by Keith Coburn

Created on: April 03, 2009   Last Updated: April 27, 2009

I have been coaching youth sports, ages 5-14, for about 11 years. I have coached soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and am currently a head football coach for 13 and 14 year olds. I have found that coaching the kids can be extremely rewarding and a lot of work. My philosophy when it comes to youth sports "If you teach the kids good fundamentals, and they have fun, winning will take care of itself.". Unfortunaltly as much as winning should not come into play in youth sports it does but the kids must come first.

I would like to share a check list that I have put together for the preseason work that I feel needs to be done. The kids look to us, as coaches, for guidance and we need to have our plan of attack in place as soon as possible. The more planning we can do before the season starts, the more time we will have to focus on the kids during the season, and the less likely we are to have confusion between the coaches.

My preseason check list for you:

1) Make sure you understand the basic fundamentals and how they are taught. Tackling and blocking, if not taught properly, can lead to serious injury. You need to ensure that you are laying a good foundation for the kids to build upon for years to come.

2) Attend a coaching school, like the one USA Football has available. The USA Coaching Schools provides you hands on training on the basic fundamental of the game with experienced coaches. The USA Football Coaching School also provides some guidance with different offenses and defenses that you can run.

3) Select coaches that you will work well with and that can add something constructive. If a person wants to coach without any experience make sure that they attend a coaching school to better understand the game. On top of that you want to make sure the coaches you select work well with each other. There is nothing more stressful than a group of coaches that do not work well together and as much as you try to hide that from the kids you cannot.

4) Once you have determined who your coaches are, assign them jobs. You will find that if you assign jobs, the coaches will come into the first practice more prepared and focused on what you want them to do. Note: Once you make that assignment, hold them accountable, and try not to micro manage.

5) Make sure you completely understand the type of offense and defense you are going to run. The kids will ask questions about the different plays and if you do not understand the offense or defense the kids will know.

6) Make sure to communicate

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>