FNFC Coaches | Coaches of the Year Edition | March-April 2021

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Coach of the year Selections

14

CONTENTMARCH-APRIL

04 Q&A with SJSU coach Brent Brennan

02

06 Inner-City Coach on Culture-Building 08 Nominate a Player for U.S. National Team 10 Communicate with Players From the Booth

16

TEXAS STATE CHAMPION COACH SHARES HOW HE DID IT

12 Innovative Coach on Why He Never Punts 17 Pennsylvania Coach on Overcoming Heartbreak 18 How Champion Coaches Dealt with Pauses to Season

PLAYBOOK MISSOURI STATE CHAMPION COACH REVEALS TECH, APPS THAT HELPED HIM WIN

24 Attack out of Veer and Gut 26 Stopping Offenses in an Empty Formation 27 Attacking Cover 4

19

28 Tips to Maximizing Mental Performance 29 How to Improve Your Program’s Culture 30 An Action Plan for Heat-Related Illness 31 Create a Tech Culture 32 What to Look for When Buying Headsets

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COLLEGE Q & A for the academic process of the athlete he’s charged to motivate. If you’re a position coach, you need to know exactly each of your player’s attendance and grades … We decorate a huge wall outside of our study hall in the middle of the football building with mug shots of any player who gets a 3.0 GPA or better.

If our players embrace the academic process, the football will handle itself.”

with Q&A San Jose State

ff How did you change the program’s strength and conditioning program?

University coach Brent Brennan

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

One of the hottest names in college football coaching circles is San Jose State University coach Brent Brennan.

The Spartans coach led SJSU to an undefeated regular season and a top-25 ranking in the AP Poll — remarkable considering SJSU was just 3-22 in his first two seasons as head coach in 2017 and 2018. The following excerpts were taken from an FNF Coaches Podcast interview.

04

ff Going back to when you accepted the job in December of 2016, what was your vision for establishing a culture?

in their academic process and physical development.”

“We chose to start with a holistic approach to developing young men.

The thought process started with ways we could measure achievement in the offseason. We started building our team up academically and building athletes in the weight room. We wanted high levels of accountability to themselves and to each other in both aspects of day-to-day life. Starting there, it gave our players a chance to understand that this coaching staff was going to care more about them as men than as football players.

We were going to be heavily involved

ff What challenges did you encounter while trying to establish a culture?

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“Any time you have a transition in a coaching staff, that’s hard. There were really good players here who didn’t have a great experience with our staff during that first year. There’s always that transition phase with hard moments of leadership. They’re deciding, ‘Do I want to buy into the new guy? Or am I a part of the old guy’s system?’ We tried to bring everyone together and have that involvement in the academic process first. Every coach is directly responsible

“I wouldn’t say it changed so much.

We interjected our staff in the weight room. We were around while the players were lifting. We had on-field conditioning with them. Coaches were a part of it. We were with them on the field as they were running, and we were encouraging them or challenging them.”

ff How did your program’s rallying cry -- Climb the Mountain -- come about?

“It started last year. What I felt we were facing early on was a sizable mountain. I called it Mount Everest to give a visual. It really started when we were sent home for shelter-in-place due to the COVID situation. What we were trying to do is give guys something to rally around. So, we kept talking about climbing the mountain, and the only way to do it is one step at a time. There’s a methodical, consistent approach to climbing the mountain. We all needed to adhere to it even though we weren’t all together. Some guys were home in awesome family situations; some were in awful family situations. Some had access to weights, some didn’t. I started sending out videos of myself getting to the top of a mountain near my house.

Pretty soon, everyone started sending videos around. It became a funny thing for our team.”

ff Will you still use the same slogan now that you’ve cracked the top 25?

“Once we got into the fall, it shifted.

Once we beat Air Force, everyone was kissing our asses and telling us how good we were. Then, it became, ‘Stop, I’m climbing the mountain. I can’t be distracted. I can’t hear that either; I don’t have time for that.’”

COLLEGE Q & A ff What qualities are you looking for in assistant coaches when you’re rounding out your staff?

“The first thing I’m looking for is guys who care about players’ whole development. That part of it is so critical to me. I think it gets lost in college and pro football right now. With social media, the process of developing a team is harder. When I got hired, people on social media were like, ‘You hired Brett Brennan? Boo, he sucks.

We don’t know him. He’s not sexy enough.’

The administration and the program has to deal with it. When I hire an assistant coach, I hire him because I think he gives us the best chance to win. I’m hiring him because he cares about the development of players holistically, socially, academically and athletically. He’ll be a part of that man’s life and help him grow into a better version of himself over four or five years.

At this level, coaches are smart, and the schemes are good. That’s all part of it, but the magic is in the people.”

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ff How did you convince your staff and players that you were the right guy for the job?

“Have a plan and go to work. There will be challenges, and you can’t control the voices outside. Do you have a plan? And are you invested in your coaches and players?”

THE PROBLEM WITH RECRUITING

W

ith the NCAA recruiting cycle currently in a lengthy dead period due to the pandemic, many high school prospects are finding it challenging to drum up interest from college coaches. Signing Day in early February came and went without much fanfare, and Brennan believes that could be a permanent change.

“We signed 13 guys in December at Early Signing Day,” Brennan said.

“That’s become the real Signing Day because 90% of recruits sign early.

That’s shifted the last couple of years.”

Another shift -- particularly for a college based in California -- is that there are fewer opportunities to scout players in person. California did not have a fall football season.

“It’s important we recruit in the Bay Area and in the state of California,”

Brennan said. “We want guys who are tough and love the game, but everyone wants that. Whether you get them is dependent on the talent base and how far up you are on the food chain.”

Even though SJSU has moved up the food chain with a top-25 season, Brennan isn’t expecting recruiting to get any easier.

“The other part that makes it challenging with the NCAA granting another year of eligibility is roster management,” Brennan said. “That’s really complicated. I’m not going on the road to recruit, and there’s no high school football. That’s really sad for the 2021 class. It makes it really complicated for the Class of 2022.

It’s going to happen much later in the process. We’re going off sophomore year tape right now.”

05

CULTURE BUILDING

■■Whitehaven (Tenn.) coach Rodney Saulsberry

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Saulsberry has found that the best way to connect with high school players is to take an interest in their academic performance. Saulsberry looks at every player’s report card so he’s aware of how they’re performing in the classroom.

“I want to take it personally,” Saulsberry said. “It binds me to that kid.

Academic performance shines a light on other issues that may be involved in that kid’s life. I want to find out how to inspire them, because ultimately that’s what matters.”

Inner-City Coach on Setting a Culture:

The Standard Is the Standard Public school coaches may look at the culture set by private school coaches and think it’s impossible to pull off. One public school coach in Memphis, Tenn., has proven that a championship culture can be established anywhere.

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

Rodney Saulsberry is the head coach of the Whitehaven Tigers in Memphis, Tenn.

He led his alma mater to state championships in 2012 and 2016. He recently joined the FNF Coaches podcast to share his thoughts on building a program that an entire community can be proud of.

CORE VALUES At Whitehaven, it’s all about GPA -- but not necessarily in the way you might think.

Yes, academics are a major emphasis for Saulsberry and his staff, but GPA actually serves as an acronym for: Grateful, Positive, Accountable.

“We focus on grades and academics because it helps open doors,” Saulsberry said. “Combine academics with athletics, and no doors will close.”

06

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ESTABLISHING STANDARDS Saulsberry’s goal is not for every player to get straight A’s since players enter high school with various educational backgrounds. However, he does strive to make sure every player is an academic qualifier by NCAA standards so that they have opportunities to play beyond high school. The NCAA requires a high school GPA of 2.3 at the D1 level and 2.2 at the D2 level.

“We challenge our guys,” Saulsberry said. “You have to want to be an achiever. You can’t be afraid to sit a kid down for not performing in the classroom because there’s a direct correlation to how they perform on the field.”

EMBRACING TRADITION Whitehaven has a trophy room with accolades dating back to the 1940s and 1950s so that the players can grasp the excellence they are expected to maintain.

“Although things change, the standard doesn’t,” Saulsberry said. “We say the standard is the standard. That’s what we try to achieve at Whitehaven.”

A FEEDER SYSTEM Two of Saulsberry’s former classmates are youth football coaches in his district. A former and current defensive coordinator from his staff coach the middle school program. As a result, Saulsberry has great relationships with the Whitehaven Junior Youth Association.

“We allow those kids to come to games and wear their jerseys,” Saulsberry said. “They’re ingrained in the system.

They’re learning what we’re learning.

We teach the right principles at a young age and they continue to grow.”

Podcast Alert!

Listen to Coach Saulsberry’s interview on the FNF Coaches Podcast

FNF COACHES PODCAST

FNF Coaches Podcast Presents

Culture Month

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

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he FNF Coaches Podcast opened 2021 with

“Culture Month.” Each week, host Dan Guttenplan interviewed a wellknown high school or college coach who has established a championship culture in his respective program.

Many of the coaches focused on ways in which their respective programs help student-athletes develop as people first -- before becoming stronger football players.

Here are some highlights from the FNF Coaches Podcast interviews. ff San Jose State University coach Brent Brennan on recruiting “For those young men who are out there right now, you should look into playing at a junior college in the fall. Make sure to get good grades so that you’re a qualifier. You can play one year and move on. Then you still have four years to play three. I think people would see that as valuable. I like recruiting players with three years of eligibility left.”

ff Shiloh Christian (Ark.) coach Jeff Conaway on his vision for culture-building “The vision for establishing a culture is developing champions spiritually, athletically, socially and academically. We really want to provide practical ways to achieve that as a staff. We want to give our guys resources to become champions in those four areas.

We want to give them things they can look at and determine that if they jump in with all they have and apply those resources to their lives, they will be better followers of Christ, better students, better friends and better athletes.”

ff Bishop Miege (Kan.) coach Jon Holmes on setting expectations for parents “At times, some of the kids might not be open to talking to parents about things. If there is a policy that we have or a certain schedule, they may not communicate that. What I do is eliminate the miscommunication with parents so that everything is out in the open and everyone knows the expectations and schedule. Now, we can move on and focus on the football part.”

ff Dowling Catholic (Iowa) coach Tom Wilson on hiring assistants “I’m going to dig in and see how much passion they have for the game itself. I always say I look for football junkies who are passionate about kids. The rest of it, I don’t care what their expertise is. If they have those two qualities, we can win with that. I don’t think it takes long to figure that out.”

07

USA FOOTBALL

Nominate a Player for a Regional Invite to the USA Football National Team program

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

USA Football is the only organization in the sport that provides high school players the opportunity to represent their country while gaining instruction from and training under current college coaches.

The USA Football National Program has high performance pathways in non-contact and contact.

USA Football is in the process of building the best coaching staff at every level of the U.S. National Team program by sorting through a pool of 1,600 candidates.

At the same time, USA Football has opened the process of allowing coaches to nominate players for regional invites in the USA Football National Team program. Players who participate in the regional invites are eligible to represent their country with the National Team.

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ff Safety Further develop the fundamentals, playing a safer and more effective game based on USA Football`s guidelines.

ff Character Development Focus on fundamentals off the field — things like teamwork, brotherhood and a strong work ethic that turn individuals into powerful teams and athletes into exemplary adults.

ff Exposure Show them all what you’ve got: the athletes you line up with, the players on the other side of the ball and the NCAA coaches who are leading the drills.

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TECH CORNER

ProCom LoudMouth a ‘Game-Changer’ for Making In-Game Adjustments

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

On game day, coaches have historically had to choose between seeing the entire field from the press box or motivating players from the sideline. Now, coaches can experience the best of both worlds with ProCom LoudMouth.

Parkview High (Ga.) offensive line coach Nick Johnson believes the ProCom LoudMouth will change the way high school coaches coach on game day. That’s because the new piece of technology will allow coaches to make in-game adjustments in a more efficient way.

The one-of-a-kind device sits on the sideline and allows coaches in the press box to talk to their group of players or the entire team, AND the players can also speak back to the coach.

“My first reaction was, ‘This is awesome,’” Johnson said. “Instead of sharing a headset with somebody just so I can talk to one player, I can talk to 10 or 15 people at once. It gives coaches flexibility. I talked to a defensive coordinator from a program that’s buying it, and he said he might move up top to see the field better if he can still communicate with the kids down below. Being able to communicate with multiple kids from the press box and hear it straight from their mouths -- this is a game-changer.”

THE BIG IDEA ProCom Founder and CEO Frank Girardi conceived the idea for the LoudMouth after his team of current and former coaches listened to feedback from others in the coaching community who felt improved in-game communication could provide an edge in making in-game adjustments. He engineered a product that is small enough for a coach to hold in his hand and still powers up to 40 watts, providing plenty of volume for more than a dozen players to hear.

“We thought about what we’re lacking as coaches,” Girardi said. “It’s the ability to talk from the press box to players on the sideline and vice versa. Your defensive coordinator might be the motivator of the staff. If he’s in the press box, he can’t motivate the players on the field. Now, we gave coaches the ability to motivate their players and accelerate the adjustment period in-game. We always want to be ahead of the game.”

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A HUGE ADVANTAGE

Parkview served as a demo school for the LoudMouth in the fall, and Johnson said the coaches on his staff were unanimous in their praise. He believes the product’s ability to provide two-way communication -- including feedback from players to coaches -- is invaluable.

“It’s great to be able to hear what the kids see down below,” Johnson said. “I want to be able to look a player in the eye and hear it from him, how he feels. That’s why I’m on the sideline.

But this is the best of both worlds. The advantage of sitting up top is you have the all-22 view. The advantage of being on the sideline is you can talk to any player you want.”

No other tech company in football has a product on the market with two-way sideline communication. Girardi allowed several schools to demo the product in the fall and was pleased with the feedback.

“The response has been very good,” Girardi said. “We proved the point we wanted to prove to coaches. It allows them to make in-game adjustments without having to wait for halftime. An important point is we wanted to make sure that we didn’t occupy one of the channels being used by other coaches for in-game communication. So, when a coach jumps over to the sideline system, he’s not tying up one of the channels that other coaches are using for communication.”

A MOBILE SPEAKER The size of the LoudMouth also makes it appealing for coaches who want the device to be mobile. For schools that have players playing on both sides of the ball, the LoudMouth can be carried into a huddle during a timeout.

“For some teams, the only way to talk to players during the game is during timeouts,” Johnson said. “This is no bigger than two decks of cards, so you can take it in the huddle and talk to whoever you want. That’s a huge advantage.”

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schools for free to any program that buys an eight-coach ProCom X12 system or greater “It’s a gift from us,” Girardi said. “If you’re looking for a headset system, give us a shot. If you look at it, you’ll realize the products we put out are -- by far -the best products made. It’s our engineering, and we own everything about the product. We just ask that coaches take a look.”

Johnson encourages coaches to act now if they’re looking for an advantage for next season.

“We never used it in-game because we got it late in the season, but it’s on the docket for next year,” Johnson said. “We’re excited about it. I talk to a lot of coaches in Georgia, and they want to know what this is about. Georgia is a big football state, and coaches want to do the greatest and latest. Nobody else will have this next year, so it’s a hot ticket item for ProCom.”

How the LoudMouth Works

■■ Coaches in the Press Box can talk to a group of players through the twoway speaker rather than sharing headsets.

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STRATEGY

9-Time Arkansas State Champion Kevin Kelley Shares Culture of Doing Things Differently

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

I

n December, Kevin Kelley led Pulaski Acad-

emy to its ninth Arkansas state title.

This fall, Kelley was called “probably the top high school coach in the country” in a press conference by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Kelley recently joined FNF Coaches for an in-depth discussion about his coaching philosophy. Here are some highlights.

ff You’re known as the coach who never punts.

How did that coaching philosophy come about?

We’ve all seen the headlines about the Arkansas coach who never punts and follows every offensive touchdown by calling for an onside kick. Kevin Kelley has become a bit of a celebrity in coaching circles for setting a culture of being different.

“When I got hired as the head coach here in 2003, I had been an assistant for a couple years. I sat in the office for the first time, and I started to review the entire program. I thought, ‘Wait a minute, I think I’ll be good. But how will I be any better than the last guy?’ It’s going to be the same kids, the same rules, the same games. It hit me in the face that I better start evaluating everything. Why are we doing what we’re doing in every aspect of the program?

“I went month by month. Why is January this way? I looked at the

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STRATEGY summer program. When I got to on-thefield stuff, I called in our defensive coordinator. I said, ‘Why are we punting?’ Well, you have to run the ball and play defense.

This was pre-Money Ball. I had seen a little information through scouring the internet and trying to find analytics that proved what I wanted to do. I thought maybe field position wasn’t as important as everyone thought. That made me start asking a lot of questions. I researched it, and it gave me credence that everyone else was not right.”

cooperation. When Johnny goes home at night, and Dad’s like, ‘Coach Kelley is an idiot; he should have punted.’ … That’s going to affect Johnny the next day at practice. ‘My dad was right when we gave up the ball on the 15.’ I tell parents that — as a football coach — I have no reason to do stupid stuff. I have no agenda except for winning. If I don’t win, I’ll get fired. What’s going to cause us to ■■Pulaski Academy (Ark.) coach Kevin Kelley lose is if Johnny hears you criticizing this ‘stupid’ stuff. I’m not asking you not to say it. Say it to your wife in bed at ff I know parents can be critical of in-game coaching decisions. Have night. Say it to your buddies. I’m just asking you not to say it you had any problems with that over the years? to Johnny or yell it during a game because we all want the “I meet with parents to explain the why. I ask for their same thing. And we all need to do our part to help us win.”

Kelley’s Conundrum

T

he best part about doing everything different from other teams is that opponents have to prepare for you differently. Kelley has altered his team’s practice routine to suit his in-game management.

“We don’t return punts,” Kelley said. “On

X12A

ALL-IN-ONE

kickoffs, we line up with our hands team.

We don’t practice kickoff returns. Here’s a stat that I love to get out in the media.

We’re 136-5 when we recover an onside kick in a game. When other teams hear that, what do you think they do? They practice onside kicks all week. I get them to spend

30 minutes of practice time when they’re not practicing something else. Analytics can’t measure that. I have to assign some variable to psychology and emotion. I’m sure we score more often when we recover an onside kick than when we just start with the same field position.”

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COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK The team missed the first three weeks of the season because of COVID-19 quarantine.

ARKANSAS

PRESENTED BY

FNF Coaches Names 33 Coach of the Year Recipients Selecting one state champion coach in each state proved to be a difficult task for our editorial staff with so many deserving coaches across the country.

Our criteria for consideration included all state champion coaches in 2020. While not all states had fall football, we looked for coaches that led teams to championships for the first time in school history, coaches who led championship runs as underdogs, coaches who helped players overcome adversity, and coaches who made tough decisions in the biggest moments to help their teams break through.

We couldn’t be more proud of our 2020 FNF Coaches of the Year, Presented by Sports Attack.

Congratulations to all who won and all other state champion coaches who were considered.

ALABAMA

LINDEN TRAVIS LOCKETT THIS YEAR’S LINDEN team did something no other team that came before them was able to achieve: Win a state championship. The Patriots defeated Pickens County 32-8 to claim the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 1A Championship.

ALASKA

COLONY ROBBIE NASH ROBBIE NASH TOOK over for Fred McKenney,

14

who stepped down after leading the Knights to the large-schools semifinals last season. Nash has also had tremendous success at the youth level, guiding multiple teams in the Mat-Su Steelers programs to a state title.

ARIZONA

CHAPARRAL BRENT BARNES AFTER A BUMPY season filled with turbulence from week to week, being able to celebrate a state championship is something the Firebirds hardly expected to happen.

football coaches! Get your subscription at fnfcoaches.com

SHILOH CHRISTIAN JEFF CONAWAY SHILOH CHRISTIAN came oh so close in 2019 before falling short, but the 2020 Saints would not be denied. Driven by that runner-up finish, Shiloh Christian rolled threw the 2020 season, and now the Saints are the 4A state champions with a 58-20 win over Rivercrest.

COLORADO

DURANGO DAVID VOGT DURANGO WON THE Class 3A state football title - the first championship for the school since 1954 and the first outright championship in school history.

DELAWARE

SUSSEX CENTRAL JOHN WELLS CONSIDERED AN unlikely tourney contender after losing two of its first three games, Central (7-2) instead reeled off six straight wins to capture the program’s state crown.

FLORIDA

SEMINOLE SANFORD ORLANDO ERIC LODGE SANFORD SEMINOLE celebrates their second FHSAA State Championship in school history after their 38-10 victory over Kissimmee Osceola.

Seminole dedicates its season to Zi’Erric Wynn, a Fighting Seminoles running back who tragically passed away in a car accident just before the start of the season.

GEORGIA

KANSAS

MARIST ALAN CHADWICK

ST. JAMES ACADEMY TOM RADKE

MARIST WINS ITS third state title in the school’s 108th season of football, adding to championships from 1989 and 2003.

ST. JAMES ACADEMY was crowned king as the Thunder captured the Kansas Class 4A state championship with a 56-34 win over Arkansas City. This is St. James’ first state football championship.

KENTUCKY

ASHLAND BLAZER TONY LOVE IDAHO

OAKLEY BRENNAN JONES OAKLEY WON A GAME that was for the allthe-marbles Class 1A Div. I state football championship in Idaho. It was the third meeting of the season between Cassia County rivals -- No. 2 Raft River and No. 3 Oakley.

INDIANA

CENTER GROVE ERIC MOORE AFTER FALLING JUST short in last year’s state finals, the Center Grove Trojans left Lucas Oil Stadium with some hardware.

IOWA

ANKENY RICK NELSON THE HAWKS RAN THE playoff gauntlet and emerged with their first title in eight seasons by beating Southeast Polk 4214 in the 4A championship.

IT WAS A MOMENT 30 years in the making as the Ashland Tomcats are once again state champions in Kentucky high school football. This the first time Ashland has been undefeated since 1958.

LOUISIANA

CARENCRO TONY COURVILLE NO. 1 CARENCRO, behind an unexpected approach, unseated four-time reigning state champion Edna Karr, 35-19, for the Class 4A state title.

The Bears (12-1) snapped a 28-year championship drought with their first state title since 1992.

MINNESOTA

MOORHEAD KEVIN FEENEY THE MOORHEAD Spuds won a “mythical” state football championship this fall, earning the top spot in the final Associated Press poll for Minnesota Class 5A. Moorhead also won state titles in 1971 and 1987.

MISSISSIPPI

OAK GROVE (HATTIESBURG) DREW CAUSEY SOMETIMES YOU just have to roll the dice.

That’s what head coach

COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK Drew Causey did in Oak Grove’s 29-28 6A title win over Oxford. Trailing by one after Kabe Barnett’s 10-yard TD with seven seconds left, Causey called on Barnett, who hit tight end Trayvon Moore on a drag for the two-point conversion, win and banner. The win was redemption for the 13-0 Warriors, who fell in the past two championship games.

NEBRASKA

OMAHA WESTSIDE BRETT FROENDT

VAN WERT KEITH RECKER

THIS WAS THE YEAR the Warriors finally climbed to the top of the mountain. After falling short in 2006, 2013 and 2019, Omaha Westside ran the table, going 12-0 and winning the school’s first Class A title since going back-to-back in 1981-82.

THE VAN WERT HIGH School football team won its first football state championship Sunday. The team had waited 109 years for this glorious moment.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

SOUHEGAN ROBIN BOWKETT

MISSOURI

JACKSON BRENT ECKLEY THE FIRST TITLE IS always sweet. And the Indians grabbed theirs in a 2020 season of redemption. After falling in overtime in the 2019 title game, Jackson ran the gamut.

MONTANA

LAUREL MIKE LUDWIG THE LOCOMOTIVES steamed through 2020 with a 9-1 mark, erasing the schedule’s lone blemish with a 34-0 Class A title win over Billings Central Catholic. The championship is the school’s first in 18 years when Mike Ludwig, a Laurel alumni, led his squad to a 2002 crown in his first year as head coach.

OHIO

THE STATE championship is Souhegan’s fifth overall, first in Division II and first since 2010. The title game appearance was Plymouth’s fifth straight.

NEW JERSEY

WALL TONY GRANDINETTI THE CRIMSON Knights won the unofficial Shore Conference championship with an 18-15 win over Donovan Catholic as they recorded their first unbeaten season since they went 11-0 in 1983. They extended their winning streak against Shore Conference opponents to 20 and their regularseason winning streak to 18.

OKLAHOMA

DEWAR JOSH BEEN THE DRAGONS (13-0) have more football tradition than many eastern Oklahoma smallschool communities.

They’ve never won a gold ball, but they were close twice. They were runnersup to Morrison for an eight-man crown in 2007 and to Fox for an 11-man title in 1985.

PENNSYLVANIA

CENTRAL VALLEY MARK LYONS AFTER FALLING behind early and trailing at halftime for the first time all season, Central Valley (12-0) stormed out of the break to put up 28 secondhalf points en route to a 35-21 win vs. previously unbeaten Wyomissing (9-1). With the win, the Warriors captured their first state championship in program history — and erased the bitter memories of last year’s loss once and for all.

seen state championship trophies adorn its property from sports such as baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and tennis. Now football has its moment on that big stage.

SOUTH DAKOTA

WINNER TRENT OLSON NO.1 WINNER avenged a state championship game loss to No. 2 Bridgewater-EmeryEthan last season.

SUMMIT BRIAN COLEMAN THE STATE championship comes in the 10th year of the school’s existence and one year after the Spartans made their first state championship game appearance in 2019.

TEXAS

JIM NED MATT FANNING THE JIM NED football team used a 21-point comeback to force overtime, and then went for the win on a 2-point conversion to earn a 29-28 victory and the school’s first football state championship.

BISMARCK ST. MARY’S DAN SMEKAR

SOUTH CAROLINA

AC FLORA DUSTIN CURTIS THE A.C. FLORA athletics program has

WEST VIRGINIA

SOUTH CHARLESTON DONNIE MAYS AFTER A FOUR-WEEK delay at the start of the season due to Kanawha County’s status on the map, South Charleston outscored their six opponents by a combined score of 307-92.

TENNESSEE

NORTH DAKOTA

THE CHAMPIONSHIP game between the Saints and the Miners was ultra-competitive with both squads staying true to what they do best – running the ball. Both teams got a first half touchdown and entered halftime tied 7-7. The Saints finished the season 11-0.

history this season was decades in the making, and there was no way running back/safety Trey Lund was going to miss out.

WISCONSIN

WHITEFISH BAY JAKE WOLTER THIS SEASON SAW A special group of young men come together as a team and accomplish the goals they set for themselves in a time where they didn’t know if they’d be allowed to take the field the next day. In the end, they can proudly call themselves Conference Champions and the topranked Division 2 team in the state of Wisconsin.

WYOMING

SOUTHEAST MARK BULLINGTON SOUTHEAST football coach Mark Bullington has seen his share of state titles in his 22 years as head coach.

This season, the Southeast football team brought the coach his ninth career state championship with a victory over Lutz in the Wyoming 1A state championship game.

UTAH

JUAB MIKE BOWRING JUAB’S FIRST football state championship in school

15

COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK

Texas Coach on Program’s First State Championship:

‘It’s supposed to be fun’

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR ■■Jim Ned coach Matt Fanning addressed the team’s fans after the state championship game win.

TEXAS | JIM NED HIGH

Matt Fanning

J

im Ned High (Texas) third-year coach Matt Fanning

never set a goal of winning a state championship for his staff and players. With all of the uncertainty and angst surrounding a fall season during a pandemic, Fanning made this season about one thing: having fun.

“We play music at practice; we keep it light,” Fanning said. “Our kids are disciplined, and they know the line of when it’s OK to crack a joke and when it’s time to get serious. We stay as positive as we can. We keep practice moving fast. We’ll stop practice to play a game or muster up some type of competition. We throw them a curveball two or three times a week so they know we’re human too. It’s supposed to be fun.”

That fun approach led to Jim Ned’s first state championship ever in December thanks to a 29-28 overtime thriller over Hallettsville High School at AT&T Stadium.

ff You won the championship game in overtime by going for 2 on the final possession. When did you decide to take that aggressive approach?

“It was really something we’ve talked about as a coaching staff and we’ve been comfortable

16

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with for years. In that situation, if we have 3 yards to win a ball game, that’s as good of an opportunity as we can get.”

ff You must have a lot of confidence in your offense?

“That’s part of it. Part of it played into the fact that it was going to be really difficult to defend them. You play out the scenario of kicking an extra point, and you still have to defend. We would have been playing offense again, so if you score another touchdown and kick a PAT, you give them an opportunity to go for 2. If it goes another overtime period, you have to go for 2 eventually.

It seemed like a gutsy thing from the outside looking in, but for us, it just made sense.”

ff How have you changed the culture of Jim Ned football since you’ve been there?

“Coach (Jerod) Womack started the ball rolling, and we put our own spin on things. It’s a culture of hard work. It comes with organization and what we expect out of our kids. We try to do some things in practice to liven it up and make it more fun. We mentor the kids.”

ff What is your strength training philosophy?

“We work our kids. Every kid in the program runs a track workout during the athletic period. That’s the key to being successful at a small school level.

Our kids love the weight room. We’ve got a simple philosophy. We build a base for strength and don’t focus on sport-specific exercises or overcomplicate things. That’s my background — strength and conditioning — so it’s natural for me.”

COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK

Pennsylvania coach reveals how 2019 disappointment

led to 2020 triumph

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

C

entral Valley High (Pa.) coach Mark Lyons didn’t need to put a slogan

on a t-shirt to remind his players of their mission this fall.

After falling in the Pennsylvania state championship game in 2019, his players committed to finishing the job in 2020. They did just that with a 35-21 win over previously unbeaten Wyomissing. With the win, the Warriors captured their first state championship in program history — and erased the heart-breaking memories of last year’s loss once and for all.

Lyons shares how his team used a setback to inspire a major comeback.

PENNSYLVANIA | CENTRAL VALLEY HIGH

Mark Lyons

ff When did you start to get a sense that this would be a special season?

“After the way we finished last year, we knew we had a lot coming back. After coming up short in a heart-breaking loss in a state championship game, we knew we’d have a very motivated group. We thought we had enough leadership coming back to finish the job.”

ff How often did you use the 2019 loss as motivation for the players?

“Knowing this group of players, we didn’t need to say anything or put a slogan on a t-shirt or in the locker room.

The minute we left Hershey in 2019, we knew it would be the driving force. It was definitely a motivational factor, but a quiet one. We never rehashed what went wrong with the players. We did internally as a staff, but our guys were smart enough to know what went wrong. They knew the opportunity that they had.”

ff Was it difficult to stay motivated during the regular season when everyone knew the ultimate goal was the state championship?

“No, we actually had the Mercy Rule go into effect in every game except the state championship. In Pennsylvania, they stop it if you have a 35-point lead in the second half. So, we were only getting a half game of experience each week. We created competitive situations in practice to make up for that.”

THE CENTRAL VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT WOULD LIKE TO

CONGRATULATE HEAD FOOTBALL COACH

MARK LYONS As the 2020 FNF Coach Of The Year!

Congratulations Coach Lyons!

GO WARRIORS!

ff What kind of situations?

“We split up groups in practice and developed some 1-on-1 situations. We had game-like situations. One side is behind, and they have to convert some key first downs. Our young guys were good about creating that in practice, and we had a lot of one-way guys, so we could do it.”

ff Did you coach any differently in this year’s state championship game?

“I don’t think we did anything differently from a team standpoint. From a staff standpoint, we wanted to dictate the pace of the game regardless of the score. We were not going to allow ourselves to deviate from the plan because we were behind on the scoreboard or behind the sticks on third down.

We stayed true to who we were and let the kids plays. We put them in situations to take chances. Don’t be afraid.”

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COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK GEORGIA | MARIST

Alan Chadwick DISCIPLINE PAVED WAY FOR DOMINANT SEASON

M

arist had an undefeated 13-0 season,

outsourcing opponents by an average of 33 points per game. With 24 seniors on his roster, Marist coach Alan Chadwick knew his team had a chance to make a deep run, but he worried that a COVID outbreak could disrupt the season.

“We asked them to make so many sacrifices,” Chadwick said. “I know they got tired of hearing us tell them to put their facemasks on. There were no pregame meals, no going in the locker room to hang out. We had them space apart on buses for away games. They didn’t complain about a single thing we asked them to do.”

Due to COVID restrictions, Chadwick was forced to cancel many of the normal team-bonding experiences like an off-campus preseason camp, Thursday night get-togethers, pool parties or position group outings. However, the coach did use the time normally allotted for his post-game speech to bring the team together.

“After a game, I had each coach get up and talk to the team,” Chadwick said. “It gave us a chance to congratulate them and motivate them for the next week. That gave us a chance to ground them before they got out of there for the weekend. It gave us a chance to say, ‘Hey — This is what we are and what we’ve got going. Let’s not jeopardize anything.’”

Congratulations

Coach alan chadwick and the Marist football team

Congratulations from Marist Athletics and the Marist Booster Club

on winning the Class AAAA State Championship and being named High 5 Sports Team of the Year for 2020! #Team108

IOWA | ANKENY

Rick Nelson FINALLY… A STATE TITLE AFTER BEING SO CLOSE

R

ick Nelson had encountered several near

misses in his quest for an Iowa state championship during his first five seasons as the Ankeny High head coach before finally taking his team to the promised land this fall. Nelson marveled at his players’ collective commitment this season to finally get over the hump.

“We made them fill out a questionnaire every day,” Nelson said. “We took their temperatures every day. We did workouts in the summer with smaller groups. We usually have 60 to 80 kids in the weight room.

We had to do it in shifts of 20. We used the junior high weight room as well, with about 30 over there and 60 at the high school.”

After spending the spring season doubting whether high school football could be played during a pandemic, Nelson started to feel a sense of optimism by June or July.

“Seven of the starters on our baseball team were also football players,” Nelson said. “They made it to the state championship game over the summer, so they couldn’t be around the football team during that time.

That was tough, but we had a special session for the baseball players.

Our shortstop is also our quarterback, so he couldn’t throw to anyone until August. But even with all of that going against us, I started to get a sense that these players wouldn’t be denied.”

18

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s n o i atLSON l u t a CK NE r g n CCoOACH RI igh ny H

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NKENY TIRE A S PROUD N E E TH ILY I S FAM THE TEAM! K W A H U AND OF YO

#TrustFamilyBelieveHawks

COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK

Missouri State Champion Coach Shares Tech, Apps That Helped Him Win

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

I

n December, Brent Eckley led the Jackson

High (Mo.) football team to its first state championship in the program’s 125-year history. His squad bounced back from an overtime loss in the 2019 title game to run the table for an undefeated season.

Eckley believes his program’s tech culture helped propel the team to the top.

He shares which apps and new technology helped lift his team to a state title.

ff How much of a motivating factor was last year’s loss in the state championship game?

“Our kids were motivated. It was an unsaid thing as motivation to get back there. There wasn’t additional pressure of having to win the first one. One thing we wanted to do was put the guys in position to win that last game. They kept plugging.”

ff When did you start to get a sense it could be a special season?

“At least a year ago. In January of 2020, I told some fellow coaches we’d be pretty good. I knew we’d be physical.

We returned the majority of the players.

Once I saw them lift on the first max-out day in February, I thought we’d be a really physical team. We had 290- to 300-pound linemen and good depth at running back. Nobody had to go both ways.”

MISSOURI | JACKSON HIGH

Brent Eckley ff Did you find any piece of technology particularly helpful in your quest to a state championship?

“There are a couple of things we used. We typically video our practices as well as games. That was in the past, before we got turf. We used a drone. We switched because now we practice in the stadium, and we film practice from the press box. We use SportScope for end zone video and sideline in-game video. It worked smoothly for us in the last seven or eight games. It’s critical to be able to use that in between series.

We can make adjustments quickly.”

ff What platform do you use for communication with your coaches and players?

“The Band app is our communication app. We send out pass sheets to the secondary.

I use it for all of the communicating I do. I send out information every Sunday to let them know the schedule for the week. I can update it during the week, but they know they can expect — parents and players — an updated schedule with what time we’re lifting or practicing or leaving.”

ff Do you use anything for analytics?

“We use RII Sports Technology. They take our video and do a graphic representation of the game so it’s easy to pull tendencies visually. They have dashboards you can look at, and it simplifies it for coaches.”

ff What about a new piece of technology for strength and conditioning?

“We use one that’s not football-specific, TrainHeroic. It’s for programming strength and conditioning and sharing out with kids on their phones. That’s been really good.”

19

COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK MONTANA | LAUREL

Mike Ludwig WEIGHT ROOM REOPENING SERVED AS TURNING POINT

M

ike Ludwig didn’t feel like much of a

football coach in the spring despite the fact that his talented Laurel squad had eight or nine starters returning on both sides of the ball.

That’s because the eventual Montana state champion coach was communicating with his staff and players on Google Classroom and via group text messages.

“The scary thing when everything shut down was we didn’t know if we’d have a football season,” Ludwig said. “We thought we could make another run if we could just get the season underway.”

Ludwig eventually led Laurel to the school’s first state championship in 18 years when the coach, a Laurel alumni, led his squad to a 2002 crown in his first year as head coach. Ludwig said the turning point in the season came when the players got back in the weight room in June.

“That was huge,” Ludwig said. “They were chomping at the bit. That was the turning point. The weight room was completely full all of the time.”

Although Laurel achieved the ultimate goal of winning a state title, Ludwig did feel as if something was lost due to the pandemic.

“It was business as usual, for the most part, but the team chemistry suffered because we weren’t able to do the things we normally do,” Ludwig said.

“Luckily, we had some good chemistry in place and some super players.”

s t a r g n o C TO COACH MIKE LUDWIG FOR YOUR FNFC MONTANA COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD. FROM THE LAUREL BOOSTER CLUB

NEW JERSEY | WALL HIGH

Tony Grandinetti COACH KEPT PLAYERS ON TASK IN SHORT SEASON

T

ony Grandinetti led the Wall High football

team to an undefeated (7-0) season and New Jersey Shore Conference championship in 2020. Over the last two seasons, he has led Wall High to a record of 19-1.

He believes the program’s winning culture helped steady the seas during an uncertain time due to the pandemic.

“I really think it was everything,” Grandinetti said. “Our culture is one that we take pride in. It carries us through everything we do.

Any time we have an opportunity to work out or practice, we know it’s important. We knew our decisions this fall impacted not only our families, but also our football family. We all had goals in mind going into the season. We held each other accountable to follow through.”

Grandinetti kept his players in shape last spring by leading at-home, body-weight workouts.

“I thought of the players with nothing — no weights or access to anything — and designed body weight workouts that guys could do in an open space,” Grandinetti said. “They could do workouts in a 5 x 5 space. It was a Zoom workout with 70 guys. I did it with them. We did body weight workouts. They were very challenging. I think that helped us build a bond as best we could.”

20

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NEW JERSEY COACH OF THE YEAR

COACH TONY GRANDINETTI WALL HIGH SCHOOL Wall High School and the Wall High School Football Booster Club proudly congratulate Tony Grandinetti on being named New Jersey’s Coach of the Year!

NEW HAMPSHIRE | SOUHEGAN

Robin Bowkett OVERCOMING ADVERSITY IS THEME FOR FIRST-TIME STATE CHAMPION COACH

T

he Souhegan High football team faced

adversity in the NHIAA Division II championship game when the Sabers found themselves trailing 21-20 with 5:29 remaining. Some great defense and a long Riley Lawhorn touchdown run gave Souhegan its fifth state title and first under fourth-year coach Robin Bowkett.

“Adversity is going to happen,” Bowkett said. “There’s no way around it, especially in a championship game against a great team. And we just kept playing, continued the mission, we held fast, we got in the boats, we stuck it together and there we go.”

The state championship is Souhegan’s fifth overall, first in Division II and first since 2010. The title game appearance was Plymouth’s fifth straight.

Coach Bowkett graduated from Souhegan High School in

■■Souhegan High (N.H.) coach Robin Bowkett

2001. He played football and baseball for the Sabers before going on to continue his athletic and academic career at Nichols College. After graduating, Coach Bowkett earned a spot on the Nichols Football coaching staff before moving onto Salve Regina and Saint Anselm’s College. He then moved to the Chicago area and became the head football coach at Lake Forest Academy, where he helped several athletes earn D1 scholarships.

Coach Bowkett returned to Souhegan in 2017and took over the football program. In his tenure as head coach, the team has made four consecutive playoff appearances and posted a 27-13 record.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FNF COACHES

NEW HAMPSHIRE COACH OF THE YEAR

robin bowkett SOUHEGAN HIGH SCHOOL NHIAA DIVISION II CHAMPS

COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK WYOMING| SOUTHEAST

had plenty of experience. Some of them started as freshmen due to a lack of numbers. So, some started all four years.”

Those seniors went 0-8 as sophomores and 6-3 as juniors before leading the outheast football coach Mark Bullington team to an undefeated season in the fall. has seen his share of state titles in his Continuity has led to consistency.

22 years as head coach.

“Our coaching staff has been in place This season, the Southeast football for a while,” Bullington said. “Our two team brought the coach his ninth career coordinators played for me in junior state championship with a victory over high, and they’re both turning 40 this Lutz in the Wyoming 1A state championyear. We have some history together.” ship game.

Bullington teaches auto/woods classes “That’s one of our goals every year,” at Southeast High School in Yoder, Southeast coach Mark Bullington said.

Wyoming. He’s been teaching for 41 “This year, we had speed, size and depth. years, and he served as an assistant for ■■Southeast High (Wyo.) coach Mark Bullington We play 9-man football, and we were 16 years before taking over the head short on linemen. It fit us to a ‘T’.” coaching position in 1999 Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Following the 2020 season, Bullingit was the first time in 11 years all state championship games ton was named the Wyoming Coaches’ Association 1A 11-Man weren’t played at the University of Wyoming’s War Memorial Coach of the Year.

Stadium.

“We’ve had some good runs,” Bullington said. “I think it’s “As far as players getting sick or games getting cancelled, trending in that direction again. Whether we played in 1A or we were pretty fortunate,” Bullington said. “It was a pretty 2A doesn’t matter to me as long as we get consistent numbers normal season for us. The big thing for us was that our seniors for player participation.”

Mark Bullington BULLINGTON EARNS 9TH CAREER STATE TITLE IN 2020

S

CONGRATULATIONS TO COACH B .

E N O D L L E ULLINGTON W B O J R E H T ON ANO

COACHES OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SPORTS ATTACK MISSISSIPPI| OAK GROVE HIGH

Drew Causey THE COACH WHO WENT FOR 2 AND WON BIG

D

fDid f you consider the fallout if the decision didn’t work out?

rew Causey was faced with a decision

every coach dreams about as his Oak Grove High Warriors (Hattiesburg, Miss.) battled Oxford in a 6A ■■Oak Grove (Miss.) coach Drew Causey state championship game.

The decision: Go for 2 and the win, or kick a PAT and play for overtime.

He decided to go for 2, and the result was a state championship for his squad.

Oak Grove’s 29-28 6A title win over Oxford provided redemption for the 13-0 Warriors, who fell in the past two championship games.

ff What factors went into your decision to go for 2?

“We were down 7 when we got the ball with about 3 or 4 minutes to go. We drove it down, got it to fourth and 1 or 2 at around the 10-yard-line. Our quarterback scrambled in for a touchdown. We went for 2 with about 7 seconds left in the game.”

ff When did you make the decision to go for 2?

“When we got the ball after Oxford scored, I told my offensive coaches that if we score, we’re going for 2. I didn’t want to go to overtime.”

“No, not really. I think the only thing that would have changed my mind was if we scored faster and had more time on the clock. The game was in our hands to win or lose. They didn’t have time to do anything with it. We had a play that we worked on all year, and we never got to run it. We practiced it two or three times every day in practice. We had faith in it. That’s what we did.”

ff Have you ever made a bigger decision as a coach?

“In last year’s state championship game against the same opponent, we were up 21-3.

We got beat 31-21. We had the same situation. With about 7 minutes left, we were up 21-17. We had fourth and goal at the 1. If we scored a touchdown there, we felt like that was the game. We would have been up 28-17 with 7 minutes left. Instead, we didn’t get it.

They went 99 yards and scored to take the lead. That stuck with us all year. Getting that extra yard was something we focused on.”

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PLAYBOOK

Attack the Entire Field Out of the

BY MIKE BERRY, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR AT MECHANICSBURG HIGH (PA.)

A

t Mechanicsburg Area Senior High (MASH) in Mechanics-

burg, Pa., we had spent the previous four seasons struggling to consistently produce offense and our record certainly showed it. A 5-35 record and on the program’s third head coach during that time period, I was moved up to being the Varsity Offensive Coordinator after spending the previous season as the Freshmen Head Coach, which was preceded by three seasons as an assistant coach on all levels.

There were a few things that had to change in the program in order for our offense to be successful.

Most importantly, we had to be different from other programs in our division. We felt the answer to that was to go to the spread, mostly 10 personnel, nohuddle offense. Our personnel lent itself to more slots and receivers, as opposed to tight ends and fullbacks.

We would make the defense cover all 53 ⅓ yards.

This would allow for better chances of a 6 (or even 5!) man box versus 7 of our offensive players, giving us a number advantage. To take this thought process even further, we wanted to make the blocking scheme extremely easy for our offensive line, who had been struggling throughout previous years.

We settled on a marriage between two plays – Veer and Gut – to hang our hat on and allow us to attack most of the field out of the same look, while keeping things for the players simple.

Veer With our offensive linemen, we use common covered/uncovered rules with the gap away from the call (MOMA – Man On/ Man Away). So if the call is Veer Right and there is a man lined up on the first level on me or to the left of me, that’s my responsibility. If uncovered (no MOMA), the lineman can help with the nearest 1st level defender to the play side. It usually resulted in two combo blocks, which I loved. The call side C-Gap is our read gap for the QB. The skilled position players to the back side of the play had access routes.

We settled giving our players a decision

24

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based upon leverage of the nearest defender: five-yard hitch or vertical route. Certainly a better use of players out wide, as opposed to having them trying to go cut off a safety.

The skilled position players to the call side have our Bubble RPO. The most inside skilled position player had the bubble concept, which over time went from a true bubble to a more effective plant of the outside foot and back pedal at a 45-degree angle. Additional players on the call side would block with #1 having #1 defender from the sideline, #2 responsible for #2 defender from the sideline, etc. Defenders seven yards away from the line of scrimmage do not count in the counting. If we’re running

Diagram 1

Veer to a one receiver side, we’re going to give him an access route instead of the bubble.

In the backfield, the running back is aligned 1 yard out and 2 yards back off the quarterback’s play side shoulder. He goes downhill, aiming for the outside shoulder of the play side guard. One cut is usually allowed, especially if double teams have allowed for daylight.

Our quarterback has A LOT to process and you have to rep this in practice each week. Pre-snap should be a glance to the access side – if you like it, take it.

Post-snap is reading the C-Gap to the nearest 2nd level apex defender in order to make the best read possible on the triple option (hand off, keep, or bubble).

Visit fnfcoaches.com for more plays & strategies

Same Look in Veer and Gut

Diagram 2

Diagram 3

Gut Remember that one of our goals was to keep blocking assignments easy. So every offensive lineman had the same responsibilities (MOMA – uncovered help play side) except for our back side guard. He’s pulling to kick out the call side C-Gap. That does leave an opening, which makes our back side B-Gap the QB read gap (a nice little change up, especially if it’s occupied by an overanxious DT).

The skilled position players to the back side of the play have our Smoke RPO. We’ll have our receiver give a jab step and work his way back to the ball while any additional skilled position players out wide will block counting from the sideline in – #2 would

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

Diagram 4 block #1 defender from the sideline, #3 would block #2 defender from the sideline, etc. Again, we only count defenders within seven yards of the line of scrimmage. If there is only one receiver to the back side of the play, we’ll convert that to an access route.

The skilled position players to the call side have the access routes this time.

In the backfield, the running back takes a jab step with his outside foot, sells his shoulders, and comes back to take the hand off. This usually gets the linebackers a step or two away from the destination, which helps our OL. The back picks up the puller and reads how the kick out is going.

Again – lots of responsibility for the QB that we rep in practice. Pre-snap we’re checking the access routes first – if you

like it, take it. We’re looking at the Smoke RPO pre-snap as well. Do we like the leverage of the defenders out wide? Finally, post-snap is purely a read on the back side B-Gap, looking for any overanxious DL or maybe a blitzing LB gunning for the RB. More times than not, we’re handing the ball off in the post snap decision.

The results have been favorable. In 2020, we ran our Veer (17% of our offensive snaps) and Gut (9%) with plenty of success, both when the play ended up as a run (64% of Veer/Gut calls) or a pass (36%).

Spearheaded by excellent decision making that had been set up by a second year in the offense and many practice reps, we were able to obtain a 8-1 record, a division championship, and a state ranking.

25

PLAYBOOK A NEW Way for Defensive Coaches to Stop an Empty Formation

BY ANTHONY STONE, ASST. COACH AT ROCKFORD BOYLAN HIGH (ILL.), AUTHOR OF THE BACK TO THE BASICS FOOTBALL DRILL MANUAL SERIES

The purpose of a defensive football coach is to find ways to literally shut down the offensive side of the football. The Empty Formation has become more and more popular with offensive coordinators in recent years. Ask the following questions when going against a team that runs an Empty Formation:

■■ Why? : Why are they running Empty? Are they trying to get their players in space, take advantage of matchups, make up for their offensive line not being large, or the opposite – they have the manpower, etc.

HERE ARE TWO EMPTY FORMATION EXAMPLES:

■■ How many looks do they have? : How many different forms of empty formations are you going against?

■■ What is the percentage they align in when running empty?: Are they doing this in certain areas of the field or are they doing it on certain down and distance or hashes?

■■ Who is the main player / pass zones?: By using this Pass Zone Chart (picture from my Back to the Basics Football Drill Manual: Volume 2: Defense) or your own, you can track who their main player is and where they are going with the football.

■■ Is their quarterback a TRUE threat?: As a current quarterbacks coach, I know firsthand that having a quarterback that can run and throw accurately is a deadly combination for any opponent.

Now that you have answered the above questions, use the following defensive alignment to attack an opponent that runs empty. Like the Joker said, “Here We GO.” The alignment below is super simple: four down linemen in their regular stances (nose and defensive tackle aligned in 1 Techniques or A-Gap) and the defensive ends aligned in 5 Techniques and must keep the outside contained. The two inside linebackers are aligned in the B-Gap and are in a 2-point stance — their inside foot is up and their eyes watching the football on which way the center blocks.

Inside linebacker responsibilities: Mike and Will read the center. If the center blocks to their side then drop to the deep middle of the field and turn to the #3 Hot Threat. Finally, the defensive secondary must partner up with their offensive counterpart so their athletic abilities are matched up appropriately. It is important to remember to have the secondary play off the football while going against receivers going out for a pass. This will help the secondary catch the receiver and turn and run with the receiver. Don’t let the receiver get behind the secondary.

I learned about this defense around 2010, but didn’t start using it until Fall 2016. The following are tips I have learned while running it: ■■ MUST have hungry players that know how to tackle in an open space.

■■ Make sure you have the best defensive players covering the best offensive players.

■■ Defensive players that can cover players for 4 to 5 seconds or less.

■■ BE creative and BE SMART when covering offensive players!!

You can reach Coach Stone via email at CoachStoneUSA@gmail.com or by visiting his website at www.CoachStoneFootball.com.

26

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ATTACKING COVER 4

BY BILL MOUNTJOY

Cover 4 – or quarters – is a four-deep look with the cornerbacks and safeties each playing one-fourth of the deep zone.

Defensive backs will play man coverage on vertical routes while linebackers play zone underneath. If there is no vertical threat, the defensive backs are free to help another defender.

This coverage has two safeties deep but is distinguished from Cover 2 in that the safeties disregard the hashes and align on the H and Y. It is based upon safeties helping the corners on in-breaking routes by the receivers, which can be countered by having H or Y blow the top off the coverage by taking the safety vertical and deep, causing the defense to become a three-deep zone and allowing the WRs to run in breaking routes.

Also, play-action passes directed at one of the safeties can make that safety vulnerable to throws to the receiver behind him.

The corners will have no help on receiver routes to the outside, which is one of the areas we will exploit.

HERE ARE 11 QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ANSWER TO SUCCESSFULLY ATTACK COVER 4: ■■ Can we read the coverage coming in our presnap look? You usually can.

■■ Do the corners take an inside or an outside alignment? Is this determined by the split of the receivers?

■■ How fast do the corners bail? Are they slow playing until the QB clears the three-step drop?

■■ Do the safeties play flat-footed or backpedal as they read H and Y (vertical, flat, cross)?

■■ If H or Y crosses underneath, does that safety go to deep middle and/or look for an in break by one of the WR’s? If so, which one?

■■ Is there a formation they may not play Cover 4 against?

■■ Will different forms of motion eliminate Cover 4?

■■ Which linebacker is the weakest in coverage?

■■ Does the Mike go to hook/curl to the side the running back goes?

■■ Do the outside linebackers go curl/ flat off the release of H/Y? ■■ Do they play this coverage in a specific area of the field?

MENTAL PEFORMANCE

4 Tips to Maximizing Mental Performance During Challenging Times Keeping athletes motivated and focused has been a challenge for coaches, with so many interruptions, postponements and cancellations.

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

A

s a Sports Performance Consultant, Dr.

Alan Goldberg works with athletes and teams across all sports at every level. He specializes in helping athletes overcome sports fears and blocks, snap out of slumps, and perform to their potential.

He shared with FNF Coaches some strategies for keeping athletes focused.

1 Keep the ultimate goal in mind.

“The pandemic is not going to be with us a

whole lot longer — whether it’s the summer or a year. Most kids have dreams beyond that like playing at the next level in college. Really, what I try to have athletes do is keep a bigger perspective in mind. When you are back, how will you be ready? What’s the ultimate goal?”

2 Don’t focus on outcomes.

“The biggest problem for athletes when it

comes to mental performance is they bring their goals with them when they’re competing. They walk on the field with a goal of playing well, or impressing college coaches, or padding their stats. All that does is generate

■■The Laurel High (Mont.) football team makes mental performance a priority.

stress. It makes this game too important. One of the most common reason athletes ‘choke’ is they walk on the field with an outcome focus. Concentration is at the heart of mental toughness. Everything from your confidence level to your ability to deal with mistakes to your ability to stay composed under pressure will dictate your performance. It’s about finding a way to eliminate last-minute doubts.”

3 Explain the ‘why’.

“The goal of coaches is to keep their athletes motivated in each moment of practice. The kids

need to understand the purpose of each moment in practice so they can answer the question of how what they’re doing right now can help get them to where they want to go. The pandemic caused us to lose our direction at times because everything was uncertain. The proper use of goal-setting is supposed to motivate us to work hard.

Coaches should focus on the right stuff with kids. Focus on executing their role on the team and not thinking about the outcome. It’s not about, ‘I need to catch this many passes or throw this many touchdowns.’”

4 Ignore the things you can’t control.

“Help the athletes come up with other goals when things change. Do they want to compete in

■■Sports performance consultant Dr. Alan Goldberg

28

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college? What they do today and tomorrow will help get them there. A major cause of choking during a performance is focusing on the uncontrollable. When any athlete does that, he or she gets stressed and tightens physically. They’re filled with doubt, and that affects performance in a negative way. With COVID, it’s a massive uncontrollable. Whether you play this week or practice is out of your control. Stay focused on what you can control, which is how you respond. You can learn to get a handle on how you respond and how you get motivated.”

CULTURE

7 steps

to Improving Your Program’s Culture

All coaches look beyond the X’s and O’s to improve their program. Where do you start? There is no shortage of advice on the keys to success. Is culture the key? Leadership?

Accountability? Trust? What about buy-in? All of the above?

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

■■The Greenwich High (Conn.) football team has a focus on leadership development.

TAKE A STEP BACK AND CONSIDER YOUR ‘A-GAME’ AS A COACH In our Complete Coach method, A-Game refers to one’s thoughtful responses to “About, Attitudes, Actions and Above.” Consider the following questions and write your thoughts on paper.

Q: What do I want to be ABOUT as a coach this season? What do I really care about? What do I want to be able to think about myself when I look back on my coaching?

Q: What Attitudes will help me be ABOUT those things as a coach this season?

Q: What Actions will it take for me to be ABOUT those things as a coach? What must I be ABOVE if I want to be ABOUT those things as a coach?

GET CLEAR ON THE A-GAME YOU WANT FOR THIS TEAM After completing Steps 1 and 2, turn your

J

ust as you need a game plan for each game, you need a strategic approach to

improving your program this year.

These seven steps, however, will get you started on a strong strategy to take your program to another level. As you will see, it is best to start by taking a big step back.

GET CLEAR ON YOUR PICTURE OF COMPLETE SUCCESS Think through the many things you want to accomplish this year. For example, you want a winning season, and you also want to make a life-changing impact on the young men you coach. It is not just one or the other, it’s both.

Answer the prompt: “My view of Complete Success for this team includes …”

focus to your team and write your answers on paper for each question.

Q: What do we want this team to be ABOUT? What do I want these players to care about? What do I want them to feel about themselves and this team when they look back on it?

Q: What Attitudes will be needed to be ABOUT those things as a team?

Q: What Actions will it take to be ABOUT those things as a team?

What must this team and each player be Above if they are to be About those things?

GET STRATEGIC ABOUT TRUST Trust is talked about a lot in coaching, but do you know the science of trust? When we do not know the psychology and brain science of a key factor, we do not know exactly how to align with it.

29

FOOTBALL INNOVATION

Cold Daddy: An Action Plan for Heat-Related Illness You have 15 minutes from the onset of heat illness until permanent damage to your athlete begins. You need a plan to help avoid damage or death, and Cold Daddy’s patented, portable water chillers and insulated tubs fit the bill.

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

Y

ou can depend on Cold Daddy for safe, reliable cold-water therapy

a patented portable water chiller capable of chilling and when you need it, wherever you need it, for as long as you maintaining water temperature most suitable for treating this need it. Cold-water immersion is the most effective way to malady. While Cold Daddy products are used routinely as a treat heat-related illness, and the fastest method of lowering an recovery tool for all athletes after practices or heavy workouts, overheated athlete’s core body temperature. the instant “on-field” access to cold-water provides the most But even if you think you are prepared – perhaps with ice in effective and quickest treatment for heat-related illness. the school cafeteria and a tub outside the trainer’s room – you may Programs of all levels and sizes recognize that having an ice not have what you need to prevent damage caused by heat illness. bath ready and on or adjacent to their practice area is the best Scrambling around for ice, water and a tub takes time - time way to ensure that they are prepared. In many programs, an ice critical to the survival of your athlete. bath involves a black plastic tub, water “The beauty of this technology is it’s and a large quantity of ice. The chalportable with four wheels,” said Cold lenge here is in keeping the temperature Daddy CEO Hobby Howell. “Having of the water low enough throughout something ready and available is a big the day to help the athlete that needs key to safety, and it’s not an expensive it. Ice, as we all know, melts and during insurance policy.” practices in late summer, it melts fast.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) The Cold Daddy chillers come in three published a study that stated heat illness sizes and can chill more than one tub at COLD DADDY CEO HOBBY HOWELL is the leading cause of death and disa time. The beauty of the chiller is that ability among high school athletes. The you can turn it on each morning and CDC estimates that an average of more than 9,000 high school your water will be cold the entire day. athletes are affected by heat illness each year.

Cold Daddy’s tubs have a 400-gallon capacity, double-layered The 15-minute period between the onset of heat illness to walls with 2 ½ inches of foam insulation between them, and permanent damage begins much sooner than the point when will hold up to six athletes. The beauty of the tub is that it an athlete falls out and becomes non-responsive. The warning works with or without ice. Using only ice, the tub will keep the signs occur earlier in the process than that. The time between water cold for great lengths of time. the recognition of heat illness symptoms until the athlete’s “It can keep water with ice in it at or below 55 degrees for body temperature is lowered is critical. eight hours in 93-degree heat on concrete,” Howell said. “The Cold Daddy began helping programs of all levels prepare temperature on the concrete got up to 129 degrees, and it stayed for the treatment of heat-related illness in 2011 by developing below 55 degrees for well over eight hours.”

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CULTURE

Creating a Tech Culture

For many coaches, part of establishing a championship culture is embracing technology and being at the forefront of new innovation across the high school game. These coaches have been leaders in adjusting to new technology. BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

THE PANDEMIC PLATFORM NATHAN HILLERICH

led the Pickerington North football team this fall to its first outright OCC-Ohio Division championship since 2003. Hillerich adjusted to the challenges of the pandemic this fall by fostering team culture over online platforms and apps. He recently shared his experience with FNF Coaches.

WHAT PLATFORMS DID YOU USE TO CONNECT WITH PLAYERS?

■■Ashland-Greenwood (Neb.) coach Ryan Thompson works with Sideline Power to ensure he is up to date on new technology.

I

n his 13 seasons as head coach at Ashland-Green-

wood High (Neb.), Ryan Thompson has led his team to a combined record of 92-42, including nine playoff appearances. In both 2013 and 2014, he led Ashland-Greenwood to the Class C-1 state championship game.

Throughout his career, Thompson has taken pride in establishing a tech culture within his program. He recently shared the tech products and apps that help him, his staff and his players.

ff What tech products are you using that help your coaches and players?

“I’m sure that there are a lot more staffs and teams out there using more than we are, but we have found a great balance with the following: Hudl for scouting self and opponents, iPads for filming practice and sideline replay on game nights. We use SkyCoach for our instant replay, end zone and sideline cameras to capture different angles, Porta Phone headsets on game night, Google Drive to share documents, and the Bigfoot Sound System at practice and pre-game.”

ff Where do you go to find the latest tech advancements in the sport?

“We have a great relationship with Sideline Power and trust in their expertise of constantly

evolving and having a ton of technology to choose from. They are on the cutting edge and are always willing to test new products.

They truly help programs win and have never disappointed us.”

ff What apps are you using to help with coaching?

“The main app that we use would be Hudl. We use MaxPreps for reporting stats. This is an area that I feel we can grow in, as there are a world of possibilities out there that I need to tap into.”

ff What obstacles do you encounter in trying to get your players up to speed on new technology?

“I think our players do a great job of using technology. We all know that they are way more advanced than us older coaches. I think the main issue is teaching them how to use the technology to gain an advantage. It is another powerful tool to help them reach their potential, and it is up to us coaches to help them get there. Taking the time to help them learn how to use it effectively definitely is worth it.”

ff What tech advancements/products are you hoping to bring into your program in the next few years?

“We are really excited about the opportunity to put The CoachPad to use next season. We feel that it will give us a way to be more efficient at practice through its features.”

“HUDL allows us to watch film from our phones or on any device. We used Google Meet and Google for everything we shared across screens during meetings. That’s for the coaches as well. We use Google for questionnaires.

Obviously, it’s an amazing piece of technology.”

WHAT OTHER APPS DO YOU USE FOR COACHING?

“We use Twitter — not necessarily for coaching but more recruiting. It’s a way to access everything and put things out to share. We have a couple of GroupMe uses. If someone doesn’t have an iPhone, that allows us to communicate by text. Position groups have everyone in the same group. We have them set alerts for meetings, and we get a message when the alert is set.”

31

TECH CORNER

CoachComm Cobalt Line Provides Industry Leading Technology CoachComm, LLC, is the leading supplier of advanced communication technologies for the sports and professional intercom industries.

BY MATT STARR, FOUNDER AND CEO OF SIDELINE POWER

I

’m Matt Starr, Founder and CEO of Sideline Power. Sideline Power

works to find and bring cutting edge technology to the football industry in order to help coaches win. Sideline Power has partnered with FNF Coaches to create an educational article each issue on different innovative products. It’s time to get #PoweredUP with this month’s featured partnership, Sideline Power and CoachComm.

For on-field sports communication, CoachComm is the proven system of choice of 97% of FBS teams and thousands of high school and small college programs across the country and has earned and secured its position as an innovator by developing cutting-edge communication and practice solutions for customers that demand the ultimate competitive edge.

CoachComm has brought leading-edge products to the game, and Cobalt is a continuation of that trend. The Cobalt line of headsets provide worry-free and reliable communications with exceptional sound quality and industry leading technology.

For Sideline Power, adding the Cobalt and Cobalt PLUS headsets to the wide variety of coaching headsets already offered through Sideline Power, streamlines the process of finding and purchasing headsets. With a shared vision and a long-term commitment to providing the very best in coaching communication, Sideline Power and CoachComm will be valued partners in offering coaches greater choice and better value in headsets, player communications, and practice solutions.

Cobalt headsets start out at $599 per coach and include the popular SmartBoom PRO headsets with convenient flip-up boom to mute the mic technology.

Without the need for a base station, Cobalt provides a compact, weather-resistant communications tool that allows two channels of communication with unlimited users. For expanded performance, Cobalt PLUS allows up to 6 different channels with an easy-to-use interface.

matt Starr Founder & CEO of Sideline Power

For more information, or to request a quote for Cobalt, Cobalt PLUS, or any of the headsets offered by Sideline Power, visit www.sidelinepower.com, call 800.496.4290, or email sales@sidelinepower.com.

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PLAYER COMMS T HE NEX T BI G TH I N G F O R P RAC TI C E

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ACTUA L S I Z E

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COBALT PLUS PLAYER COMMUNICATIONS WORKS EXCLUSIVELY WITH YOUR COBALT PLUS SYSTEM TO CREATE MORE EFFICIENT PRACTICES.

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reco rded EEKLY W Listen on: Find Our Podcast Lineup at FNFcoaches.com