Most fans watch a game of football from the stands and focus strictly on the in-game action. What they do not see is the necessity for all members of a coaching staff to work together like a well-oiled machine.

Whether you are a coaching staff of 20 strong or three full-time coaches enlisting the help of volunteers, everyone will have pregame and in-game duties that are essential to the game.

In Wednesday’s #txhsfbchat, coaches took to Twitter to discuss best practices for game day coaching assignments.

Most coaches agreed that assignments and responsibilities begin long before kickoff, as coaches shared strategies for managing the minutiae of game day, down to responsibilities such as pylon placement, head-set preparation and filling up water bottles on the sideline and in the locker room.

In most cases, these duties and expectations are established in the preseason, and some coaches mentioned that the head coaches will briefly remind everyone of their responsibilities before the game, whether in a quick chat or with a spreadsheet of duties.

In-Game

Once the ball has been kicked and the game is underway, coaches focus almost entirely on what’s happening on the field.

Most often coaches will be assigned a specific position or side of the ball to watch. They will be keying on movements and tendencies in order to help their team find success.

Some coaches mentioned the role of a play signaler: someone who is not the head coach but is tasked with communicating the play to the head coach. Although, this role is sometimes an element of trickery, as the person signaling plays can be a decoy delivering false signals in an attempt to confuse the other team.

Whether it’s charting tendencies, keeping stats, managing video and in-game highlights, or relaying plays from the booth to the field, the consensus among coaches seemed to be that proper communication is paramount for successful game day execution.

See the full discussion of how coaches around the country handle in-game assignments here: