Managing Your Team Through Distracting Weeks
If you’ve been around high school football long enough, you know weeks like Homecoming are different. Pep rallies, parades, spirit days, and community events all bring energy, but they also bring distractions.
The challenge for us as coaches is finding the right balance: letting our players enjoy the traditions while still keeping them prepared to perform on Friday night. Below are seven guiding questions—framed as if we were hosting a Twitter chat—that can help us reflect and trade ideas on how to handle these kinds of weeks.
1. How do you keep your team’s focus on football while still allowing them to enjoy the week?
Players deserve to enjoy the fun of Homecoming, but they also need to understand that their role on the field is part of what makes the week special. Depending on the school, you may have a player who is part of the court and could be crowned king. Another player may have to go grab his instrument to play in the half time show with the band. Coaches who succeed here acknowledge the excitement, but clearly reinforce priorities. Communication in weeks like this is key! Stress time management, but also allow yourself to remember that you are working with teenagers. Enjoy the events, but handle football first.
2. What proactive steps do you take in practice planning during a week you know will have more interruptions?
Smart coaches anticipate the chaos. Instead of being caught off guard by parades or assemblies, they map out the week early. Common strategies include slightly shorter but more efficient practices, scripting daily periods with precision, and shifting schedules so players can be where they need to be without stress.
3. How do you communicate expectations to your players so they understand the balance?
Consistency matters. Clear expectations set early in the week help prevent confusion later. Post your weekly schedule with times of all the events going on. Use your assistant coaches to echo your message, and also reinforce the focus of the week. Participation in school events is a privilege earned through responsibility—representing the team well in public means bringing focus to the field. Weeks like Homecoming are a terrific way to build your connection to the community and the brand of the program.
4. Do you adjust practice length, tempo, or meeting times during a busy week?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. You have to do what is best for your program. Some coaches shorten practices but push the tempo higher to make up for lost time. Others fight to keep things as normal as possible, relying on routine as a stabilizer. The balance comes down to knowing your team—whether they thrive on consistency or can handle flexibility.
5. How do you use your leadership council or captains to keep the team locked in?
Weeks like Homecoming are the perfect test for player leadership. Captains can set the tone in the locker room, keep their teammates accountable for curfews, and lead with urgency in warm-ups. When the players drive focus, the coaches don’t have to micromanage every detail.
6. What role does routine play in keeping players consistent?
Routine is an anchor. Even if the school day is filled with noise, having a steady rhythm to football—meetings at the same time, walkthroughs done the same way, pre-practice drills in their usual order—gives players stability. For some teams, those touchpoints make all the difference.
7. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about managing teams through these weeks?
Every coach has a story. Maybe it’s the time you overcorrected and wore the team down, or the time you loosened the reins and lost focus. The best takeaway most coaches share: don’t fight the week. Manage it. Embrace it. Heck, show your players you also know how to have fun and participate in it yourself! Let players soak in the experience, but keep the main thing the main thing—football on Friday night.
Final Thoughts
Distraction weeks will always test our ability to lead. They demand flexibility, communication, and trust in player leadership. But they also present opportunities to strengthen your team culture. When your players learn how to balance fun with focus, they grow not just as athletes but as young men who can manage competing demands in life.
Homecoming should feel special. Our job is to make sure it feels special and ends with our team ready to play their best football when the lights come on.