How to Effectively Use the Off-Season to Improve Your Coaching
How to improve your coaching? In this episode, Zach Davis and Coach Parker discuss the importance of utilizing the off-season to improve coaching skills and team dynamics. They explore various strategies for self-reflection, finding the right learning resources, and building a positive team culture. The conversation emphasizes the value of technology, historical coaching literature, and innovative techniques to enhance coaching effectiveness. Throughout the discussion, they highlight the significance of feedback, playbook creation, and continuous improvement in the coaching journey.
How to Effectively Use the Off-Season to Improve Your Coaching – Mind of a Football Coach Podcast
How to Effectively Use the Off-Season to Improve Your Coaching
Fellow Coaches, are you hanging up your cleats after a tough season, or maybe celebrating a championship? Either way, the work isn’t over! Champions aren’t just made during the season; champions are made in the off-season. This conversation is the “evergreen episode” you need to listen to, no matter where you are in the yearly cycle.
The Off-Season Blueprint—Stop Making Mistakes and Start Winning Next Year
In this deep-dive video, Coach Parker and Zack unpack the high-leverage strategies that separate serious coaches from those just spinning their wheels. If you’re tired of making the same mistakes and ready to improve your coaching game, this is your required self-scout session.
Listen to Podcast on How to Improve Your Coaching in the off-season on Spotify and Apple.
Three Non-Negotiable Off-Season Imperatives:
- The Coaching Autopsy: Self-Reflection is Non-Negotiable Forget blaming the refs or the schedule. The first step to improvement is a tough, honest self-assessment. We discuss how to perform a full coaching autopsy—analyzing strengths, weaknesses, the team, the staff, and even the parents. Crucially, Coach Parker shares techniques like doing player, coach, and parent evaluations (modeled after corporate manager reviews!) to get objective feedback and update your goals. This process forces you to be honest about what worked and what didn’t this year.
- Go Deep: How (and What) to Actually Study Are you relying on quick Facebook answers? Stop! We stress the need for initiative to find the information you need, encouraging you to go past the first few pages of Google results where the “real good stuff” often hides. We discuss setting concrete goals for what you need to learn—you can’t study everything, so focus on the 3 to 5 things that will give you the biggest benefit. Topics include mastering high school coverages and studying foundational offenses like the Wing T. We also warn against getting “catfished” by bad advice on forums.
- The Secret Weapon: Draw It Out The biggest takeaway? Stop relying solely on digital playbooks. Research shows that when you hand-draw plays on a yellow pad, you remember the concepts better. We explain how this simple, old-school method solidifies complex schemes (like the Beast Offense and the 3-3-5 Defense) and gives you a game-changing mental advantage when calling plays. If you can visualize the weakness, you know exactly what to call. Even experienced coaches need to draw out the plays they buy to truly learn them.
Finally, we hit the ultimate self-reflection test: Would I play for myself?. If the answer is “no,” we cover how moving from “projecting toughness” to earning respect (and even being liked!) can make players run through a wall for you.
Listen in now to turn your next off-season into a competitive advantage. Remember Coach Parker’s motto: Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!.
What this podcast is about….
- Off-Season Coaching
- Improve Your Coaching
- Coaching Autopsy
- Draw Plays / Hand Draw Plays
- Youth Football Coaching
- Winning Youth Football
- Old Football Coaching Books
- Wing T / Wing T Offense
- Beast Offense / Beast Formations
- 3-3-5 Defense
- Coaching Clinic (Glazier, Nike)
- Set Coaching Goals
- Rookie Youth Football Coaches
- Veteran Youth Football Coaches
- Player Evals / Coach Evals
- High School Coverages
- Coaching Mind of a Football Coach Podcast
- Tackling Drills / Linebacker Drills
- Short Yardage Offense
- Sports Psychology
Parker’s Podcast Notes
How to effectively use the off-season to improve your coaching
- Goals
- Calendar Open
- Mentor / Coaching Staff / Zoom
- Post Season Review / Autopsy
- Self Reflection – Boss / Staff / Player / Parent evals
- Coaching Staff – Good Bad Ugly
- League – age group – select travel – new
- Team – Off/Def/ST
- Game Scouting Team / Opponents / Upcoming
- Playbook – Off / Def
- Strengths & Weaknesses
- Top 3 Areas to improve on
- Areas of Interested to learn – referee clinic / pass coverages
- Write Playbook or eBook – 353 Defense 425 multi 44 defense
- Clinics – Glazier / Local HS / College / Zoom / Private Consultants
- Reading Plan – Amazon / Used Books / Abe Books /
- Youtube – CoachTube – Coaching sites
- Coaching Communities – Facebook tons of groups / Web
- Certifications – First Aid – Spread – Blocking – Tackling
- Sports Psychology – Mental Aspects of the Game / Motivation
- Player Development – Recruiting – Add Delete Edit
- Team Off-Season Workouts
- Other Sports Coaching – Team 7v7 Basketball Racquetball Pickleball
- Would I play for myself as a player? Why or Why not?
Books Mentioned
These are affiliate links so I do make a small commission from sales.
What are your thoughts on using the off-season to improve your coaching? Do you agree with us or disagree? Leave your comments below. We would love to hear from you…..
Let me know your favorite youth football play I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment below or find me on Social Media. Check out my private Facebook coaching youth football group.
Contact me anytime. I love to talk coaching youth football and the Beast.
Remember, Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!
Good Luck this Season,
Coach Parker
Keller, Texas, DFW, Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas
