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As a third grade teacher in Texas, I've heard some pretty odd --- and oddly comical --- statements from the mouths of my students. One of the best was during a recent after-school review session for an upcoming statewide reading test. During a brief break in the action, my eight-year old comrade informed me, "It doesn't really matter if I pass, so long as I can play football."
While I quickly corrected his logic, the vignette does showcase the importance of sports in the lives of youth, and that doesn't just apply to America's most football-crazed state. Youth football is an essential building block to later athletic and personal success. When considering coaching youth football, remember the following concepts:
1) Safety: Above all else, these are kids. They lack basic knowledge about protection and effective tackling techniques (more on that later), so safety is of the utmost importance. Your best bet is to consult a sporting goods store before purchasing equipment for your team --- the employees are likely to have dealt with this before, and know the best brands to recommend. You want to make sure you have extra amounts of basic needs like helmets and pads --- but also purchase an extra water container. If your football squad begins practice in the late summer / early fall, it can be hot in most areas, and dehydration is a serious safety concern.
2) Fundamentals: Magic Johnson, voted one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, recently released a DVD entitled "The Fundamentals of Basketball." While promoting it, he frequently stressed that athletes who are fundamentally sound can often overcome those who are physically superior. In football, this doesn't often seem the case --- it would seem that bigger is better --- but in reality, it is. When instructing young children, you want to root them in the basics of football and a variety of positions. Football is arguably the most complicated and position-specific of all major sports, but don't attempt to cram too much information into their heads. Rather, focus on running creative, yet repetitive drills at each practice. It's common to utilize stations --- one where students practice passing (perhaps throwing through a tire), one where they focus on running (cuts around objects, or through other teammates holding soft cushions), and another focusing on receiving. From a defensive standpoint, the most important thing to convey is proper tackling. This will ensure safety and begin to teach the game. A possible fifth station would involve footwork, because a good deal of football involves moving backwards and sideways at faster speeds, and those are two directions that young children may have trouble with. Football is riddled with terminology --- the same position often has three different titles depending on the game situation --- but these are things you want to avoid communicating to children. A good rule of thumb is four to twelve basic plays. They need to understand the basics of the game and the simplest skill sets they will need to possess: tackling, running, throwing, and catching.
3) Fun: Perhaps most importantly, any youth sport should be fun for the participants. If a child wants to play quarterback but lacks the essential throwing skills, give him a chance anyway. If a slower team member wants to try a game at running back, let him. A major problem with youth sports in America presently is an over-focus on winning, which sends the wrong message to children from an early age. Winning is important, but building a child's self-confidence and love of competitive athletics is more important, certainly at this stage. If a kid messes up in a practice or game, just calmly tell them how they could have performed better, and move on. When I once coached youth baseball, I lost a championship game for my league simply because I played several kids out of position due to their desires for that game. Keep practices moving quickly and have all kids active as much as possible.
4) Knowledge: Playing sports should help children develop a knowledge of sports, and you can foster that by discussing college and professional football with them periodically. Some youth coaches have even been known to invite teams over for NFL games on Sundays in the fall, as a bonding experience. I acquired most of my football knowledge from youth sessions with my father, which I subsequently learned to apply to watching games. If your league doesn't already name the teams, make sure you name yours after a professional franchise ---ie the "Cowboys" or "Panthers." It will provide the kids with a tangible connection to the professional level of their new sport, which increases motivation and knowledge about the game.
5) Parental involvement: At the beginning of the season, you'll want to hold a meeting with all parents. Explain the rules of the team, your basic offense and defense, how starters and substitutes will be managed, how practices will run, and provide two contact methods. If you are open and honest about everything from the start, you will avoid later confrontations with potentially frantic mothers or overbearing fathers regarding various issues. Be calm and polite to all parents --- remember above all else that these are their children, not yours, and in some cases you may need to cede to their wishes.
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