Youth Football Coaches Clinic - Amazon Web Services... · Conditioning football drills Post practice talk Pre practice pep talk Warm up ... Introduce Special Teams Water break Team

Youth Football Coaches ClinicWednesday, August 7

Why are we here

▪ Approach to coaching philosophy

▪ Coaching responsibilities

▪ How to structure meaningful practices

▪ Showcase drills and station

Coaching Philosophy

▪ What do we look for in a coach?– Knows how to teach in a positive enjoyable environment– Understand patience, slow to speak; quick to listen– Praises effort and persistence before success– Develops child decision making capabilities– Communicates small victories, even when they lose– Doesn’t belittle the team for losing– Wants to win, but not more than they want the kids to have a positive experience– Understanding and respect for fellow coaches, players, league officials and rules– Sees the bigger picture how sports can teach character building

Coaching Philosophy

▪ What does it mean to be a youth coach?– Understand children are not mini‐adults– Coaching the whole child

▪ Physical▪ Mental▪ Technical▪ Tactical

Coaching Philosophy

▪ The 5 Cs for Positive Development– Competence– Confidence– Connection– Character and Caring– Creativity

Coaching Philosophy

Questions?

It’s no coincidence that building confidence on the football field builds better character off the field. When you commit to being the best you can be, you

improve in every facet of life.

Coaching Roles and Responsibilities


▪ Coaches play a pivotal role in development of student‐athletes at all levels, on and off the field

▪ Numerous roles– Mentor– Leader– Supporter– Facilitator– Communicator– Friend– Promoter– Player developer


▪ How to coach– Keep it safe– Keep it fun– Keep it organized– Build a Rapport– Explain it well, show confidence– Demonstrate– Observe– Analyze– Listen for feedback


Keep it Safe

▪ Plan in advance how to safely manage people, space and equipment – Inclement weather, bathrooms, inhalers, allergies– Emergency plan if serious injury– Group kids according to weight and skill level

▪ Avoid situation of being by yourself with player; Always have two coaches present


Keep it Fun

▪ Get kids active quickly, keep moving

▪ Set activity to give variety

▪ Ensure all kids are actively involved in all drills.

▪ Play games at end of practice


Stay Organized

▪ Engage with parents before season– Introduce yourself and ask if they are comfortable sharing any child health or learning issues you should

be concerned with– Be mindful of any extended vacation they are planning during the season– During the season if you’re struggling with a child, reach out the parents for advice for motivation and

understanding

▪ Parents meeting is critical– Set the expectation and follow through; Leverage template in coaches handbook– Ensure you have emergency contact information

▪ Understand coaching staff commitment and work schedule. Prepare for practices prior to showing up

▪ Prepare for practice and gameday situations. Use colors for offense/defense for example. Inform players in practice and in pregame


Build Rapport

▪ Coach the person rather than the sport– Teach accountability, responsibility and respect

▪ Learn from the kids. Get to know them– Show interest in them outside of football– Create relationship with player

▪ Character building– Ask them to do something nice for their guardians


Explain

▪ Plan what to say in advance, show confidence

▪ Gain attention before speaking, keep it short and simple

▪ Ask players to watch players as they go through the drills

▪ Ask other coaches to echo what you say

▪ Invite questions


Demonstrate

▪ Position so all can see and hear

▪ Provide demonstration more than once and during the drills– Ask another player demonstrate drill– Promote when player excels at drill

▪ Ensure all coaches are demonstrating the same material


Observe

▪ Break it down, sequence by sequence

▪ Watch if the players are understanding what you’re demonstrating. If they aren’t getting it try different approach


Analyze

▪ Identify matchups and mismatches in practices – Matchup kids so they can be successful– Watch for kids going against same partner each drill each day

▪ Decide whether to reinforce, modify or no action


Listen for feedback

▪ Ask player, “What did you notice?”

▪ Limit information to one or two key points

▪ Give specifics in simple positive way

▪ Ask what you are going to do to correct it?


▪ How to build camaraderie with coaches, players and parents?– Set the expectation and obey 24 hour rule– Be in touch with parents and their child. Ask them what motivates their child– Use friendly competition within drills at practice; rally players around each other– Games with players at practice –Tug of war, tic‐tac‐toe, egg toss, Fantasy football– “Parent‐ball”


Questions?

“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” – Ara Parasheghian

Structuring Practice


▪ Factors to consider– What are you trying to accomplish not only today but for the week as a whole?– How can you link todays practice with prior and future practices?– How can I sequence the drills and activities for optimal learning and development?– How much time do I want to spend on each drill/activity?– Develop circuits so you can work on specific skills with smaller groups – increasing reps

and attention– What am I incorporating in our practice that is helping my players grow as individuals –

not just as football players?


▪ Quality preparation for practice and gameday is life skill young athletes can take with them for life

▪ Eight Principles of Practice Plan– Fundamentals before creativity– Use variety– Teach new material at start of practice and review at end– Quick transitions between activities– Increase tempo and complexity from practice to practice – progressive approach– Conditioning for learning– Avoid altering a plan during practice, stick to your schedule – limits confusion– End on a positive note


▪ Understanding levels of contact– Improves player confidence– Pyramid approach to teaching skills– Manipulate daily and weekly volume

Contact Intensity Description

Air 0 Players run drill unopposed with contact

Bags 1 Drill is run against a bag or another soft‐contact surface

Control 2 Drill is run at assigned speed until the moment of contact; one player is pre‐determined the “winner” by the coach. Contact remains above the waist and players stay on their feet

Thud 3 Drill is run at assigned speed to competitive speed through the moment of contact; no pre‐determined “winner.” Contact remains above the waist, players stay on their feet and quick whistle ends the drill.

Live 4 Drill is run in game‐like conditions and is the only time that players are taken to the ground.


▪ Creating a practice plan– Important to cover all areas that you and your staff will teach each day– A quality plan should be divided into periods not exceeding 20 minutes

▪ A practice plan should include– Pre‐practice pep talk– Warm‐up period– Heads up tackle circuit– Individual period– Group period– Team period– Team announcement


Practice Plan exampleActivity Duration

(min)Contact

Coaches/Players meeting

5

Warmup 15 Air

Water Break 5

Tackling Circuit 10 Bags

Tackling Circuit Drills

15 Thud

Water Break 5

Individual Period 10 Control

Water Break 5

Team Period 15 Thud

Coaches/Players Meeting

5

Total 90


Practice Plan installation discussion

Week 1 – PreseasonP1 –Air P2 – Bags P3 – Bags P4 ‐Control P5 ‐Thud

IntroductionsEquipment checkCal linesIntroduce Tackling ProgressionIntroduce O and D positionsParent Meeting

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling ProgressionWater breakHeads up tacklingWater breakConditioning football drillsPost practice talk

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakHeads up tackling Introduce tackling circuitIndy and Group –Lineman and skill playersWater breakConditioningPost practice talk

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakHeads up tacklingTackling circuitIndy and Group –Lineman and skill playersWater breakConditioningPost practice

Pre practice pep talkWarm upTackling progressionWater breakHeads up tacklingTackling circuitWater breakIndy and breakdown –Lineman, LBs, CBs, skill playersPost practice



Week 2 ‐ PreseasonP6 ‐Control P7 –Control P8 ‐Thud P9 –Thud / Live

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakHeads up tacklingTackling circuitIndividual and groupWater breakIntroduce Team O vs DPost practice

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakHeads up tacklingTackling circuitIndy and groupWater breakTeamPost practice

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakHeads up tackling Introduce tackling circuitIndividual and Group –Lineman and skill playersIntroduce OklahomaWater breakTeamPost practice

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakHeads up tacklingTackling circuitIndividual and Group –Lineman and skill playersOklahomaWater breakTeam ‐ LivePost practice



Week 3 – Regular seasonP10 – Scrimmage P11 P12

This is where you want to demonstrate pregame structure

Pep talkWarm upTacklingScrimmagePost scrimmage meeting

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakTackling circuitIndy and groupIntroduce Special TeamsWater breakTeamPost practice

Pre practice pep talkWarm upWater breakTackling progressionWater breakTackling circuitOklahomaIndy and GroupSpecial TeamsWater breakTeamPost practice


Questions?

Camp Structure and Drills

Camp Structure

Camp layout

Head station is where kids will assemble; Demo of drills

Stations 1‐4; Kids will be divided equally amongst 4 stations; Run through drills; Minimum of 4 volunteers at each station

While drills are running at stations, Head station will prepare next drill. Kids will return to head station to learn next drill, then off to their station

Camp Structure

Camp Structure

▪ Check‐in

▪ Introductions and camp structure

▪ Warm up– Walking Knee Hugs– Straight Leg March– Walking Single Leg Quad Stretch– Walking Lunge– High Knees– Butt Kickers– High Skips– Backwards Run– Lateral Shuffle– Carioca– Jumping Jacks

Camp Structure

▪ Breakdown Position– Feet ‐Good base; Feet shoulder width apart; weight on balls of feet– Squeeze ‐ Shoulder blades back; big chest– Sink ‐ Bending at knees; lower waist– Hands – Relaxed and ready to engage

▪ Near Foot – Puts us in proper position and establishes leverage

▪ Swoop –Gets tackler in proper hitting position as they approach ball carrier. Lead with either foot, based on leverage; use bags so feet don’t get to narrow

▪ Shoot –Athletes kneel behind bag, cleats not in grass. Give command to sink and shoot. Explode from hips with uppercut and land on bag. Head is up and spine in good alignment

▪ Uppercuts –Works on wrap and emphasize the hips. On finish always explode and drive for 5. Hold bad horizontal in front of player so they can uppercut through

Camp Structure

▪ Thigh and Drive – Start kneeling, one knee up. Explode into bag with near hip near shoulder and tackle into ground. Next step is complete while standing.

▪ Thigh and Roll – Start kneeling, one knee up. Explode into bag with near hip near shoulder, however, roll bag to near hip near shoulder side maintaining leverage

▪ Angle Tackle – Same rules apply, near foot near hip except on moving target (bag)

▪ Two Man Tackle –Two players 10 yards apart. One bag between them 8‐10 yards away. On coach's command, players run and attack the bag with near hip near shoulder.

▪ Run and Gather –Two‐man drill. RB runs then stutters, run/stutters. Def player presses line of scrimmage with near foot near shoulder while maintaining slight trail position low pad level and staying square to line of scrimmage, not crossing feet over. Play inside out closing with swoop

Youth Football Coaches Clinic - Amazon Web Services... · Conditioning football drills Post practice talk Pre practice pep talk Warm up ... Introduce Special Teams Water break Team

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