How to Prepare for a Football Game
An organized football game may look easy, but in reality a myriad of moving parts are in play for a coach whether he's leading a high school team on Fridays, a college team on Saturdays or a pro team on Sundays. While the entire week is full of practices and film sessions in an effort to find an opponent's weaknesses, game day brings its own sets of last-minute preparations that a coach needs to be fully aware of. It helps to make a to-do list during the week to help on game day preparations.
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Instructions
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Write down some notes for a pregame speech and rehearse it during the day. A good pregame speech will help excite a team to get ready for the game. Some topics to focus on include why the game is big, expectations and the other team's flaws.
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Gather your team for a pre-game meeting or meal. A meal should be about three hours before the game, while a meeting can be about one hour prior. The idea is to get the entire team in one place to bond. Have an assistant coach use a team roster to make sure every player is there.
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3
Test any radio, audio and visual equipment. The majority of head coaches communicate to their assistants during the game via shortwave headsets inside the stadium so it is imperative to make sure the equipment is working beforehand. Also test the audio and visual equipment being used to film the game to make sure they are working.
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Gather up the footballs. Each home team is required to bring a certain number of balls to the game for use depending on their league and affiliation. However, the visiting team also should bring its own balls for use in warm-up drills.
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Lead the team through warm-up drills. This is the time to get the players loose as well as give any final instructions. This is the time to talk to your offensive and defensive leaders about what plays to run to start the game.
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Give the pre-game speech and then lead the the team onto the field.
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Tips & Warnings
If possible try to get some rest before the game by either taking a nap or finding something to relieve stress.
Eat a healthy meal before a game to keep energy up.
Be ready for anything prior to the game's start that may go wrong. That includes last-minute injuries or problems.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Football image by Brian Garvey from Fotolia.com
