GETTING THE RIGHT personnel on the field and quickly calling the right play for a situation requires great organization from the coaching staff. Game adjustments are always necessary, and a coach who is prepared with well thought-out ideas and checklists can make the important game decisions far easier on himself and his team.
Two forms to assist coaches in their offensive plans are described below. Both are excerpts from the 27-form “Offensive Game Management” chapter in the all-new book, Football Forms For The Winning Coach from Gridiron Strategies.
Expected Defensive Front Form
During the frenzy of a game, you can often receive conflicting information about what is actually happening. The form at right was developed to verify that the defense is playing the same way that you anticipated when you prepared the offensive game plan. If the defense is doing something else on the field, your game plan needs correcting.
In the “Expected Defensive Front & Technique Form” (the example here is for a 5-2 Monster defense), the left-hand portion of the chart is the technique observed during scouting and was filled out before the game. Meanwhile, the right-hand portion of this form is completed during the game by coaches in the booth.
This form helps the coaches in the booth focus on the precise information needed to make sound adjustment decisions. As an example, let’s say your scouting report indicated that the linebacker will drop-hook to a curl in the 5-2 base defense. During the game, however, the LB might be blitzing on every passing down when in this defense. By noting the variances from the expected-to-actual results, an unanticipated defensive technique is clearly revealed. By seeing this discrepancy, you can quickly can make adjustments to protection schemes, change to a 3-step passing game or send a receiver into the vacated area.
This form also verifies that your scouting was accurate.
OFFENSIVE GAME-PLAN FORM
Another form useful in attacking an opponent’s weaknesses is the “Offensive Game-Plan Form” shown at right. It can be easily adapted to any team’s offensive scheme. It takes some time to properly complete before the first game, but becomes easier as many plays remain the best option for a certain situation, regardless of the opponent.
The circled number next to the play represents the wristband code for that play. Since our team calls plays by a number system, the play is easily sent to the huddle once the decision is made by the coach.
These forms and explanation summaries were adapted from Football Forms For The Winning Coach, an all-new book from Gridiron Strategies. Compiled by Hank Schrader throughout his coaching career, this book — featuring hundreds of program-tested forms — prepares you with a photocopy-friendly form for virtually every practice-, game- and analytical-situation you’ll face as a coach. To order this book, call (800) 645-8455 or (262) 782-4480.