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Post by davecisar on Jan 22, 2014 11:04:20 GMT -6
If you haven't seen it yet, Friday Night Tykes is a reality style documentary on Youth Football in the TYFA league in Texas.
About 25,000 kids in the league, it doesn't paint a very flattering picture as they follow 5 teams in San Antonio.
I wrote an article about it in my blog and also interviewed the shows Executive Producer, Matt Marantz. That audio will be on the blog today or tomorrow as well.
Lots of attacks on our game, this one doesn't help. Your parents are either watching or have heard about it. Be prepared.
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Post by davecisar on Jan 22, 2014 10:55:05 GMT -6
Coaches,
How many practices are you getting in each week during the season? Does your league set the limits? We have used a reduction style practice plan for our league. Ex. 4 practice for first two weeks, then 3 practices until school starts then twice week till season ends. Like to know your pros and cons your current limits. Thx We go 3 days a week until game 1 which is 12 total practices and then just 2 days a week thereafter. Most of my competitors practice more- some a lot more.
Eliminate what you don't heed, get great at teaching what you do and you can do very well
Its all about: Priorities Progressions Precision Pace
We get more real football done in 2 practices than most get in 4 Parents love it- don't have to be at the field 4 nights a week
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Post by davecisar on Dec 11, 2013 19:49:18 GMT -6
I did our annual year end team audit and looked at where we need to get better at Found 3 areas of major improvement and 4 minors This is how we did in 32 team age bracket his season, "real" scores not the mercy rule thing:
Norris 38 Auburn 6 Norris 39 Ashland 6 Norris 48 Wyoming Outlaws 14 (non league tournament) Norris 30 South Dakota Rams 6 (non league tournament ) Norris 50 Nebraska City Silver 14 Norris 41 Nebraska City Purple 14 Norris 31 Gretna Silver 0 Norris 48 Omaha Gross Catholic 6 Norris 28 Gretna Black 6 Norris 32 Gretna White 0 (playoffs round1) Norris 46 Omaha Roncalli 12 (semi- finals) Norris 12 Logan Magnolia 0 (Super Bowl)
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Post by davecisar on Dec 11, 2013 19:44:08 GMT -6
The day after the season ended, I wrote up the depth charts for the returning kids as well as for the teams that aged up. Never ends
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 16:21:31 GMT -6
Ive used to run a program with 5 fields: City Park- grassy open area School Playground High School practice field Church Open Grassy area Baseball Outfield
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 16:18:22 GMT -6
THAT is the correct way to go
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 16:16:53 GMT -6
Guys, got a call from my middle school HC, he'd heard of a fun game that coach Cisar uses. Does anybody know how it works? Coach Cisar told me about it a year ago, but I lost my notes. Thanks so much for you time, OJW Coach PM me or email me at coachdave at winningyouthfootball dot com
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 15:55:07 GMT -6
We ALWAYS do that Part of our Team Chemistry and Character Dev Program Every day is question fo rhe day= every player better know his partners answer to the question: WHo is your favorite College football team? What food does your mom make that you hate?
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 15:52:28 GMT -6
Teaching kids who are 8 & 9 years old- who have never won:
Learn HOW TO TEACH and how to communicate effectively- progresssions Learn how ti MANAGE a team and parents effectively Learn WHAT TO TEACH- most youth coaches invest their practice time in the WRONG PLACES Learn the correct techs and schemes that make sense and have been proven in YOUTH football at THAT age group
What is BEST way to do thay? Asst coach for the very best youth coach in your area or follow a proven template or invest 100s of hours here and elsewhere to become a reasonably competent coach
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 15:48:19 GMT -6
We have been looking at combining our two older teams (11-12 and 13-14 year old groups) for a number of reasons, including: More people at practice (each team had trouble practicing 11 on 11 or even half-iine on some days) Same system on both levels More eyes on the kids--coaches could buddy up and constantly coach the kids on scout team, for example Coaches have more opportunity for growth by sharing the roles--for instance, the OC in one game can be a position coach in the other. Have any of you tried this? If so, what are the positives and negatives you have seen? I have seen something similar done at the high school level, and although it looked good, those coaches sure looked tired by the end of the Varsity game:)
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 15:46:21 GMT -6
I do a thing called FOOTBALL SCHOOL for those kids Its like Martial Arts They get a band for every level they pass The sessions are 1 hour a week Level 1 White band- Band has our team colors and mascot on it: Ready/Focus= stay quiet for 10 seconds Stance Angle Form Tackle Ball Seat Our Mission Statement- memorized
We have 7 levels
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 15:42:56 GMT -6
Coach
My youth teams have thrown for 39 TD passes the last 3 years, age 7-9, 10-11 Altogether maybe 5 Ints
Playaction is the bomb
IF you are running some of the Spread Single WIng I run- of course the Smoke Screen, Go, Smoke/Go and Cross passes are great- BUT we never expand the playbook until we know what we have AND we are executing what we have in very well.
Last year at 7-9 we only threw 18 pass, 16 pass, 43 pass and SPinner 18 pass
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 15:39:23 GMT -6
Do the VERY BEST job at whatever you are given QUALITY programs recognize hard work and competency
Ive started and ran 2 programs from scratch Age was no barrier for us Some of my best guys were young, open minded fellas like you
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Post by davecisar on Aug 12, 2013 15:36:48 GMT -6
My teams havent conditioned in the last 17 seasons We condition within the context of practice- NO set aside conditioning I used to be one of those guys who conditioned to death- Has really worked
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Post by davecisar on Jan 27, 2013 9:53:51 GMT -6
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Post by davecisar on Jan 27, 2013 9:46:36 GMT -6
Ive hired over 200 youth coaches The proccess we use is detailed in this free e-book: There is NOTHING more important than the leadership and coaching staff in your program It is critical success factor 1,2,3 The best led and best coached programs always have the best retention and won/loss numbers
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Post by davecisar on Jan 21, 2013 8:40:23 GMT -6
Doug
The HS numbers are the HS numbers- I get that
All I can control is how many of my kids show up to play in the 9th grade who love playing, are coachable and cant imagine themselves not playing- as an aggregated group, youth coaches can do a MUCH better job of doing that than what's happening now.
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Post by davecisar on Jan 21, 2013 6:52:19 GMT -6
Doug
I cant find it either- it was put out by Michigan State It said kids playing X sport quit playing the sport by age 14, they never play it in High School
Nationwide- when you look at leagues- the biggest numbers are at the youngest age levels As the kids age up, you see fewer and fewer teams Where I am many of the larger organizations have twice or even three times as many youngest age teams as they do oldest age teams
While football ISNT for everyone, I feel very strongly that with better coaching these numbers could improve significantly. Ive coached in 5 different leagues- different areas and demographics and had significantly better results than those who came before me as well as those that came after me-so yes I know it can be done. You can retain all your kids, have fun, teach great fundys, get reasonable playing time for all AND win, they arent mutually exclusive when done correctly.
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Post by davecisar on Jan 20, 2013 21:03:24 GMT -6
Hatred? Really? Where exactly Someone isnt showing hatred simply because they dont agree 100% with your point of view Wow with skin that sensitive and thin, you better never go outside or coach anything LOL WOW
That type attitude and lack of understanding of the youth game/dynamic is why so many youth programs dont work well with the HS- personally Ive never had any problems with them- they are my biggest fans/supporters and we dont run any of their schemes, use any of their numbering and very few of their drills The last season I coached 8th grade football all but 1 of my kids went on to play for the local HS- the 1 kid who didnt play- only weighed 84 lbs My previous program in an open enrollment city- my kids played at 8 different schools and the local Jesuit private school stood in line to pluck the very best ones.
We NEVER condition- no sprints in last 17 years- our practices are fast paced enough that we dont need it and at 25 players per team- it isnt like just 11 are starting both ways- all kids play in every game and we play in the largest and most competitive league in the state with over 100 teams.
Some of the observations here must come from very weak leagues. Here 1 stud player wont win all your games for you. Coaching quality varies, but to say you have X in your area, therefore X is nationwide, simply isnt true. At the clinics I do I see GREAT youth coaching and I see poor youth coaching, like anything else, the quality varies.
Our goals of providing high numbers of kids who love playing the game, are coachable, have solid fundamentals, work hard and are in a habit of winning- make them pretty happy fellas. I only have 3 teams now- about 75 kids and in the last 4 years I think we had 3 total drops- kids that either dropped or didnt return to play the following year.
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Post by davecisar on Jan 19, 2013 17:37:42 GMT -6
NO ONE is getting paid to coach youth football either Most if us here dont have kids playing I wouldnt get all high and almighty about it
Most HS coaches have never coached youth ball It is a different game in many ways 70% of youth players never make it to the HS level You dont have minimum play rules and limited practice time= Your mission is probably different as well Last time I spoke to a a HS coach about MPR requirements- he looked at me like I had 3 heads etc etc
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Post by davecisar on Jan 17, 2013 18:06:51 GMT -6
Coach
I read your post You want reality, Im giving you reality Ive done over 120 youth coaches clinics and spoken to 1000s of youth coaches- Youve coached HS and college ball for 25 years- Ive coached youth football for 25 years- a different game/goals in a lot iof ways I get where the youth guys are coming from
Scheme and numbering dont mean a big deal to most very successful HS coaches Ive worked with Most of them just want kids who are playing(retention) ,love the game, have a passion and appreciation for the game and can block and tackle well In todays reset society- retention is also a function of having some reasonable success on the field as a team and individual-otherwise they move on to another sport
The extremely successful HS coaches Ive had the pleasure of working with- understood that MANY youth coaches suffer through apathetic or even poor coaches at the HS level There are plenty at the youth level as well Reality- means until you show competence and carying the trust simply wont be there
IN my example- why would I trust someone who ran 3 different schemes in 5 years and won just a handful of games? It wouldnt have made much sense to copy what they did- it was a moving target- especially when we were consitently retaining 100% of our kids and winning 90% of our games.
No one is suggesting anyone be negative towards anyone else- you dont have to be negative to not adopt another persons point of view I never claimed it was pointless either I get along really well with the 1 HS the program I have now feeds into- we meet a couple times a year- clinic, e-mail monthly etc Doesnt mean we run their stuff or use their numbering. We support them 100%, youth nights etc- and they support us 100%
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Post by davecisar on Jan 17, 2013 13:22:15 GMT -6
Start your own program and do it the right way:
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Post by davecisar on Jan 17, 2013 13:19:58 GMT -6
Coach,
You wont have much credibility until you start winning consistently It's all about credibility and trust
3-4 years ago I did survey of the USA Today final top 20 High School coaches I got ahold of 18 of them- 17 said they didnt give a rip what the youth kids ran For me anyways, I care about the opinions of those that consistently win- these guys didnt care. Several laughed when I asked- asked if I was serious Blocking, tackling, prioritizing their time, running quick paced and fun practices-help them with that for now- THe HS one of my teams fed into a few years ago changed offensive schemes 3 times in 5 years and won a handful of games- why would anyone want to copy a failing moving/changing target?
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Post by davecisar on Jan 17, 2013 13:13:35 GMT -6
Coach Some very inexpensive and free ways to get kids to come play here: Free 170 page book
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Post by davecisar on Jan 17, 2013 13:11:58 GMT -6
From my blog today:
Where to Go From Here in Youth Football? Doing a Year End Team Audit
Coaching Youth Football, the Team Audit Many youth football coaches squander their off-season time in areas that in the end won’t do their teams a whole lot of good. Often times coaches will put their time into an area they personally like and not where the team needs the most help. If you really want your youth team to improve in the off-season, the best thing you can do is to improve the coaching in the areas that need the most improvement. Sounds simple right? Well many youth football coaches scatter-gun their approach and end up with the same problems every year. A year end team “audit” can help you identify where you need to be investing your off-season time. One simple way to do a pretty quick and accurate audit is to rate your team against the teams you played during your season and rank aspects of your play against theirs. You rank your teams performance against the aggregate performance of your opponents. On scale of 1-10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, how did your team compare to its competition in X aspect of the game? A score of 10 would mean your team was in the 91-100 percentiles. A score of 8 would mean you were in the 71-80 percentiles. A score of 1 would mean you were in the 0-10 percentiles. You get the idea. You can get input if you like from your assistant coaches using a free tool like Surveymonkey. Allowing coaches some input has some ownership value, but be careful, some coaches have agendas and prejudices. One very successful local High School coach told me, “the most important opinion is your own.” Obviously you can do a more accurate job if you are brutally honest with yourself and take another look at your games on film. These are the areas you may consider evaluating: Blocking Tackling Ball Security Offense Running Game Passing Game Offensive Line Play Offensive Back Play Quarterback Play Receiver Play Defense Run Defense Pass Defense Creating Turnovers Defensive Recognition/Alignment Interior Defensive Line Play Defensive End Play Linebacker Play Defensive Back Play Special Teams Kickoff Team Kick Return Team Punt Team Punt Return Team PAT Team Team Chemistry/Cohesion Mental Toughness Aggressiveness Discipline Sportsmanship Subbing Athleticism Conditioning Once you have compiled your data, rank them from lowest number to highest number to determine your weak and strong points. Now rank those same aspects from 1 to 33 in their order of importance. So a 1 would be the most important aspect to you meeting your goals and 33 the least important. Then multiply the score by the ranking, total them up and list them high to low. For example if you rated yourself a 4 on ball security and you ranked it #1 for importance, the score for ball security would be 4. If you rated yourself a 9 on PAT team and you ranked PAT #11, your score would be 99 for PAT. In this example you would probably be investing quite a bit of time with improving your ball security and little on the PAT team. This process should be a good starting point to help you understand where your teams and youth football coaching skills need to improve. The off-season and especially January- March offer a lot of opportunities to attend coaching clinics. If that doesn’t work out in your schedule, then books and DVDs are always available. Just make sure the topics are where you should be prioritizing your time and that the instruction is proven and youth friendly.
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Post by davecisar on Jan 9, 2013 17:02:40 GMT -6
Im always available to talk football, I dont ever leave the hotel
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Post by davecisar on Jan 9, 2013 6:55:13 GMT -6
Yes
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Post by davecisar on Jan 8, 2013 11:01:32 GMT -6
These are the winners of our Youth Football Coach of the Year honors These are SW guys using my version- REALLY hard picking the winners AMAZING stories and seasons: Congratulations to ALL who had a successful season and special thanks to these coaches. The Gold Standard Awards will be posted later this week
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Post by davecisar on Jan 8, 2013 11:00:07 GMT -6
I am speaking at one of the Dallas Glazier Clinics
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Post by davecisar on Dec 26, 2012 19:19:47 GMT -6
I just got back from Germany, did a coaches clinic there for HS coaches Great guys, really want to get better Will be going back in November to coach an All Star game
Tney know a lot more than I expected Almost all of them running an NFL like offense
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