In my book, Black Shoes & White Shoestrings , I talk about Bill Walsh’s impact on how we run our program and the level of organization we try to incorporate. We use play scripts, job descriptions, and any necessary planning documentation we can to make great decisions BEFORE the season begins. Once the season begins, we coach our team the best we can.
A couple weeks ago, I received a favorable response when talking about setting the priorities of what a head coach does. As head coaches prepare for the season, one suggestion I would make would be to prepare the following:
1- job descriptions for each staff member.
2- duties for each staff member before, during, and after each practice.
3- duties for each staff member before, during, and after each game.
I have prepared a document that has two sample job descriptions (DC & head frosh/JV coach) , game duties and practice duties. If you would like a copy of the document, email me at david.buchanan@mercer.kyschools.us.
A side note on the frosh/JV head coach….. that was one of the better accomplishments for me as a head coach. Larry Harris had been our DC and his son Josh was graduating. In order to be able to follow all of his kids and their collegiate athletic careers, Larry had talked about resigning as a football coach because our DC must work all weekend breaking down video and setting up the game plan.
I asked Larry to stay on and run our frosh/jv program. That would give him the freedom to travel on the weekends, but allow us to keep a GREAT coach in our program and coaching our kids. It also worked well because Larry is a great leader and excelled running his own program.
In the long run, the more planning you can do before the season begins, the more effective you will be as a head coach during the season. The planning also helps you to use your staff and resources as efficiently as possible. Maximizing the talent of everyone in your program consistently
will make your team better. I always liked the idea that TODAY I can do something that will help my team win in the fall.
**If you like what you read in this blog, check out my book from the link above. All of my stuff comes from great old coaches. If you like this blog, you will love the book and the lessons from the gridiron greats that I have learned from over the years.