1st Grade Football

[TBone]

boxer - "I'm trying to keep it organized, and continue to keep getting the great coaches that I was fortunate to get."

IF you can do this then your program should be successful. When you start allowing every parent who wants to coach to do so, then you begin to have problems. I don't know how many times I have heard youth coaches in my area telling a smaller kid to tackle a bigger kid at the knees or telling a runner to "put your head down and run him over". When coaches begin to put kids in danger by teaching poor techniques like these, then the program will go downhill, no matter how many wins are piled up.

boxer, you seem to have the right attitude about your program. Stay vigilant and know what techniques are proper and which are not.
good luck

By the way, its kids like your son that are very successful in youth football. These kids will do well at the midget level and then be successful in HS. The kids I worry about are the kids that aren't agile, maybe a little too big, and therefore not agressive. These are the kids that we lose because of poor youth coaches. I always use my younger brother as an example. He was chubby, slow and uncoordinated and not real agressive as a kid but he ended up playing fullback at Kentucky. If my dad had allowed him to play youth football, I would bet he would have been playing tackle and who knows if he would have ever played at the HS level.

[coachcarter]

Perhaps the most important part of Pee Wee football is that it introduces the sport to kids. I was sitting in the stands at the Richland-Bedford game this past week and saw the pee wee kids that play for Richland running on the field behind the varsity players at the beginning of the game. The look on the youngsters faces was great to see. They were very thrilled to get to follow the "big" kids and the motorcycle. A parent I was sitting next to told me that his kid started playing in the Richland Rockets and is now in 8th grade. He said that his boy was playing soccer also but decided that he liked football better. He also said that he believes that the Rockets are what saved football in Richland. The current sophomores are the 1st class to have participated in pee wee football. If this is true, than the rockets serve a noble purpose. Maybe someone with a kid in the Richland program can post on here and give more insight on this program.

[ham55]

Titan,

We all know things are run differently out in WPIAL land, but the program that the Bedford Blair county league is run really well from what I can tell. Bedford is in it's first year in the program, and being part of it has been nothing but a blessing. The bylaws they have to prevent what you call the "Vince Lombardi"-wanna be's are extremely effective. It's a self policing league where, if needed, coaches can be removed for teaching such tactics that are dangerous for the kids.

Everybody's heard the horror stories and seen the youth league coaches go crazy on youtube, and places such as that. But please don't try to tell us that because one league in your area runs the season from July to November that ALL leagues are like that and ALL leagues are terrible for the kids. As bisonblue07 stated, our league started practice on August 3rd and the FINAL game of the season is October 17th. Practice is 2 days a week(monday and wednesday) and games are on Saturday. 6 games. 21 practices spread out over more than 2 months. Is that really gonna burn kids out? It teaches the game. It teaches the extreme basics(at flag we're thrilled that they know where the ball is going on both sides!) and it teaches a way to play together.

I can't speak for other leagues in the area, but I know the BBYFL is run well. With the emphasis on playing and learning the game. The score is kept in the 3-4 and 5-6 tackle, but no records are kept and there isn't a championship game or anything that even resembles a playoff.

[TBone]

quote: ham55

"Everybody's heard the horror stories and seen the youth league coaches go crazy on youtube, and places such as that. But please don't try to tell us that because one league in your area runs the season from July to November that ALL leagues are like that and ALL leagues are terrible for the kids. As bisonblue07 stated, our league started practice on August 3rd and the FINAL game of the season is October 17th. Practice is 2 days a week(monday and wednesday) and games are on Saturday. 6 games. 21 practices spread out over more than 2 months. Is that really gonna burn kids out? It teaches the game. It teaches the extreme basics(at flag we're thrilled that they know where the ball is going on both sides!) and it teaches a way to play together.
I can't speak for other leagues in the area, but I know the BBYFL is run well. With the emphasis on playing and learning the game. The score is kept in the 3-4 and 5-6 tackle, but no records are kept and there isn't a championship game or anything that even resembles a playoff."


This is exactly what all youth leagues should look like. Congratulations and keep it as it is.

[pats39]

I would say the rockets role has been minmial in terms of varsity production, as the current richland senior class still had many players in the Geistown richland league. I foresee it making a huge difference in the near future, especially with Richland having some outstanding junior high teams presently. With that said, what really turned richland around was a standout QB ,who with some help, turned his awful middle school class around. I can recall watching MP playing in the Geistown Richland league . Heck, I would bet money coach Brandon Bailey played Geistown Richland even.

anyone who has seen Geistown recently, are the numbers way down with the Richland Westmont Jtown leagues that have sprung up?

[psycho]

One word: : " INSANITY "!!!!!!!!

[RidgeDad]

Titan,

We all know things are run differently out in WPIAL land, but the program that the Bedford Blair county league is run really well from what I can tell. Bedford is in it's first year in the program, and being part of it has been nothing but a blessing. The bylaws they have to prevent what you call the "Vince Lombardi"-wanna be's are extremely effective. It's a self policing league where, if needed, coaches can be removed for teaching such tactics that are dangerous for the kids.

Everybody's heard the horror stories and seen the youth league coaches go crazy on youtube, and places such as that. But please don't try to tell us that because one league in your area runs the season from July to November that ALL leagues are like that and ALL leagues are terrible for the kids. As bisonblue07 stated, our league started practice on August 3rd and the FINAL game of the season is October 17th. Practice is 2 days a week(monday and wednesday) and games are on Saturday. 6 games. 21 practices spread out over more than 2 months. Is that really gonna burn kids out? It teaches the game. It teaches the extreme basics(at flag we're thrilled that they know where the ball is going on both sides!) and it teaches a way to play together.

I can't speak for other leagues in the area, but I know the BBYFL is run well. With the emphasis on playing and learning the game. The score is kept in the 3-4 and 5-6 tackle, but no records are kept and there isn't a championship game or anything that even resembles a playoff.

Ham - don't take this the wrong way, but weren't you one of the ones against youth tackle years ago? I could be wrong on that, but I remember some Bedford folks on here blasting the idea of youth tackle. If you did change your mind, what changed it?

Anyway, we are moved on from youth football now, but can tell you all it was great and the Bedford County league is very well run / managed. I'm glad Bedford has finally decided to join, after years of being the only local school not in the program. I think this will only help Bedford's program. Good luck.

[ham55]

I was never against the tackle program. I was on the side that if the right people are in the right place @ the current flag program(soon to be defunct i'd imagine) that there wouldn't be such a difference in between the 7th, 8th, and Jr. High programs like there are now. That wasn't what was going on, and the direct results were shown on the field. Not so much Friday nights(we've never been this deprived of stand-out athletes in my memory), but most definitely on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

To be honest with you, I didn't think it would be possible for the people of Bedford to raise enough money to start that many kids in its first year, but I was proven wrong. The entire league is run well from what I see. I've only been a part of it for 1+ month now, and have no complaints.

[Prince Sidewinder]

My problem with youth football is like most on this thread, the coaches! I listen to the crap that rolls off the tongues of grown men who were afraid of there own shadows when they were kids now trying to convince an 11 year old to dismember an opponent with a tackle. I am sure that there are leagues with great coaches who provide the young players with a great fundamental understanding of the game but throw in a couple of those macho clowns and look out. My favorite lines in youth sports:

You have to hit somebody !! (My personal favorite) Usually coming from the 40/40 coach. That is the player, when he was in high school, got in if his team was up or down 40 points and for forty seconds. Some kids like to hit and others do not.

[WPIAL~Titan]

Prince,

GREAT post...LOL @ the "40/40" man comment...Most daddies who coach little league football weren't even 40/40 men, they were managers, in the band, or better yet, smoking pot behind the bleachers during the Friday night games.