Coaching Football Successfully - Allan Trimble

Coaching Football Successfully

by Allan Trimble

NEW, 256 pages

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About Coaching Football Successfully

As coach of the powerhouse Jenks (OK) High School Trojans, Allan Trimble has amassed an amazing number of victories, state championship titles, and national rankings. And he’s done it with a carefully planned and executed game plan that promotes the positive development of athletes and teams.

Trimble shares the specifics of his system in Coaching Football Successfully. This meaty coaching manual covers it all: sideline communication, teaching fundamentals, practice drills, scouting and game planning, and postgame analysis and adjustments. Whatever your offensive and defensive schemes may be, you’ll find the concepts applicable to your own program.

Loaded with detailed diagrams of plays and advice for handling off-the-field challenges, this book is of great benefit to both head coaches and assistants. Coaching Football Successfully is more than a worthwhile addition to your library; it’s a proven game plan to building a championship-caliber football team.

About Allan Trimble

Allan Trimble has been the head coach of the Jenks High School football team in Oklahoma since 1996, boasting a 111-9 record and six consecutive Class 6A state championship titles, which is a class record. Over the course of nine seasons, his teams have amassed a total of seven state championships with a 32-2 career playoff record. Trimble's teams have also set records for overall winning streaks (38) and consecutive playoff victories (25).

Throughout his 15-year coaching career, Trimble has produced more than 25 Division I football players and has been recognized with Coach of the Year honors from Sporting News and American Football Monthly as well as USA Today's Most Caring Coach award. In 2001 he was named Russell Athletic National Coach of the Year. Trimble is a member of the American Football Coaches Association, Oklahoma Coaches Association, and Oklahoma Football Coaches Association.

In his spare time, Trimble enjoys fishing and spending time with his daughters and wife, Courtney. The Trimbles reside in Jenks, Oklahoma.

Reviews of this book

"Coach Trimble has proven over and over again that he knows what it takes to put together a championship-level team. Now he presents all of the ingredients in that proven recipe for success."
Larry Coker, University of Miami

"Coaching Football Successfully is a winning blueprint for football coaches at all levels of competition. Allan Trimble, one of America's most successful high school coaches, shares the organizational skills and strategic game plan for excellence season after season."
Sonny Lubick, Colorado State University

About American Football

American football, known in the United States as football, is a sport played between two teams of eleven. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by running with it or throwing it to a teammate. Points can be scored by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking the ball through the opponent's goal posts or tackling an opposing ball carrier in his own end zone.

In the United States, high school football, college football and professional football are played under slightly different rules. High school football is governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations, college football by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, while the major professional league is the NFL.

The sport is also played in Europe, Japan and Mexico. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport. American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and the field.

Because the game stops after every down, giving teams a chance to call a new play, strategy plays a major role in football. Each team has a playbook of dozens to hundreds of plays. Ideally, each play is a scripted, strategically sound team-coordinated endeavor. Some plays are very safe; they are likely to get only a few yards. Other plays have the potential for long gains but at a greater risk of a loss of yardage or a turnover.

Generally speaking, rushing plays are less risky than passing plays. However, there are relatively safe passing plays and risky running plays. To deceive the other team, some passing plays are designed to resemble running plays and vice versa. These are referred to as play-action passes and draws, respectively. There are many trick or gadget plays, such as when a team lines up as if it intends to punt and then tries to run or pass for a first down. Such high-risk plays are a great thrill to the fans when they work. However, they can spell disaster if the opposing team realizes the deception and acts accordingly.

The defense also plans plays in response to expectations of what the offense will do. For example, a "blitz" (using linebackers or defensive backs to charge the quarterback) is often attempted when the team on defense expects a pass. A blitz makes downfield passing more difficult but exposes the defense to big gains if the offensive line stems the rush.

Many hours of preparation and strategizing, including film review by both players and coaches, go into the days between football games. This, along with the demanding physicality of football (see below), is why teams typically play at most one game per week.

Coaching Football Successfully