Coaching Football
By Larry Geigle
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About this ebook
Larry Geigle
Larry Geigle is a retired health and physical education teacher, athletic director, assistant principal, and football/baseball coach. He is also a grandfather, father, husband, and Vietnam veteran who lives in Lincoln City, Oregon, with his wife. Larry attended Linfield College, where he earned a bachelor of science in health and physical education. He also has a master's degree in education from Linfield College. Larry also received his administrative license from Portland State University. His book covers coaching philosophies from over forty years of coaching football.
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Coaching Football - Larry Geigle
Copyright © 2020 by Larry Geigle.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
Rev. date: 08/28/2020
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
815571
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1 THE COACH
Coachbear 30
Attitude, Attitude, Attitude!
Coach Geigle
Chapter 2 COACHING FOOTBALL
Offensive Thoughts!
Defensive Thoughts!
Good Coaches
The Easy and Tough Seasons
Coaching Players
Deciding to Play
Believing in Yourself and Your Team
If It’s Working, Don’t Mess with It
Chapter 3 TEAM MANAGEMENT
Playing away from Home
The Huddle
Offensive Cadence
Special Counts
Hustling On and Off the Field
Sportsmanship on the Sidelines
First Aid and Concussion Safety
Coach Sets the Pace
Post Script
Practice and Repetition
Practice Tempo and Accountability
Practice Schedules
Senior Leadership Varsity Football
Do the Right Thing
A Boy Named Joe: Why I Coached Football
Chapter 4 OFFENSE
Putting the Offense Together
Tight Ends
Strongside Tackle
Strongside Guard
Center
Weakside Guard
Weakside Tackle
Getting Ready to Play (Talking with the Line)
Split Ends
Tailback
Fullback
Slotback
Quarterback
Line Blocking Techniques
Drive Block (Man-on-Man)
Double-Team Block
Trap Block (Pulling)
Pass Block
Formations
Basic Blocking Rule
Chapter 5 RUN OFFENSE
Quarterback Sneak
The 31 and 32 Fullback Dive
The 23 and 24 Blast
The 25 and 26 Power
27 and 28 Sweep
The 23 and 24 Counter
Chapter 6 PASS OFFENSE
Passing the Football
Scramble Right and Left
The Tight-End Dump
36 and 35 Power Pass
Play Action 27 and 28 Sweep Pass
The Slant Pass
Drop-Back Pass 50 Series
Chapter 7 OFFENSIVE DRILLS
Offensive Line Drills
Offensive Line Stance and Starts
Pulling Down the Line
Sled Drill
Offensive Running-Back Drills
Handoffs
Pitch Drill
Swing Pass
Ball Stripping
Blocking Running Backs
Offensive Receivers
Receivers’ Running Patterns
Quarterback Drills
One Knee
Short Catch
Side to Side
Chapter 8 DEFENSE
Introduction
Nose Guard
Linebackers
Defensive Tackle
Defensive Ends
Defensive Backs
Defensive Stunts and Blitzing
Linebacker Scrap Strong
Tackle Loop Strong and Weak
Linebacker Way Out Strong or Weak
The Blitz
Linebacker Blitz
The Safety and Corner Blitz
Goal Line Defense
The Gap Eight
Chapter 9 DEFENSIVE DRILLS
Tackling Drills
Form Tackling
Angle Tackling
Open-Field Tackling
Sideline Tackling
Defensive Lineman
Stance and Starts
Watch the Football
Shoulder on the Chest (on One Knee)
Shoulder on the Chest, Square Him Up, and Release
Double Team and Trap
Pass Rush (Bull, Swim, and Spin Rush)
Team-Pursuit Drill
Drive Drill
Defensive Linebackers
Stance and Starts
Shucker Drill
Linebacker Read Drill
Defensive Backs
Stance and Starts
Shadow Drill
Chapter 10 SPECIAL TEAMS
Punt Team
Punt Return
Kickoffs
Kickoff Returns
Extra Points
Field Goals
Acknowledgements
INTRODUCTION
OVER FIFTY YEARS OF PLAYING, COACHING, AND WATCHING FOOTBALL is a pretty good reason to write down some of the thoughts on how I believe the game of football should be played. To be honest I wanted to be sure and write something down so I could remember what great fun it was to coach. My wife says I always try to live in the past, and I say why not, the past was exciting and packed full of great moments. I know you will ask yourself why would I read about what they did back in the day. Here’s why those old philosophies from back in the day are gold and can help you become a better coach today. I’m sure you will find my thoughts, stories, and ideas helpful, especially if you’ve just started coaching, then again If you have already been coaching my book will refresh what you already know. Everything I have written down comes from hours, weeks, and years of being on the field and is firsthand information from what I remember back in the day.
CHAPTER 1
The Coach
03.jpgCoachbear 30
DURING MY YEARS AS A HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, I was given the nickname Coachbear. If you happened to wander out to the football field, you could have watched the football team practicing and you couldn’t help but hear or see me, Coach Geigle, yelling. I guess I sounded and looked like a big old bear in the woods. My hair would be flying in the wind as I pushed the kids toward perfection. I would be trying to set a tone for working hard in practice. If a player did something great, everybody, for half a mile, could hear my praise. If the team was dogging it, you could hear my unhappiness about that also. Even today, when I watch my grandson play, he has no problem hearing Grampa cheering him on. It was the same in baseball; I wanted their best, every day, every practice, and the bear wouldn’t settle for any less. When computers became popular, I needed an email address, so I have always used coachbear 30 as my email. Thirty is my old high school football number, so I just tacked it onto coachbear. The kids in school, as the years went on, mostly called me Coach Geigle out of respect, but they all knew the bear at times. Even today, the bear will fire up if he needs too.
13.jpgAttitude, Attitude, Attitude!
DURING MY COLLEGE DAYS, I DECIDED I WOULD PLAY FOOTBALL for the Linfield Wildcats in McMinnville, Oregon. Linfield was known for its great football teams back in the day, and today it still remains a very respected program. The only difference between today and back then and now is that Wildcats have won three national football titles and have the longest consecutive record for the number of winning season of any college in the nation. Sixty-three years without a losing season, that’s not bad. Back in the day when I played, I participated and witnessed this great program being born. The coaches were and still are professional, and they do a wonderful job of showing respect and caring toward their players. At that time, my philosophy regarding playing was very simple. Do what it takes to get the job done, do it right, and do it with a smile. That’s what I tried to model every day as a Wildcat. One day while I was on the field back in the day, the coach started talking with me and complimenting my hard work and great approach. He praised me for the good job I was doing and for the good football player I was becoming and how he appreciated my positive approach and willingness to work hard in practice. He went on and on. When he was done, I said thank you and told him, It’s great to be a Linfield Wildcat.
My point in telling this story is to show how the idea of doing whatever it takes to earn my coach’s respect was well worth it. His praise for a job well done always lifted me up. I always remembered that conversation with my coach and applied that same approach to the football field from the day when I started coaching. I lifted my players up and gave them the confidence to get the job done. They loved to hear me call out their name and hear my voice than simply say, GREAT JOB!
I’m retired now and I have a chance to look back at my efforts in the different jobs I performed over the years. Some jobs I admit were not my favorite. Just the same, my approach never changed. Back in the day and even now, my can-do approach to work and coaching formed a solid foundation for success in the years to come. During those years, I have received a lot of respect and benefited from doing my best and working hard. If I made a mistake, I apologized and expressed how I wouldn’t try to let it happen again. In my coaching, having a positive approach always paid off, and my players played better for it. There’s no question I was demanding and tough during football games and on the practice field, but every once in a while, I made sure the kids would see me smile, so they knew I loved them and I loved the game of football. To me having a positive attitude has become one of the most important ways I found to achieve success. Not giving up, working hard, doing what’s right, and building a positive atmosphere of respect on and off the field are solid lessons to being a good coach.
Coach Geigle
NOW THAT I’M RETIRED, I LOOK BACK OVER FORTY-FIVE YEARS of coaching, and I’m so thankful that it was a part of my life. I believe coaching was good to me because I not only loved the game, but played it for a number of years in junior high, high school, and college. I wasn’t the biggest player on the field, so I hustled and played with a competitive edge. After I had played many different positions, I acquired a sound understanding and feel for the toughness and techniques needed to play the game. I tried to inspire that competitiveness in players throughout my years of coaching. My teams were hard-hitting and well prepared, along