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:

The Game Plan - John Palermo, Defensive line guru

Deliberate Practice - Attention to detail in Up Tempo Practice

Coach Grabowski's Notebook - Calibrating the Passing Offense

The Leadership Journey - Next Man Up

Smart Coaching - Managing Mid-season Slumps

Smart Coaching: Managing Mid-season Slumps

On this episode of smart coaching Keith and University of Denver sport coaching professors, Dr. Brian Gearity and Dr. Clayton Kuklick dig into a very relative topic, the mid-season slumps. For most of you, you’re in the mid-season regardless of where your team is in the standings you must be cautious of morale wavering just from a long season. Slumps are natural, and the doctors point out what can factor into those slumps and how we can properly identify slump like behavior. Also, how we must be aware of not causing ourselves to go into a slump and the same with our athletes.

01:00 Where can we slump

02:25 Academic idea of slumps

02:50 Definition of a slump

04:40 Are there triggers for a slump?

04:50 Arousal

05:45 Different causes of slump

07:10 Practical ways to prevent slumps

08:10 Visualization and Self talk

09:12 Identify the cause

11:40 Involve experts

13:00 Hidden Causes

14:00 Involve the team and look outside your team

15:20 Team cohesion affecting slumps

15:35 Planning

16:40 Keep working the plan

17:06 Doing things regularly and constantly

21:45 Keith talks about a restart

22:40 Refocusing

24:15 Start with focus on the process

26:15 Final thoughts

27:02 Enjoying the process

28:10 Athlete performance variations

Smart Coaching: Managing Mid-season Slumps

On this episode of smart coaching Keith and University of Denver sport coaching professors, Dr. Brian Gearity and Dr. Clayton Kuklick dig into a very relative topic, the mid-season slumps. For most of you, you’re in the mid-season regardless of where your team is in the standings you must be cautious of morale wavering just from a long season. Slumps are natural, and the doctors point out what can factor into those slumps and how we can properly identify slump like behavior. Also, how we must be aware of not causing ourselves to go into a slump and the same with our athletes.

01:00 Where can we slump

02:25 Academic idea of slumps

02:50 Definition of a slump

04:40 Are there triggers for a slump?

04:50 Arousal

05:45 Different causes of slump

07:10 Practical ways to prevent slumps

08:10 Visualization and Self talk

09:12 Identify the cause

11:40 Involve experts

13:00 Hidden Causes

14:00 Involve the team and look outside your team

15:20 Team cohesion affecting slumps

15:35 Planning

16:40 Keep working the plan

17:06 Doing things regularly and constantly

21:45 Keith talks about a restart

22:40 Refocusing

24:15 Start with focus on the process

26:15 Final thoughts

27:02 Enjoying the process

28:10 Athlete performance variations

Leadership Journey Next Man Up Show Notes:

This week on the leadership journey series Keith and Brian talk about the idea of next man up. They talk about the importance of how you get there. What kind of preparation you need for that to be true for your team. They use E+R= O (Events+Respones+Outcome) on how coaches and players are to be scaled in their possibility to be the next man up. Explaining ideas of how to give and receive feedback so the players can know where they’re at and where they need to be.

02:44 You can’t give what you don’t have

03:05 Teaching E+R=O

04:00 Coaches help level players up

05:40 You have to train like a starter everyday

07:00 Use E+R=O where you are

07:45 Train what if your number never gets called

09:39 Bill Walsh contingency plans idea

11:00 There’s a team and there’s an individual

13:10 Roles must be clarified and its importance

14:45 Show your skillset

15:25 Discipline is the shortcut

18:00 You can’t be totally prepared

19:00 Getting into the mechanics of E+R=O

19:30 R factor limit

20:20 E what players are good at or need to get better at

26:20 You have your own E+R=O

28:20 Daily Discipline

30:30 National Conference Information

Leadership Journey Next Man Up Show Notes:

This week on the leadership journey series Keith and Brian talk about the idea of next man up. They talk about the importance of how you get there. What kind of preparation you need for that to be true for your team. They use E+R= O (Events+Respones+Outcome) on how coaches and players are to be scaled in their possibility to be the next man up. Explaining ideas of how to give and receive feedback so the players can know where they’re at and where they need to be.

02:44 You can’t give what you don’t have

03:05 Teaching E+R=O

04:00 Coaches help level players up

05:40 You have to train like a starter everyday

07:00 Use E+R=O where you are

07:45 Train what if your number never gets called

09:39 Bill Walsh contingency plans idea

11:00 There’s a team and there’s an individual

13:10 Roles must be clarified and its importance

14:45 Show your skillset

15:25 Discipline is the shortcut

18:00 You can’t be totally prepared

19:00 Getting into the mechanics of E+R=O

19:30 R factor limit

20:20 E what players are good at or need to get better at

26:20 You have your own E+R=O

28:20 Daily Discipline

30:30 National Conference Information

Coach Grabowski’s Notebook – Calibrating the Passing Game

In this episode host Keith Grabowski shares another page from his notebook, this time discussing on how calibrating the passing game and focusing on the details can help the passing game from the mid season on.

00:19 An example of how rhythm and timing is affected on game day

01:05 Evaluate how a wrinkle affects the timing for QB and receivers

01:30 Background in learning from Homer Smith’s teaching

02:20 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0 as key points in a progression

02:43 Value of understating the details of your concepts especially as related to timing

03:21 Understanding common calibration times

03:35 Move eyes and feet through the progression

03:50 Timing of common routes

04:21 Escape route for the QB as part of the progression

04:45 Dub Maddox and Dan Gonzalez rhythm features of their system

05:26 Navigation tags

05:38 Rhythm feature as applied to QB drop

06:15 Rhythm feature as applied to receivers

06:55 Benefits of using the rhythm feature

07:45 Routes requiring hitch steps in QB drop

08:30 Counting receiver steps

09:29 Using the stop watch in practice and film to calibrate the passing game

11:35 Evaluation through calibration

11:47 Quick game timing

12:10 Defensive considerations to hurt calibration

12:29 RPO calibration

Coach Grabowski’s Notebook – Calibrating the Passing Game

In this episode host Keith Grabowski shares another page from his notebook, this time discussing on how calibrating the passing game and focusing on the details can help the passing game from the mid season on.

00:19 An example of how rhythm and timing is affected on game day

01:05 Evaluate how a wrinkle affects the timing for QB and receivers

01:30 Background in learning from Homer Smith’s teaching

02:20 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0 as key points in a progression

02:43 Value of understating the details of your concepts especially as related to timing

03:21 Understanding common calibration times

03:35 Move eyes and feet through the progression

03:50 Timing of common routes

04:21 Escape route for the QB as part of the progression

04:45 Dub Maddox and Dan Gonzalez rhythm features of their system

05:26 Navigation tags

05:38 Rhythm feature as applied to QB drop

06:15 Rhythm feature as applied to receivers

06:55 Benefits of using the rhythm feature

07:45 Routes requiring hitch steps in QB drop

08:30 Counting receiver steps

09:29 Using the stop watch in practice and film to calibrate the passing game

11:35 Evaluation through calibration

11:47 Quick game timing

12:10 Defensive considerations to hurt calibration

12:29 RPO calibration

Deliberate Practice week 6: Attention to Detail in Up-Tempo Practice

In this week’s episode of Deliberate Coaching Keith and Andy investigate ways to be efficient, as well as, productive coaching in an up-tempo practice environment. Keith brings back a clip with Nebraska Defensive Coordinator, Eric Chinander, who talks about the culture working with coaches Scott Frost and Chip Kelly. They highlight the importance of having communication and understanding amongst the coaching staff and that flowing down to the players. The common point is to be focused and have attention to detail for the team as a whole to thrive in that environment.

01:00 Balancing the up-tempo environment

02:50 Eric Chinander quote

09:20 Importance of time

10:20 Creating a language

11:50 Sharing game plans

13:00 Coaching on the run

14:50 Having learning ques

16:00 Practice rep v. gameday

17:00 Having fun with it

20:00 Inter-staff communication

23:20 Detail translating into drills

25:00 Lowest affective dose

26:00 Protection on special teams

27:00 Brace and hop drill

28:05 Putting it all together

29:10 Resources

30:00 National Conference Information

Deliberate Practice week 6: Attention to Detail in Up-Tempo Practice

In this week’s episode of Deliberate Coaching Keith and Andy investigate ways to be efficient, as well as, productive coaching in an up-tempo practice environment. Keith brings back a clip with Nebraska Defensive Coordinator, Eric Chinander, who talks about the culture working with coaches Scott Frost and Chip Kelly. They highlight the importance of having communication and understanding amongst the coaching staff and that flowing down to the players. The common point is to be focused and have attention to detail for the team as a whole to thrive in that environment.

01:00 Balancing the up-tempo environment

02:50 Eric Chinander quote

09:20 Importance of time

10:20 Creating a language

11:50 Sharing game plans

13:00 Coaching on the run

14:50 Having learning ques

16:00 Practice rep v. gameday

17:00 Having fun with it

20:00 Inter-staff communication

23:20 Detail translating into drills

25:00 Lowest affective dose

26:00 Protection on special teams

27:00 Brace and hop drill

28:05 Putting it all together

29:10 Resources

30:00 National Conference Information

Game Plan John Palermo D-line Show Notes:

This week on the Game Plan series Keith and Coach Coiner have defensive line coach legend John Palermo. Coach gives coaches great ways to coach up defensive linemen. He gives coaches the throwback mindset and focuses on fundamentals of defensive line play. How in his time in coaching fundamentals helped him and it can help coaches even with the demand of defensive line play.

01:12 Joe Palermo Intro

03:50 Joe Palermo Bio

07:00 Difference in the game

08:20 Great hands, eyes and feet

09:30 Playing the option

10:12 Playing the spread

11:20 4 Technique

12:08 The 3-4

12:55 Fundamentals in collision

13:35 Stopping the run first

14:50 5 technique

15:30 The changes in defensive line

17:05 Teaching young players

17:20 Playing your personality

19:00 Keep it simple

19:35 What to teach about the eyes

19:58 See the different levels of offensive linemen

20:23 Keep your eyes up

22:00 How to play RPO (Run Pass Option)

23:40 Do your job

24:50 Defending screen pass option

25:20 Coaches must control it

26:26 The assignments

29:15 Drills used to react

29:30 Screen angle drill

32:11 Keep feet moving and always fight pressure

33:00 Reminiscing the Notre Dame championship season

38:45 Football Development information