Defining Principles Deserve Boldness
WITH THE PLAYOFFS now in sight, it’s constantly gut-check time on the sidelines and up in the coaching booths. Prior to every snap, a coach is making…
Topic
The 50-Yard Line
37 articles
What Do You Look For In An Assistant?
NO MATTER THE level of competition, running a football team is an arduous task, to say the least. Running a successful program is an impossibility wi…
Special Teams Require Special Attention
RICK KELM, head coach at Wisconsin’s state-champion Ripon High School, is a big special teams proponent. The 2003 state coach-of-the-year makes his c…
All Things Being Equal — Go With Character
WAY BACK WHEN we first launched this publication — and prior to either of his two Super Bowl championships — I asked Bill Belichick for his No. 1 pie…
Off-Season Is Critical Strategizing Time
YOU’VE PACKED up the tackling dummies, sent the helmets out for reconditioning and begged for more dollars for your weightroom. Now that you have tim…
Keys To Capturing The Neutral Zone
THE PRIORITY UNIT on your team should be the offensive line, according to Bob Ladouceur. The head coach at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif.…
Big Concerns Are Head, Neck Injuries
WHILE THERE ARE many ways for football players to become injured, the biggest risks come with head and neck injuries. The key to avoiding as many of…
Agility Training Is A Must For Players
WHILE YOUR PLAYERS perform their usual preseason sprint work and weightlifting, Brian Dessart says that it’s critical not to overlook agility trainin…
Avoid Doing Too Much Too Soon
AS YOU GO OVER individual summer workout programs with your players and prepare for the start of two-a-day practices, caution everyone about how heat…
Player Relations Key To Success
MACK BROWN, THE head football coach at the University of Texas, has been successful wherever he’s coached. He attributes this success to consistently…
Track All Those Blockbuster Hits
WHEN IT COMES to offensive line play, nothing’s more important than how your players finish the job. The ultimate goal of every offensive lineman sho…
“Little Things” Create Big-Time Punt Returns
IF YOUR TEAM’S been struggling on punt returns, it’s probably not due to having a bad special team philosophy or poorly designed return schemes. It’s…
On Fourth And Four, Run, Pass For More
IF ECONOMIST David Romer was coaching, we’d see more running and passing plays on fourth down and fewer kicks. While listening to an Oakland Raiders…
Don’t Forget Who Helps Your Program
AS HE WAS LEAVING the field after losing his first game as a head coach 30 years ago, Bob MacDougall saw something strange. Some fans from the stands…
Watch Out For Heat, Humidity Concerns
AS YOU START mapping out plans for two-a-day practices later this summer, make sure that you consider the serious impact heat and humidity can have o…
Use Gimmick Plays To Liven Up Your Practices
EVERY TEAM NEEDS a few gimmick plays in their arsenal that they can pull out from time to time to surprise an opponent and keep their offense from ge…
Concussion Awareness Is Critical
ON SEPT. 12, 1998, Daniel Kenneth Will, a 17-year-old at Riley High School in Riley, Kan., had just made a tackle. The collision was hard, but not an…
More Kids Playing Football These Days
AS YOU WONDER how many players will actually be coming out for your team later this summer, you’ll be interested in the data on changing program numb…