Let’s Talk About Practice

Are your practices fast and efficient?

Not everyone is the head coach and responsible for organizing practice, but we all contribute to how efficient practice is.

And as it would be, practice is the perfect time to waste time.

We are all guilty of wasting the valuable time given to us.

But it is my firm belief that practice should be fast and efficient.

There are three pillars to a fast and efficient practice:

1. No Standing Around
2. Fast Rotations
3. Maximize Reps with Half Lines and Small Pods

And the only way we can accomplish this is by having clear goals that work toward our ultimate goal: Winning a State Championship.

In the rest of this email I’m going to go over 5 ways to make your practices better.

1. No Turnovers

The football doesn’t touch the ground.

That’s the rule.

If a running back fumbles, then he does 16 push ups.

If a quarterback throws a ball over a wide receiver’s head, then he does 16 push ups.

If the wide receiver drops the ball, then he does 16 push ups.

And these are fast push ups that are more of a mental thing.

They aren’t wildly difficult to do.

We believe that you can’t be casual with the football if you want to make it far in the playoffs.

And why do we do 16?

Because it takes 16 games to make it to the State Championship Game.

2. 3 Reps Per Minute

Each player needs to get 3 reps per minute.

Yes, you read that correctly.

It is your job (if you are the Head Coach) to provide the footballs, cones, and other equipment necessary to accomplish this goal.

And I know leather footballs are expensive.

So, just buy rubber ones on the internet for $5.

For example, you’ll always see running back coaches have 4 cones lined up and a row of 6 running backs.

1 running back will take the ball and go through the cones.

The other 5 running backs are standing there with their thumbs up their asses waiting on coach to yell at them to go.

And then the whistle blows and you’re off to another period.

Stop that nonsense.

Get 6 footballs and 24 cones.

Get your reps in!

3. Condition During Practice and with a Purpose

If you’re still lining up on the goal line and running gassers, Shame on You!

Enough of that.

I still think there is a time and a place for that (like in May) to get the players back in shape and to build some mental toughness.

But it makes no sense to do this during the season.

You need to spend all your time getting better at football.

We run pursuit drills for the defense in every single practice.

Find a way to get your guys running with purpose.

4. Nobody Stands Around (Including Coaches)

I’ve already mentioned this and it’s pretty self explanatory.

First off, the players actually will love this.

I promise that you’ll have them telling you how they can’t believe the practice was 2 hours long.

They’ll be sweaty and hot, better at football, and conditioned to play if you’ve done it right.

But to be honest, the coaches make this hard to pull off.

You’ll always have those sunflower seed coaches who like to sit down and yell at the players.

Or, even worse, the coach who is always saying “Back on the ball!”

Sure, let’s put everyone back on the ball and only teach the right tackle how to fix the block he just missed on that last blitz.

Meanwhile, 21 other players are watching and no work is getting done.

Instead, take him out and take him aside to teach him what he did wrong and how to fix it and move on.

And if you’re stopping practice in the middle of the season to ever show your players how to do something simple like a down block, then you didn’t do your job in the summer and August.

You have to keep practice going.

5. Stay Committed to Your Schedule

Don’t let anyone, no coach or no player, derail you from the schedule.

And to pull this off, you must properly plan.

Spend time on the schedule, think through it, and make sure it makes sense.

Have other coaches look at it.

Get it right because once practice starts and you’re deciding to take things out or add new things, you’ve ruined the whole practice because you’ve wasted time.

Make the mistakes and fix them for the next practice.

In summary, make your practices fast and efficient!

If you want to learn more about how I structure my practice, check this course out here.