best defense for lesser athletes

That depends on how "less" lesser is! You can't hide weaknesses vs good opponents. There is no magical defense - if there were, EVERYBODY would be using it & half of them would lose each week, so it would be a .500 defense at BEST! Every defense has it's strengths & weaknesses (as does every offense) BUT it's not the X's & O's - it's the Jimmys & Joes!

You must raise the intensity level of the "lesser" kids. THUS - the mental must become 4 to 1 over the physical (as both Napoleon & "Stonewall" Jackson put it!!!). To play with fanatacism would be your best hope!

As "Bear" Bryant put it: "I can win with a kid that isn't very good as long as he DOESN'T KNOW he isn't very good"!!!!!

Will enclose two items from our notebook that I have always lived by (in two seperate posts):

#1 COMMON COACHING ERRORS AND HOW TO AVIOD THEM

By: Bud Wilkinson

GENERAL COMMENTS: The best coach is the one who makes the fewest mistakes; the one who does the best teaching job; the one who is the best organizer. Writing the X’s & O’s is not the most important thing. There are 22 variables in a football game. Coach must be a salesman to the extent that when his team loses, they don’t blame him or the offensive and/or defensive system, but rather themselves.

ERRORS IN TEACHING METHODS:

FIRST = FAILURE TO USE TIME EFFICIENTLY. Failure to recognize the time factor available to get the job done. Planning makes for valuable use of time. Too long on any one thing produces boredom. When boredom comes in, learning goes out. Football players have a short attention span. Hold to time schedule.
SECOND = FAILURE TO EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF THE DRILL. Tell the boy WHY he is doing what he is trying to accomplish and he will do a better job. Explain WHY, then show HOW.
THIRD = IMPROPER TEACHING PROGRESSION. You can’t teach a boy how to block until he has learned stance. If he hasn’t learned stance, he doesn’t know how to step out of the stance into the block.
FOURTH = TOO MUCH VERBAL INSTRUCTION ON THE FIELD. How much can boy learn from your verbal instruction with his helmet on, he’s breathing hard, he aches, he’s stunned, etc. Do WHO and WHY in chalk talk. Teach assignments before hitting the field. Correct on the field. Teach – no! (HOW is taught on the field – not WHO & WHY).
FIFTH = TOO MUCH DEMONSTRATION BY COACH. How much you know is not important. How much player knows is.
SIXTH = BEING ON THE FIELD TOO LONG. Better to have a team eager to play rather than physically tired. How long to practice is a judgment factor. Cut down as season goes along – not going to change mechanical ability late in season. Only one rule never violated at Oklahoma. If one coach on staff feels practice too long, we must cut it down. More boys play poorly because they practiced too long than boys playing poorly because they didn’t practice long enough.

ERRORS IN TACTICS AND STRATEGY:

FIRST = TACTICS AND VICTORY. You get very few victories on tactics. Victories come if you can out block, out tackle, out fundamental your opponent. Red Sanders quote: “Intimidate them physically”! Outmaneuver – no. Defeat – yes.
SECOND = CLEAR CUT PHILOSOPHY A MUST. Decide on an offense and defense that will suit your personnel then stick to it. Depth of morale can be determined by a kid’s reaction to a loss. If morale deep, they’ll blame themselves. If morale shallow, they’ll blame you.
THIRD = TOO MANY PLAYS AND DEFENSES. Subtract the number of different plays used in the game from the total number of plays you practiced. If this number is too large you better get rid of some plays. It is difficult enough to know when to run off- tackle, but if you have four ways to run off-tackle, you will never get the right play. Beauty of Split-T was it’s very limited number of plays

ERRORS IN JUDGMENT:

FIRST = BE REALISTIC ABOUT PLAYER’S ABILITY. Don’t just put an X or an O on the board. Put up the boy’s name. Immediately his limitations affect the offense or defense you put up. Whale of a lot of difference between Dick Butkus and Humpty Dumpty.
SECOND = WHEN CHIPS ARE DOWN, BEST PLAYERS ARE IN THE GAME. It is a mistake to be able to play blue chippers only one way. Say best kid you have can only go on offense. Say opponent has ball for 45 minutes. These are 45 minutes he cannot help you.

ERRORS IN OFF FIELD RELATIONSHIP:

FIRST = RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER FACULTY MEMBERS. The environment that exists has a lot to do with winning or losing. If they are with you, your job is easier. If they are against you, you’re in trouble. Work on a program of how to win friends and influence faculty members.
SECOND = ORGANIZE A MOTHER’S CLUB. Get mother on your side by pointing out to her what he can get out of football besides winning games.
THIRD = PRESS, TV, AND RADIO. Straight up fact of life that the great majority of people get their impression of you from what they read in the paper, see on TV, or hear on radio. Their jobs depend on info. Get it to them to make their jobs easier. Get these people on your side. Let them know what you’re doing. They will interpret what you’re doing in the way you want it interpreted if they are with you.

ERRORS IN DEVELOPING MORALE (MORALE IS TO THE PHYSICAL AS 4 IS TO 1).

FIRST = FOOTBALL BEGINS WITH MORALE! Once you get morale, it is easy to maintain. How to get it is a problem.
SECOND = HOW TO LOSE MORALE. Do what you said you’re going to do. Don’t say we’re going to practice 1 ½ hours and go 2 ½ hours. Training rules – if you’re not going to enforce them, don’t have them.
THIRD = MORALE STEMS FROM DISCIPLINE (ALL Discipline begins by being on time).
FOURTH = TREAT PLAYERS AS A PERSON. If he feels you are interested in him only as a football player, he won’t go all out for you. If you are interested in his academics, his personal problems, etc. and he knows this, he’ll go all out for you. Convince him that football is good for his future.
FIFTH = One year, Knute Rockne had 2 QB’s. Under great athlete, team failed; under mediocre QB, team succeeded. Why? Captain’s reply – “the great athlete is trying to show how good HE is. The TEAM is trying to make the average guy look good”.

COACH IN YOUR OWN WAY:

FIRST = DON’T COPY! Note clinicians and their personalities. ALL different ways of being successful. Plan carefully in the off season. Can’t take golf lessons between the 8th green and 9th tee.

CONCLUDING REMARKS: The man who is best organized and does the best teaching job, is the best coach.

Here is something we give the assistants. This also helps more than the actual SYSTEM!!!!!

PRACTICE AND TEACHING PHILOSOPHY


1. Goal is to out practice our opponents.
a. Practice harder
b. Practice smarter
c. Practice with game day intensity

2. You Must Get Your Position To Believe That You Are The Best Coach And Teacher In The League. If The Players Don’t Believe, We Won’t Win.

3. We Must Be Great Teachers.
What you see on video is what you have coached.
You are a teacher! Your teaching is evaluated by your player’s performance. Profs can have A, B, C, D, F students. We must have all A’s. Keep things simple. Don’t over coach. Find the best way to teach. Teach fundamentals. Our goal is that each player masters the fundamentals at his position.

4. We Know What Must Be Taught – Staff Growth. Improve Schemes, But Have A Philosophy And Sell It To The Players.

5. Utilize Teaching Aids.
Change up procedure of meetings
Must use them
Video Breakdown (find a way to use it).
Marking Boards – accuracy of diagrams is critical – 75% of learning is visual.
Practice and Scrimmage Video
Training Video



6. Great Enthusiasm (Not Cheerleading) - 3/1 Theory (3
Positive 1 Negative).
Explain to athlete we criticize performance and not to take it personally. Find things to be positive about.
80% of your communication and motivation should be positive! If this is not true, then change!

7. Must Be Consistent.
All players must be team players and abide by the Team Covenant.
Consistency in everything.
Praise and criticize – all players. Players will notice any inconsistency in your player interaction.
Coach toughness. Coach toughness. Coach toughness. Coach toughness. Coach 100% effort every play. Every Play Every Day! - Play Hard Players must be on time every scheduled meeting or practice. Attention to detail.
Demand players to compete in everything they do. (6-second player)

8. Hard Workers On Field. Coaching.
Coach every play! Coach every play! Coach every play! Coach every play! Don’t stand in one spot. (Hands in pockets, arms folded not permitted in our program.) Get to where the action is.
If coach stands around, so will players. No clinics on field. That’s why we meet and have walk-thru. Coach will run drill to drill just like the players. Players must run on the field - never walk.
Players don’t lay on the ground. Demand enthusiasm, intensity and knowing assignment.

9. Control The Hitting - Tag-off, Play Ball Live-Tag Off,
Thud, Live.

10. The best coaches in the country take their players
performance personal. OUR COACHES TAKE THEIR PLAYERS PERFORMANCE PERSONAL!

Coaches:

If your forced to play football with LESSER ATHLETES, CANCEL THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM AND MAKE THEM INTO A BAND MEMBER, OR A MEMBER OF A SPORT THAT THEY CAN PROBABLY HANDLE, SUCH AS A BADMITTON OR VOLLEYBALL TEAM. See if you can find wigs for them, shave their legs and put them in a girls league for such sports. Just a suggestion as always.

Coach Easton