Monday Practice “Installing your core plays from day 1”

From the moment you step on the field you want to make sure everything you do is in preparation for game day success! Now that you have your CoachMe account all set up and looking sharp, it’s time to get to the X’s and O’s! Today’s practice is all about teaching you how to create a play from start to finish.  Just like when you first introduce a drill to your position group, we have included videos to demonstrate exactly what we're talking about.


To start make sure you log into your account, once you are in your LockerRoom you can go to your PlayBooks by selecting “PlayBooks” from the middle toolbar or from the dropdown menu in the top right corner.  Now you are ready to start drawing your play!


The first step to drawing a play is to set your formation.  You can do this by using the “Player Toolbar” which is located in the bottom right of the chalkboard.  Our recommendation is to always start with the offensive O-Line button located in the Offensive tab.  From there you can scroll through all the players and click on the ones you want to populate on the screen.  Once they are on the screen, simply drag them to your desired location.  


To view a how to video/description on “Player Toolbar” click here:


Now that your formation is set, it’s time to start drawing the correct assignments for the players.  We call these the “Drawing Tools” and you can find them in the bottom left of the chalkboard.  You should find every type of line you want to use including two different motion route styles (we understand everyone draws a little different).  To apply these routes to players, simply click the desired route then click and drag the cursor from the player to the desired stopping location.  To add a second step to the route, click on the end of the first route and drag to the second stopping location (not available on all routes).


To view a how to video/description on “Drawing Tools” click here:


If you are like us, it is hard to draw a play perfectly the first try! Don’t sweat it, we have included several ways to erase anything from a route, player, side of the ball, or the entire board!  These are what we call the “Delete Options” and you can find them by clicking on the trash can or by doing a right click on a specific player.  After years of drawing routes we know how some people will draw the same route multiple times before being satisfied with it, because of this we made an awesome short cut.  If you want to change the route you just drew, simple click and drag a new route from the same player and the old route will automatically disappear!!!


To view a how to video/description on “Delete Options” click here:


Congratulations! you now have a play on the chalkboard! Let’s make it come to life, do this by clicking the play button in the top right of the chalkboard.  You will also notice you can reload the play, or pause during the play if you want to make coaching points!


To view a how to video/description on “Animation” click here:


Now if you were wondering about how to save this great play you just drew up, we went ahead and saved it in real time for you! The play is always saving as you work through it.  You can always see the title of the PlayBook and Play in the top middle of the chalkboard.  If you just start drawing a play, it will be a default name that you can change in the PlayBook Manager (we will go into more detail on this tomorrow).  


To finish this great day of practice, we won’t line you up for sprints, instead we invite you to print your play by clicking on the print icon on the left of the chalkboard.  This will generate a window that will walk you through printing this great play you diagrammed today.


Go home, rest, and hydrate for tomorrow's practice.  We will be going over how to take this play you diagrammed and make it your custom masterpiece!!!