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 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....
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 w...
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...
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 re...
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 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-lea...
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 th...
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 opposi...
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 ab...
D-Line Play in the 3-3 Stack Defense by Darrin Sheffer https://youthfootballonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/353-stack-defense-640x340.png As an former Offensive guy I used to participate in the age old debate of "What Scheme best fits my players". Well, turns out that Defensive guys have the exact same debate. One of the questions I constantly see on Twitter goes something like "I've got small/average sized lineman and we play teams that are bigger and stronger than us, what can we do about it?" Well, I don't claim to have all the answers for you Coach, but I would tell you that you may want to look into the 3-3 Stack Defense. Even though I have only been in this defense for 1 season I really do believe that the Stack can get your smaller linemen in better positions for success. The Stack is great for teams who have smaller/faster lineman, but even if you have bigger/stronger guys you could still run the Stack because it is ...
Death of the Fullback By Darrin Sheffer https://www.cincyjungle.com/2015/4/8/8370947/bengals-think-ryan-hewitt-nfl-fullback In the age of Spread and Shred offenses there seems to be one position group routinely being phased out of the game: The Fullback. Most Coaches would agree with this statement, right? Well... saying that the Fullback is a dying breed isn't exactly a true statement. In fact, the Fullbacks aren't dying out, they are evolving. The reality is that the only thing that is really changing is peoples definition of what a Fullback really is. It's all about perception and philosophy . Pro-Style Fullback https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullback_(gridiron_football) When you hear someone saying that they believe that the Fullback is a dying breed, most likely they are probably referring to the typical Pro-Style Offense Fullback, and in some sense they would be correct. What are some words you think abou...
Football 101 In The Classroom Part 2 Equipment Overview By Coach Darrin Sheffer https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shoulder_Pads.jpg In part 1 of my Football 101 Course I taught my players/parents some of the extremely basic vocabulary terms used specifically in the game of American Football. In part 2 I want to teach my participants the ins and outs of all the equipment used by football players. Please view the video clip below where I explain how I would go about teaching this section. So far I have had 75+ coaches ask to be part of the Football 101 mailing list, I'm humbled that you guys think so highly of me. As part of this list you will be the first to have access to all of my Football 101 files to use as you see fit in your program. The files are part of my Google drive, most are too large to send over email alone. To be part of the mailing list you need to get your email address to me, either by DM on Twitter ...
Football 101 In The Classroom Part 1: Level Zero Vocabulary By Coach Sheffer Hey coaches! A while back I started a blog series called Football 101 where I stated that coaches should consider teaching their players the basics (vocab, rules, etc.) of the game in the classroom before they get to the field. Well, I'm back now with some examples of how I would go about teaching the basics of American Football to today's youth. https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1162901 For some background I am a High School Science Teacher at a school with a high number of ESOL (English as a Second Language) students and kids that just plain out don't understand American Football. I have a few years experience teaching science vocabulary to these students with some success and I would attempt to do the same with the Football vocabulary. I am attaching a file below called Football 101: Level Zero Vocabulary which you can use however you like. Don't plan o...
Reasons I Would Run A Spread Offense by Darrin Sheffer Full disclosure: I am NOT a Spread Guy. I like old school offenses like the Wing-T, Single Wing and I formation the most. However, I am not inflexible when it comes to my offensive schemes. There are a few conceivable situations where I would consider running a Spread Based Offense. Personnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trace_McSorley 1 st and foremost it would need to fit my personnel. I would want my QB to be my best athlete on the field. I need a Big AND Athletic Offensive Line. Without these personnel fits I do not see myself running a Spread Offense. I’m not a believer in running spread with non-athletic QB’s and Small Linemen. I have seen too many teams (the school I teach at included) try to run a Spread because they believed it would help them. In my personal opinion when two teams run a similar offense the game becomes a track me...