New Freshman Coach In Need of Help

1. Recruit every kid to play......get as many bodies out there as you can.


2. What in particular are you asking for?

Holy crap, coach, that's like asking

"Can someone please explain to me how to speak Polish?"

Can't you and your staff sit with the varsity coaching staff for a weekend and have them clinic you on their offensive, defensive, and special teams systems and the accompanying techniques they use? There should be consistency between the varsity and your program. They should be providing you with this information...and you certainly shouldn't be getting it from some random site on the internet.

You should get with the varsity HC immediately on this issue. Being "proactive" should mean setting up these kinds of sessions, not coming in with your own ideas (especially if you don't currently have any). Trust me, the HC will be MUCH more impressed with your willingness to mirror what they do on varsity rather than going out and coming up with a bunch of stuff that may or may not fit his program. Trust me on this one...!

Also, you'll want to closely (although not exactly) model your practice plans around what the varsity does, with a stronger emphasis on fundamentals and execution and less emphasis on schemes and installation.

Coach,

There is some very good stuff in the "Drills" sections on this board...and you may find a better emphasis on fundamentals in the "Youth Football" section of this board. There are some very smart and very good coaches out here who have made some great posts.

You can also find videos etc. that will be very helpful. They are typically very expensive, but some are very good. Literally just go to Amazon or simply google "Football coaching videos" and you'll see plenty of stuff to look at. Again, you definitely want to talk with the varsity head man before buying any video, becuase you don't want to buy "Shoulder Blocking For Dummies" if your HC is a zone blocking man, for example! Also, sometimes the program will pay for any videos you might need (they usually build a "library" in the school if they do this, so there may already be videos there!)

You can try your luck on YouTube, as sometime there is some demonstrational stuff posted there, but it SERIOUSLY varies in quality...and some of it is just downright bad!

First thing you gotta learn is how good your feeders are, I mean are you getting kids who already know the basics or not. I was in a similar situation to yours a couple years ago and one of the first things I did was seperate those who were well versed in the basics from those who had no clue.

Now I don't know how your spring program works, but any incoming Frosh who could make it out after school to practice with the rest of the team was welcome to at ours; so what I would do was quickly evaluate the frosh kids at each position, If they looked to me like they had propper stance, get offs, etc. I'd let them work with the older kids that day, the rest came with me (or the frosh coach at their position) to work on the basics.

Coaching frosh is tough because you have such a wide spectrum of ability (both mentally and physically). But I'd say for now you should focus more on those who are furthest behind; it will allow your superstars to see firsthand what the big boys are doing, and it will save you te hassle of reteaching lower level fundamentals come august.

Jhawk33,
I was in the exact same situation last year. I felt the same way when I first got the job. At my school 9th graders practice with the junior high so I have 7-9 on the practice field. I don't know how many coaches you have, but the first thing I did was put together a staff that was trustworthy and that I could delegate responsibilities to. You won't be able to do everything yourself so give assistances responsibilities whenever possible.

Few things I learned my first year:
1. Have strict rules about equipment. If not, players will loose equipment and try to steal another players knee pad or thigh pad. Anything left in the locker room or the equipment shed meant 2 hills the following practice. that took care of the problem real quick.

2. Have a detailed practice schedule with short sessions. 9th grade boys have a very short attention span. During Indy's we never did the same drill for very long. If you need to have a longer session you gotta change it up with some kind of competition or at least move to a different area of the field to change it up a little.

3. Watch Film - I used to think I knew a lot about my team, but you don't until you watch film. I thought I had a solid SAM linebacker just because he was good in drills. Turns out, he wasn't making any plays. The more you watch game film the more you'll learn about your team and football in general.

4. Find a mentor or two or three. Someone that's been around the block that you can bounce ideas off of during the season. Hopefully your varsity staff could help you with this.

These are just a few things that really stuck out to me in my first year.

PM me if you have any specific questions because odds are I already ran into the same problem last season.

Others have said this but I will repeat it- sit down with teh varsity HC and the OC and DC. What do they want you teaching and what are the indy/group drills they use, what are the "buzz" words they use in drill work etc. Your best resource is right there where you are at- and do not worry about seeming like an idiot or something! Be a sponge, ask questions, read books, watch coaching vids, sit in on varsity meetings and go to their practices when you can. Don't try to get info elsewhere and try to fake it- posers and pretenders get exposed really quick in this profession!

You know this may sound funny, but one thing you gotta do is make sure all your guys know how to propperly put on all their equipment. I would take some time once you hand out pads, make all the guys get in the team room and go over exactly how they are to lace, place, and wear every bit of equipment.