OT: Coaching 5-6 graders. Tips, drills, help
I recently got forced into coaching my sons middle school football team. I had zero coaching experience previously but, I have to admit I absolutely fell in love with it. As a kid I played a lot of football, attended camps and all that but, never knew how much was involved in actually coaching kids up. I think I did what every man does when faced with coaching, went to youtube and watched video for a few weeks.
Now we're in an extremely small district, I'm guessing about 20,000 people in the district and this is football forsaken country out here so some of the better athletes don't want to play. To make a potentially long story short, I know there are several coaches of various degrees on here and was wondering if any of you had any tips or helpful idea that helped you and your teams turn the corner.
This team hasn't won a game in 3-4 years. Every year they have a new coaching staff and no summer conditioning set up. We went 0-8 this year, having to forfeit 2 games mid season for lack of available players. The first 3 games we got destroyed 56-6, 46-0 and 62-0. We had the 2 game forfeit stretch but, then the kids really got competetive. I was extremely proud of the effort and growth and I want to keep building on it.
I appreciate all useful feed back and keep in mind most of these kids have never played football at any level.
October 21st, 2016 at 6:07 AM ^
Well, you probably don't want to run Georgia Tech's offense, because they can't handle the reads or pitches at that age. You can run their formations and some of their plays, but I wouldn't suggest a triple option offense at that age.
October 20th, 2016 at 9:01 PM ^
neg away
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October 20th, 2016 at 9:09 PM ^
I have kids, let them play football, but if I didn't, I sure as shit wouldn't waste anyones time with a post like yours.
Bang away
October 21st, 2016 at 2:39 AM ^
October 20th, 2016 at 9:05 PM ^
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October 20th, 2016 at 9:05 PM ^
and email address. I turned over stacks of notes and bound material I had gathered through the years, but I can give you some hints for basic techniques that should do a world of good.
If you play sound, fundamental football you won't be on the short end of scores like that.
I'll be happy to do all I can. Lots of times on my hands. I can say with certainty you should know your qb before conditioning drills are over. Getting the leader in the right place is key. I wouldn't put too much faith in youtube and internet, etc. Much of that has to do with personnel and its much better to teach what you know.
October 20th, 2016 at 9:14 PM ^
play some form of the gap 8, using the 52 as your base. Not important that you send the house. Use your two strongest players for DE to feed everything bak to the middle and don't allow them to take a direct route to qb because contain is much more important. Just have them go as deep as deepest back and let them know they are responsible for the outside. Let them know why you are doing this. They respond well to why and then they start asking questions. Tell them you funnel to the inside because that is where the majority of your defenders are.
October 20th, 2016 at 9:45 PM ^
October 20th, 2016 at 9:53 PM ^
October 20th, 2016 at 10:21 PM ^
I am coaching fifth grade this season for the first time. The most important thing is tell them to go potty before they come to practice so you don't have someone running off the field in a panic every five minutes.
Seriously, the best advice on offense is to install a suite of 6-8 plays that fit together well (base-constraint stuff) and rep them over and over so that they feel confident in their execution. Then compliment them when they do it right in the game. Build from a base of positivity, rather than negativity. Tell them, "You did OK, here's how to do it better," rather than "You screwed up. You need to get better." I think the most important thing at this age is to get them to want to show up next year.
October 20th, 2016 at 10:21 PM ^
for 3rd and 4th graders. Playoffs start this weekend after we finished 6-1 during the regular season.... Recommend keeping it simple... we probably only have 8 plays we run.. but our kids have mastered them.
For d-line just have the kids work rip and swim moves. For o-line constantly work on short first step and inside hand placement...
October 20th, 2016 at 10:31 PM ^
I haven't coached football, but I have coached a lot of age group swimming, and a lot of kids this age.
First, forget about trying to "condition" them. Pre-adolescent bodies don't respond to physical training the same way more mature bodies do. Teach them fundamental techniques (like the stuff dragonchild mentioned); muscle memory will stick with them as they get older.
Second, expect to repeat yourself, early, often and at several different volumes. Also, remember people have different learning styles. Some understand a verbal explanation best. Some need to see it on film or a moving diagram on a tablet. Some need to just play, either on the field or doing Madden. If you use ALL of the verbal, visual and experiential teaching styles, you maximize you chance of reaching every kid. There was an article on this blog about Jim Harbaugh's first practice at Michigan--the legendary 4 hour practice. Everyone thought it was all about hard core conditioning, but Jim explained to his father that it was also "class on grass." Jack talked about the normal first spring practice typically started with a couple hours of lectures or film study, and he would expect to hold the attention of only about half the players. In contrast, Jim's 4 hour practice was getting the experiential learners involved right away. Brilliant.
Third, forget about winning and keep the scheme as simple as possible. You want these kids to HAVE FUN! Confidence enables learning. Enjoying the process enables learning. Give the kids the experience of being successful while having fun, and they will learn by themselves. Don't worry about your record; it's a sign you're more focused on your ego and your agenda. Focus on the kids playing well and learning skills, and you're doing your job.
October 20th, 2016 at 10:41 PM ^
Have fun. You can never be too positive. Criticism will kill the spirit of kids this age. Smile, a lot. Tell the parents they are not allowed to coach from the sidelines but positive cheering is always welcome.
Go to YouTube or other websites for age appropriate drills. It's amazing what's available for free, it's usually super easy to implement, and makes an enormous difference.
But most of all, have and foster fun
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October 20th, 2016 at 10:49 PM ^
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October 20th, 2016 at 11:20 PM ^
October 20th, 2016 at 11:21 PM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 12:08 AM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 12:15 AM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 12:31 AM ^
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October 21st, 2016 at 1:40 AM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 1:55 AM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 1:56 AM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 1:11 PM ^
USA football is an excellent resourse for this age group. Also, YouTube Seattle Seahawk tackling skills.
Big thing is to learn how to run the practice. Such as 10 min warm up, 15 min on "O", 15 mins on "D" , 10 mins kickoff/return. That then leaves 25 mins to work on "Improving weak areas" that come up though the season. (I run 75 min practices).
They learn best by having a routine those first 45 mins of practice. Reps over and over and over. Repeat the same sentences over and over to drive the point home. If that age group gets the basic fundementals down they will win games.
October 21st, 2016 at 4:37 AM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 6:03 AM ^
Run a Wing-T, Dead T, or Wishbone, something with a lot of misdirection. Run about 4 plays to start (both ways, so you'll really have 8 plays) and then see if you get good enough to add some plays to the arsenal.
Four plays to run:
- Trap
- Sweep
- Dive/Iso
- Waggle
Defensively, you probably want to play a 6-2.
October 21st, 2016 at 8:53 AM ^
And at this level your corners will essentially be OLB at this level of football.
DE's and corners have one job. Don't let anyone get outside.
Blitz your backers into the formation strength almost every down. Outside shoulder free.
In the even that their QB COULD burn you over the top with a pass...have your corners and safties aware of this on every play, but most likley longer downs.
Keep things simple on offense. One of the biggest mistakes Dad coaches try to do is get cute on offense and try and run everything they've ever known on offense.
If you have 10 good plays you'll be fine.
If your offense can snap the ball on a 2 or 3 count you'll get free yards regularly. Be able to go on "2" frequenlty.
ALWAYS have a trick play in case of a deadlocked tie game and the only way to score is trickery.
Stress no arm tackles. If you do anything on defense teach your kids to wrap up.
I've coached this age group for 5 years and had great success with this model.
October 21st, 2016 at 7:48 AM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 9:36 AM ^
I have coached flag football for several years, and I assume you are coaching tackle. However, there are some parallels particularly in that age group.
Offense:
The first rule of thumb is that misdirection is the name of the game on offense. Most kids that age prefer to run to the edge over running into tackles. I've found that practicing jet sweeps, pitches, and reverses is paramount. Start with the basics and grade upwards. For instance, have them work on handing off the ball with the QB standing still and the tailback running to the QB. Then, advance them to pitches where the QB is stationary but pitches the ball 2-3 yards out to the HB for a sweep. A step up from that is the reverse with a running handoff and finally the running pitch which is great for the old reverse flea-flicker (seen this twice in CFB this year). For passing, I break it down into two separate drills. The first is route running. You have to get them to know that they must stick to their route - kids often start the route, don't get the ball then stop and yell for it. Second, practice two types of catches - crossing routes and deep routes. Crossing routes are great when you want a quick pass without misdirection. The vertical routes are perfect for the misdirection plays or if you happen to have a height advantage on your team.
Defense:
People play all sorts of defense. I think zone is easier then man for this age group and I use my linebackers (typically the more experienced kids on the team) to adjust. This simplifies the defense - particularly for the younger kids. The linebackers read the offense and either shift into coverage on the slots or delay to read misdirection. As I referenced in the post above - kids love to try and get the edge, so we spend a TON of time working on our DBs and OLBs sealing the edge. A good drill for this is placing a marker ~10 yds inside the field boundary. Have both the ball carrier and the defensive player start 15-20yds off the line of scrimage and run to the sideline. The ball carrier cannot cut back inside until he passes the marker and the defensive player's goal is to make sure he doesn't get outside to the boundary - ie. seal the edge. You'll be surprised how bad they are at sealing the edge before the drill and how good they get after 10 minutes. This pays off in games as it allows your team to gang tackle the outside rush.
There are tons of websites for coaching and drills, but these are some basic philosophies which work well in that age group from my experience. The bottom line however is have fun! We used kicking competitions and Gauntlet flag drills to pick captains and game day starters. It made practice almost as much fun as the games!
October 21st, 2016 at 9:54 AM ^
If Archer has taught me anything, it is to
Always
Be
Berating
+
Belittling
Gotta break em down and then build em up. /s
October 21st, 2016 at 10:07 AM ^
Checkout the website threatsports.org
They have suggested drills for various youth sports including football. There are also coaching resources that you can download for free. The site also links to articles that give a good philosophy on coaching youth sports.
October 21st, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^
October 21st, 2016 at 12:37 PM ^
coaching is enough to do without being a sales manager, pancake maker or spaghetti chef.
I'd limit the contact drills in practice to ~ 1/3 of your time. I don't think there is benefit to more than that. Nothing with over 3 yards lead on head to head drills.
Try and give each unit and player a good word and a coaching point every practice.
The good advice is already given...and far better than I could give.
Run, run, run...
Some of my best memories are from 5th grade football (first TD pass made (it had the Billy Kilmer / Tim Tebow wobble) and catch.)
Good luck, load up on coach speak and have fun.
October 21st, 2016 at 1:33 PM ^
One of the best pieces of advice that I received when I started coaching is what I use as a golden rule.
YOU DO NOT have to explain your reasoning why a kid isn't getting as much playing time as other's. You watch them practice and perform everyday... their parent's only get to hear their story which 9 times out of 10 is the kid just saying what they think their parent's want to hear. It is ok for a kid to not be good at everything they do and try so don't do things just to please the parent's, but if a parent does ask just tell them the truth and tell them what they can work on and leave it at that, don't argue with them about it.
Make sure you start simple in teaching basic's techniques at every position. If you don't know much about a position, ask someone or get on youtube and get actual information on how to teach things for that position. I have seen way to many guys/gals that just spout off and teach the wrong things. Also, when it comes to putting it all together choose an offense and defense that is geared towards the kids you have, at that age a good Georgia Tech type offense or a wing- T type offense is both easy and effecient. When it comes to D just stack the box and bring a couple linebackers, you want your kids to not be afraid of contact and with blitzing and creating that contact the will eventually get used to it and usually will start wanting to hit someone.
Repetition is key but you have to do it in an engaging way. Most kids that age will not stay focused on something for more than 25-30 mins. past that you are wasting your time because they may look attentive but really they are thinking about dinner, school, the booger in their nose and everything else a 12 or 13 year old kid thinks of.
Last but not least, remember when you may be frustrated beyond whits end you are out their shaping young men's or woman's lives in the grand scheme of things, so make sure you carry yourself in a way that is a good example when around them... oh and at the end of the day the kids usually don't care if they win every game they just want to have fun, I know I know winning is awesome and all but if you teach the fundamentals and make it fun the winning will come and they will be winners when it becomes important like High School or College.
October 21st, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
Here is a great website: https://coacheschoice.com
I did coach at the Middle School level and now high school wrestling with no previous experience personally coaching, nor with any wrestlers who knew how... and in 3 years, we were competiting for championships and heading for states...So a few thoughts, for whatever pixels they are worth:
1) Know your kids strengths. Do you have more size? speed? Intelligence? Pass/catch? Choose a pass-blocking scheme that matches their strengths.
2) Play to their strengths and keep it simple. Have 3 plays that they can run to the left and right that feed off each other. Don't move on until they get those right.
3) Don't discount conditioning. Their bodies are so adaptive and need sooooooo much work. Building in conditioning time will pay off big... especially days without pads. In track and wrestling we do hard day - easy day - hard day - easy day, so that their bodies have time to strengthen through recovery. On the "Easy Days" we do more skill drill and mental. Hard days, keep it simple and intense.
4) Defense. Defense. Defense. Was mentioned else where, but 11 in the box or 10 and 1 deeeeeeeep safety.
5) John Wooden: Correct one thing at a time. Give the correction, model, restate the correction = redrill it. Their minds can focus on .1 things at a time. Anything more then that, and they will freeze.
6) Praise, Praise, Praise. If the kid farted better this time then previously... let'em know. Any little improvement, let'em know. Don't allow any negative talk between athletes or in the locker room.
October 21st, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^
Do not take advice.
October 21st, 2016 at 9:38 PM ^
Also google "double wing for youth football" it's broken down to be youth geared.
Defense: google "gap-air-mirror" defense. Also the best for youth level.
I've coached youth football for 6yrs. Sometimes we have talent and go 6-0 sometimes not and we go 3-3. Always have fun either way.
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