Summer Plans
In today’s post I wanted to set the stage for the upcoming summer. For most of us, this is a really exciting time of year. If you are coaching at a small school, you have most of your kids back as spring sports are concluding and kids are starting to focus once again on the upcoming football season. If you have a lot of year -round guys, this time of year marks the end of what can be an arduous weight room season as you get back out onto the field for summer practice, 7 on 7, and lineman competitions.
It’s the time of year where your Juniors start to step into leadership roles and the identity of your team starts to emerge. I looked at the calendar the other day and we are 10 weeks from our opening scrimmage! 10 weeks? That is not a lot of time. It will be here before we know it. And, there is so much to do. So, today, I wanted to provide a few tips that always help me remember the purpose of the summer. Hopefully they can help you plan and get ready for the next 2-3 months. Let’s dive into it!
1) Conditioning, speed, and strength training are still important.
I’ve fallen into this trap before. We have been in the weight room for 6 months. It can become redundant and it can become routine. The chance to get back on the field and actually play football is so enticing that sometimes we forget the importance of getting our player’s bodies ready. Proper training improves performance. There is no doubt that we want our guys to get bigger stronger and faster. But, remember the #1 reason we lift and run and train is to avoid injury. This is especially true for guys that played spring sports. You can make some strength gains in 8-10 weeks. You can get faster in 8-10 weeks. But the #1 reason we train over the summer is so that we don’t start fall camp with pulled hamstrings and torn ACL’s. I’ve talked about this so many times. But, at the high school level, preventing injury should be one of your top priorities as a coach. In the NFL, you can have a “next man up” mentality. But at our level, most of us have a massive drop off between our first and second string guys. Guys that don’t lift or train properly are more likely to get hurt. Keep your guys healthy by focusing on core lifts, speed training, and flexibility. I have designed a pretty extensive summer weight program. (You can access it as part of our premium subscription plan) but I will give you a quick version here. If all you did over the summer was Squats, RDL’s, Cleans, Bench, Sprints, Agility ladders, and stretch, your guys will be prepared for the season and you will reduce the chance of injury.
2) Limit the 7 on 7 tournaments.
Let’s be honest. We all love to compete and 7 on 7 tournaments sometimes seem like the only way we can do that over the summer. But, the problem with this format is that you play 5 hours of football, throwing the ball every play, in a contrived competition where the defense cheats because they know you need 20 yards in 3 plays. And you have the throw the ball on 2nd and 1 even though the middle linebacker is bailing to 13 yards. My preference is to find local schools and schedule 1 on 1 sessions. Play for 45 min – 1 hour. Let each team get 40-50 reps and call it a day. Guys will stay healthier. Competition will be better. And the look will be much more realistic. If you are going to play in a bunch of tournaments, don’t be afraid to run your 2nd and 3rd string as much as possible. Remember that no on cares who one the local 7 on 7 championship in October. I’d much rather get a bunch of guys a bunch of reps and keep my guys healthy.
3) If at all possible, practice in the morning.
I know this doesn’t work for everyone and so much of it depends on the availability of coaches. But, I have has so much more success in terms of attendance and excitement when we go from 7-9:00am My goal is to get the kids up, be productive, and then give them the rest of their day. Let them go to the beach. Let them get a job. Let them play club basketball in the evenings. If you put summer practice at 2pm, you have literally killed the kids’ summers. Not to mention that fact, that making high school kids get up at 6:30, usually stops them from making poor decisions the night before. You are a doing a lot for them and their families by holding them accountable to an early start time This is my favorite summer schedule.
Monday –
7-8:15 Weights and Conditioning
8:20-9:15 Position Specific Field Drills
Tuesday
7-8:15 Weights and Conditioning
8:20-9:15 Team Drills
Wednesday
7-7:30- Yoga
7:30-8:00 Speed Drills
8:15-9:15 7 on 7 vs local school (try to get your schedule set in advance)
Thursday
7-8:15 Weights and Conditioning
8:20-9:15 Team Drills or Position Drills
Friday
7-8:15 Optional Weights or Enjoy the Weekend!
4) Have Fun!
Every day shouldn’t feel like a grind. Of course we have to work hard. But, don’t be afraid to be silly. Don’t be afraid to deviate from the plan. Every once in a while, throw in a BBQ or a team trip to the movies, or a slip and slide. The summer is a time to build team and community. We are asking the kids to give up a lot to come out and play football. Our goal should be to build a program that they are dying to be a part of because it’s so much fun.
5) Rest!
Don’t forget that the season is a grind. If all goes well, we are going to play for football until November. I say this from experience. I remember it was my second or third year coaching and we were making a playoff run. I overheard some guys in the locker room talking about how it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we lost. They were ready to move on to soccer or basketball. They were burned out and sick of football. My first reaction was to lose it. How can you possibly not be excited to compete for a championship? How can you possibly not care if we win or lose? But, as I reflected on it, how much of that was my fault? Giving kids time to rest and have fun in the summer can go a long way in October and November.
