July 16th, 2011
We start our season tonight. Very hot and muggy so it will be important to hydrate all the players properly. Hydrating PRIOR to practice is the key to proper Hydration.
Coach James
Monday, July 18, 2011
Camp Player Evaluations
By James Landers
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
I reccomend making sure all of your coaches understand the goals and objectives of the the 1st week of the practice season. Namely, the coaches will need to make evaluation on all the players to determine which skill level they will work with.
Most importantly, young players need to be placed in the group that best affords them the opportunity to develop. If a player is not going to contribute on the varsity squad, then do the child and yourself a favor and move him down to JV. This will not only help the JV squad, but also give the player the best chance to develop.
Also, know that many kids develop a different paces. Pay special attention to 1st year players. They often develop the most during the first few weeks.
Lastly, make it objective. Keep past performances, parent opinions and league politics out of the equation. Maintaining complete objectivity is not only the ethical approach, it will save you from explaining your decisions to multiple parties.
As always, have fun and enjoy the moment.
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
I reccomend making sure all of your coaches understand the goals and objectives of the the 1st week of the practice season. Namely, the coaches will need to make evaluation on all the players to determine which skill level they will work with.
Most importantly, young players need to be placed in the group that best affords them the opportunity to develop. If a player is not going to contribute on the varsity squad, then do the child and yourself a favor and move him down to JV. This will not only help the JV squad, but also give the player the best chance to develop.
Also, know that many kids develop a different paces. Pay special attention to 1st year players. They often develop the most during the first few weeks.
Lastly, make it objective. Keep past performances, parent opinions and league politics out of the equation. Maintaining complete objectivity is not only the ethical approach, it will save you from explaining your decisions to multiple parties.
As always, have fun and enjoy the moment.
Player Position Changes
By James Landers.
James Landers, Saint Petersburg, Florida is a youth football coach with the North East Bandits organization. He is the founder of the Landers Youth Foundation which supports the equality of opportunity in youth sports.
It happens to all coaches. You have the players but struggle as to where to put them on the field. The practice schedule does not give you enough time to try everyone everywhere so you lock kids into spots and move forward.
While this approach makes it easier, you might be leaving some opportunity on the table.
My suggestion is to constantly tweak the line up throughout the season.
The best coaches always have their teams playing their best at the end of the season. Therefore, you likely will have 10+ weeks to find the right fit to the puzzle. If this approach results in a loss in the process, don’t sweat it. You likely will get another shot against them in the playoffs and if you are constantly improving, the results will show.
Build the season plan to play your best game on your last game!!!!
James Landers, Saint Petersburg, Florida is a youth football coach with the North East Bandits organization. He is the founder of the Landers Youth Foundation which supports the equality of opportunity in youth sports.
It happens to all coaches. You have the players but struggle as to where to put them on the field. The practice schedule does not give you enough time to try everyone everywhere so you lock kids into spots and move forward.
While this approach makes it easier, you might be leaving some opportunity on the table.
My suggestion is to constantly tweak the line up throughout the season.
The best coaches always have their teams playing their best at the end of the season. Therefore, you likely will have 10+ weeks to find the right fit to the puzzle. If this approach results in a loss in the process, don’t sweat it. You likely will get another shot against them in the playoffs and if you are constantly improving, the results will show.
Build the season plan to play your best game on your last game!!!!
Unifying your Coaching Staff
By James Landers
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
It is the head coaches responsibility to develop a plan and communicate that plan to your coaching staff. This is only part of the process. Throughout the season, a head coach will often have to deal with coaches on his staff that are disrupting the team. This can be done in many ways. Complaining about the offense to other coaches. Constantly suggesting changes to the lineup, etc. It comes in many forms..
It is very important you give your coaching staff a forum to communicate their views. As the head coach, you need and should welcome competing views on a subject. These forums should NEVER be on the field in front of players. Develop a communication plan that provides coaches a way to provide input weekly. Explain that you need their input but also that their input does not necessarily mean you agree with their suggestions.
I suggest the following
• Communicate in the beginning that you will not tolerate ANY back channel complaining.
• Include your coaches in the game planning process IF they want to participate.
• Give your coaching staff a solid forum to list suggestions and/or concerns.
• Once you decide on a plan, communicate the decision to your staff.
• Remove any coach that breaks the policies you outline.
Remember, you are coaching for the benefit of kids. Distractions from coaches remove much of the joy from the game. Be a good listener but more importantly, be a leader that the team needs.
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
It is the head coaches responsibility to develop a plan and communicate that plan to your coaching staff. This is only part of the process. Throughout the season, a head coach will often have to deal with coaches on his staff that are disrupting the team. This can be done in many ways. Complaining about the offense to other coaches. Constantly suggesting changes to the lineup, etc. It comes in many forms..
It is very important you give your coaching staff a forum to communicate their views. As the head coach, you need and should welcome competing views on a subject. These forums should NEVER be on the field in front of players. Develop a communication plan that provides coaches a way to provide input weekly. Explain that you need their input but also that their input does not necessarily mean you agree with their suggestions.
I suggest the following
• Communicate in the beginning that you will not tolerate ANY back channel complaining.
• Include your coaches in the game planning process IF they want to participate.
• Give your coaching staff a solid forum to list suggestions and/or concerns.
• Once you decide on a plan, communicate the decision to your staff.
• Remove any coach that breaks the policies you outline.
Remember, you are coaching for the benefit of kids. Distractions from coaches remove much of the joy from the game. Be a good listener but more importantly, be a leader that the team needs.
The Coach/Father Relationship
By James Landers
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
Most of the coaches in youth football have players on the team. This presents a difficult challenge for the head coach. Often times, the head coach must deal with the “dad glasses”. Dad glasses are the lenses that make their son the most talented kid ever to walk on the field. The “dad glasses” slant the view of the coach in favor of this own son. Not only is this not fair to the coaches son, but left unchallenged, presents a huge distraction for the team.
I suggest this policy. Let the other coaches coach your son. Kids need fathers much more than another coach. If there are 20 player on the team, coach the 19 and be a father to the one. The other coaches can do the same with their child. Coaches are subconsciously more stringent with their own child, which is unfair to the child.
Be the father your child needs and leave the coaching of your child to the other coaches. And don’t forget, do the same courtesy for the other coaches.
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
Most of the coaches in youth football have players on the team. This presents a difficult challenge for the head coach. Often times, the head coach must deal with the “dad glasses”. Dad glasses are the lenses that make their son the most talented kid ever to walk on the field. The “dad glasses” slant the view of the coach in favor of this own son. Not only is this not fair to the coaches son, but left unchallenged, presents a huge distraction for the team.
I suggest this policy. Let the other coaches coach your son. Kids need fathers much more than another coach. If there are 20 player on the team, coach the 19 and be a father to the one. The other coaches can do the same with their child. Coaches are subconsciously more stringent with their own child, which is unfair to the child.
Be the father your child needs and leave the coaching of your child to the other coaches. And don’t forget, do the same courtesy for the other coaches.
Winning the Only Way
By James Landers
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
Coaches are often going to be challenged to take short cuts. Do they play their top 11 players on both sides of the ball and win easily or do they do the right thing and develop players along the way. Winning the right way should be the only way. How do you win the right way? Keep these fundamental principles in mind when putting together your plan.
• The goal of your program is to develop youth players into responsible young adults. If you have contributed to this process, you have won.
• Teach your players how to win with class. Often times, our society highlights and awards behavior that is unacceptable. Teach your players that true winners are humble.
• Losing is sometimes a blessing. We often learn more after a loss than a win. Use a loss as an opportunity to improve.
• Teach your players that lesser talented players are just as important to the outcome. They all contribute in different ways.
• Make sure your coaches and parents understand the real goal of the season.
A classless win is really a loss.
James Landers(Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.
Coaches are often going to be challenged to take short cuts. Do they play their top 11 players on both sides of the ball and win easily or do they do the right thing and develop players along the way. Winning the right way should be the only way. How do you win the right way? Keep these fundamental principles in mind when putting together your plan.
• The goal of your program is to develop youth players into responsible young adults. If you have contributed to this process, you have won.
• Teach your players how to win with class. Often times, our society highlights and awards behavior that is unacceptable. Teach your players that true winners are humble.
• Losing is sometimes a blessing. We often learn more after a loss than a win. Use a loss as an opportunity to improve.
• Teach your players that lesser talented players are just as important to the outcome. They all contribute in different ways.
• Make sure your coaches and parents understand the real goal of the season.
A classless win is really a loss.
The Coach/Parent Relationship
By James Landers. James Landers, Saint Petersburg, Florida is a youth football coach with the North East Bandits organization.
Parents and the coach both share a responsibility in making the experience a positive one. Coaches owe the player and the parents a positive experience that focuses player development, fundamentals and fun.
Parents expect their child to learn. Therefore, this should be the coaches focus. There is simply no excuse for not teaching the basic skills of the sport. With today’s access to information, coaches can learn a considerable amount of skills via the internet.
Coaches should expect to manage the team without interference from parents and/or family members. If input is needed, parents should discuss the matter away from the child. Coaches should refrain from interaction with parents immediately following the game. This period of time should be dedicated to setting the stage for the upcoming week rather than discussing playing time and/or opinions from parents.
If a coach is prepared and shows great passion for teaching and focuses on player development, the season is a success regardless of the win-loss record.
Parents and the coach both share a responsibility in making the experience a positive one. Coaches owe the player and the parents a positive experience that focuses player development, fundamentals and fun.
Parents expect their child to learn. Therefore, this should be the coaches focus. There is simply no excuse for not teaching the basic skills of the sport. With today’s access to information, coaches can learn a considerable amount of skills via the internet.
Coaches should expect to manage the team without interference from parents and/or family members. If input is needed, parents should discuss the matter away from the child. Coaches should refrain from interaction with parents immediately following the game. This period of time should be dedicated to setting the stage for the upcoming week rather than discussing playing time and/or opinions from parents.
If a coach is prepared and shows great passion for teaching and focuses on player development, the season is a success regardless of the win-loss record.
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