Coaching Offense 62 Coaching Youth Football Coaching Offense 63
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6 Coaching Offense 62 Coaching Youth Football Coaching Offense 63 his chapter focuses on the offensive techniques and tactics your players need to perform effectively in youth football games. Remember to use the TIDEA approach to teaching skills: introduce, demonstrate, and explain the skill, and attend to players as they practice the skill (see page 50 in chapter 5). This chapter also ties directly to the season plans in chapter 10, describing the technical skills and the team tactics that you’ll teach at the practices outlined there. If you aren’t familiar with football skills, rent or purchase a video so you can see the skills performed correctly. Also, the Coaching Youth Football Online Course offered by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) and USA Football can help you further understand these skills. (You can take this course by going to www.asep.com/coachingyouthfootball.) Because the information in this book is limited to football basics, you will need to advance your knowledge as a coach as your players advance in their skills. You can do this by learning from your experiences, watching and talking with more experienced coaches, and studying resources on advanced skills. Offensive Technical Skills The offensive technical skills you will teach your players are assuming a proper stance, blocking, running the ball, playing quarterback, receiving, and centering the ball. Mastering these techniques will allow your offensive players to better execute your offensive tactics—or plays—during the game. These basic skills serve as the foundation for playing football well at all levels. Football players practice these techniques at every practice from youth football to the pros. Stance The stance is the proper alignment of a player’s body at the start of each play. Following is a description of the stances you should teach players at each offensive position. Offensive Line Coaching Tip When teaching your offensive linemen their Beginners may feel uncomfortable stance, start with a four-point stance, as shown in this stance and may adjust their in figure 6.1, then move to a three-point stance feet so that one foot is way behind as needed. To assume a four-point stance, coach the other. When you see this, ask the linemen to do the following: them to bring the back foot for- • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart with ward so that it is no more offset weight balanced evenly on both feet and than toe to instep. A more even toes aligned. foot alignment allows them to step • Bend the knees and rest a forearm on the easily with either foot. inside of each thigh. 62 Coaching Youth Football Coaching Offense 63 • Reach straight out with both hands slightly in front of the shoulders. • Keep the back straight, head up, and shoulders even. This stance is used for straight- ahead blocking or blocking to one side or the other. It forms a good foundation for adjustments to a three-point stance. Once offensive linemen are com- fortable with a four-point stance, instruct them to lift one hand and adjust the position of the feet slightly into a three-point stance (see figure 6.2). Use these points to teach the Figure 6.1 Proper four-point stance for offensive offensive linemen to assume a three- linemen. point stance: • Place the feet shoulder-width apart, in a heel–instep relationship, with the dominant foot back. • Put very little weight on the down hand to allow for quick forward, backward, and lateral movement. • Place the left arm loosely across the left thigh. • Keep the back straight, with the head up to see defenders across the line of scrimmage. This posi- tion is the strongest and safest for the back and neck. Check to see that player’s shoulders and back are level. If the shoulders are cocked, the down hand is usually in the center of the blocker’s body and needs to be moved more to the out- side of the blocker’s shoulder. When the back is angled, the blocker needs to bring the rear end up and decrease the angle of flex in the legs. Figure 6.2 Proper three-point stance for offensive linemen. 64 Coaching Youth Football Coaching Offense 65 Receivers Receivers use two basic types of stances. The first stance used by wide receivers is a two- point, or upright, stance (see figure 6.3). Its advantages are that receivers can get off the line of scrimmage without being held up and that they are in immediate position to receive quick passes. To assume a two-point stance, receivers should do the following: • Place the feet shoulder-width apart, in a heel–toe relationship, with the foot closest to the football back slightly more than the other. • Bend the knees in a comfortable posi- tion. • Keep weight on the balls of the feet with a majority of weight on the front Figure 6.3 Proper two-point stance for foot. receivers. • Keep the back straight, leaning forward slightly. Coaching Tip • Square the shoulders to the line of Check to make sure that receivers scrimmage. move forward on the snap and don’t • Hold the arms in a comfortable posi- step back to start. They should roll tion. over the front foot and step across • Turn the head in to the center of the the line of scrimmage with the back field so that the player can check his alignment and see the ball when it is foot. snapped. The second stance is a three-point stance, in which receivers distribute their weight evenly, with their heads up and eyes focused either directly downfield or on the football (see figure 6.4). The feet are staggered, which allows good explosion from the line of scrimmage. To assume the three-point stance, receivers should do the following: • Place the feet shoulder-width apart, in a heel–toe relationship, with the foot closest to the football staggered in a comfortable sprinter’s position. • Point knees and toes straight ahead. • Keep the back straight, parallel to the ground, and head up looking into the ball. Make sure that receivers in a three-point stance drive forward and don’t rise up as they come out of their stance to release from the line; check to see that the majority of their weight is on the down hand and front foot. 64 Coaching Youth Football Coaching Offense 65 Figure 6.4 Proper three-point stance for receivers. Center To help young players get in proper posi- tion to make the snap to the quarterback, have centers assume a four-point stance and then lift up their snapping hand to place the ball on the ground where they can easily grasp it (see figure 6.5). Later, if they are in the position correctly, they can progress to a three-point stance with the nonsnapping hand and forearm resting on the thigh. To assume a four-point stance, centers should do the following: • Start in an upright stance. • Position the feet shoulder-width apart with the toe of the foot on the side of the snapping hand even with Figure 6.5 Proper four-point stance for centers. the instep of the other foot. • Bend at the knees until the forearms rest comfortably on the thighs. • Reach straight out with both hands so that they are on the ground slightly in front of the shoulder pads. • Lift the snapping hand and place the ball in position. The ball should be placed with the laces to the outside and rotated slightly toward the ground. • Grasp the front half of the ball with the fingers over the laces and pre- pare to lift and turn the ball sideways so that the quarterback can take the snap. 66 Coaching Youth Football Coaching Offense 67 Make certain that centers have their back straight and shoulders even before the snap. They should keep the ball even with the shoulder pad on the side of the snapping hand. Quarterback A quarterback’s stance must be poised and relaxed, reflecting confidence. The quarterback’s feet should be comfortably spread, approximately shoulder- width apart and as close to the center’s feet as possible. Quarterbacks should bend their knees slightly and drop their Coaching Tip hips while remaining as tall over the center as possible. It is the quarterbacks’ Beginning quarterbacks often bend at responsibility to adjust the height of their the waist and position their feet too far stance to fit each center. Quarterbacks’ from the center’s feet. When you see shoulders should be parallel to the line this, move them closer to the center of scrimmage, their heads up to check the and instruct them to bend their knees position of the defense. See figure 6.6 for so that they can reach under the center an example of a proper quarterback’s to take the snap. stance. Figure 6.6 Proper stance for quarterbacks. 66 Coaching Youth Football Coaching Offense 67 Running Backs The most common stance for halfbacks and fullbacks is a two-point stance (see figure 6.7). In this position running backs are in an upright stance with the head up, which allows them to see the quarterback and the offensive line. Players Coaching Tip at these positions must accelerate quickly Be sure that running backs move either from their backfield spot. Before the ball forward or laterally on the snap, based is snapped, running backs should do the following: on the play called in the huddle. If they step back to get started, adjust • Stand with feet about shoulder- their weight on the down hand so that width apart and weight on the balls they can move easily in any direction.