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The Small Staff Workflow Behind Saint Michael’s MLAX
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Article
Saint Michael’s men’s lacrosse head coach Alex Smith explains how his small coaching staff optimizes their workflow using the Just Play system to manage playbooks, scouting, and player preparation.
Saint Michael’s men’s lacrosse head coach Alex Smith shares how a small staff organizes years of playbook material, scouting notes, practice ideas, and film into one usable system. From rolling over concepts year to year to building scout templates and trimming information down for players, Smith breaks down how Saint Michael’s saves time, keeps prep consistent, and turns everything the staff sees into something athletes can actually use on game day.
Key Takeaways:
Continuity and Archives (0:08 - 0:37): By rolling over content from previous years, the staff can quickly reuse and refine effective offensive sets, diagrams, and videos rather than starting from scratch each season.
Standardized Scouting (0:38 - 1:19): The staff uses a standardized Just Play template to input scouting data. This allows them to stay organized even when tracking multiple opponents simultaneously.
Collaborative Editing (1:20 - 1:47): Coach Smith emphasizes the importance of collaboration in reviewing game film, noting that dual-perspectives reduce the chance of missing critical details.
Digestible Player Content (1:47 - 2:09): Drawing on their backgrounds as English majors, the coaches focus on "trimming the fat" from complex scouting notes to ensure the information is clear, concise, and immediately usable for student-athletes who have limited time due to academic commitments.
Hybrid Digital/Print Approach (2:10 - 2:54): While they began with a strictly digital format, the staff recently transitioned to including physical, printable playbooks. This allows players to keep physical notebooks, which helps maintain continuity and provides easy access to concepts both on and off the field.
