Coaches

[gregorylee]

ok, my son Jake is starting organized football for the first time. This is kind of weird but, the coach has him at TE and corner?!?!? He is 7, a little over 4 ft, and maybe 65 # or so. I played TE and DE/OLB so I can help him with the TE stuff at home. what are some drills that would help him @ CB, watching him at practice his hips are ok, not the best but ok. This would need to be stuff would could hopefully accomplish in the backyard.

On another note, he seems to lack the killer instinct (shys from contact a little). I can't remember ever doing that, so I ask. Is this something where there will all of a sudden be a light to go off??? I don't want to sound rough but I have done everything short of run him over with my truck to prove to him that he won't get hurt. I tried to motivate him but that hasn't worked yet either. He is a really good baseball player but I fear football might not be his game. :(

 

[osugrad21]

He is 7 so being shy from contact will come with experience and especially growth. Stress fundamental tackling to help with this. HEAD UP, butt down, throw the arms, "bite" the bicep, CBs should tackle outside in to force the ballcarrier back into pursuit...eventually he will be comfortable enough to run his feet through a tackle.

As far as drills for a 7 year old DB...teach proper stance first IMO...balls of his feet, butt down. Backpedalling with his butt down and head up...3 read steps and then make run/pass read but only come up when he is sure it is a run.

I'd be wary of going past anything basic such as stance and alignment with such a young child for fear of making them too self-conscious and ruining the actual fun.

 

[ohiobuck94]

Grad21:
I didn't know you are a coach. Good luck for the season. I hope to get to the NCst game and see you there. :)

 

[osugrad21]

Grad21:
I didn't know you are a coach. Good luck for the season. I hope to get to the NCst game and see you there. :)

Man, this is the first time in 7 years I have had a HC tell the staff to take saturday off...so I'm hoping I will be at NCSU. With my SC Coaches Assoc. membership, I get two tickets to any college game in SC or NC but you have to get thru on the phone by 8:15 monday morning for big games like this one. Thanks for the luck, we may be a year away, but that's what we all said about tOSU a few years ago.

 

[gregorylee]

Thanks Grad, thus far we have just been working on hips and keeping the feet moving. I really do appreciate the advice.

 

[methomps]

yes, we are deprived us much of grad's unmatched insight because of his coaching responsibilities. Now is the perfect time for some juicy recruiting battle to heat up, but sadly nothing seems to be happening

 

[osugrad21]

Thanks Grad, thus far we have just been working on hips and keeping the feet moving. I really do appreciate the advice.

Greg, a great drill for hips is placing him on a line for his backpedal then giving a ball read. He has to open onto the line and fully open the hips...ripping the read side elbow is a key coaching point. By opening all the way, the DB avoids an unnecessary lateral step. Imagine opening from 6 o'clock to 12. If he should open to 9 or 10/3 or 2, he must take another step laterally before he can regain his depth. Make sure the eyes stay on you in all zone coverage...stress peripheral vision. Damn, that might be too much for such a young kid, but it is something to work towards

Thomps, I miss you too bro LOL

 

[Crump's brother]

grad21, good stuff.

As far as the TE training goes, he'll probably be asked to do a lot of blocking. I have coached O line at the Middle School level and at his level he will be involved in simple offenses consisting of lots of toss plays. The idea is to get the best athlete the ball where he can turn every play into a foot race. Basically, your son needs to know how to seal DEs and OLBs to the inside.

Teach him a good stance, then work on the first step. It should be no larger than his foot for proper balance. Head to the outside, left fist to chest (if stepping right). This gives him a large blocking surface. If he can make good contact and swing his ass around, his team will run to his side often. Show him how easy it is to get to the outside if his head is to the inside. If you want to get him stronger, wall sits and duck walking really build up his hitting muscles.

Don't worry, he'll get over the contact issue. Good luck.

 

[buckiprof]

Last year I coached in a 7 - 9 year old league and this year in the 10 - 12 year old league. My experience in the league for the last 2 years is that there won't be much in the passing department. I think last year we averaged 1 - 2 passes per game. With that said, everything that you have been told by grad21 pertaining drills are great things to do. Especially the tackling techniques. A CB who can tackle at this level (or any level for that matter) is quite valuable. One more item for "soft feet" would be to incorporate some jump rope into his life, if he isn't already doing some.

As far as the contact goes, give him some time to get comfortable. He is only 7 and this is his first time doing it. My boy was anxious his first year and there was no convincing I could do that would get him to believe that he wouldn't get hurt. When he finally got popped in practice and experienced that he didn't get hurt, well that's when he became more aggressive. Nothing really replaces that first good hit!

 

[KillerNut]

Good Luck to you all.

I enjoyed my baseball season enough that I may do it again.

I could be wrong about this but 7 is kinda early for the killer instict. Maybe a few kids have it now, but I would imagine most wouldn't.

As far as CB goes, they probably will not throw many passes in this league, and probably will not be real picky about pass interference.

What I would show my kid would be how to jam the reciever:

Keep a slightly larger that shoulder width base keep your hands inside so it doesn't look like holding and pop the other kid.

This way if it is a running play he will have control of the reciever and can shuck him to go make the play and if it is a pass play he has already disrupted the timing.

I would teach him to make sure when he is in "cover mode" he is watching the hips so he does't get faked out by head fakes and such. Same thing applies when you tackle someone.

The Killer intinct is hard for kids that age because we are so overbearing about be nice, don't hit, don't fight, ect, that I just don't think it hits them that it is okay to be a bad ass when you put on the pads.

 

[DaytonBuck]

I played OLine by I think one maxim for TE and any kind of blocking is never stop moving your feet

 

[exhawg]

IMO 7 it too young to get much out of playing real football. When my brother was in 7th grade I helped out with the O-line on his team and those kids had a hell of a time carrying over what I taught them about blocking into running actual plays. It does seem like it takes most of the kids at least a season of playing tackle football before they get used to hitting.

Looking back at myself, I was a waste of space on the football field until 9th grade. Even then it never really clicked for me until I was a junior. Personally I doubt I will have my kids (whenever I have them) play tackle football until 6th or 7th grade. I think sports like basketball, flag football, and soccer are better for younger kids. I also want them to try golf, swimming, and baseball. My aunt and uncle had good luck getting my cousins into dance (even the boys) and Judo. I just hope my kids get the eye hand coordination that my family has but seems to have skipped me.

I played OLine by I think one maxim for TE and any kind of blocking is never stop moving your feet

That is true but I dare anyone to keep their feet moving after someone stones them. Make sure to tell him to keep low. The low man always wins.

 

[gregorylee]

That is true but I dare anyone to keep their feet moving after someone stones them. Make sure to tell him to keep low. The low man always wins.

Hell I have a hard enough time just getting him into his stance correctly. I swear it looks like he has his hand in between his feet when he lines up. I tried to show him (knocking him on his butt by pushing with 1 finger on his forhead) but he still seems to do it. I kind of play a game with hime, like a quiz, asking him out of the blue different techniques "head across the body", "wrap and drive your feet", "stay lower than your opponent", "keep your hands inside/under their shoulder pads" different stuff like that. Right now it just about kills me watching him, but I know he will get it sooner or later.

I hadn't thought about jump rope, we used to do that in HS. I had a freind with a really nice leather one. We got pretty good "Rockyesque" with it. :)

I suppose right now I would just be happy to see him get mad and go after it.

 

[NorthShoreBuck]

I have to agree with exhawg.

Most 7-8 year old kids are probably too young to fully grasp football and have any chance of learning or displaying any skills that could be carried on.

I was fortunate that my grandfather was involved with me in football and baseball as you are with your son GL. Enjoy the time together and try to teach him about discipline and teamwork and you will have done more to help him in life than in sports.

My daughter has been a cheerleader and I have watched the younger kids play football. Usually the game is about running the fastest. She is now 10 and the boys have a better grasp of the game and strategy.

The game clicked for me in Junior High. I remember understanding why and how we ran stunts on defense and what the purpose of the offense formations were.

I remember we did the drill Grad21 described with a frisbee. Toss it at the end for him to practice catching and hand-eye coordination and to make it a little more fun.

As a father of two daughters I envy you for having this opportunity.

 

[gregorylee]

The killer intinct is hard for kids that age because we are so overbearing about be nice, don't hit, don't fight, ect, that I just don't think it hits them that it is okay to be a bad ass when you put on the pads.

I am the dad, against many protests from my wife, that told my son to stop taking crap from all the other kids. I told him that he was not to start fights but if a kid was hitting him he was to hit back. I had to drive him to school for a while last year, I forgot to make the stipulation that he should wait until after school or off the bus . In general though he is a pretty passive kid (that is what prompted me about the fighting back) It bothered me that he kept coming in the house crying because someone was hitting him. My wife would go out and yell at the kids and IMO that always made it worse .