What do you give your players?

I give handouts every week regarding our game plan and what we are going to do on defense (playbook gameplan)....but coach is right, they usually line the bird cage with anything you give them.

I have since switched to a giant 3' x 5' white board, that I took and permanent inked our playbook on that hangs in the locker room (its revomeable) that they can always glance at before / after practice.

Pretty much all the fronts and stunts are on that board with a few coverage examples.

Elker99,

How in depth are the schedules you give the coaches? Do you state the drills the position coaches are going to do OR do you just state the time they are going to have for drills and you let them pick whatever they want?

I give my coaches and players everything. The coaches are given a years schedule with when we are teaching what and when/where they need to be at given dates and times. The kids are given a list of all dates in February for the following year. My philosophy is simple - eliminate all excuses.

With playbooks I feel the same way. I have a stack of playbooks always available. Players are issued playbooks at the beginning of the season but I always have extra available.
I do this for three reasons:
1. Eliminate all excuses. They have a playbook and are expected to know it as well as the coaches. We have to mentally prepare.
2. Understanding the whole program - it gives the athletes the entire offense and it helps them understand how everything relates.
3. Some kids want them and need them - As an athlete I was not blessed with speed, size, or strength. I fortunately loved reading and studying the playbook. The reason I started when I played was not because of my physical ability but because I knew the scheme and everyone's responsibility. I also wanted to know how everything related. I could study that playbook and understand better. I want to make sure if I have an athlete that is willing to read it, it is available. I am willing to have 50 playbooks lost, not read, or forgotten to make sure the one kid that will study it has it.

My assistants think I'm nuts because of the stack of playbooks I always have in the coaches office. But I want to be as prepared and organized as possible.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If I or anyone else in the program ever finds a playbook laying in the locker room or in the greater school - the team runs hard. It is important and they need to treat is such.

Thanks for listening to my soap box.

I also have a program manual for our entire program that goes from 5th through 12th grade. I am currently working with the lower level coaches on what I expect to be taught at the lower level. I do this for O and D so the kids learn it at a lower level. The reason I bring this up is to point out that I want the 7th and 8th graders to have the playbooks. I change and tweak things every year but I just make new ones.

Officially by our state rule I don't believe that I can give them the playbooks at our organizational meetings, however all students in the high school know there is always a stack in the coaches office. I'll also point out that I don't care if our opponents have our playbook because we have a multiple set offense that if they try to prepare for everything they'll get beat.

To answer your question about schedule for coaches, email me at jkoenig@stanleyboyd.k12.wi.us and I will send you anything you want, Important dates for the year, Master Practice Schedule, a copy of our daily schedule. All I ask is that if you have a huge trade list we can exchange something but if you are just starting out I will send them for free, I just don't want them showing up on everybody else's trade list.

I let the coaches know what concepts I want taught but I only spell out drills if the coach is having difficulty or not doing his job. My D coordinator likes to give specific drills to the coaches because he really likes them.