Youth Football Position Coach Core Fundamentals
Some of the things that make the game of football the greatest game in the world are the same things that make it the most challenging to teach. This is particularly true if you are football position coach teaching young Pop Warner players.
There are a lot of fundamental football skills that these young players have never even been introduced to. If you try to teach the game of football without these fundamentals you and your players will fail. This will obviously affect how much your players will like the game of football as well.
One of the biggest challenges with teaching our game is that there are a lot of different positions. Each position has a different set of skills required to play soundly. Granted, there are some fundamentals that should be taught across the board like playing with a base, playing with your eyes up and playing low to the ground. However, it’s easy to see that your Linebacker, Offensive Lineman and Quarterback are all going to have a different set of skills to learn to be good at their positions.
Your Youth Football Position Coaches Should Sit Down & List Their Core Fundamentals Before They Ever Step One Foot On The Practice Field
This is why in our previous articles we have encouraged you to empower your Pop Warner assistant coaches. You are going to need good football position coaches. If you try to do it all yourself, it will not get done and your team will suffer. You want your team to be first and foremost, a fundamentally sound football unit for these three reasons and many more:
- It will allow your players to play the game safely.
- It will allow your players to be successful when you get them in the right spot.
- It will provide the building blocks required to play the game later at a higher level.
So where does a Pop Warner football position coach start as he or she prepares to take their unit onto the field and get all of the necessary things taught to make their group successful? As is the case with most things, you need to sit down and have a plan before you ever step one foot on the practice field. Before we go any further we should also note that this is relevant to flag football coaches too.
List The Core Fundamentals For Your Pop Warner Coaches
Each football position coach should sit down before the season begins and write down a list of fundamentals and techniques for their particular position that are essential to play that position safely and productively. More often than not, these techniques will be similar from team to team regardless of scheme. They will apply regardless of if you are teaching a Double Wing offense or a Spread offense. For instance, let’s say I was coaching a Wing T offensive line my list might look something like this:
RUN BLOCKING
- Stance
- Run Blocking: First – Second – Third Step Progression
- Base Block: First Step – Base Step – Power Step Progression
- Cutoff Block: Position Step – Base Step -Power Step Progression
- Reach Block: Position Step – Base Step – Power Step Progression
- Down Block: Position Step – Base Step – Power Step
- Pull Technique: Open Step – Positon Step – Travel Step
FIT TECHNIQUE (Technique used on contact for a block)
- Fit Posture For A Run Block
- Climb Technique Off Of A Run Block Fit
- Finish Technique
PASS BLOCKING
- Stance
- Pass Set vs a Man On
- Pass Set to a Gap When Uncovered
- Pass Set Vs a Wide Rusher
NFL Coaches On 12 Formations To Consider For Your Youth Football Offense
This is just a partial sample list but you get the picture. As a football position coach you will obviously have your list and it will vary slightly from coach to coach. The key point is that it is essential that you have a list before you go to practice. This way you can check the fundamentals and techniques off as you teach them throughout the course of your summer practices.
