Coach and Coordinator Podcast

Today on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast, Keith Grabowski is joined by Derek Leonard, head coach at Rochester High School (IL). In his 13 seasons At Rochester, coach Leonard has won seven state championships. He gives a heartfelt look at the season coaching against his father coach Ken Leonard, as USA Football did a video and blog on the “Leonard Bowl.” Grabowski discusses Coach Leonard’s journey, success and use of multiple quarterbacks in his system running the RPO. 01:12 The Leonard rivalry 02:55 The Leonard Bowl significance, more than a game 04:50 Coach Leonard’s coaching journey 07:17 Preparing players for the season 10:13 Using 3 quarterbacks in his system 13:44 Making the quarterbacks threats passing & running 16:05 Shifting the defenses focus 18:15 Keeping consistency for the linemen 20:10 Coach Leonard working personnel 21:50 Buck sweep RPO 28:00 Looking for frontside and backside reads on RPO 30:15 Coach Leonard’s National Conference preview Connect with coach: @FBDevcoach @coachkgrabowski

Today Keith Grabowski is joined by first year Head Coach Weston Moody. Moody took over as head coach at Wamego High School (KS). In his first year they, improved upon the school’s previous three-win season through technique development. Coach Moody discussed how the contact system helped improve him as a coach and his team. Grabowski and Coach Moody break down the different advantages in using the contact system and applying it into practice and off-season training. 01:00 Coach Moody’s coaching journey 03:20 Progressions of the contact system 05:50 Better and safer technique 07:15 Advantages provided by the contact system 09:00 Adjustments 10:40 Using the system in the off-season 12:04 Drills in the off-season program 14:32 The contact system in Coach Moody’s offense 15:45 Power Read 20:10 Technique in the culture of Wamego 24:15 Connect with coach: Twitter: @coachWM

This week on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast, Keith Grabowski is joined by Adam Clack, head coach at Milton High School (GA). Coach Clack has a unique system of how he builds culture with 7 keys to Victory. He gives a lot of his credit to success to his early involvement with youth football and seeing how hard the job is as a head coach. 01:00 What made Coach Clack be a football coach? 02:22 What Coach Clack learned at the first job 04:25 3 impacts on Coach Clack’s philosophy 07:15 A coach that Coach Clack would love to learn from 09:00 7 Keys to Victory 17:05 Building culture 23:23 Behaviors that show Coach Clack’s culture 26:15 Coach Clack working with the quarterbacks 30:25 Pro spread 21 personnel 33:20 Coach Clack’s PRO 37:05 Teaching the system 40:20 Coach Clack’s use of the practice timer 42:30 Future of the game 44:10 Football Development 45:45 Winning edge 47:10 Connect with coach: Twitter: @CoachClack23 Email: clackaj@fultonschools.org

This is the weekly breakdown of USA Football's Coach and Coordinator Podcast Series by Keith Grabowski. These short clips highlight snippets of what the episodes from the week feature and the different guests on the show. Highlights from this week on Coach and Coordinator: USA Football Advanced Tackling System - Terry Summerfield and Rob Currin State Champions - Ryan Partridge Home Team – Kevin Bullis Coach Grabowski’s Notebook – Building Tradition Lessons from 2018 – Nate Moore

In today's episode we continue our series "Lessons from 2018" with Massillon High School head coach Nate Moore, who led the Tigers to 14-1 record in 2018. Keith Grabowski and Coach Moore discuss the Tiger's unique two-platoon system and how it helped the team, while Coach Moore also gives a preview of his National Conference presentation. 01:00 Coach Moore's wife Facebook Live interview 04:35 Organizing practice and personnel 06:30 Program numbers 08:37 Working the two-platoon system 11:20 Advantage building depth 13:00 Separating the varsity and junior varsity 15:35 Keith’s considerations 16:50 Specializing players 21:15 Building football IQ 23:35 Special teams 25:40 Using the game to help each other 27:35 Coach Moore’s favorite play, Iowa Z 32:44 Coach Moore’s National Conference preview 36:15 National Conference 36:55 Connect with Coach: Nmoore1@massillonschools.org @coachnmoore75

Coach Grabowski shares a page from his notebook with several ideas on how to build tradition into the culture of the program and connect the past to the future. National Conference 00:55 A plan to create community with players and alumni 02:17 How to use these ideas 02:30 Defining “tradition” 03:26 Starting the process of building tradition 03:55 Using the school library and yearbooks as a resource 04:37 What to do with the information gathered 05:09 Enlisting the help of alumni 05:48 Creating lists of past players and accomplishments 06:33 Including tradition in the physical space of the team 08:21 The “Alumni Locker” 10:09 Creating a “helmet history” 11:56 Example from team newsletter 14:18 Creating connection through jersey numbers 16:04 Recommendations for player letters to alumni 17:12 Final thoughts and recommendations 17:39 Share your ideas with us @coachkgrabowski @FBDevCoach

Today on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast, guest host Joel Nellis continues the "Home Team" series with Kevin Bullis, the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Coach Bullis was hired in 2015, and has compiled an overall record of 44-7 that includes aconference record of 26-2. Coach Bullis talks about the integration of family in his career as a coach and, how having them involved with his career has made him a better family man and coach. 03:42 Coach Bullis meeting his wife 04:50 Managing time together 05:30 What makes Bullis’ wife so invaluable? 06:10 The sacrifice of time 07:10 Coach Bullis’ kids 08:40 Coach Bullis’ son Joseph on staff 10:10 The dynamic of Coach Bullis and his son as coaches 11:05 Coach Bullis’ negotiation with his wife about moving to UWW 13:05 Discussion of having kids 14:45 Coach Bulli’s advice on moving 18:00 Small thing Coach Bullis does to help his marriage and family 24:45 Importance of family 27:30 Importance of execution in football 30:30 Challenges as a coach 33:00 Coach Bullis’ approach to coaching as father 34:55 Making players feel valued on and the field 36:50 Ramping up team discipline 39:20 Coach Bullis’ desire to teach and learn life lessons

In this episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast, Keith Grabowski talks with Liberty High School (Brentwood, Calif.) athletic director and head coach, Ryan Partridge, who led Liberty to win the California 1A state championship. Coach Partridge is a first-time guest and an avid listener of the podcast. Coach Partridge shares his motivation to coach, what makes his program at Liberty special and how he balances it all with his family life. 01:12 Coach Partridge motivation to coach 01:55 Impacts on Coach Partridge’s coaching philosophy 03:44 Keith and Coach Partridge’s mutual connections and resources 05:00 Advice received as a coach 06:25 Importance of being yourself 08:00 Marketing impact on the program 09:45 Book coach learned from: “Above the Line” by, Urban Meyer 11:05 Building culture: battalion leaders 14:45 Leadership courses and challenges 16:05 Keys for consistency of success 17:35 Building Liberty’s offense 19:10 Simplifying to one formation 20:40 Show it, hear it and do it 21:20 Learn to Win 22:00 Learning competition 22:50 Advantage of using a drone for practice 25:35 Clasp, stick, scrap, j-angle, hit by and engage 30:05 Successful RPO play for Liberty 32:22 Practicing the RPO 33:55 Major concerns for the game of football 36:05 Advice for the young coach 37:00 Balancing life outside of football 39:30 Winning Edge 40:00 Connect with coach: Email: coachryanpartridge@gmail.com Twitter: @coachpart

USA Football has officially launches the Advanced Tackling System (ATS) developed in conjunction with Tackling Specialist Richie Gray. The Advanced Tackling System is a system that can be layered upon the USA Football Shoulder Tackling System or any tackle system coaches choose to use. The ATS introduces Gray's “5 Fights” progression to help break down the aspects of the tackle with key performance indicators (KPIs). In today’s episode of the Coach and Coordinator Podcast, Keith Grabowski is joined by USA Football Master Trainers Terry Summerfield and Rob Currin. Summerfield and Currin describe their initial thoughts of the system as well as the results they experienced after implementing the system in their respective programs. The coaches give detail and insight of why this system is so helpful, and how the system’s “fight” philosophy can be applied across the board for players and coaches. :00 The Advanced Tackling System 03:28 The coaches’ initial start with the ATS 08:35 Get the tackle systems at Footballdevelopment.com 09:25 The 5 Fights 13:40 Practicing the tackle without tackling 18:50 The ATS building a culture 21:55 Key performance indicators (KPIs) 23:00 Importance of the KPIs 28:10 5 fights philosophy across all positions 29:40 Biggest takeaway for Coach Currin 31:50 Value of the ATS 34:50 Richie Gray’s unique input 36:08 Opportunity at National Conference 36:55 The coaches’ thoughts on National Conference 39:10 Connect with the coaches: Terry Summerfield Email: tsummerfield@usafootball.com Rob Currin Twitter: @rob_currin

This is the weekly breakdown of USA Football's Coach and Coordinator Podcast Series by Keith Grabowski. These short clips highlight snippets of what the episodes from the week feature and the different guests on the show. Highlights from this week on Coach and Coordinator: Lessons from 2018 – Dave Walker Conversations with National Conference Speakers- Ken Leonard & Steve Thomas Coach Grabowski’s Notebook – Off season Standards Home Team – Sean Lewis Program turn around – Dan Mackay

In this episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast, Keith Grabowski is joined by Coach Dan MacKay, head coach at Burlington High School, Burlington Massachusetts. Grabowski and Coach Mackay discussed how Burlington increased their rushing offense this past year and improved as a football team. 00:50 Looking at Burlington’s statistics 01:28 The turnaround 02:08 Three technique changes 02:45 Using the series in Burlington’s base runs 06:15 Developing technique 08:35 Fundamental movements 09:45 Wrecking ball drill 11:15 Getting to unconscious confidence 12:55 Payoff of technique development 14:10 Making the unnatural natural 15:02 Technique applies across all positions 15:55 Universal language 17:45 Pillar technique for the stretch play 19:14 Keith’s reflection of stretch 19:55 Walking through the stretch in practice 21:00 Continuing growth 22:12 footballdevelopment.com 23:12 Connect with coach: mackay@bpsk12.org @bhsreddevilsfb

Today’s USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast, the “Home Team” series returns, which will broadcast twice a month featuring guest host Joel Nellis. On today’s episode, Nellis is joined by Sean Lewis, head coach at Kent State University (Ohio). Upon his hiring, Coach Lewis became the youngest Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) head coach in the country at the age of 31. Together, Nellis and Coach Lewis discuss the importance of his wife, balancing football with family and the legacy he wants to leave with his players. 00:19 Home Team intro 02:00 Sean Lewis intro 04:30 Meeting his wife 05:50 Coach Lewis’ wife involvment 07:32 What makes her so valuable in Lewis’ life? 08:35 Coach Lewis’ son, Rory 10:15 Deciding to go into college coaching 12:36 Wife’s support being instrumental 14:20 Decision to have kids 16:35 Suggestions in the moving process as a coach 18:25 Small things Coach Lewis does to help his marriage during the season 22:55 One thing Coach Lewis does to help on the home front 24:35 Deciding to take a trip with the wife while coaching 27:03 You must be able to detach 27:38 How to manage phone time at home 32:22 All that matters is what the kids know 34:15 A struggle Coach Lewis has overcome with family and coaching 37:20 Lewis family increase in communication 38:25 How Coach Lewis’ commitment to family helps his players grow as men 39:23 Be the alpha 44:36 How Coach Lewis makes his players feel cared about beyond football 46:50 One thing Coach Lewis changed in the last three years to become a better coach 48:12 Victory formation 49:20 The legacy Coach Lewis wants to leave 51:00 National Conference

Today on the Coach and Coordinator podcast, Keith Grabowski shares a page from his notebook about off season standards for a team. Keith reflects on his time at the high school coaching level, and what he and his staff put together for their program. Keith breaks down his chart and how it developed for him in his coaching career. 01:34 National Conference 02:15 Influence of the program standards for Keith 03:22 Discussing with the staff 03:55 Setting the standards 04:35 The two levels of the standards 05:20 Player motivation 06:21 Attendance 06:50 Short awards and recognition 07:00 Seeing the program pay-off 07:38 Chart specifics 08:05 Teaching lift technique 09:00 Getting the players to work as athletes 09:35 Recognition every four weeks 10:05 Blogs.usafootball.com 10:17 @fbdevcoach Footballdevelopment.com 11:00 National Conference

Today’s Keith Grabowski talks with two National Conference speakers coach Ken Leonard and Steve Thomas. Coach Leonard is the head coach at Sacred-Heart Griffin High School and is the all-time winningest coach in the state of Illinois with 379 wins and 5 state championships. Coach Thomas is the assistant coach at Sacred-Heart Griffin High School who also specializes in the team’s leadership and character development. The coaches discuss what drives their team’s culture, leadership and character as well as what they will present at National Conference. 01:55 Coach Leonard’s call to be a coach 03:17 Coach Leonard’s road to coaching 04:45 Who gave Leonard a chance 06:50 Importance of learning from coaches 09:20 Coaches must have a system 11:52 Evolution of learning for players 13:50 How coach Leonard builds culture 14:30 8 core values 15:50 Philippians 2:3-4 18:25 Turning values into action 20:50 Coach Leonard serving 22:35 Quality of life 24:00 Leadership is serving 24:50 Why do you coach football? 26:05 Coach Thomas’ role and example 28:00 How coach Leonard’s character program comes together 29:30 National Conference 30:00 Coach Leonard & coach Thomas’ National Conference preview 31:25 What coaches should take from the National Conference presentation 35:05 Coach Leonard’s mission 37:00 Connect with coach: Leornad@shg.org Stevethomas3030@hotmail.com

In today’s episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast Keith Grabowski talks with coach Dave Walker about lessons learned in the 2018 season. In 2018 coach Walker's Martinsburg Bulldogs won their 3rd straight state championship. Walker now has 7 total state titles and a 42-game winning streak longest active streak in West Virginia. Keith and coach Walker discuss his unique two quarterback system, importance of development in scout team and preview Walker’s presentation for National Conference. 01:55 Coach Walker reflecting on 2018 03:12 Developing all the players with scout team 04:05 Making the scout team important 05:20 Working the two-quarterback system 07:05 Getting buy in to support both quarterbacks 08:32 Getting enough work for success for both quarterbacks 09:55 How coach Walker rotated quarterbacks 11:30 Unselfishness 12:10 Incorporating the run game 13:35 Blocking in the run game: Belly 14:45 Play action 15:45 RPO with counter 16:50 3 level RPO keeping the linemen from down field 18:00 Quarterback reading 3 level RPO 19:00 Winning edge 19:50 Coach Walker’s National Conference preview 20:30 Coach Walker’s National Conference experience 21:48 National Conference