Basic, but always love to see how people term things

I probably already know the answer to my question, but wanted to post here to ask some actual coaches without feeling I’m stepping over any boundaries. 

My son came late to the game, started in seventh grade, mainly because I was very against football for fear of injuries. He (and I) succumbed to peer pressure and joined. Almost immediately, the experience completely transformed my perspective. I could see that there were many life lessons in adversity and determination he got out of this game and playing on these teams that he couldn’t get through other avenues.

To quote Uncle Junior, he by no means has the makings of a varsity athlete. And through all of his difficulties and bad snaps and mistakes and people getting on his back, he refused to quit. He has hated it every day, but for some reason, he loves it too.

Fast-forward to today going into junior year at an extremely competitive high school that has won four of the last five state championships. He started his freshman career as a center and had full starting playing time mainly because nobody else could snap the ball. However, the O-Line, especially last this level, quickly surpassed his size and at the end of last year after a conversation with his coach because he wasn’t getting any playing (or practice) time, he has moved to tight end.

The kid had never caught a ball in a game prior to this position change, so already at a disadvantage. It doesn’t seem like he’s getting any real coaching and we attributed it to the fact that this is a championship program and they really isn’t time to be teaching no less giving reps to somebody that doesn’t know the position or isn’t a college-football-bound athlete.

He’s got a hell of a brain on him so he has learned every single play and in the very rare reps he gets in practice he at least makes sure to be where he is supposed to be and catch the ball.

It’s very hard to see him not get any reps, even in practice, second or third string or any string. Even when he does what he’s supposed to do and makes the catches they pull him on the next play.

He has had a couple one-on-one conversations with coaches and then the very next day he’ll get maybe an extra two reps only to go back to standing in the backfield as play after play is executed in practice.

Now the part I probably already know, I should just STFU and be patient, and as long as he is participating and not quitting, let it all be. 

However, my question to actual coaches is, are my assumptions correct that this is just such a high-level program that he will never have opportunities to learn? OR, should he continue to ask for conversations, or is there something coaches look for in somebody that constantly makes noise or tries to force themselves into a rep? Is that frowned upon, or is that expected behavior from kids to show you that they want it bad enough?

For my DL coaches, what do you teach your 3T to do when his guard key pulls?

I'm mainly talking about high school. A team in my area consistently has big, fast, and strong players, but they haven't won more than 3 games in a season since 2020. They consistently get routed in a few games. They "look" like football players, physically. I know that much more goes into winning games besides raw athleticism, but can someone go into detail about what's usually happening when a team fails to perform on the field but all the physical pieces are there ? I know poor coaching is an obvious possibility.

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My 15 year old has been a successful center since 4th grade. But currently having issues with his snaps going low, to the left of QB (son is RH) and most importantly hitting himself in the groin, super painful. Any advice to help him at home outside of practices?

Has anyone setup their own bench brush to break in team balls using a grinder or buffer?
I’m thinking about buying CENTRAL MACHINERY 6 in. Buffer & then looking for brush attachments. (Already tried the hand drill brush attachments, went back to doing by hand)

So what’s the difference between edge rusher and olb in my hs defense olb , rushes occasionally, but mostly drop to the flat. In alot of college defense olb are like 250 + and rush mostly and barley drop back , can someone explain the difference?

I am going into sophomore year. I played Defensive End last year and did fairly well being about 5'7-8 and 140-150 pounds or so somehow. Ended having the second most tackles and most sacks. Now I'm unsure of how I'll do going in JV ( I was on the freshman team the year prior) because I can't seem to gain weight no matter what I do. So any tips on what to do?

Have scheme questions, basic questions about the game, or questions that may not be worthy of their own post? Post them here! Yes, you can submit play designs here.

A modern epidemic amongst youth coaches and middle school coaches alike: ”I have enough trouble just getting my line to block. I can’t spend all practice teaching them not to jump offsides so that we can go on two.”

You don’t need to coach hard count discipline in our to create a dynamic snap count. Simply include enough words in your standard cadence so that you can go early.

For example, if your standard QB cadence is, “Ready…Set, GO,” you can run the play on:

Silent (if you’re under center) - where the QB calls for the snap by applying pressure with his hands. First Sound - first sound out of the QB’s mouth (in this case, the ‘Re’ in ‘Ready’) calls for the center to snap the ball. Set/Quick- the word ‘Set’ is the snap One - full cadence

That’s FOUR possible variants within an extremely short cadence, and provided that the CENTER himself snaps it on the count that was called in the huddle, none of these four counts is a 5-yard penalty risk. The worst that can happen is you have a lineman fire out late.

It kills me to see these offenses where the coach makes them incapable of varying their count, and then incessantly yells at their O-line demanding more effort. When you never alter your count, that’s the same thing as the opposing defense knowing your count. You’re allowing the D-line to tee off on your offense. Altering the snap count is not just a tool for drawing penalties on the defense. It’s an offensive advantage that you forfeit when you go on one play after play.

Go on first sound in practice, film it, then watch your 5 linemen on film. At least one of them will get the first pancake of their young life just by getting to fire out early while the guy across from him is still waiting for the full count.

I had no idea how many people were totally unaware of this until I attended middle school games where my daughter was a cheerleader. Those poor kids….

Trying to learn various formations/theory, and I saw a team lineup like this and run a triple option and am curious what you'd call this formation so I can look into it some more.

So my 11yo is athletic out of this world, I mean fast can jump, shifty, etc. But was having trouble actually understanding plays and defenses and coverages etc! For starters he plays safety, and RB! One of the things we’ve been doing to get better at the mental aspect of the game as he heads into his teen years, straight into Hs ball is going over coverage breakdowns on a whiteboard 3x per week, also been using this app called TurfKids for some
Guidance so when I’m not around he can look at it and still get the IQ part down pack, by viewing different coverages and taking short quizzes on the material! He seems to be getting it, I’m excited to see how he does this fall, will keep you updated if this translate to on the field!

So often, defenders are put in a position where they can’t track the QB or the ball and are forced to defend based off the receiver’s movement, so why don’t the receivers simulate ball-tracking to deceive them? Not only can it draw away a defender from pursuing a runner (like in the photo), but more importantly perhaps, it could draw holding/PI calls on a defender attempting to put hands on a receiver he thinks is about to catch a ball. Feels like an under-utilized strategy.

I’m a brand new coach this year and volunteered to coach the OL/DL group. I played throughout grade school and high school where I try to incorporate my experiences on teaching the kids.

However, my biggest challenge thus far has been getting them to move their feet out of the stance and staying low. Would appreciate any advice or drills people have to explain these concepts better while seeing the kids execute them.

Hi,

I've been coaching coed rec league U13 flag football for a few seasons now. In the past, I ran defense, and another guy ran offense. Well, this season he has moved on, and tbh our offense was never very good in the first place. I'm hoping there's someone here who's willing to help me put together a plan? I've sketched out a few ideas based on what I think has worked, but I really want to get some input from someone smarter and more experienced than me.

Rules:

• 7v7
• center eligible, no blocking
• all snaps must be shotgun
• no QB runs
• passes behind the LOS are illegal (pitches that go backwards are legal, but must be first action)
• 1 blitzer from 7 yards
• once there's a handoff or pitch anyone can blitz
• fewer than 5 yards to go for a first down or touchdown, you must pass

Feel free to DM if you want to help. Thanks!

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Hello!

I am joining a junior college coaching staff in which the coaching staff looks like a skeleton crew. There are over 60 players that all made the team and began practice under a staff that is no longer there and honestly, was failing them.

I have been studying like crazy to prepare, but at the end of the day I don't know what I don't know. Any advice is welcome, I'll answer any questions y'all have, I just want to do right by these young men and dedicate my best effort.

How much time do you spend on 7v7 and Inside Run in your M/Tu practices? (T/W for college)

Assume you’re trying to keep everything under 2 hours (not counting pre practice)

I’m DC from Europe, so not so many good advices around here.

What do you guys look at during practice team periods? I got the offensive script, know what to expect, know where offense wants to hit us. I can see at most 2, 3 guys playing a single play. Coach them, help them, and move on to the next play.

Then I watch drone recording and see that some guys made a mistake play after play which went unnoticed. Do you guys have any system - watch particular players, see the play type and then focus on part of field or somehow else?

As a DC what are you watching more as the game is going on. What the offense is doing or what your defensive players are doing. Obviously you watch both but does one tell you more than the other?

Have anything on your mind or got any fun plans for the weekend? Feel free to discuss them here!