Being a coach involves continuously teaching those around you, players and parents alike.

For Jerry Gordon, defensive coordinator at Broad Run High School (Ashburn, Va.), having to teach others helped him master a scheme he’s become known for: the Under Front defense.

Gordon recently joined USA Football’s Coach and Coordinator podcast to talk about how he mastered the front through the schooling of others.

He credits his time as a walk-on and defensive line coach at the University of Massachusetts for his first exposure to the scheme.

“Good things seemed to happen when we played it,” he said. “The head coach wanted to play it more so I just starting learning everything I could about it.”

Under Front calls for the weak side defensive tackle to be in a 3 technique over the outside shoulder of the guard, while the strong side defensive tackle is in a 1 technique over the inside shoulder of the opposite guard.

Gordon attempted to utilize coaching resources to better understand the defense, but to his surprise, there was not much information available to him. So he took it upon himself to do the research so that he could share it with others.

As the coach started to prepare materials and write down information, he how in-depth his knowledge needed to be in order to effectively communicate the defensive scheme to other coaches as well as players.

“As I was writing the book it dawned on me, all the stuff I still didn’t know,” Gordon said. “Having to teach everyone else made me a much better teacher.”

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His book on the Under Front is an easy to use tool for coaches to employ. He was able to simplify all of his complex messages by knowing his information completely.

All of his efforts haves been well-received.

“Coach Jerry Gordon has done a fantastic job of explaining the under front defense,” said Chris Brown of Smart Football, in a review. “This book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to coach this defense, has to play against it or just wants to learn about it.”

Listen to Gordon’s full podcast interview here