T.J. Loopie

Update: We had a rain-out so it's beena while. We had some storms threaten again last night, so only 5 of my 8 kids showed up. The other team only had 6 show. So we went 5-on-5 instead of our normal 7-on-7. At that age level... a 5 players team is A LOT BETTER! Less to worry about on the O-line, the kids understand their role on the field better, and the huddles are much more effective. We did end up winning, and I felt like I did a much better job of making sure everyone got to make an impact on the game. And not to re-hash too much, but I second just about everything being said about the zone. It's the only way to go. If they have an "all-star" sometimes I have modified my zone and shadowed with my best player.

Orange.... Thaks for the plays. Had our first game Tuesday, and I was able to manipulate an extra 1/2 hour before the game so we could practice a little bit (it was picture day, and I made sure that our team lined up first so we ran some plays while the other teams were waiting in line. ) We did lose 13-0. Our QBs ended up panicking right at the snap and "invented" plays A LOT! I did get your plays in time and was able to teach them the end arounds before game time and that seemed to be the only way we moved the ball. Overall it wasn't that bad. If I could just get the QBs to run the plays. The defense worked great. Both scores were on huge runs due to missed tackles. Other than those two plays... we shut them down very well. I wish it wasn't 7 on 7. Too many kids on the field. SIDE STORY (which you guys may find comical) Had a kid show up 10 minutes late FOR THEM GAME. And he missed the only practice that I was in charge of. The organizer tells me that I have to rotate him in. Of course I will. So I get him in there just before the half, and the "ref" tells me I have to play him the whole second have.... No Problem. So I stick him on the O-line for a while just to see what he's like.... Well he has NO CONCEPT of football whatsoever. But after a few plays, I try and get him involved. I ask, "do you want to run the ball?" Of course he says yes, so I tell everyone to get into our regular formation, switch him to RB and tell him to just take the handoff and run right. He's all set, ref blows the whistle, and JUST before the snap he turns to me and says, "What's a handoff?" Overall all the kids had a good time, the weather was beautiful, the parents had fun... and that's the whole point! More updates to come. TJ

Orange- sent you a PM with my email... Thanks in advance.

Well, I had my first practice (the team's 2nd). And that is all we get because games start next Tuesday. It was a borderline DISASTER! I had a good plan in place; 10 minutes of warm-ups, 15 minutes of flag-pulling drills, etc, etc. Well "the kid" that coached them last week (he is actually one of the refs and that is why he can't coach the season) thought he would be nice and help me out since I was completely new to this whole coaching thing. I should have told him right away that I am a FOOTBALL FREAK, I over analyze EVERYTHING I do, and that I have 4 BOYS at home. Anyway.... back to the disaster. "The Kid" flat out tells me that to win this league, just find your fastest kid and feed him the ball. And that you will only throw about 4-5 times per game. I should have told him, "Thanks, but NO THANKS" right then. But I'm trying to be polite since he is trying to help. We do about 5 minutes of stretches, and he immediately puts them into an offensive formation, and starts doing run right... run left... run right... run left. I was trying to teach some of the blocking techniques for the line, trying to teach a proper hand-off, but "The Kid" was more worried about him finding open field and running as fast as he could. And it just went on too long. Some of the boys were getting bored... you could tell. So I stepped in and finally got them into a defensive formation, and tried teaching them some ZONE concepts. I was impressed with how well they responded to the zone. "The KID" thought I was crazy, but within minutes, they were "containing" the run, and passing off coverage and I crossed the zones. Like I said, I was impressed with how quick the picked it up. Next thing I know there is only 10 minutes left, and we haven't run a single pass play, and haven't run a single "practice" drill. So I weighed my options, and could tell I was losing he kid's attention, so I went with a flag pulling drill. Basically, a flag football version of tag. (The whole team on a line, one player in the middle, blow the whistle, everyone runs to the other line, player has to try and get as many flags as he can, any flags he gets, that player joins him in the middle until only one kid remains.) THEY HAD A BLAST! And the whole time I'm teaching them how to stop the runner with there body vs. the bull-fighter technique. VERY PRODUCTIVE I hope I'm not boring you with this recount of our practice, but just thought I would share my WAR STORY. Game 1 should be very interesting. Because, even though we didn't practice that way... I am still going to rotate people through different positions. I just COMPLETELY disagree with they way "The Kid" would have managed a game. Wish me luck!

I have found more SOLID information in this thread than I have found in three days of surfing around the web. Long story short... I got "volunteered" to coach my sons 6-8 yo YMCA flag football team at the end of last week's practice. We have one more practice and then we start playing games. I scoured the internet for some good info. and stumbled across this thread. I just wanted to say HELLO, and give fair warning that I may have some questions once I figure out what the heck I'm doing. I put together a practice plan.... but "the kid" running the league has yet to email me the rules . So I'm not sure how many I have to play, etc. etc. all I know is that I have 8 kids. Thanks again for some GREAT information. TJ