Customer Reviews

Arnsparger's Coaching Defensive Football

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I consider myself to be a student of the game of football. This belief was put to the test when I purchased this book last year. I consider it a mark of achievement that after a year of study, I finally understand MOST of the concepts within the book.

Unfortunately, that's also a mark of the complexity of those concepts.

The book has incalculable worth to any defensive coach, or any coach interested in developing or improving his current defense. From position-specific techniques and drills to schemes for confusing and attacking the offense, the book covers all aspects of defensive football in exhaustive detail. Unfortunately, much of the knowledge is buried under jargon incomprehensible to the average coach. This is the sole reason I give the book a four of five possible stars.

For the youth coach, this book is going to be a difficult and laborious read. Its value will also be lessened because most of your players just won't be ready for the concepts in it. High school coaches will fare better, but the book is really designed for the junior college to college level, and it is on that level that the principles discussed in it can best be taken advantage of. It goes without saying that the professional coach will also glean much from this text.

I am glad I purchased it, and I do recommend it for all levels of coaches, but be prepared to do some hard thinking as you study the book.

Good luck,

"Coach" Wade

Do you want to know the principles behind the zone blitz? Want to know how to develop a winning gameplan? If your answer is yes, this book has all of that and more. From coverages to fronts, this book goes in detail on how to do it all. If you are an up and coming defensive coordinator, or just want to know more about the defensive football. This is your Bible. There is no book out there right now that describes a complete package any better.

Mr. Arnsparger obviously knows his football and the book does a good job compiling complete information on how to play complex defensive football. Unfortunately, Mr. Arnsbarger is not a writer and the book sorely needs a good editor. Many terms are used but not defined until later in the book which causes much confusion.

The book is greatly insightful, but much of his mastery is lost on terminology and extreme detail. A serious, educated football mind might rate this at 5 stars, but much of it was (and still is) over my head.

Alignment, responsibilities, and design. This book puts it all together. The cart is before the horse sometimes, which can cause problems in understanding for the novice, but every i is dotted and every t is crossed from cover to cover. With several basic alignments described in detail it is easy to see how responsibility travels from position to position between alignments.

I found this book to be way too specific to Coach Arnsbarger's scheme. That is great if you are starting a defense from scratch or want to revamp your system. We already have an effective scheme and a successful defense. I was looking for something that would just make us better. I did not find it in this book. Just my two cents.

This is a very good book on position reads,techniques and defensive strategies.The Position reads are all diagramed and explained in detail. He also has a section on defending the Shotgun, which I'm going to re-read to try to learn how to better defend the Spread Offenses that are in vogue today; I'm sure there is something in the chapter that I can use. Overall,one of the best books on defensive football I have read. The other that I highly recommend is Fritz Shumur's " Coaching Team Defense; Second Edition. " I have the first edition also and they are both great books. My High School coach played for Fritz and everthing I was taught about defense in High School is in this book. Schemes may change but good fundamentals will never go out of style and that's what both of these coaches are about and the reason that they are in the Hall of Fame.

I bought this book when I was just starting my coaching career. As a new coach who was football literate but not extremely well versed in the finer points of the game, it was a very frustrating read. Also, if you coach a team that does not run the 3-4 scheme, it is difficult to apply many of the concepts in the book. However, as I advanced in my career, I found this book invaluable as a resource. If there was a concept I was not familiar with, more often than not it is at least touched upon somewhere in the book. The aspect of the book that most coaches (offensive or defensive) will find helpful are the chapters that deal with pass coverage. The book is very thorough in all aspects of zone, man, and substituted pass coverages (nickle and dime). Since every defense incorporates some or all of these principles, this alone makes the book worth buying.

Without a doubt, Coach Arns is one of the greatest defensive coordinators ever lived. He opens up his "almost" whole system in this book and explains his specific schemes really well and how and where to run them. This book is a MUST for any defensive coach from any level.

Coach Arns also included his views, comments and memories of his successful years from 1A to NFL. I recommend this book to everyone, who plays or coaches defense. If you have never been involved into these "nuts and guts" of football, I'd say; forget it, it would be too much. But if you did, do not think and BUY IT. You won't regret.

Whether your a coach, player, or fan, Bill Arnsparger's "Coaching Defensive Football" is a must read. The book explains the game in layman's terms and also gives insight to the career of one of the games greatest defensive coaches.