Coach and Coordinator Podcast

Deliberate Practice with co-host Andy Ryland is a weekly podcast we will run throughout the season. Activity does not always equal achievement. Deliberate Practice is a podcast focused on a specific topic for the week and then an explanation of how to drill the different aspects mentioned in the overview. Included are specific drills/practice considerations for offense, defense, and special teams. Dial it in - getting your players ready for game one This week is focused on dialing in on your team’s strengths and solidifying them through proper practice set-up and drilling all the scenarios players will face over the course of the season. Grabowski and Ryland utilize discuss how adding vision, decision and action cycle to basic drills helps create a game ready player. Intro 4:49 Don’t get seduced by the logo on the helmet 6:20 Think about it from the players perspective Offense example - Get more than routes on air 6:45 Adding more to routes on air 8:32 components needed for more game like practice and develop windows and timing 9:45 layering in the details in a progression 10:50 hard shoulder/soft shoulder terminology 13:25 install one decision at a time 13:59 adding a level three decision 15:30 the progression for adding to routes on air 16:35 having the drill reflect weekly needs and cumulative reps 17:09 brevity code; communicating meaning with a word or phrase 17:33 language particular to the four vertical example 20:00 translation from the line on paper to the on field intricacies Defense example - the gaps will move 21:02 Vision, decision, action from the defensive side: stats and blitzes vs. trashcans 21:33 Good for knowledge check but not in the dynamics of play 22:00 Example - the wide zone run fits with moving gaps 23:30 A linebacker that must stay in phase to stay connected to the gap 24:18 Example- moving gaps with pin and pull 25:43 Example - block defeat with a stunting tackle and variations 27:20 Structuring pre practice to prepare for live vision, decision, action 28:20 Mixing in looks to keep player honest and develop well rounded skills 29:00 Using Go Army Edge for vision, decision, action for more reps 30:12 Decisions on how much we can get ready for week one - dialing it in 31:00 Brevity code and coaching points for defense Special teams example - accounting for bigger lanes 34:00 Handling special teams like other schemes on offense and defense 36:22 VDA on punt return scenario - cover man gets picked off 37:55 Creating the scenario of dealing with an extra cover lane space 39:32 Lean the lane coaching point 40:50 Self discovery process for the player 42:05 Brevity code/coaching points for this drill 43:15 Staying connected to teammates 44:10 Getting more out of our drills and building progressions

The Leadership Journey – 2018 Season Brian Kight and Keith Grabowski team up for this special Leadership Journey edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. This podcast will occur weekly throughout the season, focusing on issues that teams face during the season. Today Brian and Keith discuss training players and staff to have a bigger, better “R” for the adversity they will face over the season. Show Notes 1:45 Week 1 focus – preparing our players to face adversity 2:50 Quote from Rich Bartel, former NFL QB 3:57 It’s every competitor’s destiny to lose 5:10 Loss occupies a gigantic place of fear in our minds 6:30 Embrace losing – develop a mindset that handles it 7:40 The best players are competitors 9:10 Find people who want to compete 9:32 Are we training the consequences of failure into a mindset? 11:40 Balance the consequences that drive the avoidance of failure 12:30 E+R=O you can’t engineer outcomes; you must win the moment 13:13 Kyle Shanahan – sometimes you have to overcome coaching 15:00 Training to respond to adversity with a bigger “R” 18:00 Emphasize build the skill, not just win the drill 20:00 Patience, skill, and discipline are required by each coach 23:15 The time for command and control coaching is over 24:28 Command and control coaching eventually leads to compliance and defiance 26:25 Film evaluation session – how to think about and create a culture for learning 29:16 Understand an athlete’s thinking to help improve performance 31:01 Pay attention to athlete needs and help put it all together 32:20 Erik Chinander (defensive coordinator, Nebraska) approach to film 33:28 Be surgical in your approach 34:05 Understanding, explanation, execution – a process for evaluating performance 38:56 Giving players a space for mental repetition 39:31 Ideas for preparing team/unit for a better “R” 43:02 Train for scenarios you are likely to experience 46:30 The mission for the year Related content Tony Demeo’s Disaster Plan https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/6294/how-longtime-college-coach-tony-demeo-s-disaster-plan-could-help-your-team-come-back-from-deficits Rob Everett https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/4253/podcast-coach-and-coordinator-rob-everett-8-31-17 Erik Chinander https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/6535/podcast-nebraska-defensive-coordinator-erik-chinander-talks-about-up-tempo-practice-style

On today’s final “Home Team” podcast of 2018, Randy Jackson joins guest host Joel Nellis to share the lessons he has learned over the course of his career in regard to making family a priority and working smarter not harder. Coach Jackson is currently the head football coach and athletic coordinator at North Forney High School in Forney,Texas. The Falcon program struggled prior to his arrival but in his first year they exploded on to the scene with a 10-3 record. He used his proven strategies of daily leadership development, relationship building, accountability, toughness, and his ‘everything matters’ mantra to turn yet another program around quickly. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 150 – 64 career record 2018 THSCA ‘Coaching Beyond the Game’ Award Winner 2015 DFW Tom Landry Award Winner 2010 4A Texas Coach of the Year 2010 Dallas Morning News 5A/4A Coach of the Year Show Notes 01:45 The stars of Jackson’s home team 06:35 We make the call – how Jackson’s family has navigated career decisions 08:35 Evaluating job opportunities 11:38 How family can deal with the stress in the stands and the community 15:20 Understanding what a coach’s wife deals with in making a job change 18:00 Jackson’s process of writing his book 21:08 Clock management – scheduling to allow coaches to get home earlier 22:58 Sunday’s off for staff 23:35 Having confidence not to worry about being “out worked” 25:29 “A-ha” moment about not needing the 7th day of work 28:00 Having your own kids and staff’s kids involved 33:00 Prevent defense – overcoming struggles in career and tips to avoid mistakes 36:20 Victory formation – legacy that Jackson is striving to create through coaching

Today’s “Your Call” episode of USA Football’s Coach and Coordinator Podcast dives into shared responsibilities across a coaching staff and the use of the co-coordinator role. We are joined by coaches from Friendswood High School (TX), Hinsdale South High School (IL), and Rocky River High School (OH) to discuss the benefits, challenges, and strategies for utilizing the co-coordinator role. Show Notes Friendswood High School Staff: Robert Koopman, head coach @robertkoopmann Seth Harris, run game offensive coordinator @coachsethharris Scott Smith, pass game offensive coordinator @scottjsmith81 02:50 Head coach thoughts on the advantages of a co-coordinator system 04:15 The deep dive, focus, and development of “experts” 05:15 Efficiency in film breakdown 05:40 Bringing it together into one cohesive plan 07:54 The game planning process that starts with the head coach 08:54 Making decisions on game day 09:55 Communication during and between series 12:38 Situations that require one coach to take the lead 14:45 Tips on making co-coordinators work Hinsdale South High School staff: Mike Barry - head coach, run game offensive coordinator @coachbarry50 Scott Hansen - pass game offensive coordinator @coachhansen05 18:07 How it starts with the philosophy of the program 21:18 How coordinators increase efficiency 22:55 Preparing the game plan and the team by distributing the work 26:00 Putting everything together into one game plan 27:50 Happy coaches make a happy staff 31:35 Handling sideline adjustments 33:10 Tips for the co-coordinator who works with the head coach 36:26 Empowering your staff to be successful in sharing the responsibility 39:14 Sharing responsibility helps build a staff Rocky River High School staff Josh Wells, head coach, run game defensive coordinator @coachwells1 Austin Cordova, defensive pass game coordinator @coachcoop_21 41:00 Balancing being the head coach with helping a young defensive coordinator 43:05 Making sure the front end and back end of the defensive game plan fit together 45:10 Understanding each other in the big picture 46:29 How the head coach is freed up to handle other parts of the program 47:23 Decisions and communication process on game day 50:40 How adjustments on the sideline and at halftime are made and the use of instant replay 51:55 Head coach giving his eyes to other phases of the game 54:00 #1 key to making the co-coordinator system work Coach Grabowski’s article on making co-coordinators work https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/2094/making-co-coordinator-coaching-roles-work-to-an-advantage Listen to the Coach and Coordinator Podcast all season long for tips, strategies, and concepts that can help you be successful.

Today’s guest on this “Your Call” episode of USA Football’s Coach and Coordinator Podcast is head coach and defensive coordinator of Ashland-Greenwood High School (NE), Ryan Thompson. Coach Thompson is entering his 11th season as the head coach of the Bluejays and his 16th season overall with the team. The Bluejays' record under Coach Thompson is 66-35 which includes two District Championships. During his time as coach, his teams have qualified for the C1 Playoffs seven times, including guiding the Bluejays to a State Runner-Up finish in 2013 and 2014. Coach Thompson also served as the 2004 head coach of the Prague Panthers, a former D2 football team in Prague, Nebraska. Thompson talks with host Keith Grabowski on best practices and ideas for the use of sideline replay systems in games and practices. Twitter: @agbluejayfball Show Notes 00:20 Twitter poll and responses on the use of sideline replay systems 02:08 Using an iPad in practice for immediate feedback 03:40 Players learn visually 06:35 Integrating new technology into work flow 08:12 Avoiding getting overwhelmed with information and staying focused on the game plan 09:18 Examples of what they see on sideline replay and how its made a difference in games 10:38 Making adjustments with a small roster when players are on the field a majority of the game 12:30 Logistics of set-up and troubleshooting of the sideline replay system 14:00 Half time adjustments made with replay 15:20 Managing in-game work flow 16:26 Best use practices of this technology and how to use with a two-platoon team 17:54 Using the system to film practice 18:55 Instant replay for coaching and adjustments in practices

University of Virginia-Wise defensive coordinator Shap Boyd discusses how he makes defensive adjustments The guest on today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast is defensive coordinator at Division II University of Virginia - Wise, Shap Boyd. Boyd and host Keith Grabowski are no strangers to each other as they have coached against each other in the Ohio Athletic Conference while Boyd was at Muskingum and Grabowski at Baldwin Wallace. On today’s show, Boyd and Grabowski talk about how he makes adjustments and evolves his defense over the course of a season. Show Notes Entering his third season at UVa-Wise, Shap Boyd’s defense has become one of the best in the Mountain East Conference. In 2017, Boyd’s unit ranked top 25 nationally in third down defense (13th), defensive touchdowns (15th), tackles for loss (18th) and interceptions (22nd). Overall, opponents posted just 315.7 yards per game against the Cavaliers last fall. In his first season, Boyd’s defense ranked second in the Mountain East Conference against the run allowing just 100.1 yards on the ground per game. Additionally, the Cavaliers were third in the MEC in getting off the field on third down as opponents converted just 32.8 percent of third down chances. Twitter: @shapboyd Topics discussed: Coaching Journey His high school experience Morphing his defense into a three man front Lessons that impacted him as a coach Protecting the Mike LB and using line movements Why everything is a spill defense for him The process of evolving a defense How many reps can you get in practice? How to make coaching concepts similar Continuity in a game pan and giving the offense “eye wash” Deciding how much defense to put in Practicing a game plan Having answers for different offensive formations Repping what they do vs. what the could do The cumulative effect of reps Tips to evolve over the course of a season When things go wrong go back to base

Show Notes - Best of Sports Science and High Performance - Pre Season and In- Season Considerations Dr Douglas Casa Dr. Casa has studied and educated people on exertional heat stroke, heat-related illnesses, preventing sudden death in sport, and hydration. He also developed Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) at the University of Connecticut. The KSI serves the public to work toward preventing sudden death in sport by mean of education, advocacy, public policy, research, media outreach, and publications. Topic: Why the first few days of practice our crucial Anna Turner Turner is a registered dietitian with St. Vincent Sports Performance. She works with the Indiana Fever, Butler University basketball and assists with the NFL Combine prep program. Topics: The game-day meal Foods to help inflammation 3 recommendations for coaches on nutrition Erik Korem Korem is the Director of Sports Science with the Houston Texans. Topics: Sleep recommendation for athletes Implications for early morning workouts Helping athletes with rest before and after a game Micah Kurtz Micah Kurtz, a nationally recognized Strength and Conditioning Coach, is currently the strength and conditioning coach AC Flora High School, and he previously worked at the University of South Carolina. Kurtz has been named the South Carolina Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in both 2013 and 2014. Varsity athletes’ in-season program Brett Bartholomew Brett Bartholomew is a strength and conditioning coach, author, consultant, and founder of the performance coaching and consulting company, Bartholomew Strength. Topic: Combating “copy and paste” coaching Dr. Greg Myer Dr. Greg Myer. He is the Director of Research and The Human Performance Laboratory for the Division of Sports Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He maintains his primary faculty appointment in the departments of Pediatrics and Orthopaedic Surgery in the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Over the past decade, Dr. Myer has published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and has published books and several book chapters related to his research on the biomechanics of knee injuries, sports performance and knee injury prevention training. Topic: Integrating injury prevention into practice Andrew Murray Murray serves as the Director of Performance and Sports Science at the University of Oregon. Topic: Coaches need to monitor loads in practice Dr. Ken Clark Dr. Clark has a PhD in Applied Physiology and Biomechanics, researches human performance and is a strength and conditioning coach. He is also serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at West Chester University. Topic: Drills to help top end speed Shawn Myszka Shawn Myszka, the pro performance director of Explosive Edge Athletics in Minneapolis, where he consults several NFL athletes. Topic: How you teach agility and reaction on the field

Home Team - Kurt Hines, Head Coach, Coronado HS by USA Football

This is the weekly recap of this past week’s Coach and Coordinator podcasts! Host Keith Grabowski was joined by a high school football state champion, an FCS wide receivers coach and various coaches talking about defending the RPO. On the shows were Danny Freund, Geron Stokes, as well as several guests on the “Your Call” series . Listen in to hear a preview of each show!

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast is the second part of this week’s “Your Call” series looking at defending the Run/Pass Option. Yesterday looked at defenses that use a 1-high structure when defending the RPO and today we tackle defenses in the 2-high structure. As we mentioned in yesterday’s show notes, which can be found here, our Twitter poll had 38% of respondents favoring the two-high structure. 19% of respondents use man coverage defense and 19% use zone coverage. Five coaches are featured on today’s show, sharing how they defend the RPO with the 2-high structure. Here are the guests on today’s show. Woody Blevins – Safeties coach, University of Northern Colorado – Twitter: @CoachWoody2 Mike Giancola – Defensive line coach, Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Virginia) – Twitter: @CoachGiancola Klint King – Defensive Coordinator, Richland High School (Richland Hills, Texas) – Twitter: @klintking Joel Taylor – Defensive pass game coordinator, The Citadel (Charleston, South Carolina) – Twitter: @KoachTaylor Ryan Descrochers – Outside linebackers coach, Liberty High School (Peoria, Arizona) – Twitter: @CoachRDes In today’s show, the guests and host Keith Grabowski discuss using the 2-high structure to defend the RPO and how that can be implemented in practice. Show Notes 0:28 Hearing from previous guests how they use the 2-high structure 0:49 Chad Braun talks about knowing the right coverage to use 1:21 Dave McFarland defends the RPO with a movement defense 2:19 Scott Power explains the importance of personnel 4:23 SP: Drills he uses to practice defending the RPO 7:14 Van Malone describes how he balances defending the RPO 10:22 Starting lineup for the new guests on today’s show 11:19 Interview with Joel Taylor 24:02 Interview with Mike Giancola 37:47 Interview with Ryan Descrochers 47:22 Interview with Klint King 1:02:55 Interview with Woody Blevins

Today on the Coach and Coordinator podcast, it is another edition of our “Your Call” series. We talk with several coaches from across the country at the high school and college football level. The topic for the podcast is defending the Run/Pass Option. This will be a two-part series on defending RPO, starting today and concluding tomorrow. Today’s episode talks with coaches who employ 1-high solutions when defending the RPO. We recently conducted a Twitter poll on this very topic, where there were over 250 responses from coaches. The breakdown was as follows: 62% said they used a 1-high structure, with 48% favoring man coverage and 14% siding with zone coverage. And the remaining 38% went with a 2-high structure, with it split even 19% for each man and zone coverage defense. Four coaches called in to share their specific strategies and tactics for defending the RPO with the 1-high structure. Here are the guests on today’s show. Grant Caserta – Defensive Coordinator, Husson University (Bangor, Maine) – Twitter: @GCaserta1 Kyle Bakken – Defensive Coordinator, Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) – Twitter: @KCBakk31 Nick Davis – Defensive Coordinator, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, Indiana) – Twitter: @Spread_Defense PJ Gibbs – Defensive Coordinator, Palmetto Ridge High School (Naples, Florida) – Twitter: @coachPJGibbs In today’s show, the guests and host Keith Grabowski discuss defending the RPO with the 1-high structure and the differences between using man and zone coverage. Show Notes 0:24 Responses from the Twitter poll on defending the Run/Pass Option 2:00 Insight on defending RPO from previous show guests 10:16 Your Call starting lineup 12:16 Grant Caserta talks about breaking players up into defending pass or run 13:36 GC: Influencing the offense to give the ball to certain players 18:03 GC: The importance of the Free Safety in defending the RPO 19:14 GC: Drills and practice periods used to practice RPO defense 22:36 Kyle Bakken looks at his defensive philosophy against the RPO 25:30 KB: Giving players one assignment in defending the RPO 28:58 KB: Using a split coverage with the 1-high structure 32:45 KB: Preparing defense for the RPO in practice 37:19 Nick Davis on how he uses the 3-3 stack defense against the RPO 39:37 ND: Defending quick concepts with the level two defenders 46:06 ND: Advantages to using the Bear front against the RPO 48:43 ND: Best advice to defending the RPO on a consistent basis 50:51 PJ Gibbs explains how he uses the Rip Liz concept to defend the RPO 51:46 PG: Using the Rip Liz with a 4-2-5 formation 53:49 PG: Drilling his players to have discipline on defense 55:36 PG: Dedicating specific time in practice to defending the RPO

The guest on today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast is Geron Stokes, head coach of Minster High School (Ohio). Stokes is in his sixth season coaching the Wildcats. Minster is coming off winning the Ohio Division VII state championship last season. This is Minster’s second state championship in four seasons, as they won in Stokes’ second year at the helm in 2014. In five seasons, Stokes has compiled a 49-19 record as head coach at Minster, including four straight seasons of 10 or more wins. Before coming to Minster, Stokes was the head coach at Urbana High School (Ohio) for four seasons. He held a 29-13 record with Urbana while leading them to three conference titles and two appearances in the Ohio state playoffs. He was also named District Coach of the Year during the 2012 season. Stokes was first hired as a head coach at Urbana, his alma mater, when he was 24 years old. He played quarterback in college and graduated from Wittenberg University in Ohio. On today’s show, Stokes and host Keith Grabowski talk about how he sets up an efficient practice, getting his players to work hard and translating that to results on Friday nights. Show Notes 1:20 Journey into coaching 3:03 How he and his coaching staff looked to improve 5:13 Learning from different coaching staffs 6:34 Building the football program around practice 9:12 Helping the players understand practice 12:49 Creating accountability within the team 15:40 Practice tips learned from other coaches 19:17 Condensing space to help the energy in practice 20:43 Feedback from outside sources evaluating practice 22:57 Being efficient with time and language with your team 25:22 Ways of evaluating their practice 27:13 New drills and techniques for practice this season 29:42 Getting the most out of your scout team 32:05 Gauging the amount of contact used in practices 33:15 Timing of practice and having two-way players 35:10 Translating practices form off-season to in-season 36:58 Allowing time for each period of practice 38:49 Shortening practices as the season goes on 39:58 The Winning Edge

On today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski goes into his coaching notebook to talk about practicing special teams. Specifically, running a whole scrimmage around third down offense, punting and the kicking game. This is a rarely used practice format designed to show the importance of special teams and to practice specific situations the team may see in-game. Grabowski talks about how he first heard the idea of a kicking scrimmage from retired football coach Wally Hood. Since then, Grabowski has implemented the scrimmage format at the high school and college level. Here you can find a list of third down situations, as well as a script used for the kicking scrimmage. “The kicking scrimmage will begin like a normal game, with a kickoff. The goal then, is to establish field position to the point where the offense has a legitimate shot at scoring a touchdown or the field goal team is in range. While offense and defense can be completely eliminated, we have used the kicking scrimmage to work third down situations. Depending on the year and how much work we want to get our offense and defense in this scrimmage, we may add or delete some third down situations, but we start with the following number of repetitions in each third down situation: 3rd & 1 (2); 3rd & 2 (2); 3rd & 3 (4); 3rd & 4 (4); 3rd & 5 (2); 3rd & 6 (6); 3rd & 7 (4); 3rd & 8 (4); 3rd & 12 (2);3rd & 15 (2) We mix the order up as follows: 3rd & 1; 3rd & 15; 3rd & 2; 3rd & 12; 3rd & 3; 3rd & 8; 3rd & 3; 3rd & 8; 3rd & 4; 3rd & 7; 3rd & 5; 3rd & 7; 3rd & 5; 3rd & 6; 3rd & 6; 3rd & 6 Each team is attempting to move the ball down the field with one offensive play. This is where we will utilize the plays we have for our third down package. If the offense converts, then they move to the next third down on the script. However, if the next offensive play results in another first down, the down becomes fourth and ten and part of the kicking game must be executed. Again, the emphasis is on the kicking game, so we do not want the offense on the field for more than two plays in a row.” On today’s show, Grabowski breaks down the kicking scrimmage and how it can help your team win games during the season. Show Notes 0:56 Where he first heard about the kicking scrimmage 2:44 Setting up the scrimmage 4:31 Choosing teams for the scrimmage in a draft format 6:33 Preparing for the kicking scrimmage with specific units 7:36 Getting players to buy-in with an evaluation process 8:41 Making the scrimmage a fun event for the community 10:35 Evolving the format to include more third down plays 12:00 Putting the emphasis on third down execution 13:29 The use of the kicking game in the scrimmage 14:28 Utilizing a half time in the scrimmage 16:10 Practicing the fair catch, free kick and taking a safety

On the Coach and Coordinator podcast is the Home Team series with guest host Joel Nellis. Today’s guest on Home Team is Danny Freund, wide receivers coach at the University of North Dakota. Freund is in his eighth season on the coaching staff and fifth coaching the wide receivers. Previously at UND, Freund coached the quarterbacks in 2013 and running backs from 2011-12. Freund helped UND in 2016 to a Big Sky Championship and their first FCS playoff berth. Before coaching at UND, Freund was the quarterbacks coach at NCAA Division III school Carthage College (Wisconsin). He led their quarterback, Evan Jones, to be all-conference and offensive player of the year. Previously, Freund coached at his high school alma mater, Kenosha St. Joseph High School (Wisconsin), as quarterbacks coach under his father. Freund was a two-year starter at UND and graduated in 2008. His career passing yards and touchdowns numbers rank third on the all-time at UND. On today’s podcast, Freund and host Nellis talk about the lessons he learned from his father being a coach and applying those to being a great husband and father himself while coaching. Show Notes 2:41 Stars of his home team: how he met his wife 3:36 The passions and interests of his wife 6:10 Character traits that make his wife invaluable 7:09 Introducing his kids and their interests 8:51 Working with his wife in starting a coaching career 11:27 Figuring out next steps during a change in the coaching staff 12:52 Carving out time during the season to spend with his wife 14:23 Integrating children in the football program 16:18 Being efficient with the time at the office 17:46 Overcoming struggles in life with coaching 19:08 How his children give him perspective in life 20:17 Learning from his dad on how to balance coaching and parenting 21:57 What advice from his dad in how to start coaching 26:04 His players seeing the commitment he has for his family 28:18 Legacy he is striding for in coaching for his family

This is the weekly recap of this past week’s Coach and Coordinator podcasts! Host Keith Grabowski was joined by two college football coaches, a high school football coach, a quarterback trainer and an expert in sports leadership. On the shows were Eric Treske, John Marinelli, Richmond Flowers, Jeff Janssen and Erik Chinander. Listen in to hear a preview of each show!