Running a football Program 365 Days

Four-Phase/365-Day Program

Football is an outlet for students all over the world to learn meaningful life skills and responsibilities. When a person is put in charge of running a High School Football program, he/she is responsible for caring for the lives of all program participants. The trust, care, and commitment put into the program requires that every coach have a four-phase/365-day program plan in order to provide and maintain a positive, but challenging learning environment.



Phase One

Phase-One of a program plan will consist of a mission statement, vision statement, expectations of a head coach, and expectations of all assistant coaches. A mission statement is crucial to explain the program’s overall goal and values. This statement allows anyone looking at a program to know exactly what the program is about. A vision statement declares the program’s objectives. This allows anyone to see what the program is going to accomplish and what is going to guide them. Both creates an identity for your football team. “Have an identity that you and your program will be known for” (Campbell, 2010, pg. 19).

The expectations of all coaches is extremely crucial. These expectations can be laid out as “what parents can expect from coaches”, “what the head coach expects of assistants, or “what an athletic director expects of coaches”. When it comes to a football program, every coach, parent, and athletic administrator should expect a coach to be a transformational coach. Transformational coaches believe young people can grow and flourish in sports in a way that is more liberating and instructive than can be achieved through almost any other activity” (Ehrmann, 2011, pg. 7). An expectation for coaches to transform lives leads to student-athletes learning more, become better people, and ultimately become better contributing members of society.



Phase-Two

Phase-Two of a program consists of Booster Club, Parents, and Leadership Academy organization, roles, and expectations. Booster Clubs are essential to the operation of a football program. The role of a booster club is different in any program; however, they are responsible for boosting the program through fundraising, volunteering, and many other forms.


A successful program will not happen without the help of parents. However, parents have a role and expectations as well. Communicating those roles and expectations with parents at the beginning and throughout the season can be the difference in a successful or unsuccessful season. Parents have to be involved, and they have to be willing to help.


Leadership Academy helps provide student-athletes with the opportunity to learn what it takes to become a positive leader. Not all students will come from a home that has a positive role model in it. It is up to the coaches to create a program that can foster and teach young adults what it takes to be a leader for themselves, their families, and their communities. This is what it takes to prove to athletes that coaches love them, care for them, and what them to succeed in life.



Phase-Three

Phase-Three of a program deals with the on-field philosophy. This is broken up into offensive, defensive, and the kicking game. Each section needs to have its own philosophy and plan of execution. This plan will allow student-athletes to understand and perform to a coaches wishes.


Each philosophy needs to be simple and provide excitement for the players. Every philosophy will be different based off of the coach, but if the philosophy is non-existent then know one will truly know what the coach expects to do when a specific team is on the field.



Phase-Four

The Final Phase consists of in-season schedules, off-season schedules, and summer programs. The execution of a team’s first three phases is seen in phase-four. All of the expectations, statements, and philosophies are shown throughout the whole year. It is essential that a coach sticks to their first three phases when in phase-four.


In-season schedules need to be organized, detail-oriented, and presented well before the season. It is important that all students, parents, and administration know the schedule and expectations of the team. The schedule needs to show when students are expected to report to practice and when parents can expect practice to be over.


Off-Season schedules should be posted as soon as the season is over, if not before. In order for a program to expect student-athletes to attend off-season workouts, they must inform parents of when those workouts will take place in order to give adequate time to plan and prepare. Summer workouts should also be posted in a reasonable time.


The off-season and summer programs are the difference between a successful team and an unsuccessful team when it comes to wins and losses. If administration, coaches, and parents expect a team to win, then they must expect a well-tuned plan when the season is not taking place.





Conclusion

Running a football program is not an August through November operation. Every single day includes something that can make a program better and more efficient. In order to take advantage of those days, a coach needs to have a Four-Phase program in place. The coaching profession is one of the most rewarding professions in the world and this program will allow for any coach to provide a successful learning environment for their student-athletes.