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Your Offensive Scheme Doesn't Matter

Your Offensive Scheme Doesn't Matter By Darrin Sheffer "Scheme is Irrelevant!"  Those are the exact words that I myself spoke to another coach not too long ago.  If you are familiar with any of my previous blog posts (man it's been awhile since I've actually posted anything) you might be surprised that I would say this.  If this is your first time reading something of mine I will give you a bit of context by saying I used to be VERY opinionated on offensive schemes.  I used to be a "spread hater".   https://www.usafa.af.mil/News/Features/Article/429677/player-development-starts-with-officer-development/ After a lot more research, and more importantly a lot more time and experience, I have evolved my position on offense to the very words above, "scheme is irrelevant".  Different offensive schemes are now a dime a dozen, everyone either has their own or they are constantly trying to copy what they see on TV each Saturday and Sunday.  Coach Rick S
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How To Go Fast! Tips On Going Up Tempo Feat. Coach Cameron Cox

How to Go Fast! Tips on Going Up Tempo Featuring Coach Cameron Cox Recently I posted 5 Reasons to Go No Huddle  which talks about Why you should go no huddle, but not giving any thought to How to go no huddle.  The thing is, I'm not an expert in running a no huddle attack, all of my knowledge is second hand from the wonderful coaches on Twitter.  Speaking of Twitter, I tapped into the knowledge of someone with a lot more experience in going no huddle: Coach Cameron Cox ( @CoachCamCox ) Coach Cox has been a coach for 9 years, the past 3 of those he has served as the Offensive Coordinator of Refugio HS in Texas.  In the 6 seasons Coach Cox has been at Refugio HS their team has goon 78-12, made 4 state title game appearances and one state championship at the Texas 2A level.   I asked Coach Cox if he had some tips for going Up Tempo: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/314196511484838173/ "We don't huddle very much, but we aren't up tempo.  We have been

Why Do We Coach? Can Neuroscience Give Us An Answer?

Why Do We Coach? Can Neuroscience Give Us An Answer? by Coach Sheffer https://www.redbubble.com/people/johnphillips/works/30894551-no-brain-no-gain-funny-t-shirt?p=poster Neuroscience was my favorite class in Grad School, perhaps because of the fact that the Prof for the class was awesome.  It was there that I learned about chemicals in the brain called Endorphins.  In layman's terms, Endorphins are Neurotransmitters/Hormones that the brain creates each having a different function.  Certain Endorphins, like Dopamine, are associated with feeling good.  Dopamine is known as the "reward" Endorphin released when you do an enjoyable activity.  It's also responsible for drug/alcohol addiction, but let's keep this positive. https://www.slideshare.net/LorettaBreuning/happy-brain-chemicals-dopamine-serotonin-oxytocin-and-endorphin There is a great YouTube video by WheezyWaiter  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL_VK7An48k    where he tries to

5 Reasons To Go No Huddle (That Make Sense)

5 Reasons To Go No Huddle (That Make Sense) By Coach Sheffer Anyone who has followed this blog, or me on Twitter (@darrinsheffer) you may know that I have been critical on the Spread No Huddle/Up Tempo trend that has been hitting HS football for quite some time now.  However, it is my personal philosophy to be a Lifetime Learner and also have the ability to adapt/evolve my position on certain topics.  So, without any further ado here are 5 reasons why every HS Football program should consider going No Huddle next season (at least 5 that make sense to me) in no particular order: 1. Everyone's Doing It! https://arran.wordpress.com/2007/01/14/a-fable-for-our-time-why-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/ OK, OK I know I just made some Old School Coaches out there upset, but before you stop reading out of anger please let me explain myself.  Unfortunately for us the culture of the Transfer isn't something that has stayed at the college level.  HS players are now transf

5 Reasons Offensive Guys Should Coach Defense

5 Reasons Offensive Guys Should Coach Defense by Darrin Sheffer Are you an Offensive Guy?  Do you want to become an even better Offensive Coach?  I have a solution for you: coach Defense! Here are 5 reasons why (in no particular order) https://pixabay.com/photos/american-football-football-defense-1455398/ 1. You get to study a different offense each week As the LBs Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator part of my responsibilities this season include breaking down our opponents offense each week.  How does this help an Offensive Guy?  I get to see and study more offenses this way than I would as an Offensive Coordinator.   https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nick_Saban_Jan_2018_1.jpg 2. Better understanding of how D-Coordinators think Do you ever wonder what goes through a Defensive Coordinators mind mid game?  Well, if you coach defense you will get first hand experience as to how a defensive coach would think and react to what you are doing on offen

MaxOne - The Most Innovative Coaching Tool in Football

The Most Innovative Coaching Tool in Football - MaxOne In today’s technology driven world it seems like there is an ever-increasing gap between player and coach. So how do we close that gap? The answer remains the same for just about every issue in this generation: technology. The rest of this article will provide an in-depth look at MaxOne , the most effective technology on the market for any coach looking to bridge the player-coach gap, which will ultimately take their program to the next level… What is MaxOne? Coaches use a variety of methods when running their program, so how does MaxOne stand out from the competition? Why is MaxOne the best? Simply put, MaxOne combines all the features a coach could want into one specific spot. MaxOne is an all-in-one coaching app with a wide range of functionality to help coaches lead a better program. The platform is built to essentially be a Director of Football Operations that keeps track of all of the details for you – including of

AAF Devils Advocate: Interesting Playoff Scenario

AAF Devils Advocate: Interesting Playoff Scenario By Darrin Sheffer For the most part Week 1 of the first AAF season was a success.  By reading most of your Twitter posts about the AAF there seems to be a positive reception.  Well today I'd like to play Devils Advocate with a future scenario that might make the AAF even more interesting.   https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/betting/gamblers-bet-on-aaf-football-games-despite-no-history-1596331/ As of right now I believe that the key to Expanding the AAF is to officially partner with the NFL and make the AAF a "Minor League".  I may go into more detail with this in a future post, but for today's conversation lets just assume that this is a possibility.  I could see a potential for a playoff system like the one in the GFL or German Football League  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Football_League  .  https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/german-football-league-kicks-off-2018-season/

First Impressions of the AAF

First Impressions of the AAF by Darrin Sheffer In today's blog post I will be discussing why I think that the Alliance of American Football (AAF) league is basically the NFL's JV Squad, and why that isn't necessarily a bad thing.   https://media.wane.com/nxs-wanetv-media-us-east-1/photo/2019/02/08/Alliance%20of%20American%20Football%20AAF_1549661791113.JPG_71803992_ver1.0_640_360.jpg While I thought it was a little bit weird that here in Virginia CBS was showing the San Diego Fleet vs San Antonio Commanders instead of the Atlanta Legends vs Orlando Apollos I will say that I was pleasantly entertained... at least for the 1st Quarter.  A friend of mine criticized the league for being essentially the JV Squad of the NFL, but that doesn't really bother me all that much.  So far the AAF has done a great job of marketing and avoiding competition with the NFL.  So even though it isn't the same talent level as the NFL, because the AAF openly admits this I

Simple Way to Add A 4-2-5 Front in a Base 33 Stack Defense

Simple Way to Add A 4-2-5 Front into A Base 33 Stack Defense By Coach Sheffer https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-defensive-end-stance-in-football When running a High School Defense how many fronts should you have in your arsenal?  Some might say just run one front while others say it's best to carry multiple.  While I can see both sides I do tend to lean more towards being able to carry multiple looks in your defense.  Today's post isn't going to focus on why you should carry multiple fronts, but on one simple way you could carry multiple fronts.  If you run a base 33 Stack/3-5-3 defense, or want to know more about it, and you would like a simple way to get into a 4-2-5 look this is the post for you.   Base 33 Box This is our "base" Stack front with our Nose head up on the Center, Ends head up on the Tackles and our Backers "Stacked" directly behind them at 3-4 yards deep.  In this particular example I have set our strength opposite

Simplified Six Man Box in the 33 Stack

Simplified Six Man Box For 33 Stack Defense by Darrin Sheffer https://youthfootballonline.com/3-3-stack-defense-base-rules-and-blitzes/ In my previous blog post on the 33 Stack Defense I discussed some basics on Defensive Line play and talked about 4 basic Slant Schemes used (Strong, Weak, Loop and Pinch).  Today I would like to expand on that topic and discuss the Six Man Box used in the 33 Stack which includes the three down lineman and three Inside Linebackers.  For those of you who are already versed in the 33 Stack this blog post may seem boring as I plan to keep things extremely simplified for any Stack Newbies out there.  In future Stack blogs I will get into more complex pressures and coverage.   Alignment While you can have your D-Line align any which way you like, we like to keep things simple with the Nose head up on the Center and both Ends lined head up on the Tackles.  This is to allow our D-Line to have the ability to quickly Slant into o