5 0N 5 Plays For 6-7 Year Olds

[OakParkCoach 0]

First off my thanks to all the dads and coaches who have posted play books. The plays really are fantastic and have made my job so much easier. Last year was my first as a head coach and we made it to the playoffs (lost in the first round to the #1 team, but all in all we did okay). I'll start my second year with 9/10 year olds in January, so time will tell if season two is as good. I'll also be coaching my 6 year old. Does anyone have plays or other thoughts on coaching this age group? I helped out last year (the coaches meant well but didn't seem to know how to coach... their drills were weak and they never even taught a proper hand-off) but I was not an official coach. From what I observed, it seems best to stick to hand offs because passing and catching seems risky. Any thoughts, suggested plays or advice would be greatly welcomed.

Roy

[Coach Rob 26]

With 6/7's, have to keep it fairly simple and use drills that are more game-like to keep their interest level up. Some examples:

*pair them up, how many consecutive passes can they catch in a row with no drops? Teach proper throwing and catching techniques. Looking ball into hands. Could even tell them to pretend ball is something they wouldn't want to drop.

*create a mini field with cones (your call on width), have two defenders in middle, rest try to get through with no flags pulled. As flags get pulled those kids are in middle. Emphasize looking at belly button area when pulling flags. Teach kids to swarm the runner. Runners should never look down even if they feel like someone pulled their flag. Teach running north/south, no dancing out there! Tell them to run like there's a ________(pizza, hot fudge sundae, etc.) fill in the blank at the other end of the field waiting for them.

I'm sure others can throw in some drills for younger kids, but again, I'd make them more like games while emphasizing key points. I've found with younger kids if you come up with some fun "catch phrases" it's easier to remind them during the real game.

Lint = look at the belly button

Bees = swarm (tell them they need to be like a hive of bees that someone messed with)

Disney = give me a good fake

Stuff like that.

Plays: keep them simple, but I wouldn't shy away from passes. You can take the center two steps up and have them run a drag, QB mirrors receiver and throws. If you can convince your kids to be actors on the fakes, you'll be light years ahead of the other teams. Any misdirection at this age = big gains. Think I saw a 6/7 playbook in that section or even Orange's older version and maybe modify that a bit.

[OakParkCoach 0]

Thanks Coach Rob...Great suggestions. I'll search around for the 6/7 playbook. Roy