Coaching your Coaches..

Coach Fortney,

You are approcahing the problem that all HC's face every now and then. Your thoughts seem to be in the right direction. Not having any say in who your assistants are would really be tough to handle, but there it is and you must deal with it. Most young guys tend to be a bit "over zealous", loud, etc. as they think that is the way the job is done, when of course, it is done exactly the opposite by a staff that is really "together". Totally under control on both the sidelines and press box, talking in conversational tones, totally positive reinforcing the athletes, not yelling and screaming at them, thats the mark of an experienced staff. If your forced in to having a new guy coach on both sides of the ball, I would certainly spend all the time I could with him on THE BASIC FUNDAMENTALS OF THOSE TWO ASSIGNMENTS. I WOULD MAKE CERTAIN THAT HE IS GIVEN HIS ASSIGNMENTS EACH DAY IN PRIVATE, PRIOR TO ON FIELD PRACTICE, AND THAT HE IS VERY AWARE OF WHAT, AND HOW, YOU WANT THAT DAYS ASSIGNMENTS TO BE COACHED. If he is a good young man, and really wants to learn, he will start looking forward to these sessions with you. You have killed two birds with one stone, so to speak. You will have established a very needed rapport with him, as well as, insured yourself that he will be coaching what you want coached because you will have demonstrated techniques, etc. vital to your system that you are running.
Remember coach, LOYALITY is THE prerequisite from your assistants. You catch a lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, remember that. Your having to take whomever they give you precipitates a real can of worms in this area. Do your best to teach him, establish a good working realtionship, and get on with it. BOL.

Coach Easton

Coach Fortney, as long as he is eager to learn you must teach him exactly what you want and let him know the importance of doing what you want. I know from experience that certain coaches cannot be changed, but you must constantly reinforce to him everything you want. If I had no choice over who my assistants were, I would make sure that my relationship as a coach with my assistants was completely professional and very structured. This requires more meetings to keep everyone on the same page. Always remember-- YOU are the boss and this is YOUR opportunity. When things go well, you are the first one to get credit and when they do not go well, you are the first one to get blamed. If you need any more help on this, let me know.

AMEN brother! Amen!

have you ever thought of making a coaching video for new coaches?
your video could go throught the philosophy of your program, what is expected of coaches, offense, defense and special teams.

I found my first year of coaching I was on my own in a complex west coast offensive system.

the head coach never took time to explain things to me. often times I coached from the seat of my pants.

I think coaches should meet once a month for a few hrs say on a sunday evening and talk football.
the best Idea I have found from a friend is have a list of clinics to attend and send one coach to each clinic or if it is a mega clinic(multiple speakers at one time) then have the whole staff divideup.
then come back and compare notes. not sure if you guys can do this but we fund raise to send our staff to acouple clinics. the coach has no out of pocket expense other then a meal or two. if you are smart you could get a room with a stove in it and cook there. one of the best times we had was down town chicago at a mega clinic.

I think also getting a football coaches professional growth association tape library going at a school is great to.

Last winter we made an interactive CD for our line coaches that had basic terminology, Xs and Os, and most importantly video clips showing fundamental drills to use. If you want your stuff taught at all levels by all coaches, you must find a way to let them know how you go about your business.

Coach "Coach em up",

We had the same thought to keep us busy this off-season! May I ask what you did from a format point-of-view to accomplish this?

We wanted to put disks together for all of our positions on offense. It would be great not only for new coaches, but for kids and coaches of your feeder programs as well.

Nice idea!

We made 2 versions of the same CD. One for players and one for coaches. In both we took the perspective of an instructor teaching what we do. Part of the CD was basic terminology the entire offense needs to know. Another part was information specific to the offensive line. Another part included cut ups showing the actual plays from Fridya nights. We also inlcuded a short quiz at the end just to give them some feedback. The only real difference was for the coaches, we included video clips of the drill progression we used. I'd be happy to send you a copy if you're interested, just let me know your contact info.

brantnyberg@hotmail.com

Braxton

When examining expectations a Head Coach would have of his assistants on and off the field, I believe you must first look within yourself and find how you define your own character. As an Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, part of my duties is to continually evaluate and mentor not only my position coaches but our entire staff for our Head Coach. I don't take this responsibility lightly, our Head Coach has entrusted me with a lack of a better term with the "keys to the kingdom." This very discussion topic was a lengthy coversation piece between myself and our Head Coach. When dissecting the question of what our expectations are of our staff, we began talking about our vison, our mission. In great detail we began to break down what each of us believed our program would look like when we implemented certain principles of character and how those principles would be exemplified by our staff and logistically speaking, how that would be accomplished. I eventually came to the conclusion that five key components must be not only expected of your staff but emphasized in everyday activities in everyway. In no specific order those five principles were: Passionate, Communicative, Accountable, Flexible, and Resolute.





Passionate: We ask our players to find their why. Why do you play this game? What drives you? The same questions must be asked of our staff and we must continually evaluate that. Passion is one of the greatest gifts given to us, it is what we truly love and enjoy. We as a staff must remain passionate not only for the game of football, but for what we are truly attempting to do. We are dedicated to our athletes, we are dedicated to their successes on and off the field. Our staff must remain passionate about that goal and we must continually strive to innovate our methods and practices so that our players are armed with the tools to conquer adversity long after they have left our program. In the world of high school athletics, most coaches do not coach for the money, nor the fame. A large majority of us coach because that is what we are passionate about and it is expected that every coach on our staff continues to compound that principle. Coaches are expected to seek outside training, whether it is from attending clinics or from an online platform so that we can remain to be on the cutting edge in our ability to coach. Passion is what drives our staff to WANT to be better so we better those we coach. Being passion not only to their why but also being passionate about their individual beliefs.





Communicative: Communication is key. Highlighting this principle is a key factor in our success, I ask this and demand it from my defensive unit. If we fail to communicate to each other than we fail the first F' in our three F's of Defensive success; FLOW. FIGHT. FINISH. We cannot flow as a unit, the same applies to our staff. I expect my position coaches to communicate everything to me. I not only want to know about player development, questions about scheme or scouting, I want to know how that coach is personally. I want to know where they are psychologically and emotionally. I try not to pry but asking about their family, their day, and about them in general goes a long way. If a coach's head isn't in the game I want them to take a day off to realign. We as coaches spend a lot of time away from our families especially when we are in season. I commonly refer to our spouses as widow wives during season, although we can never forget the number one rule, family first. If a coach is experiencing burnout, I would like them to take time off away from football to better understand and concentrate on non football relate things. We expect our staff to communicate how players are doing, not only on the field but off the field as well. Our staff meetings are unlike any other. Each coach is allowed unlimited time to speak on topics that we highlight that day, and we listen to each other. We try to be open and honest with each other which allows the principle of communication to flourish.





Accountable: Being able to check your ego at the door is a very hard thing to do. Also to admit fault and find a way to make that fault right or find a reasonable solution to right that wrong is hard as well. As a staff we remain accountable not only to our program, athletes, but to ourselves. The old adage of the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked rings true within our program. We as a staff encourage questions and conflict, because within conflict lays way to growth. Our staff must also be held accountable to all actions on and off the field. If mistakes are made then there are opportunities to make right of them. In order for us to be truly successful we must always hold ourselves accountable, we do not challenge one another from an egotistical standpoint, it is more from an encouragement angle. We want our athletes to accountable, the best way to expect that is to model that. When coaches make mistakes on the field it is encouraged and often expected that a coach ADMIT he was wrong and continue teaching what was supposed to be accomplished. Hearing the words, "I was wrong" or "excuse me you were right" carries a lot of weight not only with us as a staff but with our athletes. It affirms to our athletes that we are not over exerting authority over them, that we are holding ourselves accountable each day. Also I hold my position coaches extremely accountable during the execution of our practice plans. I tailor my practice plans, especially during indo periods to basic goals for that period. I allow the position coaches to carry out and chose any drill of their choice as long as it is in direct line with thse goals in that period. They must be held accountable that those goals will be accentuated and accomplished.





Flexible: We must adapt and overcome as a program. Perfect example is the current climate of Covid-19 and the restrictions that each state, county, and city is placing upon our respective school districts. Even though here in Southern California the probability of us actually having a season is slim to none, we are still holding Zoom meetings and conditioning to the required guidelines set in place from our district. Coaches must be flexible in an effort to adapt and be ready at a moment's notice to coach and do what is best for the program. If certain varsity coaches are need on thursdays to coach lower levels because we are short hand, coaches must remain flexible enough to do what is needed. A coach can never indulge in entitlement, we all must remain open not only to situations but to our individual ideas. If a position coach of mine comes to me and tells me that there are holes in our weekly gameplan then I remain flexible to the fact that I may have to rethink that area. Once the season concludes if we need to change coaches positions than I expect them to be flexible enough to accept that change and do what is best for the program.





Resolute: Coaches within our program must be determined. I expect our coaches to be determined for greatness and determined to look for improvement in all areas of their lives not when just applied to X's and O's. We as a staff expect each other to own their responsibilities and to be resolute in their duties and practices. How we encourage this is again through our weekly staff meetings. We encourage each other to push one another towards success. One of the main reasons I have decided to seek out my Master's degree in coaching is because our staff had the resolute mindset to push me in a direction for self improvement. Another example is within tragedy. We recently had a long time coach pass away from a heart attack mid season last year. It was rough on the boys because he was also a beloved tenured teacher who influenced and impacted many young lives. Not only were our kids devastated but it took a toll on our staff. He was not only a staff member, he was our friend. Our kids rebounded as did our staff, if we were not resolute in our beliefs or within our love for one another than who know how we would have responded. What I have learned over my 40 years on this planet is that being resolute plays a big part in how you attack and overcome adversity.





Lastly, LOYALTY to the head coach and to the program is affectious in every aspect of success. The functionality of loyalty is fickle, due in part to how loyalty is intertwined within every principle we believe in. The saying, "I am my brother's keeper" is not only a saying within our program it is a way of life. Being loyal to one another is a commonality that we all share and it is at the center of that belief. Loyalty is a huge factor, its not so much meant in terms of disobeying the Head Coach but it is the belief in the coach, believeing in him, his philosophy, vision, and mission. It resonates through the ranks of the staff which is then emulated by our athletes.