The kicking game or lack of one.

 

How much work is actually put into the kicking game during practice?

 

Again thanks in advance.

 

We practice special teams the first 15 minutes, the middle 15, and the last 15.

There is exactly one main reason the Wing-T has stood the test of time in high school football (and is still a winning offense in states like Florida & Georgia w/ great athletes & spread offenses all around):

 

...its adaptability to whatever athletes you get from one year to the next.

 

Without completely overhauling your offense, it allows you to be an option team, run-first team, or passing team if talent dictates it. Best of all, if a class or two of less-talent comes through, you can base what you do on misdirection or option--allowing you to have success without having to win every one-on-one battle up front.

 

Above all, I like that every D-Coordinator I've worked with always cusses it when they have to prepare.

I like the wing-t because you can be successful with average players. And it's easy to install with a junior program.

Why don't we see more screens to the tightend and/or fullback?

 

I see very few teams do this, but when they do more times than not it works.

Most of our time at Mason County was spent defending Ivan McGlone's Wing T at Russell HS. They did a great job with it.

 

Glenn Caruso is one of the brightest and best young football minds in the nation. Caruso has developed a system for assigning to offensive formations a quotient that determines the difficulty of the set to defend. When you apply Caruso’s formula to Ivan’s primary offensive set, a two TE set with a wing on one side and half back on the other, it scores very high.

 

His base set is balanced, but he gives you an additional gap to defend to the wing side. He can get four receivers deep in a hurry, but he can also get all of his blockers to the point of attack inside the tackle box when he needs to do so. He can handle any adjustment you make with a small number of very effective plays. Add to all of this the bonus of having a boatload of deception and blocking angles in his offense, and you have a very effective & efficient offense.

 

We worked against Ivan’s blocking schemes and used our defensive reads for his offense in the spring and preseason. His offense forced you to play good, sound, fundamental football, which helped you against all of your opponents.

 

This is a great offense for attacking modern defenses that are designed to stop the pass and zone run schemes.

Love this thread!!! Another one. A lot of talk about platooning vs having your best athletes on the field. With these kids being 16-18, in shape, hungry to be on the field, is there really an advantage to staying true to a platoon system if you have athletes that can help on both sides of the ball? I feel like we've been conditioned to believe the platooning is the gospel now and I'm not sure I believe that unless you truly have so many athletes that leaving an athlete off the field isn't going to hurt you. One of the first questions we hear on here nowadays when predicting an outcome is "how many kids does team X have going both ways. Unless the answer is all of them, is it really an HUGE factor?

 

Obviously, platooning is a factor during the game. Your players can rest, it is much easier to play your top players on special teams, and it is much easier to make in-game adjustments or emphasize coaching points that have been made all week. The "rest" factor is likely more important during the hot weather months.

 

I feel the biggest positive of platooning is what happens during the week, not on Friday night. Players are spending all of their time in the video room and on the practice field getting prepared to their job. If a staff is properly prepared, that means a quality position coach is constantly evaluating and teaching. A normal HS practice has time split between offense, defense, and special teams. If a two-platoon staff is in place, the vast majority of time is spent on one side of the ball. Most two-platoon staffs can organize special teams work in such a way that it does not totally disrupt individual work being done by some position coaches. If good practice organization is in place, two-platoon players are often getting at least 2x the preparation work at their position that what is being directed for players in that are in one-platoon programs.

 

There are some essential factors in a successful two-platoon HS program. 1- You must have enough quality players in your program to put enough good players on the field and still have some decent depth. 2- Two-platooning must be cultivated from the FR level up! This may cost you some FR games, but it is the only way to produce enough players to run a two-platoon system. 3- Quality position coaches are a necessity! Platooning allows for more individual time in practice and the instruction in these time periods can reap huge benefits if those coaches are attentive to detail and take great pride in their position group. 4- A supportive administration is needed to understand the needed to hire a number of quality men to coach. 5- Understand that your first inclination of where a player belongs is not always right. Use the spring & summer to experiment with players. It also is a time to get some of your best players prepared to be "emergency" back-ups on the other side of the ball. 6- The head coach must get accustomed to the feeling of skating on thin ice. A season will always reach a point where a certain position group gets really thin and the "next man up" might be a pup that is not ready to bite. 7- The HC must also be able to organize practice is a fashion that best utilizes a two-platoon structure. Efficient preparation always trumps long preparation!

Obviously, platooning is a factor during the game. Your players can rest, it is much easier to play your top players on special teams, and it is much easier to make in-game adjustments or emphasize coaching points that have been made all week. The "rest" factor is likely more important during the hot weather months.

 

I feel the biggest positive of platooning is what happens during the week, not on Friday night. Players are spending all of their time in the video room and on the practice field getting prepared to their job. If a staff is properly prepared, that means a quality position coach is constantly evaluating and teaching. A normal HS practice has time split between offense, defense, and special teams. If a two-platoon staff is in place, the vast majority of time is spent on one side of the ball. Most two-platoon staffs can organize special teams work in such a way that it does not totally disrupt individual work being done by some position coaches. If good practice organization is in place, two-platoon players are often getting at least 2x the preparation work at their position that what is being directed for players in that are in one-platoon programs.

 

There are some essential factors in a successful two-platoon HS program. 1- You must have enough quality players in your program to put enough good players on the field and still have some decent depth. 2- Two-platooning must be cultivated from the FR level up! This may cost you some FR games, but it is the only way to produce enough players to run a two-platoon system. 3- Quality position coaches are a necessity! Platooning allows for more individual time in practice and the instruction in these time periods can reap huge benefits if those coaches are attentive to detail and take great pride in their position group. 4- A supportive administration is needed to understand the needed to hire a number of quality men to coach. 5- Understand that your first inclination of where a player belongs is not always right. Use the spring & summer to experiment with players. It also is a time to get some of your best players prepared to be "emergency" back-ups on the other side of the ball. 6- The head coach must get accustomed to the feeling of skating on thin ice. A season will always reach a point where a certain position group gets really thin and the "next man up" might be a pup that is not ready to bite. 7- The HC must also be able to organize practice is a fashion that best utilizes a two-platoon structure. Efficient preparation always trumps long preparation!

 

Critical.

This one is still a mystery me, even after talking to coaches

 

CB OR SAFETY

has one on one coverage and they never look back to see ball.

 

In talking to coaches and former players over the years (not many players have liked this technique) I have been told the players are taught to read the rec eyes and try and punch the ball out, which seldom works.

 

Explain to me how you teach it and how often your way works.

 

Thanks again.

This one is still a mystery me, even after talking to coaches

 

CB OR SAFETY

has one on one coverage and they never look back to see ball.

 

In talking to coaches and former players over the years (not many players have liked this technique) I have been told the players are taught to read the rec eyes and try and punch the ball out, which seldom works.

 

Explain to me how you teach it and how often your way works.

 

Thanks again.

 

We teach them that they can only peak in the backfield if you can touch the WR. If not, and you peak then they will get more separation. Plus there is no face guarding in high school so it works pretty well for us.

Coaches:

 

What is the strangest offense you've tried to defend?

3RD AND SEVEN

Why run to the short side of the field?

 

Thanks.

 

The reason to do it is because no one would ever do that. Its probably exactly the opposite of what the Def coordinator told the defense what was coming.

 

Now on the other hand you better have a good balanced game going into that and a very reliable RB.

A team I follow does it a lot, but it seldom works.

 

They almost run all of their plays to the short side of the field, most of their passes too.

A team I follow does it a lot, but it seldom works.

 

They almost run all of their plays to the short side of the field, most of their passes too.

 

Yeah, I would definitely not do that more than twice a game on 3rd and 7. Ha.

I like fast screens out of trips to the short side. Lots of times we out leverage people that way.

You have a big led and pull your starters.

 

Do you allow the back ups to run your offense, or do you just being them in the game to run it up the gut three times and then punt the ball away?

 

I love this question. It seems that if you have a graduating senior QB, coaches need to let the potential starter next season learn the system. Help me understand the thought process of letting a guy go three and out and learn very little. Wouldn't the future starter benefit from running the full offense in games he can't lose, than waiting another season to put his feet to the fire?

 

THANKS in advance for all replies.