21-Hour Football - Using "Pride Points" in The Off-Season Program

12/18/2019 21-Hour Football: Using “Pride Points” in the Off-Season Program
21-Hour Football: Using “Pride Points” in the Off-

Season Program
 Category: Insiders Clinic Reports: Program Development
 Published: Sunday, 17 November 2019 10:51
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By Jeremy Plaa, Thomas Downey High School, Modesto (CA)
X&O Labs is continuing its study into how coaches are advancing their programs to achieve higher levels of success in an ever-changing culture, society and world.
We’re calling our study The 21-Hour Football Program because these concepts focus on the 21 hours before and after practice that build a winning culture. In this
report, Coach Plaa outlines his Pride Points system. Read the report...
By Jeremy Plaa
Thomas Downey High School
Modesto (CA)
Editor’s Note: X&O Labs is continuing its study into how coaches are advancing their programs to achieve higher levels of success
in an ever-changing culture, society and world. We’re calling our study The 21-Hour Football Program because these concepts
focus on the 21 hours before and after practice that build a winning culture. In this report, Coach Plaa outlines his Pride Points
system. To access our brand-new study, The 21-Hour Football Program, please go here.
Introduction
https://www.xandolabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3365:21-hour-football-using-pride-points-in-the-off-season-program&catid=117&Itemid=180&tmpl=component&print=1&lay… 1/12
As I finalize the previous season and start to look ahead to next year’s team, one of the first thing I look at is our Pride Point system.
Our Pride Point system is an important part of our program for the following reasons:
Rewards the kids that deserve to be rewarded

Creates a system of merit to receive first pick of football equipment & jersey numbers
Encourages kids to be active in other sports
Helps to motivate kids towards perfect attendance in the spring & summer
Creates kids that value giving back to their teammates and others
Allows coaches to identify kids struggling with staying motivated
On top of all the positives, it also lets me identify which kids aren’t as committed to our team. It never fails, the kids that are the
lowest Pride Point achievers are the first ones to quit when things go bad, and often are the same kids that miss practice and/or
games because they aren’t completely invested in our team.
The first step to implement this program is to come up with your system. I always recommend to start simple. Find the things you find
are really important to you, and emphasize it with pride points. You can always add to it or take away from it during the off-season, or
between seasons. It is a better approach to start simple and add a little at a time, than to try to have too much and not be able to
keep track of everything. Our pride point sheet is the result of 15 years of tinkering and I still tune it up every year to emphasize
what’s important. This year, I increased our points for being on the wrestling team because football-wrestling participation numbers at
our school have been dwindling. I also added in a bonus for each individual’s pride point max lift because I am trying to emphasize
weight training more than ever. I will still possibly adjust it again because I’m researching leadership curriculum that I want to
integrate into our program.
Point Opportunities
Here is a look at what we award points for in our system. This is what goes out to the players in the player letter. I will talk about
many of these items more specifically below.
Winter & Spring
75 points - Bonus points for starting and finishing Basketball or Soccer (1 pt. per off-season workout, must be pre-approved)
125 points - Bonus points for starting and finishing Wrestling
150 points - Starting & finishing a Spring Sport. (60 points if starting late/ending early, due to ineligibility)
25 points - Turn in COMPLETED AAU Form & AAU Money ($40) by Tuesday, February 20th
25 points - Bonus points for turning in ALL fundraising, by the Root Beer Social in May
15 points - Parent/Guardian joining the Booster Club at the Root Beer Social
5 points - For every “A” grade and every “O” citizenship, at the end of the 2nd semester.
1 point - For every canned food item turned in during our NEW Canned Food Drive. Date TBA
1 point - Bonus point for every $5 raised above $200 (Varsity); or $150 (JV/Frosh)
Varies - Off-Season Workouts
Summer
5-25 points - Points given weekly based on weekly effort grade (1-5 rubric), multiplied by days present. 5 grade x 5 days
attendance= 25 points (See weight room for rubric)
10 points - 10 bonus points for perfectly attending all five workouts
5 points - Per 4 hour shift for working in the Boosters Fireworks Booth (Points double on July 4, 40-point maximum per player)
20 points - For Under Armour Frosh/JV game jersey turned back in
10 points - For used football cleats (must be mostly white/silver & in good condition)
-10 Points - For every U citizenship received at the end of the 2nd semester
Varies - One point for every pound over 100 that you Power Clean (200 pound clean equals 100 pride points)
Varies - Individual Football Camp on your own
Varies - Summer Games Award points
Varies - Community Service
10/20/30 pts - Points for Returning Sophs (10), 3-year Juniors (20) , & 4-year Seniors (30).
Champions’ Club
500 points - Guaranteed a spot on the Varsity roster and receive a Championship Navy t-shirt (cannot be cut)
Roster Bonus
I am blessed to have more kids come out for football than I can keep on the team. I know this is rare, but we have limits on jerseys,
lockers, and away game transportation, so I cannot keep everyone that thinks they should be on the team. For that reason, I have
built into our system is a chance to make the team by reaching 500 pride points. These kids (5-10 kids a year) are guaranteed a
roster spot. Usually these kids are starters and major contributors, but every year there is one kid that makes the team that might
otherwise not have had a chance. By putting in the 500-point mark it tells the kids if they really want to be on the team they can earn
a spot through hard work and commitment. Often, those kids are reliable enough to find a small role on the team. This mark is not
something you need to have, and is one of the ways this system can be flexible.
By including all levels/teams in your pride point system, not only do you reward kids regardless of grade level, but you can also get
an early indication of the commitment of your incoming freshmen athletes. By emphasizing summer attendance through the use of
pride points and letting your freshmen know they get first pick of jersey numbers and helmets (facemask choice is a big deal to our
players) early in the summer, there is a foundation of good attendance and working hard with our frosh group. Because freshmen
don’t have a way of earning pride points in the spring time, the older kids all get a head start on the freshmen and the frosh are
typically towards the back of line when I handout equipment. However, they still get first pick on their team for jersey numbers and
locker assignment, which is a big deal to the frosh kids.
Rewarding Multisport Athletes
I am big on kids playing three sports. I’m a big believer that playing other sports exposes our kids to different styles of leadership and
allows them to grow as competitors. Keeping them active also beats the alternative to kids doing nothing and getting into trouble. For
that reason, I give kids a lot of points for playing other sports and extra credit for tough sports like wrestling and track. I almost
always have a handful of kids that struggle with academic eligibility in the off-season, and if they miss part of a winter/spring sport, I
prorate the points to give kids what they deserve for the time that they did participate. If you would rather have your kids lifting with
you in the winter and/or spring, you could always reward your kids with pride points for each workout, like our program does in the
summer time.
Teaching Follow Through
I build in bonus points for kids to meet deadlines. It helps me to get a head start on paperwork and it also helps to encourage
responsibility with our kids. I do the same thing for fundraising. All of our kids have minimum amounts they must fundraise to buy
their spirit packs and support the program, but I reward the kids with points when they do it early or the very least meet their deadline
on time. They also get bonus points if they do extra fundraising. That said, I have put a limit on this in the past to avoid our handful of
rich kids from buying their way up the pride point rank.
Encouraging Parents
Our booster club was struggling with parents participating when I first took over the program. In our system, I’ve built in bonus points
for parents that join the booster club, and additional point opportunities when parents are active in the booster club. I feel like our
kids should get some points for this because in most cases they are the ones trying to motivate their parents to help our program. I
have also built in a small point incentive for kids getting their parents to work our booster club fireworks booth. Our fireworks booth is
a major fundraiser for our athletics programs and booth shifts used to be impossible to fill. Since adding this to the system, many
parents’ signup early to help their kids out and earn them some pride points.
Academics
Grades are important, and our school also gives out “citizenship” grades for each teacher. I tell our kids that not everyone can get
A’s, but everyone can get O’s (outstanding citizenship). For that reason, I reward our kids for both A’s and for O’s. Each kid has six
classes on their schedule, so a kid that gets all A’s and all O’s could pick up 60 pride points in our system. I also give negative points
for every U- unsatisfactory citizenship. I feel like even though our system is built on rewards, there needs to be some consequences
too and this is one of those consequences.
Community Service
Part of the goal of this system is to help our kids become well-rounded student-athletes. Community service is built in to help kids
give back to the community and feel the reward of helping others. One of our parents is planning a canned food drive this year and
points will be rewarded for participating. Kids that donate used (but usable) equipment to the program earn points. This is a great
way to get good practice jerseys, cleats, and padded girdles. It also sets a foundation of giving back to the program, and often times
seniors will donate their gear to the program at the end of the season, which helps many of our disadvantaged incoming freshmen.
Loyalty Points
Returnees get “loyalty” points in our program. Kids get 10 points for each consecutive year they have played. A four-year senior will
get 30 points just for signing up. I implemented this policy early in the pride point evolution because I was seeing some kids skip their
junior year of football if they thought they might not be a starter. This incentive might have been enough to keep a handful of kids in
our program. Returning sophomores get a 10-point head start on incoming freshmen, which helps make them feel important and
they also know ten points isn’t much so they have to work hard to stay ahead.
Camp Attendance
Some of our kids go to individual college camps on their own. The amount of points awarded always varies because each camp is
different. Some camps are just a few hours at a college to showcase their skills. In that situation, I give minimum points. For camps
that are 2-3 days full of instruction, they will get 40-50 points for attending.
Summer Participation
A big focus of our pride points is summer workouts. I give five points per day, but use a rubric to determine if they get the full 5
points. Normally, everyone gets five points per day. That said, I will deduct a point for any of these infractions:
Being tardy or leaving early

Not spotting teammates on bench or racks
Goofing off
Putdowns
No sweat on a t-shirt
For kids with perfect attendance, they are awarded 10 bonus points. In a five-day week, kids can earn 35 points. I am increasing the
perfect attendance bonus this summer, because our summer window is shortening to four-weeks. For that reason, I want to put more
emphasis on being there every day since our team only has twenty workouts.
It is a whole other article topic on our summer program, but it might help to know that split our program into eight summer families. I
build our captains in the summer by having two players lead each family and part of their job is to take roll for a small part of the
program and also hold the kids in their summer group accountable. So they help me with the weekly pride point accumulation of
attendance/effort points. Our summer families compete each day of the summer in a variety of activities and the prizes for those
competitions also come in the form of pride points. Pride points can be earned daily and then those points are tripled at the end of
the summer for our championship summer team and doubled for our second place team.
Using Date Benchmarks
Dates can be implemented in your system to emphasize important benchmarks. I have two dates built into our system. The first one
is for a minimum number of points to continue onto our summer program, and one is for the end of our summer season in which
pride points are finalized and calculated for all the rewards.
The first date is setup to eliminate kids that have not shown any type of commitment to improve themselves physically or as a
competitor. One of the biggest complaints my teams have had in our post-season surveys is that the “non-contributors” are not cut at
some point. These are kids that make the team but are only interested in wearing the jersey and avoid contact in practice and have
no desire to improve or contribute to the team. As crazy as it sounds, when I go back over previous years’ rosters, I find that there is
at least 10% of kids that fall in this category and they also happen to consistently be in the bottom earners of pride points. The only
explanation is that these kids don’t invest enough in their off-season commitment. In our system, earning 100 points is our minimum
which is extremely easy. It can be done by playing a winter or spring sport or it can be done with just good grades and community
service. If they cannot meet that minimum, they just are not that into football and/or cannot follow instructions.
The second date is the big one, and that is when I rank all the kids from most pride points to least pride points. Whichever kid has
the most points gets all the rewards. It does not matter if the rewardee is a Senior or a Freshman. I want to reward the kids that are
the most deserving. Some coaches disagree on this point, and think Seniors should get first picks, but I’ve found this encourages
laziness with upperclassmen. It also teaches the younger kids that kids that working hard gets rewarded and not just the kids that
think they should be entitled to be first. When I have a Senior complain about this, I remind them that they’ve been in the program for
four years and should have a firm grasp on how to be at the top of the pride point sheet rather than wasting energy complaining
about the system. This year our school district is buying us an upgraded helmet but there will not enough for everyone. We will use
this program to determine who gets these helmets. This will increase the competition for pride points at the top of our ranks which is
a great thing for our program.
Tracking the Points
Above is a screenshot of what our spreadsheet looks like. I use a Google spreadsheet to track all of this information in one place.
With smartphones, I can use my Google Sheets app to update and add points at just about any time. I spend about an hour a week
collectively keeping the spreadsheet updated. If you aren’t familiar with online spreadsheets, I’m sure you have an athlete or tech
teacher on-campus that can make you just literate enough to make it work. This would be an additional reason to start simple with
your system and build.
The code/letters in the front correspond with the category label on the spreadsheet that you will see later in the article. The numbers
in the parenthesis are the number of points for those events or items in our system.
CO - Discount Cards Checked OUT

CI - Discount Cards Turned IN
A - AAU Form turned in by February 20th (25) or by March 4 (10)

B - Boosters Restaurant Nights
F - Completed a Winter Sport (50 points) (or 15 workouts for 15 points)
G - Pre-Arranged Community Service (something you would not ordinarily do) AND Parents working Boosters Fireworks Booth
H - Pride Points from Spring Sport Participation (150 points max, 60 points for HALF; points scaled back by coaches if needed
OR if not participating in meets)
I - Individual Football Camp: Points Vary (Typical: 20 pts per day of camp, plus full 5 points per day for summer workouts)
J - Boosters Bonus: Parents joined Booster Club @ Root Beer Social 15pts- Std, 25pts-RT, 40pts TotT. Attend first Booster
Meeting in May and/or June (15 pts each)
K - Donating used/old cleats to the football program; OR UA Frosh/JV jerseys. (15 points- Max 2 pair, No Max for Jerseys- 15 pts
for fair quality, high school quality shoulder pads 25)
L - 40 Bonus Pride Points for finishing fundraisers by Root Beer Float Social; 20 points by June 1
M - 5 points for each A and/or O at the end of the 2nd semester; -10 points for every U
N - Summer Workouts May 30-June 2
O - Summer Workouts June 5-9
P - Summer Workouts June 12-16
Q - Summer Workouts June 19-23
R - Summer Workouts June 26-30
S - Summer Workouts July 3-7
T - Summer Workouts July 10-20 (Weight Room Only; 8-9:30am, 4 points per day, bonus 4 points if there all 4 days each week)
U - Loyalty Bonus (10 points for every previous consecutive season played)
V - 1 point for every $5 over minimum fundraising amount
W - Bonus for getting Online Athletic Packet done by July 20X - Fireworks Booth- Parents 5 points per 4-hour shift, points double
on July 3/4; 40-point max per player
Y- Summer Games Points (75%+ Summer Attendance = Full bonus; 50-75% Summer Attendance 1/2 Bonus; >50% Summer
Attendance = No bonus)
Z - Loyalty Bonus (25 bonus points for Downey Ironman- making it to every practice and event
I share the link to our Google Sheet through our website and through social media, so kids can constantly check their progress; and
occasionally even correct me if I make an error on inputting numbers. I use the spreadsheet to keep track of everything in our
program. I also use it as a checklist of when kids turn in paperwork and get clearances, to keep track of fundraising, deadlines, etc.
The sample included is about a quarter of our Varsity team this past season. It still amazes me that every year the kids with the
lowest points are the first kids to let me down. When the going gets tough they are the first ones to quit. The young man with the
lowest points on this example quit the football team during the first week of our playoffs so that he could join the soccer team. The
young man with the second lowest point total had motivation issues all season long and was frustrating to our coaching staff
because he never seemed to be completely “all-in” for his team. On the flip side, the two kids that had the most points in this small
sample ended up being our leaders on and off the field, and were chosen as captains by their peers.
Conclusion
Remember that the Pride Point system I use at Downey is the result of fifteen years of trial and error. I stole the idea from a great
local coach but my initial pride point plan barely resembled his plan. The best advice I can give to any coach who wants to
implement this system is to keep it simple and focus on rewarding kids.
Downey Football Pride Points 2018: Team 67
Pride points demonstrate your commitment to your personal improvement, and your commitment to our football team. Starting and
finishing a Winter and/or a Spring Sport is the BEST WAY to guarantee yourself a spot on the Varsity football team. Joining
the Varsity football team is a privilege, not a right or guarantee; and you will have to earn your spot. If you don’t know what spring
sport to play, join the Track team, where the focus is getting you faster and stronger. We only want COMPETITORS on our football
team. In order to MAKE THE TEAM you must be able to contribute something to the success of our team. Make sure to take
nothing for granted in your efforts to make the team.
Point Redemption Dates
May 25th Cuts FOR THE SUMMER AAU PROGRAM made dependent upon Pride Points
Note: Athletes that do not 100 pride points by May 25th; will be cut from AAU Summer Workouts.
July 20th Equipment handout begins (passed out by pride point rank, regardless of Varsity/JV/Frosh)
Top Pride Pointers get first pick of:
Helmets (new SpeedFlex helmets this year), Shoulder pads, and all other safety gear
Jersey Numbers (Only the top 40 players pick their jersey numbers, coaching staff assigns the rest)
Team Duties assigned by Pride Point rank (Shed, Speaker/Timer, Video Equipment, Water Jugs, etc.)
Note: All fundraising money must be turned in before you can check out pads.
https://www.xandolabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3365:21-hour-football-using-pride-points-in-the-off-season-program&catid=117&Itemid=180&tmpl=component&print=1&la… 10/12
Varsity Requirements
The Varsity football team will be capped at 60 players (60 jerseys/game pants & 60 lockers is all we have).
Final cuts will be the discretion of the Varsity football coaching staff; tryouts are July 23-25.
Cuts will be based on 1) Attitude, 2) Coachability, 3) Effort, 4) Skill Level (strength & speed). (in that order)
Achieving 500 Pride Points by June 30th is the ONLY way to guarantee a roster spot.
JV & Frosh Requirements
Tryouts will be the first three days of practice for all JV & Frosh (July 23-25).
Freshmen & JV that participate in at least 75% of the AAU Summer Program are guaranteed a spot on the team.
Pride Points are earned in the summer by both teams towards incentives, jersey numbers, & equipment check-out priority.
How to Earn Points
Winter & Spring
75 points Bonus points for starting and finishing Basketball or Soccer (1 pt. per off-season workout, must be pre-approved)
125 points Bonus points for starting and finishing Wrestling
150 points Starting & finishing a Spring Sport. (60 points if starting late/ending early, due to ineligibility)
25 points Turn in COMPLETED AAU Form & AAU Money ($40) by Tuesday, February 20th
25 points Bonus points for turning in ALL fundraising, by the Root Beer Social in May
15 points Parent/Guardian joining the Booster Club at the Root Beer Social
5 points For every “A” grade and every “O” citizenship, at the end of the 2nd semester.
1 point For every canned food item turned in during our NEW Canned Food Drive. Date TBA
1 point Bonus point for every $5 raised above $200 (Varsity); or $150 (JV/Frosh)
Varies Off-Season Workouts (for Ineligible athletes only; see Coach Plaa for arrangements)
Summer
5-25 points Points given weekly based on weekly effort grade (1-5 rubric), multiplied by days present.
5 grade x 5 days attendance= 25 points (See weight room for rubric)
10 points 10 bonus points for perfectly attending all five workouts
5 points Per 4 hour shift for working in the Boosters Fireworks Booth (Points double on July 4, 40-point maximum per
player)
20 points For Under Armour Frosh/JV game jersey turned back in
10 points For used football cleats (must be mostly white/silver & in good condition)
-10 Points For every U citizenship received at the end of the 2nd semester
Varies One point for every pound over 100 that you Power Clean (200 pound clean equals 100 pride points)
Varies Individual Football Camp on your own
Varies Summer Games Award points
Varies Community Service (must be pre-arranged with Coach Plaa, and something you wouldn’t normally do)
10/20/30 pts Points for Returning Sophs (10), 3-year Juniors (20) , & 4-year Seniors (30).
Champions’ Club
500 points Guaranteed a spot on the Varsity roster and receive a Championship Navy t-shirt (cannot be cut)
Program Development

21-Hour Football - Using "Pride Points" in The Off-Season Program

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12/18/2019 21-Hour Football: Using “Pride Points” in the Off-Season Program

21-Hour Football: Using “Pride Points” in the Off-

Rewards the kids that deserve to be rewarded

Winter & Spring

125 points - Bonus points for starting and finishing Wrestling

Varies - Off-Season Workouts

10 points - 10 bonus points for perfectly attending all five workouts

20 points - For Under Armour Frosh/JV game jersey turned back in

Varies - Individual Football Camp on your own

Varies - Summer Games Award points

Varies - Community Service

Rewarding Multisport Athletes

Teaching Follow Through

Being tardy or leaving early

Using Date Benchmarks

Tracking the Points

CO - Discount Cards Checked OUT

A - AAU Form turned in by February 20th (25) or by March 4 (10)

Downey Football Pride Points 2018: Team 67

Point Redemption Dates

Top Pride Pointers get first pick of:

JV & Frosh Requirements

How to Earn Points

Winter & Spring

125 points Bonus points for starting and finishing Wrestling

5 grade x 5 days attendance= 25 points (See weight room for rubric)

10 points 10 bonus points for perfectly attending all five workouts

20 points For Under Armour Frosh/JV game jersey turned back in

Varies Individual Football Camp on your own

Varies Summer Games Award points

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