UTTLEY: Transitioning from University to High School football

For the last 19 years, 5 as a player and 14 as a coach, I have exclusively only known the Canadian football game. Following my resignation from McGill University, I decided to pursue an opportunity at the High School level in BC with the New Westminster Hyacks and was hired to help implement the Hyacks Integrated Football in Education program. In this program, players earn high school elective credits for playing a Varsity sport. The transition from the Canadian game to the American, game has been bigger then I thought it would be. Here are some thoughts on this transition and my overall experience from a football, coaching, and personal perspective.

From a football standpoint, the biggest thing I have noticed is that there are fewer Special Teams plays in the 4-down game. It is quite likely that you may punt less then five times per game, which never happens in the CIS. On top of fewer Special Teams plays, the play clock is almost double than that in the CIS so your ability to run the ball directly impacts your ability to control the game. Being a lifetime defensive guy, I prefer this because there are less Special Teams plays and your ability to run the ball or stop the run could very well decide the outcome of the game.

Another observation I have made is the multitude of formations you see from opposing offenses. In my 14 years as a CIS coach, 50% of my time was spent on teams that ran 3-2, 4-1, and 2-3 formations with one Running Back and the Quarterback in the backfield. These formations, coupled with multiple motions, would be what you would primarily see as a Defensive Coordinator. Every now and then you would see two Running Backs, one running back with a Tight End, or a very specific short yardage package. However, the majority of the time was spent on game planning to defend against teams with five Receivers and one Running Back on the field. In the American game, you have very specific personnel groupings and because the rules are very specific about motioning or shifting, you actually have the ability to package your blitzes, stunts, and/or pressure packages. I like this because it’s a constant battle of strategy as the offense tries to out-leverage and out-gap you with formations you would never see on a Canadian field. For example, for the first time in my career, I am exposed to a team that runs the structured, organized Wing T Offense that, as a defensive guy, frustrates you to no end, but as a football person, have become a big fan.

On offense, I have become exposed to a whole new world of Wing T (as mentioned above), the Triple Option, and two back-double tight power run games, both of which are rarely seen in the CIS. Developing game plans to stop these offenses, has allowed me to really study and expand my football IQ. The first time I opened up a game film and watch the offense line up in a 2-back set, with 2 Tight Ends and a wing back as their base offense, I scratched my head for about 15 minutes before I even got started, trying to understand how you can pack so many players in the box and expect a positive outcome. In the CIS game, it’s all about spreading out the field and using the space effectively. Now, in the American game, you will get a team that lines up in the Wing T or they’ll line up with 2 Running Backs and 2 Tight Ends, and you have to find a way to defend all the gaps and counter all their motions and shifts which could very well add a gap to the other side of the formation. I find this exciting as a career defensive coach because there is so much more you need to do as a coach to make sure your players are fitting into the right gaps.

From a coaching standpoint, this transition has been a positive one, from a football IQ perspective and from a coaching perspective. Being a University coach for so many years, I forgot how impressionable high school students/players are and I have really enjoyed the mentoring part of my new position. It’s also rewarding to know that their time spent playing football will be credited on their academic transcript. For me, football has always been a vehicle that I have used to teach young people important life lessons. For the first time in my career, the players are being rewarded academically for all the time they sacrifice and put in as a Varsity athlete.

Lastly, from a personal standpoint, my family and I have enjoyed a higher quality of life because I no longer worry about the politics and constant recruiting that now rule the CIS 12 months of the year. Recruiting alone leaves little time for a normal family life. I no longer have to allocate large amounts of my coaching time to the business and administrative duties that go along with being a head coach at the University level. I am now able to spend this time fostering relationships and developing young adult athletes. It’s no longer just about the winning, it’s about knowing what is going on in their lives and how can I foster that relationship to help them achieve their academic, sport, and personal goals that they have determined for themselves. It’s about helping them ask the tough questions about who they are and who they want to be. By using football as a vehicle to teach them team work, problem solving, perseverance, and humbleness, they can get to those deeper answers of who they are and who they want to be and where they want to go in life. They learn that playing football is a privilege that many do not have and to take advantage of all the opportunities that are presented. I took advantage of those opportunities and will be forever grateful for the role that football played in my life and the people that took the time to build into my career and family.

Overall, my transition from University to High School, 3-down to 4-down football has been eye opening, challenging, and invigorating. And at the end of the day, football is football and it’s not win-at-all-costs, it’s about developing young people and helping them succeed.