Usa Football Coach And Coordinator Podcast

Coaches who plan ahead and gradually introduce necessary adjustments equip their defenses to handle all situations and offensive schemes. By borrowing techniques from offensive play calling and constantly adding new elements, you can also create a dynamic defense that keeps opponents on their toes. In this episode, our guests share how they keep their defenses adaptable and unpredictable by building off what they have already done, while planning ahead and creating a toolbox of answers. Their advice for handling the what-if scenarios and planning slightly ahead of your schedule will pay off in late-season, must-win situations. Coaches Featured in This Episode: Eric Kasperowicz, Head Coach, Mars High School (PA) Branden Jakubcin, Defensive Coordinator, Heidelberg University John Rice, Defensive Coordinator, San Jacinto High School (CA) Show Notes: Eric Kasperowicz Adopt a Similar Approach to Offensive Play Calling Package Plays Together Group Related Defensive Calls That Complement Each Other Build W

As we have talked about all season long, self-scouting plays a crucial role in understanding the team's strengths, identifying effective plays, and gaining an advantage over opposing defenses. The late season isn’t the time for something new. It’s the time for what has been the best for you. In this episode, three offensive coordinators from the high school, college, and pro levels focus on what goes into the game plan and how it is worked in during the later weeks of the season. As these coaches point out, knowing your strengths and weaknesses, what you know about the opponent, and being creative and methodical about how you present concepts in the late season helps create a winning formula. Coaches Featured in This Episode: Kyle Ohradzansky, Offensive Coordinator, University of Findlay Jay Wilkinson, Offensive Coordinator, Fayetteville High School (AR) John Tomlinson, Offensive Coordinator, USFL Show Notes: Kyle Ohradzansky Finding Ways to Work New Plays into the Offensive Plan The Importance of Cre

As the season progresses, the talent or skill of a team does not solely determine success. Championship teams often maintain their health throughout the season and continuously improve their performance. As coaches, we play critical roles in ensuring our players remain in optimal condition. As we head into the later part of the season, strategic practice management becomes paramount. In this episode, three coaches delve into the importance of balancing practice intensity and recovery, cutting practice time, and utilizing technology to monitor player workload. Coaches Featured in This Episode: Matt Drinkall, Co-Offensive Coordinator and OL Coach, Army Pete Shinnick, Head Coach, Towson University Kirk Fridrich, Head Coach, Union High School (OK) Show Notes: Matt Drinkall Importance of Health and Improvement Practice Schedule and Schematic Changes Maximizing Recovery and Player Health Balancing Practice and Game Time for Players Pete Shinnick Cutting Time and Keeping the Team Fresh Trimming Practic

Jaime Elizondo joins us again on the podcast. Elizondo has coached at both the college and professional levels, most recently serving as offensive coordinator for the XFL San Antonio Brahmas in the 2022 and 2023 seasons after serving as head coach of the CFL Edmonton Elks in 2021. In this episode, Coach Elizondo provides a wealth of great ideas from his 20-plus year career that are helpful to coaches today as we get later into this season. Show Notes: The Balance of Physical and Mental Keeping Players Fresh How Much Hitting Do We Need to Do? You Can’t Cut the Fundamentals Looking at Adjusting Team and Group Conscious of Play Count Team Run-Play Action Buffalo Bills Two-Minute Jog-Through Different Practice Plans Week-to-Week Being Prescriptive in the Practice Plan What Is the Day to Take the Load Off? Wrinkles and Tendencies Building Complements Importance of Self-Scout Look at Base Offense How Can We Run the Same Plays from a Reduced Split? How Does It Fit What We Already Do? Ken Dorsey’s

Communication becomes even more critical as we get into the second half of the season. It keeps our players focused as well as properly manages the mental-emotional side of the game. In this episode, three coaches share approaches for clear and strong communication with players to have a positive impact on the remainder of the season. Coaches Featured in This Episode: John Tomlinson, Offensive Coordinator, USFL Mike Judy, Head Coach and Four-Time Delaware State Champion, Smyrna High School Brendan Walsh, Offensive Line Coach, Colgate University Show Notes: Honesty Repetition of the Message Useful Communication for Coaches Who Have Limited Time with Players Positive Communication for Players Different Approaches with Older Players Versus Younger Players Related Episodes: Creating a QB-Friendly Offense Developing a Passing Attack for a Young QB Additional Resources: Brendan Walsh: Going Downhill: GT Counter and Other Variations OL Fundamentals in Gap Schemes John Tomlinson: Building a Passing Atta

When coaches think of player workload, we often focus on skill players and the amount of running they are doing. But we also need to be aware of workload in the context of linemen and the amount of contact they are experiencing over the course of the season. We must also effectively adjust what those players do to keep them performing at their best every week. Ultimately, the healthiest teams have the strongest finishes. Coaches must pay attention to practice loads, rep distributions, and even the drills we run in the second half of the season to keep our teams sharp and ready for game day. In this episode, three line coaches, two on offense and one on defense, discuss how they maintain peak performance for their guys in the trenches during the season. They share methodologies for rotations in practice and in games. These approaches apply to all levels and not only have a positive impact on the physical side of the game for players but also the mental and motivational sides as well. Coaches Featured in This

In this episode, three coaches give us their approaches to adjustments to their defensive units. These mid-season evaluations are crucial to remaining on the right track or getting back on the right track when necessary. Each coach gives unique insight into how he views the successes and challenges a defense faces and how to continue to coach the unit throughout the season. Coaches Featured in This Episode: Eric Kasperowicz, Head Coach, Mars High School (PA) Shane Dierking, Defensive Coordinator, North Central College Ty Gower, Defensive Coordinator, Princeton High School (TX) Show Notes: Eric Kasperowicz Success Indicators Point Per Series Areas of Weakness Asking Yourself the Right Questions Making Adjustments  Get an Outsider's View Shane Dierking Finding Your Identity Weekly Goals as Motivation Focus on the Now But See the Bigger Picture Presenting the Results to the Defense Ty Gower Approach to Mid-Season Adjustments  Looking at the Impact of Injuries Self-Scout Focus on Getting B

In this episode, AJ Smith, offensive coordinator for the Houston Roughnecks, helps us keep our call sheets and game plans simple, while continuing to evolve as coaches. Show Notes: Keeping It Simple Process for Adding/Deleting Have More Things That Beat Everything If You Didn’t Use It in a Week, Retrain It Be Disciplined to Not Add Too Much 80% of Your Game Plan Should Be Stuff You Have Been Doing Since Camp Put New Things in the Openers The Conversion Rate of Two-Pointer Take Weeks to Develop a Concept Building Confidence Trying to Replicate Plays from Twitter Developing Your Style Building and Adjusting While Staying True to Style Stay on the Cutting-Edge at the High School Level Additional Episodes with AJ Smith: OC Office Hour The Most Important Components of Offense Related Resources: Official Air Raid Certification Air Raid Blog 2023 National Air Raid Convention 2023 Official Air Raid Masters Follow All We Are Doing: Visit CoachandCoordinator.com to listen to the entire library of epi

As your team gets to the middle part of the season, it is important to be in tune with what your players are feeling physically as the reps of the season begin to take their toll. Today, coaches have access to all kinds of technology to help be in sync with our players. These tools allow us to better understand what reps to give players in practice, how to scale back, and how to push them when necessary. In this episode, two coaches share their philosophies and approaches to keeping their teams healthy and performing optimally as the season rolls on. Coaches Featured in This Episode: Cris Reisert, Head Coach, Tiffin University Chris Softley, Head Coach, Lubbock Christian School Show Notes: Recovery Workouts Everyone Practices/Suits Up Practice Plans Lifting Plans Game Day Lifts Know Their Fatigue Meters Visit CoachandCoordinator.com to listen to the entire library of episodes in The Season. Follow us on Twitter/X @CoachKGrabowski. Sign-up for our weekly newsletter. Learn more about your ad choice

The mid-season self-scout provides insight into the calls we move forward with as well as what we need to do to keep our culture at the heart of our team’s performance. In this episode, two coaches put together these two aspects of your team’s performance to this point in the season, providing actionable data to optimize your chances for success in the second half of the season. Coaches Featured in This Episode: Dante Bartee, Analyst, University of Oregon Morgan Scalley, Defensive Coordinator, University of Utah Show Notes: A Methodical Approach to Self-Scouting How Plans Have Worked So Far Where to Go Next Four Aspects of the Data Self-Scouting Culture RSNB: Relentless, Smart, Nasty, Ballhawks Visit CoachandCoordinator.com to listen to the entire library of episodes in The Season. Follow us on Twitter/X @CoachKGrabowski. Sign-up for our weekly newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mid season is definitely a time to keep a focus on developing fundamentals and football IQ for how those fundamentals are applied within the context of the game. In this episode, we talk with three coaches about how they use competition and accountability to keep their teams engaged, as well as what is emphasized in meetings, practice periods, and drills to accomplish that end. Each coach shares an idea on how they keep their teams focused so that execution on game day is as sharp as possible. These ideas can provide great value to your team here in the mid season. Coaches Featured in This Episode: Eric Marty, Offensive Coordinator, Michigan Panthers Scotty Walden, Head Coach, Austin Peay State University Tommy Zagorski, Head Coach, Otterbein University Show Notes: Unit or Team Video Quizzes For The Brand (FTB) Situational Competitions Developing EDD with Situational Focus Visit CoachandCoordinator.com to listen to the entire library of episodes in The Season. Follow us on Twitter/X @CoachKGrab

The self-scout is an invaluable tool for any offensive coordinator. It involves a thorough analysis of one's own team's offensive tendencies and performance. It helps you identify patterns in your play calling and maximizes your strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, self-scouting promotes adaptability and unpredictability, key elements in outsmarting opposing defenses. It provides a roadmap for improvement, making us more versatile and better equipped to win by constantly evolving and staying one step ahead of the competition. That’s what we will be discussing with James Vint today. We take a look at simple ways to look at the data that are efficient with your time yet produce actionable information to put your offensive in a position to win. The actionable part is the wrinkles and adjustments that you strategically implement as the season rolls on. We cover all of that with Coach Vint. Show Notes: Importance of the self-scout Don’t be out-coached How to think about tendencies Setting up tendencies Th

When we hit the middle of the season one aspect to pay attention to is the mental and emotional state of our team. To this point in the season, there’s a range of successes or failures a team may have experienced. Things may be 100% on track for your goals as a team for the season, or the goals your team was focused on may be out of their control. This is something that my coaching staff and I had to deal with at one of the high school programs I was leading. We hit the midpoint of the season expecting to be doing much better than we did. We hit adversity early and struggled. In our first game, we lost to a team that I scheduled because I knew it would be a challenge and we were looking to push our program forward with a stronger schedule. We won two games then lost a tight game and a double overtime game to two of the tougher opponents in our conference, so we sat at the midpoint with a conference championship and the playoffs out of our control.   We could see emotionally that our team was drained after a

On today’s episode, we take a look at mid-season measurements of offensive success plus ideas on how to keep an offense evolving as the season continues. Joining us to discuss these topics are three offensive coordinators North Dakota State’s Tyler Roehl, Fayetteville High School’s Jay Wilkinson, and University of Fundlay’s Kyle Ohradzansky. They talk about key metrics that show them how they are doing, making sense of what is working and what isn’t, and what to do with that information to keep their offenses progressing. Tyler Roehl The rule of 50  Developing personnel and skill sets  Evolving and improving Jay Wilkinson Key metrics following week three  Understanding what to focus on moving forward   Playing complementary football Kyle Ohradzansky Relying on what they do best and what the players understand Embrace their identity but add a twist  Importance of consistency for the offensive line   Related Episodes: Tyler Roehl: Making the Fullback Great Again Utilizing the TE and FB in the P

This season is flying by! For many high schools around the country, this is week 5 - the midpoint of the season. While it is always time to adjust, the midpoint is certainly a milestone to measure where your team is, the development of your players and depth, and be sure you have covered aspects of the game and season that may come up later if they have not already. Today we talk to coaches from multiple levels about how they view this part of the season and the things they are focused on to be sure the last half of the season goes well. We are joined by Dan Carrel, Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach at Coastal Carolina, Michael Toerpr head coach at Ithaca College, and Steve Steele, head coach of the 6-peat state champion Riggs HS in South Dakota as they share their ideas on evaluating team progress and moving the team forward. Dan Carrel Develop the down-the-line guys Fix issues that hurt you earlier Michael Toerper Develop depth Create competition Work talented younger players in Ste

Today’s guest is John Weaver, the associate athletic director, wide receivers coach, and interim offensive coordinator at Madison Ridgeland Academy. He has taken on the role of offensive coordinator for the beginning of the season and has been tasked with creating the identity of their offense which he built upon going extremely fast. Through the first three games of the season, their “hammer down” tempo has produced 507 yards per game and 51 points per game.   We talk about the keys to establishing an uptempo offense, play-calling considerations to create a rhythm, practice methodology, and player workload. This episode is full of great tips to help you improve your tempo as we progress through the season. Show Notes: Things that built an identity for MRA early in the season Hurry up to go fast Get into a rhythm The quarterback is the straw that stirs the drink  Let QB feel the flow of the game Plays to establish rhythm Thinking about openers What does the QB like? Andrew Coverdale, Tom Lombardo,

Over the course of our Season series, we have heard again and again about the importance of fundamentals from coaches at every level. Today we put the focus back on the fundamentals of tackling with our in-house tackling expert Fordham University assistant coach Vince DiGaetano. Coach Dig joined us during camp to talk about tackling situations that are difficult to work on in practice but are important to prepare for in the game. It’s worth going back to those ideas. Today the focus is on improving tackling early season and coach Digaetano shares insight he has gained from his study of tackling. He gives suggestions that you can implement in your program to help improve this important fundamental. Show Notes: Staying with the same tackling circuit Grading practice tackling drills Entry point - square to the ball Put a shell around the ball What statistics show Keep circuits the same but use mini-circuits More reps for the two deep and for young kids Hoop tackle drill Back end - working those that

 In the early season, we deal with fine-tuning our schemes with a challenge being the fact that we may know very little about the opponent. Sure we can do our research on what they do, and the schemes they rely on but like our own teams there are new pieces to the puzzle that are being tested to see how they fit.   Today we look at two approaches to handling the early season and think about how much can we do early, and then how we handle the imperfections of our schemes and the players executing them especially as they are continuing to learn and fine-tune their performance. Our guests today are Steve Steele, Head Coach of 6x state champions RIggs HS in South Dakota, USFL Michigan Panthers Offensive Coordinator Eric Marty, and USFL Offensive Coordinator John Tomlinson. They share their insight on handling the early season progression of offense. Steve Steele, Head Coach, Riggs HS A contrarian view of how much early Keeping the focus on us Using learning as a way to avoid distraction and ease pressure

As we move through the early season, understanding how we continue to evolve and build around what we established in camp can be a challenge. We have to ask ourselves how much more can this team handle. Are they ready for the next step in the progression? How much do we know about this opponent that we can adjust to or add a wrinkle for? While we will have some data to work off of in the early weeks, we need to remember that the opponent is going through that early season evolution as well. As you will hear today, it goes back to the teaching methods we used in camp and the fundamentals that we established a few weeks back even though it seems like a distant memory as the urgency of the season hits. Today we will hear from Utah Defensive Coordinator Morgan Scalley, Heidelberg University Defensive Coordinator Branden Jakubcin, High School Defensive Coordinator John Rice, and the Defensive Coordinator of the defending D3 National Champion North Central College Shane Dierking. They give us insight into the a

In this special edition of Coach and Coordinator Podcast, we gain perspective on the season from United States Army Colonel JR West. Colonel West brings the unique perspective of serving as a leader in the Army, coaching for ten seasons, and having played for Army West Point. We discuss different aspects of the season with insight into how fundamentals and communication, whether in football, the military, or life, will always lead to a win. Show Notes: Why Coaching Matters The Purpose of Creating Go Army Edge Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals Investing in Individuals Communication After Action Reports For more information on Go Army Edge, visit www.GoArmyEdge.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices