Kick Return Strategies are basically the same for punt and kick off with the primary objective being to not turn the ball over.  In little kid football special teams are usually short changed and I see many mistakes which will cost your team in the long run.

If you do make the time and want to try to return the ball then follow the advice below and you should have some great success in the return game.

Kick and punt returns

Standard returns: The biggest choice facing a kick returner is whether to attempt to run the ball back. Generally, a returner who catches a kickoff or punt in the “red zone” between the receiving team’s own end zone and 20-yard line attempts some sort of return, if only to gain a few yards. If the receiving team’s players can get into position quickly, they may be able to allow the returner to gain further yardage, or break away from the pack entirely and score a touchdown.

Laterals: In extreme cases—generally during kickoff returns in the closing seconds of play—the returner may attempt a lateral pass to avoid the ball being downed in a tackle. The return team may throw as many lateral passes as they choose, and this is normally done in a desperate attempt to keep the ball alive. This notably occurred on January 8, 2000, during a wild-card game between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills, in a play known as the Music City Miracle. In the game’s final seconds, Lorenzo Neal, Frank Wycheck and Kevin Dyson combined on a 75 yard kickoff return touchdown to give the Titans a 21-16 lead (22-16 after the extra point), allowing Tennessee to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Another well-known occurrence is an occasion during an NCAA game regarded as “The Play” in which the University of California return team utilized 5 lateral passes for a successful return and a come-from-behind victory.

Fair catches: A kick returner may signal a fair catchif the ball will be caught with good field position, or if the kicking team’s members are advancing so quickly that a return is impossible. However, he is penalized if he attempts a return after signaling a fair catch; likewise, players who tackle a returner who has signaled a fair catch is penalized. If a player waves for a fair catch and then fails to touch the ball, it may be downed as normal by the kicking team, but if recovered by the receiving team, may not be advanced. However, if any member of the receiving team catches a ball and then drops it, it becomes a live ball and may be recovered by either side.

Image via Wikipedia

“Live balls” and “Dead balls”: If a punted ball is touched after passing the line of scrimmage, even inadvertently, by a member of the receiving team it becomes a live ball and may be recovered as if a fumble by the kicking team. Conversely if the receiving team doesn’t touch the ball and a member of the kicking team touches it, the ball is ruled down where it is touched and play is dead. All place-kicked balls—kick-offs, field goal attempts, and the like—are live balls, which may be played in one way or another by either team (subject to restrictions in the case of any “free” kick: see onside kick).

Downing the ball

If, for whatever reason, the receiving team does not catch the ball, the kicking team may move into position and try to down it as close as possible to the opposing team’s end zone. This is achieved by surrounding the ball and allowing it to roll or bounce, without touching it, as close as possible to the end zone. If the ball appears to be rolling or bouncing into the end zone, a player may run in front of the goal line and attempt to bat it down or catch it. If a member of the kicking team touches or catches the ball before a member of the receiving team does so, the ball is blown dead by the official when he has judged that the returner is not going to pick up the ball and return it, or the kicking team picks the ball up and hands it to the official. Once the whistle is blown the play is over and the receiving team takes possession at the spot the ball was spotted by the official.

Thus it is strategically important for kicking teams to get as close to the ball as possible after a punt, so that they may quickly tackle a returner, down the ball as close to the opposing team’s end zone as possible, and (if possible) recover the ball after a fumble and regain possession of the ball.