Bringing a One-Day Clinic to Your Area

One-day clinics offer a means to supply direct assistance to a high school program’s coaches and players at a minimum of expense to the school. Inviting athletes and coaches from surrounding schools encourages kickers, punters, and snappers to get better by practicing with “good” players from other teams and provides an opportunity for “quality time” among players and coaches. A local clinic should be designed to fit the immediate needs of the coaches, teams, players and parents to be served. You should feel free to stamp this event with whatever local color will lead to its success.

What would be your responsibilities as clinic director?

• Arrange for use of facilities ---- field, rest rooms, shaded or indoor place to seat everyone for discussion sessions. (Field needs no special preparation except mowing. If more than 15-18 placekickers enroll, the availability of moveable soccer goals could supplement space at football goalposts.)

• Receive registrations and payments. Regardless of payment arrange-ments, every participant must complete a readable registration form.

• Provide a local contact for coaches and parents with questions.(If your location is hard to find, you may wish to mail or fax a map or instructions to people who enroll.)

• Tally registrations by categories ---- number of placekickers, punters, and snappers expected. Communicate this information in advance to Carol White so that she can provide sufficient staff.

• Arrange for lunch in any manner convenient to you. Expenses should come from the clinic fees.

• Arrange for access to drinking water near the field.

• If needed, help find a comfortable and inexpensive way to house the clinic staff the night before the clinic.

• Provide Carol White a copy of each registration form, preferably the night before the clinic, so that the staff can prepare groupings. (I expect to keep a full sheet on each player, both to record comments and observations and to verify contact information.)

• Arrange for facilities to be open by 8:30 A.M. on clinic day.

What else might you do?

• Locate a local sponsor to defray costs for lunch or for hosting the staff. Sponsors could also provide T-shirts or hand-outs.

• Announce the dates at any local, regional, or state football coaches meetings.

• Submit publicity announcements to local news media.

• Arrange for media coverage during the clinic.

• Invite coaches or parents to spend the day observing instruction.

• Invite current or former professional or collegiate players to put in an appearance.

What would be Coach White's responsibilities?

• Contact you in the fall to discuss dates for the following school year. (If practical, prepare a tentative list of dates for distribution at statewide coaching meetings in the late summer.)

• Organize and transport a staff suitable for the group registered.

• Guarantee to provide a full day of high quality instruction, regardless of the weather.

• Introduce players to successful goal-setting strategies for maximizing their potential to contribute to their teams.

• Provide any literature you wish distributed about kicking game theory and practice suggestions.

• Answer questions from coaches about kicking game theory or about individual players.

• Provide footballs, tees, and other instructional items.

• Assist in publicizing the clinic.

• Insure myself and my staff, and make sure that all participants sign waivers to prevent claims against you and your facilities.

• Reimburse college-age staff members for actual gas and food expenses.

NETS

Football Skills Kit