This past week, I had the opportunity to speak to the local scout troop about the Constitution. My buddy said, “You’re a teacher so you’ll be great!” I teach PE, SMH… Regardless, I was honored to be invited. However, as much as I respect and love this country and our founding fathers, I did not feel comfortable giving a lecture on the subject (nor would the boys want that!). I instead decided to talk about football, or rather the how organization meets passion and dedication.
More specifically, I spoke to them about my new football off-season weight training program. It was fresh on my mind as I had just finished up the details that day. I felt that it related because I was planning a document that was going to govern my team for the next several months and lead to their optimum success physically, as well as show their dedication to the overall success as a team (and every good football coach knows that off-season performance leads to victories in the fall!). It worked out rather well with the boys and so I’d like to share it with you as well.
When organizing my current off-season weight training program, I looked at several other coaches and what they are/were doing. So much of it came down to either tradition of successful football programs or a system of accountability. Many had put a point system in place to hold their players accountable and on track for off-season growth. I like this idea because I needed something to build my program around, something for the players to grab onto that can lead to competition and ownership as well as becoming more physically ready for 5A football (largest classification in Utah).
I must take a moment and recognize my Defensive Coordinator and Strength Coach Matt Martinez. He is an alumni at the school and I don’t know if I've ever met someone with my passion and drive for their high school! He also has the professional power lifting expertise and track record of successful athletes that I rely on heavily. We are deep into a manual on the whole program to be released soon!
My first off-season as a head football coach, I had just taken over a struggling program. One of my first tasks was to take a fitness class and turn it into a strength training program (and that’s putting it nicely). My assistant coaches and my focus was on making sure the players were power lifting, including Olympic lifts, safely and correctly. We made huge strides, but unfortunately it was too little too late for those seniors to change in 5 months what had been trained for 3 years.
The second off-season, I decided to do a “Pride Point System” where the players earned points for attendance and participation in weight sessions, multiple sports, good grades, etc. It was built around a reward system for the top earners. While the program itself encouraged and pushed athletes to new heights, it failed on my end by way of the organization and accounting side. It was a nightmare to keep track of the kids points! I wasted a lot of time explaining and re-explaining the system. Worst of all, I failed to reward my top earners when it came to 2-a-days! In fact, the #1 kid reminded me of the lunch I still owe him this week…
Now to off-season #3; I feel strongly about the reward system and feel good about the points, but wanted to keep it simpler on my end while not taking away from the players rewards. So, after many mistakes, much research on Google, and planning with my coaches, I have a new plan! I will add it to my document links. Feel free to download it and edit it to your liking. I am excited that I only have to keep track of “workouts” and in the end, that is what’s going to help us win games.
I’ll also add our “Jaguar Creed.” Long story short, I decided to add this to our daily routine in the weight room. The players repeat the Pledge of Allegiance and then, either an individual or as a team, we state the Creed with clear voices and conviction. This has helped place a clear understanding of what we work for. I’ve tried to make it a big part of our off-season program and allow the players to vote on changes and modifications, so long as they agree to put their John Hancock at the bottom. Many organizations have done things similar, but I should give credit to the football staff at BYU, Joe DuPaix at Timpanogos HS, and Larry Wilson who recently retired from Herriman HS for their help in putting this together.
If you have questions on this or anything else related to head coaching or football, please send them my way and I’ll be happy to respond and/or post!
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