I think those who are interested in coaching youth football are admirable. Not only do you get to teach kids football fundamentals; but you teach them well-documented life lessons and become an example and mentor. A youth football coach’s responsibility is to instill quality values such as confidence, discipline, sportsmanship, and teamwork. Applying these values to the game of football will help you to produce winners on and off the field. Here are a couple simple tips to focus on as you approach your first time coaching youth football.

Youth Football Coaching Strategies

• Rules – Set the ground rules for the players and their parents at the start of the season. Be clear on the rules for practices, attendance, player participation, fundraising, effort, and sportsmanship. That way everyone knows what to expect and there are no surprises during the season.

• Time Management – You have the football field for a limited amount of time. Don’t waste it performing extensive conditioning drills. Use the time wisely and teach “real” football during these sessions. You want kids to have fun and learn the game. That’s what they signed up for…they can run conditioning and agility drills any time.
• Drills – Yes, you need to run conditioning drills but limit them in your practice. You should be teaching your kids life skills such as developing the discipline to work out and perform interval training on their own. Develop the child’s love of the game first, but keep them accountable.

  Moreover, there are many elaborate football drill libraries on the Internet such as those at Weplay. While a coach should select a variety of age-appropriate drills for coaching his team, focusing on these basics and making them fun for the team will often lead to greater success.

• Morale – End your practices on a high note. Too many coaches run sprints or laps at the end of the practice and the players dislike them. Instead, run special team drills such as kickoff returns or punt coverage for your end-of-practice conditioning drills. You’ll get them in top shape while making it fun and teaching valuable football skills at the same time.
• Playbook – In youth football, its better to run a few plays really well than run many plays poorly. Pick four or five plays as the core of your offensive strategy and practice the execution until the players can run them in their sleep. Only then, should you start introducing new plays.

With a focus on some simple basics, youth football coaches can successfully start down their path. By teaching youth football and the life lessons of discipline, self-motivation, sportsmanship and fair play, a coach’s experience can be both enjoyable and meaningful. The integrity that you insist they use on the field will follow them off the field.

Watch the video related to youth mentoring

A short film from Everett Dance Theatre’s mentor program. … everett dance theatre theater film poetry mentor mentors youth Providence RI Rhode Island carriage house

Help answer the question about youth mentoring

survey would target urban youth (multi – cultural). any suggestions?
thanks Parker

About Author

By Trevor Sumner who works for Weplay.com, a youth football community dedicated to providing parents coaches and athletes the tools and information to celebrate the love of the game. Weplay.com has one of the most comprehensive, free football drill libraries in its active football community.

Teenagers are facing the most critical stage in their life – adolescence. At this stage, they experience the transition from childhood towards adulthood; in the process of transition, teens deal with lots of biological, emotional, social and psychological changes. Often, these changes make a life of a teenager miserable. There is a great desire to fit in, to be accepted for who they are, to find their true identity, and to realize their own strengths and weaknesses. This is where peer mentoring becomes a lot of help. It keeps the youth guided and makes them feel loved, cared for and accepted.

Features and of a Peer Mentoring Program

Peer mentoring is a kind of mentoring program, which matches older youths with younger ones. The former provide the latter with guidance, advice, and all forms of support they need to be able to meet challenges of adolescent life. The older youths do not only serve as mentors but as role models to the younger ones. They are not perfect but having been through the same stage and most likely, the same problems, predicaments, and challenges in their homes, school and community; they are in the position to provide friendly advice, positive influences, attention, and moral support to these younger teens.

Mentoring programs, either in schools, local communities, and youth organizations bear the following characteristics:

• Centered on the needs of the youth – Every peer mentoring program is designed to meet the specific needs of the teens to be mentored. Those who come from broken homes, for example, may need more time for counseling and recreation activities that would help them divert their thoughts on sad experiences at home towards happy ones. Those with academic problems may require more time for tutorials.

• Participants voluntarily join a peer mentoring program – A big part of the success of peer mentoring lies on the voluntary participation of the mentor and the younger teens. The student must not be forced to attend the peer mentoring program as this would only make things more difficult for him. The student must first acknowledge the need to have a mentor, someone who is older, wider, and more experienced than him. Only upon acknowledging this need can he actively participate in the activities in the mentoring program.

• Mentors are bound by the responsibility to keep things confidential – Trust is very important in building good relationship between the mentor and the student; thus, it is a must or the mentor to keep things that he and the student talks about confidential. Without trust, it would be hard for the person mentored to talk about the things he feels and thinks especially about very critical issues involving him, a close friend or his family.

Joining a Mentoring Program

Joining a peer mentoring program starts with the eagerness to be a part of a support group or program that is aimed at creating changes both on the life of the mentor and the younger person to be mentored.

If you want to be a mentor, first you must be prepared in all aspects. Do you have a plan on how to conduct peer mentoring? Do you know what to do when trying situations arise? Do you have the patience necessary for you to deal with persons who might be going through tough moments in their life? How would you handle issues such as early pregnancy, divorce, and drug addiction?

When you are ready, the next thing you should do is to look for a pee mentoring program that is suited to your interests. You can look for these in your school, local community and even online. You may also ask for your teachers, schoolmates, and friends’ recommendations. You can also ask the head of your local community church or youth organizations in your community or neighboring areas.

Watch the video related to youth mentoring

A short film from Everett Dance Theatre’s mentor program. … everett dance theatre theater small mentor mentors youth Providence RI Rhode Island carriage house

Help answer the question about youth mentoring

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