My first experience with Slack stuff was last year -- we hosted their QB school at Ballard last summer (and hope to do so again).

 

Our main use of Slack is his PASSING MECHANICS stuff.

 

They have a reads-system built into their program. We looked at it, but it's pretty much what we're already doing with different terminology so there was no need to switch what we'd already been teaching our kids.

I believe his head coach stated in this years football preview that (our Qb's) don't need to read defenses, if we throw it's to one reciever/route or just run the ball.

My first experience with Slack stuff was last year -- we hosted their QB school at Ballard last summer (and hope to do so again).

 

Our main use of Slack is his PASSING MECHANICS stuff.

 

They have a reads-system built into their program. We looked at it, but it's pretty much what we're already doing with different terminology so there was no need to switch what we'd already been teaching our kids.

 

Coach, I worked at that camp this summer; you and your staff were great hosts.

I would imagine most QB's in KY are taught to read some coverage. Like many have said, I think a common route would be to have a pre-snap read (MOFC/MOFO, man or zone tendencies), and then work from there. If you are running say, "smash", the QB is still reading the defense to decide where to go with the ball. No doubt a lot of teams go more in depth, but I would think that most schools have their QBs read coverage in some form or fashion.

 

The Slack stuff seems very interesting. I would love to get a chance to learn from him.

The Slack stuff seems very interesting. I would love to get a chance to learn from him.

 

Can't really do any better. They cover so much more than just the 'on-the-field' stuff that a QB needs.

Can't really do any better. They cover so much more than just the 'on-the-field' stuff that a QB needs.

 

I've heard rave reviews about the work he does. I'll have to check it out sometime :thumb:.

It's pretty easy in HS, IMO, because most teams run basic man principles (ie. one or zero) or cover 3 zone principles. However, more and more teams have instituted 2 deep or 4 deep zones. When teams start disguising coverages and rotating zones, it becomes almost impossible for a HS quarterback to be able to recognize this. I don't believe it is necessary to be taught to read coverages to be an effective HS quarterback because it is more important to teach fundamentals and footwork.

I would hope they are if they purport to have any semblance of a passing game.

At Fort Campbell they are taught to read defenses, but teach all you want - a lot depends on the QB's aptitude. We have had a couple of QBs that, in additon to being All-State QBs, were also National Honor Society students, (CJ Croft & Antonio Andrews). We have had others that rely strictly on their athletic abilities - they are not or were not All-State QBs and did not win a championship.

To answer the initial question... are you kidding me? That's football 101 at Trinity. Maybe that's why we win, win and win some more.

To answer the initial question... are you kidding me? That's football 101 at Trinity. Maybe that's why we win, win and win some more.

 

Ok lets be fair here. Trinity has one of the best guys in the nation training their QBs. Heck go over to Coaches Choice and pick up the QB school DVD. Coverdale does an amazing job teaching but he also does one heck of a job taking complex ideas and making them very simple.

 

You can simplify a ton of stuff through formations. Teams have to check out of certain coverages or declare when formations are used correctly. One of big reasons Trinity wins is because of the size and quality of their coaching staff.

For the record, you saw an edited version that was extremely unfair to Conner. The reality was that he was up at that board for 15-20 minutes answering their questions and did a very good job, not struggling on a single question, until the coaches then threw out a question to him in which they misidentified a defensive scheme and it confused Conner. They then elected to air that very, very brief portion of his entire time up at the board in an effort to justify elminating him. I mean, seriously, the kid was ranked #1 by all the coaches after 4 full days and going into the last day at FBU - which was only a 1/2 day - and dropped all the way to #4, despite having an overall solid last practice (once again, they aired one of the few bad passes he had that practice)? The reality is that that were looking for human interest stories and he just didn't really have one. He's a smart, polite kid from an upper class family in Union, Kentucky. Boring - for TV standards. :sssh:

 

Conner's not a perfect QB, not close and I'm not claiming such. But he's a pretty bright kid (good enough for Harvard) and I'm certain he can read defenses as well as most QB's his age and on par with the other remaining candidates on the show. Hope they do well - it's a fun show to watch. It just would be a bit more fun if he was still part of it.

 

It sounds like you have alot of detail on what happened and it sounds pretty believable because all media clips the excerpts they need to spin the story the way they want it. Obviously Conner is an excellent QB and I am sure at Harvard he will learn everything he needs to know as a student athlete. Best wishes to Conner.

For the record, you saw an edited version that was extremely unfair to Conner. The reality was that he was up at that board for 15-20 minutes answering their questions and did a very good job, not struggling on a single question, until the coaches then threw out a question to him in which they misidentified a defensive scheme and it confused Conner. They then elected to air that very, very brief portion of his entire time up at the board in an effort to justify elminating him. I mean, seriously, the kid was ranked #1 by all the coaches after 4 full days and going into the last day at FBU - which was only a 1/2 day - and dropped all the way to #4, despite having an overall solid last practice (once again, they aired one of the few bad passes he had that practice)? The reality is that that were looking for human interest stories and he just didn't really have one. He's a smart, polite kid from an upper class family in Union, Kentucky. Boring - for TV standards. :sssh:

 

Read ANYTHING from any cast member on pretty much ANY reality show and you'll see that this is the rule and not the exception. Stinks anytime it's done, but even moreso when it's a show that could end up helping or hurting a KID in terms of scholarships and such. When it comes down to it, the winners on reality shows are chosen based on what the PRODUCERS think will create more viewers, sponsors, etc. ($$$) and NOT on who's always most deserving--this is especially true when the decision about who stays and goes is done by 'experts' rather than the contestants themselves.

 

Hate that this happened with Conner...but I'm sure the notoriety he gained from just being on the show at all will pay off for him in recruiting. Best of luck to him!

To answer the initial question... are you kidding me? That's football 101 at Trinity. Maybe that's why we win, win and win some more.

 

There are a lot of teams that will claim to teach the quarterback to read coverages. But does the quarterback make those checks appropriately? I have seen way too many quarterbacks, on every level (I can recall two passes, one thrown by kevin kolb and one by eli manning) throw out routes in to cover 2 and sure enough a corner is there waiting to take their head off. It is not whether it is being taught, it is whether the player can comprehend.

I'll give you an example of what T does. One of their favorite passing concepts is spacing. At one point it was a huge part of their offense. They will get into some form of 1x3 formation. If the single WR is not taken away they are going to work one on one. To take away the single WR teams often have to slide a backer. If the QB sees this presnap or on his drop he moves straight across to sit, mini curl, flat. It is honestly a very simple read that a QB doesn't have to have a huge understanding of defenses to be able to work. It is also very formation friendly. Part of the choice is taken care of presnap. T also does a number of things to force teams to play pretty vanilla on defense. With the ton of shifts and motions it is very tough for a HS defense to be very complex.

 

Now Slack's stuff is R4 which is an operational system to use within your current offense to accelerate choices. It is a very simple system that can be extremely affective. I number of HS and colleges across the country are using it. The OC and QB coach at Jenks HS in OK is one of the guys that helped develop it and teaches it. Slack's material is amazing at taking complex ideas and making them very simple. His QB training methods in mechanics, off season training and drilling are pretty impressive. He also has a book coming out some time along with a WR training system called E4.