Today’s guest on this “Lessons from 2017” edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Vinny DiGaetano, linebacker coach and defensive assistant at Wagner (New York) College. In 2013, DiGaetano was named to the USA Football Master Trainer program. DiGaetano will be speaking at the 2018 USA Football National Conference, Jan. 26-28 in Orlando, Florida. On today’s podcast, DiGaetano talks about the importance of self-evaluation and gives an overview of his National Conference topic, Year-Round Tackling Program.

Show Notes

0:35 Takeaways from the 2017 season

1:50 DiGaetano talks about his self-evaluation process

3:15 Evaluating areas that need improvement, then working on them in practice

4:50 Preparation at practice

6:55 Sideline organization and planning on the sideline

10:35 Communicating roles to players on certain plays

13:20 DiGaetano gives an overview of his National Conference presentation

Today’s guest on this “Lessons from 2017” edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Rob Hinson, head football coach at Timber Creek Regional High School in Sicklerville, New Jersey and a four-time New Jersey sectional champion. Hinson will be speaking at the 2018 USA Football National Conference, Jan 26-28 in Orlando, Florida. On today’s podcast, Hinson talks about managing two-way players and gives a preview of what he will be discussing at the National Conference, Rolling Coverage to Adjust to Motion.

Show Notes

0:40 Coach Hinson talks about what he learned from the 2017 season

1:51 How Coach Hinson game-plans against the run

2:45 Changing the scheme to stop the run

3:40 Special teams player composition

6:00 Handling two-way players

7:20 Organizing player rotations for game day

10:10 Managing player reps

13:00 Competitiveness between players

15:25 What positions Hinson does not play two ways

16:40 Hinson gives a preview of his National Conference presentation

Today’s guest on this “Lessons from 2017” edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Jake Gilbert, the head football coach at Westfield (Indiana) High School. The Shamrocks won the 2016 Class 5A state championship. Gilbert will be speaking at the 2018 USA Football National Conference, Jan. 26-28 in Orlando, Florida. On today’s podcast, Gilbert talks about building a system for leadership and his National Conference topic, Pressuring the Quarterback.

Show Notes

0:45 Coach Gilbert talks about mental toughness

2:15 Keeping players prepared for unexpected situations

3:35 How to keep players in a positive mindset

4:50 Importance of communication

6:05 Tips on communicating team culture to players

7:40 Focusing on what to take away from a game other than wins or losses

10:15 Creating a good system for building leaders

12:30 Constructing a culture

14:15 Coach Gilbert gives a preview of his National Conference presentation

Today’s guest on this “Lessons from 2017” edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Will Hewlett, one of the country’s most sought-after experts on the quarterback position. Hewlett will be speaking at the 2018 USA Football National Conference, Jan. 26-28 in Orlando, Florida. On today’s podcast, Hewlett speaks about developing a better quarterback and gives a preview of his National Conference topic, Coaching the QB & Eliminating Common Coaching Errors.

Show Notes

0:45 Hewlett reflects on what he learned from the 2017 season

3:15 Building confidence in players

6:15 What young QBs can learn from Jalen Hurt’s character

8:15 “Don’t get caught up with what a player can be”

11:15 Continuing to evaluate yourself as a coach

14:35 Breaking out of the everyday drill mentality

16:50 Hewlett talks about top college quarterback talent

20:30 Best quarterback fit for the Cleveland Browns

23:25 Hewlett gives a preview of his National Conference presentation

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Today’s guests on this episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast are Brian and Tim Kight from Focus 3, live at the AFCA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. On today’s podcast, Brian and Tim discuss the importance of organizing, implementing, and simplifying a system for leadership and culture. Brian will be speaking at the 2018 USA Football National Conference, Jan. 26-28 in Orlando, Florida.

Show Notes

2:10 Organizing a system to simplify new lessons you take away

5:30 Systems are universal and can be applied to different situations

7:10 “Simple and easy are not the same thing”

8:30 Mistakes people make when trying to build a system

10:10 A system must show you “how to”

11:35 Brian and Tim give a brief explanation of the Focus 3 system

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You can get the coaching leadership system at http://www.usafootball.com/focus3

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Andy Ryland, Senior Manager of Education and Training at USA Football. Ryland was instrumental in the development of USA Football’s Heads Up Football and Master Trainer programs. Ryland will be speaking at the 2018 USA Football National Conference, Jan 26-28 in Orlando, Florida. On today’s podcast, Ryland talks about his experience with emphasizing the shoulder tackle and gives a preview of what he will be presenting at the National Conference.

Show Notes

0:45 Ryland explains his playing and coaching background

3:05 Ryland talks about his experience with the Seattle Seahawks and shoulder tackling

6:50 Shoulder tackling can improve player confidence and player safety

9:30 Importance of teaching new tackling trends

12:30 Game planning different types of tackles against different schemes

16:10 The importance of focusing on the technical aspects of football

18:05 Ryland gives a preview of his National Conference presentation

20:00 Ryland gives his perspective on what coaches can gain by attending the National Conference

Today’s guest on this “Lessons from 2017” edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Jeremy Plaa, the head football coach at Thomas Downey High School in Modesto, California and six-time Conference Coach of the Year. Plaa will be speaking at the 2018 USA Football National Conference, Jan. 26-28 in Orlando, Florida. On today’s podcast, Plaa speaks about leadership and gives a preview of his National Conference topic, Recruiting Players from Your School.

Show Notes

0:40 Creating backup schemes and learning through adversity

2:20 Implementing backup schemes in practice

5:40 Blocking different types of schemes

7:00 How to develop leadership

10:00 How to implement new leaders within a team

12:00 How failure can increase motivation

14:50 Continue to seek improvements even when you’re winning

15:45 Preview of Plaa’s National Conference presentation

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Today’s guest on the “Lessons from 2017” series of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Joe Frollo. He's a longtime youth football official, serving as a head referee with organizations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. He joined USA Football’s communications team in 2010 and currently serves as senior manager of education, working alongside football experts to create online courses for coaches, officials and parents. In the podcast, Frollo talks about officials' roles in games beyond making calls, coach-official interaction and more. Follow Joe on Twitter: @Joe_Frollo

Show notes

0:45 Why Frollo got into officiating

2:10 How the game perspective is different when officiating

4:25 How to set the tone for a game as an official before the game starts

9:20 How coaches can best communicate disputes with officials during the game

11:00 The benefits of interacting positively with officials

13:45 How coaches can help fix the shortage of officials

15:45 A sneak peek at Frollo's National Conference presentation

In today’s Lessons from 2017 podcast, Bridgewater College defensive coordinator Rob Everett joins host Keith Grabowski. Everett discusses how his defense finished first in turnovers and second in sacks in-conference this past season, not overthinking on the field, building program culture and more.

Show notes

1:15: Creativity in coaching

4:50: How to properly disguise within the defense

8:00: Think fast, play fast

9:30: “Just put the ball down and let’s go”

12:30: Culture lessons from 2017

15:10: USA Football National Conference topic

Elder joins host Keith Grabowski on today's Lessons from 2017 podcast. Now in his 12th year leading the Eagles, Elder's squad won 13 games en route to the Division II state semifinals this past season. On the podcast, Elder discusses how to build a family environment and parent relationships, the results from a new offseason program, that playing time matters most at the middle school level and more.

Show notes

1:30: Increasing football participation at Avon

3:00: How the coaching staff markets the program

7:25: Modern parent relations

9:50: Long-term program management

12:00: New models for youth football

16:00: Evolution of offseason approach

18:10: Strength class for younger players

19:47: Coaching staff philosophy

22:45: How early playing time builds for the future

26:00: USA Football National Conference topic