At this time of the season, many teams fight two battles: the battle of routine and the battle of fatigue. For the first team offense, routine is the enemy. Finding ways to keep the first team focused is essential. For the scout team, it is the battle of fatigue. Those players are to the point where they may be looking ahead to next season because they are tired of playing scout team or maybe they are just worn down and the reward of getting on the field under the lights isn’t immediate to them. Both battles must be fought in order to get the best performance out of your team.

Setting up some tangible practice standards can help win both battles as it gives focus to everyone on the team. The measurables emphasize both effort and execution and work to overcome a lackluster performance out of the scout team. As long as you can get the proper alignment and assignment that is drawn on the scout card, then your players can understand the schemes and concepts that they are executing regardless of the performance of the scout team players.

At this point, it is understood that starters are there for a reason. They should outperform the scout team. By putting a standard on performance and creating a picture of what effort and execution look like, a daily grade can reflect on how good of a practice you have had.

The standards and evaluation

• Every play goes to the whistle. If one player stops and watches or isn’t finding work, the play is counted as a minus. If you are filming practice, this is easy to evaluate.
• No defender touches the running back for the first five yards. (If a scout team player can touch the runner, a first team player can tackle the runner).

 

• On pass plays, no defender is within four yards of the quarterback ever!

 

• On pass plays, every player runs toward the ball after it is released for at least five yards. This is just good football. Offensive players are finding work and are in position to make a big block or recover a fumble or just get to the spot for the next play.
• A coach can count out loud on every snap to make everyone aware of the tempo. Chart the times and expect them to be within certain parameters based on the tempo that is being used. This also helps coaches to be clear and concise.

Post the results of each practice in the locker room, giving the number of opportunities for each standard and the number of times the offense achieved that standard, resulting in a percentage grade and a comment on what that means overall. For example: “Good practice and tempo, room for improvement.” “Not a championship effort.” “That was a B-day; we can do better.”

Recognize the scout team players

The scout team players’ effort is monitored as well. They need to do more in working to defeat blocks or get into coverage. At the end of practice, have the first team recognize the scout team players who worked hard against them. This goes a long way in getting more out of the scout team.

Overall, this helps improve effort and execution at practice. Offensive players have clear standards of what is expected on film, and a winning performance each day is the outcome. Using measurables makes this tangible to all involved.