Our staff feels that the results of the game are in direct relationship to how you practice. As such, at Meade High School we make practice planning a major emphasis within our off season staff development. One of the main things we do at off season clinics is try to figure out ways to improve our practices. We look at all facets from motivation to transitions. We feel that we practice fairly well as a result.
Another issue we have is that we have to plan for two way-players. Some high schools have the luxury of platooning and working on only their side of the ball each day. In high school we felt as a staff that there are certain players – the number varies from year to year – that need to be on both sides of the ball. As a result, we have to approach practice with the mindset that those players get reps on both sides of the ball each day.
One area we have found that has been useful is to eliminate the routine of stretching before practice. Our team does not stretch until after practice. Instead, we have each position coach develop a specific pre-practice routine that their kids follow on a daily basis. We call those “Early Outs”. During this portion of practice we are working on specific skills and drills that serve a dual purpose. First, the drill must warm up the athlete. So we are choosing drills that increase core body temperature, increasing elasticity of the muscles, get blood following to the joints, and drills that increase heart rate. At the same time the drills must develop a specific skill such as passing, catching, ball security, etc.
From there, we move into our special teams segment. Our coordinator sets the skills and scheme to be worked on for the day. Our first special teams block is usually a 10 minute block focusing on 5 minutes of skills development with 5 minutes of scheme. During that time anyone not involved is with the coaches continuing on with drills. There is no standing around watching special teams at Meade. Everyone is making efficient use of their time.
Our next segment is our individual portion of practice. The individual portion is broken down into smaller blocks. Our offensive unit takes the 30 minute window to accomplish 10 minutes of individual drill work, 10 minutes of our group drill team screen and 10 minutes of our group drill run vs. bags. During that time our offense is focused on tempo and reps. We teach during the individual portion of practice. If a correction needs to be made the player is pulled from the drill while another player jumps in as the coach makes the correction. While this is going on, our defense has a similar format. They also begin with individual work for 10 minutes, then they work formation recognition for 10 minutes in our team vs. cans period, and then they break back off the individual time again to reinforce what was just taught.
Following that segment we enter the group phase of our practice. During the group phase we begin by splitting off into pass skelly and inside run drills. Only the side of the ball that is being emphasized that day is working. For example, Monday is a defensive priority day so they get the group period. Tuesday is offensive priority so the offense gets the group segment. On Wednesday, both sides get a shortened group segment as this is our split day in which each side is emphasized equally.
We then begin our team drills following our group drills. Again, the priority side of the ball goes first. They get a 20 minute block to rep the schemes with looks they need to rep. We emphasize different situations, formations, or personnel on different days. For example, our offense focuses on third Downs, fourth Downs, and special situations. We also practice our opening script on Monday due to the emphasis being placed on defense that day. We break up the two team segments with an additional special team segment. This is usually a 5-minute segment that is emphasizing PAT/ FG or the block unit.
Lastly, we end with our conditioning sessions. We start the week with more intense conditioning drills and gradually taper off as the week progresses.
Below is an example of a typical practice schedule we follow for a typical Tuesday practice.