On today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski talks with Ball State defensive coordinator David Elson for the first edition of our “Training Camp” series. Elson has served as the Cardinals’ defense coordinator since 2017 and has had other stints as defensive coordinator at Western Illinois, Southern Illinois and New Mexico State. Elson joins the podcast today to talk about how he installs his defense during camp as well as adjustments he may need to make during those dogdays of August.

Show Notes:

2:40 Coach’s Journey

6:22 Teaching his defense while having to adjust and add new players/parts

12:09 Making adjustments during camp based on what you see as a coach

19:19 Ideal time to install base defense in camp

24:16 Distribution of reps during camp

28:23 Making sure the staff stays sharp during camp

30:59 Balancing camp and family life

34:27 The Cardinal Way and recognizing it during camp

40:16 Blending and evaluating guys who buy into culture and communicating with players

46:42 Winning edge

Learn Defense: https://coachtube.com/courses/football/team-defense

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This is the weekly breakdown of USA Football's Coach and Coordinator Podcast Series by Keith Grabowski. These short clips highlight snippets of what the episodes from the week feature and the different guests on the show.

Highlights from this week on Coach and Coordinator:

Protecting the Team

Deep Dive on Defense- Transitioning from 4-2-5 to 3-4 & Five Fights w/ Slade Calhoun, DC Munford HS

The 4-1-6 Defense with Tyler Walker, Defensive Backs Coach Muskingum University

Best of Deliberate Practice Special Teams Edition

Week 1 Preparations with Kirk Fridrich, Head Coach Union HS

Check out our systems for skill development in blocking, defeating blocks and tackling at footballdevelopment.com

Follow us daily on Twitter for content and interaction @FBDevCoach

Check out X's and O's analysis at USA Football Blogs

blogs.usafootball.com

On today’s podcast, we welcome back Kirk Fridrich, head coach at Union High School in Tulsa, Okla. Coach Fridrich has led Union to five state championships in eight total appearances during his 12-year tenure as head coach of the Redskins. Coach joined the podcast today to talk about how he plans his training camp in regard to player conditioning. Additionally, he mapped out his plan for player reps as well as how his strength coach gets involved in camp.

Show Notes:

3:42 Learning how much your players are training

6:22 Building into week 1 and mapping out camp accordingly

12:00 Mapping out reps

13:41 Challenges coach faced as he developed his system

16:02 Practice plans and scripts

18:03 How much workload monitoring is done in season

20:02 Role of strength coach in camp

22:00 How coach’s system helps develop young players

23:38 Connect with Coach

Connect with Coach:

Twitter: @coach_fred

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Today's Coach and Coordinator podcast, we compiled some of the best drills from our Deliberate Practice series. Today's edition we will focus on some special teams drills for each different special teams unit.

Show Notes:

1:21 Punt Cover Drill

10:34 Special teams general talk

13:10 Punt Returner Drill

16:21 Front Wall Kickoff Return Drill and Coach Progression talk

22:00 PAT Drills

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On today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski talks with Tyler Walker, defensive backs coach, special team coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Muskingum University (Ohio). Prior to arriving at Muskingum, Walker was an assistant coach at Catholic Central High School (Mich.), where he worked primarily with the receivers and helped lead the Shamrocks to 14-0 overall record that was capped off by a Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 4 state championship. Walker joins the podcast today to talk about the 4-1-6 defensive scheme as a whole, specifically in regards to the secondary.

Show Notes:

1:15 Coaches experience during his first year at Muskingum

2:39 What did the staff do to change the culture at Muskingum

5:02 What were their defensive philosophies

8:36 4-1-6

10:20 Which RPO is easier to plan for

12:00 How they dictate who gets the ball in the RPO game

14:00 Similarities between his front and tight front

15:50 What kind of hybrid players is coach looking for

17:40 What problems do big body offenses give to this defense

19:58 Preparing in camp

22:50 Secondary responsibilities

26:03 Meg adjustment

28:29 Safety run support

30:12 Installation and drill plans

32:41 Efficient game planning

36:38 Matching up tempo offenses

39:37 Balancing his duties as special teams coach with his defensive responsibilities

46:25 Winning Edge

Connect with Coach

Twitter: @CoachTWalker

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On today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, the “Deep Dive on Defense” series continues as Slade Calhoun sits down with guest host Chris Vasseur. Calhoun is the defensive coordinator at Munford High School in Tennessee and was featured on USA Football’s “Film to Field Friday” segment featuring the Fight to Track. Calhoun joined Vasseur to talk about his transition from a 4-2-5 defense to a 3-4 defense as well as some feedback on his experience with the Advanced Tackling System and the Five Fights.

Show Notes:

2:34 Coach’s journey

6:32 How close was Coach’s defense to TCU’s

12:04 Language system

15:28 Calling a defense

17:58 Tying together front and secondary

19:11 Reason for changing defenses

22:17 Why did Coach change the entirety of the system

24:24 What coaches who are switching to an odd front need to be aware of

26:10 When to stop thinking in terms of conversion as opposed to the new front

30:16 Go to vs balanced pro I

34:37 Fitting coverage vs 10 and 11 personnel

37:37 Effect RPO’s have had on defenses

40:35 Chasing ghosts

44:05 Other transitions coach had to make

47:52 Other concerns with transitioning to new defense

51:10 New coverages with defensive change

54:01 Overlap

56:01 Not being afraid

1:00:38 Coach’s thoughts on the Five Fights

1:12:08 Pressure Situation Call

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On today’s episode of the Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski shares one of the key concepts stressed by Mike Shanahan at the QB Collective camp this past week: how to protect the team. Grabowski shares different ways in which coaches can help to protect the team during training camp and which situations coaches and players need think about.

Show Notes:

2:00 QB Collective

2:40 Mike Shanahan’s talk about install

4:12 Meaning of “protect the team”

6:22 Ways to protect team in practice – not finishing easy hits in practice

9:20 Holding receivers in practice

12:34 Interior players and defining clear systems

13:38 Pass rush

14:31 Defensive linemen

15:28 Separating aggression into specific drills

16:34 Banned drills

17:55 Team run vs. inside Run

19:18 Practice smart

20:00 Final thoughts

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Today's Coach and Coordinator podcast we compiled some of the best drills from our Deliberate practice series. Today's edition we will focus on some defensive drills for each position.

Today's Coach and Coordinator podcast we compiled some of the best drills from our Deliberate practice series. Today's edition we will focus on some offensive drills for each position.

On today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, guest host Chris Vasseur is joined by Mark Duda, head football coach and defensive line coach at Lackawanna College (Pa.), for another “Deep Dive on Defense” segment. Duda has been head coach at Lackawanna since 1994 and has produced over 370 Division I athletes, including 15 who went on to sign NFL deals. Duda played in the NFL for five years as a defensive lineman under a couple of great NFL defensive coaches in Floyd Peters and Jim Johnson. Coach has been named Northeast Football Conference Coach of the Year on four different occasions and is currently the active leader among coaches in the NJCAA in wins, ranking No. 12 all-time. Duda joined the podcast today to talk about everything from basic defensive line technique to stunts, games, twists and a whole bunch more.

Show Notes:

1:33 Which side you put your stunts on

5:03 Other games coach loves

17:01 Pick stunts

24:40 Specific stunt

30:30 Playing vs. the RPO game

39:48 3-3 Slant angle

45:47 Double team

50:18 Lag technique

1:02:30 Pressure Call

1:05:01 Connect with Coach

Connect with Coach:

Twitter: @markduda73

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