Game Planning Tips - Moving Stress, Simplifying RPOs, and Structuring Special Teams

In this week’s Game Planning Tips, Coach Keith Grabowski brings you three coaches who show how clarity and intentional teaching create smarter, faster football in every phase of the game.

On defense, John Loose, Associate Head Coach and Safeties Coach at Army West Point, breaks down his Cover 6 Toolbox and explains how moving stress — not adding calls — helps players play fast with clear rules. Learn how he adapts field and boundary coverage, manages 3x1 formations, and builds a structure that fits high school football.

On offense, Matt Drinkall, Head Coach at Central Michigan, delivers one of the cleanest explanations of RPO football you’ll hear. His filter — Shorter, Faster, Simpler — keeps quarterbacks efficient and keeps the offense operating within its identity. Drinkall outlines what makes RPOs work, what often goes wrong, and how to package them into any system.

On special teams, Pete Lembo, now the Head Coach at the University at Buffalo, shows why elite special teams start with top-down support. He details how head coach involvement, shared terminology, and organized teaching turn special teams from a transition period into a program-wide advantage.

Lauren’s First and Goal Foundation funds pediatric brain tumor research and supports families affected by cancer through football.
The foundation has raised over $3 million through clinics and events led by coaches nationwide.

👉 Learn more, donate, or register at laurensfirstandgoal.org

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