Summary: Matt Hennesy is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Hennesy is the head coach of Locust Grove (Okla.), a program he’s turned around and guided to a 12-win season in 2015. Hennesy is also a U.S. National Team Regional Development Camp director and led the Under-18 National Team to a victory over Canada in the inaugural North American Championship in January. He discusses the unique experience (and challenge) of coaching the National Team, why coaches should never pull out a playbook in an interview and how to achieve success with man coverage when you don’t have elite athletes. Show notes :42 Role as Regional Development Camp director 2:20 What makes USA Football camps unique 3:30 Coaching the US National Team 5:01 Building culture on an all-star team 8:36 How coaches can get involved in USA Football 12:13 High school football in Oklahoma and the areas where Hennesy refuses to compromise 16:49 Evaluating players you inherit in a new program 23:18 The value of "points per possession" metric 24:17 Everyday teaching 25:15 Why DBs need to watch a receiver's hips--not his head or shoulders 26:09 How Odell Beckham and one-handed catches are changing the way Hennesy coaches DBs 27:54 Player pathway 29:47 The winning edge
