High School Football Coaching Philosophy

Mike Mancuso

This is my coaching philosophy, my thoughts about the game of football:

My belief is that the game of football, at the high school level, is a teaching tool and an opportunity. It is a tool to teach young men the value of loyalty, honor, pride, hard work, competition, teamwork, performing under pressure, and character. This game allows young men to learn these qualities through experience. It is an opportunity for them not only to learn the value of these qualities, but also to build and instill them into their lives. It gives young men the chance to form bonds and relationships that only come by being a part of a team, a part of this game; bonds and relationships that last a lifetime.

If a student athlete reaches the pinnacle of his life, while playing high school football, then I have failed as a coach. At the high school level, while winning is important, the main objectiveis teaching andhaving a positive impactin the life of a young man. As a head coach, I would expect my players to move on and do much bigger and better things when they are done playing the game. My number one goal is that every young man becomes a better man as part of going through the football program; one day being a better citizen, husband, and father.

As far as my philosophy for the actual game itself; I am a fundamentalist. Fundamentals should be worked on everyday, never to be overlooked. Besides the individual fundamental techniques of the different positions, I believe the game as a whole holds fundamental truths:

Football is a physical and violent game. In general, the more physical team wins. I believe in running the football and stopping the run, again these things lead back to establishing a level of physicality. I believe in having a balanced passing attack; throwing the ball without becoming a finesse football team. At the core of my beliefs is this: It does not take one ounce of God given ability to give 100 percent effort.

“I never blame failures – there are too many complicated situations in life, but I am absolutely merciless toward lack of effort” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Head Coach:

In order for a head coach to do things properly he must have complete control of all team decisions, unless he delegates that authority to another individual. He should have final say on all decisions that affect the team, individual players, and the coaching staff. At the same time it is my belief that a head coach should trust and value the opinions of his assistant coaches. The head coach needs to have the ability to actually listen to his assistant coaches’ opinions, and avoid just giving them lip service.

If a head coach is to respect and value the opinions of his assistant coaches, then the head coach needs final say on who his assistants are and what they are coaching. This authority should extend all the way down to the junior high level. There are too many details, variables, techniques, and schemes for a head coach to give the attention that is needed to all of them. Therefore he must be able to delegate responsibility/authority on these issues. When delegating responsibility/authority the head coach must trust those to whom he is delegating and this therefore leads back to the importance of the head coach having final say on his assistant coaches.

The head coach’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to: team policies/expectations, practice and meeting schedules, team time management, decisions on schemes, player personnel management, media relations, addressing parental concerns, safety of players/coaches, holding players accountable for practices, workouts, and conduct, and communication with college coaches for potential scholarship athletes/walk-ons.

Assistant Coaches:

The assistant coaches are cornerstones to a successful program. There are too many aspects to the game of football for any one head coach to handle everything.

The assistant coaches’ main focus is on the game of football itself. They do not have to deal with media, administrative details, parental concerns, etc. on a regular basis. From time to time they may be asked to deal with such issues, if the circumstance calls for it, but their main focus is on player fundamentals, skill development, and implementation of schemes and game plans.

The assistant coaches are expected to uphold, promote, and integrate the philosophy of the head coach. If an assistant coach has a philosophical or game plan based disagreement with the head coach or another assistant coach it should be discussed in the appropriate setting, away from the players.

Players:

It is the coaches’ responsibility to teach loyalty, honor, respect, commitment, and work ethic. It is the player’s responsibility to carry these things out and conduct themselves in the appropriate manner. If a player cannot adhere to the team rules, make the commitment that is expected of him, or conduct himself properly he will be held accountable for his actions.

A football player is not a football player for 3.5 months a year. He is a football player 12 months a year, with the understanding that it is not expected that a player only participate in football. Players should be encouraged to participate in other activities. That being said, players will be held accountable for their actions throughout the year, and will be required to keep up on their strength/conditioning programs and fulfill their team commitments throughout the entire year.

Individuals do not crumble in a day. No one wakes up one day, after living a good/normal life, and decides to commit murder, rob a bank, or something of the sort. They get to that place in life through a series of daily decisions. In the same way an individual is not built in a day, and neither is a team. A team is built through a series of daily individual decisions by its members, decisions to do the right thing, the right way.

Conduct:

Without going into an entire team manual, appropriate conduct will be demanded of every player throughout the entire year. Rules and expectations should be clearly communicated to the players. Penalties for some offenses will be handled on a case by case basis, by the head coach, while penalties for other offenses (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, arrest, etc.) will be clearly defined in the player conduct manual. Rules and expectation serve a purpose. They are not there to please the public, or to serve as eye candy for parents, teachers, or administrators. Rules and expectations will be enforced. Any player that cannot follow the team rules or meet team expectations is subject to dismissal from the team.

Expectations:

Besides the expectations of a player’s conduct there are several other areas in which players will be held accountable. They are, but are not limited to:

Excellence – excellence does not mean that you are the best at everything; it does not mean that you always win. Excellence is a spirit with which you conduct yourself, always putting forth your best effort. Whether on the field, in classroom, in the weight room, or in a public setting, players will be expected to be excellent.
Respect – towards all coaches, teammates, teachers, and opponents.
Commitment – to the team, both as a unit and as a concept.
Maintaining the proper GPA – they are “student athletes”, there is a reason “student” is the first word. Schoolwork will always be put before football.
Strength and conditioning workouts
Being on time – being late is absolutely unacceptable.
Being at practice
Hustle – always; never open to debate.
Work ethic – when I wouldn’t do something that I knew I was supposed to do, my Father would ask, “Are you stupid or are you lazy?” Lazy being the far the worse of the two. Laziness will not be tolerated.
Compete – it sounds basic enough since, every game is a competition, but players will be expected to compete in everything, always. A great coach once said, “Winning holds the utmost of importance, but sometimes it is not about winning or losing. It’s about the way you do it.” Never let up, never give up, never quit, and never surrender. When we win, we will do so appropriately, by the unwritten laws of the game. When we lose, we will compete with honor and conduct ourselves with class.

Parents:

Parents are, without question, a coach’s greatest asset and at the same time can be a coach’s biggest hurdle. Obviously the former is preferred. Open and honest communication is key. There should be a parent’s meeting before every season to establish this communication, openly communicate what will be expected of their son, and to create fellowship: parents to coaches and parents to parents. It is my belief that there should also be a parent’s meeting in the spring. This meeting would provide information on what is expected of their son over the summer vacation. Providing this information early will allow families to plan out their summers while allowing their son’s to fulfill their commitment to the team.

Both the pre-season and spring meetings with the parents should establish a healthy relationship between the parents and the coaches, and hopefully result in an ever increasing amount of parental support for the football program. Parental support is critical to the success of a football program.

Parents are welcome to watch practices, but should never interfere or interject their opinions. If this became a problem it is something to be addressed by the head coach, and it would be expected that the athletic director and the schools administration were in 100% support of the head coach and his decision, no matter who the parent is; if they are out of line, they are out of line.

Building a Program:

Building a program takes time. Bob Stoops ruined it for every other coach by turning around a program and winning a national title in only his 2nd year. It must be remembered that Bob Stoops was at the University of Oklahoma. Being at Oklahoma, he didn’t have to build a program from the foundation up. The foundation was already laid; he just had to resurrect it.

Building a program, in a school that does not have a winning tradition, will take much more time then it took Coach Stoops. Therefore, the athletic director, the administration, and the parents need to understand that it is a process. This process is not standard, but done differently by everyone who attempts it. My belief is that this process is always evolving, changing, and constantly seeking improvement. I believe the foundational tenants of building a program are as follows:

Getting the players to buy into what you are doing.
Getting the support of the parents.
Getting the support of the athletic department and the administration.
Welcoming football alumni and including them in the process.
Establishing a culture that is full of expectation and is unwaveringly committed to hard work, loyalty, honor, excellence, and winning.
Getting the junior high players to buy into what you are doing. Meet with the junior high coaches, having them implement a watered down version of the offensive and defensive sets that you run on varsity. Teaching the junior high coaches these things and having them teach the same techniques and use the same terminology. This gives players six years of familiarity with a system instead of four. This is important and must happen because “tentative is slow”; understanding a scheme and being completely confident in your responsibilities as a player limits apprehension.

Recruiting:

Recruiting is a touchy subject, depending on the state high school athletic commission rules. According to NSAA (Nebraska) rules it is illegal to contact a player or student at another high school. This is not open to debate and would not be tolerated. However, it is allowed to talk to an elementary/junior high student, as long as you are talking about the school as a whole and not recruiting them for a specific sport. This rule can changed based on NSAA rulings. The football coaching staff should maintain current knowledge of rules and rules changes. The information can be found at While the coaches should remain current on their knowledge of the rules, it is not the coaches’ responsibility to go out and “recruit” players. This is a high school, not a university. It is the school’s responsibility to handle the enrollment.

That being said I do believe coaches should assist in recruiting. I believe that one assistant coach should get a larger stipend then others, with that extra pay being deemed the “admissions assistant”. With that title it would be expected that the “admissions assistant” would contact potential students about the school (in accordance with NSAA rules).

Whatever the rule is, there are keys and priorities to recruiting:

Every high school has their feeder junior highs; those being the junior highs in which a large portion of the student population attends that specific high school. These junior high students are the priority. It is easy to overlook them and take them for granted, but this cannot be allowed to happen. These students are the foundation of the high school and the athletic programs.
Facilities are critical. A high school must make a commitment to update their facilities when needed, and to make improvements that are current with the times. The understanding is that a high school is not a university, and therefore doesn’t have the same dollar amount to work with, but making an honest effort to actually upgrade the facilities can be worth almost as much as the upgrade itself. When the capitol is available, the head coach and athletic director should be included in the decision making process of what gets done and how it is done. This applies to any sport; if it is a football upgrade then the football coach should be involved, if it is a basketball upgrade the basketball coach should be involved, if it is a weight room upgrade then the strength/conditioning coach should be involved. These people should have a large voice in the decision making process because they are the experts in their respective fields. It is the board of director’s and the administration’s responsibility to keep the bottom line and have final say on financial decisions. They are the experts in those areas. If a coach wants something and the bottom line doesn’t match, there should be a compromise, not a decision that neglects the coaches’ input.
Success breeds success. It sounds like a “catch 22”, but it is not. Success is earned, never given. This being said, a success program speaks for itself. Do things the right way and have success and students will take interest and come to the high school because they want to be a part of it.

Final Thoughts:

Winning is important, if someone feels differently they shouldn’t coach at the varsity level, but it is not all that matters. Winning is a means to measure success, but not the only means to measure it. The best coach in the world is only as good as his players. If a given team on a given year is very low in talent there are other means of measuring success, means that are far more valuable then winning. Do the players work hard to improve daily? Is there steady improvement from one game to the next? Is the character of the players being developed?

The great thing about the game of football, at the high school level, is that work ethic and character development are far more important then winning, but if these things are being done then the chances of having a winning season are very good.

If you coach this game properly, doing things the right way, you become so much more then a coach to your players. You become and a positive influence in their lives, you become a mentor. I believe in this game, if I didn’t I wouldn’t have wasted my time writing down my thoughts. This game is much more then a game; it is a test of who you are as a person. This game is like a light that shines down on a man and exposes his character for what it truly is; whether that character is noble or that character is found wanting. This game makes you answer questions: can you compete, can you work hard, can you work under pressure, can you be a good teammate, can you overcome adversity, can others trust you, are you doing things the right way, and do you conduct yourself with a spirit of excellence? Inevitably these questions come at a man sometime in his life; when you’re in college, when you’re competing for a job, when you raise children, etc. The game of football simply prepares a young man to have these answers before the questions are asked.