American Football Monthly July 08 Issue

I received my July 2008 issue of American Football Monthly magazine this week.  My last post highlighted my favorite article from that issue.  Here is a list of July’s articles:

• Auburn’s Pass Rush for Defensive Tackles
• 10 Mistakes You’re Bound to Make at Pre-Season Practices
• Take What They Give You: The Veer Offense in Simplest Form
• Developing a Dominating Run Blocking Technique
• Matching Leverage with Leverage Against the Spread Offense
• Three Plays for the Spread Offense
• South Florida’s Zone Blitz Package
• Offensive Line Drills For the Inside Zone
• Pigskin Preview - Best NFHS approved footballs (I use the  Wilson GST Youth football)

Next month in American Football Monthly will include an article How to Read the Minds of Offensive Coordinators which should be very interesting.  If you are a football coach at any level, you should subscribe to American Football Monthly. 

Have a great season.  Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

10 Pre-Season Practice Mistakes - AFM Article

I just read a great article in American Football Monthly by Mike Kuchar, 10 mistakes You’re Bound to Make at Pre-Season Practices.  The article outlines St Thomas’ Coach Glenn Caruso’s top 10 practice mistakes.

1. Don’t practice in a sterile environment - Purpose, Urgency & Movement
2. Don’t underestimate the importance of tempo by creating competition - Compete in drills as much as possible - Winner and a Loser
3. Don’t schedule long amounts of time for individual group and team periods - 10 minute stations vs 20 minute which are too boring
4. Don’t schedule mandatory water breaks - Water anytime players want a drink
5. Don’t condition if it’s not conducive to football - Keep a high tempo, run everywhere but not gassers
6. Don’t use conditioning as a form of punishment - Take away something like playtime
7. Don’t incorporate three-a-days during summer sessions - Don’t wear down your players
8. Don’t install your scheme slowly; use the overhaul method - Stimulate players so they see big picture
9. Don’t neglect the value of special teams - It’s every 5th play so its important!
10. Don’t underestimate the importance of a walk-through period - walk through before full speed

This is a great article on practices.  If you are not a subscriber of American Football Monthly , you should subscribe today. 

Have a great season.  Play for Fun and Winning is Funner.

Parcells’ 11 QB Commandments

Below are Bill Parcells 11 Quarterback commandments:

• Ignore other opinions
• Clowns can’t run a huddle
• Fat QBs can’t avoid the rush
• Know your job cold
• Know your own players
• Be the same guy every day
• Throwing the ball away is a good play
• Learn to manage the game: clock, clock, clock
• Get your team in the endzone
• Don’t panic
• Don’t be a celebrity quarterback

 I think these even work at the youth football level. 

Here’a another good list I found…

Gold Star Motivation

In 2006, I picked up my current youth football tackle team.  The team was mostly made up of small rookie 8 and 9 year old players, and only two players on the roster played tackle football before the 2006 season.  A few played flag football in the past.    I knew based on the roster I would have to out coach most the of teams we played.  After losing our first few games, I decided to simplify the offense.  I also decided to use a motivational tool idea I got from watching a Willie Nelson 60 Minutes’ interview about how much he loved his grandmother putting Gold Stars on his completed piano lessons.  Even after 50 years, The Hall of Fame Country star said he still cherishes the Gold Stars he received as a youth. 

As a youth football player, our coaches never used Helmet Reward Decals, so I was not open to using them, until last year when I saw Willie Nelson’s eyes tear talking about his Gold Stars.  That night, after watching the WIllie Nelson interview, I Googled Helmet Reward Decals and found the SportStar website.   I ordered about 100 reward stickers from SportStar and implemented the reward program when I received the stickers three days later. 

Our youth football players went wild over the stickers.  Many of the players collected Pokemon Cards and the reward stickers became our Pokemon Man Cards and my best motivational tool to date.  My reward program uses 9 different helmet reward stickers.   By using several stickers, our players try to collect them all and compete over who has the most of each sticker and total stickers.  The RIP Skull sticker above is for a Win.  Below are the other Helmet Reward Decals in our reward program.

Practice Days and Length

We have a debate going on amongst my coaches and parents about what days to practice and the length of practice.  I grew up playing football in Texas, so I am definitely an old school football coach with regards to discipline and respect but embrace many of the new proven training techniques. 

Our midget football league allows us to practice 3 days a week for two hours each practice and we have Saturday games.  If we do not have a game, we can practice 4 days that week.  We cannot practice on Sunday.  The last two football seasons we practiced on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.  All three practices have the same intensity.  I like Friday practices, because our games are Saturdays, and the young players do not forget much between Friday night and Saturday.  Many of our parents do not want to practice Friday nights.  They believe it is too hard on the kids to practice Friday and play Saturday.   I tend to disagree because the youth football players are 10 years old and have tons of energy.  But, with any debate there is always some truth to both sides.  To address the Friday practice issue this year and try something new, our Friday practices will be lite walk-thru practices in Shorts, Helmets, and Shoulder Pads.  If all goes well, I will probably shorten the Friday practice to 90 minutes. 

What has been your experience with practice days and length of practices?  I would love to hear from you.  Please click on Comment / Reply below and let me know what you think. 

Have a great season.  Play for Fun and Winning is Funner.

Even Front Defensive Schemes for Youth Football

I finally finished my Defensive playbook for my 5th grade pee wee football team.  After reading and watching Dave Cisar’s Winning Football Series and Coach Reed’s Winning Youth Football book, I focused on the 6-2 Wide, 4-4 Stack and Gap 8 defensive schemes for my 2008 little league tackle team.  I am not going to go into a lot of assignment detail today but here are diagrams of the base defensive formations.

6-2 Wide Defense - Diagram

 4-4 Stack Defense - Diagram

Gap 8 Defense Diagram

You can see how easy the transition to each even front defense will be for our youth football players.  I plan on using the 6-2 Wide as our main defensive formation.  We will move to the 4-4 on long yardage situations and the GAP 8 or GAM on short yardage situations and or when we are inside the 10 yard line. 

Over the next several weeks, I will outline the assignments for each defense.  If you have any history with these defenses leave me a comment.  Just click on the comments button below this post.  Thanks!

Good luck this season and remember, Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

Proper Way to Catch the Football - Video

This is an excellent video by Former NFL Player Del Rodgers showing high school football players how to properly catch the ball.  

Now I know why I dropped so many passes coming out of the backfield in high school football.   I will be teaching all my pee wee football running backs to cradle the ball!

Football Book Review - Complete Guide to Special Teams

Last night, I read American Football Coaches Association’s Complete Guide to Special Teams.  This is an excellent 250 page book on Special Teams tactics, drills and techniques written by some of the best Special Teams coaches in football and edited by Coach Bill Mallory and Coach Don Nehlen.  Some of the tactics outlined in the book are too sophisticated for youth football but the fundamental strategies lay an excellent special teams’ foundation for any youth tackle football team and the position technique chapters apply to all football players that want to play skill positions on Special Teams.  I could not put the book down and read all 250 pages in one sitting.  I rate the book 4.5 /5.0. 

The book is divided into two parts; tactics and techniques.  The Tactics sections includes chapters on; Punting, Kickoffs, Punt Returns, Kickoff Returns, Extra Points and Field Goals, Two-Point Conversions, Punt and Field Goal Blocks, and Developing Special Team Units.  The Techniques section includes chapters on; Punting, Kicking Off, Kicking Extra Points and Field Goals, Long Snapping, Holding for Kicks, Returning Punts and Kickoffs, and Developing Special Team Players.

Does your Starting QB play defense too?

Several youth football coaches I spoke with recently do not allow their starting quarterback to play defense more than just a few plays a game, if that.  I do not allow my QB to play defense but maybe a few plays in a game now and then.  I also do not allow live hitting on my QB during practice scrimmages or certain live hitting drills.  I do this because my High School starting QB broke his collar bone in a practice scrimmage my junior year.  He never played QB again, he was gun shy.  Rice University even offered him a scholarship to play football, but he declined and took the academic scholarship. 

My reasoning for not playing my QB on Defense, is to lose a the starting QB is so devastating to the team it is not worth the risk.  Plus, during the defensive series, we can talk to the QB about what’s happening with the offense.  My defensive coordinator disagreed with me last year because he thinks the kids are so young they should play offense and defense.  There’s definitely merit to his argument.   Plus our QB is my son, and I would like him to learn to play linebacker like his dad. 

I would like to know what you think!  Please vote here and let me know if your starting QB also plays defense.

Good luck this season.  Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

The Onside Kick in Youth Football

In 2006 when I started coaching tackle youth football again, the leagues coaching coordinator was very big on kicking onside kicks.  That was his thing.  To be honest, onside kicking every kick did not work out for us.  Sure we picked a few turnovers, but the majority of time we gave the other team 7 to 12 yards on our kick off.

In 2007 we started kicking just over the head of the 1st line of the kick return team and try to have the ball bounce before the second line of returners.  This short kick off worked better for us.  We recovered about the same number of kicks and most of the time, the returner at the second line just fell on the ball.  We would pick up about 7 yards a kick vs our old onside kick.  I cringed a few times when our kicker kicked the ball a little hard and it drifted into the “real” returners hands. 

This year, I am going to continue with the short kick focused on the second line of returners.  What have you had success with on youth football kickoffs?

Good Luck this season.  Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!