Every offensive coach faces the same temptation mid-season: add more. Another wrinkle, a new play off Twitter, or something you saw in Saturday’s college games. The problem isn’t creativity, it’s capacity. Can your players actually execute it on Friday night?
Justin Clark, offensive coordinator at North Carolina Wesleyan, just hung 64 points on Averett. His key takeaway: less is more.
“If you’re going to add something, what are you going to take away? You can’t just keep adding stuff into the playbook. It turns into a Bible of pages on pages,” Clark said.
Why Simplicity Wins in-Season
- Execution beats ideas.
- Clark reminds us that even the best-drawn plays are useless without clean execution: “If you can’t execute, you might as well not get off the bus.”
- Trim the fat.
- For every addition, decide what will be removed from the call sheet. Some staff live by a “one in, two out” rule to keep players sharp. Simplifying the playbook ensures that players aren’t overwhelmed and can perform at their best.
- Stay in your framework.
- Clark filters new ideas through his system: “This concept may look different on film, but it’s the same foundational structure. Our guys already know it.”
Building Multiplicity Without Overload
Multiplicity doesn’t mean more plays—it means more ways to present the same ones. Motion, formation, and tags can multiply looks without multiplying installs.
Instead of chasing every shiny new scheme, Clark looks at whether the tweak can be built off what his players already know. That keeps the system tight and lets athletes play fast.
A Weekly Gut Check for Coaches
When your call sheet starts to balloon in October, ask three simple questions:
- What can we execute at game speed right now?
- If I add this play, what am I cutting?
- Does this fit our offensive identity—or am I chasing someone else’s?
The Bottom Line
Coaches love plays. Players love clarity. Clark’s 64-point performance wasn’t about an overloaded game plan. It was about a staff committed to trimming the excess, staying within their framework, and letting athletes execute with confidence.
Simplifying the playbook isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing more with what your players already know.
Keep it simple. Win more.
Related:
Your Offense Needs a Filter: Teaching, Installing, and Trimming With Intention
More on Coach Justin Clark
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