The 4 to 5-Day Installation Plan

There has been a lot of discussion lately about quicker installation plans for camp as opposed to slow schedules that allow for proper execution prior to moving on to something new.  I instituted this faster plan at Aurora University a couple of years ago and I will never go back to the slower schedule.  The logic behind my decision was simple: half the team or more already knew the offense so why should I slow down for the other half who weren’t likely to play right away anyway.  So the shorter installation schedule gets you into your entire offense faster rather than being handcuffed by a limited number of plays.

Most of the quicker plans I’ve read about (whether it’s a 3-, 4-, or 5-day plan) involve running scripts for three cycles.  For example, on a 3-day plan, Script A would be run days 1, 4, and 7; Script B on 2, 5, and 8; Script C on 3, 6, and 9.  In my mind, there isn’t much difference between this and the slower installation schedule because I’m still not operating my entire offense until day 10.  So I’ve tweaked the newer system.

Our offense consists of 4 running schemes and about 24 pass patterns.  I give each run scheme its own day for the first four days (Inside Zone, Outside Zone, Power, and Iso).  By giving each play its own day, I allow our offense to show me its identity earlier.  The traditional way of installing plays focuses on the play the coach wants the team to be good at.  Anything installed on day 1 gets all of the reps that day, but every play installed after that must share the reps with whatever came before; thus, there is a de-emphasis on these plays.  With the five-day acclimation period, the NCAA mandates our first day in full pads is day 5.  This is when I begin to tweak the cycle a little, since day 5 is typically our first day of Inside Run/Team Run period.  When I repeat the run cycle a second time, I use the Inside Run period to run everything that’s been installed while staying faithful to the plan in the rest of the periods.  However, I do not repeat scripts.  Using multiple personnel, I can sprinkle when those are installed as well in order to get a completely different look the second time around.

Our pass game is on a 5-day installation schedule, where the players have to learn 6 plays a day for 3 days and 3 for the last two.  The minimal number of plays in the final two days of the cycle allows me to work in routes run days 1 and 2 so they are not forgotten.  Once all of the pass patterns are installed, we do not repeat the cycle.  Walk throughs are critical in keeping your young players focused on what has been installed instead of them focusing all of their time on what’s there to learn tomorrow.

The downside of the plan is that you will be looking at day 1 mistakes for four straight days and your head coach may be ready to strangle you because the product doesn’t look good.  Sell him on patience.  Your offense always looks better once complete, and by the time we hit our inter-squad scrimmage, we are operating on all cylinders.

Here is an example of our installation schedule: