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AFM Magazine


Q & A with Bill Ramseyer

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Keys to Successful August Practices

Bill Ramseyer has a reputation for turning programs around. While head coach at Firelands High School in Ohio, his teams finished with a 24-2 record for a school that never had a winning season prior to Ramseyer’s arrival. After becoming head coach at Wilmington College, Ramseyer amassed a 114-58-4 record over 19 seasons. Before his arrival, Wilmington had only 28 wins over a 15-year period. He did virtually the same thing when he was selected as head coach at the University of Virginia at Wise. The school’s first head coach, he completed back-to-back 10-win seasons in 1995 and 1996. It was the first college program to accomplish this feat in its first six years of existence.

Ramseyer has been a high school and college coach for 44 years. With August camp approaching, he spent a few minutes with AFM on the importance of pre-season practices.

Q. What are your goals for August practices?

A. It really is three different things – working for a consistency of effort, not over-coaching players, and detailing each practice at pre-camp staff meetings.

As coaches, we want a consistency of effort. We try to make sure each one of the practices during a three-week period has an all-out effort that’s consistent. We, as coaches, also have to be consistent. Sometimes we think we’re the only thing that matters to an 18-22 year old but that’s obviously not the case.

The other thing you have to be careful about is not taking away the players legs. By that I mean overworking them so they begin the season exhausted. You want to condition your players but you also want them to be fresh for game one and ready for the long haul so they can peak later in the season.  

What’s also critical are pre-camp staff meetings. As a staff, you prioritize what you want from practices each week and make adjustments each day to accomplish your goals. You also want to make sure you don’t overcoach. Often, in August camp, coaches can be too demanding of their players and can lose them. 

Q. How do you set up camp practice time?

We’ve always had detailed practices in five-minute segments which include individual time, drills, team pursuit and game situations. Each coach and player knows that the segments are just five minutes each and then we move on.

Q. How important are the teaching of fundamentals and proper technique during August camp?

It’s got to be the top priority. The game can become complicated but it comes down to who is better at blocking and tackling. We have to have our athletes ready to be the best that they can be by the end of camp. 

When Paul Brown was head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, the first thing he did at practice was a tackling drill with all of his players – including quarterbacks – involved. His reasoning is that you never know who can pick up a fumble and all of his players should be ready to make the tackle.   

All fundamentals are important during camp as they relate to specific positions. For the quarterback, running backs and even receivers, the ball exchange and ball security is a priority. It’s blocking and tackling for many other positions. But you hope to build on these fundamentals every single practice.

Q. Do you attempt to have your entire offense completely installed by the end of camp?

We do. We work on a portion of the offense every day and build on it as camp progresses. All of the elements – shifting, motion, counters, reverses, three and five-step drops – are part of the overall plan. Because time is limited for installation during the season, you have to have it completed before camp breaks. There is a time crunch once the season starts for adding to your offense.

Q. How critical is special teams practice in pre-season camp?

I devote one-third of every practice to an area of special teams and the kicking game. How many times has a special teams play won a game in the fourth quarter? While there are drills for offense and defense, there are really not a lot for special teams. We practice special teams plays as a part of scrimmages. 

Q. How important is proper hydration during August camp?

Proper hydration is extremely critical to a successful fall camp. We always make sure we have enough water and the players have an understanding with the coaches that they can leave any part of practice to hydrate themselves. 

Our trainer is instructed to determine who plays and who doesn’t based on their fluid intake. I would never ask a trainer his opinion of a third and three call so I will not challenge his decision on the proper hydration of a player.

Proper hydration is also important before August camp starts as is proper hydration before every game. We talk often about fluids needed during a game but players should be hydrated properly before every game is played.

Q. How do you deal with players that are cut at the end of camp? Do you talk with them individually? Is there a way to make the process as painless as possible?

I really am opposed to cutting a player. I want to include everyone that honestly wants to make a contribution to our team to be a part of it. If they are a ‘we’ person and not an ‘I’ individual, I want them to be involved and will not cut them. But having the right attitude is critical.







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