3 Common Youth Football Defense Mistakes
Coaching youth football defense is so underrated. So much is made of youth football offenses and when most youth coaches sign up for the job, they envision coaching offense. What ends up biting a Pop Warner coach squarely in the rear and getting them embarrassed is defense.
Today we want to focus on three things that can get a youth football coach in trouble with his defense. Some of this may be labeled as “common sense”. However; you will find these mistakes at almost every level of football. So if you are a youth football coach don’t be offended.
1. Teaching Assignments Without Teaching Technique
A common mistake youth football coaches make is that they teach their players who to cover and what gap to defend without teaching the tools to do it with. Young players need to be taught how to get in a stance. Regardless of if it is a 2, 3 or 4 point stance this is an important part of playing defense.
Pad level, first step and how to use your hands are also critical parts of playing defense. Without all of this your players may be in the right gap but will have no idea how to take on a block. They will be plagued with missed tackles and at some point become frustrated. Slowing down to teach defensive technique and fundamentals will pay huge dividends with young players.
2. Using a Complicated Scheme
If you watch tv enough you are going to hear about a 3-3-5 defense, a 4-2-5 and other more sophisticated defenses designed to stop spread and RPO offenses. Don’t choose your youth football defense from something you saw on tv.
Your Pop Warner aged players should be running a 4, 5, or 6 man front, period. They should know how to line up (see above) where to line up and what to key once the ball is snapped. Once they master these things, pursuing the ball and using great tackling fundamentals must be taught for safety and efficiency purposes. Trying to run some defense with eight players in a two point stance will not get this done.
3. Defending Ghosts
This is probably the biggest mistake that youth football defense coaches make. Simply put, they defend things that are not going to happen. They coach their defense to defend the entire field when the opposing quarterback can’t throw the ball more than 10 yards accurately. They defend formations instead of the offense. A spread formation does not make it a spread offense unless the quarterback can throw the ball.
The exact opposite can happen too. We have seen coaches line up to defend offenses that have everyone packed inside and the defense still has three deep defensive backs. Why? Youth football offenses like the beast and others who line up shoe to shoe with their offensive line are going to run the ball. Defend the run. Do not defend grass.
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We take all of these things into consideration when we draw up your football defenses here at FirstDown PlayBook. We try to make sure you are in a sound look but yet not covering “ghosts”.
FirstDown PlayBook offers you 6 different defenses for your youth football team. You should consider one or two of these for your Pop Warner defense. Tap on any one of the tiles below to visit the article describing that formation. After reading the article then go join FirstDown PlayBook and get busy coaching your Pop Warner team with the best football playbook available!
