Foundations of the Air Raid

The Effective High School Air Raid Offense

Foundations of the Air Raid

The Effective High School Air Raid Offense — Book 2

Foundations of the Air Raid is not a playbook—and it is not an install manual.

It is a thinking coach’s guide to understanding how the Air Raid offense is designed to function before plays are ever installed or taught.

Written by veteran high school coach and educator George Coltharp, Jr., Ed.S. (Curriculum & Instruction), this book focuses on the why behind the Air Raid: why structure matters more than volume, why repetition creates mastery, and why the most successful Air Raid programs resist the urge to constantly add or change.

This book establishes the core principles that support the offense, including:

• How the Air Raid sees and attacks space

• Why the offense is organized by concept families

• The role of formations in teaching, not disguising

• Why protection, screens, quick game, and dropback concepts all share common structure

• The 3-Day Install Cycle and the concept of the Magic Rep

• How practice structure supports learning and consistency

• Why understanding must come before teaching

Foundations of the Air Raid is designed for:

• Coaches who own the playbook but want deeper clarity

• Coordinators transitioning into the Air Raid

• Head Coaches seeking consistency and alignment across their staff

• Programs that want to simplify without losing effectiveness

This is Book 2 in The Effective High School Air Raid Offense Series.

• Book 1: The Playbook — what to run

• Book 2: Foundations — how the offense is designed to work

• Book 3: Teaching — how to install and sustain it

If Book 1 gives you the what, Foundations of the Air Raid gives you the why—and prepares you to teach the offense with clarity, discipline, and confidence.

That understanding is what gives you the Varsity Edge.