The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

RPO's are the hot topic at clinics all over the country this year. But almost everyone is talking using run-pass options from a Spread formation. So we're bringing in Coach Justin Dottavio for a little JDFB Insider exclusive Web Clinic to talk RPO's in his Pistol Wing-T Offense. Something a little different. Coach Dottavio is the Head Football Coach, among other titles, at Cornerstone Charter Academy in Belle Isle, Florida. At a small school, you need to find the offense that fits your players. Justin and his staff came to the Pistol Wing-T Offense. Then they added in to RPOs. We also talk about the defense, the special teams, and Wrestlemania. Important topics. Want to be a part of Coach Dottavio's Insider Web Clinic on March 15, 2016 at 8:00pm Eastern, 5:00pm Pacific? Click here to become a JDFB Insider now

Putting together your Offensive Playbook for the upcoming season? Here's a checklist. What do you need to have to make sure your playbook is complete for your football team? It's not as easy as it seems. Well you'll need to know how you plan to call your formations. Can you get into all the looks you want to show? And you need to be able to do it easily. Then there's your motions and shifts. Who can you move, where can you move them. Now the important stuff. Your base run play. Nothing is more critical. You'll want a counter play off of that. And a way to get the football in the air with the Play Action Pass off that base run. How about some screens and draws when the Defensive Line is breathing down your neck? Better add those in. Get the ball out to the perimeter with your quick game passing. Then be able to go down the field if you're falling behind (or if that's just what you do). What if the game is on the line and time is running out? Do you have a 2 Minute Offense plan? Don't forget that the field is severely shrunken inside the 5 yard line. What's your special plan on the Goal Line? Finally, your playbook needs a Plan B. And Plan C. Got it? It's all detailed in this week's episode of The Football Coaching Podcast!

I listen to a lot of different podcasts and audiobooks. Usually not about football. But I get a lot of the ideas for The Football Coaching Podcast episodes from those other places. And this episode is a great example. Dan Sullivan and Joe Polish host a podcast for entrepreneurs called the 10x Talk Podcast. It's one I've been listening to a lot, lately. And in that podcast, I heard a great way to categorize our kids. This is all about deciding how to manage your kids. How to work with your kids. Who you need to put more of your energy into, and who you don't. It has nothing to do with talent. It has to do with people. If your kids aren't bringing the energy, the motivation, and the enthusiasm to the game like you need them to, then Episode 150 is for you!

Episode 149 is based on a discussion from our private JDFB Insider forum. Michael asked for advice heading into his first year as a Defensive Coordinator. It sounded like a great topic to me. I sent my own response, flipped through the advice from other coaches, and started making a list. I was shooting for 8 tips for 1st year coordinators. Either side of the ball, let's not limit it. Instead I ended up with 15 before I stopped myself and turned the microphone on. It is Super Bowl Sunday afterall, I don't need to be doing this all day. And here it is. 15 tips for 1st year coordinators. And head coaches. And assistant coaches. OK, these are tips any football coach should probably pay attention to.

Today we're getting a little deep. Some off the field stuff. And I'll travel back to 1937 for some help. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is one of my favorite books. It's not some get rich quick garbage like the title might make it sound. It's a book every football coach should read. Every person, really. We're looking specifically at the 10 Causes of Failure of Leadership from Chapter 6 in the book. This is a book I come back to over and over again, and you should really look into it if you've never read it. Here it is on Amazon. All football coaches are in a leadership role. Whether you are the head coach, coordinator, or position coach, you are leading. We lead other coaches, and more important we lead our players. Pay close attention to these points from many years ago, and see how they fit into your football coaching today.

It's the off season. And the centerpiece of your off season is the weight room. Don't get carried away with X's and O's. That's a lot of fun. But remember one thing... Jimmy's and Joe's matter more. A lot more. And you can make massive improvements for your guys in the weight room this season. A lot more than you can make on paper. So what does it take to run a great weight program? You don't need a ton of equipment. And you don't have to be a full time strength coach. You need to know enough about the lifts to teach them, and teach the lifts safely. Safety is above-all-else the most important aspect of coaching weight training. You've got to have enthusiasm. Believe that the weight room is important. Show your players that. And you need a plan. A path to follow. Where does the off season in the weight room start? What's the end game? How do you get there? Check out this episode for some ideas on building your championship weight room! And click here to join us on January 14, 2016 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT for the Critical Keys To Running A Championship Weight Room Web Clinic.

Defending the Double Wing is always a fun topic. It's a great offense for exposing your defense. The fact is, this is a tough task no matter what you run. It's a great argument against balance. I've been working on our 3-4 Defense eCourse and this is a topic that's sure to come up. So I'm preparing myself. Episode 146 is a collection of my ideas on defending the Double Wing Offense. It's not the end all, not the solution forever. Just ideas. Hopefully it gets your wheels turning as we head into the off-season!

There is no 'right' way. The sooner you learn that, the better your coaching career goes. It's not easy to accept, of course. I wish there was a right way. I wish there was one single scheme that would beat everyone else every day. As long as no one else knew about it, of course. But there is not. Every scheme can work. Offense, Defense, Special Teams. If it's sound and it fits your players (and you can teach it), you can win with it. And every football team is different. Your players are probably different from week to week - and even day to day. How your scheme gels together... how you turn 11 individuals into one unit... that is going to change every day. That requires you to be a flexible football coach. To have a toolbox of answers waiting. Knowing when you use them? How to teach them? That separates good coaches from great coaches. Check out Episode 145 of The Football Coaching Podcast to find out how you can be a Flexible Football Coach!

When the season's over, the next one begins. Post-season evaluation is a major part of that process. These are 9 key points that your staff needs to discuss during the off-season. Address them, you get better. Ignore them, you get disaster.

Why do you coach? Is it because you like football? Well of course. Maybe you're really competitive. Wins and losses. On Thursday night, before our last game, I was reminded of why I coach football. We have a tradition called the Senior Speeches. And it's an annual reminder to me, and the rest of our staff, of why this is all worth it. In Episode 143 of The Football Coaching Podcast, I'll tell you what our players say that reminds us that coaching is an important profession. One of the most important professions, honestly. Listen to Episode 143 on Why We Coach Football now, and give yourself a reminder why all the blood, sweat, tears and time are all worth it!