scribo Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I played football in H.S., but that was 12 years ago. I have been thrust into the head coaching spot for 9- to -10-year olds. We are new the the area, and I had originally asked a few months ago if they would let me be an assitant coach. They said the coaching staff was full. The team started practice last week, and they quickly figured out they have too many kids for one team, so they are making a "select" team and a "recreation" team, something of a developmental squad for first-year players. My step son never played before, so he is going to be on the rece team, which is the team I am the head coach of now. My assitant coaches, both of them, aren't really knowledgeable. But all six of the coaches on the select team are, so they told me they would offer any advice I might need. But, none of them are Bills fans. Really, the coaches on the select team do not have any children in the youth system, so I am not 100 percent sure what they are doing here, but I know they seemingly are just fine with thrown the kids on the rec team to inexperienced guys, so I am not expecting too much guidance from them. I won't get a chance to choose my players, but I will get them early next week. So, any advice from you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 god bless ya and good luck... i dont even know where to begin with advice on that one. i hope youre a patient person, and while no one likes a coach who just yells, you may want to set a precedence just to get the group of boys to listen at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Watch out for the parents....... The parents are what ruin youth sports....they really do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 John makes a good point. I think you really need to make sure that the (MUCH DIFFERENT) goals of the rec team and the select team are laid out to your parents as soon and as often as possible. I think the best thing to do (if not done for you already) is to identify those goals before the team starts practicing, and make the parents aware of those goals. You are sure to run into at least 1 (if not 5) parents who are going to be unhappy about their "golden boy" being put on the rec team. Make it clear from the beginning that your team is not out to win championships. its goal is to raise the level of skill in your players and to have fun. if the parents/players want an undefeated season, they should go audition for the school play while there's still time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Did this for years. Be organized. Print up practice times and your rules. So the parents know what`s going on.I coached 10-12 year olds. Don`t put kids in positions before you do hitting drills and so . Remember every kid is different,so you will have to treat some kids different than others. Be firm ,but have fun. Start out first week or 2 by doing conditioning. Move on to your BASIC blocking drills.,hand-offs, form tackling. Make a playbook with 10 play`s max. Important have Blocking schemes in there. Ask if anybody that played football would like to help.I`m talking a parent .There always is someone. Hey,goodluck.It`s not as bad as it seems.I had alot of fun with the kids. Over half my team started in highschool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Make sure you have assistant coaches and keep the kids in small groups to keep them interested. You've got to keep the pace fast and stuff fun or you'll lose them. I echo what the others have said as well. 1. Make sure you're organized. 2. Have fundamental drills first to evaluate. 3. Don't yell if you can help it. 4. Make sure you put parents in their place quickly but try to do it in a mannerly way (not always easy). 5. Have a couple of golden rules and don't deviate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I went to school for health/physical education, and the one thing I learned is most of the coaches knew NOTHING when they started. My advisor told me a story about how he was asked to coach the dive team when he got his first job. He agreed and made his way over to the library because he didn't know the first thing about diving. Go to a book store or the library and read up. You'd be really surprised at the information they have available for coaches of all age groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Make sure you have assistant coaches and keep the kids in small groups to keep them interested. You've got to keep the pace fast and stuff fun or you'll lose them. I echo what the others have said as well. 1. Make sure you're organized. 2. Have fundamental drills first to evaluate. 3. Don't yell if you can help it. 4. Make sure you put parents in their place quickly but try to do it in a mannerly way (not always easy). 5. Have a couple of golden rules and don't deviate. What he said, and make it fun for the kids. They are young and don't need to hate the game at such a young age. I can't believe I actually agreed with Darin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 What he said, and make it fun for the kids. They are young and don't need to hate the game at such a young age. I can't believe I actually agreed with Darin Congrats squirrel. You finally found your nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Congrats squirrel. You finally found your nut. Yeah, actually, I found both of them. Word is that you are still looking for yours j/k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Fischer Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Read, "Butterworth's Guide to Coaching Kids." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 But, none of them are Bills fans. Based on this one statement I predict you'll go undefeated and win the championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fong Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 See that's the kind of stuff that to me hinders youth sports. They should have taken one of the experienced coaches from the select team and made him the head coach of the rec team. But since they didn't I wish you the best of luck. Advice that I can offer is to just make the practices as fun and as informative as possible. A good visual training tool that 9 year old kids can relate to is Madden football. It's a good way to show them what every position on the field is supposed to be doing in different situations and how they can react in different situations. Fun way to learn for them. Forget about the passing game. Only if you have John Elway Jr. on your team. Just stick to some basic run plays and some options. Give the ball to your fastest kid and let him run wild with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Start out first week or 2 by doing conditioning. I agree with most everything in this thread except for the above. Absolutely do NOT do that to those kids. There's not a 9yr old on this planet that needs to be running sprints and doing f'ing grass drills. If you want to teach them monkey rolls or have them run some tapioca relays that'd probably be all right for short stretches if you make it fun(ny). But for gawd's sake please don't try and condition a bunch of little kids who will then forever hate football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofiba Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Find the weakest kid and make an example out of him early. Think of a way to embarrass him in front of the others. Also, play your kid all game no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 A lot of the success of the experience for players and coaches alike will be largely dependent on the how the league is organized. My son has played in a league since he was 6 yrs old (10 now) which was started by a guy that got sick and tired af all the BS and a-hole parents in pop warner - it is now I believe one of the largest organized youth football leagues in the state. A lot of the bad experience from many youth football programs is playing time - large teams with politics w/ coaches kids getting all the playing time and kids/parents getting PO'ed if they are not playing. In our league the teams are kept purposely small, and every kid is guaranteed to start a half on offense or defense. It makes a HUGE difference when kids know they will be on the field and contributing regardless of their skill level - and all kids get to be engaged all during practices and games because they are actually responsible for playing a position. Also - there is zero tolerance for kids or parents or coaches being a-holes. All the stories I've heard of in other leagues of coaches and kids being a-holes and even getting in fights - in this league you'd be gone in a second if any of that crap happened. One thing I think is important in football at this age is in practice there is a tendency to be running/practicing a lot of plays with the same personnel all the time - kids can get worn out/bored doing the same thing over and over. I think it really helps to rotate kids to different spots every once in a while to give a kid a chance to do something different - let an OL go over on the defensive side of the line and get to tee off on someone every once in a while for some snaps just for fun - move the poor scrawny kid who got stuck at DE (in our league you usually end up hiding some of the worst guys on the DL) and getting the crap kicked out of him for the last 20 mins out to CB and to let him run in the open field a bit w/o getting beat on etc. And obviously there is the issue of who gets to touch the ball. It really is not fun and even demoralizing if only one or two kids get to carry the ball all the time - even (especially) in practice. Let different kids rotate through getting to run the ball every once in a while in practice - even if it is one carry every once in a while (the teams I've been involved in, every kid has actually always gotten at least one carry in a game during the season). Actually try to pass the ball to the WR at least once a practice - even if it is just the quick drop 'screen' - or run an end around so that he doesn't go two hours lining up at receiver and never once touching the ball. Run a tackle eligible to reward the big fat kid playing tackle. Etc. etc. Switching kids even for a couple plays in practice gets everyone to learn the game too - the naming for the holes/gaps, the different formations, the different plays with position responsibilities for each etc. Learning the game itself I feel is one of the biggest positives you can bring to kids involved at this age. The more kids are involved in different aspects in practice and the team the more you will have their attention and the more fun it will be for everyone. Get the kids thinking as a team with every individual contributing, and the overall experience will be more positive. I also coach basketball and baseball - and in my experience (in the league we play in anyway) football at this age is such a natural fit for teamwork and comraderie - just something about it being football and being part of a football team just has a feeling that is all its own. Our season starts in a few weeks - I can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fong Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 One thing I think is important in football at this age is in practice there is a tendency to be running/practicing a lot of plays with the same personnel all the time - kids can get worn out/bored doing the same thing over and over. I think it really helps to rotate kids to different spots every once in a while to give a kid a chance to do something different - let an OL go over on the defensive side of the line and get to tee off on someone every once in a while for some snaps just for fun - move the poor scrawny kid who got stuck at DE (in our league you usually end up hiding some of the worst guys on the DL) and getting the crap kicked out of him for the last 20 mins out to CB and to let him run in the open field a bit w/o getting beat on etc. And obviously there is the issue of who gets to touch the ball. It really is not fun and even demoralizing if only one or two kids get to carry the ball all the time - even (especially) in practice. Let different kids rotate through getting to run the ball every once in a while in practice - even if it is one carry every once in a while (the teams I've been involved in, every kid has actually always gotten at least one carry in a game during the season). Actually try to pass the ball to the WR at least once a practice - even if it is just the quick drop 'screen' - or run an end around so that he doesn't go two hours lining up at receiver and never once touching the ball. Run a tackle eligible to reward the big fat kid playing tackle. Etc. etc. Switching kids even for a couple plays in practice gets everyone to learn the game too - the naming for the holes/gaps, the different formations, the different plays with position responsibilities for each etc. Learning the game itself I feel is one of the biggest positives you can bring to kids involved at this age. The more kids are involved in different aspects in practice and the team the more you will have their attention and the more fun it will be for everyone. Get the kids thinking as a team with every individual contributing, and the overall experience will be more positive. That's some solid advice right there. I bet you're a good coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 A lot of the success of the experience for players and coaches alike will be largely dependent on the how the league is organized. My son has played in a league since he was 6 yrs old (10 now) which was started by a guy that got sick and tired af all the BS and a-hole parents in pop warner - it is now I believe one of the largest organized youth football leagues in the state. A lot of the bad experience from many youth football programs is playing time - large teams with politics w/ coaches kids getting all the playing time and kids/parents getting PO'ed if they are not playing. In our league the teams are kept purposely small, and every kid is guaranteed to start a half on offense or defense. It makes a HUGE difference when kids know they will be on the field and contributing regardless of their skill level - and all kids get to be engaged all during practices and games because they are actually responsible for playing a position. Also - there is zero tolerance for kids or parents or coaches being a-holes. All the stories I've heard of in other leagues of coaches and kids being a-holes and even getting in fights - in this league you'd be gone in a second if any of that crap happened. One thing I think is important in football at this age is in practice there is a tendency to be running/practicing a lot of plays with the same personnel all the time - kids can get worn out/bored doing the same thing over and over. I think it really helps to rotate kids to different spots every once in a while to give a kid a chance to do something different - let an OL go over on the defensive side of the line and get to tee off on someone every once in a while for some snaps just for fun - move the poor scrawny kid who got stuck at DE (in our league you usually end up hiding some of the worst guys on the DL) and getting the crap kicked out of him for the last 20 mins out to CB and to let him run in the open field a bit w/o getting beat on etc. And obviously there is the issue of who gets to touch the ball. It really is not fun and even demoralizing if only one or two kids get to carry the ball all the time - even (especially) in practice. Let different kids rotate through getting to run the ball every once in a while in practice - even if it is one carry every once in a while (the teams I've been involved in, every kid has actually always gotten at least one carry in a game during the season). Actually try to pass the ball to the WR at least once a practice - even if it is just the quick drop 'screen' - or run an end around so that he doesn't go two hours lining up at receiver and never once touching the ball. Run a tackle eligible to reward the big fat kid playing tackle. Etc. etc. Switching kids even for a couple plays in practice gets everyone to learn the game too - the naming for the holes/gaps, the different formations, the different plays with position responsibilities for each etc. Learning the game itself I feel is one of the biggest positives you can bring to kids involved at this age. The more kids are involved in different aspects in practice and the team the more you will have their attention and the more fun it will be for everyone. Get the kids thinking as a team with every individual contributing, and the overall experience will be more positive. I also coach basketball and baseball - and in my experience (in the league we play in anyway) football at this age is such a natural fit for teamwork and comraderie - just something about it being football and being part of a football team just has a feeling that is all its own. Our season starts in a few weeks - I can't wait. Great post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks, gents. I really appreciate it. Please, keep posing if you have more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Try to share the practice plan with the assistants before practice day. Things happen, and if you can't make it or will be late, the other coaches should be able to proceed without you. And remember that no matter what, there will be some parent who will criticize what is going on. You can't please everyone, but if you please the majority and give all the kids a fair chance you're doing a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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