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AFM Magazine


Letter From the Editor

Technology: Opening the Doors to Football\'s Future
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Well, it’s no secret that football is ever changing and not just with personnel, uniform colors, helmet design and Xs and Os. In fact, the most noticeable changes often occur off the field, hidden from the millions of fans that pack the stadiums each weekend.

Football has indeed changed for the many coaches who teach the game, a game that is now seemingly dominated by laptops, keyboards and hard drives.

Once again, American Football Monthly has put together an issue that will tackle some of today’s hottest topics in the technology industry. And as a coach, you’d better keep up with the flurry of cutting-edge tools designed to make your job more efficient and productive ... but don’t just take my advice.

“Technology in football is vital,” said Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick. “When you are talking about coaching, you are talking about teaching ... if you were to walk into a classroom today – any classroom – and observe the way teachers illicit responses and heighten the learning curve for their kids by way of visualization and computer technology. For a coach to not take advantage of these tools means they are not being a good teacher.”

Coach Billick is one of the true pioneers of modern-day, hi-tech coaching methods. And what did that approach to technology get him? Oh, his Ravens finished the 2000 season by capturing the richest prize in football, a Super Bowl championship, that’s all.

“I think our players will tell you that the way our coaching staff went about preparing them and the way they were taught was a fundamental part of us becoming Super Bowl champions as much as what kind of blitz or route we used,” said Billick, whose Ravens finished first in five key league categories that year, including shutouts (4), points allowed per game (10.3), rushing yards allowed per game (60.6), rushing yards allowed per attempt (2.7) and takeaways (49), which included 26 fumble recoveries.

Understanding the value of technology and the importance of learning how to use it is one of Coach Billick’s strongest assets.

“I tell my coaches that for every hour in the off-season you spend studying the game, studying your opponents and devising new concepts – either strategically or tactically – you need to spend at least another hour, if not two, identifying what’s the most innovative way that they can teach their athletes.

“Remember, Aaron, it’s a classic axiom of coaching: it’s not what you know, it’s what your players know.”

Coach Billick has set an example for other coaches to embrace technology and utilize its benefits. AFM, with the help of some of the finest coaches, video coordinators and recruiting coordinators in the country, has provided crucial information in this issue to help you navigate the world of HDFB (High Definition Football).

And if you still don’t believe that technology has a place on the gridiron, just ask a Super Bowl-winning head coach and he will tell you.

“The fact remains that I’ll take a genius teacher over a strategic guru every time,” said Billick. “I think the advent of digital technology has been the most fundamental change in the way we go about our business that I’ve seen in the 25 years that I’ve been in coaching.

“Coaching is all about imagery, looking at film and trying to teach players in whatever form or fashion that is available. The instantaneous teaching principles of digital technology have revolutionized the way we do our job.”

For more in-depth articles on technology or other football-related topics, log on to www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com today. Your paid subscription unlocks the doors to AFM’s vast archive of expert information vital to your coaching success.

Respectfully,

Aaron S. Lee
Managing Editor
American Football Monthly
aslee@lcclark.com





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