Texas High School Football Chat - "The Job Search Process" hosted by Roger Crowe

Searching for a job can be a stressful situation if you don't have the tools and resources to help you find and transition from one job to the next.  Whether you are moving because of opportunity or necessity, it is a stressful situation to be in.  Last night we discussed some important factors that help us determine the type of jobs we want, and why we enjoy our current place of work. 

As a coach, I want to experience success.  I want to win games on the field, and I want to have kids successful in the classroom.  To be a coach is to be a competitor.  That's what we all want.  I found it interesting in our discussion that finding a place that has experienced a lot of success rarely came up.  What did come up was finding the place that allows for you to have an impact on the kids, and also gives you the opportunity to grow.  Staff camaraderie was another factor that was talked about quite a bit.  And of course, how it fits our families and beliefs.  

So what I'm taking from last night is that when you surround yourself with good people and commit yourself to the school and the kids within, success will come.  That's what I have been fortunate to experience in my current situation.  I hope you all took something meaningful from it as well.

Thank you to Coach Roger Crowe for hosting last night.  It was insightful.

Option Football - Texas High School Football Chat

The option has been a part of the game of football for decades.  Many people still employ the triple option that Emory Bellard installed at the University of Texas in the late 1960s.  As the triple option has evolved from the wishbone backfield to the flexbone, offenses have also evolved to different ways of running the option.  As the spread offense evolved, teams began utilizing the zone read option on many of their plays.  Now offenses have evolved to RPOs, or Run-Pass Options which have brought back the threat of the triple option in the form of a give, keep, or pass option.  The option is a formidable offense to run on the field in all its forms.  As someone who grew up in the split-back veer, I just have to say good luck to all defensive coordinators out there!

Texas High School Football Chat - Spring Football

Spring is in the air and even though the school year may be winding down, football coaches across the US are starting to ramp up for our second season of practice.  This represents the opportunity to refresh the fundamentals of your program with your athletes so that they continue to improve as football players.  This also gives coaches another method of player evaluation in order to field their most competitive team possible in the fall.  

Practicing football without the pressure of preparing for an upcoming opponent, gives coaches time to truly teach the ins and outs of their position and the offense or defense to their athletes.  It also provides the athletes the opportunity to exhibit their gains in speed and strength from a productive off-season in order to earn playing time under the Friday Night Lights.  What a great way to end the school year!

I look forward to seeing how my offensive linemen have grown stronger and if they are ready to assume leadership roles on the team.  I have high expectations for them as I expect to see 18 days of dominance from them against whoever lines up across from them. Our field preparation for the 2015 season has begun!

"Game Planning and Technology" #txhsfbchat

Watching film and preparing for our upcoming opponent is as much a part of coaching football as our work on the field.  We spend countless hours outside of practice breaking down the offense or defense, looking for tendencies that will hopefully give us the edge as we engage each other on the field.  It is where we learn about our team, our opponents, and also a primary method of learning about football.  

Technology has made the breakdown so much easier.  With internet film editing, we all partake in the game plan.  We all control the remote.  We can receive immediate statistics regarding play, formation, stunts, coverages, etc.  We can even share this with our players and expect them to watch as well.  We all marvel at how this process has become easier and easier.  I also wonder what will come in the future?  What is the next step technology will take and how will it help coaches?  That is exciting to me.

Moving Through the Coaching Profession hosted by SMU DC Van Malone

I thought that last night was a great opportunity to learn from a D1 coach about moving through the coaching profession.  His perspective on what it takes to work through the ranks as a coach the right way was informative and helped me feel reassured about how I have gone through my career.  I hope it did the same for you.  Some of us may have the desire to pursue life as a college coach, and some of us do not.  No matter your career goals, last night's discussion touched on the methods and characteristics of how a coach should go about pursuing their career and being committed to your current program at the same time.  

I also hope you enjoyed having a fresh coach providing the discussion.  It is important as a learner to look for outside sources to drive our education.  It was refreshing for me and I will continue to look for coaches who would be willing to host in the future.  Please let me know your opinion on last night and how you think the chat is going.  

Texas High School Football Chat #9 - "Reading Keys and Communication"

It's so important that we spend time each week explaining what and why we do things on the football field.  It's also important that we read and learn from others.  This is how we continually grow and learn.  If we continue to do the same thing every single time, we will continue to get the same results!  So I hope you pick something up each week that you are putting into use so that we are all getting better.  

Next week we will have our first guest host, SMU defensive coordinator Van Malone.  He will be leading the chat on the topic of "Making Moves in the Coaching Profession...The Right Way!"  I am very excited about this and thankful for his willingness to host.  Enjoy going through the slides!

Texas High School Football Chat #8 - Two Sport Athletes

We all encourage our players to participate and compete in as many sports as possible.  We know that it directly impacts them as athletes, but it also helps them grow as individuals and opens up opportunities to continue their education in college.  Last night we had an outstanding chat about how we as coaches handle and promote our athletes to compete in as many sports as possible.  I can't help but think of Hugh Sandifer at Abilene Wylie coaching his kids to state champions in football and in basketball.  I am sure he had some two-sport athletes on those teams, and he demonstrated how to be a two-sport coach!  

Continue to take pride in your athletes and watching them compete year round!