Option Central's Contributor and Licensing Partner programs

The Guest Contributor program - its History

Since its inception in 1999, Option Central has been a "team effort" between the Option Central staff and many football coaches who have contributed articles for inclusion in the Option Central Article Library . A number of these contributors have also appeared as Guests in one or more podcasts and Chalk Talks.

Initially, Option Central was primarly a database of articles whose "contributors" were referred to as Guest Writers. Guest Writers either received a stipend or complementary membership for their contribution.

Option Central Adds Multimedia resources - Video and Audio, along with eBooks and Online books

Early in 2010, the Option Central Resource Library was expanded with audio, video, eBooks and a full length online edition of a book that first appeared in print. As a result, the Option Central "Guest Writer" program became the Guest Contributor program, with Guests appearing in our podcasts and various video productions.

The "Trap Option - 40 Plus 60 equals Option" online book and related videos (Coach Larry Beckish), Veer and Midline videos from Jerry Campbell and a number of DVD style videos on Defending the Option were notable early additions to the resource library, along with 2 DVD style videos from the coach who would become our most significant contributor in recent years, Tony DeMeo. Coach DeMeo's association with Option Central gradually evolved over the years - from contributor, to licensing partner, to "collaborator" on our Chalk Talk productions and CoachTube courses.

The Option Central Licensing Partner program

The Option Central licensing program enables us to offer "online streaming" versions of a number of videos. Initially, we licensed videos that had previously been available only on VHS tapes and DVDs. A relatively new concept in football coaching resources at the time, this enabled us to expand our video library while providing our members with a way to view a variety of videos in a budget-friendly way. Two of our largest licensed collections - the Pistol Option offense videos from Ferris State and the 2019 RPO Clinic video collection from the Surface to Air system have always been "streamed" productions.

Option Central Podcasts

Our Option-themed podcasts began with The Mesh Point - a spinoff of the Coaches Corner football coaching podcast that aired on the CompuSports Radio Network for over five years. Coaches Corner Host John Anderson produced the series of 12 "Mesh Point" podcasts exclusively for Option Central. We later produced a number of podcasts in which Coach DeMeo hosted a number of fellow coaches, including Steve Gunther, John Strollo, John Iannucci, Joe Daniel, Manny Matsakis, Steve Weber, Mike Roark and Philip Haywood in the Chalk Talk series.

Become an Option Central Contributor or Licensing Partner

An important part of our history, the Guest Contributor and Partner Licensing programs remain an opportunity for coaches and publishers who would like to introduce their material to the Option Central community.

Basic Guidelines for submitting articles and other materials to Option Central

We accept a wide range of material related to Option Football covering Offense or Defense. We accept articles, videos, podcasts or excerpts from them, and other resources for developing skills, teaching techniques, etc.
Material works best when targeted at a particular level - Youth, High School or College.
Articles are easiest to work with when submitted as a computer file, although we have the ability to scan and convert printed materials when necessary. Articles and illustrations can be sent as Word or PowerPoint documents, PDF files, or Playmaker Pro document files (.fbd). We can also accept Coach's Office Chalkboard or Playbook files.
Illustrations can be included in the body of the article, or sent as a JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP or other form of computer file. We can also accept images that are faxed or scanned and emailed to us if they are hand drawn
Videos can be in virtually any format. We are also able to accept DVDs and VHS tapes.
Video and audio contributions can take many forms - from solo presentation to Guest appearances on a hosted video Chalk Talk.
When contacting us or submitting materials, please include your bio or company information. Tell us where you coach or have coached, how long you've been coaching, your title, record, awards etc... and the type of material you would like to submit.