I am excited for “my” school that I just retired from. They hired a new HC last week and they got a “good one!” He’s a “football junkie” like me and we are already talkin’ ball. I have volunteered my help (behind the scenes— not on the field–I’m done with that!) and told him I’d be interested in being his “Offensive Quality Control Specialist”— whatever the heck that means! (I saw it on a couple of college staff’s websites! It sounds pretty cool.) Anyway…
It got me thinking about THIS time of year and what you need to doing as far as R & D. I mentioned that on the bucksweep.com Message Board and a coach wrote back asking what “R&D” means. For businesses, it’s Research and Development. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you’ve got to be doing your “homework” during the off season.
For some of you that will mean a total revamping of your system. If things haven’t been going well on the field or in the locker/weight/coaches room, it may mean choosing to go in a different direction. But, first you have to identify the problem. For others, as my dad used to say: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! It’s always good to evaluate and see what the “state of your program” is. But, don’t get sucked into that lie that you’ve got to be changing with the times!
I did that one year with our Delaware Wing T offense. We’d been averaging 350 yards and around 35 points a game for 4-5 years…. and 8-9 wins! I sat in on a clinic presentation where the coach “sold” me on how I needed to make the Jet Sweep (instead of the Buck Sweep) the foundation of our offense. Needless to say, it was a disaster. Without boring you with the details, I realized that next winter/spring that the MAIN reason our productivity dropped off so significantly was because I didn’t know how to attack defenses with Jet like I did with Buck. In other words, my play-calling stunk! I messed with a good thing and got burned.
Soooooooo… take your staff and attend the “big time” clinics and… go to the presentations! It drives me crazy to be walking through the lobby of one of these big hotels and there are coaches just sitting around. When I am asked to speak at a clinic, I ask to speak on Saturday morning! Yes, the crowds are smaller first thing Saturday morning (I wonder why??!!!!) but… the coaches who attend my presentation are there because they came to learn.
I want to encourage you, though, to set up a coaching “visit” with another staff or coach who will spend time alone with you covering the things you need covered. Offer to pay the guy or buy lunch but spend a day “digging into” his program or scheme. You’ll come away with a LOT of useful information.
