Adding a wrinkle

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins.

1:13 What to look for in the self scout

2:20 When it’s OK to break your tendencies

4:20 Looking at your game schedule to decide when to add a wrinkle

7:15 Focusing on what you do best when adding personnel

11:15 Adding screen concepts

14:24 Making sure the QB understands the wrinkle

16:56 Don’t add a wrinkle if safeties can’t adjust

18:35 Using movement to add a wrinkle

23:28 How to game plan movement

25:30 Main things to look at when adding a wrinkle midseason

Today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Grant Caserta. Caserta is the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Husson University (Maine). He was a finalist for Football Scoop’s Division III Coordinator of the Year following a 2016 season in which his defense held opponents to under 200 yards per game. He dives into designing game plans, prepping scout teams and game day communication.

Show notes

:52 Assigning the coaching staff tasks for game-day

2:34 Using film throughout the season

3:46 Designing practice to look like the game plan

5:10 Preparing the scout team to mimic the opponent

7:01 How freshmen and JV teams work into the program

9:25 Rotating between offense and defense in practice

11:45 Staying close to base

12:33 How Caserta responds to scripted plays

14:20 Procedure for in-game communication

16:32 How players communicate during the game

18:24 Husson’s favorite defensive call

19:45 The winning edge

Micah Kurtz, a nationally recognized Strength and Conditioning Coach, joins today’s High Performance series of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. He is currently the strength and conditioning coach AC Flora High School, and he previously worked at the University of South Carolina. Kurtz has been named the South Carolina Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in both 2013 and 2014. In the podcast, he discusses everything strength and conditioning and how he uses the Kinduct app.

Show notes

1:28 Overview of Kurtz’s strength and conditioning program

5:25 Varsity athletes’ in-season program

8:20 Drills and training load outside of the weight room

11:50 Allowing the athletes to evaluate themselves

14:10 Using the Kinduct app

20:52 The balance between reps and recovery

Subscribe to the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast on iTunes.

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins.

Show notes

• 1:04 Organizing the sideline

• 5:49 Detailing out the little things during a football game

• 8:15 Managing the sideline from a coach’s perspective

• 11:12 Making a graphic to detail the sideline procedure

• 13:03 How to communicate during a game

• 17:21 Play caller and head coach need to be on the same page

• 20:52 Having a system for everything you do

• 23:05 Defining roles of a coach in a kicking game

• 24:20 Percentages for offense

• 26:14 Snapshots in the NFL and sideline replay in HS

• 31:06 Communication with officials

Brian Kight and Keith Grabowski team up for this special Leadership Journey edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. This podcast will occur weekly throughout the season, focusing on issues that teams face during the season. Kight, the CEO of Focus 3, discusses the challenges with building team culture in today’s podcast.

Show notes

3:02 Discussing playing time with players and their parents

4:51 Things that elite coaches do to create culture

7:18 How to keep parents connected in the team culture

10:38 Drawing clear boxes

12:51 Tips for coaches who need to get their team culture back on track

15:20 Putting together a culture playbook

19:15 Breaking down the culture playbook

24:14 Football is more than a game

28:56 Don’t be afraid of criticism

31:57 Stay educated on the sport

Subscribe to the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast on iTunes.

On today's episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast, Mike Emendorfer joins the show. Emendorfer is the head coach at Wisconsin-Platteville, where he's coached for the past 19 years, breaking numerous offensive records in the process. Emendorfer's teams at Wisconsin-Platteville routinely appear in national rankings and he's taken home Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors twice.

Show notes

1:19 How Emendorfer adds wrinkles to the game-plan

3:14 Creativity sparked by opponents’ film

4:48 Weighing pros and cons when adding concepts to playbook

6:06 Method for beginning a game

7:19 Breaking down game-day communication

10:48 Keeping simple concepts

12:28 Changes made in practice throughout the season

14:13 How to mentally prepare players

16:45 The winning edge

Rob Everett, defensive coordinator at Bridgewater (Va.) College, joins today’s USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Before arriving at Bridgewater, Everett was the defensive coordinator at Westfield (Va.) High School for five seasons, where he boasted a record of 61-8 and went 15-4 in state playoff games. He has also been a coach advisor for HigherEchelon Inc., which developed the GoArmy Edge Football App, and other companies, including Automated Sports Analytics and GameSense Sports.

Show notes

1:04 How to train and teach players to adjust in games

3:35 Game day operations for coaches

8:30 How to identify “money downs”

11:54 Practice periods for “money down” scenarios

13:25 Educating coaches on all the rules of football

16:46 Treating officials properly

17:33 The winning edge

Brian Kight and Keith Grabowski team up for this special Leadership Journey edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. This podcast will occur weekly throughout the season, focusing on issues that teams face during the season. Kight, the CEO of Focus 3, discusses culture and alignment in today’s podcast.

Show notes

2:01 Trying to create alignment within the coaching staff

4:21 The definition of a coach

8:28 How coaches benefit from self-assessments

12:51 Keep systems simple but detailed

15:16 Alignment happens with clarity, support, and accountability

19:46 The reason teams struggle with alignment

23:07 “Embrace the uniqueness of you, but align with us”

26:18 Tips to get players to align

28:01 A foundation of beliefs

31:47 Encouragement for coaches

Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) offensive coordinator Andrew Coverdale sits down with Keith in this episode of USA Football’s Coach and Coordinator podcast. Coverdale dishes on how the high school power house transitions their summer install into the season, the practice process on Monday and Saturday, and QB live pass periods. He also shares key offensive concepts that paved the way for Trinity’s 15-0, state title-winning season in 2016.

Show Notes

1:15 Transitioning summer install into the season

5:45 Forcing kids to use their eyes

7:28 How to keep a small playbook

11:33 The process for Saturday and Monday practices

16:53 QB “like it” or “love it” list

20:06 Breaking down Monday practices

23:22 Live pass periods that help QBs

27:02 The winning edge

Today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, The Game Plan, features former coach Terry Shea, who does consulting work for future NFL Draft prospects. He’s served as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Game Plan is a weekly in-season feature that shares thematic ideas that can help coaches and teams once the season begins.

Show notes

:46 Shea on working with Bill Walsh at Stanford

3:21 The best way to plan and practice the two-minute drill

6:44 Preparing for the last 15 seconds of the game

10:21 Relying on execution and up-tempo offense

12:34 Allowing the QB to call plays

17:38 How to practice the last 3 plays on the game-plan

20:48 Coaches preparation and four-minute drills

24:23 Critical situations in games that don’t come up in practice

27:17 Not practicing the 2-point play

30:45 A rare situation that can win you a ball game