AFM Home | The Staff Report | Nov 2004

By Bill Hanifin
Assistant Football Coach
East High School, Rochester, NY

As a coach, don’t you want your players to think about, focus on, and perform those actions and fundamentals that make plays? Those plays are difference makers. Don’t you want ‘Playmakers’ playing for you? I am going to provide you with a couple of grading systems that will provide for you and your program the following:

1. An evaluation process with a clear-cut view of whom your real playmakers are.
2. Gets your players involved in performing those desired tasks/fundamentals that create victories.
3. Gets your players involved in watching video/film on a daily basis.
4. Gets your players involved in watching game video/film on a weekly basis.
5. Allow your players the ability to grade themselves.
6. Allow your players the opportunity to view positives and negatives in practice and games.
7. Develop respect between players and build team unity.
8. Allow the coach and player to interact with both the positive and negatives of evaluation.

These are just a few, and you’ll probably experience more benefits from two different systems.

First, I did not come up with all this ‘new’ stuff! I listened to lectures at coaching clinics and borrowed it from other successful coaches. You know we all do this with everything we learn about football and then we turn around and put them into our programs. True?

The first system I am going to provide to you is primarily just for your individual players or position-specific players. I coached linebackers at three different collegiate levels and in high school and finally came up with 10 performance actions that I wanted from my players. I presented them to my players and then they all knew my expectations of their performance. They also knew what it would take to start or just get on the field. They also knew where each other stood on the depth chart and what it would take to move up! Also, when the special teams coordinator requested players for specific units, I was able to provide him with playmakers.

The first thing I provide my players with are the directions for grading systems (Diagram 1.). I must add that in college we watched tape/film of our daily practices and our games on Saturday.

I requested that my players watch film on their own during the day (between classes or during breaks) and evaluate themselves. Then, later as a specific unit (linebackers) prior to practice, we all would watch the tape on film and re-evaluate. Positives and negatives would be discussed or pointed out by the coach and players would be asked to point out their positives and re-score themselves. As you can see, we’ve gotten the player to watch the tape/film twice now, and that is just for practice.

I set up a scoring system (Diagram 2.) that I used in games (a manager or GA kept a running score) and I was able to watch tape/film and compare the two. The players became used to the system and would keep score during practices and games. They would continually let me know what they did and how many points they acquired. I used this system in practices and our focus and intensity increased. I was able to establish a depth chart depending on performance and every day was a challenge.

I put together this scoring system on a form (Diagram 3 in pdf format). As you can see, there are 10 scoring columns or areas across the top of the grid for 10 games or 10 practice sessions. I usually used one specific sheet for a game sheet (different color). I made sure I dated the sheets, had the player’s name on the top, and kept them in a file for the season. I also used them in discussions with the individual player at the end of the season for improvement purposes.

I was also able to determine who my MVP was, and who my most improved was. Discarding my senior sheets, I was also able to put a depth chart together for spring practice. Of course, I used it to evaluate my players in the spring also.

My players really liked this system because they took part in the evaluation process, knew their expectations, knew what it took to start or move up in the depth chart and understood that the proof was in their performance.

Questions from players and parents decreased. Questions like, why am I not playing ahead of so and so? Why isn’t my son starting? You know the questions!

The big thing was to give each player equal time in spring practice and late summer training camp. During the season, even evaluate them playing scout team. Actually, evaluate them on everything they do in practice and in games. Believe me, you will see your players trying to play on every special teams unit. You will see your players trying to get in on as many plays as possible during practice. Most importantly, they will elevate their performance and production. Plus, it is fun to see them get motivated, create plays, keep score, compare scores, be competitive, win and be successful.

The second grading system that I’ve used was the challenge system (Diagrams 4 and 5). The first part of this evaluation program was TEAM challenges and points (TEAM=Defense), (Diagram #4). We broke our performance goals/standards/ expectations down into 3 levels. We made a team goal chart with each of the three levels on it, along with areas to keep score, etc. As you can see, Level 1 accomplishments = 1 point, Level 2 - 2 points and Level 3 = 3 points.

Depending on team play, we kept score in practice and in games. It provided us with where we stood as a defense from day to day and from week to week. It also let us as coaches know what areas we needed to stress and improve on in practice. This would lead to improvement in games.

Our plan was to improve from level 1 to level 2 and from level 2 to level 3 as the year progressed. All goals in all three levels were from good to great, but we wanted to continually push ourselves and our players to strive for more and not settle for what we’ve just accomplished.

We also put together individual challenges and points (Diagram #5). This point system was similar to the team challenges and points but was broken down into more individual detail and it turned out to score like the first scoring system I provided you (Diagrams 1, 2 & 3).

The individual challenges and points actually evolved from the first scoring system with all the benefits that the first evaluation system provided.

In conclusion, I used both. My preference was to use the challenge and points system for the unit (defense). We keep charts with goals, etc. on them in the defensive meeting room and we all knew what level of play we were performing as well as what level of play we wanted to perform at. It did give us a clear-cut vision of our present performance.

I liked the individual grading system (Diagrams 1, 2 and 3) for my individual players. It was simple, giving them 10 goals and was also less time consuming for them as players and me as a coach.

Please remember, evaluation of players’ performances in practices and games can become very time consuming and you do only have so much time. Then, you have to prepare for the next practice or game. Yes, evaluation is important and we should never downplay it. Get your unit and individuals involved in their performance evaluation. I bet their performances increase.

I hope you were able to get something out of this article. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions at either:

whanifin@rochester.rr.com or WJHANIFIN@aol.com

Coach Bill Hanifin is the Defensive Coordinator and Strength and Conditioning Coach at East High School in Rochester, NY. Over his 23-year coaching career, Hanifin has coached at Brockport State, Miami (FL), Troy State (AL), Hartwick, and St. John Fisher College. He has also coached at Osceola High School and Poincianna High School in Florida and at Susquehanna Valley and Sidney High School in New York. Last month his reserve Armed Forces unit was called up to active duty. He is part of US Army’s 98th Division and serving in Taji, Iraq.