In your role as a youth football coach,
you will profoundly affect the
lives of your players. By your
approach to education, you can
show your players how to handle
all of the many challenges they
will see throughout their lives.
Be Passionate
You have to coach for the correct
reasons. You should concentrate
on the lessons that will show
your players proper morals. Important
standards to teach are respect
for authority, work ethic, competitiveness,
and teamwork. A good youth football
coach will also stress setting
reachable goals and developing
a plan of how to reach those goals.
If you go into coaching for the
wrong reasons, like seeking fame
or an ego-boost, your players
will know and they will not respect
you as much.
Enjoy Teaching
Your key reason for instruction
should be to assist kids in maturing
into well-developed adults. Of
course winning is important, but
if it really is the only thing
you care about, you won't be able
to find any satisfaction when
you do win the big games. You
have to give yourself a chance
to enjoy the game, along with
making it fun for your student
athletes.
Have Patience
All great athletes have had a
great coach behind them who was
patient enough to teach them the
necessary skills for their sport.
Patience is not something everyone
is born with, but it can be learned
with time and experience. Many
times a talented player will not
develop until they finally get
that one bit of coaching advice
that makes everything click for
them. As a coach, you must make
sure to be patient with all of
your players so that you will
be there when their talent explodes.
Get Organized
You can't get everything done
that you will want to unless you
have a solid, regimented schedule.
Most NFL coaches are famous for
their attention to detail and
organization, so you should pattern
yourself after the top of the
profession. Make the most out
of your limited practice time
each day. Know what you need to
get done that day before you begin
practice. Discuss any key issues
with your assistant coaches before
setting your schedule so that
there are no surprises once the
players are on the field and ready
to go.
Run an Efficient, Fast-Paced Practice
Do not waste precious practice
time on conditioning and low-importance
drills. Many coaches, especially
at youth football levels, will
make the mistake of grinding their
players through useless drills
just to impart toughness. Toughness
and conditioning will both benefit
more from a quick, well-organized
practice with quality drills.
Focus on drills that develop the
skills your individual players
are lacking. Of course, all fundamentals
need to be refreshed from time
to time, but you shouldn't waste
excessive time on the things they
already do well. Minimize "standing
around" time in your practices.
Many youth football coaches spend
too much time teaching by talking
instead of active teaching.It
is much more effective to limit
your explanation to short bursts
after each player has run through
the drill. Quickly show them what
they did wrong or right during
the drill and start the next player.
You can continue talking while
the players are in motion, but
many coaches will bring the entire
team's practice to a standstill.
Attention span can be a problem
for kids, especially at the younger
levels, so more information will
be retained if you keep them moving
and focused on the practice.
Keeping these basic ideas in mind
will help any coach with their
youth football team, no matter
what the level or age-group. Enthusiasm,
patience, and efficiency are the
keys to success in winning and
developing great youth football
players. More tips will be available
in future parts to this series.
This article courtesy of http://www.clovisfootball.com,
the source for Clovis football
information.
