Coaches,
I've been approached by a rookie Coach to help him out with his team-here's his squad:
http://www.whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=13666

**He does not not have posting privileges yet as he's not purchased another season**


First of all, I'm not sure I'm the guy to mentor a newbie-been around a long time but have only had limited success. Next, I'm not a FCP Coach, as I've only had M2M team[s] in Knight and a few Zone teams in Phelan. Now, he interested in changing his D to a M2M or Zone during the season-something I've never done either.
                                                  
So, where does he stand with his squad? I like Siler, Fenton & Richardson. I do not have access to their potentials, but can get them through sitemail. I think the speed and defense is good, not great, for a Sim team, and they don't really have an established post game.
I know that he's spent a good amount of time reading forums and I think he has a good beginning grasp of the general idea. If there's anyone who's more qualified/experienced that would like to mentor him please feel free to speak up. Either one of us can be reached by sitemail and he'll be checking the forum posts as well. I'm just not sure what else I could share. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated.

I'm one of those coaches who's not had enough success to really pretend to be a mentor, either, p6453.  But looking over his roster and knowing you said he wanted to switch to FCP, I can say this:

1. He has exactly one guy on his team that will be able to adequately play FCP, and that's Waterman.  I say that because of his SPD and STAM.  The rest of his team is pretty average for a D3 team, but not great.
2. Having played FB/FCP at one of my former teams I can tell you that a team with good SPD will created problems for him.  But that's true of most defenses. FCP is not a panacea for a fundamentally flawed roster.
3. If he's a rookie coach I would strongly urge him to stick with his current defense for 1 or 2 more seasons.  He needs to build a solid core of high IQs in one scheme before he tries to switch to another.  Switching sets will slow you down for a season or 2 until all your players are up to speed - you're going to be practicing a scheme you're not playing or playing a scheme you're not very good at.  The best way is to wait until you have one of those small 1 or 2-player freshman classes, when your core rotation has playable IQs, then put extra minutes into whichever off/def you're moving to in the following year.
4. To reiterate: IQs.  He has one guy with an A- in the Press.  Every other player on his team is either a B or a C.  This is just me, but I'd be worrying about bumping IQs before I thought about switching my sets.

My advice: wait until those 8 sophs are JRs or SRs and have higher IQ.  Pick a season with 1 or 2 freshmen before trying this.  And, for godsakes, recruit better Stamina.

Thanks ethan66. He wants to change his defense from the FCP to either the M2M or the Zone. My initial thought, and I relayed it to him, was that in the Zone at least you can hide a weak defender [but only if you have competent defenders around him].  I know he's not a fan of the press, and as I've mentioned I've never coached it. I have suggested things as far as end-of-game situations and SH minutes for the practice plan and things like that, as well as what to look for in recruiting. I guess the big question is whwether or not he should continue with the FCP?

I have sitemailed him for potentials and will post as soon as I can.

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood you.  He doesn't have a FCP roster, frankly.  But I'm not sure how many games he's going to win this season regardless of the scheme he chooses.  I can't blame him for wanting to switch.

I had my first real experience with Zone last season when I filled in for a friend who had to leave HD.  I disliked it at first but came to realize that it can be very effective and flexible when you're gameplanning, perhaps more so than a Man defense.   And you're right, while ATH/SPD/DEF are important in any scheme, zone can help you minimize the effects of not having good cores.

Most of my other teams have played Man defense.  It does require better individual ATH/SPD and STAM than zone to be successful, in my experience, but not as much as FCP.   Matchups, I think, weigh a little heavier in Man than in Zone.

He would be wise to cut a couple of the worst sophomores on his squad. (Petty may have decent LP but with his ATH he's going to foul too much to be a good scorer, for example.  Lyles gives him some rebounding but not much else).  He won't get the money for those slots until next season, but he should be able to find better athletes to replace them even if he has to play with a short roster in the meantime.

Between recruiting and switching his scheme, I see a juicy 4-or-5 season rebuild here.  It could be a lot of fun if he's willing to take some lumps for a season or 2 until he has the team set the way he wants.

He still needs to recruit better STAM :)

this guy has quite a rebuild on his hands. This season he might need to rely a bit on some mediocre guys that can hit the occasionally 3. This is definitely not a FCP roster - Man or Zone would be an improvement.

I agree that he needs to cut a player or two and invest in some athleticism.

Thx bbunch. He is definitely getting away from the FCP and leaning towards the Z. Appreciate the advice.

I run the FCP and think it is fine. I think all O/D are fine -- just a matter of roster position allocation. I tend to read the forums regarding Z and at some point, someone or multiple someones, says something like "well with Z, you can hide a bad defender" that seems to get translated into "you dont have to recruit high DEF ratings like you would for M2M or FCP." If he wants to change his O or D, I think it a matter of preference. But honestly, at D3 if he learns how to efficiently use FSS and recruits players who will be no less than: wings with 40+ ATH, 60 SPD, and DEF 45 or better; and bigs with: some SPD, 50+ ATH, 50+ REB, and combo of 45 DEF or high BLK , then he will be well on his way to a successful rebuild. From there he will learn finer attribute ratings that make for devastating players -- but that will be in time and after raising his prestige.

i didn't know you needed privilege to post?? learn something new everyday... 

rednation58-You have to buy a full season to post, and Ed hasn't yet-just the $4.95 for the first season. Kind of silly, as it puts some of those guys at a disadvantage, I think.

If you only buy the $4.95 package, will it let you scout potentials?

Nope. Thats what hooked me to buying my second season ;)

jeffsu is correct...
"New coaches using a promo code must purchase at least one additional season to use the scouting service." is what it says on the FSSS page. I didn't realize that new coahes really are at a disadvantage until they shell out that $ for their 2nd season; can't post on the Forums or scout potential through the service. Good thing there is plenty of useful info and helpful coaches on here.

If he can't scout, it'll be like running around in a dark room with a .22 pistol trying to ring a bell. 

Or recruiting all international players :)

A season of HD is only $12 standard and the price falls if you do well.  I would urge him to spring for it immediately if he's serious about wanting to play.  You can't send scout trips to everybody.  Buying FSS for a state is the best way to get a handle on which players have a future and which are dead ends.

Thanks ethan66-I let him know.