Considerations When Game Planning

Evan James 


Wheaton North High School’s Varsity football staff will meet on Sunday afternoons at the high school to plan for the upcoming opponent. The meeting will begin with a discussion on how the previous Friday night’s Varsity game and Saturday morning’s Junior-Varsity game went. Weekly award winners such as Offensive MVP, Defensive MVP, Special Teams player, Offensive Scout Team player, Defensive Scout Team player, linemen of the game, and academic player of the week will be finalized. Any significant injuries from either game will be reported, as well as the academic eligibility report for coaches to make personnel adjustments for the coming game week on their respective side of the ball, position group, and/or special team depth chart.



Each lower-level paid coach will be assigned an opponent to scout. The coach will attend the opponent’s game the week before Wheaton North plays them. A standard scouting report template to use when scouting will be made available to the entire coaching staff at the beginning of the season. The scouting coach will be expected to compile notes, observations, and an optional short film highlight (or specific play numbers) of the opponent in all three phases of the game. Typically only one coach will go and scout an opponent during the regular season, so he will be encouraged to read newspaper articles, watch film of the opponent from earlier in the year, and re-watch the film from the game he scouted to get a feel for the opponent. He will present the scouting report in-person to the Varsity staff during the Sunday meetings. This allows for the Varsity coaches to ask any questions before the lower-level scout coach leaves.



After the lower-level scout coach leaves, I will remind the Varsity staff of any adjustments to the coming practice, lifting days, and lifting workouts. For example, if there is a faculty meeting after school on Tuesday, the film will take place at the end of practice instead of before. I will also ask for suggestions in specific drills or team periods to install to prepare for the upcoming opponent. For example, if a team has a mobile-quarterback, the defensive coordinator should recommend having scramble drill embedded into 7 vs. 7 and team time. If the opponent has a tendency of playing press-man on the wide receivers, the wide receiver coach should ask for time during 1 vs. 1’s with the defensive backs to work press-man releases. Special team’s scheme will then be discussed. If the opponent uses a rugby punt, the scheme to counter and practice implementation will be discussed. Once the practice week and special team’s scheme is finalized, we will eat dinner (each Varsity coach will volunteer to provide dinner on one Sunday throughout the season). After dinner, the offensive coaches will then break off into one room and the defensive coaches will break off into a different room to begin watching film and working on the opponent’s scouting report.



Prior to coming to the Sunday meeting, each position coach is expected to identify opponent personnel for their respective position group. For example, the wide receiver coach is responsible for the opponent’s defensive back starters and substitutes. The defensive line coach is responsible for the opponent’s offensive linemen personnel. It will not be uncommon for a coach will pop-in to the other side of the ball’s room to see if a player is a two-way player. Each position coach will also be expected to share a specific play or scheme he feels confident will be successful against the opponent. The Varsity staff will be using hudl assist to breakdown scout games. This will lead to more efficient use of time both during and outside of the Sunday meetings. Each side of the ball will go through 1-2 of the more recent opponent’s game before starting to scheme and game plan. If the opponent demonstrates a common or unique play, blitz, adjustment to motion, etc… a coach will draw it up to be added to the scouting report and add the film clip to the scout playlist. Any new concepts (blitzes, coverage’s, pass plays, etc…) will be drawn up to be included in the scouting report. Each coordinator will have a 12 p.m. Monday deadline for anything new to be added to the scouting report. I will print and make copies of the scouting reports. Scouting reports will be distributed to the players on Monday.



The game-day call sheet will be compiled throughout the week and finalized after practice on Wednesday. I believe it is important to see how any new offensive plays or defensive concepts look throughout the practice week before finalizing on the call sheet. I also believe it is important to check-in and listen to the players take on the game-plan and make adjustments based off of their feedback. Offensively, call breakdowns for 1st down, 3rd and long, 3rd and short, 4th and long, 4th and short, red-zone, 2-minute wristband script, and a few others will be included on the call sheet. There should not be a ton of turnover on the call sheet from week to week. We do what we will do. If a particular play was frequently run multiple times in a certain situation during the previous week’s game, an adjustment will be made to break a tendency.