r/highschoolfootball

I run an in school suspension program at my local schools. I have a varsity football player who is about to get his butt kicked off the team for his behavior.

I, along with his coach, would like to come up with a research/essay topic for him to focus on this coming week. Specifically a player who played stupid games and won stupid prizes.

We were all idiots in high school and I want to do everything I can to get this kid back on the right path. All he is interested in is being a QB.

Help me help a kid who wants you to know his name!

So I spent all year working on perfecting my long snap. I was the backup last year when I was a junior. Now that I am a senior I know this is my last year and I want to play Football in the next level. (I live in Canada). I spent a year and the coaches have seen my development. So a week before our first game coach named me starting long snapper. A day before our game that was today, Coach announced our punt team for the game and put me as long snapper. I was not feeling well and I have a bunch of bad snaps. Coach told someone else to do it who was a center last year but was not switching to TE (IDK WHY). He wasnt better then what I could hve been doing if I was feeling better but coach still game him the spot. He told me I can get a future chance to long snap in the season though we only play a 5 game season. I have been working on it since and ur next game is next friday so I have a week and a half. How can I convince coach and what should I do to get my spot back. I post on social media to try to get recruited though that now seems unlikely. Let me know what I can in order to get recruited. Thank You

DC from Europe here - kinda high school level - some kids with a bit of experience, some who have never seen football in their life.

My playbook is based on palms coverage, played a bit like quarters - so from 7yds off, but CB traps short out routes under 5 yds (apart from RB in the flat, RB is always LB responsibility). We've been pretty successful on defense so far, but I want to have even more solid, disciplined defense. The only thing that worries me with this system (but didn't have this issue yet) - #2 short out, CB traps it but #1 on go route outsprints my safety.

The other thing I struggle with a bit - what DBs keys should be. What I try to teach them - key the QB for first 3 read steps - you should know by then if it's some short route, deep route or run, solely by seeing their drop and if there was a hand-off. Then eyes should go on #2 WR - if at this point he's running out it means corner should trap it. Otherwise both CB and Safety play #1 and #2 MEG respectively.

I have just a few kids who play it very well, others seems to struggle with this read. I wonder - shall I tell them to just read #2 for read steps, but then I may lose run help, or keep as is and it's all matter of reps? Even though we're successful so far, I'm afraid of teams that may actually start flooding me and completing this out routes/go routes if DBs mess up.

As a side note, what I plan to add in upcoming weeks - Narduzzi style press quarters which seems to be natural extension of what we have now, and can be a bit of help if we're getting beat by other offenses.

At 69, the one-time Wall Street millionaire Jeff Vanderbeek is back on the sidelines, this time at Immaculata High in New Jersey where he has returned as program director.

His mission is familiar. From 2015 to 2021, Vanderbeek used his money, connections and influence to help transform rival Somerville High’s struggling football program into a juggernaut.

Now he’s trying to do it again. And Vanderbeek envisions turning the private school into a program capable of competing with New Jersey’s established football powers.

“I always was enthralled with this location,” Vanderbeek said recently. “Really nobody has ever stood up in the last 40 or 50 years and said, ‘You know, we’re going to try to be a Bergen Catholic or a Don Bosco Prep or try to be on ESPN.’”

But Vanderbeek’s latest project — like his tenure at Somerville — has been marred by controversy. His hiring in February followed the abrupt firing of longtime Immaculata coach Mike Columbo, who led the Spartans to a 9-3 record in 2025. Columbo has accused school officials of plotting to replace him with Vanderbeek and his handpicked coach, alleging that the decision was driven in part by Vanderbeek’s financial influence and willingness to spend on high school football.(School officials denied any wrongdoing related to the coaching change.)