No Huddle Discussion Part 2

Coaching The No Huddle

With today's technology, players have the ability to access and study game/practice film anywhere and at any time.  Players and coaches can upload film onto laptops or other devices and study.  Football players are very competitive and highly motivated to be successful which in turn drives the players to learn.  This of course makes teaching the no-huddle process more effective.

How Do We Start?

It's not what the coaches know that counts, but rather what the players have learned

You must start with teaching and/or installing a communication system.  We as coaches have to invest time with our players to teach terminology in order to communicate the information to the offense from the coaching staff.  Remember, the no-huddle communication is the ability to tell our offense what we want them to do without huddling or allowing the defense to understand our communication on any given play.

After speaking with a friend of mine, Coach Scott Weaver (Gilbert HS in Arizona), he truly opened my eyes to what was involved in the development of the no-huddle and the spread type offense we were running.  He provided me with so much information and told me ways to establish the communication process which players could better adapt to and memorize.

Coach Weaver told me to lay out the foundation and allow the players to be involved in the development of the no-huddle communication.  I found that allowing the players to be involved with hand and arm signals allowed them to adapt and memorize the process better.  For example, if all runs are named after States, the players would come up with which State's to be used and the hand/arm signals.

When installing the no-huddle communication system, you want to start with the "Big Picture."  Tell the players/coaches why this type of communication system is used and followup with teaching sessions  that break down the communication into separate categories.  TEST your players and coaches!!  Regular testing makes the players accountable for learning the system and should be done during the spring and summer.  During the season, you may want to administer tests weekly, prior to game day, in order to see if the players know their responsibilities on the field or sideline.

Once offensive players have learned the no-huddle communication system, coaches can now devote more time to schemes and skills.  Coaches must be ready to improvise, overcome, and adapt to any situations that can occur.

Remember:  "It's not what the coaches know that counts, but rather what the players have learned."

Gotta Be In Shape!!  

No-huddle teams play fast and should practice fast.  No-huddle teams must be highly conditioned so that they can operate at a high tempo for an entire game.  When our coaching staff visited the University of Oregon, Coach Jim Radcliffe advised that there was no reason to make football players, who run the no-huddle offense, run 3 or 4 mile runs.  He explained that working the team in short bursts multiple times through conditioning proved better.  Hustle should be stressed at all times in all practices, even in the weight room.  Conditioning is stressed from spring practice through the summer.  We must be able to practice fast and play fast on both sides of the ball.