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Post by los on Jan 12, 2009 10:13:04 GMT -6
That sounds like a great idea to get the older guys started in weight training(7th and 8th graders).......we used the county fair/stations format to teach "everything" (fundamental wise).....no schemes.....just basic stuff.....different stances....how to snap the ball(under center and long)...taking a snap properly....give and take a handoff/running posture/simple read and cut...hold the ball properly.....switch arms properly.....basic drive block (from stance to finish).....basic pulling/angle blocking....(if you liked, you might start them learning basic combo/zone blocking).....form tackling(close qtrs. and open field).....basic get-offs on the ball/with punch and escape moves(defense).......any interesting football agility's.....basic routes and catching the ball properly.....DB drills(we picked these with zone coverage in mind,since we didn't play mtm)....punting....kicking.....just whatever you can think of "that is fairly generic, reguardless of schemes".....you could offer something different for each station every day,as long as the kids comprende the first set of drills?......then at practice,(in season) the individual coach of a team will have to reinforce this stuff.....so it will "stick" with them.
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Post by coachorr on Jan 12, 2009 16:28:32 GMT -6
Great list, thank you sir.
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Post by jhanawa on Jan 14, 2009 13:51:40 GMT -6
The 7 on 7 with the youth and frosh is a good deal, we started one last year and it went smoothly and everybody enjoyed it. Not sure what you can do about their picking the teams in August other than they need to find the kids in their boundaries and get them out there. It really is a huge leap forward for the younger kids to learn the passing game, particuliarly against slightly older kids.....
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Post by coachorr on Jan 16, 2009 16:29:42 GMT -6
Thank you.
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Post by coachorr on Jan 19, 2009 23:58:38 GMT -6
Here are some ideas I have been working on and this is a rough draft: Spring Program
Pre-registration Send out speakers to elementary schools to provide motivational talks and information regarding football and the upcoming season. Encourage kids who want to play to register and we will work out the details if there is a player who cannot meet the financial requirements to play. • 20 minute motivational talk • Sign up sheet with phone numbers and contact info • Handout information to take home indicating when the parent meeting for that elementary school will occur.
Registration Have a parent meeting at each elementary school to talk about Grid Kid and sign players up and recruit youth coaches.
Parent Administrative Group Have a group of parents perform a follow-up registration to ensure that all parents have had an opportunity to register their kids. • Put parents in charge of ensuring that paperwork is filled out and all is in order. • Parent group will begin the process of coordinating lists of kids by grade • Parent group will follow-up with pre-registration list to give every kid the opportunity to say “no”. Pre-season meetings Meet with individuals to plan camps and clinics. Summer Program Summer Camps One camp in June, non-padded and grade relevant. Perhaps include youth coaches to begin working with and meeting with their teams. Perhaps include high school and -Junior High staffs to teach the drills hands-on with the youth coaches.
This camp might be best served to be sponsored by each High School program to adjust for the idea of “city-wide”. (Cost? $25-50) To be used to purchase equipment, pay coaches, and contribute to the scholarship fund.
Offense/Defense Camp This might be a city-wide event to take place during July. This will be a full padded camp to be broken down by grades and an entry to offenses and defenses while having moderate contact (no contact to the ground). Coaches would get a chance to work fundamental drills in the framework of the camp. It would be possible to do this camp if it were broken into grade groups. (Cost? $25-50) To be used to purchase equipment, pay coaches, and contribute to the scholarship fund.
Clair E Gale Fundamentals Clinics This will be a series of clinics coordinated by the Clair E Gale football coach and his staff, which would be once a week and be broken down by grade. 4th-6th on one night and 7th-8th on another night. (Cost: Free)
The schedule would look something like this: • 5-7 minute Dynamic Warm-up • 5-10 minute stretch • Water • 10 minute Team competition (Tag, tug o war, centipede, etc) • Water • 28 min. 4 Agility stations 7 Minutes each. • Water • 20-30 Min. Position Breakout or One position for the whole team • Water • 30 min. 7 on 7 for all players (Probably work on routes, formations, defensive alignments and defensive drops heavily for the first three or four practices)
7 on 7 League (Maybe not this year) League to help youth learn the “skilled positions” of football and would be open to all players. This would be one night a week and would be match-ups of predetermined teams. (Cost $5 per kid) To cover cost to maintain the fields
IF Weight Room Would be open to 7th and 8th grade players twice a week, tentatively; from 9 to 10 AM Tuesdays and Thursdays with the supervision of a coach. (Cost: Free)
Coaches’ Clinics Provide at least two coaches’ clinics for youth coaches. These might possibly an evening or a one day seminar per clinic where High School coaches host the clinic and speak on topics about football. (Cost: Free)
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Post by coach4life on Feb 9, 2009 15:08:20 GMT -6
What do youth coaches need to be successful?
The patience of Job.
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Post by morris on Feb 10, 2009 8:11:33 GMT -6
Why do dynamic warm ups and then stretch? I know most dynamic wram up teams stretch at the end of practice but not after dynamic stretching.
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Post by coachchrisberg on Mar 4, 2009 20:28:35 GMT -6
One of the key things to being a great youth coach is being able to make practice fun and disciplined at the same time. It is also important for the kids to understand that they are doing something that is developing them for life...of course this depends on how old your kids are. I find it works well for 6th grade and up. Get a great FREE report on football practice at: Here you can get 5 Football Practice Secrets Revealed from some great coaches: www.knowledgefootball.com/footballpracticesecretsrevealed.htmlI am doing some research with youth coaches, and I would appreciate your help to take a couple of minutes and fill out a survey. Your info will help a lot of coaches with the challenges they face on a day to day basis with kids. To fill out survey please click on link: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7NTb_2fyFrucwlWcvmRvJC_2bQ_3d_3dI really appreciate your help and your answers will help families and coaches provide the best football experience possible for our players and children.
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Post by coachdoug on Mar 4, 2009 23:02:41 GMT -6
One of the key things to being a great youth coach is being able to make practice fun and disciplined at the same time. It is also important for the kids to understand that they are doing something that is developing them for life...of course this depends on how old your kids are. I find it works well for 6th grade and up. Get a great FREE report on football practice at: Here you can get 5 Football Practice Secrets Revealed from some great coaches: www.knowledgefootball.com/footballpracticesecretsrevealed.htmlI am doing some research with youth coaches, and I would appreciate your help to take a couple of minutes and fill out a survey. Your info will help a lot of coaches with the challenges they face on a day to day basis with kids. To fill out survey please click on link: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7NTb_2fyFrucwlWcvmRvJC_2bQ_3d_3dI really appreciate your help and your answers will help families and coaches provide the best football experience possible for our players and children. Chris: Good to see you here. Are you still working with Rex? Feel free to shot me a PM or call me (I'm at the same number you had a while back). I'll be happy to help you with any youth coaching project you're working on. This site is a great resource - there are a bunch of really excellent coaches here that are willing to share their knowledge. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Doug Brown Redondo Beach
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Post by coachorr on Mar 22, 2009 4:33:50 GMT -6
Well, I think we will be having a camp at the end of may and then another one at the end of June (one is a one-side of town come if you like camp whereas the other camp is a "city-wide" camp). I do not believe that pre-summer registration is how I want it to go, but we are carefully working through the process. I am also for sure going to have a one day a week coaches and players fundamentals training workout as described above.
I am not sure how it is all going to go, I want to get the right amount of time with coaches and players to show that I care about them and will be a resource and an aid for them as they develop without being OVERBEARING. I hope it doesn't turn into a "Road to heck is paved with good intentions" and I end up regretting it.
Bottom line, I just want to help the kids and let them know I care about them.
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Post by headtrip on Mar 22, 2009 11:03:59 GMT -6
if you don't want to seem overbearing then you'll have to take the "i'm here if you need me." approach.
the clinic that i mentioned before that a hs puts on for us is scheduled to coincide with the first week of our practice. since we have to have 1 week of conditioning before we can go full contact this works out great for us. the kids get to spend time with the high school coaches (they really get a kick out of that), and the hs coaches get to spend time with the youth coaches.
that may work out better than a clinic during another time of the year. the way things are here, most of the coaches are coaching baseball. the majority of the kids play both. so your turnout may not be what you would expect.
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Post by coachorr on Jul 11, 2009 9:28:45 GMT -6
Follow-up post.
We are going into week 7 of our once a week conditioning for youth players. We have been able to run football related drills and play seven on seven. It has been a real positive for both players and coaches. Last week we had almost 60 kids there. The week before we even had the HC show up and talk to the kids for a few minutes and spend some time walking around and talking to the youth coaches.
Three weeks ago, we had a citywide grid kid camp where we had coaches from other areas teach specified drills. We had about 200 kids show up for that.
Also, last week we had a coaches' bar-b-que, where the HC/OC and the DC sat down with the grid kid coaches and chalked with them for about an hour and a half. It has been a positive for the varsity staff and the grid kid coaches.
It has been a nice open environment. I have taken the Mitch Buchanan approach (Haselhoff's character from Bay Watch). "I'm here if you need me babe." ;D
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Post by jamie50 on Jul 12, 2009 10:51:01 GMT -6
I guess it depends on how you define successful. If your idea of success is how many trophies you have won, then I guess that you need to worry about schemes that will work against other teams that you play. If you define success as helping to develop your players potential, then I think that you need to focus on teaching your players the fundamentals.
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Post by bobgoodman on Jul 14, 2009 9:39:49 GMT -6
I guess it depends on how you define successful. If your idea of success is how many trophies you have won, then I guess that you need to worry about schemes that will work against other teams that you play. If you define success as helping to develop your players potential, then I think that you need to focus on teaching your players the fundamentals. What if you define success in terms of how many kids had a good time and want to do it again next year and recommend it to friends? What if it's how many parents thought they got their money's worth?
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Post by mahonz on Jul 14, 2009 10:54:34 GMT -6
I guess it depends on how you define successful. If your idea of success is how many trophies you have won, then I guess that you need to worry about schemes that will work against other teams that you play. If you define success as helping to develop your players potential, then I think that you need to focus on teaching your players the fundamentals. What if you define success in terms of how many kids had a good time and want to do it again next year and recommend it to friends? What if it's how many parents thought they got their money's worth? Bob Any youth coach worth his salt will define success by his attrition rate not his w/l record. The problem is most think winning will bring the kids back the next year. If a kid wants to play for YOU regardless then the parents are certainly getting their monies worth. Coach Mike
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Post by davecisar on Jul 14, 2009 11:05:50 GMT -6
These arent somehow mutually exclusive. I judge how well we do based on retention, which has consistently been at 95%+ But retention has many sub facets. Teams playing to potential, usually mean higher retention rates, kids having fun usually means higher retention rates, kids being developed as football players and people usually means higher retention rates, kids getting plenty of playing time usually means higher retention rates, coaches not wasting practice time usually means higher retention rates. Doing all the above well often yields winning teams, which usually means higher retention rates, a byproduct of doing things right. They are in no way magically mutally exclusive to winning, which is somehow in todays world a naughty word to some like in soccer etc
Team that blocks and tackles consistently the best is going to win 9 of 10 games in a good youth football league. That means they are being taught good fundys, it doesnt happen by magic.
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Post by jamie50 on Jul 18, 2009 13:10:48 GMT -6
I guess it depends on how you define successful. If your idea of success is how many trophies you have won, then I guess that you need to worry about schemes that will work against other teams that you play. If you define success as helping to develop your players potential, then I think that you need to focus on teaching your players the fundamentals. What if you define success in terms of how many kids had a good time and want to do it again next year and recommend it to friends? What if it's how many parents thought they got their money's worth? I think that these would be important considerations also. I am not saying that this would explain your situation, nor am I trying to stir something up, or take anything away from what anybody else does. That being said, I have coached with others that had high retention rates and were adored by parents because they won most of their games. After their children played on other teams that actually coached their child and were not just good at recruiting talent, the parents realized that these coaches really did not teach their kids much and were better cheerleaders than coaches.
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Post by davecisar on Jul 18, 2009 15:02:12 GMT -6
Like many coaches that take every player that shows up or drafts, I dont have a clue who most of my new players are every year. We play the hand that is dealt.
In the clinics I do, those types of league account for over 60% of youth teams in the US.
Around here the top coaches win pretty much every year, no matter the team or age group.
Some of the most athletic and HUGE teams here often are at the bottom of the standings, which is often the case in leagues with good coaching, Not the "toss it to your fastest kid and see if he's faster than everyone else" leagues.
In 2005 I saw the very biggest and most athletic team in a League in Lincoln, go 1-7 and they scored a total of 9 TDs, 4-5 on broken plays. Had 6-7 "striped" kids to our 1 and had at least 5-6 kids faster than my fastest etc.
Before every season here, I dont ask myself who is player X,Y,Z playing for this year. Im asking "Which team is coach X coaching this season"
It happens.
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Post by coachorr on Jul 19, 2009 8:28:28 GMT -6
Great points Dave. This last year was the first year I coached 9th grade as a head coach. I have always been a varsity assistant. And another thing I noticed was, it doesn't really matter what the other team does as much as you get your kids to do what you want them to do. Sometimes when I would run Jet Sweep, I couldn't get the EMOL reached. About game 3 I just started going empty and moving a guy to a wing position to get it done. The defenses never really adjusted and it made for an easy way to get to the edge. Naturally, the position of the wing led to other plays, like Belly/GUT and Sally. Being able to coach youth kids this summer, more so than I did last summer, has made me realize that I really enjoy the passion and enthusiasm of the younger kids. I told my friend Coach Swanson the other day that I might drop my High School stipend and start coaching youth football in a couple of years when my son is old enough. USING THE DAVECISAR PROGRAM OF COURSE! We have had between 40 and 60 kids a night on average to our once a week youth football and conditioning clinic, unfortunately, we have only had about 3 youth coaches show up and help . Last week is this week and the following week we are going to have a two day youth camp at the high school and then their season starts August 3rd .
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Post by davecisar on Jul 20, 2009 5:20:58 GMT -6
Coach,
When that happens give me a shout, would love to spend a few days in your neck fo the woods and see how you do things.
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Post by glazierclinics on Jul 21, 2009 12:04:22 GMT -6
Timely convo. This friday at 9pm eastern Glazier Clinics is hosting a live online clinic for youth coaches for free titled "How to win more games: Common Mistakes of Youth Coaches" Here's the link. you can watch the clinic and then ask questions live. www1.gotomeeting.com/register/823868009
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Post by coachorr on Jul 28, 2009 20:07:28 GMT -6
Coach Cisar, I will let you know what the schedule is next year. Thanks as always for the support and interest. Paul
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