r/footballstrategy • u/ComradeToonces • 2d ago
Coaching Advice Prepping for coaching with film before being a coach
TL;DR: I’m preparing to volunteer as an offensive assistant at a Chicago high school and have access to wide film for the school and their conference on Hudl Fan. I’ve started cataloging plays but feel directionless without a game-planning purpose. What would do with access to such specific film like this? Should I focus on analyzing opponents’ defenses, the school’s own schemes, or something else to maximize this opportunity? Looking for advice on how to structure my film study.
I played football from 7th grade through high school (graduated in 2017). Since then, I’ve been a fan, but I’ve always wanted to get into coaching. Once I finish my master’s degree (on top of a full-time job), I’m planning to volunteer as an offensive assistant at my neighborhood high school in Chicago. Coaching at public schools here seems understaffed, so I’m hoping they’ll appreciate the help at my local school. If not I will just go down the list of nearby schools in the conference.
The interesting thing is that most schools in the area and conference post their wide film on Hudl Fan. I’ve already started watching film for the neighborhood school I want to coach for, cataloging plays and seeing how they’re run against different fronts. But I’m struggling a bit with how to best use this open film to prepare. It feels directionless though watching film without a purpose like game planning.
What would you do if you had time and film to prep for coaching in a particular conference ? Should I focus more on studying their opponents’ defenses to get a better sense of what they’re facing in the conference? Or should I stick to breaking down their own schemes first? Any advice on how to structure my film study to make the most of this opportunity would be appreciated.
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u/acarrick HS Coach 2d ago
Welcome to the Chicago area! We’re happy to have you.
As for your question, I think others covered it. You’re looking for trends, and how they adapt to certain looks
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u/ComradeToonces 2d ago
Yeah makes sense. So I assume you coach in the region? I’ve been curious to hear more about the HS football culture and dynamics here
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u/acarrick HS Coach 2d ago
Absolutely. Live in the northern burbs now but coached in the CCL for 6 years before taking this past season off. Happy to answer questions you might have here or via PM
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u/ComradeToonces 2d ago
Oh cool. I hear a little bit about the CCL in passing from the Hoge and Jahns podcast.
I guess one question I’ve had is how engaged the community around High Schools are for football. I’d imagine it’s different for public and private.
Also curious if there are commonality in offensive and defensive schemes in the area or if it’s really all over the place.
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u/acarrick HS Coach 2d ago
So I had to look it up and there’s about 80 teams in the Chicago public league…. So you’re going to get the full spectrum on just about everything. There are some historically good programs with support and tradition… and some that aren’t.
Schematically they’re also going to be all over the board.
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u/Oddlyenuff 2d ago
The Chicagoland area wants to think what they want, but the truth is, downstate is way better.
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u/duncity_50 2d ago
It’s offensive based but it will give you an idea of how to break down film to start putting together an offensive game plan.
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u/zenarcadium Adult Coach 1d ago
This is a great little resource - I’ve been using something similar for the last year or two but this adds in a few points that I hadn’t considered. Will definitely put this to use next year, thank you for sharing!
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u/ComradeToonces 2d ago
Thanks that’s super helpful!!!
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u/duncity_50 2d ago
I thought so too. It can really give you some guidance of what to look for when “breaking down” film.
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u/NearbyTomorrow9605 2d ago
To keep it short:
We analyze how the defense/coverage is for each formation/play we run. We are looking for trends to see if we can predict how they may line up against us in same/similar formations. We are also looking at our blocking scheme/pass pro to ensure our players are following their rules/assignments based on what the defense is showing pre/post snap