"I'm going to start coaching Peewee football. l want to know how I should go about teaching them the game. What do I start with? I want it to be fun and safe... but I want to have a wining team... but I don't want to push them too hard because they are just 4th, 5th and 6th graders. I want them to love the game of football like I do. Would you give me some tips on how to do that?"
Spencer McCloud

"I'm looking to be a coach here in Ohio but do not know where to start. Can you help me in this? Thanks."
James Hall

I assume you have a youth football program in your area. There are several programs available. Two of the biggest are Pop Warner and All-American Youth Football. To learn about teams in your area contact these groups search for the Pop Warner program on the internet at yahoo.com. Contact All-American Youth Football at http://www.aayfc.com.

Your most important priority as a youth football coach is the safety of your players. You must first learn and then teach safe and proper techniques for blocking and tackling. The important thing is for players to keep their head up and avoid making initial contact with top of the helmet. To insure players safety, you must provide safe equipment that is fitted properly. Most equipment manufacturers will provide help in fitting helmets and shoulder pads. Make sure players wear helmets at all times during practice. Kids often fool around before practice, some without helmets. Collisions between a player wearing a helmet and one without can be dangerous. You must also provide a safe playing area; free from hazards, broken glass, partially buried metal objects and unpadded walls, goal posts, etc. As coach you will also need to safeguard your players from child molesters or other threats.  Never leave children unsupervised at the practice or game field. The next most important priority of any youth sports program should be fun and participation for ALL the players. You should work with and coach all your players, not just the talented few and remember that kids develop and learn at different rates. Don't expect every player to pick things up at the same rate. Keep drills short (no longer than 15 or 20 minutes) and keep drill lines short so kids don't stand around doing nothing. Also keep drills fresh and different to avoid boredom. Don't assume your players know a lot about the game. Many kids don't know such basic things as the difference between offense and defense. Try to keep discussions short and brief. Kids are not known for their powers of concentration. Most importantly go to practice prepared. Have a detailed plan of what you will be doing, when and for how long. Make sure all your coaches understand your practice plan. Try to keep conditioning exercises and calisthenics short and fun. It should not be patterned after a professional training camp. Stretching is very important, warm up briefly and then stretch each of the major muscle groups. Have players stretch at the conclusion of practice. Never deny water from any player during practice and encourage players to drink plenty of water before they come to practice. Before your first practice hold a parents/players meeting. Introduce yourself and your coaches. Make sure parents have a phone number to contact you. Explain your coaching philosophy and what your objectives for the season are. Learning, playing and having fun should be your goals. Seeing players improve should be your measure of success, not your team's win-loss record. Kids should be encouraged to work hard in practice and to always do their best. They should strive to win. You, as their coach should work with each of them to help them play better - that is your indirect commitment to winning. Explain to parents how you intend to substitute players so that everyone plays a lot. Tell them how they can help you as a coach (e.g. getting kids to practice on time, picking players up promptly after practice, encouraging players without pressuring them, etc.). Write a short newsletter each week that talks about how the kids are improving. Mention specific accomplishments by each player by name. During the course of the season you will probably have every player's name in the newsletter at least once. Use the newsletter to keep parents informed of important team information. There are plenty of books available on the subject of coaching youth sports and youth football. I recommend for starters you read my book "Mom, Can I Play Football?" It has suggestions for running practice and things to do to make football fun. It will help you get started .You can order it from me by e-mail. There are other books you could read including "Beyond X's and O's" by Jack Hutslar (available free on-line at  http://www.naysi.com/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/default.htm). There are also a number of internet sites that provide specific details for youth football coaches including formations, plays, etc. You can find them at yahoo.com by searching for using keywords "coaching", "youth", "football". Check them out and select the things that are appropriate for the age of your kids. The Youth Football Web Ring at http://www.cyber-shack.net/cybercoach/webring/Youth_Football_Webring.htm is one of the sites you will find that may be of help. Remember that the challenge in coaching youth football is not in the X's and O's. It's in treating the kids properly and making the sport fun for all your players. I would also suggest that you contact the National Alliance for Youth Sports (www.nays.org) and become a member of that fine organization. They have a training course for coaches. Also check out the Positive Coaches Alliance at www.positivecoach.org.

Thanks for you letters, James and Spencer, and please stay in touch. If funny things happen with your kids tell me about them so I can post the story on our bulletin board. If you have any specific questions don't hesitate to write and ask. Also, check out the articles on my site about coaching, they certainly will help. Again, my compliments to you both for wanting to coach. Good luck and I'm sure you will have fun!