Developing an offensive playbook - Part 1

A lot of first time flag coaches are intimidated by developing an offensive playbook.   And they should be!  The offensive scheme and how that scheme is coached in practice and then called in games is perhaps the #1 advantage a team can develop.   Unlike defense (which I'll write about eventually) which almost requires speed and athleticism to be a great defense, offenses can be pretty good on execution alone.

Building an offense, what to consider:

Pick your QB, know what they can do.

1) QB.  I've coached teams with outstanding QBs and mediocre QBs.   Both have had a lot of success on offense, but there are things you can/cannot do based on your QB and it should trickle into the scheme you select.   For flag QBs, I'd consider:

- Smarts:  Do they know all of the plays inside out?

- Accuracy:  Where can they place the ball?

- Strength:  How far can they throw the ball?

- Discipline:  How well can they execute a play?

- Athleticism:  How well can they escape and move around?

- Decision-making: Can they throw on time?

- Emotionally strong, consistent:  Can they play even keel the whole game?

Whoa!   Wait, am I describing a pro QB here?   Well, maybe.   But I've seen youth QBs that excel across multiple, if not all, dimensions.   If you have one of those kids, you can do a lot with your offense.   I've also had teams where I can get all of these factors at once -- but it takes me 3 kids to get it.  One kid was smart (knew all the plays), could throw really far, but was not a great athlete.  Another kid was highly accurate and would execute the play, but could barely throw 10-15 yards and was an average athlete.   The third was a great athlete and pretty accurate, but did his own thing.

All three could do different things.   And the offense would shift a little with each at the helm -- but it took me awhile to realize this.   This team I'm referencing is my 2nd son's team.  My 1st son is a great QB and really hits across all of these elements.  I started off bringing the same playbook to my younger son's team and found out it didn't work.   I had to change the playbook and change how I call plays to get the same level of success.

BIG DECISION:  Precision or Diversity

This will be the next entry!  Please reach out with any questions!