Bob Sexton was the South Team Head Coach for the 2016 Nebraska Shrine Bowl. His job was to take 35 high school seniors and a handful of top coaches from across the state who have never worked together before and put together a winning football strategy in five days.
When GSC offered to lend its Coach-to-Player helmet communication to both teams of the Shrine Bowl, Coach Sexton was thrilled. He was familiar with the way C2P has helped the game of football in the NFL and was excited for the opportunity to use it in the Shrine Bowl.
Coach Sexton says that where C2P really shined was during practice. On the offensive side, C2P systems were provided to two quarterbacks connecting them to the Offensive Coordinator. The coach was able to signal the play and help with formations instead of having to come out to the huddle. Because the OC could do everything from the sidelines, they didn't have to stop practice to wait for him to get off the field. They were able to get more reps in and could speed up the tempo of practice.
On the defensive side, Coach Sexton made sure that his starting safety was connected to the C2P system. This allowed the coaches to be able to help the defense recognize formations and make adjustments, creating smarter players on the defensive side. This was an essential educational tool as many of the players have come from different backgrounds and didn't have the same level of experience.
"The primary benefit to using C2P as a part of practices was the ability to get more reps in. We were limited to only five days of practice, so the most we could get out of every minute, the better. The more reps you can get in during practice, the better the team will be for the game."
Coach Sexton was also impressed with the simplicity of the equipment itself and made sure that they were able to use C2P to its fullest advantage at every practice. He commented how it was the first thing his offensive coordinator would grab when he got to practice in order to get everyone set up and ready to go.
Overall, Coach Sexton recognized the advantage that C2P has for the future of football at every level.
"It's one more advantage. If you haven't tried C2P as a part of your practice, you just don't know what you're missing. The tempo of the game is speeding up. This technology helps your team get there."
