RMH

I know you posted this a month ago, I hope things are going better now. If you are concerned about the input you're getting from your assistant, I would definately speak to him about it before or after practice/game. Rather than telling him what you don't want him to do, I would tell him the things you want him to do. Specifically, give him parts of the offense or defense you want him to own/control. That way you'll be better organized. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with 11v11. I can only imagine with that many 5/6 year-olds it's a lot like herding cats. I might try to break everything down (blocking, passing, running, routes, etc.) into chunks and spend most of your practice in small groups. Only then would I try to bring everything all together on offense/defense. How's it going now?

Texas-D, Great Stuff! I've already "incorporated" your slides into my playbook. Do you know if anyone has put together a slide for 1-1-3 Zone? I ran a 2-1-2 in our first jamboree / scrimmage with some success. I'm probably going to add the 5 Zone this week and am really interested in the 1-1-3 as it doesn't leave the middle as open.

This is my first season coaching 7-9 year-olds. We are in an i9 league, which means we get one 60 minute practice right before the game each week. This forum has provided some great drills; it's just been difficult to get to them all with such a short practice. I'm trying not to information overload the kids. It's important to know I'm a very disorganized person. Because I know this about myself and I know the kids won't learn much at an unorganized practice, I spend a lot of time planning each practice. Here's my practice schedule: Practice Schedule.doc (It's normally a spreadsheet, but I can't attach spreadsheets) Each drill has notes on it so that I'll remember what I want to stress. I also list "Optional Drills" at the bottom more as just a place to keep drills for planning the next practice. Any and all feedback would be appreciated!

Hello everyone! This is my first season coaching 7-9 year-olds in i9 Sports 5v5 flag football. I grew up in the Midwest and have been down in a suburb of Atlanta for the past 15 years. I played many years of football through college and had the most fun playing in 7v7 summer leagues in high school. I am really impressed with the wealth of information on this forum and, more importantly, the philosophy most coaches here have toward recreational sports leagues. I fully believe it should be fun first. Growing up in a small town, I played baseball in the summers because that was all that we had. I wasn't particularly good at it, but it was fun to get to see friends during the summer. When I was 9, we didn't have enough 8-9 year olds sign up for a team, so they put me on a 10-11 year old team. Needless to say I road the bench only playing a couple of innings every other game in right field. Our team went undefeated and blew the doors off every other team we played even through the summer end tournement. Without a doubt, it was the worst experience I have ever had playing an organized sport. I can honestly say that if your team wins and you don't have any part in it, it really isn't fun. Furthermore, the summer before when I was 8, we had a single mom who knew nothing about baseball coach our team. We were awful and I can't even remember how many games we won - BUT we had more fun that summer than any other. What our coach lacked in baseball knowledge she made up for in enthusiasm and energy. Attitude, energy and enthusiasm really do make a difference!