- 1). Bring your team together at the start of the season. Have meetings for the parents and the young players. Tell them your philosophy and your goals. When you meet with the parents, emphasize things like teamwork, responsibility and skill development. When you meet with the players, talk about improving, working hard and having fun. Don't mention winning in either meeting. That will become the goal as players get older.
- 2). Get your players in shape. This does not mean having them run for the first and last 30 minutes of every practice session and having them do stressful exercises. However, they should warm up with calisthenics and do a series of sprints every day before practice begins. You should also give them a series of exercises they can do at home when they are away from the team.
- 3). Practice clearly designed simple plays that are easy to learn. When you are working with young players it is not about coming up with a complicated play that is designed to fool the oppostion. You want your players to be able to execute the play. They can do this by knowing the requirements and then going out on the practice field and doing it. You must correct mistakes immediately and offer praise when the play is done successfully.
- 4). Have water and sports drinks available at every practice. The days when a coach would limit water intake during a practice or a game are long over. Players need to stay hydrated when playing football and this is especially true in the hottest days of summer when the season is beginning. Don't be foolish or lazy. It is up to you to make water plentiful. Take the steps to have cold water bottles available for your team. When it is 80 degrees or warmer, have water breaks every 25 minutes.
- 5). Have at least two assistant coaches or volunteer parents help you with the coordination of every game. Nobody can do it by themselves. You will have offensive players, defensive players and special teams players. You can handle one of those units and run the overall game; your assistants have to help you out with the other areas. You want to be in control and organized. Trying to run everything will make it very difficult to stay on top of everything.
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