AFM Home | The Staff Report | August 2003

By Tony DeMeo
Offensive Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach,
University of Richmond

I have had the opportunity to speak at numerous clinics, but I have attended many more to hear various speakers. Even when I am scheduled to speak, I always will try to catch one of the other presentations. The following tips have been helpful to me in getting the most out of a presentation:

1) Go into the lecture with an open mind. Some or all of the speaker’s ideas may differ from yours but at least listen to what he has to say ... you don’t have to implement them.

2) Leave your ego at the door. You’re not there to prove you’re smarter than the speaker.

3) Take notes. Don’t rely on your memory.

4) Don’t hold your own mini-clinic in the back of the room. The coaches in the room are there to hear the speaker, not you.

5) Listen with the goal of understanding, not responding.

6) Don’t get up and leave in the middle of the presentation. After all, that’s rude. Go to the restroom prior to the lecture.

7) Try to sit in the front of the room. You’ll hear and see better.

8) Ask questions relative to the subject matter. I was speaking on the triple option one time and a coach asked what was my favorite Italian dish. I told him Sophia Loren.

9) Ask a question to clear up a point, not to stump the speaker. Don’t dominate the presentation with a stream of questions – let others have a chance.

10) Let the presentation stimulate your thoughts and creativity. There has never been a lecture I have attended that I haven’t gotten at least one idea. Think in terms of concepts and how they fit your scheme.

11) Learn the details. The success of any play lies in the details of the play.

12) Have Fun. Football is a great sport and is continually changing and evolving – as a coach you must also evolve in your thinking.

I hope some of these thoughts are helpful to you, and if you get just one idea from a clinic it may make the difference.