The Biggest Coaching Mistake We Don't Even Realize We're Making

Every coach has been there. You install a new play. You explain it three different ways. You walk through it. You rep it.

Then one player lines up completely wrong.

Your first thought is usually the same.

"Were you even paying attention?"

But what if they were? What if the problem wasn't effort? What if it wasn't toughness? What if it wasn't football IQ? What if they simply processed the information differently?

Those questions changed the way I coach.

I'm a high school football coach. I'm also a high school history teacher. Every day I watch students receive accommodations in the classroom that help them learn, communicate, organize information, and succeed.

Then the final bell rings.

Those same students walk onto an athletic field. And every support system they've had for the last seven hours disappears. Not because coaches don't care. Because most of us simply don't know. That realization is why our team created Accommodations to the Field.

Coaching Is Teaching

Some coaches don't like hearing that. But it's true. Teaching history. Teaching algebra. Teaching football.

The subject changes.

The job doesn't. We're taking information from our own brain and trying to transfer it into someone else's. Every practice is a classroom. Every drill is instruction. Every correction is feedback.

The best coaches in the world aren't just experts in their sport. They're experts at helping athletes learn.

One Out of Every Six Players

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, roughly 15% of public school students receive services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). That's about one out of every six students.

Think about your roster.

If you coach 48 athletes… Around eight of them may have an IEP. That's before you include athletes with 504 Plans or students who struggle but don't formally qualify for services. This isn't a rare issue. This is every team.

The Goal Is Not Lower Standards

This is the biggest misconception. Accommodations are not excuses. They're not shortcuts. They're not lowering expectations. The goal isn't to make football easier. The goal is to make instruction better. Great coaches already make accommodations. They just call them coaching.

When a quarterback struggles, we draw it on the board. When a freshman is overwhelmed, we slow it down. When a receiver keeps making the same mistake, we isolate one coaching point instead of six.

That's an accommodation.

We already do this. We're simply becoming intentional about it.

Learning Doesn't Look the Same for Every Athlete

Some athletes need extra processing time. Some struggle with working memory. Some have difficulty organizing information. Others process spoken directions differently than written directions.

None of that changes how hard they can play. None of that changes how competitive they are. None of that changes how much they want to win.

It changes how they learn. And if we understand how they learn… We become better coaches.

Small Changes. Huge Results.

Imagine installing a new offense. Instead of giving six coaching points… Give one.

Instead of asking for immediate execution… Give five extra seconds.

Instead of explaining it three more times... Show it.

Instead of handing them a playbook… Use diagrams. Film. Walkthroughs. Pictures.

These aren't complicated ideas. They're effective coaching.

The Three Questions Every Coach Should Ask

When an athlete struggles, most coaches ask one question.

"Can they do it?" Sometimes that's the wrong question.

Instead, ask these three.

• Can they do it? That's a skill issue.
• Do they understand it? That's an instruction issue.
• Can they access it? That's an accommodation issue.

Those three questions have changed the way I evaluate every mistake during practice.

This Is Bigger Than Football

This isn't about football. Or basketball. Or baseball.

It's about allowing every athlete to learn the way they're capable of learning. Great coaches build culture. Great coaches develop relationships. Great coaches adjust their instruction when athletes need something different.

Not because they're lowering the standard. Because they're trying to help every athlete reach it. At the end of the day, accommodations don't make athletes successful. Good coaching does.

Understanding accommodations simply makes good coaching possible.

That's what Accommodations to the Field is all about.