Getting the Most Out of a Football Clinic

Some tips and guidance when thinking about attending the next clinic
by: Steve Silverman
© More from this issue

          
It’s been a good but not great season. A 6-4 record was good enough to finish in second place in the division, but not good enough to earn a spot in the postseason playoffs.

The year has been strangely similar to last year and the year before. It seems that a rut has developed and your team is stuck in it. That’s not all bad since there has been a lot of winning - but not enough to grab the glory.

It’s time to get out of that groove.

How does a team get better? How does a coach add to his skill level so his team can be more productive?

One of the ways is by going to coaching clinics. Taking classes in areas that may be weaknesses and turning them into strengths. It’s the equivalent of taking refresher courses for accomplished professionals in any field.

Tony DeMeo was the offensive coordinator for Richmond and before that served as the former head football coach at Iona College and Washburn University. He has attended and given clinics for many years and understands that to get the most out of attending a clinic, a coach has to do his homework beforehand.

“You have to get a look at all the topics that are being offered beforehand and pick one or two out that really interest you,” DeMeo said. “Then look at the speaker. Look for a guy who knows what he’s talking about. A coach who has a reputation in the area he is speaking about.

“For example, if (former Delaware coach) Tubby Raymond is giving a talk on the Wing-T, you know you are getting the best information. You need to have somebody who is an expert in his field.

“Then take a look at how long the speaker is going to be talking for. You don’t want the talk to be superficial. These classes need to have depth.

“When a good coach wants to talk on something he knows a lot about, the time just flies by.”

DeMeo explained that any kind of offensive innovation or defensive scheme or set-up doesn’t just affect one or two players. It affects all 11 and a sharp coach has to know how
to instruct each player on the field.

“If I’m attending a lecture on the screen game, it’s not just a matter of what to teach the quarterback or how to drill the running back who catches the pass, it’s about blocking schemes and following through on assignments. You have to know how to coach every player on the field in every aspect. Not only do you have to learn it, you have to learn how to teach it. That could include specific drills on how to work the play in practice. All of this is vitally important.

“Think of a clinic as building a house. You don’t just plop a building down, you start with the foundation and every detail has to be correct. Short-change one area and the house can develop a leak or a problem. You don’t want problems. You want things done correctly so that means learning every detail.”

DeMeo also recommends that a coach has to come equipped with his own questions for a particular topic. Over the course of the lecture, the speaker may answer most of them but there will always be a few that remain. To get the most out of the talk, a coach has to seek out the speaker and ask the questions.

“It’s not just a matter of asking one or two questions – it’s asking enough so that you understand the subject enough to teach it to your fellow coaches and teach it to your players,” DeMeo said. “That means you have to be able to drill it and then play it. It takes quite a bit to get all of that out of a clinic.”

DeMeo also believes that you have to be selective in picking a clinic. “You can’t go to every clinic – it just wouldn’t make sense and it wouldn’t be economically viable,” he said. “You have to pick out the one’s that make the most sense. If you are an offensive coach who wants to learn more about defense, pick out a defensive clinic. If you want to increase your level of knowledge on your specialty, find a clinic that has a lot of classes in that subject. It may sound basic, but that’s part of the preparation process.”

Bob Crable is in his fourth year as head coach of Moeller High School in Cincinnati. A Moeller graduate in 1978, Crable went on to an All-America career as a linebacker with Notre Dame. He followed that with a seven-year NFL career with the Jets.

After going into the clothing business, Crable returned to Moeller and got into coaching - starting off as the linebacker coach and ultimately becoming the head man. He says that clinics are just the first step in getting the knowledge that is necessary to coach the game the right way.

Crable may not be the advocate of long clinic sessions, but he also believes in being prepared before heading into a clinic.

“I like to see the list of topics being presented and then I’ll pick one out to attend,” Crable said. “Then you have to do your homework. You have your ideas on a particular area and then you prepare a list of questions.

“In most cases the speaker might answer one or two of those questions during the course of his talk, but he’s probably not going to get to all of them. As a result, you have to ask those questions after the talk or in a breakout session that follows.

“If you can do that, you can get a lot more out of the clinic than if you just sit and take notes.”

After a coach sits through a lecture and asks his questions, he can build a relationship with a speaker or other coaches in attendance. Networking is a big part of the coaching business – like most businesses – but a coach has to be selective.

“I’ll reach out and I will network,” Crable said. “But you can’t push things that aren’t there. The people you can really build something with are the one’s that you develop a rapport with and have something in common with. You get to know people and the ones you have a connection with are the one’s you can bounce ideas off of and they can do the same to you.”

For Crable, that person is University of Cincinnati head coach Mark Dantonio. Prior to being hired as the Bearcats’ head coach this season, Dantonio was the defensive coordinator for Ohio State. While the Bearcats are struggling in Conference USA this season, it would appear that Dantonio has tremendous knowledge of the game and a brilliant future.

“I will call him and we’ll talk about a particular play or a certain type of defense,” Crable said. “It’s amazing how much he knows and what he understands. It’s a great feeling when you can talk to someone you like and respect and has so much to offer. You always come away knowing more than you did at the start of the conversation.”

Crable has a tendency to look at nearly everything from a defensive perspective. After a great high school career, being an All-American college linebacker, and a seven-year career in the NFL at the position, Crable clearly brings more knowledge of the defensive game to the table than anything else. He goes to offensive clinics to expand his knowledge and productivity, but his defensive background always takes hold.

“I’ll go to an offensive clinic and I’ll listen to what they are teaching and I’ll listen and see how it fits in with what we want to do,” Crable explained. “But then I’ll start thinking about how that play can be defeated. If we were defending it, how would we stop it? It always comes back to the defense.

“Not just because I used to play defense either. That’s my philosophy. Defense and special teams win games and championships. I have always believed that and nothing I have seen in my career has ever made me change that point of view.”

Prospective coaches or those looking to climb the ladder can also help advance their career by having their resumes ready and keeping their ears to the ground so they know where the openings are. But coaches, as a group, don’t want to hear from anyone who is going to blow smoke or suck up. As Crable said, it can’t be forced.

However, if you find a coach with a common interest and an opening on his staff, go ahead and present yourself. It couldn’t hurt and it could only help.

NEW BOOK!

Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach