Incorporating Differentiated Learning into Football Coaching: Great Coaches are Great Teachers

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Marco Regalado is currently the Running Backs coach and recruiting coordinator at V.R. Eaton High School in Haslet, Tx. He previously served as the Special Teams Coordinator and Linebackers Coach at PSJA Memorial High School. He has also made coaching stops at Mathis High School, Santa Gertrudis Academy High School, and Texas A&M University - Kingsville where he worked as a Graduate Assistant Defensive Line Coach while obtaining his master’s in educational administration. Regalado earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise & Sport Science from Texas State University.

Abstract

The articles purpose is to educate and demonstrate to the audience that using classroom

teaching techniques on the gridiron or court can make a difference in how your athletes will

learn and utilize information presented to them. Examples of personal experiences will be

discussed to illustrate how methods worked or how they could have been improved.

Key Words: Differentiated Learning

Differentiated Learning

Carol Ann Tomlinson describes the ideal definition of what differentiated learning is in

her book, The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners.

“More than a century ago in the United States and other parts of the world, the teachers

in one room schoolhouses faced a challenging task. She had to divide her time and energy

between teaching young people of varied ages who had never held a book and could not write along and teaching more advanced students of varying ages who had very different content needs.”

This is definitely something that is still prevalent in today’s classrooms. You will find a wide

variety of students with different educational levels and learning styles. There is no single “right way” to create an effectively differentiated classroom; teachers craft responsive learning places in ways that match their own personality and approach to teaching (Tomlinson, pg. 5). There is no definite definition as to what a differentiated classroom is however, there are certain characteristics that a differentiated lesson must have: Teachers can differentiate through content, process, product, and environment according to a student’s readiness, interests, and learning style. A differentiated classroom will cater its lessons to all students in the class and adapt to their learning styles. As Tomlinson states, “It is the teachers responsibility to be the engineer of student success.”

Using Differentiated Learning in Coaching Football

To be a great coach, you must have certain characteristics, such as being a great

motivator, great speaker, great knowledge of the sport and individual positions, great innovator, have the ability to think quickly and adapt to all situations, and lastly, you must be a great teacher. The more knowledge and understanding of the game and your playbook, the better the players will be as a team. This goes for all sports, however, focusing on football specifically.

Middle school football is where Differentiated Learning should be stressed the most.

Some kids are fortunate enough to play Pee Wee football prior to participating in middle school football, but for others Middle School is their first time to ever strap on a helmet and shoulder pads. Middle school students also might have watched their favorite college and professional teams to help build background knowledge, while some kids have NO IDEA how football is played. For example, when I played football in middle school, I was the kid who never played or watched football. I was there because my parents felt I needed the “exercise”. I had no previous knowledge of football but I knew the position that required the least amount of running was the “Lineman”, so I chose that position. In my two years as a middle school athlete, I never really learned how to play football or how to analyze the plays. What I learned was to “hit the guy in front of you”. This was an example of a “Hazy Lesson.” According to Tomlinson, this is when a teacher lacks clarity about what a student should know, understand, and be able to do as a result of a lesson. The learning tasks he/she creates may or may not be engaging and almost certainly won’t help students comprehend essential ideas or principles of the content they are attempting to learn. A “Fuzzy” sense of the essentials results in “Fuzzy” activities, which in turn results in “Fuzzy” student understanding. Thus the teacher will not receive the accurate level of understanding because the lesson lacked clarity. In turn, the teacher runs the risk of frustrating the learner and having them shut down.

The question I always wanted answered, and what I see young fledglings asking is

“why?”. Why do I have to hit him? What will result if I hit him? Are we passing or running the

ball? Why does the man next to me need to run around and hit a different person? Football did not start to become fun for me until I got to high school and my coaches took the time to explain these things to me. Eliminating the “Fuzzy” sense of understanding and clarifying my role, the purpose, and the desired outcome.

It’s understood why middle school coaches can have trouble trying to get all their players

to understand key concepts due to the large numbers of potential athletes who come out to play. In addition middle school is typically where new and inexperienced coaches are placed to earn their stripes. In my opinion, one of the best ways to create a true understanding of the lesson is with the use of a differentiated teaching style called “Circuit Teaching”. Circuit Teaching can be used for teaching different techniques, drills, sport knowledge, and learning the plays, which can be a challenge to any player. The following is an example of how to break down into three stations for Circuit Teaching.

1) Positional Breakdown:

a. This station should be used to ensure that each athlete understands their individual

position and what other position’s purpose is on the field. A team that has a

general understanding of what everyone else on the field will be doing will be

more successful and it will be easier for coaches to make halftime or pregame

adjustments. (Offensive Line protects, Defensive line attacks…etc.)

2) Stance:

a. Ensure that each athlete knows the proper form and stance required for their

position and all other positions on the field. Stance is an important part of the

game. For example, as a football player, if your weight in your stance is

distributed incorrectly, it will be difficult for a player to “fire out” correctly.

Many kids who don’t learn the proper or even stance in middle school carry the

bad habits to high school. It’s much harder to break those habits as you grow as

an athlete. The game and position all begins with the stance, so teach a proper

stance.

3) Ball Skills and Technique:

a. This is essential to instruct the athlete on ball handling, catching, blocking, and

most importantly, proper tackling. With incorrect technique in any of these skills,

you can most definitely injure yourself. This is why, as coaches, teaching how to

properly execute these techniques can help not only prevent injury but can make

the team better.

These are skills one might overlook but I’ve had many instances where a student athlete will

show up to freshman year of football (with at least two years of football experience) and not

know how to get in a stance, hold a football, etc. These are the players that are “left behind”

because they couldn’t keep up with the pace of teaching that was going on or they didn’t have the luxury of playing youth or peewee football. This is where differentiating the “lesson” could prove the most worth.

Conclusion

As a coach, my philosophy is simple; you shouldn’t try and fit your athletes into a

system, but instead you should find a system that fits your athletes. You shouldn’t assume that all athletes have the same level of knowledge and thrive with the same learning style as others. Not every athlete watches or knows the game. So, even the playing field, each player should be assessed and taught in a way that will benefit them the most. You never know, the athlete who quit your team in middle school because he was never taught the game, could have very well been the player to lead your team to a state championship.

I was one of those athletes. I wanted to quit football because I was so lost and confused.

It wasn’t fun, but once someone took the time to teach me, the sport became fun. Not only did it become fun, but it grew into my passion and now it is my profession. Take the time to teach. A great coach is a great teacher.

By: Marco Regalado

Phone: (956) 693-3611

@CoachRegalado