“You’re on the clock!”
With the NFL draft being the dominant topic on sports talk radio, consider running your own draft with your coaches of your players. For the past several years, I have tasked our coaches to create their own draft order of our players. They are asked to create their personal “best available” list based on our roster. It is always interesting to see how their lists compare with mine. It will also reveal where you and your staff perceive to have positional strengths and weaknesses.
Once we have a collective draft order, we plug them into offensive and defensive positions. Last year, during our undefeated Division I state championship run, we had 5 offensive linemen in our top 12. This year, we do not have 5 OLs in our top 20. That is a concern that needs to be addressed heading into our summer training.
It is every coaches’ objective to get the best 11 on the field. This exercise will help you accomplish that goal. You may find that you have 2 QBs in your top 11. Make one a WR or RB. If you have two Tight Ends in the top 11, put in a double tight or H back formation. If you have no TEs, go with open end formations.
This is a fun staff activity that may open your eyes to something you had not already seen.
On another note, readers may recall my January trip to the USA Football National Conference in Orlando where I was fortunate to share some time with the extraordinary crew from USA Football (www.usafootball.com) and contribute to their Coaches Academy video series. My video on “Building a Culture,” is now live and available at USA Football.
O Line Skills 