HAVE YOU EVER lost a game in overtime due to the fact that your team failed to block a kick? What about failing to reach overtime because your team couldn’t convert a 2-point play? Have you ever lost a lead late in the game because you attempted to change defenses for a certain situation, ended up with 12 men on the field and drew a costly penalty? Ever lose yardage because someone went the wrong way on a blocking assignment on what was a perfect play call for the situation?
These frustrating scenarios are all the result of a lack of coordination and organization in the program. The “coaches in the stands” will always blame the coach on the field when these situations happen. And this is one of the few times the fans have a right to blame the coaches. Most of these mistakes are preventable and all are caused by a failure to plan, organize and prepare to take advantage of any game situation.
Lessons Learned – The Hard Way
It’s hard to look past the big picture sometimes and realize that the little things that happen during games need dedicated practice time
— just like offense, defense and special teams.
A few years back, when I was an assistant coach during a playoff game, our team was trailing by 4 points with less than 1 minute to go in the first half. Our ball carrier was tackled in bounds at the 5-yard line of our opponent. We were out of time-outs and the quarterback failed to spike the ball. The clock ran out as our entire coaching staff was screaming for him to spike the ball. During halftime, the players stated that they “didn’t know what formation to line up in for the spike.” We ended up losing that game by 3 points.
The blame for that playoff loss falls squarely on shoulders of the coaches. We did not prepare our players well enough for last-second, time-management situations and we assumed that they would know what to do. We never practiced it. Of all the games I’ve coached in, that loss has always haunted me. I felt like we failed as a coaching staff. Ever since that game, we go over end-of-half and end-of-game situations in practice weekly, but we still miss other “little things.”
Making Time
In the heat of the game, it’s hard to expect your players to perform a task they’ve only practiced once, twice or not at all. To send in an offensive play with instructions such as “Make sure Danny holds on to the ball!” is not very productive. All coaches have done this, but isn’t it a better idea to give Danny regular repetitions of protecting the ball against strips each week during practice? College teams may have time to work on this sort of thing, but many high school coaches feel that they don’t have the time to spare. Many high school coaches feel that they need every second of practice time to perfect the offense and defense and then use any left over time to dedicate to special teams. This is a dangerous mindset as special situations are just as important.
Being Organized
Making time for special situations takes organization and stems from the head coach, but all the assistants must have a hand in this. The offensive coordinator must build in drills for 3rd-and-long situations, 2-point plays and 2-minute offense drills, accompanied by repetitions of spiking the ball and calling plays quickly at the line.
The defensive coordinator can build in drills to work on stripping the ball, calling defensive sets quickly vs. a hurry-up or no-huddle offense, as well as drills for tackling and keeping a ball carrier inbounds or forcing him out of bounds (for clock-stopping situations). The receiver coach can have his players work on catching the ball, getting as much yardage as possible and getting out of bounds to stop the clock (or catching the ball, getting down quickly and keeping the clock moving). The running back coach can work with his backs on carrying the ball with two hands in crucial stripping situations.
There are many, more special situations you must account for. The following list provides some of the many areas that you must build into your practices:
PATs, Field Goals and Quick Kicks.
PATs, Field-Goal Blocks.
Punts, Punt Blocks.
Punt With Time Running Out.
Field Goals With Time Running Out.
Onside Kick, Hands Team.
2-Minute Offense, Defense.
3rd-and-Long, 4th-and-Long.
Nickel, Dime Defenses.
Kneel-Down, Clock-Killing Formations.
Stealing The Snap, Stripping The Ball.
How To Call A Time Out Quickly.
You must build these items into your practice plans. Remember, each team, each season, and sometimes each week is a blank page.
Wipe the slate clean, start fresh and make sure your players know what to expect. It is your job as a coach. The blame, as well as the credit, does not lie on just the head coach but on the entire coaching staff.