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General Comments on Youth Football

Not so much a question, but some good comments on coaching and competition:

While reading the e-mail from Rene in Texas, so many thoughts went through my head. I've coached youth football for 7 years and when I hear how some coaches behave it saddens me. Football is a great game but sometimes the people coaching at the youth level have not attended any coaching clinics, read any books or done anything to broaden their knowledge on how to coach the game. Sometimes parents don't understand how some programs work. For example not all programs that like winning are bad.

There are some very good coaches out there as well. I think it's important that a parent asked about the football program before they sign up. Find out if the league is a competitive league or a rec league. Some parents want their kid playing in the more competitive league and some don't. Some leagues have a minimum play rule and some don't. If your kid is an athlete and likes the contact and the higher level of competition then you'll most likely join that kind of league. If my son is a really good player and the Coach said we are not going to worry about winning we are just going to play and have fun. I would not sign him up. I'm looking for a teacher, someone that understands the game. A lot of young athletes want to win and they should be with kids that share their skills and work ethic. Some kids are not ready for that level of football yet but given time they may love it. Some will never like it and will be better suited for flag or a less demanding tackle program. Some kids are just too soft to play tackle football and can not get past the physical requirements and the hard hitting. 

I can't always tell which kid will show he has a lot of heart and turn out to be a player or which kid won't. So you really have to work with kid and teach him. I got to tell you when a 12-year-old shows up and he has never played before and he looks soft and knows more about video games than he does football I do get a little concerned. Because quite often that's the kid looking for an excuse to get out of the contact drills, misses practice or always has something wrong with his helmet. Then mom's complaining why isn't their son playing more.

Let me share with you some of my thoughts on the game and youth sports in general that have come from my many years coaching youngsters in a variety of situations including both competitive and rec football and baseball, girls rec softball and Special Olympic and Wheelchair tennis.

Youth sports can be a wonderful experience for almost any child. While the types and nature of the specific youth sports programs may vary considerably, the benefits derived from the experience are similar - the common denominator is pleasure and enjoyment. In addition, as a contributing member of a team, players can learn important life lessons. Players can learn teamwork and sportsmanship, gain confidence, experience feelings of self-worth, learn to understand responsibility and accept the need for discipline. 

These benefits can be experienced either through participation in recreational type programs or through participation in highly competitive programs. In either situation, competition between players is a very significant ingredient. Kids love to compete against each other. Competing to win is a healthy, normal response. Striving to win is the essence of sports participation. There is nothing patently wrong with competition and striving to win in any youth sport. Indeed if that element were not present, the benefits might be impacted or lessened. 

Competition at the player level is essential and quite appropriate; however trouble typically starts when the competitive aspect includes adults (coaches and parents). Certainly, coaches should be working with and encouraging their teams as they strive to win within the rules and objectives of the program. But too often overzealous coaches try to win at any cost - usually at the expense of many of the players on the team. 

Given the significance of the role of competition in sports, let me add that balanced competition is an important program element. Severe mismatches involving individual players or between teams spoils competition. Too many programs suffer from severe competitive imbalance - imbalance between teams and skill/size mismatches between individual players. Although special drafts may be used in an effort to achieve competitive balance in many leagues, they fail frequently. That really does not surprise me because coaches and parents are notorious for trying to "stack teams with all the good players" (i.e. car pools, special requests, etc).

In addition to balanced competition, the coach is critical to whether a program is able to yield the desired benefits. A good coach teaches, motivates, encourages and stimulates in an effort to get all players to have fun, to work hard, to improve and to always try their best. A good coach works with both the skilled and the less skilled players, handling each as appropriate in order to make each player a contributing member of the team.

I believe there is a place in youth sports for both elite, highly competitive travel programs and lower key "rec" programs. Good programs and good coaches are what counts. As I said before, benefits can be derived from either. Parents need to understand what the differences in these programs are and what would be best for their child. Sometimes parents want their child on an elite team even if the child's skill level is not appropriate for such a team. As a result, elite travel programs often have too broad a spectrum of skill levels. Even with tryouts, less skilled players may be included on the roster to fill out a team for practice considerations. But those less skilled players typically don't, can't or are not allowed to contribute during games and may often be ignored during practices by a coach who works only with the better players. When that happens, the player and the parents involved become upset and the player may quit. I believe if a player is not skilled enough to play and contribute in some way on a highly competitive team, that player should be in a different program. 

Minimum play rules are an attempt to recognize the importance of participation in youth sports. As you note, not all leagues/programs have such rules and even those that do, have unrealistic rules. Pop Warner, for example, has a minimum play rule requiring every player to play in at least six plays in each game. After practicing three or more days and 8-10 hours a week, playing for just six plays in a game that involves more than 80-100 plays is not significant participation in my view.

Youth sports should be about participating. Players should play a significant portion of all games and should be actively involved in the learning process at practice. If they are not playing and participating because they are not good enough then they are in the wrong type of program.

I appreciate you views. Thanks for sharing them with me.