Posts Tagged ‘Youth Football Coaching’

Kevin O’ Keefe asked:


 

In our youth football coaching program we also focus on the Kick Off Return and the Kick Off Team. These are two of the most effective weapons in youth football that you can have in your coaching program. We carry these weapons in our youth football coaching program so that we can have the tactics in winning every game that we’re going to play. This is something that we give importance and focus specifically at our youth football coaching site. In this article I’m going to explain each of these two weapons.

 

First off let’s talk about the Kick Off Return, or the KOR. KOR is considered to be the most dangerous offensive weapon in the special teams. If you get the ball, start the half or start the kick, we expect and demand a touchdown every time we have the ball. It is at the way of the line up; you start at the 50 mark, you kick off at the 40 mark. The back line man is considered as the best guy here; he sets the whole thing up, and he’s going to be the center. All of the guys in the team are 7 yards apart. Three guys split up in 12-13 yards to seal the lane. As for the alignment, it gets you the best offensive weapon. What we teach in our youth football coaching program is that the first responsibility is to make sure the ball goes over the opponents’ head as soon as the ball is kicked. The second responsibility is to drop the guy from the center 2-14 yards, full- sprint head. This would take hours and hours of practice for the special teams.

 

Now, let’s talk about the Kick Off Team, or KOT. In our youth football coaching program, the KOT consists of 11 guys in the field. What we do is split the field in 3 lines. You get two hatches in the middle. We want the ball right outside the left hatch. The first 3 players are all inside the hatch (and these players are considered to be good athletes). The 4th player is the one who’s usually going to make the tackle (and this player is considered to be an incredible athlete). The 5th player is going to be the kicker. Then we have the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th players. Players 1 to 6 are positioned inside the half way mark of the football field. The tactic here is to try to outnumber the enemy anywhere they go. The 7th player is located in the “dead center”. In the kicking game we just let the players stay in their lane; because the more you stay in the lane, the less gaps you create!


Kevin O’ Keefe asked:


 

In youth football coaching, the primary thing that should be considered is having a good planning that will go in from the day the football program is supposed to start, until the day of the championships. Such a good planning in youth football coaching will be beneficial for the team. Having a good gameplan is a key factor in determining your winning position in the game. This is something we focus on specifically at our youth football coaching site. So here are some ideals/concepts for good planning in starting a program in youth football coaching.

 

In youth football coaching, for me, the ideal for a good planning is to have a start 3½ weeks before our first game, which can be a very effective approach. Now, let me share to you the three concepts behind this 3½ weeks.

 

The first concept is to get enough time to get the kids out of the summer. This is very important in youth football coaching as you start your program. Kids usually have lots of fun during the summertime, going to the beach, taking vacations, you name it. Having enough time to get them out of their summertime fun is necessary so as to set their minds into football.

 

The second concept is to get our kids away from the other games outside of football. A lot of kids play other games like basketball, baseball, etc. So, having enough time for them to get their minds out of these games and get them into football is one very important step in youth football coaching. This will set their minds and attention to the football game.

 

The third concept is to get the kids into football mode and get them ready to go for the game. In our youth football coaching, we don’t want any parents asking for their kids to have an extra time for vacation and stuff. What we want here is that once the kids are in the program, they should be on the field full time, there’s no more stopping, and that they’re always ready to go!

 

So these are the three concepts that should be followed for good planning in starting a program in youth football coaching. Having these three concepts will set the mindset of your football team for the game, and will help you win in every football game that you will play!


Kevin O’ Keefe asked:


 

In youth football coaching, to have a good program, you should know how to divide and organize the days for the program. This is something that we focus on specifically at our youth football coaching site. Getting the days organized for the youth football coaching program is one factor that should be given of great importance. In this article, you will be able to see how we, in our youth football coaching program, divide the days and organize them efficiently.

 

The first 3 days of our youth football coaching program is dedicated on learning every step we’re going to take for the rest of the year. We go right from the beginning and into the drills. Among the kids that we have in our team, we determine who’s the best player, who’s the running back, who’s the quarterback; basically who’s going to be the “who” in the field. We let the kids decide on where they would like to position in the field and go anywhere they want. We let any kid do what they want to do based on what they think they can do. Then our coaches evaluate them if they are really fit for their positions. They also learn the basic fundamentals, from starting, stopping, and positioning themselves in the field.

 

In the 4th and 5th day, we give the kids their pads. In these days of our youth football coaching program we start to see who really wants to play football. We do drills that are designed for aggressiveness, technique and tackle. Everybody participates in these drills. The 6th day is what I consider as the most physical day before the season. In here, we find out who is “there” and “not there” in the game. We determine who is capable of doing the techniques provided in the last 5 days. By this time, we determine the positions or the capabilities of that kind of position. (Now it should be noted that what is being taught in the first 6 days are straight warm-ups, nothing fancy and nothing outrageous.)

 

Then after the 5th and 6th days we pretty much know where we are going. Our kids are on the right track and they know what we’re doing. By this time in our youth football coaching program we have a general direction about 3 weeks out, as we have already completed a whole week. We’re expecting to see individual people at position at all times. We also give the kids options. We give them options that they’re running backs, linemen, tight end, etc. And in addition to this, one of the biggest things that I find very important when you start the season is to put yourself in a position to scrimmage some of the better teams. In our case, we have high schools that run jamborees and it’s 12,14,16,18 teams get together at a high school and they run 3 sets of 20 players each (10 players in the offense and 10 players in the defense) and you pretty much know by the end of that where you stand.

 

Now, the last week is basically a “tune up” in our youth football coaching program. You come into this game very prepared by the help of the previous 4 weeks in training and practice. You understand the team that you are playing. You are going to go forward; and move forward as this week goes on. And as the season goes on all the stuff that we’ve learned from day 1 until day 5 are to be continued and elevated everyday. We expect a little bit more every time. And before the first season you should be ready to go on to that field with complete football technique.

 

So these are the helpful ways on how to divide and organize your days in your youth football coaching program. Organizing and dividing the days in this manner will really help you in achieving your goals for your team!


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