Good Clinic Talks

[knightfan64]

Got invited to speak at a clinic for first time ever.  Have been to a ton of these so I have a few of my own opinions, but wanted to get advice from the masses.  What makes a good clinic talk not necessarily on subject but what made ones you went to better than others?  


A couple of starters for me


Ones I have loved
well put together presentation
had rhyme and reason
applicable to all talent levels


Ones I hated
Either focused on basic fundamentals for an hour (I have sat in a DL clinic before that did nothing but show drill tape of the first step and hands)
Do not get half way done bc of time 
Not applicable to all talent levels (Don't you love the big schools that have 9 D1 kids on a 2 platoon team talking how simple the game really is?  Or how bout the coach who talks how undersized his OL is and they all are 260+?)  

[mkuempel]

I enjoy clinics that give me a progression of drills that I can take home and use immediately, I don't need $5k in equipment to do the drills, it carries over to my scheme (that is more on me if I attend a talk that doesn't apply to what I'm doing), tells me why they do it the way they do it and gives me answers to issues/questions/problems that come up with what they are presenting.

For example, Coaching WRs, how do you drill stance, take off, catching, routes, blocking, etc., with HS players who are two-way players? What if the defense gives multiple looks or does something new the week you play them that you haven't specifically planned on that week? How do you coach when DBs press, how does that effect your routes? How do you coach when they play zone/man? Insert any position you'd like and I'll choose to attend the position I coach, just throwing out random questions that could come up during the presentation or that coaches would like answered but don't ask.

[macdiiddy]

A good clinic speech allows someone to take at least one point home with them. Rarely will someone ever do a wholesale change into what you're talking about. But instead looking to adapt the principles of your speech.

So I think the goal is to have a little bit of something for everybody. Talk about some fundamentals, the philosophy behind those fundamentals, and the things that your program does that you contribute to your on-field successes.

Also, be passionate professional and open. No one likes a clinic speaker that is monotone, unorganized, and won't answer questions.

A clinic that is famous amongst some of our staff is listening to Corwin Brown at Notre Dame years ago. He was volleyed with a bunch of questions and his response is, we have rules, I just can't tell you the rules.

[funkfriss]

Be interesting

I don’t care about your resume

Keep slides brief

Don’t read the slides

Go back in time to when you were brand new to your topic. What three things would you want that guy to know?

Go back to when you were a semi-expert on your topic. What are a couple things you learned later on that made a big difference?

Film is not necessary, only to provide a visual when needed. One or two clips per piece of information is enough. I don’t need to see 84 clips of Verts to understand the concept

**Talk about and show the screw ups!! This is very important so coaches know what to anticipate and look for when things aren’t going right. If your talking about a concept or a scheme, tell what can cause it problems and how you adjust or what the compliment is

[bluboy]

If you have handouts, make sure to have enough for everyone. Possibly have a way to get email addresses so you can email your handouts to everyone who wants one.

[wolfden12]

You better be one of two things:

Have jokes/stories with a sense of humor or be an intense/loud SOB who gets the hair raised on your arms with their presence otherwise I'm probably falling asleep.

[wolfden12]

On a serious note,
be engaging with the crowd. Ask for feedback, pose questions, call guys out.

Be creative, have a twist.

Have a quick break at 15 minutes in and pose a trivia question (football related) and give out a candy bar. Coaches are just like kids.

Have something they have never seen or heard before i.e. non-traditional presentation, graphics, delivery, etc.

[funkfriss]

And for the love of everything holy don’t draw chit up against BS offenses/defenses.

If I see another coach draw up Power in 21 personnel vs a 4-3 with the S and W at five yards outside the tackles I’m going to go plucking nuts!!