Coach Football Through Your Players’ Eyes
If you are reading this there is at least a 90% chance you are a visual learner. No science behind that other than you are probably a football coach. Football coaches, for the most part, were at some point probably a football player. Almost all football players are visual learners. This is why I am throwing down the gauntlet and saying please coach football through your players’ eyes.
The way a player gets coached should always be from their perspective. It’s a detail that gets overlooked on a regular basis. Young football players pay the price for it.
Details matter to coaches too and this is a big one. Defensive coaches are normally the culprits. There is no earthly explanation of why a defensive coaches would teach players from the offensive side of the ball, yet we see it often.
Imagine teaching someone how to drive a car while using diagrams teaching the pupil as they are sitting on the hood of the car looking into the driver’s seat. Teaching a batter how to hit would probably not be very effective if the batter studied the game exclusively from the pitcher’s view.
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Here is my point. Kids have a lot to think about without having to turn the whole picture around in their brain. Why not do that for them? It is not hard, especially with FirstDown PlayBook. You only get so many reps on the field. Your defensive drawing is a rep. A rep that, if done properly, can be used over and over by your players who want to get better even when they are not with you, the defensive coach.
If you think that this is no big deal, then I would offer up that you should draw your offensive plays from the defensive perspective. Blasphemy! I hear the offensive coaches already, and they are correct. Not really sure why we see so many defensive coaches not take the same pride in their work.
Defensive coaches, do yourself a favor. Never go to visit a college or NFL team and draw your defense from the offense’s perspective. They will be polite but only because they want to recruit your players.
Defensive Coaches: Teach The Game Through Your Players’ Helmet
Stop and look at these two diagrams of the exact same play. Take your coaching ball cap off for a second and play the position. It’s just lazy not to draw this up the way your players will see it.
As you will notice, the defensive drawing still primarily has the offensive play on it. You will have some diagrams that have your players’ assignments on it but at some point you need your players to see what is coming at them.
“Oh but coach my kids see it on Hudl”. Stop. They do not. Your players see who they are going to play against that week. That video that you give them from the height of your stands does not help them learn what they are about to have to do in a game.
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So we will get off of our soapbox for now but if you are a defensive coach, strongly consider going the extra step to teach your players. Is it that much more work? Not if you use FirstDown PlayBook. It’s actually a matter of two clicks on your keyboard. Want to see it for yourself? Check it out right here for free.
