Central Arizona Youth Football FLAG FOOTBALL

1
Central Arizona Youth Football FLAG FOOTBALL

• WELCOME!
• THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!
• THANK YOU MORE FOR VOLUNTEERING TO HELP KIDS

2
Central Arizona Youth Football FLAG FOOTBALL

• Ken Smerzvolunteer and youth coach
• Please ask questions or share your own experience
• Objectives today
• Head Coach responsibility
• Setting goals
• coaching vs. managing kids
• The role of the Assistant Coaches
• Managing your parents
• Handling conflict
• Fundamentals
• Practice format
• Offensive skills
• Defensive skills
• Special teams skills
• Basic Safety
• Game Day
• Pre-game
• The game
• Best practicessuggestions from the group

3
Head Coach ResponsibilitySetting Goals

• What are your top objectives as the Head Coach?
• Winning at all costs?
• Teaching teamwork, sportsmanship?
• Having fun?
• Preparation for tackle football?
• YOU decide but decide
• Setting Goals
• Why.
• Sense of accomplishment for all
• Becomes your format for practices/games
• Helps stay organized and sets expectations for
  everyone
• Communicate to.
• Players coaches parents
• Do this repeatedly throughout the season
• Types
• Overall program objectives
• i.e. develop teamwork fundamentals etc.
• Individual player practice game

4
Head Coach Responsibility Coaching Kids

• Huge difference between 6, 7, 8 year olds
• Mental understanding
• Coaching exacts
• Better to make analogiesrelate at their level
• Get at their level when speaking/coaching
• Physical talent
• Coordination
• Size matterstoo big OR too small
• Positive vs. negative reinforcement? Be
  POSITIVE!
• catch them doing it rightincrease that focus
• You can t fire them or terminate their contract
• Use negative reinforcement on non-subjective
  issues (i.e. hitting another player not having
  good grades etc.)
• Everything is done for the greater good of the
  TEAM
• All players are contributing together for success
• Emphasize life skillsnot just athletic
  performance
• Most players wont make NFL, but they will work
  in teams, they will compete in society, and they
  will experience success/failure
• Many ways of focusing on this

5
Head Coach ResponsibilityManaging Assistant
Coaches

• Set expectations
• Practice times/format
• How can they help specifically
• Experience or enthusiasm?
• Pre-plan all practices in writing
• Share that schedule
• Keep drills objective specific
• Highly focused in a skill-set
• Pre-plan all games in writing
• Share the role for each coach
• Tell them what you want them to watch
• Offense/defense/player/opportunity
• Deputize your Assistant Coach(s)
• Parents know that they have stroke
• Allow them the ability to impact your kids too
• YOU still have control
• Responsible for their behavior

6
Head Coach ResponsibilityManaging Parents

• You are the Head Coach
• Act like it
• Respectful of all discipline educator humble
  firm in control
• Set the expectations early for all phases
• Practices, games, events, etc.
• Review your rules
• Have a MANDATORY Parents Meeting
• No players/kids
• Requirement for returning players parents too
• Review expectations and offer them an out if
  they dont like your style
• Have a Discipline Letter in addition to Code of
  Conduct
• Paint a vision of the practices and games
• Encourage parents to participate in the season
• Echo lessons being learned in the practice/game
• Support the progress of their child

7
Head Coaches Responsibility Handling Conflict

• Prevent conflict by
• Set expectations up front
• Have an effective coaching staff
• Stay organized and consistent
• Stick to your plan(s)
• Use written communication
• Email announcements preseason etc
• Use your local association to support you
• Key officers and/or the Board
• Confront conflict as it occurs to avoid
  spillover and prevents growth
• Realize some parents are just goofy and will
  never like your coaching methods
• Your job is not to win a popularity contest
• Keep focus on all issued performance based and
  not personal

8
Practice FormatGeneral Points

• Keep drills limited to short time framehelps
  keep kids and coaches interested. (5 to 10
  minutes each)
• Have multiple drills that compliment each other
  in developing a skill set.
• Have drills designed for a specific skill (i.e.
  flag pulling pursuit angle drive blocking)
• Breakout specialty positionstypically QB, RBand
  work on skills away from the herd.
• Start/stop practice on timeevery time.
• No horseplay before practice (or games). Have
  drill lined up for kids who get there early.
• Preplan all practicesin writing if possible.
• Have fun! Players, Coaches, and you!

9

• Review Discipline Letter

10
Practice FormatConditioning

• Static vs. Dynamic stretching
• Benefits of each
• Examples
• SPARQ Training speed power agility reflex
  quicknessAgility Training
• Heavy focus on micro conditioning/reflex
• Other ideas
• Obstacle course
• Sharks/Minnows
• Bull-in-the-ring
• Bear/crab crawl
• Squat lunges
• Use your imaginationkeep them moving.

11

• Review Conditioning Slides

12
Practice FormatOffense

• Line of scrimmage concept
• Player positions
• Offensive line gaps
• Formations
• I formation wingback slot twin rt/lf
• Shift/audible at the line
• Drills
• Blocking
• Stancebalanced
• Exploding off ball
• Hand positions
• Driving feet
• Q/B drills
• Hand off bootleg throwing techniques
• Plays to run
• dive sweep reverse double reverse pitch pass
• Design players to player strengths

13
Practice FormatDefense

• Positions responsibilities
• Linemanrush gap assignment
• Defensive Endcontain everything to the middle
• Watch back side
• Linebackersfill and pass defense
• Match to man coverage
• Alignment
• 53--4471 Usually keep one linebacker
• Random blitzcall audible
• Techniques
• ready or athletic position always
• Head across the bodylike tackle
• Shuffle feetslide--break
• Get off ballbe aggressive
• Drills
• Pursuitgetting cut off angle
• Ball snap and rush
• Ball carrier between cones and flag pull

14
Practice FormatSpecial Teams

• Kick-off
• Primary focuscontain!
• Teach staying in lanes
• Fastest players in the middle
• Smartest players on the ends
• Primary focuscontain!
• Stay home on the back side
• Kick return
• Get a body on a body
• Teach kids north/south running with small moves
• Trick plays? Better be fast!! Very little time.
• Only time ball is live on the ground
• Punt
• Must declarefree kickno rush or pursuit
• When
• Up against a great defense
• Scoring battle and/or playing for field position
• Punt return
• Five on the linethree returning

15

• Review practice format suggestion
• Review offensive/defensive alignment

16
Basic SafetyFlag Football

• Hydration
• Water! Water! Water!
• Kids will not typically complain or present
  signsup to you and your coaches to monitor and
  REQUIRE they drink
• Flag football is a contact sport
• Injuries WILL happen
• ALWAYS have a cell phoneif you even think you
  shouldcall 911. (There is no charge.)
• YOU are not a doctoralways error on the side of
  safety6,7, 8 year olds can tough it out when
  they get older
• Be preparedYOU are in charge
• Know your physical address and have written down
  to dispatch EMS in the event of an emergency
• Know BEFORE hand who has physical/mental
  challenges.
• Know BEFORE hand who is on medicineyou NEVER
  administer drugseven aspirin.
• Never administer first aid of any kind yourself
  unless you are a licensed professional

17
Game DayFlag Football

• Pre-game
• Book check--NO head coaches
• Flag fingernail jock/compression name
  captains
• List of your playsoffense AND defense--by
  situation helps
• 3rd and long player strength blitz package etc
• What do you want your Assistants to do?
• Scout opposing offense/defenses
• Sideline managementkids AND parents
• Score managementno scoreboards
• Minimum plays
• Talk to the referees
• Set expectationswhat are they calling today??
• Remind them this is FLAGnot High School
• Game
• Enjoy the chaosremember its only a game
• Keep your perspectiveothers sometimes wont
• Challenge the players on the field
• Stay out of their way
• Physically

18

• Review Flag Rules

19
Central Arizona Youth Football FLAG FOOTBALL

• You are impacting the growth and development of
  some kid that you may not remember, but he may
  never forget you!
• Coaching is a privilege, and honor. If you treat
  it that way, things will stay in proper
  perspective.
• THANK YOU!