Coaches-in-training gain experience through 7-on-7
Casey Rosellini just needs a football fix.
He graduated from Texas A&M-Kingsville and, although he has NCAA eligibility remaining, is pursuing a career in finance.
He heard Cypress Falls’ 7-on-7 team needed a new coach this summer, quickly volunteered and brought another Cypress Falls product in Xavier Moore with him to help.
Getting the best of both worlds and giving back to his alma mater is a good deal.
“It gives me a football outlet where I’m still part of the team and I’m helping people out and, of course, helping out my former school and the community,” said Rosellini, whose team will be in College Station on Friday as the 2019 state 7-on-7 championships commence for the Division I bracket. “It’s a way to get my fix in for football.”
Direct involvement in 7-on-7 games and tournaments by high school coaches is prohibited by University Interscholastic League rules, but the debate continues to evolve on the issue of year-round coaching.
Extra hours on top of the work coaches already do without the guarantee of salary increases is one concern of increased involvement. Some coaches believe more involvement during the summer offsets the rise in expensive but popular private training and those who have access to it. More involvement from the high school coach is viewed as a way to limit what some would call third parties or outside influences and their AAUlike impact on high school football through select 7-on-7 play.
That suits some coaches just fine, especially with the new UIL rule adding two hours of noncontact sport-specific instruction per week during the summer. The rule was passed last fall and effective in May. Football coaches might use some of that time to go over concepts that aid 7-on-7 play. This, in addition to strength and conditioning camps, makes for a busier schedule but is seen as a coup and a reaction to happenings outside the high school environment.
Coaches can observe high school 7-on-7 games from the sidelines, though, which is a familiar sight every year at the state tournament amid a row of camping chairs outside the end zones.
Sideline duties for high school 7-on-7 teams are usually left to volunteers, parents or in the case of Cypress Falls and many other schools, a former player.
Rosellini, a 2016 graduate and former quarterback for the Golden Eagles, said the players make his coaching experience a pleasant one.
Rosellini played in the spread offense and Wing-T in high school and in a West Coast offense in college. At the beginning of the summer, Rosellini and Moore would implement their favorite plays when they were playing and call it for the current players to get a feel for what worked in certain situations. Eventually, players called their own plays.
The former players are walking in coaches’ shoes now.
“You really have to be thorough even in 7-on-7 in the summer,” Rosellini said. “You have to have contingency plans. You have to have situational analysis. If we’re down by two touchdowns with 10 minutes left, we have to know what group of receivers we want to go with, what we want to run on defense. It’s definitely a sneak peek.
Foster coach Shaun McDowell calls it an internship into coaching. Class of 2015 product Trevor Parker is helping run his 7-on-7 team, and it’s the first year Foster has involved a former player.
Foster is making its fourth straight appearance at the state tournament.
McDowell is a fan of the extra two hours per week during the summer, calling it a no-brainer. He wonders how much more coaches are able to be involved, though, especially with the extra two hours. He’s not alone in that regard. Some believe players need a break from coaches and vice versa.
McDowell understands the desire for players to play on the select 7-on-7 circuit. Much of select 7-on-7 play takes place in early spring. He iterates college coaches will always recruit through the high school game, too.
“At Foster, I tell the kids if you want to go play for Team Texas, FAST or All-EN, man go get it. I don’t care,” McDowell said. “Just don’t miss what we do.”
Finding that ultimate balance between what’s best for players, coaches and the game is an ongoing endeavor and a difficult one.
“I’m not sure where the evolution is going,” McDowell said. “I think where we’re at is good. It’s just really tough.”