New Head Coach At Bedford

[southpaw]

I feel NB would have beaten Bedford (They beat Ridge this year). Tussey had a nice team and Bedford would have been hard pressed to contain Donaldson.

[ham55]

Already have.

[MountainMan]

Ham you ould not make a pimple on a head coaches ****.

[boxer156]

I live in Bedford and I can tell you that our so-called football program is in trouble........there is NO WAY you can expect kids to compete and remain competitive when the first time they put on pads is in SEVENTH GRADE. And to makes matters worse, the 7th grade team is being coached by a bunch of parents (for the most part) that look like they carried water bottles in their high school years.

And don't even get me started on our wondercful 'flag' football program. I guess those same fundametals learned in flag football lead to some of the 'great' tackling I saw when these kids made the transition to 7th grade. The elite programs from the city HAVE youth tackle, and even give scaled-down versions of the HS playbook to the youth coaches so they can learn the terminology. Flag is useless, especially at the 4, 5, and 6 grade levels. If you don't believe me, go see a flag game next fall and make your own opinion-----the game I saw had everyone on the line, and ONE defensive back on the FIFTY YARD LINE (and it was second down). Unless this is some new defensive scheme that no one is aware of, I really don't think this will transition well to 'real' football. Plus, you have the usual parents that have to be involved in EVERYTHING that have no business coaching these kids which further delays their progress.

Someone needs to take control of this football league ASAP, and take it out of the hands of the rec commission. The new HS coach MUST at least oversee the youth programs and make sure there is adequate and qualified coaches at the youth level----- rather than letting 'Mr. Smith' coach because his son would never play unless dad was the coach.

Also, as a Bedford resident and parent, we are falling WAY behind Ridge in EVERY sport. Take a look if you don't believe me-----our youth wrestling is pathetic, our football is mediocre at best, baseball/softball is slipping, basketball is---well who cares about basketball........you get the idea. Ridge has a group of parents that really put alot into their kids, and I think Bedford is seriously lacking there. It seems that Bedford has this attitude of 'we used to be the best 10 years ago, so we're not changing anything'. This is why we are in the place we are now.

I only wish Bedford would put as much effort into other sports as they do soccer........who the h*ll wants to be known as a soccer powerhouse???? LOL

[thepalerider]

I disagree with the fact that kids need to put on pads before they get to seventh grade. I feel that fundamentals are extremely important and those skills can be taught through flag football. The childrens bodies are not developed enough to endure a tackle football league. However, I do agree that some type of football needs to be taught because if you do not have a football league for elem kids they go play soccer and other sports so down the road why would they come back to football. For everyone that thinks a tackle football league needs to be at the elem level, that is like a little leaguer trying to throw a curveball. Also, the coaches at the elem level may not know alot about the game, how to tackle, proper ball carrying techinques so when they get to the varsity level they may have bad habits that need to be touched on. From being around a elem program in the area, most of the coaches are coaching football like its the 1950's with the str8 tee and getting plays off of Madden for PS2. Don't get me wrong parents are extremely important but the head coaches of the schools should put on clinics of proper techniques and maybe some simple plays that they do at the varsity level that the elem kids can do.

[Eaglealum]

I gotta go with Pale Rider on this one to an extent. Youth football can be a great training tool if used properly. I've been on all sides of this topic(youth coach,jr. high, and parent) And from my experience. I honestly don't think kids should see contact until 11/12 yrs old at the earliest. First, it can be great by teaching technique, cadence, discipline,etc, before they get to Jr high. However, the cons often outweigh the pros here.You get youth coaches that worry more about winning or showcasing their own kids than teaching fundamentals. I can tell you that 90% of the kids I dealt with at the next level had their entire 1st year wasted because we spent most of that time breaking bad habits developed before we saw them. Most importantly, if you talk to any orthopedic specialist, of which the state of PA has only 2 pediatric orthopedic surgeons statewide and one is an idiot; if you x-ray any kid 11 and under on their knees and elbows, you'll see a "hole" there is a part of that bone and growth plate that doesn't develope until between the ages of 10-12. Any serious injury to those joints can be catostrophic for the rest of their lives. I know this from the last 5 months I've been living a nightmare. My 8 yr old is having his elbow reconstructed at Shriners in 2 weeks. And there are no guarentees that he will even regain full use of that arm. The kid started at shortstop and pitched for the 8yr all-stars at age 7, placed 2nd at Jr olympics at Philipsburg at age 6(10 and under), avg 12 pts a game in the 2nd grade league in 1st grade,watches Mike&Mike in the mornings when most kids watch cartoon network....his life revolves around sports and now me and his mom just worry about him being able to do things other kids that age are doing.
If you think about it, the only youth football that the NFL will allow their name be attached to is flag football. Don't rush them. Just from Tyrone, John Franco has had 20+ all-staters in his 13 years at Tyrone. 7 never played until 7th grade, and of the other 6(4 played for me, not that I'm anything special but I used the varsity playbook scaled down, same cadence, same terminology, etc. to make the transition to the next level easier) Just a small sample of those who didn't play youth football here, Jesse Jones, Doug Roseberry, Leonard Wilson, Scott Gummo, Craig Starr, Albert Hammers, and Tyler Hoover.
Contact football for the lil' guys isn't the best idea if you step back and take a closer look.Good people with a stressing of fundamentals at the Jr high level is the best foundation for high school ball. Flag football is ok to keep them interested and maybe teach some technique with the skill positions but not a necessity.

[realfootball20]

I have played youth football since first grade..I think it is very important for kids to start hitting at a young age because it developes an awsome aggression. When I moved to Bedford I could tell the difference in the kids the first couple of practices..They dont get as pumped up for big games or for big hits...They just dont have the same passion for winning..Ive been to my brothers flag football games and practices and its a joke..When I played youth football it was always yes sir, no sir to the coaches and no one played around..Flag football the kids are running around laying all over the ground, its rediculous..My brother that plays on that team is obviously the most respectful to the coaches and works the hardest..Its not because hes a better kid or even a better player its just what youth football installs in you.

[CITYBOY]

If you want to talk about bad habits, lets talk about all the wrong things that flag teaches kids to do. We have to tell them how to square up to make a tackle and not to step to the side to pull a flag. Do you ever wonder why kids try to arm tackle? Do you ever wonder why kids always want to bust it outside when there is a perfect lane to run through? Lets talk about head injuries and concussions, there are more head injuries in flag than in tackle. If it was up to me there would be no flag period. Go to any of the bigger areas and tackle football starts in 1st grade. Dont try to justify not having tackle by saying its to early to start, anybody that has played tackle football knows what is safer.

I do agree that you must have a coach that is a coach not a parent that wants to glorify his own kid. Its is very critical to have the right people coaching. They are hard to find!

[Head Roadie]

My opinion, I agree with CityBoy....Flag is a joke and the worst thing young kids could be doing. Think about it, your asking lineman to block, just as they would in tackle, without equipment! You wanna talk about developing bad habits and head injury potential, just as said so eloquently in the previous post, flag is where that happens. Flag football is for Gym Class and Adult rec leagues and is a horrible teaching tool in preparation of JH/Var Football.

As for a good starting date for tackle.....I'll go middle of the road here and say about 4th grade...definitely not before 3rd and I don't think it's critical that kids start before about 6th grade. Just my two cents from having "been around the block" for awhile.

[TBone]

My dad didn't allow my brothers to play football until 7th grade. One played FB at Kentucky and the other OL at Princton. You do not need youth tackle football to compete. 11-12 is early enough.