Coach and Coordinator Podcast

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s focus will be on how to handle distractions that occur during the season. 1:08 Dealing with the media 4:45 Setting media rules for players 6:04 Initiating contact with the media 8:28 Handling Homecoming week events 13:41 Rivalry games 17:58 What to do when a key player gets injured

Ohio high school football coaching veteran Mark Solis is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Now the head coach at Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio, Solis sits down with host Keith Grabowski to discuss maintaining a work-life balance for his coaching staff. He also breaks down his philosophy behind building a Football Operations team. Show notes :50 Weight room philosophy during the season 3:32 Giving the coaching staff weekends off 7:13 Continuity is important in building a successful program 9:12 Building a football operations team 16:07 The winning edge

George Penree, the defensive coordinator at the College of St. Scholastica (Duluth, Minnesota), is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. In the podcast, he breaks down the game-planning process. He offers insight into scripting, scouting opponents and base install. Show notes 1:06 How Penree begins game-planning 6:38 Critical things to look at when building the game plan 9:44 Scouting the opponent 12:01 Getting reps in before the game 14:15 Evolution of the offense throughout the season 16:47 Finding balance during the season 19:45 The winning edge

The “Movement Myagi,” Shawn Myszka joins Keith Grabowski on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast for a weekly segment highlighting an NFL play of the week from a functional movement perspective. Shawn discusses the play from a perspective of what movements the player performed and then extracts and gives tips for coaches to allow them to make their players better in game situations. Keith adds the football coach’s perspective in how those suggestions fit into practice. Show notes 0:54 Why Myszka selected Kelce’s play 1:40 Myszka describes the play 2:48 How Alex Smith’s composure helped set up the play 3:30 How the play put defenders out of position 4:05 How Kelce eluded the last defender en route to the end zone 4:50 How coaches can apply what Kelce did to their own players 5:30 Kelce used his movement skills and athleticism 6:45 How plyometrics can help athletes do what Kelce did 7:45 Allowing dynamic players permission to use their abilities 11:10 How to work such plays into practice without contact

In this special edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast, Keith Grabowski and Dr. Joe Eisenmann join Dr. Peter Cummings, a neuropathologist and assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology at Boston University. He gained attention this week when Yahoo Sports published his article, “I’m a brain scientist and I let my son play football.” They talk about the article and how best to understand and react to the news about football and CTE. Show notes 1:55 Dr. Cummings’ background as a neuropathologist 3:29 Why Dr. Cummings believes the headlines are ahead of the science in the football/CTE discussion 7:09 How to properly understand and interpret available data 12:08 Why modern practicing and teaching methods are so important 16:38 What coaches should tell parents who come to them with safety concerns 20:29 What research still needs to happen before achieving scientific consensus

Anna Turner joins Keith Grabowski on today’s High Performance edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. 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. In the podcast, she breaks down nutrition for football players. Show notes 1:22 Keys for fueling the body 2:15 Breaking down an athlete’s plate 6:10 The game-day meal 9:40 Foods to help inflammation 14:08 Energy supplements 17:36 Research vitamins and supplements before taking them 18:57 3 recommendations for coaches on nutrition

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. Kight, the CEO of Focus 3, discusses trust in today’s podcast. 2:24 Football and coaching are commodities 4:16 Why does trust matter? 6:37 Coaches need to build trust to push players 8:26 Operating out of compliance 11:21 Titles don’t earn trust 15:05 Trust creates honest conversations 16:33 Trust comes from character, competence, and connection 21:04 Every behavior delivers an experience that increases or decreases trust 26:20 Years of experience does not matter 31:15 Identify your character 32:17 Attitudes, actions and words 36:03 When stakes are high, trust is more important

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. Today’s focus will be “next man up,” 1:15 How to get quarterbacks ready to step-in 4:46 Ideas for how many plays the backup quarterbacks need to know 7:07 Regularly inserting the backup QB into games 8:52 The evolution of the “wildcat” 12:02 Rotating players to let them rest 13:43 Increasing practice reps 16:12 Using virtual reality and simulations to get mental reps 18:14 Practice 2-minute drills with backups 20:19 Coaching staff needs to help raise team morale and confidence

Today's guest is Eric Kasperowicz, the head coach of Pine-Richland High School (Gibsonia, Pa.), a top program in western Pennsylvania. He joins the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast to discuss game preparation, in-season training and refueling. Show notes 1:04 What to do in the offseason to prepare for the season 3:32 Breaking down the weekly practice schedule 7:31 Providing food for the players develops a family atmosphere 8:12 Developing a game plan with the whole staff 10:17 How to keep the staff fresh during the season 13:21 Weight room plans during the season 15:41 Breaking down the weekly weight room workouts 16:48 Lifting and conditioning after a game 18:43 Philosophy for refueling players

Erik Korem joins Keith Grabowski and Joe Eisenmann on this High-Performance edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Korem is the Director of Sports Science with the Houston Texans. In the podcast, he discusses all things related to sports and sleep.   Show notes 1:03   Why Korem studies sleep 2:23   Sleep recommendation for athletes 4:34   Implications for early morning workouts 6:14   How coaches can monitor their athletes’ sleep habits 8:38   Helping athletes with rest before and after a game 11:03   Coaches need rest, too 12:25   Strategies coaches can pass on to their athletes in regards to sleep

Craig Candeto joins today’s USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Candeto is a former quarterback under Paul Johnson at Navy and a former Navy lieutenant fighter pilot. He now works as the quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech. Show notes :58 Tendencies and wrinkles as a triple option coach 4:21 High School coaches are more likely to take risks 5:24 How player safety has changed practice 7:33 “Don’t be afraid to slow it down” 9:15 Giving your players an advantage in practice 12:04 How to maintain and build culture during the season 14:16 What position coaches can do to support the head coach 16:52 Talking to players is key in finding the leaders of the team 21:06 The winning edge

The “Movement Myagi,” Shawn Myszka joins Keith Grabowski on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast for a weekly segment highlighting an NFL play of the week from a functional movement perspective. Shawn discusses the play from a perspective of what movements the player performed and then extracts and gives tips for coaches to allow them to make their players better in game situations. Keith adds the football coach’s perspective in how those suggestions fit into practice. Show Notes: :24 Explanation of what will be shared in this weekly segment during the 2017 season. 1:01 Movement is the key tenet of what happens on the field. 1:41 Play of the week doesn’t necessarily follow the play diagram as it is drawn 2:14 Chicago Bears, Tarik Cohen - a player who wasn’t mentioned much during draft time discussions 2:45 Premises assisting in understanding the play of the week 3:58 Explanation of the play - 2nd quarter 3:55 to go, 2nd and 7 5:19 Affordance for action 6:01 Step by step break down 6:12 What can we learn from Cohen’s performance to create “human joystick-like” behavior? 6:37 The ability to adapt and problem solve 7:24 Setting up a problem and allowing players to solve it in authentic ways 7:57 Ways to teach this as coaches 9:07 It’s all about adapting 9:24 Getting it done in a high school practice Connect with Shawn Myszka on Twitter @movementmyagi and see his breakdown at https://footballbeyondthestats.wordpress.com/

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. Kight, the CEO of Focus 3, discusses building connections in today’s podcast. 1:17 Breaking down the word “connection” 4:32 Relationships are built around 3 things 7:50 Players want to know if coaches care about them 9:34 Difference between foundation and function 13:33 Surface level concerns coaches need to understand 14:52 Acknowledging players for who they are 17:22 Learn how to use SnapChat 19:41 When authority exceeds influence, problems occur 24:05 4 things that make the connection 29:09 Invest a week into caring and listening 32:17 Taking ownership of your attitude

Adding a wrinkle Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins. 1:13 What to look for in the self scout 2:20 When it’s OK to break your tendencies 4:20 Looking at your game schedule to decide when to add a wrinkle 7:15 Focusing on what you do best when adding personnel 11:15 Adding screen concepts 14:24 Making sure the QB understands the wrinkle 16:56 Don’t add a wrinkle if safeties can’t adjust 18:35 Using movement to add a wrinkle 23:28 How to game plan movement 25:30 Main things to look at when adding a wrinkle midseason

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Grant Caserta. Caserta is the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Husson University (Maine). He was a finalist for Football Scoop’s Division III Coordinator of the Year following a 2016 season in which his defense held opponents to under 200 yards per game. He dives into designing game plans, prepping scout teams and game day communication. Show notes :52 Assigning the coaching staff tasks for game-day 2:34 Using film throughout the season 3:46 Designing practice to look like the game plan 5:10 Preparing the scout team to mimic the opponent 7:01 How freshmen and JV teams work into the program 9:25 Rotating between offense and defense in practice 11:45 Staying close to base 12:33 How Caserta responds to scripted plays 14:20 Procedure for in-game communication 16:32 How players communicate during the game 18:24 Husson’s favorite defensive call 19:45 The winning edge