With the recent spike in football-related injuries and concussions, youth football coaches must be extra careful in how they prepare for each individual game and season. The NFL is limiting the amount of contact practices permissible and lower level teams are following suit. It’s easy to make the claim that the landscape has changed. As a youth football coach, you also need to be aware of many off-field issues along with these on-field aspects as you set out to run a youth football squad.
Handling Ego’s and Personalities
Not Professionals, but Still Potential for Friction. Obviously, your youth football team won’t contain the ego’s that may arise if you were managing a team like the Cincinnati Bengals. However, that doesn’t mean everyone will get along and it will be a perfect season. Typically, at the ages of 10-16, there is going to be a few players who think they have legitimate NFL potential. They’ve consistently been told they were great athletes and may have even proved their talents on the gridiron. The trouble is this persona won’t be agreed upon by all the other kids on the team. The best solution for these potential issues is to preach respect. Every player and coach should respect all their teammates, assistant coaches, referees, opponents, fans, and anyone else involved with the team. Honestly, I believe this is the best way to handle these common cases.
Dealing with Parents
Think Before Acting. Growing up, I’m sure nearly everyone has heard the quote to think before you speak. Well, this quote actually plays greatly to my next point for management of a youth football game. Chances are you’ll have parents come up to you with suggestions. These might not always be positive, but they’ll likely involve the playing time of their son or daughter. My best advice is to set up a pre-season parents meeting where you set the ground rules. This will allow you time to plan it out and get everything out in the open. Although it might not stop all of the upset parents, it should diminish the odds of issues arising mid-season.
Assistant Coaches. Another role of a youth football coach is filling your staff. Due to the amount of players needed to form a football team, it isn’t a smart idea to try to do everything yourself. Not only will it damage the overall success of a team, but it will decrease the individual attention each player will receive at his or her respective position. One of the best ways to fill these openings is to utilize parents as volunteer coaches. In the pre-season parent meeting, you can get some knowledgeable coaches that are already familiar with many of the players. This will assist you in individual game management, as you’ll have a parent designated for the position groups, who can provide in-game critiquing.
As a side note, if the assistant coaches need help developing drills, check out the videos on CoachTube. From defensive back drills to place kicking training, there is something for nearly every position on the gridiron.
