Post by Coach Campbell on May 14, 2024 0:16:53 GMT
4 Phase/365-Day Football Program
Phillip Rogers
Introduction
Any successful football program must have structure. It works best when it is broken up into four phases. It starts with how to run the program in season. The second phase is off-season and the plans for moving forward after the season ends. The third phase of a successful football program is the summer workout program. The fourth and final phase lays out the expectations for coaches, players, parents, booster club, initial parent meeting, and the implementation of a Leadership Academy. If all four phases are implemented currently, the football program will be successful and even more successful off the field.
Phase 1
In Phase 1, there are many aspects to the in-season work. The first thing a coach must do is have a mission statement that will define what he wants the program to be known for. It is also a great idea to have a team slogan. A slogan is something that the team can work on together. What do they want to be identified as in a positive way?
Developing an offensive, defensive, and special team scheme and implementing it during the season will be part of the first phase. When choosing an offensive philosophy, it is often essential to do something that no one in the area is running. Doing this will make it harder for teams to defend. No matter what is chosen, it must be part of the everyday practice schedule.
Developing the daily practice schedule and sticking to the plan will help everything run smoothly. Practice is essential to developing the skills to become the best player. “Practice is one of the many places where we compete to be the best” (Carrol, Garin, & Roth, p. 90, 2010). Practices should be broken down into 5 to 10 minutes segments. Practices will be the same Monday through Wednesday, with Thursday being more condensed. Practices will start with warm-ups and stretches. Followed by special teams, then adding in a water break. Some conditioning drills should be part of practice every day. Next, it will be time to work on the defensive side of the ball. Starting with defensive individuals, the then defensive group, followed by the defensive team. Then it will be time for offensive practice, and it will be divided up the same way the defensive practice with individuals, groups, and ending with teams. Thursday will be more of a walk-through preparing for the game on Friday night. After practice on Thursday, each player will receive their fame jersey. Each player will inspect their equipment to ensure everything is needed for the game on Friday.
Friday’s game day is to be looked at as a special day for the players. Players must also take pride in being part of the football program. On game day, they will dress in khaki pants with their game jersey. Pants will be pulled up with the undershirt tucked in. Each player will be on time for school, and breakfast will be provided. After school, players are not allowed to leave the campus. This will be time to focus on the game that night. If the game is a home game, a meal will be provided for the team at the school. The team will stop somewhere for away games and eat before arriving at the opponent’s field. Each week a different coach will be assigned to the players to help keep them focused. During the game, players and coaches are expected to conduct themselves in a way that represents the school positively.
On Saturday, the coaches will meet to review the film. Each coach is expected to be at the meetings on time. If a problem arises, the head coach must be informed (Campbell & Cooper, 2010, p. 60). On Sunday, the coaches will meet again to plan the following week’s practice and prepare for the next opponent.
Phase 2
Phase 2 will follow in-season, which is off-season. After the season is over, it is time to start preparing for the next season. As coaches, it starts with gathering and inspecting all the equipment to see what needs fixing or replacing. It also is a time to reflect on the past season, the things that worked and did not. Coaches will evaluate the returning players and see what adjustments must be made.
Players must continue what they started and prepare for next year. Not only is staying in shape essential, but they must stay focused on their education. Coaches are there to help players struggle in all areas of their life. If the players need help in classes, coaches should help them find the tutoring they need. Sometimes players need someone they can trust and talk to about life, and as coaches, this is more critical than anything taught on the field.
The team will go to an FCA football camp during the off-season. Other camps will be available, but the FCA camp will be done as a team and coaching staff. There will also be players that will participate in 7 on 7 games. Coaches will go to coaches’ clinics and be encouraged to bring their wives. Coaches must remember that football comes last, and God and family come first.
Phase 3
Phase 3 is part of Phase 2; it is summer workouts. A summer workout program will only improve the team going into the season. During the summer workouts, there must be weight training and conditioning. Programs will be designed to get players stronger and faster. Players will be required to make 90 % of their summer workouts. Understandably, almost everyone will have a summer vacation planned. If, for some reason, a player must miss more than 10% of the days provided, it must be communicated to one of the coaches.
Summer workouts will be four days a week, giving the players Friday off. Mondays will be upper-body workouts in the weight room with some conditioning in the gym. Conditioning will be done in the gym so players will not get overheated—Tuesdays lower-body workouts with conditioning in the gym. Wednesday will upper-body workouts with conditioning in the gym. Thursday will be lower-body workouts with conditioning in the gym.
Even though the players will be given Fridays off, there will be opportunities on some days to make up workouts that have been missed. On some Fridays, the team will get together and have fun. There are days that the team will go swimming and cookout; other days, they will go bowling or have a competition. The idea is to get better and closer as a team during the summer.
Phase 4
Phase 4 is the most critical part of building a successful football program. There are many parts of Phase 4, starting with the Leadership Academy. There is the booster club and fundraisers that must be worked through. There must be a parent meeting to review the players’ and parents’ expectations and any paperwork that needs to be completed. As a head coach, the expectations of all the assistant coaches will be laid out.
The Leadership Academy will develop the players into leaders on and off the field. Players are asked to step up and be leaders, but too often, they must learn what that means and what to do in that role. Leadership Academy must be at least ten weeks long. Two days a week will be spent on a topic. Each coach will be given a week to teach a topic on leadership. The coaches will meet before to determine what the topics will be for each week. Players will be required to attend and will not be allowed to have their cell phones during the class.
A good relationship with the booster club will be a part of the head coach’s job. The booster club will help with fundraisers and reach out to the community for help by feeding the players and providing them with water and sports drinks during the season, among other things. The booster club is a vital part of any successful football program. A positive relationship between the coaches and the booster club will go a long way.
Preseason is the best time to have a mandatory parent meeting. Each year the athletes must get a physical before they can practice in any sport. The parent meeting will be the perfect time to hand out the sports packages needed to participate in sports. Also, the coach will go over the expectations of the players and parents. There will be parent contracts for the parents to sign before the child can play football. The contract will help the coaches and parents stay on the same page throughout the season. If there is an issue, the contract will be reviewed to clarify things. During the parent’s meeting, time will be set aside for any questions or concerns.
The head coach will have the final say on what goes on in the program. The head coach must be open to suggestions from the assistant coaches. Each coach will be given responsibilities beyond their assigned position. Each week a coach will be responsible for staying in the locker room before and after practice for the safety of the athletes. One coach will stay behind on the field to ensure everyone goes in and everything is put away. Another coach will stay in the parking lot until all the students have been picked up. No coach will sit in the coach’s office right after practice, allowing the other coaches to do all the work. Coaches should not leave right after practice unless it has been discussed with the head coach. Coaches must understand that they represent the school everywhere they go and must always act professionally. The athletes will be expected not to use foul language, which will be the same expectation for the coaches.
Conclusion
Building a successful football program is a year-round commitment. There are many aspects to making everything work and run smoothly. Every program will have a different approach, but to be successful, it must be broken down into phases. There is how to run the program during in-season, off-season, and summer workouts. Having a Leadership Academy will help the program get to the next level. Putting together a parent’s meeting preseason will ensure everyone understands what the expectation is for the program. The head coach will hand out the responsibilities of all the assistant coaches. There is more to running a football program than many people realize.
References
Campbell, J. & Cooper, M. (2010). From resume to championship. Clovis, CA: JCFB Multimedia Instructional Guides.
Carl, P., Garin, K. & Roth Y. (2010) Win Forever -Live, Work and Play Like a Champion
Phillip Rogers
Introduction
Any successful football program must have structure. It works best when it is broken up into four phases. It starts with how to run the program in season. The second phase is off-season and the plans for moving forward after the season ends. The third phase of a successful football program is the summer workout program. The fourth and final phase lays out the expectations for coaches, players, parents, booster club, initial parent meeting, and the implementation of a Leadership Academy. If all four phases are implemented currently, the football program will be successful and even more successful off the field.
Phase 1
In Phase 1, there are many aspects to the in-season work. The first thing a coach must do is have a mission statement that will define what he wants the program to be known for. It is also a great idea to have a team slogan. A slogan is something that the team can work on together. What do they want to be identified as in a positive way?
Developing an offensive, defensive, and special team scheme and implementing it during the season will be part of the first phase. When choosing an offensive philosophy, it is often essential to do something that no one in the area is running. Doing this will make it harder for teams to defend. No matter what is chosen, it must be part of the everyday practice schedule.
Developing the daily practice schedule and sticking to the plan will help everything run smoothly. Practice is essential to developing the skills to become the best player. “Practice is one of the many places where we compete to be the best” (Carrol, Garin, & Roth, p. 90, 2010). Practices should be broken down into 5 to 10 minutes segments. Practices will be the same Monday through Wednesday, with Thursday being more condensed. Practices will start with warm-ups and stretches. Followed by special teams, then adding in a water break. Some conditioning drills should be part of practice every day. Next, it will be time to work on the defensive side of the ball. Starting with defensive individuals, the then defensive group, followed by the defensive team. Then it will be time for offensive practice, and it will be divided up the same way the defensive practice with individuals, groups, and ending with teams. Thursday will be more of a walk-through preparing for the game on Friday night. After practice on Thursday, each player will receive their fame jersey. Each player will inspect their equipment to ensure everything is needed for the game on Friday.
Friday’s game day is to be looked at as a special day for the players. Players must also take pride in being part of the football program. On game day, they will dress in khaki pants with their game jersey. Pants will be pulled up with the undershirt tucked in. Each player will be on time for school, and breakfast will be provided. After school, players are not allowed to leave the campus. This will be time to focus on the game that night. If the game is a home game, a meal will be provided for the team at the school. The team will stop somewhere for away games and eat before arriving at the opponent’s field. Each week a different coach will be assigned to the players to help keep them focused. During the game, players and coaches are expected to conduct themselves in a way that represents the school positively.
On Saturday, the coaches will meet to review the film. Each coach is expected to be at the meetings on time. If a problem arises, the head coach must be informed (Campbell & Cooper, 2010, p. 60). On Sunday, the coaches will meet again to plan the following week’s practice and prepare for the next opponent.
Phase 2
Phase 2 will follow in-season, which is off-season. After the season is over, it is time to start preparing for the next season. As coaches, it starts with gathering and inspecting all the equipment to see what needs fixing or replacing. It also is a time to reflect on the past season, the things that worked and did not. Coaches will evaluate the returning players and see what adjustments must be made.
Players must continue what they started and prepare for next year. Not only is staying in shape essential, but they must stay focused on their education. Coaches are there to help players struggle in all areas of their life. If the players need help in classes, coaches should help them find the tutoring they need. Sometimes players need someone they can trust and talk to about life, and as coaches, this is more critical than anything taught on the field.
The team will go to an FCA football camp during the off-season. Other camps will be available, but the FCA camp will be done as a team and coaching staff. There will also be players that will participate in 7 on 7 games. Coaches will go to coaches’ clinics and be encouraged to bring their wives. Coaches must remember that football comes last, and God and family come first.
Phase 3
Phase 3 is part of Phase 2; it is summer workouts. A summer workout program will only improve the team going into the season. During the summer workouts, there must be weight training and conditioning. Programs will be designed to get players stronger and faster. Players will be required to make 90 % of their summer workouts. Understandably, almost everyone will have a summer vacation planned. If, for some reason, a player must miss more than 10% of the days provided, it must be communicated to one of the coaches.
Summer workouts will be four days a week, giving the players Friday off. Mondays will be upper-body workouts in the weight room with some conditioning in the gym. Conditioning will be done in the gym so players will not get overheated—Tuesdays lower-body workouts with conditioning in the gym. Wednesday will upper-body workouts with conditioning in the gym. Thursday will be lower-body workouts with conditioning in the gym.
Even though the players will be given Fridays off, there will be opportunities on some days to make up workouts that have been missed. On some Fridays, the team will get together and have fun. There are days that the team will go swimming and cookout; other days, they will go bowling or have a competition. The idea is to get better and closer as a team during the summer.
Phase 4
Phase 4 is the most critical part of building a successful football program. There are many parts of Phase 4, starting with the Leadership Academy. There is the booster club and fundraisers that must be worked through. There must be a parent meeting to review the players’ and parents’ expectations and any paperwork that needs to be completed. As a head coach, the expectations of all the assistant coaches will be laid out.
The Leadership Academy will develop the players into leaders on and off the field. Players are asked to step up and be leaders, but too often, they must learn what that means and what to do in that role. Leadership Academy must be at least ten weeks long. Two days a week will be spent on a topic. Each coach will be given a week to teach a topic on leadership. The coaches will meet before to determine what the topics will be for each week. Players will be required to attend and will not be allowed to have their cell phones during the class.
A good relationship with the booster club will be a part of the head coach’s job. The booster club will help with fundraisers and reach out to the community for help by feeding the players and providing them with water and sports drinks during the season, among other things. The booster club is a vital part of any successful football program. A positive relationship between the coaches and the booster club will go a long way.
Preseason is the best time to have a mandatory parent meeting. Each year the athletes must get a physical before they can practice in any sport. The parent meeting will be the perfect time to hand out the sports packages needed to participate in sports. Also, the coach will go over the expectations of the players and parents. There will be parent contracts for the parents to sign before the child can play football. The contract will help the coaches and parents stay on the same page throughout the season. If there is an issue, the contract will be reviewed to clarify things. During the parent’s meeting, time will be set aside for any questions or concerns.
The head coach will have the final say on what goes on in the program. The head coach must be open to suggestions from the assistant coaches. Each coach will be given responsibilities beyond their assigned position. Each week a coach will be responsible for staying in the locker room before and after practice for the safety of the athletes. One coach will stay behind on the field to ensure everyone goes in and everything is put away. Another coach will stay in the parking lot until all the students have been picked up. No coach will sit in the coach’s office right after practice, allowing the other coaches to do all the work. Coaches should not leave right after practice unless it has been discussed with the head coach. Coaches must understand that they represent the school everywhere they go and must always act professionally. The athletes will be expected not to use foul language, which will be the same expectation for the coaches.
Conclusion
Building a successful football program is a year-round commitment. There are many aspects to making everything work and run smoothly. Every program will have a different approach, but to be successful, it must be broken down into phases. There is how to run the program during in-season, off-season, and summer workouts. Having a Leadership Academy will help the program get to the next level. Putting together a parent’s meeting preseason will ensure everyone understands what the expectation is for the program. The head coach will hand out the responsibilities of all the assistant coaches. There is more to running a football program than many people realize.
References
Campbell, J. & Cooper, M. (2010). From resume to championship. Clovis, CA: JCFB Multimedia Instructional Guides.
Carl, P., Garin, K. & Roth Y. (2010) Win Forever -Live, Work and Play Like a Champion
