My First Youth Football Coaching Experience
By: Scott Lancaster, Youth Evolution Sports
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
We move to the third different field in the last three days. Though a small detail, it does affect consistency, especially when you’re trying to establish a comfort level among first time participants. A total 27 kids are in attendance.
Practice Objectives:
- Less is more (Introduce just one additional fundamental & review all others)
- Acclimate to Helmets
- Fun/Conditioning Drills
- Fun/Skill Development Competitions
· Introduce Huddle organization and break from huddle
· Review of Cadence
· Review of Positions & alignment
· Review of Stances
· Combine all of the above
Practice moves well and players seem to be progressing, with improved stances, good recall of positions and alignment, and are picking up the cadence concept. The trick with our success seems to be breaking the team into three different groups, and providing continuous rotation of learning new roles throughout the stance and alignment portions of the drills. The introduction of the huddle also goes smoothly with about a 50% success rate executing the combined elements of organizing a huddle, breaking from a huddle, proper alignment, proper stances, and reacting fairly well to the cadence.
We introduced a new throwing and catching competition where four groups of seven have one quarterback and six wide receivers (three lined up 6 yards to each side). We quickly introduce two pass patterns (5 yards down & in, and 5 yards down & out) marked out by cones. All four groups conduct the competition simultaneously around the field counting the correct number of routes run in combination with successful catches. Each player had the opportunity to rotate to quarterback after throwing once to each of the six receivers. The group with the largest number of correct routes in combination with successful catches won the competition. A quick review of all the techniques took place just prior and after the completion of the competition.
In order to change things up we ended the practice with the Quarterback/Receiver competition, and inserted the Ultimate Football game into the middle of practice.
Many of the players commented that this was the best practice yet due mostly to the fact that they got more chances to touch the ball. A fact that will not escape us but still poses a challenge as we move forward and prepare to play 11 on 11 games in 3 ½ weeks.
