Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football - Jim Doughterty and Brandon Castel

Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football

by Jim Dougherty and Brandon Castel

NEW, 168 pages

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About Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football

You volunteered to coach the football team, but are you ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices, and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football has the answers.

Longtime coach Jim Dougherty teams up with Brandon Castel to share experience and advice you can rely on from the first practice to the final game. It’s all here in the drills and the plays: evaluating players’ skills, establishing realistic goals, offering in-game coaching tips, and making the practices fun!

Develop your team’s offensive and defensive skills for all positions with the Survival Guide’s collection of the game’s best youth drills. For plays that young players can actually run, flip to the Survival Guide’s offensive playbook and defensive alignments. And to get the most out of every practice, follow the ready-to-use practice plans.

Turn to the series that has already guided thousands of first-time coaches in basketball, soccer, and softball to rewarding and productive seasons. With Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football, you’re already well on your way.

About Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty knows how to develop talent across many levels. Along with coaching the Hilliard Davidson varsity baseball team since 1985, Dougherty has served as the athletic coordinator and football coach for Hilliard Weaver Middle School since 1997. Prior to that, Dougherty held the same position at the former Hilliard Middle School. He also teaches physical education and was named Ohio's Middle School Athletic Administrator of the Year in 2005. A graduate of OhioWesleyanUniversity, he served as the captain of both the football and baseball team. Coach Dougherty lives in Columbus.

About Brandon Castel

Brandon Castel is a sports writer for the-Ozone.net and has made a career of covering college football. While a student at Ohio State, Castel served as the sports editor of The Lantern and today he covers the Buckeyes on a full-time basis for BuckeyeGrove.com. A former football player himself, Castel also fills much of his time as a coach in Columbus with the Skyhawks youth sports program. His writing has been featured by Yahoo! Sports, The Sporting News, and USCHO.com.

Reviews of this Book

“Jim Dougherty’s knowledge of the game and his experience coaching young players will help you understand the important aspects of youth football. I recommend Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football to anyone taking the first step into coaching.”

Brian White -- Head Football Coach, Hilliard Davidson High School

“Jim Dougherty's book Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football is a must-have for all youth football coaches. He has years of experience on the subject and can provide unique tips on coaching youth.”

Mike Vrabel -- Linebacker, Kansas City Chiefs

“Finally! A book that breaks down the enormous responsibilities of a youth football coach into an easy-to-follow game plan. Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football will help any new coach find success on and off the field!”

Ryan Miller -- Former Ohio State Football Linebacker (1993-'96), Two-Time Big Ten Champion and 1997 Rose Bowl Champion

About American Football

American football, known in the United States as football, is a sport played between two teams of eleven. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by running with it or throwing it to a teammate. Points can be scored by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking the ball through the opponent's goal posts or tackling an opposing ball carrier in his own end zone.

In the United States, high school football, college football and professional football are played under slightly different rules. High school football is governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations, college football by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, while the major professional league is the NFL.

The sport is also played in Europe, Japan and Mexico. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport. American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and the field.

Because the game stops after every down, giving teams a chance to call a new play, strategy plays a major role in football. Each team has a playbook of dozens to hundreds of plays. Ideally, each play is a scripted, strategically sound team-coordinated endeavor. Some plays are very safe; they are likely to get only a few yards. Other plays have the potential for long gains but at a greater risk of a loss of yardage or a turnover.

Generally speaking, rushing plays are less risky than passing plays. However, there are relatively safe passing plays and risky running plays. To deceive the other team, some passing plays are designed to resemble running plays and vice versa. These are referred to as play-action passes and draws, respectively. There are many trick or gadget plays, such as when a team lines up as if it intends to punt and then tries to run or pass for a first down. Such high-risk plays are a great thrill to the fans when they work. However, they can spell disaster if the opposing team realizes the deception and acts accordingly.

The defense also plans plays in response to expectations of what the offense will do. For example, a "blitz" (using linebackers or defensive backs to charge the quarterback) is often attempted when the team on defense expects a pass. A blitz makes downfield passing more difficult but exposes the defense to big gains if the offensive line stems the rush.

Many hours of preparation and strategizing, including film review by both players and coaches, go into the days between football games. This, along with the demanding physicality of football (see below), is why teams typically play at most one game per week.

Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football