Phase 1 · Field Studies
Excerpts from an Interview with an Eastern Montgomery Highschool Football Player
As seen in the video, Eastern Montgomery highschool participated in the 2010 Virginia State Championship. While this clip doesn't necessarily demonstrate coaches relaying dynamic play diagrams during team meetings, it offers several interesting angles. Here it is clear that the local community and family around players are stakeholders in their success. The clip is also a demonstration of what seems to be a recurring theme amongst competitive teams: the film. For the most part, it is this artifact which is utilized by coaches to prepare players for new plays and upcoming opponents.
Interviewing a player who participated in that game offered an interesting opportunity. Not only was insight gained into the perspective of a player, but it offered a unique vantage into the realm of competitive highschool. The player I interviewed is a Junior at Eastern Montgomery. He hopes to break into college football which makes him an unquestionable stakeholder. What follows is a transcript of the interview which took place shortly after two and a half hours of practice.
*Some questions have been omitted.
How do your coaches go about teaching new plays?
We use a whiteboard in the locker room. Sometimes they show NFL or college tape of the play we're learning. Most of the learning is done with repetitions on the field.
Do they come up with their own plays?
They usually get plays from NFL or college. Sometimes it's just something they've done before or seen done before.
Do your coaches scout opposing teams?
Yes. The teams actually trade film and coach will watch a game if he's close.
How do you (and other players) remember plays after the white board session?
Repetition. The Quarterback has an armband with numbers on it. The coach will call out a number which corresponds to a play on the armband.
How many players on your team do you estimate have their own smartphone?
40-50%.
How many have access to one at home (through parents or siblings)?
75-80% if not more.
What statistical data is kept on your players?
Coach keeps track of our weightlifting. Our height and weight is available online (Roanoke Times?).
What is your personal goal with the team?
To play College football.
What are your coaches' goals?
Getting better over the long haul and building a team that can make playoffs and championships.
Where do you typically learn about plays?
Locker room (whiteboard) and on the field (repetitions).
How do you review unfamiliar plays during the game?
Ask other players or the coach.
Do players or coaches make adjustments for player matchups during or before the game?
Yes. The coach has already reviewed tape and makes necessary adjustments for the week of practice leading up to a game. One time there was a wide receiver (played for Galax?) who we had to triple team on certain plays. And he still made the play. He was good.
Additional Observations:
- The coaches spend more time watching film than the players. The player I interviewed mentioned immaturity as a reason highschool players didn't watch film; they get bored.
- Their film setup actually utilizes a Smartboard. This technology allows the coach to zoom in on players and use the touch-screen interface to highlight certain areas of the field or moments in the game. The Smartboards are in every classroom at Eastern Montgomery highschool.
- After the interview, the interviewee mentioned a website utilized by players and coaches to investigate upcoming matchups. The website is http://www.hudl.com which (according to the interviewee) requires Silverlight. For whatever reason, Silverlight is not installed on the machines at Eastern Montgomery.
VT Athletics Staff
When looking at people to interview we thought it was important to get input not only from the direct users of the product, but also from people with experience in other aspects of football. Giving us a second perspective will us to see what those who intimately know the game, but are not invested in already established methods of coaching would allow for ideas that might not occur to someone who is set in the way things are already done. Interviewing staff associated with football at higher levels also affords us the opportunity to see how scalable our design will be to different levels of play. For this interview we talked with a member of the VT Football Athletics staff who works in the booth during football games.
In your experience what types of information do coaches take into account when deciding what plays to pick.
Coaches when considering play-calling consider a number of things. How predictable the plays have been, how effective certain plays have been, what the defenses strengths/weaknesses are, what the offenses strength/weaknesses are, not to mention, what is the situation (i.e. down and distance and spot on the field).
When do coaches explain the plays they are making to players.
Coaches generally explain the plays to players in practice before games. During the games the coaching staff will talk to the players to tweak certain things in game while the opposite squad is on the field (offense/defense). Plays are installed during practices during the week and training camp at the beginning of the year. Occasionally you will see a coach call a timeout to discuss something particular about a play with a quarterback, but generally it isn't to put something brand new into the offense, just to note something the defense is doing.
Other than coaches what types of support staff do football teams utilize to make better play decisions both before and during the game.
The support staff during the game for play calling is solely the coaches. The coaching staff can't really communicate with anyone else. Typically the person calling plays is up in the booth, and relays the play down over the radio. The players will signal the plays into the quarterback. Before the game, generally coaches will only take advice from other respected coaches with regards to playcalling/tendencies. For instance, after the JMU game last year, the JMU defensive coaches called up our guys, and told our offensive staff some of the tendencies they noticed. If a team isn't on the schedule again, coaching staffs are generally very cordial with helping each other out.
What types of technology do coaches, of the Hokies and highschool, use to explain plays.
Coaches use a lot of video equipment to break down game film and to highlight certain players. This allows for the player to focus on what they are doing correct/wrong in certain formations/plays.
How much do coaches change up their strategy based on the opponent they are facing, I know you say that plays are set at the beginning of the year, but how much flexibility can a coaches playbook offer them based on opponent?
Coaches will change their entire game plan based on the team they are playing. While the playbook for the entire year is huge, a certain segment of it might be focused solely upon for a certain opponent. For instance, Bud Foster's defense typically runs out of the 4-3 Formation. However, due to the pass happy nature of the past 3 teams, he has run a lot more "Nickel" and "30" Formations than he would have run against a primarily rushing team. So typically during practice that week, extra focus is paid to the things that will be done that Saturday.
Observations from Blacksburg Highschool Football Games
- During the game coaches wear headsets and communicate with other coaches in the press box. They then relay the plays to players on the field who use wristbands or their memory, depending on their position, to know what to do.
- At the half the team goes back to the locker room, or at some away games just to a corner of the field.
- During the game both teams employ videographers to tape the game for later review, as well as observers who keep track of the teams stats. For Blacksburg, these are also available online at www.Bruinstats.com.