Special Forces
Building a solid foundation for special teams
by: Troy Bomgardner©
More from this issue
If you liked this article, here are three others just like
it: |
Spring is a time of year for football coaches to evaluate what has been
successful in their program and what needs to be emphasized in order
to be more competitive.
What needs to be polished in your program? The run offense? Give up fewer big
plays on defense? As you evaluate your season, don’t overlook the special
teams phase. Many times a coach may be committed to doing “what it takes” to
improve offensively or defensively, but this same attitude may not prevail when
it comes to evaluating special teams. I believe the special teams phase is still
a largely untapped resource for many teams; an effective special teams may keep
you in a game against a superior opponent or give you the advantage against an
evenly matched opponent. And sadly enough, if you are not well prepared in this
phase, it can cost you a game that you should have won against an inferior opponent.
The following article may provide some insights for evaluating your philosophy
regarding the third phase in football.
Characteristics of Great Special Teams
Players
Before we get into what characteristics to look for, I want to
spend a few minutes on player selection. Each of the different
special team units demand
a unique skill; and quite frankly, a skill that is not specifically used on
any other down in football. Don’t be fooled into thinking
any good football player can operate effectively on these downs.
Finding the right players may
be the most important job you have as special teams coach.
When to Select
I believe it is essential to be able to see the players operate on the practice
field in a contact environment. I’ve made the mistake of choosing players
only from our testing data and it has burned me. There’s a tendency to
want to start practicing as soon as possible. I’ve discovered it’s
more important to practice with the “right” players, rather than
have a few extra reps practicing with the “wrong” players. Take a
few days to see how they respond in different situation. Do they have a tendency
to “dog it” when the coach isn’t looking? Are they hungry
to be in on the play? These are factors that you cannot read from a testing
report.
Evaluation
I believe there are three primary attributes you look for in a special teams
player: speed, toughness (both physical and mental toughness) and intelligence.
In all phases you must cover 35-70 yards, so obviously speed is crucial. I’ll
add here that there are two types of speed, on the track and on the field. I
don’t care how fast you can get to the watch ... I want to know how fast
you can get to the wedge. This leads to the attribute of toughness. A better
word might be courage; a special teams player must have great courage to operate
in space going full speed. Intelligence. You must have a player who is able
to understand their role and assignment with a limited number of reps in practice.
Characteristics
Besides speed and toughness, we look for five main characteristics that we
expect our special team players to exhibit:
1. Unselfishness
More than offense or defense, a special teams player must be a team player.
I stress to players they will not receive much attention outside of our circle.
The media and crowd typically don’t understand the every down significance
of special teams. I tell players ... You won’t be recognized, accept
it and play hard.
2. Discipline
Penalties are a plague for special teams. I tell players they must be disciplined
to play penalty free. In the 2000 season, our primary kickoff returner averaged
39 yards a return. We did not have one penalty in 13 games. This is possible
if you set the expectation for perfection and discuss it, and coach the fundamentals
to achieve it. Secondly, we have to cover or defend the entire field on our units
so the discipline to stay in your lane or block your man is magnified on these
downs.
3. Game Breaker Personality
Basically, we are looking for the players who want to be in the game to make “The
Play.” Let’s be honest, not all players want that responsibility.
You have to find players who want to be in the game when it’s on the
line.
4. Great Practice Player
Timing is crucial to special teams. We have to practice our timing at full
speed. It’s a fact not all players are able to do consistently without
a coach riding them. I tell players to become a great practice player and watch
their
entire game improve.
5. Hunger to be a part of Special Teams
I don’t hesitate to ask a player who I am evaluating, “Do you want
to run down on kickoff?” You’ll know immediately by his reaction
if he has a hunger for the job. That’s why subjective evaluation is so
critical. Take 11 hungry players who live to run down on punts and they’ll
out cover your fast guys any day. Don’t underestimate the power of desire
to be a part of something. And again, let’s face it, not all players
want to cover a punt or block on kickoff return.
Finally, I’ll touch on a subject that continues to be argued in coaching
circles regarding special team players. Many coaches will say, “You better
put your best players on those units.” Some high school coaches may think
special teams are a place for backups. My opinion is I want the best special
team players out there. I don’t care if they are starters or not. I have
to do my job as a coach to look for those intangible qualities we discussed earlier.
Understand the skills needed on the special teams. Your best tackler from the
strong safety position may not be the best tackler on kickoff. Our All-American
kickoff returner, was a backup tailback. But he had the unique skills necessary
for a kickoff returner: great courage, the ability to hit full speed in under
10 yards, and the understanding that the return phase is a north-south game.
There’s no doubt you need very athletic players to cover the field, but
don’t underestimate those backups, there are some gems hiding on the
sidelines. And talk about improving team chemistry. Bottom line is, players
want to play,
so provide the opportunity for them to find their place on the team.
Hopefully this will get you thinking about the type of players you want on
the field for those important “special teams” downs.
Building a Solid Foundation for Special Teams
Motivating and Measuring Special Teams Play
Earlier in this article, we discussed the characteristics of great special
teams players. We empasized speed, toughness and intelligence and wanted to
find players
who exhibited the necessary characteristics. Now, we’ll discuss how to
motivate and measure our success as a special teams unit.
Inside the Numbers
Kickoff Team: Average start for 2000 opponents – 26
yard line. In five years allowed only two returns past 50-yard
line.
Kickoff Return: 2000 team averaged 25 yards as a team and second
Team All-American returner averaged 39 yards a return. No penalties
in 13 games in 2000.
Punt Team: Over five-year period, net punt has averaged just
under 35 yards. Fifteen successful fake punts were completed
in five years.
Punt Return: 2000 Opponents net punt return average – 27.
3 yards. Nine touchdowns in four years on blocks and returns.
2000 Black Zones: MNU - 49 Opponent - 21 |
Motivation
All of us know that the best motivation is when it comes from within a player
or from his teammates. Like it or not, your players will play harder for themselves
or their teammates than they will for you. So we try to instill in our players
a great sense of pride in being a part of special teams. Everything we do centers
around the fact that this is a special group of players, who do special things,
on the field each Saturday.
I think as a coach, how you conduct yourself during the special team period
sends a big message to your players. If you don’t have a passion for these downs,
it is going to show to your players. Don’t be surprised if they play
without passion. In addition, we constantly remind our players how critical
the special
teams downs are. We talk about statistics and how it helps our offense or
defense when we provide good field position.
Approximately one-fifth of the downs in a typical game are special teams
downs. But I would argue the influence of those downs weighs much more heavily
than
20 percent on the outcome of a game. Our players begin to believe what they
do actually has a tangible effect on the game. We have a saying, “Offense
wins the fan, defense wins the game, and special teams win the championship.” And
guess what? Players believe it.
As we discussed earlier in the article, the general public doesn’t understand
the importance of starting on the 37-yard line after a kickoff return, so our
players know they won’t receive much press. But I believe it is important
within the team to recognize the accomplishments of the special teams. Obviously,
it starts at the top. Head coaches must be willing to recognize and reinforce
to the team the value of great special team play.
At MidAmerica Nazarene University, we were fortunate that our head coach
was a passionate believer in special teams and would constantly compliment
our
units in front of whomever would listen. Obviously, recognizing a special
teams player
of the game is important. Other ideas I’ve seen is a special team play
of the game. Be creative in what you want to recognize. I will add that we didn’t
give out a player of the week every game. To preserve the integrity of the award,
it took a special effort and typically one that would build over numerous games.
One time we passed out a plastic sword as a “Brave Heart” award
for a player who displayed extraordinary courage and valor. The team laughed
about
it but that player stepped up to another level of play for the rest of the
season. You never know what will motivate young men.
Measuring Performance
I think the most difficult area in motivating special teams is, “How do
you know you are getting better?” Obviously, you can see if you made
a field goal to win the game, or that no punts were blocked, but what about
the
hidden statistics that really measure if you are getting the most out of
your special teams. A player must know what he has to do to be successful,
and so
we are very specific with our players about what is needed in each of the
special team phases.
We have two main objectives we use for evaluation. The first one is, “Did
we win the field position battle?” You’ve all seen the stat that
talks about the percentage of success when an offense begins at certain points
on the field. We’ve found it’s pretty accurate. So we sell our players
on the fact that we win if we can win the field position game. The stat we use
is an average start after a special teams play. Now I know that there are other
factors that influence this stat, but players believe that stat is their responsibility
and they give great effort to win the field position battle. I’m not sure
there has been one game in the past five years that we won and didn’t have
the advantage in this area. The second objective we use is simple, “Did
special teams help us win or did we contribute to the loss?” This simple
question helps players focus on the fact that their play does effect the
outcome of the game.
Additionally, we track specific stats in each phase that we evaluate when
we watch film as a unit. We set goals in each phase to measure our performance
and to use as a standard for achievement. Do your players know what yard
line
you
want to force opponents to begin after a kickoff? Most of these statistics
are pretty basic, but again the message is, these downs are important and
they make
an impact in the game. One stat we take very seriously is the penalty free
stat. We have a goal to play penalty-free every game. As mentioned earlier,
our 2000
kickoff return team in which our primary returner averaged 39 yards, did
not have one penalty in 13 games. Ask any coach that has coached kickoff
return
and they know the magnitude of that statistic. But we did it because we preached
it every week and players knew it was critical in the field position battle.
Another stat we take great pride in is the black zone. Everybody talks about
the red zone. Ask any offensive coordinator how he likes operating on his
own 13 yard line. We track how many times we force our opponent to start
on or
inside
the 20 and how many times they force us to. Again, it reinforces to the players
that these downs are crucial and they can influence the game. Every yard
is critical in the battle for field position. Our players believe and understand
the monumental
difference between a 15-yard return and a 27-yard return. We fight relentlessly
for those precious yards obtained by special teams. Finally, we track takeaways
and turnovers. In five years of kickoff return we have had one fumble. I
don’t
believe that is by accident, it is by reinforcing the value of the kickoff
return and how it fits into our goals as a team. Our returners are constantly
reminded
of ball security, which is the primary goal ... keep the ball!
In summary, a special teams player is a unique player. Take time to select
the players for those units. Don’t overlook the intangible qualities that are
crucial to the success on those select downs. Learn to motivate these players
like winning and losing depended on it (because most of the time it does). And
finally, educate your players on the value of special teams and then raise your
bar of expectation for those units through well thought out statistical measurement.
You can count on one thing, there will be at least three games next year that
your special teams will make an obvious, noticeable impact on the outcome of
the game. The only question is, “Which side of the scoreboard will
you be on?
About the author
Darryl Jackson
Jackson is entering his third season as the wide receivers coach for the Arizona
State football program. For the previous four seasons, Jackson had coached the
Boise State wide receivers. |