A coach’s responsibilities are endless but there are specific priorities he should understand.
The following is the first of a three-part series on the philosophy and strategy of football by Brett Steuerwald. A legendary coach in upstate New York, Coach Steuerwald reflects on 54 years as a coach and 44 as the head coach at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, NY. His overall record was 319-88-4. He received numerous local, state, and national coaching honors and led his team to three state championships. This first article is on being the best coach you can be.
Never Stop Learning
Resource material has never been more abundant or accessible as it is in today’s market. There is a plethora of books, tapes, research studies and, most importantly, coaching clinics that are now available at the national, state, and collegiate level. This was not the case my first year coaching in 1957 until THE Coaching Clinic in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Even after being exposed to the Notre Dame coaches as an undergraduate and graduate student, I vividly remember being awestruck by the presenters at this clinic. They gave out glasses with the names of all the presenters to each participant. To this day, when I go to my den where I have many items representing my life in coaching, I take great pleasure in reminding myself of the wonderful coaches I’ve had the privilege of listening to.
I also had the honor of speaking as a clinician in the 80’s after our team had a string of state championships. In my early years as a head coach, starting in 1968, I tried to take advantage of going to area colleges and talking with the various staffs about specific problems or adjustments that I wanted to make in our offense or defense. I particularly profited from asking how they would adjust to challenges that we had faced against our local opposition. There is always someone out there who can help you do better – never stop learning.
Adapting to Change
I don’t believe I could have been committed to coaching football for 54 years without the challenge of having to adapt to an ever-changing offensive and defensive structure. Unless you have played or studied the game, most people don’t understand or appreciate the diversity and complexity it offers. Each decade there was a hot new offensive concept which resulted in innovative defensive concepts to attempt to control it.
In my tenure, football went from the split “t” to the twin veer, to the wishbone to the wing-t to the I-pro and now to shotgun, one-back sets, empty backfields and inside and outside zone. As a young coach, I liked to watch John McKay and the USC I oriented offense in which they dominated. After I adapted it to our offense, I saw a team that used the Power I as a goal line short yardage formation. We then added that to our offense as both our goal line and a red zone package. It proved so unique and successful that we came to the conclusion we would use it all over the field and, for the next 40 years, it became our identity. The lesson here is to become really good at something and make your opponent adapt to you.
You Cannot Coach Football on Your Own
At Shenendehowa High School, I had the privilege of having extensive longevity on my staff. My first two varsity assistants were with my program for over 30 years. I have told them at the beginning I required two things – loyalty and enthusiasm – and I would teach them everything else as we went forward. I made it clear I would listen to their thoughts and suggestions but without mutual agreement, I would determine the course of action we would commit to. Once done, we would put 100% effort into every phase of coaching.
Maybe a more critical part of staff development is an ongoing evaluation process that includes off-season private discussions and the staff’s ultimate aspirations. As an example, my offense-defensive line coach of 20 plus years met with me about his status. I had asked him on several occasions if he ever wanted to become a head coach.
If he wanted to, he could become my head JV coach. There he would face all the responsibilities he would have to face as a head coach. That is, parent communication, game planning, and dealing with the players on a daily basis. I also said if you make that decision, you need to get out of your comfort zone and coach defensive backs or linebackers and offensive backs and receivers. I emphasized one of the best ways to learn anything is to have to teach it. He totally refused but expressed how dedicated he was to working with his linemen. That has never changed and he is regarded as one of the best line coaches in New York state. A head coach must know the feelings and concerns of his staff, support them and discuss any concerns they may express.
Practice Planning Is Essential - If it is Not Written Down, It Won’t Happen.
Nothing affects your chance of success more dramatically than practice planning. All phases of the game must be addressed and given appropriate time allowances and pre-analysis. There are circumstances when there are adjustments to be made each week depending on the status of players, opponents’ structure and personnel. Film analysis, injuries and new innovations may change some time allotments but never forget you can’t skip any critical parts of each phase. Your total plan is dependent on staff availability and flexibility. Shenendehowa is one of the largest schools in upstate New York with a graduating class of over 700. We are a four level program with a varsity, junior varsity, freshman and junior high teams. We have well over 250 kids try out for the four teams. Our staff includes four varsity coaches, three JV, three freshmen, and four junior high coaches.
This comes with dealing with the most onerous part of my 44 years at the high school – the need to cut kids that want to play but can’t be kept because squads must be limited to reasonable levels. It is a horrendous dichotomy to sell the virtues and rewards of this great game and tell 15 to 20 players they can’t be part of the squad.
I have never posted a final roster list in my entire career. I meet with all the kids being cut and I asked them if they felt they had a fair chance to be evaluated and would they like to serve as a manager or statistician and then try out the next year. When we have a post season evaluation with all juniors, I warn a borderline player he may have to face a cut as a senior unless quality improvement is gained in our off-season developmental program. The bottom line is we will not carry a squad of more than 45 players on our varsity and also JV, 50 on the freshman team and 60 on the junior high squad.
All four of our varsity coaches have both offensive and defensive responsibilities all season long. Special teams are shared by all with different coaches in charge of various stages. Weekly structure during the season is as follows:
MONDAY: An offensive day. After team stretches and running warm-ups, the following time frames are followed:
1. 20-minute offensive periods with position coaches - QB and receivers, running backs, and the offensive line.
2. 20-minutes of group work. The offensive line separates, QBs split time between receivers and backs and then switch half way while working on both running and pass plays.
3. Another 20-minute period - half of the QBs work with the running backs and line and half with the receivers with focus on both patterns and blocking skills.
4. 40-minute team offensive period with an emphasis on new installation and all phases of team offense vs. our opponents’ expected defensive adjustments.
5. Final 20-minute period – devoted to team defense vs. a scripted offense by our opponent with emphasis on both their best plays and their most dangerous plays.
TUESDAY: A defensive day opposite of Monday’s offensive time frames with the transition to 20-minute defensive drills.
WEDNESDAY: Team offense with a scripted mix of running and passing plays. Also, a defensive period with the opponent’s best scripted offensive plays. We also practice special team drills in all phases. Finally, we practice situation drills for 10 minutes each – third downs, red zone, and goal line situations.
THURSDAY: Uppers only. Walk through situations in reviewing both offense and defense. All special team situations are also reviewed. Practice planning is controlled by the cooperative effort of all coaches. It includes several pre-practice film sessions with focus on either the offense of our opponent or their defensive tendencies.
Setting Standards
It is an imperative to establish well-defined goals and expectations for players and coaches alike. Not only must you set them, you must define and monitor programs and compliance. These standards must also be defined beyond football to include academics and social behavior and literally all phases of their lives. We tell our players, after cuts, that when we give them their green jersey that they understand, in school and in the community, they no longer represent just themselves. They now represent their coaches, team, school, family and community. They are now part of a much bigger picture with greater responsibility.
Every player is required to sign a Football Training Pledge with our expectations outlined and co-signed by the player and parent. In support we have a “10th Period” in a 9 period school day. This is an assignment to one of my assistant coaches. He goes to both the guidance office and the dean’s office to check on player attendance, reports of discipline, and academic issues. If a player is having a problem in class, he is encouraged to meet with that teacher for extra help. He must then bring a note from the teacher verifying his leaving time and be on the field in 15 minutes. Progressive penalties are defined and enforced for any and all violations.
After coaching in seven different decades, I am frequently asked “Have kids changed much since I began coaching in the 50’s?” I respond that kids haven’t changed nearly as fast and as much as living in today’s technological society. Athletes are definitely bigger, faster, and stronger and exposed to a myriad of new developmental programs and skills. Mores and standards of society are exceedingly different. Coaches must be aware of how difficult this is for their players to consistently make proper decisions in this fast-paced modern world. They face many tough choices in life - help them to choose wisely.
Master Today’s Technology
I do not believe that any football coach can hope to be successful without the mastery of all the many wonderful tools at his disposal. They can help analyze, teach and share the latest and best in football. When I first started in 1957, just out of Notre Dame, we did film all our own games but it was unethical at that time to film an opponent. We did exchange rosters with starters designated but for player analysis and offensive and defensive structure, you had to have your assistant coaches travel, script and scout to the extent possible information could help in game planning. We also had the previous year’s game films to help the scouting and preparation process.
The next step was the movement from 8mm to super 8 and then 16mm film with the ability to cut, splice and make training films. The greatest advance came when videotape technology allowed replication as well as sharing tape with opponents. The toughest part with that was the replay technology wasn’t up to date. As that improved, we could use the films to scout the way we did in 1957. A major step forward was the advent of DVD technology with easier replication and more advanced replay analysis. The next step - what I thought would be the ultimate game analysis - was called the Landro. It was a machine that allowed me to script my opponents’ films in which our league required a two-game exchange.
For example, I could then label plays offense, defense, first down, second down, third and short, third and medium, third and long, and red zone plays. When transferred to separate DVD’s we could use them through the week for pre-game analysis. This tremendously impacted our game preparation. I must add that I had a devoted friend and staff member that filmed for me for more than 35 years. I wish I had had that same quality film from my opponents as I gave to them. Finally, the year I retired my long time assistant and new head coach requested my help in switching to HUDL which has the ability to stream on computer to other coaches, parents, opponents and players.
Create an Identity
Opposing coaches, when preparing for Shen, had to get ready for an in-your-face power running game. We would mix that with play-action passes, counters and ultimately other offensive looks to cause a little confusion. Offensively, it was always my goal to make things as simple for my team as possible and as complex for our opponent as possible. We did as many motion shifts, line splits and overloads as we could master without confusion. In effect, it created an offensive look that our opponents would tell me were a pain and challenge to prep for.
In my later years, we installed what we called the Tiger offense which was a two-tight, 6-inch line split, mixing power, counter and play-action passes that further complicated the issue. We also put in a one-back set with trips, quads, and no-backs. It truly stressed our opponents’ preparation to handle that as well as the power game. I had installed it originally to teach our defense how to handle it but found we did it well enough to make it part of our attack. However, we never lost our identity as an in-your-face power attack.
Teach Concept With the Whole Part a Learning Experience
I have always loved the concept of big picture understanding and then breaking it down into its parts as it affects each player. I would reiterate frequently that knowledge is power and that the more you understand what makes each play a success or not, the better you contribute to it.
At the beginning of the season we would install a play in a series. I would take the entire offensive group and line them up against what we might guess is a common defensive adjustment. I would then walk them through the play pointing out where the primary blocks would be necessary. I would then show adjustments or stunts that might occur to alter the original plan. Much emphasis was put on schemes of attack based on our gap control, uncovered linemen, and cutback potential. In any case, backs needed to know where the strongest blocks were and learn how to follow lead blocks on outside moves. Pass offense is successful when patterns, drops or play-action are timed properly. Cuts should create separation and balls should be in the air at that moment and not after isolation is seen. Pre-snap reads and film study of opponents contribute greatly to overall success.
Defensive concepts taught must include gap control, primary contain, and backside pursuit for linemen. Linebackers and secondary must understand triangulation with ultimate contain, alley fill and deep support. When flow is away from you, who has cutback and who has deep escape responsibility? You must consistently practice full team pursuit against all forms of attack. Intelligent response to the challenges of football can help greatly to overcome any degree of talent you may face.
Let the wonderful challenge of the game’s diversity, complexity, and unending demand for your ever-improving efforts be the source of the pride and satisfaction for you that I felt for 54 seasons.