Chapter 1

Teaching Football to Children

IN THIS CHAPTER

Preparing for the season

Planning for practices and games

Finding a parent-coach balance

Congratulations for taking on the special - and important - role of coaching a youth football team. Your journey during the season will be packed with moments that make you smile and that you and your players - regardless of their age, skill level, or experience playing the sport - will remember for the rest of your lives.

Before you step on the field, please be aware that you're taking on a position that can have far-reaching implications on your players for years to come. How you approach the season and how you interact with your players during practices and games impact how they feel about themselves, the sport of football, and you. The methods you employ for handling all the responsibilities that come with the job can either help them develop an unquenchable passion for the game or sabotage their interest in ever putting on a helmet again.

But don't worry. All you need - besides a whistle and clipboard - is some quality information on all the different aspects of the game. In these pages, we give you everything you need to navigate your players through a safe, fun, and rewarding season.

Gearing Up

You may have volunteered to coach this season because you want to spend a little more time with your child and help introduce them to the exciting world of youth football. Maybe the league has a shortage of coaches and you're willing to step forward to help. Or perhaps you love football, played it throughout your childhood, and want to share your knowledge and passion for the game with kids. Whatever your reasons, you're accepting an enormous responsibility. Before any youngster puts on the shoulder pads and buckles their chinstrap, you have lots of work to do behind the scenes to ensure that the season gets off to a smooth start.

Keeping the emphasis on everyone but you!

No matter how talented a football player you were during your playing days or how much you know about the sport, keeping the focus on your squad is vital because the season is about them and their journey. Your coaching philosophy (you can learn more about the importance of crafting one and adhering to it in Chapter 2) must be player-focused at all times. The season isn't about you and how many wins you can stack up to showcase your coaching acumen to all the other parents. The season is about all the kids, what you can teach them, and how positive you can make their experience.

Don't make the mistake of using the team's won-loss record as a barometer of your impact as a coach. The true measure is whether the kids can't wait to get to the field to compete and learn from you - and have so much fun under your guidance that they return to play the following season.

Getting parents on your side

The overwhelming majority of parents with children in organized youth football programs are wonderful, supportive, and caring, and they want only the best for their kids. Of course, some parents can end up being a source of season-long aggravation that has you reaching for the aspirin.

Be prepared to deal with these situations quickly and efficiently so that they don't become a distraction and detract from the kids' enjoyment of the season and your ability to have a positive and meaningful impact. You can sidestep a lot of potential problems by conducting a parents, meeting before the season kicks off, where your agenda covers everything from laying the ground rules on what you expect in terms of behavior during games to outlining the parents' roles and responsibilities, and so much more. We run down how to plan and pull off this all-important meeting in detail in Chapter 4.

As you work with your players, you'll stress the importance of teamwork all season long; your interaction with parents is really no different. When coaches and parents find ways to work together - the adult form of teamwork - you have a really special formula that produces tremendous benefits for the youngsters. On the other hand, coaches and parents who clash over playing time issues, bicker about who gets to play specific positions, and even argue over whether the team should use more passing plays spoil the experience for everyone involved. These types of disagreements cast a shadow over the entire team and can turn practices and games into activities the children no longer look forward to.

Parents play big roles in youth football programs. Keep the following advice in mind to help make your dealings with parents go smoothly:

• Be proactive with parents. Outline your expectations for them and their kids. Explain your coaching methods. Detail what you want everyone to take away from the experience before the first practice. Painting a clear picture leaves little room for those dreaded misunderstandings to occur, and parents who've never had a child involved in organized football will especially appreciate the information and how much thought and care you've put into making the experience a positive one for all involved.

  Telling parents firsthand that you're committed to skill development, fun, and safety over winning or that you adhere to the league's equal playing time rule can prevent petty squabbles. If you don't clarify these issues for parents well in advance, you'll invite more problems than you can imagine - and you'll get them, too. Chapter 2 helps you develop that all-important coaching philosophy and become knowledgeable about all your league's policies and rules so you can clearly communicate this information to the parents.

• Involve them. Parents invest a lot of time and money in their child's football experience. That experience can be much more enjoyable for them and their youngsters if you find ways to include Mom and Dad on your season-long journey - and that's a wonderful gesture. Parents can do so much more than bring snacks and drinks to games, too. Find ways to involve them at your practices and recruit the right ones to serve as assistant coaches. If you're coaching a large squad, having assistants you can lean on who abide by your philosophies can be a huge help by running practice drills and handling game-day tasks so that you're free to focus your attention on the field. You can make the season memorable and rewarding for everyone involved. In Chapter 4, you find a variety of tips on boosting parental involvement.
• Communicate with parents. Besides conducting a preseason parents, meeting to get the season on the right track from the start, you have to keep those communication lines open all season long. Talk to parents about their children's progress; share your thoughts on areas of the game where the kids are really making improvements; offer suggestions for things parents can do to help their youngsters develop in other areas; and check in from time to time to make sure the kids are having fun when they play for you. Including parents in all facets of the season is the right thing to do, the smart thing to do, and one of the key factors in helping to ensure that the children have a positive experience.

Despite everything you do to include the parents and make them feel a valuable part of the season, problems may still arise. You should remain calm and in control of your emotions and never allow situations to escalate. In Chapter 18, we run down some of the more common problems that coaches face, and we offer the best approaches for solving them before they can impact the season.

Figuring out the rules and lingo

To be an effective coach, you need a really good handle on the basics of the game. Most importantly, you have to be able to explain rules, introduce terminology, and teach strategies to your young players. That's not as complicated as it may seem, but becoming comfortable with some of the quirkier rules that you're not completely familiar with, such as what types of blocks are allowed on kickoffs and punts, and refreshers on common terms, such as illegal motion and false start, takes some time and effort.

We present the rule book and help you get a handle on everything from terminology to penalties in Chapter 3. Throughout Parts 2, 3, and 4 of this book, we give you a detailed rundown of the skills, techniques, and strategies that you need to pass along to your players. We also offer a refresher on some of the fundamental skills to teach a beginning team and provide more detailed information for an older, more football-savvy squad.

Knowing any special rules that are in place in your league is important. Quite often, a league's rules depend on the players' ages and experience levels - everything from the size of the field to which rules are enforced change from community to community. Knowing these rules and being able to share them with your players make a tremendous difference in their enjoyment of the sport.

Taking the Field

The kids' smiles, the excitement in their eyes, and their enthusiasm to play and learn from you are what coaching youth football is all about. What you say and how you say it from day one and throughout the season make a significant difference. The kids may become passionate about the game and play it for years to...