2. A Football Mother’s Prayer
In the fall, it is time for the football season.
Mothers go to the game, but for one reason,
What is the reason?
Let there be no denial
It’s to see if her son gets up from the pile!
Oh, she may have lots of pep, and do all the cheers,
and she hasn’t missed a game in many a years.
But she doesn’t do it just to keep in style,
It’s to see if her son gets up from the pile.
She keeps track of the score and acts very alert,
Wondering how to get the bloodstains out of his shirt.
She always sits on her seat right on the aisle,
Just in case he doesn’t get up from the pile!
When the whistle blows, she strains her eyes,
For the jersey number she’s memorized.
She’ll sit quite still, heart stopped all the while,
Till’s she sees that number come up from the pile!
She’ll stand and shout, “My son stopped the play!”
“Sit down, dear, he clipped,” is all Dad can say.
She may not know a punt from a telephone dial,
But she knows when her son gets up from the pile!
Good ol’ Mom, she’s a dear, & very best fan,
But you’ll be her little boy even when you’re a man,
She makes all your games, you think with a smile,
Just to see if “her baby” gets up from the pile!
3. MEET THE COACHES
HEAD COACH: (Chad Phillips) Is the main man. Gets most of the credit for winning and most
of the blame for losing.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: (Waller) Is in charge of the offensive players. He usually calls the
plays and works directly with the QB’s. He’s responsible for developing the offensive game
plan and works with the head coach on how practiced is organized.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: (Ramsey) Is in charge of the defensive players. He usually
decides what defensive schemes to run. He meets with half the team on a typical practice day
and prepares them for the upcoming opponent.
SPECIAL TEAMS COACH: (All coaches have input) Supervises the kickers, punters, kick return
team, field goal protection team and punt return team. He usually also studies film to prepare
his team to attempt a block in a specific game.
QUARTERBACK COACH: (Mosley) Monitors the physical and mental aspects of a QB’s game.
Works on the QB’s footwork, pass-drop technique, and throwing motion.
OFFENSIVE LINE COACH: (McGuire) Works with the offensive lineman and has a solid
understanding of the team’s running game. Works with the offensive coordinator on which
plays to run.
4. MEET THE COACHES
(CONTINUED)
DEFENSIVE LINE COACH: (Ramsey) Works exclusively with the defensive linemen
on individual technique and whatever stunts the defensive coordinator wants from
these players.
LINEBACKER COACHES: (Cooper/Garner) Works with linebackers and depending
on the team’s style of defense, ranks a step below defensive coordinator. This
coach must work on tackling, pass-rushing off the corner, and particular pass
coverage drops.
DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH: (Schmidlkofer)Works with the defensive backs. He
must have a total understanding of pass offenses.
RECEIVERS COACH: (Walker) Works exclusively with all receivers on individual
techniques, routes and blocking assignments.
STRENGTH/SPEED COACHES: (Schmidlkofer/Walker) Specializes in weight training
and conditioning. Coordinates off- season training programs. Works with trainers
regarding injury to players.
5. Offensive Schemes
Play Action Offense is the base offense run by Starr’s Mill.
• What does Play Action Pass Mean?
• A play-action pass is a misdirection play used by the offense in which the
quarterback takes the snap and fakes the beginning of a running play before
actually executing a passing play. The running back will act as though they have
been handed the ball while the quarterback will hesitate for a moment before
looking for a receiver. The offense attempts to mislead the defense into guarding
against the run, hoping to get an open receiver and convert a pass attempt.
• Offenses will use play-action passes to keep the defense off balance. A good play-
action will keep the defense from reacting quickly to the passing play, allowing the
offense precious seconds to get open. A team will generally have a more effective
play-action game if they are gaining yards on regular running plays, since the
defense is more likely to overreact to the run fake. Play-actions are also very
effective against overly aggressive defenses, since they are more likely to pursue
the fake running play immediately after the snap. The offense also hopes that the
defensive backs will hesitate on the fake, allowing the receivers to get behind
them for a long gain.
6. Defensive Scheme 4-2-5
4 defensive lineman ( the defensive end position will move to strong side of field)
2 inside linebackers
5 defensive backs (cornerbacks will play like outside linebackers)
Desire – Relentless Pursuit
Team Defense
Know your role; understand your assignments
Defensive Standards:
1. Intelligent
2. Hostile
3. Tough
4. Relentless
Pack Mentality – everyone is involved with every tackle
Allows defense to balanced – against an unbalanced offense
Even offensive front line
Odd offensive front line
Allows defense to get 9 players involved in the run game (Stop the run game)
Allows defense to make simple adjustments to offensive schemes
7. Special Teams
Kick- Off: Initiates the beginning of the game or occurs after
points are scored. The team is responsible for putting the
football in play. By kicking the football to the opposing team.
Kick Return: Team is responsible for receiving and returning the
football to initiate the offensive series of downs (plays).
Punt: Team is kicking the football over to the opposing team.
Usually on fourth down.
Punt Return: Team will receive the football from the opposing
team, which will put the receiving team on offense.
Special Team Units: Are made up of starters plus others (senior’s
1st) that are showing in practice consistency. This gives them an
opportunity to “make a difference” by executing in the game.
8. PENALTIES
DEAD BALL FOULS
(PENALTY OCCURS BEFORE/AFTER DOWN, PENALTY IS ASSESSED AUTOMATICALL Y)
COMMON DEAD BALL 5 YARD PENALTIES
Delay of Game: For offense, occurs when play clock runs down to 0 without snapping the ball
For defense, occurs when referee feels that defense hindered offense from snapping the ball on time.
Encroachment: When defense is inside neutral zone when ball is snapped
False Start: Occurs when an offensive player moves prior to ball being snapped – not called if offensive
player is in motion; if in motion, player must be running parallel to line of scrimmage or set before ball is
snapped: receivers, RB and QB’s are the only players that can be in motion
Illegal Formation: There must be 7 players on line of scrimmage and 4 players in backfield
Illegal Shift: An offensive player cannot make a motion as if play were live; once a player changes position,
he must be set for 1 second prior to ball being snapped
Illegal Motion: Forward movement by an offensive player prior to snap or having more than 1 man in
motion when ball is snapped
Illegal Substitution: A player can only enter field of play when ball is dead; player must pass numerals on
field
Too Many Players on Field: Each team can only have 11 players on field at the same time or in the huddle
Offside: Each team must be lined up on their own line of scrimmage and cannot be in neutral zone when
ball is snapped (neutral zone is between front and back of ball)
9. PENALTIES
LIVE BALL FOULS
(PENALTY OCCURS DURING PLAY)
(OFFENDED TEAM HAS CHOICE TO ACCEPT PENALTY YARDAGE OR NOT)
COMMON LIVE BALL PENALTIES
Defensive Holding: A defensive player is NOT ALLOWED to hold or push a receiver or RB on passing plays past 5 yards from
line of scrimmage offense receives automatic first down
Running into the Kicker: When a player hits or runs into kicker without touching ball but is not flagrant
Forward Pass Thrown After Ball Has Crossed Line of Scrimmage: A player cannot throw a forward pass once the ball is
past the line of scrimmage
Invalid Fair-Catch Signal: A player receiving either a free kick or punt has to make a noticeable wave of hand above head
for it to be a legal fair catch and cannot proceed after catch
Unintentional Facemask: When a player grabs another player’s facemask but it is deemed unintentional
Tripping: A player cannot trip another player to block or tackle them
Offensive Pass Interference: An offensive player cannot interfere or push another defensive player while attempting to
catch a pass
Holding: A player cannot hold onto another player by grabbing their jersey or body
Illegal Use of Hands: A player cannot put their hands into another player’s facemask to block
Illegal Block Above Waist: A player cannot block another in the back
Intentional Grounding: When QB is inside offensive tackles, he cannot throw ball out of bounds or into ground if there is
no chance for ball to be caught; 10-yard penalty is marked off from where QB threw ball
10. PENALTIES
LIVE BALL FOULS
(PENALTY OCCURS DURING PLAY)
(OFFENDED TEAM HAS CHOICE TO ACCEPT PENALTY YARDAGE OR NOT)
COMMON LIVE BALL 15 YARD PENALTIES
Chop Block: An offensive player cannot block another player
below waist from behind
Clipping: When an offensive player blocks a defensive player from
behind
Fair-Catch Interference: When a defensive player does not give
receiving player 2 yards to catch ball and touches receiving player
Intentional Facemask: When a player grabs another player’s
facemask and it is deemed intentional
11. ETIQUETTE
THE COACH IS NOT A PARENT. A coach wants what is best for the team, while a parent wants what’s best for the
child. Your job is to encourage your athlete to work hard. Also, remind him you’re proud of him whether he’s a star
or on the last string.
FOOTBALL IS A ROUGH SPORT. See the difference between hurt and injury. A child may play with a sore wrist, but
he wouldn’t play with a broken wrist, until cleared by a doctor. Parents should trust toward the mutual goal of
keeping players healthy with the coach.
DETERMING MENTAL TOUGHNESS IS NECESSARY. An athlete’s response to adversity in practice predicts his likely
response while under pressure during the game. It’s hard to not defend your child, we are conditioned to do that
as parents. However, coaches want to see players thinking for themselves.
FOOTBALL IS A TEAM SPORT. Even if he doesn’t spend time playing in the game, your child has won or lost. Some
kids want to talk about it and some don’t. Losses always hurt, so don’t minimize them. Learning to deal with
disappointment is an important life skill, so take the opportunity to shape his response to losses.
FOOTBALL – LIKE LIFE – IS UNFAIR. Adversity is a great teacher. Some coaches aren’t fair. Some kids aren’t as
skilled as others. Commend your son when he contributes to the team. A football team is like a family: find your
talent, and use what you have to help your team.
12. ACADEMICS
Why Academics Are Important
Over 1,000,000 High School athletes will play football every year –
100%
Approx. 60,000 will play at the Collegiate level – 6%
Approx. 6,000 will be scouted by the NFL - .06%
Approx. 875 will sign an NFL contract - .08%
Over 1,000,000 High School football players WILL NOT play in the
NFL – 99.7 %
Approx. 300 will make an NFL roster - .03%
13. Q & A
• Why do football players put those black lines under their eyes?
→To help them see better due to the glare on the field from
lights and camera flashes
• Why does the quarterback lick his fingers so much?
→To help him grip the football better during the pass
• Why does the quarterback lift his knee before each ball snap?
→To send a man, running back or receiver, to motion
• How many times outs does each team get?
→Each team is allotted 2 time outs per half (only).
• Explain the coin toss?
→The visiting team selects either heads or tails. The winner of the coin
toss has the option of selecting to either receive the football at the
beginning of the game or deferring to the beginning of the second half.
• What is the average male high school athletes time in the 40? 5.12
