Acting Like a Maniac When Coaching Youth Football, Should You Ever?

All people are different, God made us unique for a purpose. Hence, no two youth football coaches are going to have the same exact sidelines demeanor. Some coaches are humorous and animated, some are quietly confident, some are aggressive and loud and some are just soaking it all in and enjoying the moment. All of these expressions of who we are probably have a time and place when you are coaching youth football, but there are some expressions you should keep to yourself. Many of these won't do your reputation or your team much good.

Here are a few examples:

About 16 years ago I started coaching youth football as an assistant coach on an age 8-10 expansion team. Like most expansion teams with all rookie players and rookie coaches, we struggled that first year. We knew we were going to struggle from the start, as most expansion teams in the league usually lost every game. Our head coach was a very well respected Real Estate Executive with the largest firm in the state. He had given presentations to large crowds and had dozens of direct reports, a pretty savvy guy. Our first game our players were nervous as you might expect with all first year players. Before the game I saw the Head Coach kind of doubled over near the sidelines with a grimace on his face and a near greenish color hue on his mug. I asked him if he was sick, he said his stomach was killing him and he was nauseous. I asked him if he had been sick this week, he replied no, that it was the game that was making his stomach cramp and making him nauseous. This grown man, a big shot was letting a youth football game get to him.

The head coach leads by example, the players are always taking their cues from him and our head coach was nervous and sick before our first game. This was a time when our kids were feeling the same emotions, needless to say we got blown out that day. Our coach was so wrapped up in how the team would do, he made himself sick that day and it hurt his teams performance and enjoyment of the game.

Another youth football coach I know of actually is so emotional before his games that he goes off in his car, sits in a park and cries before the games to let all his emotions out. Obviously this guy may need some type of professional help and I wouldn't let a guy like that coach with me, but many youth football coaches let their emotions get the best of them.

While it's normal to feel some angst before games, if you're making yourself sick or are overly emotional before games you are taking this far too seriously. Do some of us get up in the morning and on the way to work think about football plays to run or ways to improve our youth football teams? Yes. Do many of us put a lot of time and effort into our teams and improving as coaches? Sure. But thinking about youth football and making yourself a better coach have little to do with letting your emotions get the best of you before a game.

We all want our teams to do well and that the kids have a great experience, but life isn't going to change dramatically and the earth won't stop spinning if you don't coach the perfect game. If you put the time in and learn from others and your own experiences and are a good football coach. your teams will eventually play well. Over time if your teams are well coached and they play well, the wins will take care of themselves. As a head football coach all you can control is your teams preparation and the schemes and adjustments, you can't control the weather, the refs or the other teams performance.

Does this mean you are obsolved if your youth football team loses? No, it means you are in control of what you can control and as long as your team executes and plays well, that's all you can hope for. In the end, playing well usually equates to winning games, but fretting over it accomplishes nothing and actually hurts your teams performance. If the kids see you aren't enjoying the experience, they aren't going to enjoy it either and a team without smiles on their faces is a team that plays poorly.

Don't forget to get a good meal in you before the game and bring some Gatorade for yourself as well. I pray on my way to games or in the morning of the game asking God for wisdom, patience and for me to have a long term focus on my actions. I also ask that God may be glorified by my actions and the actions of my team that day. I'm not sure God takes sides in youth football games, I never pray to win, but I do pray that all my kids show up and that no one from either team is injured that day. For those not so inclined, maybe looking at how you will be remembered 10 years after the game is finished is a good perspective to take on guiding your actions for the day. Of course I'm also reviewing in my mind my game plan, keys adjustments and substitution plans for the day as well.

For most of us the level of discomfort in any task is inversely related to how well we have prepared ourselves for for the task. The first few public clinics I did I was pretty nervous, I had never done any large clinics before strangers and the presentations were with new material. ( Kind of like having a new team or playing your first game) I had not had time to practice the presentations or gotten feedback as to where there would be additional questions or even if the presentations would be well received ( Kind of like not doing lots of fit and freeze reps or even having a scrimmage). As you would expect, the first few clinics were ok but they could have been much better. Now I always practice the presentations live and now even in front of crowds of 190 skeptical youth football coaches in Boston, I'm cool and confident.

As this relates to your youth football team, the better your team is prepared the less nervous you will be. The more thorough you have prepared yourself and your youth football team, the less nervous you will be. Easy enough to say, hard to do for some. Either way, once you've put in the effort into yourself and your team, you have to tell yourself that's all you can do. As the book about De LaSalle High Schools 151 game winning streak says,
"There is comfort in knowing you have given all you have". In the end you just have to let the game play out and see the results. If you've done the research and put the time in, like any other Endeavour, you're probably going to be a successful youth football coach.

This premise is probably made most clear by my teams opening game results, we are always well prepared, calm and confident. Even at our first game, our football plays look crisp, our alignments are perfect, we always have 11 on the field, we block and tackle well, we even go in motion well and are seldom penalized. We almost always win our opening games by huge margins, even against the best youth football teams in our league

Past Years Scores

We are able to do this because of our wise use of practice time, our integrated schemes and the progression nature of the teaching methods we use to develop our teams. We go into these games with a lot of confidence. Quite often we are literally months ahead of our competition that first game. We have been told many times by our opponents that our kids seem to be pretty carefree and very confident. My thoughts are we appear so because we are, the kids know they are prepared to play that first game. Our coaches are all calm, cool and confident before the games because as we all know, the kids are all taking their cues from us, that calm demeanor is part of coaching youth football well. If your coaches are fretting and worried, the kids will be too. Even if deep inside you aren't confident any of your football plays will even work that day, you need to appear so on the outside for your youth football players and your team.

For 150 free youth football practice tips from Dave or to sign up for his free newsletter: Coaching Youth Football

Dave Cisar-

Dave has a passion for developing youth coaches so they can in turn develop teams that are competitive. His teams have won over 94% of their games in 5 different leagues. He is a Nike "Coach of the Year" designate and his book has been endorsed by Tom Osborne.

Clips of his 2006 team in action: Youth Football Plays [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-699579089183056593]

Copyright 2007 Cisar Management and winningyouthfootball.com

Should You Run the Triple Option in Youth Football?

Triple Option and Coaching Youth Football

How beautiful is it to see a well executing triple option team? If you are like me, it is like poetry in motion. I'm a big fan of Navy and Georgia Tech, just because of the way they run the triple so well. As a Nebraska native and fan, I was raised on option football and ran it in High School. Of course when I got my first youth football coaching job back in 1986 or so, I went back to what I loved and knew, option football.

What many people don't realize is youth football and the College game are much different animals. While they are both played on the same field and use a similarly shaped ball, there are many differences that significantly impact the ability for the College game to be replicated on the youth field. We wont even get into the advantage NCAA rules give option teams versus NFHS rules which 48 of the 50 states use as a basis for their youth football rules and includes both Pop Warner and AYF.

Most people don't even realize that many of the option plays they are seeing on the College field is NOT triple option football, in spite of what the so-called television "analysts" tell you. Did you know that highly touted option guru Tom Osborne's Nebraska Cornhuskers never ran the triple option? Read Tom Osborne's book, everything they did was a called double option, no true triple. The reason Osborne didn't coach the triple is he said he felt he didn't have enough practice time. Mind you, that was with a group of 18-22 year old young men who practiced 6 days a week, played a game on the seventh and had spring practices as well. On the other hand, most youth teams are practicing 3 times a week, about half as much time as the college kids. Once you add in the spring practices, film and classroom sessions, the youth player is practicing about 20% of what a College player practices.

Note that many of the option plays you see on television on Saturdays are NOT triple option plays either, they may look like triple option plays but when was the last time you saw a pitch on an inside Veer play? So much of what we see on Friday nights and Saturdays are double options, like what Nebraska did in their option heydays and 3 National Titles in a 4 year timeframe.

There are other things to consider, in college football, the offensive players only play on the offensive side of the ball. Those option Quarterbacks for Navy and Georgia Tech aren't starting at Linebacker or Corner, like they are for your youth football teams. Those great option Quarterbacks and Running Backs aren't returning kicks or kicking PAT"S like the kids on your team.

There simply aren't many two-way players anymore and very few of the starters play on the special teams. In the youth game, all your players are going to have positions on offense, defense and in most cases special teams as well. In College football the offensive players, especially the skill players are practicing on the offensive side of the ball 90% plus percent of the time. At the youth level those skill position players are your best players, they are going to play both ways and on special teams, they may never leave the field. Those kids are practicing offense, defense and special teams, obviously much less specialization than the College players. When you factor this into your effective practice time equation, the youth skilled position player is now getting from 7-10% of the offensive preparation as the College player. We get that by taking the 20% rate and multiplying that times the amount of offensive practice time one might get in a typical youth practice which would be 35-50%.

At the College level, all of the players have experience playing the game, most of them have reasonably good fundamentals. While fundamentals are key at all levels of football, most College kids have a base level of competency and have overcome their fear of contact. In youth football, that certainly isn't the case. At the College level, there are no minimum play standards, goals or requirements, at the youth level for most programs there are. At the youth level we are spending an inordinate amount of time teaching fundamentals and how to play the game, not to mention getting kids comfortable with their gear and over their fear of contact. At the youth level we have to invest time that the College coach never has to worry about.

In youth football, the squad sizes vary from about 17-30 kids. In College football the teams vary in size from 105-180 players. In youth football you hope you get a single durable Quarterback and Running Back as a couple of competent average backups. In College football, most teams are carrying 5 scholarship Quarterbacks and 5-10 scholarship running backs, all of which were probably the superstar of their respective High School team. At the College level, when one player goes down, most teams have a good backup who can step right in and do the job.

In youth football with the small squad sizes, we simply don't have that luxury. Even with very good coaching the difference in talent level from a first team Quarterback and Running Back is usually pretty dramatic when compared to the replacement. In youth football, if you decide to run the triple, you better have at least 2 very good and durable Quarterbacks that don't ever get sick, injured or have academic problems, same goes for your Fullback and main Running Back threat.

I coached option football out of the I Formation and Veer for seven years. Even running just double options or midline option is a HUGE investment in time if you are going to get very good at it at all. When we had very good Quarterbacks, good Fullback and a stud Running Back AND we stayed injury free, we had good seasons. When we didn't have that stud Quarterback, solid Fullback and stud Running Back, we didn't have very good seasons and my teams were running double options, not triples.

My Quarterbacks were making just a single read, not two reads within the span of 2 seconds or so. That's a lot to ask of a College Quarterback according to Tom Osborne, not to mention a youth Quarterback. At the College level the triple option is seen as an equalizer type offense, at the youth level and even at the High School level to an extent it is not an equalizer. The reason is, these are two entirely different sets of equations with different boundaries.

Are you enamored with the idea of running the triple option at the youth level? Consider all of these factors before you commit to it. Think about your constraints and where you are going to steal all that practice time you are going to need to get reasonably proficient at the option game and what that is going to do to your team on the other side of the ball. I found out the hard way many moons ago and didn't want my seasons to be totally dependent on whether God dropped a bunch of great skill position players on my doorstep that season or not.

Now don't label me an option bigot or fuddy-duddy, I still love option football, just not for my own teams.

Dave Cisar-
Dave is a Nike "Coach of the Year" Designate and speaks nationwide at Coaches Clinics.His personal teams using this system to date and has a 132-18 record in 5 Different Leagues.

To Sign up for his free 170 page book on "How to Start a New Football Program or Team" to: Starting a New Football Program

Football Preparations - Things You Should Know Before You Hit the Battlefield

There are many reasons why young students dream of joining the football varsity team. One is because they love the sport and dream of playing for the National Football League someday. Others find it as a tool to enhance their self-esteem. While there are those, who want to keep the family pride alive.

Whatever reason you have, remember that it is not easy. Trying out for the football team is not a wall in the park. There is more to it than training hard as well. The challenge does not end after you make the team. You have to be careful while being aggressive. In addition to that, you have to focus on important things too.

Getting Started

It is different when you are one of the audiences, cheering for a team. You are not wearing the NFL helmet to protect your head during the tackle. You wear it in support of the team you are rooting for. If you want to be part of the team, make sure you wear the right gear for the team.

Unlike basketball, you wear more than just the uniforms, socks, and appropriate shoes. In football, you will need pads, under armor, athletic tape, cleats, gloves, helmets, and face masks. Wearing the complete protective gear will help you walk out of the playing field unharmed. You have to wear them even if you are just practicing with teammates. Keep in mind that you do not want to miss a game because of an injury during a practice game.

Additional Preparations

You should also do additional preparations. Trainings and practices will help enhance your abilities. However, you have to watch out for your health as well. You need loads of carbohydrates before every game. You need it to keep you energized. Eating well is important but you should also consider the time. You cannot eat and play. You should be able to include that in your schedule.

It is also important that you be fit physically. Exercise is very important. You have to pump up your blood and stretch your muscles before you get physical with your teammates. It is important to pay attention to what your coach tells you. If he asks you to run, run. He surely knows better than most of the players do.

Before playing

When headed for a game, you have to be ready. It is important that you reach the venue early. This will give you chance to warm up better. Organize your things and wear the necessary pads. Do not forget to have your ankles taped as well.

See to it that you wear the needed gear. The pros never forget their NFL helmets and you should not too.

If you want to join the National Football League someday, you have to start living the life of a football player today. Manage your time well. You have to achieve balance between school and the sport. You have to be up for the challenge as well. You need to have time for home works, practices, family, friends, and food. For a student, that is not easy to manage.

Coach John Rockwell is a huge football fan. He has written many articles related to NFL Helmets. Other articles Coach John has written are related to sports equipment and collectibles such as College Helmets. Coach John resides in Texas with this wife and three children.