Coaching Youth Football – Hand-Off Drill, Color Coding, and Snap Drill
If you’re coaching youth football you are always watching for new ways to teach the skills to your youngsters. Here are three ideas that work well with even your 5 year olds. But, don’t be fooled because they will work with older kids as well.
Color Coding
Since I was coaching a team of first-time 5-year olds, I found that identifying positions by color worked well. Our practices include a magnetic whiteboard with colored magnets and the boys wear colored shirts which corresponds to their position color.
Our playbook was created with PowerPoint utilizing the same color scheme. For games, the boys wear colored wristbands-again corresponding with their position color.
I plan on expanding their vocabulary in the coming months – but for now they understand the two running positions are blue and green (running backs).
Hand-Off Drill
This is probably an old drill and I know I didn’t invent it. To coach a 7 year old team that can’t get the hand-off down I came up with this.
Put 2 cones about 5 yards apart and put a kid on each side. Have them go around with one bal–just handing to each other making sure the proper hand is up. They should learn quickly!
Snap Drill
My 7U QB was having problems receiving the snap. As much as we told him to keep the base of his palms together, he kept pulling his hands apart which was causing problems with holding onto the football.
We took a wristband and stretched it out a bit and placed it around his wrists to keep his hands together. This easy and cheap trick seemed to really help him…problem solved!
Category: Football Coaching, Youth Football
Thank you for your time and assistance Steve. Football program is the Ravena, NY, Mid-Hudson Popwarner. Thanks again!
I had a problem with snaps two years ago with my son who was 7. We cured it but it cost a game. He only dropped one snap last year in ten games as an 8. Now less then two weeks before the opener he’s dropping them again as a 9 yr old.
He has the same problem. Separating the hands and I will do the wrist band. But the most important thing is once you teach them — get it out of their heads.
What finally did it two years ago was that I told him I did not care if he dropped every snap. I would love him as much and we’d find another sport that he’d enjoy.
I firmly believe he’s dropping them this year because I have put way to much pressure on his passing game making him way too nervous and hyper.
That brings us to the second issue. How the heck do you properly coach your own son. Probably look at me and do the opposite. You have to be as easy on them as you are on the rest of the players. They keep wanting me to coach them year after year — but my poor son — I don’t know.
Well I just wanted to get it out there. I hope that I have learned the lesson in a timely fashion. Do not repeat my mistakes.
Any words of wisdom out there. I feel terrible.
Appreciate the contribution Raymond – coaching your own kids is definitely a challenge. I think your new approach hits the nail on the head though
Hi Raymond,
This is my first year HC’ing my son’s team. I don’t coach his position group. I have other fathers and I’ve worked it where they don’t coach their own kids in practice.
Folks I really appreciate the input. I took it all — I stayed with my new approach and had another coach handle the passing drills.
We had a great season — not in terms of wins — but in terms of fun. My son can’t wait till next season.
Observation: A trip to the local ice cream spot with their buddies makes a 9 year old forget a loss much faster then a coach forgets. It’s almost instant.