If you are a new coach you may be wondering what is the best thing to do at your first youth football practice. If you are coaching Flag Football you are probably coaching very young and/or inexperienced players. Either way you will need to determine how much time you have to prepare for your first game. Offense will take the longest so you need to make sure you allow enough practices to get every play in you feel you may need for the first game. With very young or inexperienced players you will need to teach the players the different positions. This is a important step that should not be skipped.
You will need to work on fundamentals daily and especially the three point stance. The perfect three point stance is overlooked by most youth football coaches. Every practice you run for the entire year should include working on the three point stance, blocking form and fundamentals.
But back to the question on what to do at your first practice. I start each practice, each year with player introductions and a parent meeting. We will be spending approximately 75 events together as a group over the course of a season, so I like to start things out right with introductions. I pass out a welcome letter that explains in detail what is expected of each family as well as the team and individual goals for the season. A copy of this letter is included in the playbooks.info/playbooks/coaching-books/forms-and-templates-for-coaching-youth-football/”>Youth Football Forms and Templates book. I include the practice schedule for the year as well as all of my contact information. I believe communication, from the very first day, will set the stage for a productive season.
