“The ball, the ball, the ball!” Coaching Turnover Culture in High School Football

The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

What is a Turnover Culture?

• Nick Saban put it best, “The ball, the ball, the ball!” Defenses must get the ball back for the offense
• If you’re thriving in turnover culture, your players are constantly thinking about getting the ball out.
• Most HS teams struggle to emphasize it

Why is it hard to commit to in High School?

• We’re usually having to focus on more basic principles, such as alignment or run fits.
• Facing multiple offensive schemes at the High School level means we’re constantly having to coach the basics and struggle to move on to more advanced philosophies

How can we use this mindset in our system?

• Develop drills that highlight a fundamental of defense, such as tackling, and then add a ball security piece to the end of it.
• Practice ball security/strip drills every week.
• Keep your defensive scheme simple so you can move on to more advanced tactics.