The Coaching 101 Podcast

There are many ways to configure your best 5 players on the offensive line. Some guys want to look like an NFL team with 5 of the biggest guys possible, some play small ball and choose mobility over everything. Coach Simpson utilizes a “Strong Side” and “Quick Side” when building his line.

On this episode Kenny and Daniel discuss how to use a Strong and Quick side, why you use this method, and how to prevent people from gaining tendencies.

What are your Strong and Quick Side Linemen?

• Usually in a TE/H back based offense
• Generally smaller more athletic to quick side and larger to the strong side
• Strong for Downs, Quick for pulls/ folds/ etc

Why do you use Strong Side, Quick Side vs traditional OL alignment?

• Personnel challenges
• Teach plays 1-way
• Protect deficiencies
• Highlight strengths
• Pair weak Pass Setters with TE/H help to keep the edge secure

How do you prevent this from becoming an identifier?

• Must run plays to both sides
• Must be able to shift the “strength” of the TE/Wing
• Not a bad thing to have “tendencies”
  • Use it to your advantage when you need it
• Tackle Over becomes easier
• Coaches can’t see everything, and kids don’t know any better
  • DE aligned on OT… even though the opposite OT was in Tackle Over

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: “Don’t over think how you are being seen by an opponent on offense”

Social Media

• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

“You live by the blitz, and you die by the blitz. It’s a double-edged sword.” 

Blitzes are a tool to help your defense in many situations. The blitz for some, is a rarity, and for others an every play call. They range from simple to complex… to EXOTIC, generally based on how many people are doing a job they don’t normally do to make the blitz work.

On this episode Kenny and Daniel are talking about building out a Blitz package and layering those blitzes to keep things simple.

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

JV games can sometimes feel like a time and energy sink. You probably think you don’t have enough time as it is, and now you have to at least marginally scout a JV team, create another game plan, and take an hour plus bus ride on a Monday or Thursday night to play a game where the records don’t really matter. The big thing to remember here, everything else DOES MATTER.

On this episode Kenny and Daniel are breaking down the importance of JV and B Team games. We’ll look at what they are, why they’re important, and how to pick who plays and who coaches them.

What are B Team Games?

• Non starters
• Young coaches - low pressure
• Everyone plays
• JV, Freshman (Froshmores), youth, middle school, JH
• Developmental vs performance teams

Why are they important to your program?

• Development of coaches/players
• Opportunity for players putting in the work to get an opportunity
• Finding special teams / Developing backups 
• Building confidence in kids as young as possible, get them to stay on the team through their high school years
• Use as an additional live fire practice

How do we choose who plays/coaches?

• Non-starters
• Younger coaches - future OC/HC/DC
• “Future spot” - important role (QB) for development

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson:  “Don’t forget your youth/jv groups” 

Social Media

• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

The RPO is the Big Thing right now in football. Coaches across the nation are either running them, or wishing they knew how to run them. They’re no secret anymore, but they can still frustrate you on Friday nights. 

On this Episode, we’re discussing how you can prevent some of that frustration by stopping the RPO Game in its tracks. 

What is the RPO Game?

• QB reading a defender
• Can be a pull to run or throw off several players
• Starting to evolve to double reads
• RRO’s
  • BASH Game
• RPO’s
  • OLB/Safety
• Stick Concept
  • Out/Curl

How are opponents trying to use RPO’s against me?

• Usually it is a “conflict defender”
• Or could be a box fitter
• Could be your best player

What can I do to stop them?

• Choose what you want them to do
  • Don’t let their best player beat you
• Man coverage mixes
• Bluff and move players
• Disguise your coverage
  • The kid is throwing the ball, not the coach.
  • Limited time to read and react
• In the fit/out of the fit
• What concepts are they running?
  • How efficient are they at it?
  • 3 things can happen on every pass play, two of them are bad

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: “Worry about stopping everything”

Social Media

• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

Big Rivalry Games are some of the most fun in our sport. For 364 days SOMEONE is going to have bragging rights around town, in the district, or in your region. Whether it’s a trophy game, the cross town team, or a seemingly annual playoff clash, these games can make or break a season for your team and your community.

What defines a Rivalry?

• Years of competition 
• Geographically close teams
• Playoff clashes
• Trophy Games

Why do some teams do well with Big Rivalry Games?

• Make the week as normal as possible
• Don’t build more pressure on top of the public will put on the game
• Properly managing your offseason practice time to help with specific scheme/problem solving for that team
• Go out and perform aggressively
• Put a chip on your kids’ shoulders

How to Stay Calm Coaching Big Rivalry Games?

• Enjoy what you’re doing
• Don’t let the pressure destroy your love of the game
• Keep things in perspective, this isn’t the most important thing that will ever happen to you
• Be honest with the team about the situation. Don’t lie to control them

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: “Don’t place too much value on a single game.”

Social Media

• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

Not every game goes the way you want it. Sometimes those bad games are worse than others. You may lose to a team well beneath your size, recent level of success, or maybe you give up the game on a bad play call late in the game.

On this episode Kenny SImpson and Daniel Chamberlain are joined  by Prairie Grove Asst. Football Coach Beau Collins to discuss losing tough games, how to deal with the loss, what adjustments to make the next week, and how to move on quickly.

Dealing with defeat as a coach

• Losses are not all equal. 
• Expected losses aren’t as gut wrenching as losing a close game
• Don’t blame anyone else

What adjustments do you make that week?

• Relationship with the kids has to be the same after a win or a loss
• Have to give them confidence in the system, and then show them where they needed one more block, cut, read, etc
• Fix it period
• Troubleshoot yourself
  • Communication
  • Headsets
  • Kicking Tees
  • Situational Football
  • Adjusting scheme on the fly

How do you move on quickly?

• It depends on the loss
  • Don’t watch the film
  • Discuss your mistakes
  • give the kids some key points to fix
• 5-10 plays that they can learn from
• Don’t make a mockery of the kid you’re already trying to hide

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: Don’t compare football games to death.

Social Media

• Beau Collins
  • Twitter: @CoachBCollins
• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

Coaches meetings, and overall weekend schedules in season, are a thing of beauty. Each coach has a way he likes to do things, and they’re usually based on either, “the way it’s always been,” or “we never go into the office.”

On this episode Kenny Simpson and Daniel Chamberlain are discussing the key pieces that must be covered during your meetings, how to keep them as short as possible, and making changes for the betterment of the program.

What are the most important things to include in your coaches meetings?

• Clean up your mess, whether that’s management, personnel, or technique
• Prepare for the next opponent
• Practice plans and all admin requirements 

Why do we cover these things specifically?

• Set the agenda and stick to it, don’t try to mold it as you go
• Meet with as small of groups as possible
• Address the details
• 
  

How can we improve on what we’ve done historically?

• Use technology, it’ll make your life much easier in the long run
• Do as much as you can online
• Meet only with those that you need to meet with
• Don’t bring the kids in

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: Don’t make meetings something an email can cover

Social Media

• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

Self Scouting can be one of the most important things you’ll do for yourself as a coach and for your program. You can’t see everything on the practice field. And in game time scenarios, you’ll likely do things from the gut and less calculated. Self scouting is the best way to analyze what those gut calls are before they happen, and practice film can show you issues LONG before that Friday night kickoff.

What are the benefits of self scouting?

• Ability to see issues you WILL face
• Dictate defenses keys and then use against them
• See problems with your playcalling (both sides)
• Do you have too little, too much?
• Are the kids confused?
• What part of my system is broken, can be taken advantage of? 

What are we looking for when we turn on the film?

• Keys an opponent will pick up on - formations/motions/field zone
• Personnel issues we may have
• Kids doing things right? ASKA 
• Basic Key Reads
  • Guards
    • Birddogging
    • Stance change?
  • Mesh Point holding safeties/OLBs?
    • Holding too long, flash too short?
  • Are we disguising things well?
    • Leaving too much space/leverage?
• Are your groups working well together? 
  • DL, LBs, DBs
  • Run Fits, Pass Coverage

How can we improve our self scouting?

• Send to retired coach
• Use your own staff on other side of the ball
• 10-15 min “fix it” period

Favorite Hudl / QuikCut custom columns?

• 3rd down, formation, their sideline, ways to create big plays - 90% + columns
• Bench/Away, Boundary/Field, from a hash, play to/away H/TE

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: Do not get lazy with Hudl Assist

Social Media

• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

Coaching sports is a very complex endeavor. In high school football, you are given 10 weeks to showcase the work you put in for the other 42. If you’re successful, you earn the right to play more and eventually, best case scenario, you win the last game of the year and hoist that championship trophy. But then what? The trophy goes on the shelf, the depth chart rolls over, you start installing fundamentals again, and you start back at the beginning.

In this episode, coaches Kenny Simpson and Daniel Chamberlain, and their guest coach Tyrell Shelley, discuss what Beyond the Game means to them, why winning games isn’t everything (although still critically important), and some ways you can begin extending your influence beyond the locker room. 

What does “Beyond the Game” mean to you?

• It’s who you are, not what you do.
• Definition of a coach - transportation 
• Who can you impact - players, parents, coaches, community members
• Impact of a football team on the school
• How do you do this - programs? Themes? 

Why do we as coaches need to worry about more than wins and loses?

• You can never win them all
• They will fire you at some point, even when you’re doing “well”
• Who cares about championships in about 6 months, the kids have to be the priority

How can we extend our influence beyond the game?

• Events with parents
• Be involved after they graduate
• Relationships over everything
• Professionalism always
• Extreme Ownership
• Show resilience
• Say “I love you.” Open that door and let them know it's okay.

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: Don’t be someone else’s version of you

Social Media

• Guest
  • Email: [email protected]
• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected]
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com

RPO’s are the way forward in offensive football. You’re either using them, or being beaten by them. To take full advantage, you need to find a way to incorporate them with the system you’re already running, not changing systems just to run RPOs.

On this episode, we discuss what RPO’s are, how to install them, and how to use them to open up the run AND pass games.

What is an RPO?

• types of RPO - Run/Run, Run/Pass, Run/Run/Pass
  • Rich Rodriguez/ Gus Malzahn 
  • Screens/ Routes opposite side of a run play
• Can you teach off multiple runs

How do we install RPOs?

• Deciding on them - Verbiage to use
  • Who are we going to read?
  • What is our word to key our players on that read?
  • What route is attached? Where is it aimed at?
• Deciding on them - QB teaching
  • What do the words mean?
  • Where do his eyes go?
    • If/Then based on a defender
  • How to get his feet right?
• Deciding on them - Automatics

How can we use RPOs to open up our run and pass game?

• Protecting the run or setting up explosive plays 
• When to pull?

What NOT to do as a Coach

• Today’s Lesson: “Keep things simple does not mean limit your playbook”

Social Media

• Daniel
  • Twitter: @CoachChamboOK
  • Email: [email protected] 
• Kenny
  • Twitter: @FBCoachSimpson
  • Email: [email protected]
• Coaching 101 Podcast
  • Twitter: @Coaching101Pod

Daniel Chamberlain:

@CoachChamboOK

[email protected]

chamberlainfootballconsulting.com

Kenny Simpson:

@FBCoachSimpson

[email protected]

FBCoachSimpson.com