What’s the Best Way to Grade Your Players During the Course of the Season?

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Gary Chilcoat, O-Line and Outside Linebackers Coach
Deep Run High School, Glen Allen (VA)

“I have used film grades in the past, but they are so time consuming that you really know how they played before you grade. What I have found most effective is grading them during practice. We tell our players they earn the right to play Monday through Thursday. Most people can give great effort on Friday’s, but it takes a true believer to work hard during the week. We expect starters to be in front of every line, to be first when we change drills, to be out to pre-practice first and not to miss assignments during practice. I try and keep a mental notebook, then write it down after practice, to be sure and remind them the next day.

“We use the film to evaluate loafs. Our motto is defensively: ‘your value to the team is how close you are to the ball when the whistle blows.’ Offensively, we count the number of knock downs and who gets a second block, as well as how close to the ball you are when the whistle blows.”

Anthony Russo, Offensive and Defensive Line Coach
Jim Thorpe Area High School (PA)

“Every student-athlete has a starting point at which they can be evaluated before the season. The goal is to be the best they can be every day and improve. It all starts with attitude. As coaches we set the bar high and ask much of our players; in turn, they need to ask much of themselves. Responsibility and accountability is developed during the off-season and pre-season months. Evaluation components include: attitude/effort, correct assignment, techniques (instincts used), toughness (ability to win the fourth quarter) and production. All can be evaluated for every position.

“Attitude/Effort: Does this player truly give everything he has on every play? Does he take plays off? How does he respond to adversity within the game or practice? Does he bring his lunch pail to practice every day and work? Correct Assignment: Did the player execute his assignment correctly or was there a mental mistake? Techniques: Does a players’ techniques become his instincts used on the field? Is he executing the proper techniques that are worked on in individual period? Does his technique break down through the course of a game? What technique does he need to improve on? Toughness: Does he have the ability to win the fourth quarter? The team that wins the fourth quarter wins the game. In the fourth quarter does he get stronger and dominate the man in front of him when conditioning and wanting it more are factors? And ultimately, it’s about Production: Does he get the job done at his position?

“I think the best way to assess performance, practice or game, is film study. When players and coaches review film together it is much easier to review the details of a needed improvement or an outstanding example. When evaluating performance, a coach has to ask himself a few questions. What performance level is this player at? What is this player’s role on the team? What is lacking in this player’s performance? What steps were taken to improve this player in the past? What will I do to encourage and motivate this player on and off the field?

“The goal for every player and team is to continue to improve and get better throughout the season. It’s not how you start – it’s how you finish.”

Danny Landburg, Head Coach
Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn (NY)

“Here at Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn we grade our players in many different ways. But most importantly we pay close attention to our techniques for each position. For running backs we check to see how well their fakes are throughout the year. Or we check to see if they get out of their blocks quicker by not using false steps. We check the wide receivers to make sure they run their routes sharper then before. For example, if we run a curl route that is 12-yards back to 10, we make sure that it is exactly what we want and not 11yards back to 9. We watch our quarterback to see if he is taking less time than before in his reads (1st to 2nd to 3rd). We want to see if he is getting more confident by feeling more comfortable and that is one way by monitoring his play.

“For us, it’s all a matter of technique. We spend so much time on it that we demand to see the improvement by a certain time frame. That’s so when we get to the playoffs, hopefully, we can spend more time on specific situations.”

Skip Lee, Assistant Coach
Evergreen HS, White Center (WA)

“By rule of thumb coaches watch tons of film during the season and that is the best way to grade in-season. I also like a form of paper evaluation as well to keep handy for both myself and the player to see.”

Bill Mountjoy, Retired Head Coach
Richmond (VA)

“We don't post an actual grade per se. We have a sheet entitled ‘CORRECTABLE MISTAKES.’ We also have a list of those for each player on each play (If there IS a ‘correctable mistake’). I got this idea from the late Bill Walsh (49ers)!”

Jamal Adams, Assistant Coach

“There is no better way to grade a player than grading film. As we tell our players, ‘FILM DOES NOT LIE.’ What other way is there? You can’t see everything and everybody in practice or in the game at the same time. If you grade them positively any other way you're not doing your job.”

Brian Chivis, Former Assistant Coach
West Catholic High School, Grand Rapids (MI)

“We never put a lot of stock into grading film. I have seen some systems that give a + or – to a player on each play and extrapolate a percentage from that. That is a very time consuming process and I have done it. I don’t personally feel a percentage of good or bad is adequate. I have always used film review to see that everyone knows their assignment and is carrying that out. If those things are not happening, then you have a breakdown in either the teaching of the skill, or the skill/play may be too complex for the present personnel.

“Player evaluation is a culmination of speed, strength and agility. Some players are better than others. The problem is player ability will vary from year to year. For example, your best lineman this year may not be as good as last year’s. He is still your best lineman and goes into the position that you stick your best blocker in. This usually involves having last year’s right tackle become this year’s left tackle. etc. Likewise, your best runner may be better than your best runner the year before. Your job is to take the people you have and figure out a way to score some points.

“The system is bigger than the players in it. If you have a solid system, the kids will learn, and get better at the techniques and be able to be productive within the system. Your job is to emphasize the five or so things that you feel you can execute against anyone. Your people will change but they are all relative to each other. The secret is to adapt the offense to the skills of the kids.

“Some kids aren’t very strong, some aren’t very agile, some are just not very good at remembering plays. One year we actually had to change the name of our pitch to toss. The reason was the tackle, who had to pull on that play, could not remember his assignment. So we changed the name because toss has a ‘T’ and so does ‘Tackle,’ so the ‘Tackle Pulls on Toss.’ If you are flexible enough with your system, you can squeeze a lot of mileage out of players who may not be able to play otherwise. Don’t ask a 145 pound WB to block a DE if he can’t do it. Just rip that play out of your book for the year and find something he does well.

“So, in summary, you can measure some things objectively such as strength and speed. Some of it has to be subjective. Some kids just “have a nose for the ball” or can “find the hole.” You can’t put a number on those things. If you rate your kids best to worst at each position, and deploy them to enhance what you do, you should be fine.”

Bart Miller, Offensive Coordinator
Trinity High School, Camp Hill, PA

“This topic certainly is a controversial one that smacks the face of 21st century football coaching with technology. My old high school world cultures and football coach Rich Lichtel probably said it best, "There is no better teacher than a film." The background behind that quote probably need not be discussed here, but the meaning behind it still rings true today. Just as we study history so we don’t repeat it, there probably isn’t a more effective tool toward improving performance than looking at what you have done in the past and working toward betterment the next game. There are so many intangibles in a football game that make using film a tough study. Take for example the case of an offensive lineman – each week he’ll be across the line from a different player, who most likely has a completely different skill set than what he worked on the week before. He will have new blocking rules and will be looking at a different front, etc. All of those variables make it a dynamic challenge, and make evaluating performance a tough task on the coach.

“I try to gauge my guys performance on a quarter-by-quarter basis and I look to see if mistakes made early in the game have been corrected by the end of the game. If not, then I have several possible culprits; I haven’t coached the player well enough on what I expect, the player is disinterested, or he’s just simply getting a "butt whupping" from the other guy. So as a coach, I use the film to open lines of communication between my players and me. This "tool" keeps me abreast of what I need to do as a coach, and how I can turn that into better performance from my players.

“Another evaluation tool we use is goal-setting, both personal and team. Offensively, we go into each game with a specific set of goals. As a team our goals are 300 yards rushing, 4 touchdowns, passing completion of 60%, etc. I also get my players to set goals for themselves of an individual nature; no sacks allowed, 3 pancakes, get the back into the end zone twice (by my block), no penalties, and 100% success rate on both third and fourth and short. Each player then adds a goal to the pre-generated list that I provide. So each week we are not only studying film of the past, but looking ahead to improve on our execution. We believe that this improves our performance individually and makes us accountable to each other as well as strengthening our team concepts and goals.”

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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! The next topic for the ‘5th Down’...What can you do as a coach to improve academic progress and eliminate ineligibility in your program? What is there besides additional study halls and running extra laps? We want to hear your experiences, comments, and solutions. Send them to AFM’s Managing Editor Rex Lardner at rlardner@lcclark.com.

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