Post by Coach4Life on May 24, 2004 21:00:45 GMT
Coaches,
If you work the youth leagues, a lot of times you probably don't know what your talent is until you start practice. We use an adaption of a Frisbee game to evaluate our talent and later for skill development, with a lot of conditioning thrown in that they don't even realize is conditioning because they are having so much fun.
The Frisbee game is called Ultimate. In Ultimate, you have two teams on a 40x80 field with two end zones. The object is simple: catch the Frisbee in the end zone for a score. You are not allowed to run with it for more than three steps if it was a running catch, after which you must advance the disc by throwing it. If your team fails to catch it (drop, knock down, int, whatever), it's a turn over to the other team.
Here's the football adaptation. One team throws it off to the other. After securing the football, it is advanced by passing. Just as in Ultimate Frisbee if your team fails to catch it, it goes the other way. The first time you play it you might want to play it just like Ultimate Frisbee by having them catch and stop within three steps before throwing it to a teammate. Later on you can add running, where if you catch it and run more than three steps you or a teammate (if you lateral) must get all the way to the end zone or it's a turnover to the other team who is soon fast-breakin' the other way.
It teaches a lot of things in flow: throwing, catching, decision making (pass again or make a break for it), evading defenders. While they're having a blast you can find out who can pitch and catch, who can juke and run, and who is in shape. We start it out as a two hand tag below the waist game in the non-contact early season period. The tag below the waist (or maybe better yet flags if you have them) is a good precursor to teaching form tackling. We'll do it with the pads on once we know who our pitchers, catchers, RBs and DBs are, but not too much as we don't want to get any parents bent outta shape from a kid getting dinged up playing this rather unconventional form of football.
Your mileage may vary, but I promise you the kids will absolutely love it, even the big fellas who will end up up-front. Later in the season if things are getting monotonous and the kids need a change try having the coaches play along with the kids (tag only for the coaches, of course).
Let me know how it goes if you try a little Ultimate Football come August.
If you work the youth leagues, a lot of times you probably don't know what your talent is until you start practice. We use an adaption of a Frisbee game to evaluate our talent and later for skill development, with a lot of conditioning thrown in that they don't even realize is conditioning because they are having so much fun.
The Frisbee game is called Ultimate. In Ultimate, you have two teams on a 40x80 field with two end zones. The object is simple: catch the Frisbee in the end zone for a score. You are not allowed to run with it for more than three steps if it was a running catch, after which you must advance the disc by throwing it. If your team fails to catch it (drop, knock down, int, whatever), it's a turn over to the other team.
Here's the football adaptation. One team throws it off to the other. After securing the football, it is advanced by passing. Just as in Ultimate Frisbee if your team fails to catch it, it goes the other way. The first time you play it you might want to play it just like Ultimate Frisbee by having them catch and stop within three steps before throwing it to a teammate. Later on you can add running, where if you catch it and run more than three steps you or a teammate (if you lateral) must get all the way to the end zone or it's a turnover to the other team who is soon fast-breakin' the other way.
It teaches a lot of things in flow: throwing, catching, decision making (pass again or make a break for it), evading defenders. While they're having a blast you can find out who can pitch and catch, who can juke and run, and who is in shape. We start it out as a two hand tag below the waist game in the non-contact early season period. The tag below the waist (or maybe better yet flags if you have them) is a good precursor to teaching form tackling. We'll do it with the pads on once we know who our pitchers, catchers, RBs and DBs are, but not too much as we don't want to get any parents bent outta shape from a kid getting dinged up playing this rather unconventional form of football.
Your mileage may vary, but I promise you the kids will absolutely love it, even the big fellas who will end up up-front. Later in the season if things are getting monotonous and the kids need a change try having the coaches play along with the kids (tag only for the coaches, of course).
Let me know how it goes if you try a little Ultimate Football come August.