youth coaching

Coach, my only advice would be to select those that seem to have an appropriate perspective on winning, losing and demanding that fundamentals be taught and adhered to by players and his staff. Although your team certainly will compete in a very competitive environment, these things are still critical to me as they will play a large part in determining what the longer term impact your team has on the development of your players.

I always say that the most difficult and most important task we have as a league is selecting good coaches year in and year out. Best of luck with your assignment coach!

Dave Hartman
CYFL Coach

Thank's Coach,
I just want to help make the right decision for this team. We don't need any idiot's out here if you know what I mean.

Agree with all the other comments. As to questions, I would ask:

- What does the game of football mean to you?
- What values do you think a young man should take away from his football experience?
- What are the fundamentals of blocking? (The answers can vary here, the main thing is do they have a grasp of what they would teach and safety)
- What are the fundamentals of tackling? (Less variance here, I'd want to hear an strong emphasis on safety, particularly not leading with the top of the helmet but seeing what you hit)
- How will you instill these fundamentals? (Get out there and show 'em, bad answer, a good answer would be to through drills and reps)
- What will be your rules in terms of attending practice, conduct (e.g. sportsmanship and language) and how will you provide discipline?
- What did you take away from your football experience?
- What did you learn from your football coaches that you would like to pass on to the kids you will be working with?
- What will be your policy regarding hydration during practice? (anybody that says I'd give them a single water break is living in the dark ages, a right answer would be several water breaks during practice or better yet they can get water anytime the want it)
- Why do you want to be a coach?

IN THIS DAY AND TIME, CONDUCT A BACKGROUND CHECK TO ASCERTAIN IF THERE IS ANY CHANCE OF A PROSPECT BEING A PEDOPHILE!!! YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED AT WHAT THIS PRACTICE HAS SAVED PARENTS IN HEARTACHE AND HOW OFTEN IT FERRETS OUT THOSE WHO ARE OF THAT PURSUASION!!!

AN OZ. OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE!!!


Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

Putting Your Team Together
Coach Tom Bass

Before you start thinking about game plans and X's and O's, you'll need to assemble a coaching staff, evaluate players and assemble a support staff.

The Coaching Staff
When putting together a coaching staff, especially one made up of dedicated volunteers, the first thing that needs to be done as a staff is to decide on common goals and agree on the method and manner in which the team will be coached. A few things to consider are

* The techniques to be taught.
* The schedule and tempo of practice.
* Game day organization and responsibilities.
* How discipline problems will be addressed.

It is great when there is agreement among the coaching staff, but if there is a difference of opinion, the head coach must step in and set the policy.

While the offense, defense and special teams may be a total staff effort with contributions coming from every coach, for the purpose of efficiency, one member of the staff should be designated as the coach responsible for the offense, one for the defense, and one for special teams. During game conditions, one coach will need to be in charge of each of these areas.

It is also very important that you identify and utilize each coach's strengths and weaknesses. This should focus on much more than who has played a certain position or whose son is now playing a position. Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Paul Brown once told me, "If you surround yourself with people just like you, your players will be cheated." Try to find one area that each coach has either a special interest in or does better than any other coach on the staff and give him that responsibility. One staff member may have:

* A real interest in physical fitness and will be more than willing to lead the team in the beginning lap, stretching, and warm-up exercises;
* An interest in setting up and facilitating an E-mail and communication system for the entire team;
* Organizational skills and can provide team schedules, practice plans, game plans, excel depth charts, and testing records;
* The ability to design and produce your offensive, defensive, and special teams plays for your playbook; Special game day ability that allows him to recognize what your opponent is doing and provide suggestions that may improve the team's performance.
* Set aside time as a staff to review the rules of the game and to set policy and procedure for addressing any discussions with parents concerning their child's position or playing time with the team. Each coach needs to:
o Respectfully listen to the parents.
o Acknowledge that he or she understands the parent's position.
o Assure the parents that their concerns will be shared with the entire coaching staff.
o Before any team can come together, the players need to see the individual coaches:
+ Operating together.
+ Speaking with one voice.
+ Having the same goals.
+ Performing as one cohesive unit while they function as a coaching staff.

Evaluating and Positioning Your Players
When evaluating and assigning your players to positions, try to keep in mind that many young players come to you with dreams of playing certain positions. They may not really be suited for that position, but, before you move the player, listen to where he would like to play and at least give him a chance to try that position.

In the beginning, it is great to afford every player on the team the opportunity to try each position. You may feel that you are losing a couple of practices, but it will be well worth the time if every player feels that he has at least been given some chance to follow his dream. In addition to working the players at each position, you may want to begin testing them as a group.

For the very young players, you should want to test them in three basic areas:

* 20-yard dash - 2 players at a time.
* Push-ups - how many in one minute.
* Sit-ups - how many in one minute.

For the older players, 9-12, the test can be adjusted to:

* 30-yard dash - 2 players at a time.
* Push-ups - how many in three minutes or to maximum.
* Bent knee sit-ups - how many in three minutes or to maximum.

It is then good to give every player a chance on their own and then after coaching to:

* Throw and catch the ball;
* Run with the ball;
* Block and tackle, only after basic coaching;
* Give each player the opportunity to:
* Snap for punts and FG's.
* Punt, kick FG's, and kickoffs.

As a general rule the smaller, faster players will usually be best suited for positions farthest from the ball, like wide receiver and defensive back. As you move closer to the ball, the bigger and less quick the players usually are. The challenge is to look past size and speed when assigning players to a position. Look at all the skills a player may have and try not to assign him to a position because of size alone. All players need to be given the opportunity to run, catch, throw, block, and tackle before being assigned to a position for the year.

Here’s a quick checklist:

* Assign one coach to record the results of every player on each test.
* Keep records for every player on all tests.
* Write an evaluation after all the testing and observation has been completed.
* As a staff, give a written reason for assigning a player to a certain position.

This written record is valuable when placing players and provides hard measurements and reasoning when discussing the staff's decision with any interested parent. Record your written evaluation in positive terms: "fastest on team," "best runner," "surest tackler," "one of the best cover men," "top blocker," "great hands," "most accurate passer," or "outstanding punter."

As the coaching staff begins to finalize where each player should be, it is very important for the position coach to speak with each player and welcome him to the group, especially any player who may have dreamed of playing another position. Make sure every player feels:

* That he is needed at the position.
* That every position is important.
* That he has a great opportunity to play at this position.

Although a player may have been in the program for a couple of years and has been slotted into a certain position, it is always advisable to look at each individual at the beginning of the year with an open mind and try to determine if he might really shine in another position on the team. This came to mind when Marcus Allen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past August, and I was reminded that he played nose tackle in his early football years.



The Support Staff
Off the field try to make certain that the team has assembled a good support staff. This group of parents will be individuals who support the team but do not have the time, interest, or expertise in coaching.

Try to have one individual, a chairperson, who will head up a Parents Committee that will take care of:

* Social events
* Travel arrangements
* Providing game snacks
* Organizing any special events for your team
* Serving as a liaison for comments and suggestions from parents

Identify one parent to serve as chairperson for a Business Committee that will:

* Handle all business related matters for the team.
* Validate physicals and birth certificates.
* Provide record keeping for grades if required by the league.
* Supervise any weigh-ins prior to games.

The key to having a cohesive, well ordered team is to:

* Give people responsibility and authority.
* Involve as many persons as needed so that they become part of the solution and not part of the problem.
* Try to recognize and consider each player's dreams when determining what position a player will play on the team.

Great post Oneback!

I do a similar thing to what Coach Bass suggests, my guys are 12-14. We do Pushups for 1 minute, most kids at that age start to struggle after 10 so we count proper pushups and then pushups from the knees in that 1 minute. I also do a shuttle run to test agility. For testing playing abilities, we play a game of Ultimate Football, basically Ultimate Frisbee (a really great game) played with a football. I've posted on this before, if anyone is interested in the concept do a search on Ultimate Football or I can repost the idea.

One other point of emphasis for me is you always have kids that obviously are going to be lineman, but sometimes you need a kid who thinks he is a good enough athlete to be a ball handler to play the O-line. I make sure and emphasis to the O-line and the team that much of our success will be on them. I call the ball handlers the "paper boys" because there the ones that will get their names in the paper and I call the O-line the skill players. At that age sometimes you really have to pump those guys up to get them enthused about what they often perceive as the place where you stick guys that aren't good enough to run with the ball and convince them that there role is essential and invaluable.

One other thing (among many) youth coaches really have to work on, and that is giving specific observation responsibilities to the staff during the game. When we're on O I have someone watching the DE's to see if we can run bootleg, someone watching the secondary play, and someone watching the pad levels and depth of the O-line. What happens is everyone is drawn to watching the ball, so you really have to get those guys to do their job. Usually the first few times in a game you ask what they see, even late in the season, they'll say sorry Coach, I was watching the ball and you have to tell them it's important that they do their job.

Hello Coach,

I read your current post and I wanted to reply. I am currently in the process of developing resources for coaches to use from ages 5 through 16. These resources will include:

* Offensive, Defensive & Special Teams Formation & Plays Broken Down By Age Levels
* Offensive, Defensive & Special Teams Drills & Philosophies Broken Down By Age Level
* Practice Planning Material Broken Down By Age Level
* Player / Team Motivation Broken Down By Age Level

Age Levels:
- 5 through 8 years old
- 9 through 12 years old
- 13 through 16 years old

Each of these areas are researched and developed precisely. The information is provided to you on a CD that contains plays, formations, drills, plans, philosophy and diagrams of each idea submitted. I can place each area on a disc and mail it to you. Each area- Offense, Defense, Special Teams (broken down by formation/plays, drills/philosophies, practice planning and player/team motivation) costs $10.00 and the CD is yours to keep along with all of the material you purchase.

Pricing Chart

Offensive Formation and Plays Per Age Level $10
Defensive Formation and Plays Per Age Level $10
Special Teams Formation and Plays Per Age Level $10
*Or by all three for just $25.00!

Offensive Drills & Philosophies Per Age Level $10
Defensive Drills & Philosophies Per Age Level $10
Special Teams Drills & Philosophies Per Age Level $10
*Or by all three for just $25.00!

Practice Planning For the First 8 weeks of your season $10

Player/Team Motivation $5

You can also have all the areas for the discounted price of $60.00- and the Player/Team Motivation CD is free!

If this is something you would be interested in please let me know!

Sincerely,

Coach Jase
coachjase@hotmail.com


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