Month: December 2018

Coaching kids football can be stressful but even more so, rewarding. Every player has their own little personalities which makes running a kids football team a team a formidable challenge. The chances are, your role as a kids football manager will be worlds away from your day job so understanding how kids and football work together at this age will help you adjust your coaching style to (and patience!) during your kids football games, so when you tell them for the umpteenth time to pass and move in to space and they don’t, you don”t take it too personally!

Characteristics of kids football include:

Excitable and enthusiastic “” there will be loads of energy, enthusiasm and noise! With Under 6, Under 7 and Under 8 players, in their minds, they have not come to “learn” football “” they”ve come to play it with their mates! So expect lots of noise and running about but establish early on in your football training session who”s the boss otherwise things will get out of control.
Attention span “” what attention span? Kids will find picking mud off their boots and what”s happening on another pitch far more interesting than anything you have to say. Therefore, when delivering your football coaching message, keep it short and simple especially for the younger ones (under 6, under 7 and under 8)

Understanding – after you have explained the kids football training drill or football technique, get the players to confirm they have understood what they will be doing in their kids football game. It”s always best to demonstrate your football training drill or fun kids football game to them rather than just tell them. Encourage questions and involve them in the demos. Visit www.canyouplayfootball.com for further football coaching advice and football training drills.

Receptive – Kids football equals smiles and tears, especially for under 6, under 7 and under 8 players. Remember, for every 1 criticism give 10 praises as players at this age don’t take failure well.

Imagination – encourage your kids football team (Under 6, Under 7 and Under 8 players) to use their imagination to help them develop their football skills. Let them be inventive and experimental with new football skills and tricks.

Technique “” For U6, U7 and U8 players, work on the FUNdamentals “” that is, basic football technique and improving basic skills. Group football training drills and small sided games will help them learn how to be part of a team and when to employ the football skills they have learnt. Make sure you rotate playing positions so all players learn the basic principles through defending drills to attacking drills. Try and keep kids football drills short and fun to avoid boredom. Under 6, under 7 and under 8 players are naturally selfish so don”t expect them to pass too much and do expect them to follow the ball – they want to be involved! Typically, it”s not until they progress to under 9 and under 10 they firmly grasp the concept of using players around them to keep possession of the ball as a team.
www.Canyouplayfootball.com makes running a kids football team easier. Their football training drills database allows you to find football training drills relevant for your team quickly and easily. You can search by category (defending, attacking, shooting etc) and age group, for example under 6, under 7, under 8 etc. And to help organise the team for the next game, try www.canyouplayfootball.com”s personal football organiser.

Angle tackling

The reason for angle tackles is simple, cover the shortest area to get to the tackle, but there is still a great need to practice this technique. Set up a simple drill with two players, on as the offense with the ball running in a straight line, the other as the defender running towards him at some angle. As the opponent comes toward the defender he will need to adjust his body position and shorten the angle, put his foot in front of the opponent, and make sure that he put his head in front of the opponent. A good tackle is now executed as the defender lunges at the opponent wrapping his arms around his opponent grabbing cloth and completing the tackle by pulling him down or pushing him off sides.

Secrets to a good hand off

Handoff skills can secure yardage on the field and increase your overall success. We will explain this in a common scenario between a quarterback and a running back. A running back at the start of a hand off should give the quarterback a target by opening up his arms that are in front of his chest enough to allow about one and a half footballs in. When the running back receives the football he clamps down both arms hard on the football to protect it. As the running back leaves from the handoff he needs to stay low to react quickly and again to protect the ball.

Around the world: Improved Ball Handling

Ball handling is one of the most vital skills that a player can have on the field, and this drills goal is to help players get a better feel and control for the football. The secret to this drill is having the ball constantly moving around and from hand to hand. The drill starts by having players hold the football above their head and start to pass it around their head, moving to the chest, under the arms, around the waist, knees, and completing with passing it through the legs.

The best thing that a coach can do is call out body parts that the players will have to move the ball around, or even calling a reverse command were the players will need to change the direction of the football. This change of motion will keep players from falling asleep, and ensure that you are developing handling skills and not just muscle memory.

We recommend that you end this drill by doing several football drops. For example, the player drops the ball and retrieves it quickly. To further increase pickup skills have your players change up the hands that they are using so that both their strong and weak hands are developed.

Ball security: The Gauntlet Drill

There is nothing more important for offense to learn great ball security. Quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers should work on this skill constantly. That is why the gauntlet drill was created, to test and practice effective ball security. The point to the gauntlet drill is to have a player run through several opponents that try to dislodge the football. Each of the defenders can line up in any way making the ball carrier run any sort of patterns with the ball, the point is to pose a challenge to hold onto the ball. To be effective with this drill have the ball carrier run the drill holding the ball in several different positions.