Video games have made me a better coach.

[VTHokie32]

Is there anyone else who feels this way? This is one of the main reasons I've stuck with the NCAA series, because it's a lot more similar to high school football than Madden is. No matter what situation occurs in a high school game, I've been there countless times thanks to video games, and so I'm much more comfortable with making strategic decisions. I know several of the people who post here are or have been coaches, so I'd like to hear their thoughts on this topic. I know games have helped me a great deal.

[mad_bomber]

Yes they do help. I've read countless stories about high school coaches who actually incorporate plays from Madden and to a lesser extent NCAA into their gameplans. Also, many teams actually use Madden's play editor to test out their offensive schemes. I think the biggest benefit for playing the games is it helps out clock management skills simply because many of the situations you'll face in the video game will often come up in a real game.

[swampee]

Really Ive coaches HS football for years off and on and honestly cant say its ever helped or its ever crossed my mind. Its a video game that is about football. IMO its not football but I think its very educational for casually football fans.

[M-Dub?]

Maybe if Francione played more video games, he'd have known to go for two against Clemson...

[mad_bomber]

Really Ive coaches HS football for years off and on and honestly cant say its ever helped or its ever crossed my mind. Its a video game that is about football. IMO its not football but I think its very educational for casually football fans.

I personally know assistant coaches in the NFL that play Madden :). This is from the Washington Post.

"As a high school coach, all those things save time for people who don't have much time," said Paro, who is also the athletic director at the Rockville private school. "It's made life easier for me. Your players still have to go out and block and make tackles. But technology provides a quicker and more efficient way of preparing your staff."

But not all schools have a tony private institution's budget. Theodore Roosevelt in the District is one of them. But that doesn't mean the Rough Riders aren't dabbling in technology, thanks to a little ingenuity by Coach Daryl Tilghman.

Two years ago, he bought a PlayStation 2 and EA Sports' Madden football video game for the lounge where his players hang out. One day, Tilghman decided to fiddle with one of the games and discovered that it had a practice mode that allowed the user to design his own plays. He then got his players to load it with Roosevelt's offensive schemes, which he continues to update when he makes changes. Now, he uses the PlayStation as a training tool, bringing in quarterbacks to work on distinguishing opposing defenses.

"We've been having a lot of fun," Tilghman said. "Nowadays, a lot of these kids aren't football savvy. The stick figures on the chalkboard don't move. You have to try to figure out what piques their interest and try to do things they're interested in."

Senior quarterback Jamal Gilmore is a fixture in front of the television with the game controllers, constantly running passing plays through the system. He said it has helped improve his ability to see the entire field and react more quickly when faced with blitzes or other defenses. He has even installed the Rough Riders' offense on his PlayStation 2 at home.

DeMatha's Scott and teammate Anthony Wiseman said they've been using video games as a learning tool for years, and that many of their friends on other teams do, too.

"Putting plays into Madden helps you remember the plays," Scott said. "It helps you prepare for the other team, too, because you can see how it plays out with artificial intelligence. Everyone does it now."

[VTHokie32]

Really Ive coaches HS football for years off and on and honestly cant say its ever helped or its ever crossed my mind. Its a video game that is about football. IMO its not football but I think its very educational for casually football fans.

Wow, that's some grammar you've got there... I'm guessing you're not a teacher??? I'd have to say your opinion is in the minority.

[swampee]

Wow, that's some grammar you've got there... I'm guessing you're not a teacher??? I'd have to say your opinion is in the minority.

LOL Thanks grammar police. Honestly never check what I write and this time it was quite messy. Anyways no reason to get angry because you dont like what I wrote. Its just in my experience Ive never even thought about it as a coach and imo the game doesnt reflect the real game.

[CrazyOldGuy]

Just like every coach doesn't use the I formation I'm sure not all coaches use video games..... however:

American Football Monthly arguably the premier football coaching magazine published an article on using football video games as a way to practice clock management.

It certainly has some applications for training your mind to think and prepare for certain situations. It wouldn't suprise me that this has helped some coaches. Even Homer Smith, one of the true geniuses of football has suggested using a more crude board and pieces form of game to practice clock management.

Now obviously this is not to suggest that video games are true representation/substitution of/for what it is like to coach football or even of the experience of actually playing football, just that they can be useful tools and hopefully as the strategy and design of the games get better they can become even more useful as true test and analysis tools for offensive and defensive plays.

[mad_bomber]

Just like every coach doesn't use the I formation I'm sure not all coaches use video games..... however:

American Football Monthly arguably the premier football coaching magazine published an article on using football video games as a way to practice clock management.

It certainly has some applications for training your mind to think and prepare for certain situations. It wouldn't suprise me that this has helped some coaches. Even Homer Smith, one of the true geniuses of football has suggested using a more crude board and pieces form of game to practice clock management.

Now obviously this is not to suggest that video games are true representation/substitution of/for what it is like to coach football or even of the experience of actually playing football, just that they can be useful tools and hopefully as the strategy and design of the games get better they can become even more useful as true test and analysis tools for offensive and defensive plays.

Great points as usual COG :). I have that issue of AFM and I remember Tony Dungy in that article saying that he notices that players who play football video games do tend to be better players in the real game.

[VTHokie32]

LOL Thanks grammar police. Honestly never check what I write and this time it was quite messy. Anyways no reason to get angry because you dont like what I wrote. Its just in my experience Ive never even thought about it as a coach and imo the game doesnt reflect the real game.

Sorry about the tone, I wasn't mad, I just disagree. That happens. I'm not saying the game is an exact representation of real football, but situations in the video game sometimes reflect situations that arise in real football. I was thinking more in terms of play calling and clock management. And I agree with the guy who said kids who play these games tend to be more football savvy than those who don't. When I was a player, our head coach always took time to explain small things like what would happen after a safety. Several years later when I was one of his assistants, he asked if we needed to go over that during practice, and I replied "Coach, these guys play video games. They know what happens after a safety."

[Cryofax]

Just as a casual fan playing the video game deepens your understanding of things. When you watch a game now you're picking out things you normally wouldn't think much about. Watching for formation changes etc. Even having played football this game deepens your grasp of some of the game's details.

- Cryo