Youth Football Question

COACH,

With kids that age, pick 3-4 of the very basic plays (sweep, dive, qb sneak, power would be a good starting point) and rep the dicken's out of them until the little guys really understand what exactly their assignment is as far who are they to block, what their aiming points are, etc. Have the backs learn their correct paths for each of the 3-4 plays, to always run the correct holes behind their blocks, etc.

In other words, just take the 3-4 plays and teach them until the kids can run them correctly in their sleep.
When they can execute them right, you will win a lot of games at that level. Best of luck to you.

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

some leagues such as ours has the coach on the field in this age. we really rely on a strong back running .

Thanks Coach! I have a question though, and please excuse my ignorance, but how will being on the field help with the play calls? Assuming you still have to relay the play to the QB. Is it because the we have a chance to go over the plays with the team in between plays?

I will find out whether or not coaches can remain on the field this Sat. at a local coaching clinic here in MD.

Coach: Two very good rules of thumb for youth offense:

1) The number of plays should be more or less equal to the age group, i.e., 7-8 year-olds, 7 to 8 plays, total.

2) "Audible" is a dirty word under the age of 13.

If memory serves correctly, VINCE LOMBARDI, ran something like a total of 8 plays. But, you can believe they ran those eight plays to perfection!!! Rep after rep after rep is what it takes. REMEMBER, PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, NOT JUST PRACTICE IT'SELF.

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

If you check "youtube" you can do a search for "double wing" and you will see those lil guys running:

powers
counters
traps
wedges
sweeps
and some play action very well,...using motion too.

The key is to rep and rep and rep and rep. You must be a TEACHER not some kind of screaming lunatic and you must trim the fat, get rid of all 'stupid drills". Cut out or greatly reduce cals and stretching (those kids are soooo flexible and active anyhow) and use that time for more teaching.

I would ABSOLUTELY not use dives unless your league has outlawed the gap 8 and 60 gap fronts that youll see. go with more wedge blocking if you "dive" your backs. Just my two cents.

My point is simply that the gap 8 and goal line 65 looks have become very popular in youth football and its quite difficult to dive effectively against either front. I do think that the lil guys can wedge and power and counter teams to death as I certainly have enough video of that to convince me. Down and pull schemes are great vs loaded gapped fronts and wow, many of the youth defenses are designed to contain the ball and stop dives so you will see clogged A and B gaps and des and corners playing very wide, this of course makes running off tackle extremely inviting.

Well, we will have to agree to disagree. I personally think base blocking is the worst scheme to use at the youth level particularly as it comes to weak kids who cant sustain a one on one block. Id much rather teach down and double team schemes and find that its extremely effective.

I certainly have seen my share of games where teams have tried to run dive after dive against the gap/air/mirror defense, the 10-1 and the 46 Gambler front. Typcially those teams end up getting crushed because they cant find a run lane.

Scheme is a GOOD THING to teach. My two cents.

Typically, if you teach power and counter the playside line rules are identical and the backside requires a pulling linemen or two and with reps the kids get good at it and overwhelm the defense at the point of attack. I suggest that double teaming and trapping at the youth level where every coach is screaming "come on get in there, PENETRATE!!!" leads to wild success. It takes patient coaching and careful instruction and if the tool box is kept manageable the kids get-r-done.

Here are some 9-10 year olds running counter with two pullers:




Here are some 5-6 year olds running the double wing:


Here are some of the older youth teams:


and of course heres Larry Harrisons fantastic high schoolers:


Now, for the lil ones I would recommend that a coach limit his teaching to the core "fantastic five" of the double wing for starters. You still need to spend a bunch of time on blocking and tackling and self discipline.

wedge (huge at the youth level especially when combined with motion and criss cross action in the backfield, those little ones are like kittens chasing string!) and the fullback just disappears in the wedge while the defense is looking at the backfield action.

power- most youth defenses align to clog the A and B gaps and play the des and corners wide to stop sweeps, running off tackle with a hoard of blocking is very effective. With each blocker protecting his inside gap to deny penetration youll be successful. Youll need to spend teaching time on getting a push on double teams, hips together and eyes inside for run thrus and blitzers.

counter- as above, inside gap protection and a good double team/angle in at the hole is a must. timing and footwork in the backfield with great faking will need many reps but you can do it well to both sides and no play will yield more long exciting td runs.

trap- with the constant loading of the line of scrimmage and wild penetrating defenses the trap is sure to bust for big gains. those single layer defenses are ripe for the trap.

sweep- sooner or later you will run into a coach that will want to squeeze down to stop your power off tackle assault and youll need a good sweep. 3 lead blockers sound good?

you can mirror the power, counter, trap and sweep so thats 8 plays, add the wedge and maybe a bootleg pass and you have all you need , rep your plays to perfection for at least two huddles and youre in business.