High School Football Coach: Football Team Depth Chart

Manage your Football Depth Chart Effectively


As a football coach I am consistently evaluating and tinkering with my depth chart. A lot of times I'll shuffle through it, add names, change names, and drop names. Move names from a defensive football position to an offensive one and visa-versa.
I find that consistently managing your depth chart keeps you organized an up to date in your player development.
Like all good football systems that you implement, your depth chart reflects your player's strengths and where exactly they fit in the scheme of things. A football coach by maintaining a depth chart will be on top of his player's progress and keep the best possible line up on the field. It's a good way to track player progress over the course of the season and identifies players that have improved or have gotten better than one that's in a starting position.

So how does it work?

Well, at the start of a season during training camp I'll set up my first depth chart. I'll list on it all football positions that are on the football team including specialty positions, and for each position I'll assign a name or names to that football position of the player who at that time I feel is the best player for that spot. After each practice, I'll spend 15 minutes evaluating my depth chart, and move the players up and down the depth chart based on their performance and improvement. I refer to it regularly and have it with me all the time.

I find it is valuable when injuries occur in the game and you need a player substitution right away, pull out the depth chart and scan down and find the player who's the next to go in at that position. It saves time.
I also enjoy discussing the depth chart with the assistant football coaches on a player's progress and development.

A football depth chart analysis will reward a player's hard work and progress while at the same time challenge your youth football players to work hard to keep their positions and not fall down the depth chart.


Cheers!

Football Blocking: Tackling in Football

Schedule Blocking and Tackling Drills in Practice


Football blocking and tackling are the cornerstone fundamentals of playing youth football. To play the game successfully and with confidence all youth football coaches across the country need to focus on these specific football fundamentals. To neglect these would be an absolute complete failure on your part as a football coach.

As part of your football practice plan you need to incorporate specific tackling and blocking drills into each and every football practice. Not only do you need to practice blocking and tackling in football, you need to talk about the importance of solid blocking and tackling fundamentals with your youth football players. They need to hear how important these elements are to their game and how their game will improve once they are solid in both blocking and tackling.

It's all about confidence!

In the long run you will be much better, your players will be much more confident in their assignments and it all starts in practice. You have the control! You can have great athletes on your football team but if they cannot block or tackle then you're in for a long season. You'd be amazed what a minimum of 15 minutes of blocking drills and another 15 minutes of tackling drills will do for your youth football team. No doubt, you will be an improved football team.

Cheers!

Coaching in Football: Youth Football Coaching

There are many things to consider when coaching in football. First of all, the most important thing is that you have to be passionate about coaching in football. Do it because you love it, not because you feel obligated to become involved for whatever reason, but for your true love of the game of football.

Always be enthusiastic and positive when coaching in football and you'll find it becomes contagious with the people and players that are around you. Understand that there is as much work outside of the game of football as there is in it. Administrative paperwork, registrations, equipment, team and football league meetings are time consuming for a volunteer and can be costly at times.

You almost have to look at your youth coaching assignment as being a hobby. Like all hobbies that we enjoy, they do in the end cost money, but all in all the enjoyment that we get out of it coaching in football is worth the cost associated with it.

In some youth football coaching assignments, one can be reimbursed for their costs, however, for the most part; a volunteer youth coach receives little or no compensation. Understand that you will be dealing with a lot more than your players. There will be issues at times, questions to answer, happy and unhappy parents, fans, grandparents, etc. Accept the fact that the role of the football coach and coaching in football will have its ups and downs and you will never make everybody happy.

For the most part if you can keep the majority happy most of the time you're doing a good job!


Cheers

Football Pre-Game Preparation

Football Player Pre-Game Routine


Every football player should have a pre-game routine. When a player consistently gets nervous in front of a crowd or gets psyched out after making a mistake, a solid pre-game routine might be the start of getting their head space right prior to the game.

Pre-game preparation should be a routine that the player chooses that helps them focus and calm themselves before a game. For some players, this could be listening to music or meditating. For some, it involves warm-up drills or mental visualization. For some just chilling out or just plain quiet time. Whatever it is, encourage your players to get into a pre-game routine that gets them prepared, focused, and confident and most importantly relaxed.

Mistakes are going to happen during any football game. The players that have a plan for getting back on track are more likely to bounce back and succeed. The players that don't will dwell on their mistake lose confidence and play poorly. It's important that as a football coach preparing your football team to compete that they know that mistakes will happen through-out the football game, that it just the nature of any sport. The point you want to make as a youth football coach is to limit their mistakes as much as possible. You want them to play aggressive, not passive, as if they are afraid to make a mistake. You want them to compete hard at a high level at all times and sometimes during the heat of battle, a mistake will be made. So be it! Personally, I'd want my team competing hard making a few mistakes than not competing and making no mistakes!

Finally, help players avoid the stress of competition by taking steps to eliminate the unknown. Explain what players should expect during every game. Talk about it leading into the game and how they should handle it. Nerves are a natural part of competition, but those players who learn to control those butterflies in the stomach are the ones who come out as winners. When players tell you that they are nervous, turn it around and tell them they're not nervous they're just excited about playing the game of football!

Cheers!