Im coaching youth flag football in our area FOR 6&7 YEAR OLDS. I know these kids are just begining so i want to start them off with basic stuff.Can someone please give me some ideas and practicing technics,my first practice tomorrow.I would really appreciate it alot for any help anyone can give me. thank you!
1 reply to this topic
#2
synwave7
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Posted 12 September 2003 - 11:10 AM
coachd, 
It's flag football and the kids are 6&7. If you keep this in mind while your out there I think this will go far in the kids having fun and learning while practicing and playing. Do a search on google or yahoo for youth football, flag football, be creative and you'll hit on hundreds if not thousands of excellent sources of information. As far as giving you ideas and practice drills let me break down how I coach our pee-wee travel football team. I think the same principles will apply. It's flag football and the kids are 6&7.
1. Meet with all parents and let them know what they can expect from you and what you expect from them. Support from the parents from the jump is very important and leave the communication lines open as possible. Parents on your side lends itself to practicing with dad outside of your practice as an example.
2. Learn as much as you can about the basics and fundamentals as you can. The better your knowledge base is the better you'll be able to, well, coach/teach.
3. Go to practice PREPARED. Have an outline of what you'll go over that day/night from minute one to the after practice coach to players talk. Show the players confusion and indecision and you lose them. Show the players your prepared and keep practice moving along at a good clip and you get more done and players begin to look up to you/trust you. Run practice the same way everyday as far as the outline
a. Start with a light jog.
b. make 4 lines and do the same (add one or 2 for variety as season goes) cals every day.
c. Then into same 4 lines bunched up now and do kereokes, run foward, run backward, high skips be creative.
d. light jog then water (away from coaches) while you and coaches briefly go over that days practice plan.
e. Whole team 3 lines, angle of pursuit drills, ripping the flag drills, be creative.
f. Then break up the team into below suggested squads, it's too much to try and coach whole team at once. Offensive coach teaches the snap, hand offs, run plays you'll be running gametime. D coach LB filling holes, staying home, maybe he has the ends that day teaching straight in move for DE's Line coach is teaching blocking????not sure you know the rules.
4. Break down the team into squads so kids are not standing around doing nothing while your teaching or showing a move. i.e. Offensive coach takes the QB, RB's and Center, defensive coach takes the LB's, and Safteys, Line coach takes both lines. Obviously break it down according to whatever your objectives are.
Just be prepared. Don't stand in front of kids and be like, ok now will........maybe will........ Have a plan ahead of time and show confidence and decicivness. Use your time wisely to keep the kids interested. End of pratice would/could be intra team practice game then sprints. Hand out stickers after games, or maybe even for good things done in practice. Maybe football cards for doing the best sprints, intra 'squad' games and then reward for good effort. I can't stress enough the importance of showing the kids your orginized, in charge and your there because you care about ALL of them not just the better players. Structure, structure, structure, like I said before run practice the same way everyday, from an all over outline aspect. Start, middle and end the same way. You've decided to volunteer for this, give it your all and the kids will respond and you'll experience things that will last a lifetime. And remember It's flag football and the kids are 6&7.
It's flag football and the kids are 6&7. If you keep this in mind while your out there I think this will go far in the kids having fun and learning while practicing and playing. Do a search on google or yahoo for youth football, flag football, be creative and you'll hit on hundreds if not thousands of excellent sources of information. As far as giving you ideas and practice drills let me break down how I coach our pee-wee travel football team. I think the same principles will apply. It's flag football and the kids are 6&7.
1. Meet with all parents and let them know what they can expect from you and what you expect from them. Support from the parents from the jump is very important and leave the communication lines open as possible. Parents on your side lends itself to practicing with dad outside of your practice as an example.
2. Learn as much as you can about the basics and fundamentals as you can. The better your knowledge base is the better you'll be able to, well, coach/teach.
3. Go to practice PREPARED. Have an outline of what you'll go over that day/night from minute one to the after practice coach to players talk. Show the players confusion and indecision and you lose them. Show the players your prepared and keep practice moving along at a good clip and you get more done and players begin to look up to you/trust you. Run practice the same way everyday as far as the outline
a. Start with a light jog.
b. make 4 lines and do the same (add one or 2 for variety as season goes) cals every day.
c. Then into same 4 lines bunched up now and do kereokes, run foward, run backward, high skips be creative.
d. light jog then water (away from coaches) while you and coaches briefly go over that days practice plan.
e. Whole team 3 lines, angle of pursuit drills, ripping the flag drills, be creative.
f. Then break up the team into below suggested squads, it's too much to try and coach whole team at once. Offensive coach teaches the snap, hand offs, run plays you'll be running gametime. D coach LB filling holes, staying home, maybe he has the ends that day teaching straight in move for DE's Line coach is teaching blocking????not sure you know the rules.
4. Break down the team into squads so kids are not standing around doing nothing while your teaching or showing a move. i.e. Offensive coach takes the QB, RB's and Center, defensive coach takes the LB's, and Safteys, Line coach takes both lines. Obviously break it down according to whatever your objectives are.
Just be prepared. Don't stand in front of kids and be like, ok now will........maybe will........ Have a plan ahead of time and show confidence and decicivness. Use your time wisely to keep the kids interested. End of pratice would/could be intra team practice game then sprints. Hand out stickers after games, or maybe even for good things done in practice. Maybe football cards for doing the best sprints, intra 'squad' games and then reward for good effort. I can't stress enough the importance of showing the kids your orginized, in charge and your there because you care about ALL of them not just the better players. Structure, structure, structure, like I said before run practice the same way everyday, from an all over outline aspect. Start, middle and end the same way. You've decided to volunteer for this, give it your all and the kids will respond and you'll experience things that will last a lifetime. And remember It's flag football and the kids are 6&7.
