Any Youth Football Coaches out there?

I have been a Baseball player my entire life so I know how important it is to have great coaching. So I wanted to ask for help. I am taking over the coaching job of my sons sons 5 v 5 flag football team. I have done a lot of research on drills and different type of plays, drills, practice routines but I want to see if there is anyone out there that has been coaching football for a while that can help me out. All of these kids are 6-7 years old so there is a limit to how technical some of the drills can be.

I have started to make a play book and I thought it might be easier if we had like 4-5 different formations and 4 plays per formation so only 16-20 plays for the kids to remember. Do you think thats too little or not enough? What type of plays work well with younger kids?

Some of the speed/agility drills we do at the beginning of practice.

we do a lot of agility ladder work, cone drills, and we work with speed hurdles.

Once those drills are over I have a hard time figuring out what else to do besides run the plays. Are there any specific activities that you guys can help with that will help the kids with pulling flags, containment, and other essential football skills?

Thanks in advance.

I coached 3rd and 4th graders for 3 years. My teams played full contact, but the fundamentals will still be the same. It sounds like your playbook might be a little ambitious, but the only way to tell will to be see how they cope with it.



Offensive Drills

Form two lines that face each other, about 15' apart. Have person in line A run toward Person in line B and hand him the ball. Person from line B (who now has the ball) runs toward Line A and hands the ball to the person in the front of line A. And so on... After the kids hand the ball off, they go to the back of the opposite line from which they started. This drill is monotonous and very frustrating at first, but as they get the hang of it, they will be able to go faster. It is a good drill to get younger kids (and even high school kids) to get used to handling the ball. You can even make mini games out of it, like seeing how long you can go without the ball touching the ground.



Defensive Drills

Pursuit Drill - This drill basically simulates a sweep or pitch by the offense. It teaches kids to pick the proper angle when pursuing an offensive player. Have a kid with a ball run a sweep around the outside of the defense... Slowly! Start with the line and show them the proper angle that they should be using to catch the RB. Then do the same for the Linebackers and DB's (for the opposite side End, LB and Corner, I would be teaching them to stay put and contain the backside for the occasional reverse) Then do the same thing in the opposite direction. This is a tough skill for younger kids to learn.

Angle Drill - Form two lines facing the same direction, about 20 feet apart. Set two cones (5' apart) 10 - 15' from the kids. That wasn't very clear, see diagram below... One line is offense and the other is defense. The offensive side carries the ball (or make them take a handoff from coach) and has to run through the cones. The defender has to try to pull their flag before the get past him. Match kids up for speed and it is a very productive drill.


Cone

Cone



Defense Offense



I will try to think of some more. Coaching football is a blast!

Best of luck

Man, I'm trying to remember when my son was that age and what we did. If I remember correctly, just getting them lined up somewhat correctly (even a good huddle was worth cheering for!) was a major accomplishment, let alone them learning multiple formations and plays from each.

But, that was 20 years ago and they're probably doing much more complicated stuff much earlier now.

Sorry OP, I didn't help you any with your question, just had me remembering that far back.

Never to early to drill that you don't move on sound, you move when you see the ball move.

You be center and bring them to you lined up against you (in groups of 4) like they are on D and say,

"What do we GO on?"

They yell, "movement"

You ask again, they affirm.

Then do your cadence and try to get them to jump offsides, by yelling, "go, GO, GoGO" etc. They *only* move when you pick the ball up and sprint past you 10 yards.

If somebody jumps offsides, that group does pushups.

Do it at the end of the practice when they are tired and need to focus. You can actually work this drill into/alternating sprints, conditioning at the end of practice.

As someone that's coached youth sports and played flag football, the less plays to remember, the better.

Thanks for all the help guys. I left out a few key rules of the league we are playing in. Since its 5-6 year old kids its kind of different.

On offense I am allowed on the field in the huddle to call plays. I have them already drawn up and elaminated so that is why I went with 4 formations and 4 plays for each formation. 2 pages i need to carry around.

On Defense the players aren't allowed to rush the QB until the ball is handed off or passed. They have to stay on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage.

I remember playing football and playing one season. Since that year 38 years ago I have played and coached soccer, and have been coaching for about 20 years. I don't have specific football advice, but I can tell you my experience coaching little kids.

In a standard practice most kids are actually engaged in the activity for less than 1/2 the practice. Lines result in boredom, which results in wandering 6 y/o minds, which results in coaches/ adults getting frustrated. The more you limit lines at that age, I believe the easier it will be on you.

Any verbal instruction should be no longer than 15-30 seconds (see above). New ideas should be introduced in activities with encouragement/ directives added in as the kids are "doing."

Kids play to have fun. The agenda of competitiveness is generally the creation of adults. Mistakes should be met with encouragement, not frustration. Kids feel it and if it becomes a chore, they find something else to do. Also, if one kid really screws up, public recrimination is not only embarrassing for the kid, but the other kids will feed off that and that boy could become the whipping boy in other places too (playground, school).

Showing you care about the child, not the game makes those teachable moments much easier. If I have a 6 year old who knows I am invested in his development, and I make a correction, the child is more apt to accept and work on it. If I have been negative to that child, they shut me out and don't try to fix it.

Most importantly to me, and I cannot overstate this enough, is the game is about development. Both physical development and personal growth in the children. If I attach growth to the score and our team loses, they feel like losers. I set out an expectation at the beginning of the year with the kids AND parents that we will win some (hopefully) and lose some. It isn't about the score, it is about how they play. It will save you headaches with both the kids and the parents.

The reason why I quit football. We stood around and listened to the coach drone on about stuff. We then stood in line waiting to play. Then when a kid made a mistake our fat, out of shape coach would yell at the person who goofed up asking what the kid "couldn't understand?" And for clarity, this kid was not me, I was actually pretty functional. I thought the game was stupid because this is what my coach taught me.