2014 coachingg guide_A

Planning Practice

Having a well-planned and organized practice plan is vital to a successful youth football season. Head coaches must have a whole practice blueprint so that there is no time wasted.

Remember, practice time is limited, make every minute productive.

Five Main Keys to Practice

• Organization – Coaches and players on the same page • Fast! – Change phases of practice, fast and with emotion • Reps – Practice makes perfect, it takes reps to get fluent with plays

• Everyone busy – Every player needs to be active – backs-ups need play reps as well • Coaches coaching – all coaches should have a job and do it with passion, it rubs off on the players Having an up-tempo pace and organized practice routine is extremely important. Make practices fun and upbeat-with a lot of emotion and energy.

Planning & Preparation

• Coaches Goals & Practice Plan

o Delegation of Responsibilities by Head Coach • Develop a Practice Agenda at least 24 to 48 hours prior to every practice. • Communicate the agenda to the entire coaching staff. o Get their input as well! • Assign coaching responsibilities. • Train Assistants • Have a defined stop and start time for every facet of your agenda goals. “Golden Rules” of Practice • Treat every practice like you own the company and it is a work day. • Treat your players like you are paying them to be there. • You don’t want players showing up late or mentally checking out early. • You don’t want players standing around. • You don’t want players with not enough to do. • You don’t want players taking shortcuts. • You don’t want players watching others do the work.

Basic Practice Organization Rules • Keep a constant structure so that players become comfortable at practice and focus on learning. • Establish a set pattern so that your players know what to expect and where to go and what to do. • How you divide your team for practice will depend on: o # of assistant coaches. o Number of players at each position / area.