OT: Calling MGoCoaches
This fall I will be coaching my first youth football team. (Go Bulldogs!)
I am coming to you guys looking for advice on what you find is the best playbook software available. Whether it's on the iPad or for a PC.
Also, any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
Even if this just turns into a coaches open thread that's fine with me.
Thank you all!
March 31st, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^
My apologies for hijacking your thread.
At least with my club, the expectation is that the coaches are US Soccer certified (although it's monitored through the state branch of US Soccer - LINK). Even for rec players at this age.
I coached younger kids for several years before getting certified. Our club tightened up their rules on certification, so I took the classes. The classes were excellent, with a focus on age-specific approaches. Your club likely will sponsor the classes - you just need to devote the time to the class.
The other thing it took me years to realize is to have a written practice plan for every single practice. It does not need to be too detailed, but if you have the drills/scrimage approach and times mapped out, you'll get everything done you want to have done. If you have an assistant, ensure that they're signed off on the plan and let them run part of the practice - they're devoting time to coaching too.
U14 is a lot of fun, with some kids who still haven't reached puberty and some that seem nearly adult. There is a lot of variation, and you'll be amazed at the skill some of the players have at that age. You'll want to be fully on your game even with the rec kids, and enlist the help of knowledgeable parents. (PROTIP - If a parent has a cool- or scary-sounding accent and their kid is pretty good, they might be a good target for an assistant.)
Also, be sure to incorporate dynamic stretching, especially with a focus on preventing ACL injuries. This is the age when injuries start to mount. A quick internet search will get you the dynamic stretching drills you need.
Perhaps most importantly, ensure the kids are having fun. There's no point in playing if the game's not fun. (The saying I use is "you never want to be a kid's last coach.") If soccer's not their bag, there's not a lot you can do about it. But most of the kids are out there to have fun and improve. Too many coaches forget the "fun" part. Also, insist on good sportsmanship.
Finally, when in doubt, sweep the leg.
Good luck!
It save my life the fall I was coaching my then kindergardner's team.
March 31st, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
Just have your team play Madden and study their playbook
Honestly, I would just use Powerpoint. It's cumbersome, but no more so than any actual playbook software you would download.
Playbook software is usually expensive and not really intuitive. You probably already have Powerpoint, and if you look around online, I bet you could even find some pre-made templates.
Does your organization use Hudl? Their playbook software seems alrigtht too.
You know Monumental who makes those awesome wallpapers? His app is awesome.
https://www.facebook.com/TackleFootballPlaymaker?ref=stream
What I love most about it is it will email PDF versions of the plays to you. It's made for coaches but I use it to diagram things for mgo all the time.
He's also the same guy who designs the covers and section pages for HTTV
I've been searching around a lot to find something the past few days and so far I think that this appis the best option. Thanks Seth!
Any free one will probably do at your level, though you'll find annoying things about them I'm sure. The one Seth pointed to is nice and works well as well. I'd even advice simply getting a template (see link below) and hand drawing them, just for ease, but that's up to you.
For the age group you're coaching I would keep the playbooks for the coaches only. I think giving it to players can overwelm/confuse them in weird ways because kids are kids and more is often much, much less.
So keep it simple, give them the very basics (teach them that a player is a number and teach them what hole it is run to: ie 32 trap) and give plays names like "Iso, Wham, Sweep". Keep the blocking schemes simple: base blocking and traps. Then have a few "trick" plays because those are fun for the kids.
In all honesty, you can probably get what you need already online without having to put much together yourself (though making up a few plays for fun can be a nice way to get the kids excited). Here's a link that has basics for about the age you're coaching.
http://usafootball.com/sites/all/themes/usafootball/downloads/Splitback…
Also, I would ask: Do you really need a playbook?
What age are you coaching? What scheme are you running?
We don't use a playbook, we teach everthing on the field. I've done it both ways, and I've learned that one way isn't necessarily better than the other. If you keep your scheme simple enough, kids don't need a playbook.
8th graders. I would have the playbook more for use of the staff than the players. Just to have everyone on the same page.
How old is this group and what style of offense are you trying to run?
Not all that important. Pick a scheme YOU are comfortable coaching, and roll with it.
Teach 'em fundamentals. Encourage them to have fun (or at least, stay the heck out of the way when they are having it). Teach them to respect themselves and the other players.
As far as wins & losses, keep in mind that you win by recruiting, so don't kid yourself about coaching your way to a championship. Your coaching efforts are one or two players at a time, and you do your best work with the kids who are not the stars.
I've coached for 15 years, from 5th graders up to high school Varsity. Just keep it simple, positive, and fun. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest through the trees, but try to remember these are small kids. You're not playing for a contract bonus or Lombardi trophy. Your primary focus should be
- teach proper tackling technique,
- teach assignment football - everyone "DO YOUR JOB"
- get as many kids in as possible.
If you do those 3, you won't have to worry about the scoreboard.
Couldn't agree more
At that level, I would LOVE coaching the Wing-T. It's easy to coach, easy to learn, and you can get a bunch of different kids carrying the ball.
Fundamentals and having fun is the most important thing. Good luck to you and your Bulldogs!
Hey Coach, good luck to you. Some great places to go for info is coachhuey.com. Tons of information there, other coaches are very helpful and informative. Some other great sites are:
coachhoover.blogspot.com
brophyfootball.blogspot.com
smartfootball.com
I agree with some of the others here that you shouldn't give the playbook to the kids, just adults. Keep it very basic, probably 8 plays max. Practice the fundamentals every practice, blocking, tackling, and ball security. Yes I said ball security... Anyway, good luck.
I was thinking one of them run and shred and gun and spread offenses popular in eastern Kenturky, or West Virginia...and maybe a 3/3/5 defense.
(/s ... the informative responses are awesome and indicative of the quality on this board. Go Bulldogs!)
I don't know what age you're talking about here, but if they're really young - say, sixth grade or younger - I would just run about 4 running plays (2 to the right, 2 to the left) and 2 passing plays. You can mix in a trick play or two also.
If you can make your team fundamentally sound, you'll win football games. People are talking about the "basics" here by talking about blocking, tackling, etc., but those things will come. STANCE is the #1 problem I see with fundamentals from young kids. A good stance will automatically help them with blocking, tackling, etc. People just want to get to the X's and O's, which are fun and all...but you have to teach the player first.
Stance, alignment, assignment.
Stance, alignment, assignment.
Stance, alignment, assignment.
I really appreciate great youth coaches because it generally leads to less time I have to preach the basics at the HS level.
Another good tip may also to be to try to get in contact with local middle school or HS coaches (depending on age) and see what style they typically run. By no means does this mean you will be running a spread no-huddle, but if some coaches develop a solid relationship with one another it may mean that all programs will benefit. Obviously they may not be as responsive as one would like (especially this time of year with aggressive fundraising and whatnot) but I know I am always interested to hear what feeder programs are doing that way I can tell what a certain group of kids will likely understand, and also what try won't.
Congrats. The coaching experience is very addicting and enjoyable. Lots of tough work and long days but it's worth it when you see young people accomplish goals they never thought were possible.
for us coaches, and will show the kids the play in the huddle, making sure the kids know what position they are, where they're going, etc.
depending on your program and age level, the high school coaches will want you to use their base plays and nomenclature. as has been mentioned, we simplify many of them and that seems to work well too.
as you get more comfortable you get to have more fun. we ran a read option that was more sophisticated than anything the local HS was running toward the end of the year that worked extremely well, going undefeated. the kids loved it.
March 31st, 2014 at 11:35 PM ^
1) Put a football on the end of a broomstick (lots of duct tape) and use it every time they do sprints or go off a cadence. Get them used to moving only after the ball has moved. This has paid dividends for our team the past three years. Hard count them and try to draw them offsides. More sprints for every offside.
2) Build a couple of simple chutes so the kids learn to stay low as they fire out from their stances. I screwed a four foot long 1" X 2" into a square foot base and put a few pegs near the top to hold a piece tubing across to another stand built the same way. I built four of these stands making two chutes. If they come out of their stance too high, then they knock the plastic tube off, so they learn to stay low. And in football, LOW MAN WINS!
Also, keep a few extra broomsticks around. Have O linemen put their hands about 15" apart on the broomstick and D linemen put their hands 4" outside of the O lineman's hands. Then have them go at it. Helps teach the O linemen to keep their hands in to avoid holding penalties.