OFF-SEASON

GAME PLANNING
Andrew Coverdale – Head Coach – Castle High School
Shared_responsibility@yahoo.com

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MAX
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OFF-SEASON GAME PLANNING

THE GOAL:
Build the RIGHT base, and ensure that it is
as strong as it can be by the way it is
practiced
“BUILD THE RIGHT BASE”
Within your system, create a core offense that fits your talent,
your opposition, and situational football, giving you the
answers you need under stressful situations with the right
amount of volume.
*Most coaches go back to their core in tight spots/big
“ ENSURE THAT IT IS STRONG”
games
Practice what you’re going to call IN PROPORTION to how much
you will call it…develop the SKILLS your kids will use in
proportion to how much they will use them! (Fundamentally
sound)
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OFF-SEASON GAME PLANNING

STEPS
2. Develop your package: The 6-question
test
3. Prioritize your plays & allocate reps
A. Running game
B. Passing game
4. Create an installation chart based on
those priorities
5. Identify skills associated with your
plays
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OFF-SEASON GAME PLANNING

THE 6-QUESTION TEST
2. Does it fit our philosophy, and does it
compliment other things in our offense?
3. Does it fit our talent set?
4. Do we understand the least desirable
things about it & are we prepared to live
with them?
5. Can we coach it in detail and fix the
problems?
6. Does it help us beat the teams we have
to beat on our schedule?
7. Is it ‘CHEAP’ or ‘EXPENSIVE’?
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OFF-SEASON GAME PLANNING

CHEAP v. EXPENSIVE
2. How hard is it for kids to learn?
3. How similar or different is it,
conceptually, to what your kids already
understand about football?
4. How much practice time does it take to
get good at?
5. How many new skills are involved as
opposed to skills already being used
elsewhere in the offense?
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OFF-SEASON GAME PLANNING

PRIORITIZING PLAYS
*RUNNING GAME: Allotment Chart
*PASSING GAME: “Jobs” to do!
A. Defeating coverage (Needs chart)
B. Situational football (Menu)
C. Quantifying it (Rep allotment)
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OFF-SEASON GAME PLANNING

INSTALLATION SCHEDULE
*The higher the ‘rep target’, the earlier it
goes in (common sense)
*Lots of approaches!
*Week 1: Establish the CORE
Base situations
*Week 2: Tag, refine & adjust the
core
Apply to situations
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OFF-SEASON GAME PLANNING

SKILLS
*Recognize the individual jobs that have to be
done by individual players on all your plays,
list those
EXAMPLE: Power O – O Line>> 1. Down block 2. Seal
block 3. Combo
4. Slush 5. Arc (TE) 6.
Skip pull
*Group skills to identify with families of plays
(e.g., Zone Skills, Gap skills, Screen Skills)
*Spell out specifically your individual time, pre-
season, for each position
*Allot skills time that corresponds to the
priority given the plays they’re used in, then