What Is Your Coaching Philosophy?

Every football coach needs to have a coaching philosophy. You need to nail down exactly what your core values are.

Most coaches run along with no idea, though. Or what they have is not a philosophy at all. 

Others go in the opposite direction. They have a 9-page description of what they believe. Shortly after crafting that masterpiece, they don’t remember half of it.

The Elevator Pitch

Your philosophy should be like an elevator pitch. You could tell someone in a short elevator trip and they would know exactly what you are all about.

The tag-line for Joe Daniel Football is Coach Simple, Play Fast, Win. That is the summary of my coaching philosophy. 

The elevator pitch looks something like this:

“Keep the coaching simple so the players understand exactly what to do. Understanding gives them confidence. Confident players play faster. Faster players win more football games.“

Not that I expect to explain this to someone on an elevator. Sometimes the hotel elevators at clinics are painfully slow, though. 

How to Use Your Coaching Philosophy

It is important to know the philosophy off the top of your head. Because you need to refer to this every time you make a coaching decision.

Putting together the playbook. Installing a new play. Creating a drill. Scheduling a practice. Does it fit the “Coach Simple” philosophy?

Whatever your coaching philosophy is, you need to be able to apply it. When you over-complicate that philosophy, you cannot use it in your coaching. 

Having the ‘tag-line’ version is nice. It is a quick reminder of the philosophy.

Developing Your Own Coaching Philosophy

Many of our client coaches in JDFB Coaching Systems use the Coach Simple philosophy. Some have adapted it to their own words, but keep the sentiment. 

You might have a different mindset. There is more than one right way. But you should have a coaching philosophy.

None of this has anything to do with your actual playbook. It is not the same as your play calling philosophy. 

Nor does the coaching philosophy need to be about your team culture or how you treat players. Mine is not. That’s more of a program management philosophy.

Applying The Ideas To Your Team

A good philosophy applies to all your coaching decisions. It does not necessarily apply to how you treat people off the field. That is better left to your personal morals and values. I hope.

The core philosophy does not affect fundraising or player discipline. It does not figure into academic eligibility. It may not even factor into your weight room (though mine does). 

For me, Coach Simple is part of every football decision. It affects practice planning and game planning. I use it to design new plays and drills. I’ll refer to it often while putting together a playbook or outlining how we teach a technique. It gets used all the time.

Develop what you believe over time. My philosophy was not always, and might not always be, “Coach Simple, Play Fast, Win.” It can develop throughout your coaching career, just as you do.

What is your coaching philosophy? Let me know in the comments. 

Does the Coach Simple philosophy sound like it would fit your team? Start a 7 day trial to JDFB Coaching Systems. Get instant access to complete offensive and defensive coaching systems built on it.