ORGANIZATION
Delegation is the cornerstone to successfully controlling or managing any large, detailed organization. As much as a coach might want to be a "control freak" (and I am certainly self included here), the delegation of responsibilities among a staff is crucial. As an Intern for the Trezevant High School Football Team (Memphis, TN), I was one of eight coaches managing 48 players. Although most of the teams we played had fewer coaches, I really don't see how they did it. At Trezevant each coach had multiple responsibilities. No one was dead weight.
Ideally there should be a head coach, an offensive and a defensive coordinator, an offensive and a defensive line coach, a backs and receivers coach, a special teams coach, a team trainer, and an assistant to the head coach. Each coach is to have specific responsibilities related to his or her field(s). In my system, the head coach and offensive coordinator work in unison to determine the mode of attack for the upcoming game. Together they will co-write the script of opening plays and determine the run to pass ratio. During the game, the offensive coordinator is responsible for play calling, with the head coach (and hopefully the quarterback) able to override on a play by play basis. A similar method of cooperation should prevail between the head coach and defensive coordinator. The different possible responsibilities for practices and drills are too numerous to detail here, but the main idea is for each coach to be responsible for certain aspects of the practice.
The coaching staff should have regular meeting separate from the players to discuss in detail any differences in philosophy or procedure for the purpose of presenting a unified front during practice. Of significant importance is the player evaluations the coaching staff should routinely perform. As a player improves or excels within his specific group, all coaches should be aware of the situation so that the player of note may be fully utilized.
|
|
|