Spring football can be very beneficial if it's looked at as a whole different enterprise than in-season practice. Must realize you're not in it to get a team ready to play a game...it's 99% about developing players' skills in ways not permissible every other day of the off-season.

 

Think of the SOPHS-TO-BE moving from Freshman to Varsity with the added complexity.

 

Important for upperclass kids who didn't play the year before you worked hard walking the halls to get to come out -- gives you a chance to catch them up on the very basics: stance, start, alignment, assignment.

 

Good for TRANSFERS to your school who you must teach not only your systems but your practice methods and culture.

 

What's been said about the linemen and being able to FOCUS on them and their technique is important.

 

Very big is that you don't look at spring practices and development of strength/quickness/agility as mutually exclusive. (Part of the reason it would be hard for me ever to coach at a place we don't have in-school weightlifting.)

 

It's like a 6-months-later 'refresher' for our returning guys too.

 

I don't think for one minute Coach Sander is doing ONLY athletic evaluation during his spring practice window. I'm sure even if it's only him there with zero assistants, he's able to teach the basics of his system (stance/start, alignment, formations, etc.).

New coach prolly needs more evaluation time on the players than he does hitting and such. A good coach will scheme around his talent IMO. So first step is to find what talent the team has. This is a process the previous coach didnt do too much.

New coach prolly needs more evaluation time on the players than he does hitting and such. A good coach will scheme around his talent IMO. So first step is to find what talent the team has. This is a process the previous coach didnt do too much.

 

Anyone who has every coached has heard something equivalent to, "everything changes when the pads go on."

 

Whatever you think you know about a player/team doesn't mean anything until you've seen the kids in pads. I've seen guys that look the part that can't play a lick, and guys who look average that are just "players" when the pads are on.

 

So really, if you want to get a good feel of the type of team you have, you get them out there with equipment on and determine who your "players" are.

 

Of course, he has coaches around from last year, as well as film. So he has other avenues to determine talent. But a 40 time, agility ladder, or some bags, really won't tell you much about your team.

I coached for a long time and yes most players are different in pads. I disagree with you on what it tells you..it can tell you a lot more about your team than you think. There are pros and cons about both, By your logic 7on7 should be not looked at since they dont have pads on. I personally think 7on7 is a much better guage of your talent than a full contact practice in the spring. Everyone will be able to tell first padded practice who likes contact and who doesnt. The only issue with 7on7 is the lines dont get work. However with todays game being all about the uptempo passing game the skill players are where all the attention seems to go to. Even though us old school lineman know without us those skill players cant do much....

I coached for a long time and yes most players are different in pads. I disagree with you on what it tells you..it can tell you a lot more about your team than you think. There are pros and cons about both, By your logic 7on7 should be not looked at since they dont have pads on. I personally think 7on7 is a much better guage of your talent than a full contact practice in the spring. Everyone will be able to tell first padded practice who likes contact and who doesnt. The only issue with 7on7 is the lines dont get work. However with todays game being all about the uptempo passing game the skill players are where all the attention seems to go to. Even though us old school lineman know without us those skill players cant do much....

 

Just a difference in opinion I guess.... As I don't think 7 on 7 tells you much of anything about a team. I've seen teams that win 0-3 games in a season after winning 2-3 7 on 7 "championships" the summer before. 7 on 7 is fun for the kids.... But you don't learn much about your team by going to them.

7 on 7 will tell you allot about your team if you throw the ball a lot. It will also allow you to see if your receivers can catch and run routes effectively. It also gives your QB an opportunity to work through his passing progressions to find the open receiver. Again its just a tool to improve your passing as a team. Today we throw the ball more than we did when we were kids. The game has changed!