Ways to get Your Football Coach to see You and Have more Playing Time
Senior high school Football can be a brutal experience when your coach doesn't know you exist...
Everybody wants more playing time. A high level true competitor, you never want to leave the field...you need to be there to step up making a big play once the game is at risk.
But, that's tough to do if you are on the bench!
We all get out there and lift weights, condition, do speed training, football skill work... but, in some situations, especially in big High School programs, obtaining a shot in the starting line up can feel nearly impossible. You may perfectly have 4 or 5 guys on the similar skill level (or better) at your position. If you want to beat those guys out, you've got to stick out. You may need to do a much more than you're currently doing...you may need to continue to work harder than you thought possible...
Listed here are the 7-Steps you need to take to get the Football Coach to see you and also help get you more playing time!
1. Train Harder within the Weight Room
I'm constantly asked which football training work outs are best. Is there a magic answer? One program which will solve all of your problems?
While some are superior to others, the truth is, no matter how great a football training program is, if you don't work hard, its all for nothing.
That's something not a lot of guys are willing to accept. But, generally if you want to be a better football player and get your coach to think of you as a starter, you better be ready to work harder than everybody else. I recognize many players think they're so friggin good that they don't have to strive. Good luck with that.
Guys like Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Michael Irvin, LT, and Ray Lewis are notorious for their insane work ethics. They outwork their competitors and also the results speak for themselves.
There's a famous story in the martial arts world in regards to a student who was far behind his classmates in skill. He asked his master what to do and the master replied:
"You will train harder than everyone else. When your classmates are sleeping, you train. When they are taking meals, you train. Once they take breaks, you train"
And, as the story goes, this student eventually surpassed all of them and became popular master from the arts.
Now, obviously, football training is difficult and you can't burn up. So, you have to rest and recover just like hard as you traing, but, the idea is the same. You have to train harder than everybody else. If there's one thing that I know for a fact that coaches notice, it's difficult work. If you're on the bubble to be a major player and you continue to work harder than the other guy, believe me, you will get the shot. (That's the way i made it happen)
2. Don't Miss Workouts/Practices/Or Be Late
Unless someone died, do NOT miss workouts. Ever. Not if you feel sick, or your girlfriend is bustin your chops, or because you "just don't feel like it today." - I heard a guy once tell a coach that...obviously, the coach's head nearly exploded.
Should you miss workouts, you appear as lazy. That's true in the eyes of strength coaches, position coaches, and head coaches alike...and, your fellow players will notice. No one wants to enter struggle with a man when you are unsure you are able to rely on him to show up.
If you're really hurt, your coach will understand. He'll let you know to take time off. But, don't think of a bunch of bullshit phantom injuries whenever you don't seem like training.
Same goes for practice. Wanna lose a starting job or will lose out on one? Don't practice...even once. Trust me, someone will be there to steal it immediately from you. Simply because someone is the backup does not mean you're better...ask Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe....and, if you are the back up, POUNCE on any opportunity that exist like this.
Never every be late to the weightroom, the practice field, meetings, film sessions. Actually, be 5 minutes early. If you are promptly, you're late, as Tom Coughlin would say.
3. Study and get Questions
I've seen many a competent player get his ass placed on the bench because he can't figure out the plays. Or know left from right, or perhaps be able to figure out the signals. Don't be that guy.
Seriously, I've seen running backs who have been plain studs be unable to play simply because they constantly run the wrong hole, towards the wrong side, or can't determine blocking assignments. If you would like your coach to notice you in an exceedingly bad way, avoid understanding the plays.
And, practice a bit on the weight training side as well. Become familiar with a little, it won't kill you.
Learn to study game film like its your work. Your film, the other person's game film, and film of players in your position who play in a higher-level (college, pros, etc). Don't just watch the film like you're watching a game on Sunday afternoon....learn from it. Study it. Listen to it back a million times. Take notes.
If you're unsure concerning how to really break down film, ask your coach to help you. Trust me, they'll be more than happy to assist.
Watch your opponent. Does he tip pass plays together with his stance? Does the other team always exhaust a certain formation? Become familiar with this stuff. Notice tendencies and get your coach about them. Again, they'll be more than happy to help you with it. Each and every coach I spoke to when focusing on this article agreed on this - they want players who understand the game and make the effort to review film and learn - to go above and beyond what is required.
4. Everyday Hustlin
Football and Football Training - Always be Hustling...or this kid will require your work
Never. Stop. Hustling.
That's true in football, training, life, business...never stop since the minute you do, someone will replace your ass.
Don't walk on the field. Don't lolligag through drills. Don't half-ass it in the weightroom.
Hustle will get you noticed. If you're around the bubble to be a starter, it could put you outrageous. However, if you decide you have the job all to yourself and start loafing, you'll lose that job faster than the usual set of keys.
Jerry Rice was famous for running each and every pass route in to the end zone during practice. Every route completely in. This was about finishing. Hustling. Never stopping. Bill Romonowski talks about how, in his rookie season, he observed Rice carrying this out, and, in order to get noticed both on the field and in film, would chase Rice down...all the way to the finish zone. He would be a starter by mid-season...As a rookie...on the Championship team.
5. Function as the First
Simple. Always be first. First:
Enter into a drill
In the weightroom
Within the film room
On the field
Being the first guy to jump into a drill, especially a message drill like tackling, one-on-one's, etc, will get you noticed in a rush.
I often talk about how my close friend Matt Mazzoni and that i would always...I am talking about always...function as the first two guys out on any line drill. Didn't matter that people were mis-matched in dimensions. We've got out and set the tempo for the whole line. Matt won the starting Center job from an upper classmen who had been much bigger than him. It had been his effort in training camp that got him noticed.
6. Get Your Butt on Specials
That one will be short. It blows me the hell away how many guys who don't start and complain about lack of playing time absolutely refuse to play special teams.
Talk about a guy who exemplifies everything Explosive Football Training is all about. Don Beebe chases down Leon Lett from 70-yards off to save a touchdown even when it didn't matter. Beebe would be a special teams stud who built a hell of a career through hard training and a never ending supply of hustle
I first viewed it a ton this year by myself team. Guys who had some talent but felt they weren't getting a fair shot. They bitched and complained. But, when the coaches were putting special teams together, this option hid. I don't know if it was fear or they believed special teams were below them...does not matter. They blew it.
Just as you have the entire football training off-season to prove yourself in the weightroom as well as in the conditioning program, you have special teams to demonstrate your hard work by making some big plays. It's pretty common in the NFL for guys to start off on Special Teams and eventually turn themselves into starters. Few are a 1st round draft pick.
If you're not getting a chance to shine, get the ass on special teams and go create a big block, a large hit and be consistently good. Force a fumble on Punt Team if the coaches don't take notice.
7. Outwork, Outlast, Outperform
This is exactly what we've been talkin about all along. Let's not sugar coat things...if you want to be a starter, be ready to continue to work harder than everyone else.
Or, as the old saying goes, "Ya gotta pay your dues should you wanna make the news, and you realize it don't come easy."
Even if you're not blessed genetically, get to work. Get to be the guy who is the poster child for that football training course. Function as the guy everyone looks to for inspiration. Function as the guy who doesn't go easy in your workouts...who always shows up...who always goes all out.
Your teammates will respect you and the coaches will take notice.
Work your butt off around the field, within the training, within the film room...work hard, recover hard, eat well. Never stop.
And, be prepared to simply keep spending so much time regardless of what. You will see set backs but you need to keep pushing. You need to outlast. Sometimes you need to watch for an injury...or a opportunity to make a big special teams play...whatever it is, have patience, and, when your time comes, hold nothing back. Do this as well as your coaches will notice and you'll find yourself like a starter.
