Coaching youth football, also known as "pee wee" and Pop Warner football, has gone through an evolutionary change since the 1960s and 1970s. There was a time when the major emphasis in coaching youth football was about getting players into the best shape with nonstop calisthenics. Coaches still need to know that young players are in condition to handle the work load, but then it's about teaching the skills of the game to young people who will use them throughout the football season.
Conditioning Drills
While the emphasis throughout the larger part of practice should be on drills and plays, the early part should focus on practice. Have your players run and do push-ups and agility exercises before the start of drills. Start with all your players on the sidelines. Have them run from from the near sidelines to the near hash mark and back, then to the far hash mark and back and the opposite sideline and back. Have players do two sets of 20 push-ups and follow that with a rope ladder or tire drill for agility. Have the players run through a rope ladder--foot holes 12-to-18 inches off the ground--to get them used to running with knees high. Have them do this twice.
Considerations
The single-most important factor in pee wee or youth football is the safety of the players, especially while tackling. Use tackling dummies to show youngsters that they must lead with their shoulders and wrap up with their arms. They must never lead with their helmets because that's how serious injuries occur.
Function
Teaching players to block correctly is another important aspect in youth football practice. After tackling drills, emphasize the proper techniques when it comes to blocking. This means keeping the hands inside the frame of the shoulders and hitting with the upper body--and never the head.
Benefits
In youth practice, coaches have to spend much of their time teaching plays to the young players. On every offensive play, all 11 players will each have an assignment that he must execute. Coaches must teach each player how to execute the play the correct way. Typically, coaches will spend twice as much time working on offensive plays over defensive plays. That's because offensive plays are more involved and difficult to learn than defensive plays.
Expert Insight
Go over everything you did in practice before it ends. Point out the conditioning work that was done, the blocking and tackling drills and most importantly, the plays that were taught that day. Tom Bass, a former assistant coach with the San Diego Chargers and the head of the NFL's Youth Football Program, believes that practice must include a "skull" session in which coaches go over what was taught and players get to ask questions. This will enhance understanding.
Member Comments
oaks11 July 12
Coach you give great insight when it comes to to producing your shell and continuing to address what you have learned during that days work. Youth football players do need constant reinforcement.
oaks11 July 12
Coach you give great insight when it comes to to producing your shell and continuing to address what you have learned during that days work. Youth football players do need constant reinforcement.