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. As one of the first subscription-based football coaching web sites, Option Central has always charged a small membership fee to access the materials in its members section, however unlike virtually every other subscription web site, our Membership fee is the same as it was in 1999 ! We've also added more membership options and an alternative to using PayPal to make an Option Central Membership accessible and convenient for a wider range of coaches.

Initially, when Option Central was primarily a database of articles, "contributors" were referred to as Guest Writers and received a complimentary membership to Option Central in exchange for their contribution.  At various times in our history, Option Central has paid a stipend to a small number of coaches who submitted lengthy articles, installation guides and other resources. The norm, however, was to offer a complimentary membership to contributiors - a practice that was continued when the site changed owners in 2010 and remains in place today.

We would be remiss if we did not recognize our most significant contributor in recent years, Tony DeMeo. Coach DeMeo's association has evolved over the years from contributor to licensing partner, to "collaborator".

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. The Option Central "Guest Writer" program became the Guest Contributor program. Today, in addition to contributing articles, Guest Contributors appear as Guests in podcasts and our video Chalk Talk productions. Starting in 2019, we decided to drop the word "Guest", and simply refer to those who contribute materials as simply Contributors.

Recent Guests on our Chalk Talk videos and Podcasts include coaches Tony DeMeo, John Strollo, Mike DiMatteo, Rob Zeitman , Steve Gunther ,  John Iannucci, Joe Daniel, Manny Matsakis, Steve Weber, Mike Roark and Phil Haywood.   Interested in learning more about being a Contributor by submitting an Article, video, or appearing on a Podcast or Chalk Talk? Contact Us and we'll give you the details. We handle all the "messy" stuff - recording, editing and publishing.

The Option Central Licensing Partner program

The Option Central licensing program , launched in 2010, enabled us to offer "online streaming" versions of a number of videos - many that had previously been available only on VHS tapes and DVDs. A relatively new concept in football coaching resources at the time, our licensing program continues to enable us to expand our video library while providing our members with a way to view a variety of videos in a budget-friendly way. We use a professional-grade, streaming video player for the videos in our Member Video library that delivers the type of video streaming experience expected today and provides protection for our licensing partners against piracy and unauthorized viewing.

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. Recently we have produced a number of podcasts under our "Chalk Talk" label. Hosted by Tony DeMeo - a major contributor to Option Central in 2013, the podcasts, like the Chalk Talks are indicative of the multi-media focused evolution of Option Central in recent years.

Become an Option Central Contributor or Licensing Partner

We're continually expanding and improving the Guest Contributor and Option Central Partner Licensing programs to make them a win-win-win proposition. If you would like to contribute or license materials to Option Central, we encourage you to Contact Us. We accept materials in many forms, provide assistance to Contributors by preparing material for publication, and introduce Contributors and Licensing Partners 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.

Contact Us with your questions about our Guest Contributor or Licensing Partner programs