Youth Football Coaches: Less Is More.
The volume of what you try to teach is a sensitive topic at every level of football. Trust me when I say that it is discussed by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Ohio State Buckeyes and all points in between. Youth football coaches, your youth football practice should not be an exception to this rule.
All position coaches are at the mercy of the head coach and coordinator to some point. They decide how much you can possibly install. You adjust based on that. At the Pop Warner level, it’s the same but your staff might be one or two other people. This means you must be careful not to try to install too much.
Hopefully your situation will be one where the big picture plan matches the amount of time you have to get the fundamentals taught. If not, you may find yourself spending all of your time walking through plays. It will be the only way your players will know their assignments and that is never good.
Like with a lot of things, communication is the key. The entire coaching staff should understand what plays or defenses will be practiced that day. This way everyone can have their unit taught before group or team period. This is a critical part of any practice including a youth football practice.
A Good Youth Football Coach Will Find One Or Two Things To Teach Each Practice
It is also important for a position coach to remember that if you try to teach too much, you run the risk of having your players return for the next practice remembering nothing about what they were taught. Instead, teach one or two techniques so they will have those solidly entrenched in their heads. You should also make sure your players know that before you move on to something else.
NFL Coaches On 12 Practical Youth Football Offenses
Below you will see the key points we have covered here on the FirstDown PlayBook Coaches Community site regarding your youth football teaching progression. These articles will help you as you begin structuring your youth football practice. You will do yourself big favors if you get on this now instead of after practice starts. Click on any one of those to read the past blogs.
- List your core fundamentals of your position.
- Design your teaching progression.
- Keep your practices practical.
FirstDown PlayBook offers you 12 Pop Warner & Youth Football formations. You should consider one or two of these for your Pop Warner offense. 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!
