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Post by FBCoachMike on Apr 13, 2010 23:06:51 GMT -6
What is your pre-game routine?
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Post by mhcoach on Apr 14, 2010 11:30:50 GMT -6
Yell at a few parents, stomp around the sideline, annoy the referee's, then make sure the PA has our roster.
Seriously, in youth ball it's less intense then it was in HS(there every minute on the field was scripted).
Initial warm ups:
dynamic warm up as a team specials: long snappers holders punters returners & kickers (this covers usually most of the skill players) O line - Dline, take offs Team- team defense Indie- Off backs & Rec- ball work O line steps Break- now full pads
O line Dline contact 1 pop & off (work hands & feet) Backs & Rec run base plays(everyone must get a touch) Team 1st O vs scout D light thud 1st vs scout O every special
Walk to field Kick 3 PAT's if we can Quick Shed for contact Captains up
This takes about 40 -45 minutes. We ask our players to be there 1 1/4 hours before kickoff. The Qb's are warmed up on arrival. Since they wear skirts, we spend extra time with them.
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Post by cyflcoach on Apr 15, 2010 16:32:46 GMT -6
Here's a copy of our pre-game schedule and gameday responsibilities for our coaching staff for last season.
Dave Hartman CYFL Coach
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Post by los on Apr 15, 2010 23:35:06 GMT -6
I'm sure this will cause an uproar but....we didn't have any pre-game warm-ups in youth football for the most part....we did an equipment check and made sure we had 11 heads on every team.......if we had a bunch of time to kill we might do a little light stretching, but otherwise = nada.....I'm one of these old fashioned nuts that thinks kids(8-12) don't need to workout "before" they go out and play, lol....I mean, we didn't when we were kids.....we just ran out the front door of the house and started a full contact, tackle football game, (with no equipment), that lasted longer than most organized youth football games.....we never had a kid say = "oh, hold up guys, I gotta do my pre-game warm-up routine, before I start playing".. ..I actually did the same thing with my O and D line kids at the HS level(every chance I could) during the early games, when it was really hot/humid here in south Ga......after the HC's mandatory dynamic warmups, that the entire team did.....our O and D line warmups generally consisted of us = taking our helmets off, taking a knee, and watching our opponents wear themselves out needlessly, in a pre-game frenzy of overexertion. ;D
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Post by coachdoug on Apr 16, 2010 1:42:24 GMT -6
I don't know how controversial that will be, los - I don't think most coaches here do a whole lot in the pre-game warmups either. Like you, we spend most of our time reviewing who is on each unit and who all the subs are. For us, it looked something like this: - In L.A. we generally asked the kids to show up about 90 minutes before game time, especially to away games - with L.A. traffic and if the kids didn't know exactly where they were going, we wanted to have a decent time buffer to cover anything that might come up - in some cases we might even ask them to arrive 2 hrs before kickoff. I might be able to get away with having the kids show up a bit later here in Tucson - we'll see.
- Watch the game before ours as a team. This let us know where everyone was and gave us plenty of time to track down anyone who was running behind. We generally tried to make sure the kids stayed in the shade and weren't screwing around.
- When the game we were watching reached halftime (usually about an hour prior to our game), we headed down to the designated warm up area.
- We had the kids put on their pads at a fairly relaxed pace (5 minutes), then we went into personnel (starters and subs) for each unit - each offensive package, defense, punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return, and PAT. We would also briefly cover any coaching points of emphasis for each group for that week. (approx 10 minutes)
- Somewhere around here we had to release the kids to the commissioners for weigh-in and equipment check, which generally took about 15-20 minutes. While the kids were off doing that, the coaches would review their game assignments.
- Somewhere around 30 minutes prior to game time we would finish personnel and get into actual physical warmups. We'd spend about 5 minutes on a simple team dynamic warm up, then split into backs/receivers and line. The line would do take offs, some agilities, and some light hitting. The backs & receivers would run the pat-n-go drill. During this period, the earlier game would usually end and we'd move these drills out onto the field.
- Once we were on the field, I'd pull out the specialty guys (kickers, punters, long snappers) and get about 3-4 reps in on kickoffs and punts. This whole thing (the last two items) took probably less than 10 minutes.
- Team PAT - make 3, but no more than 5 reps. (2-3 minutes)
- Offensive play run-thru. (10 minutes)
- Take team to the sideline, send capts out for coin toss, team prayer, ready talk, take field (5-8 minutes)
It varied a bit week-to-week, but that was the gist of it.
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Post by ojowens411 on Apr 16, 2010 5:42:04 GMT -6
I had my team do a lot of the things that have been mentioned, but I did add a couple of things to it. For our 10 minutes on the field before kickoff portion I went with full contact tackling alley. I am blessed with some really hard hitting kids and they can take the punishment too...so we'd put on a little show for anyone who was watching from the other team. Our parents knew what I was trying to do...so they'd gather to that end of the field and all you'd hear is "ooohhhh's and aaaaahhhh's" from them. It always got the other team's attention. I know that I was risking injury before the game, but my boys hit in every practice, period and I felt like it gave us an advantage, mentally. The other thing is: I'd let my qb and starting tb (both with good arms to have been 8 at the time) deep throw to each other. My qb can consistently get it out to about 28-30 yards and the tb was about 25...so for about 2-3 minutes I'd let them air it out to each other just in case the other team's coaches were looking or I'm sure some dad would tell the coach when he got to the sideline. Needless to say that most games we played, the corner was at least 7 deep and the safety(ies) was at least 15 or more. That worked for us.
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Post by mhcoach on Apr 16, 2010 9:25:54 GMT -6
Once again, different strokes for different folks. If it works for you and your team, then great. Personally, game day is all about attitude. I want my team to be loose and excited at the same time. Make it like Christmas Morning or a birthday. We do everything in 2 lines with helmets on mouth pieces in ( can't trash talk with a mouth piece in). My coaches & I are up and positive. We want our kids to get on a game face. This is how we do it. In HS it was a well choreographed routine. Every single minute was scripted. The last thing I remind our players is to have fun!
Joe
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Post by FBCoachMike on Apr 16, 2010 21:40:15 GMT -6
CYFLCOACH: Thanks for that checklist!
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Post by cyflcoach on Apr 17, 2010 11:37:55 GMT -6
You're welcome coachstauffer. For years I wanted to be more regimented on what we did with our kids on gamedays and what was expected of us as a staff. Putting it down on paper about 3 years ago really helped us ensure that we always get in the things that we feel are important to go over prior to gametime.
I don't think for youth football that you have to go into that much detail to be effective. Just outline what you want to get done and who needs to manage it and you'll be better off on gamedays IMO.
Dave Hartman CYFL Coach
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Post by jhanawa on Apr 18, 2010 10:24:20 GMT -6
Most youth games we played we were waiting for the main field so we warmed up wherever there was space. We'd do team dynamic stretch for 5-7 minutes, then broke into offensive groups. Backs & receivers would start with circle drill running patterns from the 10 out and 35 in, rotating lines, starting with our quick game routes. We do this same warm up drill on air in practice so its very normal and comfortable for our kids to do. Then we'd come together for play timing on air, then oline would come down and we'd go offense vs scouts for a few reps, then team punt. Then we'd go defensive groups, team D vs scouts and review team depth charts. Then we'd weigh in, come back for a few minutes before we started and get a few form tackles in and a few PAT's, if we had time we'd run a few offensive plays vs scouts. This is very similar to what we do in HS, its organized but pretty short, we don't want kids getting worn out physically or mentally. I've seen some teams warm ups that looked like a full scale practice, their pregame stretches take 20-25 minutes, push ups, jumping jacks, leg lifts, screaming out counts at the top of their lungs, etc. We'd rather keep it short and quiet. We don't do any rah rah stuff other than our team break right before kickoff.
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Post by mhcoach on Apr 18, 2010 14:51:12 GMT -6
J
I agree with you. No shouting or yelling or dancing, however when I talk about attitude I am referring to being positive and make it fun. I also don't think cals or sprints or any other workout stuff works. Why would anyone do pushups before a game?
It still takes us 40 minutes to go thru everything. We feel our kids are ready to go with this routine. Nothing makes me crazier then calling a group out during the game, and we get it wrong. That's my fault or my coaches fault if we do. Yes it does happen, kids are kids, but we really try to limit it.
Joe
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Post by los on Apr 18, 2010 20:56:43 GMT -6
I like that doug, I see a lot of similarities.....we also started getting ready when the preceding game was at the half.......I guess the main reason we didn't do a lot of pre-game stuff, is that we practiced mon thru wed and played on thurs. evenings, so there wasn't any time lapse.....if we had to wait till sat or sun to play the game, that would definitely make a difference.....we'd probably run thru plays.....do some special teams work, etc....as the kids would be rusty from the layoff.....as it was though, we were lucky I guess and it wasn't necessary......after 3 good days of practice ours were ready to go.....just needed to put a saddle on them, open the gate and they'd come out bucking, lol!
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Post by daveinsarasota on Apr 19, 2010 13:11:49 GMT -6
The more years I coach...the less I have my team do before a game. Years ago, we would essentially go over offense, defense, special teams, player rotations... I would require that my players show up one hour before weigh-in, which was ALREADY one hour before game time!
Eventually, I quit going over everything and just had them warm up and go over a few things, prior to weigh in, then go over more stuff...warm up and take the field.
Now we do things much looser... We show up 15 minutes prior to weigh-in...then by the time weigh in in done, we have about 45 minutes to get ready...
Instead of going over everything...we put some music on...let them get loose, and get ready, without being rushed too much... about 15 minutes prior to kickoff, we do dynamic stretches and warm ups, and do the typical things to get them pumped up... and go play.
My philosophy is that if I do not have my team fully prepared thursday evening...that extra 30 or 45 minutes of prep on Saturday is not going to make the difference. We practice, and prepare during the week. We go over everything, with an ever shrinking playbook...do few things, but do them well. Rep, rep, and more reps, all week...we practice getting up and down with all of our units, including special teams, ones and twos during the week.
Game day is just that....game day. I want my players looking forward to coming out and playing. It really sucks to essentially have a mini-practice, prior to a game, in 90 plus degree Florida heat...
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Post by ojowens411 on Apr 19, 2010 13:46:53 GMT -6
Coach Dave,
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous. What age group do you coach? I had 8's last season and will have the same (9's) same team this one coming up. I promise you that if us coaches don't touch on all of the major things we are trying to accomplish, then nothing will go right. We spend the entire Thursday practice working on walk-throughs and substitutions. We probably scrimmage the other 8 year old team for the last 20 minutes, but other than that we are just working on game day stuff. We'll get the kids together before weigh-in and call out a package or group and at least 2 kids will be like, "Oh...sorry coach...I forgot." It's funny as he!! and I can laugh at it now, but on Saturday afternoons you'll bite on your teeth so hard that you'd swear they'll break. Maybe it's just me and my coaches over here where we're at....and it's not like I have a bunch of kids to sub in...we only carried 17 boys last year and they'd still manage to get it wrong.
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Post by daveinsarasota on Apr 19, 2010 15:18:50 GMT -6
Coach Dave, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous. What age group do you coach? I had 8's last season and will have the same (9's) same team this one coming up. I promise you that if us coaches don't touch on all of the major things we are trying to accomplish, then nothing will go right. We spend the entire Thursday practice working on walk-throughs and substitutions. We probably scrimmage the other 8 year old team for the last 20 minutes, but other than that we are just working on game day stuff. We'll get the kids together before weigh-in and call out a package or group and at least 2 kids will be like, "Oh...sorry coach...I forgot." It's funny as he!! and I can laugh at it now, but on Saturday afternoons you'll bite on your teeth so hard that you'd swear they'll break. Maybe it's just me and my coaches over here where we're at....and it's not like I have a bunch of kids to sub in...we only carried 17 boys last year and they'd still manage to get it wrong. I coach Jr. Midget, which is 7th and 8th graders. Now, I will agree that it is much more difficult to get to this point with younger ages, but even with 9 and 10 year olds, I was able to get this done. One big mistake I made when I coached the younger ages (ans was a younger coach), was that I had too much offense, and did things that were unnecessary. Out of curiosity...how many offensive plays do you have? If you devote an entire practice to walk-throughs, and still require to do walk-throughs on game day, I would suspect that you may have to consider trimming the fat...so to speak, from your playbook. What we do is limit the special teams to a specific set of players, and don't deviate. We can (and always have) been able to blow the whistle and get specific units on the field. Incorporate special teams into every practice...and plan during the week to infuse 5 minutes per respective unit into your practices. What we do is: 5 minutes dynamic stretches 5 minutes of warm-ups 5 minutes of position specific agilities 5 minutes of a special teams unit... 15 minutes of defensive position drills, many stations with a lot of reps 20 minutes of defense going against a simple scout offense 5 minutes of another special teams unit 15 minutes of offensive position drills, again, many stations with alot of reps 20 minutes of offense going against scout defense 5 minutes of another special teams unit 15 minutes of team drills (oklahomas, inside drill, outside drill, or 7 on 7) 5 minutes of ANOTHER special teams unit At that point practice is done...we do it three days per week..require no walk through day, and have our ducks in a row on game day, requiring very little pre game activity.
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Post by ojowens411 on Apr 20, 2010 18:44:55 GMT -6
Coach Dave, It's not the offense that's the problem. I don't run anything too complicated. I don't even switch personnel between formations. We subbed by position only. I only carried 17 last season.
My problem was on defense. When we wanted to put up a different front for a particular opponent that was different from our base defense. I'm a little stubborn. I'd start with my base to see if it would work against a particular offense, but had something else on stand-by in case it didn't work. A couple of my linemen would get absent minded on me on gameday even though we'd drill it out on prep day. Hopefully things will be different this season. My boys will be 9. I got some interesting ideas from this blog and I might change it up a little. Thanks for the advice.
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gguts
Probationary Member
Posts: 5
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Post by gguts on Apr 20, 2010 20:21:33 GMT -6
We started with stretches for 5-10 mins. We then went to a few hitting drills, we had to because it usually took us quarter to wake up and get going. So we went to fairly live drills, a couple lines of angle tackling and head to head battling.
After we would run through our basic plays, have the qb throw a few reps of most patterns, and go over last minute details of the things we were tring tpo accomplish that game. Reminding kids of certain responsibilities for that game.
But our practice before gameday was almost all walk through. So starters know who they are and where to be on the field.
Oh I almost forgot... theres always an incouraging speech...lol!
Here in michigan, sometimes you have extra warm-ups out of neccesity!!!
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