Sketching up my youth team's offense
I am putting the finishing touches on our youth team's offense for next fall. They'll be 11-14 year olds.
I want to go with multiple formations and multiple personnel groups; I don't think these other youth teams have seen an offense this sophisticated before.
There's another team in our league with a new coach and we're going to have to hear all sorts of excuses about how they have a new coach, they've lost so much talent, blah blah...to hell with them.
I really think there are no excuses - I told the kids last year, you are what your record says you are.
Rosenberg will be ready to pounce.
Was there supposed to be a question mixed in here or something?
Don't confuse the kids, there's no out-scheming at the youth level (Or really, in most cases, but that's another discussion). Teach them great fundamentals and master your iso, power, counter, and toss plays, and you'll be as effective as you can be.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:08 PM ^
Teach them fundamentals.
"You are what your record is." Really?
As a youth sports coach, you are what your kids are when the become varsity players in high school at the earliest. You might be able to outscheme some other teams, but the teams that have kids that have learned good fundamental football will beat you. Don't waste half of your practice time trying to teach kids a complicated scheme. Teach them how to execute the basics.
It is nice to win at any level, but you sound like you might be taking the 11-13 year old team's won-loss record a bit too seriously. Focus on the long-term. It is what is best for the kids.
April 14th, 2010 at 12:11 AM ^
And run the Eleven Skill Player Offense
But if you have a kid of your own of that age, make sure he plays for someone else. ;)
I see what you did there.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:01 PM ^
You win the prize.
I've found that records in youth leagues are usually directly the result of how many 13/14 year olds you have on your team versus the rest of the league.
Your mad coaching skills can only go so far if you don't have enough kids who've hit their growth spurt.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:03 PM ^
Good point about 11/12 year olds vs 13/14 year olds: sorta like how Michigan had to play freshmen and sophomores against redshirt juniors and seniors last year. That is one reason why I am optimistic about this year: the kids are a year older and bigger.
Michigan won't get pushed around by older players in the Big Ten this year.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:56 PM ^
I like your enthusiasm, but I don't think too many Wolverines are hitting puberty between '09 and '10.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^
by "puberty" you mean "a weight room with Barwis in it".
April 13th, 2010 at 11:31 PM ^
you are correct from what I've seen so far in my coaching life.
With so little practice time and lots of kids with no idea what's going on, talent is the major predictor of success. I think that getting all the kids well-drilled in the fundamentals maximizes the chance of success; I've seen a lot of coaches screw around with fancy schemes or waste a single stud player because they didn't drill the blocking and tackling enough.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:29 PM ^
Clearly I should have included a sarcasm tag.
The second paragraph is what Charlie Weis said before his first game at ND. The third is a reference to Weis' "to hell with Michigan" comment. The last alludes to the title of Charlie's book and a saying of Bill Parcells about one's record.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:06 PM ^
Show em' your decided schematic advantage
April 14th, 2010 at 10:54 AM ^
That sounds like the sort of thing that ends up with you not being allowed within a thousand feet of a school.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:32 PM ^
Will blow up many schemes on either side of the ball. Teamwork, fundamentals are the key, no doubt. I wish you luck but can assure you biggest obstacles will be the parents not the kids or schemes.
April 14th, 2010 at 12:33 AM ^
Oh God, don't remind me. They get worse every year.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:05 AM ^
As a parent I show up and stay for every pratice. Quietly in my lawn chair. But since you asked I do have some ideas.
Chalk Talk! Chalk Talk! Chalk Talk...just as important as field time. My son is a RB that ran out of a spread offence at age 10. The major issue was the front line. It not that the kids did not know HOW to block, it was knowing WHO to block and in what direction to block.
Every kid is important to the team. If they miss their assignment the whole play can get blown up. Everyone is a moving part of one machine. Every kid has 24 hrs...what they do with that time is what will seperate them from everyone else.
Coaching I give my kid (reasons why I am not a coach)
Dont waste my time or yours...when you get on that field or any field..leave everything on the field.
I paid the the oppertuntiy for him to play...he must earn the right to play or he sits the bench...as it should be.
You cant show up to August pratice and expect to "get in shape"
There is no such thing as the off season .
Note: Football and Track and Field go hand and hand
100 push ups and 100 sit-ups daily. (not old enough for weights)
M,W,F Track (10) 60m sprints, after that is done 400m, 300m,200m,100m sprints with 3min rest in between.
T,Th speed ladder, cone and ball handling drills.
After that is done 3 60m sprints on empty German sled on the grass.
My son started playing football last year
my 2 cents
April 14th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
But it's a lot to ask. Kid might end up hating football in a couple of years.
Also: opportunity. Just sayin'.
April 14th, 2010 at 11:40 AM ^
I give him a choice. I never played football so I dont care one way or the other if he plays. I stress academics above all else. I would rather him find the cure to cancer than play in the NFL.
I also let him know that it does not matter if it is sports or academics, the competition is fierce and always there so he has to prepare to compeat in anything he chooses. So there is work involved.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
coaching at the middle school level is 95% horses. If you've got the horses, you'll win. At the high school level he said it's in the 90% range. At the college level, it's 85% of it and in the pros, having the horses still makes up about 80% of the winning formula (coaching, chemistry, luck, Hating Gods, etc making up the difference).
Obviously the exact percentages are debatable, but I think it's a strong theory, and should ease your mind a bit on designing the best offense ever.
Extra tidbit for those finding the percentages too high at the college and pro level - I think the attention we pay to recruiting and the draft show the importance of getting horses. Not just any horses, mind you, but the BEST horses.
I would run a trick play... every play. Hail Mary on first down, flea flickers, statue of liberty, fumblerusky, double reverse passes, triple option double belly dive hitch with a slant and go, the play where your qb goes over to you and asks for a different ball, the play were you snap it out of the huddle like you did when you were a little kid and you called huddle and then started when the other team wasn't looking, I would use the tree that is in the field as a pick on the DB, the play where one of your players gets down and starts barking like a dog might be good, and of course the annexation of Puerto Rico.
That should be a good base for your youth team to start from
annexation of puerto rico
April 14th, 2010 at 11:29 AM ^
I can't tell if Topher is serious here or just joking around.
You're telling me that 11 and 14 year olds are on the same team? How is that possible? Do you know the difference in skill development, size and speed between 11 year olds and 13, 14 year olds?? Its like night and day. That isn't safe at all. Its gotta be a joke.