Here is a summary of my clinic notes from Michigan special teams coordinator John Baxter.

Baxter spent 13 seasons at Fresno State helping build a moribund program into a winner.
He shared what their philosophy was under head coach Pat Hill: Anytime,
Anywhere, Anyplace. Well play you in the Menards parking lot. We went all over the
country wacking people. Except Boise State. Those blue suckers are the things
nightmares are made of.
When you look at your team and players its one of three things: Player, coach or
system. Have to identify what the problem is and correct it, but its one of those three things.
The drills are the techniques, the techniques are the plays and the plays are the games.

Drills should come from two places. What you repeatedly do or to solve a problem.

Too many coaches dont teach, they narrate. You see coaches during practice You
missed the block or You dropped the ball. Dont commentate, give them the tools to do it
correctly. We need John Wooden, not Keith Jackson.

To go along with the last point. Indict yourself as a coach. Jones didnt get him, Jones
doesnt know how to get him. Learn to teach the techniques.
HOME: Just like youd teach your kids their address and phone number when theyre
young so they know what home is, thats what drills should do. Drills being utilized to help
players find home. You have to build it into him or you cant correct it later in the year.
Why do we play so many starters on special teams? What is a starter? Only the 5
offensive lineman and quarterback are starters. The rest is personnel driven. We dont have
starters, we have football players. You dont play a position on this team, you play a role.
What down is so insignificant that you can afford to have less than your best players?
How much of the game is special teams? 18%, roughly 1 out of 5 plays. If you have 2
hours of practice time, 24 minutes should be spent on special teams.
If you preach ball security than you better be sound in the kicking game, because every
drive will end in a kick. Whether its a punt, field goal or extra point.
As a special teams coach sort your team by personnel, 1-6. 1.) Fast little guys, 2.) bigger
fast guys, 3.) Linebackers and fullbacks, square body types, 4.) Functional big bodies, tight
ends, athletic lineman, 5.) Last stop before the bus stop, 6.) Specialists, kickers and
holders. Know what each unit needs, like the punt team, gunners are 1s, wings are 2s,
guards are 3s.
 We dont have scout teams. We have Challenge Teams. Show us that you can beat us,
because until you do that you cant beat our competition.
Chaos to concept, process to product, form follows function.
We isolate our skill development in our drill work so that we can win from a technique
standpoint and execute our assignment within the scheme.