Ohio high school football coaching veteran Mark Solis is today’s guest on the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast. Now the head coach at Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio), Solis sits down with host Keith Grabowski to discuss the value that high school coaches can get out of visiting college campuses and why teams should challenge themselves in preseason scrimmages. Solis also explains why play call sheets should not look like menus from the Cheesecake Factory.

Show notes

• 1:06   Coaching start
• 4:09   Key points in coaching development            
• 5:55   Influences on coaching philosophy
• 7:19   Key points in coaching philosophy
• 9:16   “PFP”—Players-Formation-Plays
• 12:31   Building culture and why Solis plays a loaded scrimmage schedule
• 16:00   Base 11 personnel
• 18:07   Difference having a QB who can threaten the defense, and a dual-threat quarterback
• 19:32   Why a playcall sheet can't be a Cheesecake Factory menu
• 22:54   40, 41 Belly Kick
• 25:11   Why Solis does not script the offensive portions of practice
• 26:55   The challenge of teams that slant and angle against inside zone
• 28:48   Playcall under pressure
• 30:52   Scripting in an RPO/Screen period every day
• 32:06   The challenge of encountering success as a young coach
• 35:02   Advice to a young coach
• 36:20   Book recommendation
• 38:36   Lessons learned from a coaching clinic
• 41:44   Utilizing technology
• 45:22   Concerns for future of the game
• 47:55   The winning edge

Subscribe to the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast on iTunes and listen to the full episode with Mark Solis below: