coachjay

Hey coach first things first you need to get a copy of there by-laws.Being a non-profit they need to have one if not look into your state committee concerning non-profits. Any non-profit worth it's salt has organized elections.If so bring it to the attention of the board at the next meeting you want to hold nominations for elections for next years teams. I'm assumming your a part of an organization IE pop warner,Ayfl ect if so bring to there attention your concerns they both have websites with national boards and contacts. Good luck coach it seems like your heart is in the right place.

hey guys i was just curious if anyone had any info on running the spinner series. i know Coach Cisar visits this forum and i went to one of his clinics in mass this last year. I prodominatly run a wishbone using alot of unbalanced lines and a very healthy dose of traps. But i was recently in a battle with a team that runs the single wing and just barely survived with the victory.I was so impressed that i started mixing in a little of the single-wing i had some literature on the sainted six and have added this to my offense for a change of pace .But what really got me was the team that i played ran alot of what i was told the spinner series and to be honest my kids had absolutely no idea where the ball was truth is the only reason i won that game is they could'nt stop my offense either only difference is it usually takes me about 8-10 plays to score and it only took them 1-3 and in pop warner you get 2 points for a kick and 1 for the run needless to say i stress special teams i made my kicks as they could only settle for the 1 pt. conversion. So if anyone has any sites or better yet could throw me one or two of theses spinner formations or plays it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and good luck this weekend coaches

hey eddy in my opinion i like the 4-3 only because i think the kids can grow into it as they get older. but at 7-8 i would almost run the 4-3 like a 6-5 bringing the 2 safetys down in the box for run support and teaching them responsibiltity of covering the te ends even as i don't believe any team will attempt too many passes at that age. so at 7 and 8 you can teach them the principles of the 4-3 while still putting almost if not all 11 in the box and as they get older you can slowy pull the safetys back to support in the pass. Ok ed i hope i could help good luck on your upcoming season coach jay

Thanks guys i appreciate the input and i think i might go become an assitant. Because at the end of the day the most enjoyable thing about coaching is working with the kids.This will be my 13th year coaching youths and i've never had a kid in the program.Although i've had my most physical sucess with this bigger program i'm in now. I'm just starting to see how alot of these parents just don't understand the meaning of organized sports.That it's all about the kids having fun and learning the game of football and all the great benefits it has to offer.Thanks for your input and goodluck on your upcoming season.p.s. when it comes to the X&O's i have a pretty good concept of the game if ever you guys need to bounce anything off of me feel free

i'm basically looking for opinions here i've basically been a head coach my whole career.when i started off coaching it was a local jr. high team nobody wanted. Like most of you know about coaching although i played in high school and college i made my fair share of mistakes. Through hard work clinics,dvds,books and message boards like this one i'd like to think i've carved out a pretty decent program. After 10 years of working with the jr.high kids and watching a few have very good high school careers and now even watching some of them play on saturdays i moved to a different city.So 2 years ago i made the move to a different program because the travel got to be too much and i took over a local pop warner program. Because of my experience they put me in with a B-Team which is mostly 7th grade kids the first year with them i brought them to the superbowl losing in the last minute and this year when they moved up to the a-Team went undefeated 10-0 and won the superbowl,before falling 1 game short of the nationals.Now comes the dilemma the league i'm involved in is basically made up from a bunch of parents trying to live vicariuosly through their kids.Beyond that not one of them has a clue on how to coach or teach the kids.After repeatedly trying to give them help and assistance i continually get told now thanks even though my team in my 2 years went 18-3 and the other 4 teams combined has managed to win 2 games. Now i know it's not all about winning but the program is disfunctunal and the kids are'nt having any fun. Now the team i had my deepest obligation to is going on to high school.So my big dilemma is should i continue to be the head Coach in a program i really have no faith in besides the kids or i have the oppurtunity to be an assistant in a neighboring town which is not to far away.The thing is and i probable don't have to tell any of you but it's alot of work being the head coaches not to mention the hours of practice planning involved you have to handle all the paperwork,equipment and teaching all your assistants.So i'm thinking it my be a nice retreat to only have to teach the line or maybe work agility drills with the db's or lb's. So i know i'm probable just waxing but if anyone else has had this issue or anything similar i'd like to hear about what maybe you did or gather any opinions from assistants who have moved up to head coaches or head coaches who have maybe taken a lesser role for one reason or another. ok guys thanks for your time

hey coach one thing i like to do and the 5-3 basically begs for is is to trap the end usually in most 5-3's the tackels play in the b gap and the end usually play's a 7 tech or on the tight ends outside shoulder and the 3 backers playing end to end usually with the milldle playing over center and the outsides shading a little inside the d-end with this i usaully split my end to the strong side pulling the corner away from the play then i double team the tackle with my gaurd and tackle to try to push the tackle upfield trying to create a good running lane then i have my strong side end release putting a body on the outside backer letting the end run free now that i've got a lane to my strong side all i have to do is pull my weak-side guard trapping the end this usually creates a rather good running lane and ran off of a counter can be very effective ok coach i hope i maybe gave you a decent suggestion and i wish you good luck in your game

this is a very good subject i have drafted a letter to both the parents and my players outlining what they may expect from me as a coach and also what i may expect from them as parents emphasizing that i have many years experience coaching and as far as practice and game time is concerned my coaches and myself will be the only people to coach and critique the players i ask all parents to refrain from critiquing there children in front of the other players and parents and also request them to hold off any critisism they may have about my coaching or coaches until a break or in private i will also let them know any foul language or otherwise outward aggresive behavior during games will not be tolerated i give them my home and cell phone number and encourage them at all times to feel free to contact me with any of there concerns laying down a firm groundwork and understanding of how you will coach is a great way to set parameters for parents to understand your goal and hopefully build a stronger and healthier relationship not only between coach and player but coach and parent as well good luck coach and i hope you have a sucessfull season

hey coach first off your on the right track admitting and understanding that playing and coaching youths are too different animals most guys think because they play a little madden or played a little in hs or even college there equipped to coach right off the bat admitting what you don't know and wanting to learn is half the battle my first suggestion would be to become an assistant first to someone who has experience but if this option is not available and your gonna be thrown right into the head coaching position my first trip would be to the head coach of the local high school program the majority of these kids will end up attending i'm sure you'll be greated friendly as any high school coach would be out of his mind not to want to have some of his drills and his philosophies implimented at the earliest age ask alot of questions and i'm sure the coach would be more than willing to give you a few tips on drills to run and an overall outline on how he may structure his practice now obviously you may not have the time or the resources to follow this plan exactly but it will give you a good start for something to work off of the next thing i would do is go to the nfl.com and click on there youth football program it's called J.P.D junior player development on that site you can request a free DVD that covers a large range of drill,techniques and practice schedules it's free and has a lot of good information after that maybe shoot on to amazon and maybe buy yourself a book there are'nt many i can recommend but try to figure out what you may run for off and def and maybe read up to get a little more knowledge football definitly takes a little more time then baseball to coach it's a rather large commitment but the relationship you will build with your players are well worth the hard work and effort put in i guess the last bit of advice i can give and it's been my mantra for the last 12 years i've been coaching is concentrate on the conditioning and fundamentals blocking and tackeling and i mean hammer these things down from the top to the bottom i don't care if you teach these kids 3 plays make sure they all know how and who to block and they all know how to tackle and i mean perfectly keep them in good condition do not cheat on cals or strecting and every practice ends with a good set of sprints or another cardiovascular drill most eams will not be and it really does pay in the second half so have your kids in great physical condition and make sure they know the fundamentals back and front and when they step on that field on sunday they will execute once they start to execute and see there hard work come through during the game there gonna start to really have some fun once the game begins to become fun the winning usually follows so conditioning + fundamentals=exucution on sunday=having a fun time watching your hard work pay off = winning i mean sometimes you do lose on the scoreboard but if your kids are out there playing well having fun i really don't care what the scoreboard reads everybody wins in that equation good luck coach you've got alot of work ahead of you coach jay

hey coach i'm a little confused here maybe you could answer some questions and i may better give you an opinion first off coach A was out of the leauge last year and coach B coached 6-8 year olds and the 9-10 year old coach left where i coach which is pop warner coaches start with the d-team which is 7-9 and then move with their players as they grow meaning d level then c 9-11 then b 10-13 then a 12-15 although the team will not be the same each year the core players will advance with the coach each year so if coach b's wish is only to move up with his team of kids he coached last year i would say that's your choice giving the coach that left his new squad and letting the coaches cycle through on a yearly basis so they may coach the kids at each stage of there develepment as far as coach b's attitude problems well i can't speak on those because i don't know this guy personally but i've been involved with youth football for 12 years and have encountered many different attitudes and will say alot of the problems is the lack of communication sometimes a simple sit down and talk like adults is all that is needed to settle differences i've never been good at listening to what you would call the the rumor mill as too many people have to many agendas my best advice for you is to have the board and the 2 coaches sit down and talk say there peace and i'm willing to bet before long all differences may be resolved and relationships between the coaches and board can only become stronger because in the end like you said is all about the kids and making a fun and safe environment to teach them the fundamentals of the game of football goodluck coach i hope everything works out for the best for you and the league

everyone is going to have an opinion on what defense to run and all can be sucessfull my personal preference is the 4-4 having the 2 tackles lined in the 1 gap between the gaurd and center and the 2 ends playng the 5 between the tackle and end but the line can always be adjusted to shift and even line up head up playing two gap and eventually stunting but at this age i would give them a gap and have them stick to it nice and simple then i have the 2 middlebackers shade the outside shoulder of the tackles covering the 3 gap and have the 2 outside backers tight to the line in almost a 7 technique but having them shade a little off the widest wing or lineman not having them rush but more a read and react covering the outside as most teams at this level like to try to get to the outside with a sweep or reverse i line the corners tight if not covered with a wr and if they have a wr i play them off as at this level most the time the wr is a blocker but you must always tell your corner to respect the pass with keeping an eye in the backfield for the sweep or bootleg the safety is deep shading a little to the strong side this defense is very strong against the run but is suceptible to the pass but as the kids get older and you can teach the lineman more stunts and the backers more blitz combinations this defense is set up well to run many zone coverages and zone blitzes and is ideal for a cover 3 which is very popular at the youth and high school level like i said all good defenses work as long as there taught sound principals i just prefer the 4-4 at this level giving every player a gap and as the kids grow has many areas to expand in it's schemes to combat the different offenses you see just make sure whatever defense you use stick to it and be commited to it because when you start changing things ever other week you'll never get the kids fundamentally sound to run any defense good luck with whatever choice you make and have a good season coach

trust me i knew you were a decent guy i've been coaching youth football for a long time and if we had more parents like yourself who were more involved with there childrens development we'd all be better off keep teaching him the fundamentals and i'm not sure what's in your area but maybe you might want to look into getting him involved in some football camps which do not have as many restrictions so that he may advance his skills at some of the more skill positions like linebacker or runningback/reciever camp if you log on to nfl.com the nfl has a program called the jpd which is the juinor player development program not only do they list many camps but they also have a free dvd that has nfl coaches and coordinators going over the fundamentals for coaching youth fooball at every position which may be something you could watch with your son to increase his football knowledge and if he continues with his healthy growth i would also recommend when he turns maybe 12 or 13 possible adding in a light weight and conditioning program and he should be more than equipped and prepared to enter the high school level and theres no reason he can't be an exceptional student/athlete while continuing to have fun and enjoy the game as your son is lucky to have a farther who takes the time and is involved in his life good luck on the upcoming season

well with all this attention this subject is getting i figured i'd throw my 2 cents in to start off i am not one of the guys you are taking about that thinks the could coach in the nfl what i am is one fine youth football coach that has been working with kids for 12 years and beyond schemes and stratergies is far different than coaching college,high school or the pro's but just for the record as ill equipped as i am to handle or coach an nfl franchise i'd be willing to bet it to be equally as hard for a bill belicheck or bill parcells to deal with the inner workings of handling 35 8-15 year old kids balancing teaching kids the fundamentals of the game while still keeping the fun in it and i know how much it pains us to make sure all these kids have fun and every kid who wants to participate has a place to play but when we all took on the responsibilty to become coaches that was the job we were givin but unfortunatly football is not like baseball,basketball,hockey or soccer all these sports are non-contact even hockey your not allowed to check to a certain age but in tackle football there is full speed head-banging contact on every play and wether we want to admit it or not age and weight play a big role and unfortunatly there has to be a cutoff at some point the rule to the player advancing the ball is more of a competitive issue as apposed to protecting the players in a way this rule in your leaugue benifits your son as if not for this rule he would not get to play at all the thinking behind it is to allow some of the bigger kids to continue to get a chane to play keeping them on the line where the may not be able to build there momentum up i'm willing to bet there's a rule against him playing linebacker or corner as well no do i believe this is unfair to a certain number of children who wish to play of course but life is unfair and some time for whatever reason we have to make a sacrife for the greater good and health and safety of the masses and unfortunatley the line has to be drawn somewhere because what happens when the kid is 10 years old 5'9 200lbs no you wanna talk about jeans i had this kid walk up to my practice and with tears in his eyes i had to tell him he could not play if there was no rule let me tell you what would of happened he would have ran his ass over every kid on that team and if it was your son at defensive end in this kid laid the wood to him knocked him out or seriuosly injured him i'm sure you'd be quiet pissed let's say he hurts noone but everytime he touches the ball scores where's the competitive balance every thing is not perfect with youth sports but i want to believe that most people who dedicate there time and effort to them have the best interest of the children in mind and although at this time it may not benefit your child like most other repliers have stated as he get's older and in high school there will be no restriction and not to dicount your child any there will probable be a kid just as skilled and with just as much heart sitting the bench because your child just happened to be born bigger the he was and if it's a kid of good character he wont be complaining about how unfair it is your son was born to be bigger and stronger he's going to except it as a fact of life continue to bust his ass and wait for his chance maybe if you tried to talk to your child and let him know this is the way the world is he could get on having fun playing a different position knowing oneday soon he'll get his oppurtunity considering your a good farther who takes the time to play with your son and teach him the fundamentals of the game i'm gonna be willing to think you spend as much time telling and teaching him football is far more than a game of numbers but a game of character,respect,teamwork,leadership and hardwork and i think in the end it will all work out for the best that's just one assholes opinion that has giving 11 years of volunteer coaching never having had one child involved in the program have a nice day

thanks for your input what happened is i was given a staff with very little experience and the fact that i was new to the program i did'nt want to inforce myself as strongly as i should have considering the fact i was so new to the league and i feel i dealt very well with assistants i had in the past mainly knowing there credentials and trusting there judgments that when the had a suggestion they usually had data and reasoning why there suggestion would improve the team but last year when i have a guy who's basically watches football on sunday or spent a few years watching his son play tries to tell me to change my whole defensive scheme or that i really should put in his crazy pass play that he drew up on a napkin without explaining to me his blocking scheme for the play or the fact that my 12 year old quarterback is not quiet epuiped to throw a 25 yard skinny post then when do i have to draw the line because last year i let it go in one ear and out the other and basically did push my assistants to the side and ran the team by myself having them basically babysit and we did have a fairly sucessfull season but i've been doing this for 11 years and know i will never truly build a yearly competitive program until i get these coaches to learn they have to learn from me just as much as the kids do and once the learn from me how i what things done i can spread more authority around and then when they have a grasp of what i mean be more than willing to take thier suggestions so in my longwinded way should i tell these guys with risk of alienating some members of the league either you learn how to do things my way and if their not willing tell them to hit the road because what i really want to say is hey i've been coaching for 11 years i go to multiple clinics every year read multiple books on coaching and have more playing and coaching experience then any of you so shut up with your stupid ideas and understand if you listen to me you might just learn something the same way i listen and study high school.college and pro coaches who have a shitload more knowledge and experience i have any more advice on what path i should take or any other coachces dealing with similar circumstances with any advice i'm trying to be level headed and patient with these guys but what they don't realize is those 35 kids are ultimatley my responsibilty not just to teach them proper fundamentals to prepare them for highschool ball but also instill i8n them the principle of harwork,teamwork,leadership and practice and preperation thanks for your replies coaches

i'm a youth football coach of 11 years 10 spent in a rather sucessfull system feeding many players to the high school level i moved to a new town and last year was given a head spot to the local pop warner team but not knowing anyone in the area the president supplied all of my assistants many with little or no coaching experience but some with playing experience i played on a #1 nationally ranked high school team and division 1 aa college team and although gained knowledge of the game through playing learned early that coaching youth football is less scheme and more fundamentals,conditioning and teaching to the limitations of your kids depending on the level i've tried to get my assistants to buy into my program but have run into alot of resistance as everyone feels there methods are the best and in some way feel they should probable be the head coach instead of myself last year i tried to be somewhat diplomatic and probable gave into others more than i should have even with that in my first season implimenting my system i took a 2-6 team to a 6-2 record and a league superbowl which i regret to inform my team loss but this year i have good portion of my team coming back and feel i built some standing in the league with my sucess should i take a firmer stance with my coaching staff this season because i'd like to have my team as well as my coaches working together in one common direction that being said i'm willing to take advice from my assistants just not the kind when the draw up funky pass plays and get upset when i don't impliment them or when they suggest coach you should'nt run the 4-4 but rather it would be better if you ran the 5-3 i mean there's advice and then there's wanting to change my way of doing things and i would just like to get my assistants to buy into the fact that a i've been doing this for 11 years and have not one kid on the team b i'm not her for one kid but to help and work with them all and c i understand they may have there own thinking on what's best but if i can't get my coaches to buy into my system we can never reach are best possible potential as a team so coaches any advice coming into new leagues