1)I have been coaching football going on six years.

I have coached in Kentucky and now

Pop Warner South Central Alaska. I coach the youth level ages seven, eight, and nine
year olds. I have not really developed a coaching philosophy due to the fact that my
talent changes with every season. Some seasons I will have speedy backs, another power
back, and other seasons I have talented players who have been playing for years, while I
still have players who are just starting to play football. So I usually change up my
coaching philosophy depending on the talent I have for that season. Now the older these
players get, the more I am able to develop my coaching philosophy. Overall I am a very
aggressive coach with an aggressive philosophy. I do have set goals I incorporate every
season. These goals are; 1st. All athletes must always have fun first and foremost(no
sense playing football if you are not enjoying yourself). 2nd. All athletes must stay safe
and be safe(coaches will teach the proper way of performing all drills and ensure the
athletes are staying safe). 3rd. The athletes will improve not only their skill level in all
required skills, but they will learn new skills and a better understanding of the game.
4th. All athletes will demonstrate professionalism, sportsmanship, and teamwork. 5th.
Education will always come first(without your education, you cannot become a
successful athlete).
OFFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY
My offensive philosophy is based around ball control. Depending on my athletes skill
level and talent, I will play smash mouth football, with running the ball up the gut with
power backs, or I will use misdirection and sweeps with speedy backs getting to the
outside. I will attempt to always develop a passing game, to throw the passing attack
dimension into the game, but at seven, eight, and nine year olds, it doesnt always work
out as planned. I incorporate the single wing offense, which utilizes four running
back/quarterbacks. This gives me the opportunity to develop more athletes in these key
positions. It also gives me the opportunity to develop speedy backs and power backs. I
also incorporate the spread offense along with the wish-bone offense. I use these
formations to help make my athletes more diverse in their playbooks. This does give us a
lot of plays to learn, but this is the developmental age group, and I want these athletes as
prepared as they can be for each and every level. The better educated and understanding
of the game, the more talented they will be. Our emphasis will always be on our ground
game while always attempting to develop a passing attack.
DEFENSE PHILOSOPHY
My defensive philosophy is as aggressive as my offensive philosophy. The defense is
set-up to stop the run up the gut with my defensive lineman and stop the outside runs
with my linebackers and cornerbacks and our safety protects us from getting burned
deep. The defensive formations we incorporate are the 4-4-3 which utilizes two
defensive tackles and two defensive ends, four linebackers, and two cornerbacks and a
safety. 6-2-3 utilizes two nose tackles, two defensive tackles, two defensive ends, two
linebackers, and two cornerbacks and a safety. 6-4-1 utilizes two nose tackles, two
defensive tackles, two defensive ends, four linebackers, and a lone safety. Which
formation we use depends on what the offense is running. We teach our defensive line to

fill the gaps with their heads up locating the ball carrier. Our linebackers are our spies,
they move left and right mimicking the ball carrier waiting for him to make his move and
then attack. Our secondary will cover anyone running a route and protect our outside,
along with our safety being our protection from anything deep, no one gets past him.

SPECIAL TEAMS PHILOSOPHY

My special teams philosophy is also very aggressive. The goal of special teams is to keep
the ball away from their returners and make no mistakes. Kickoff, we will attempt onside
kicks, to keep the ball out of the opposing teams offensive hands. Kick returns, we will
have all hands on the field. Everyone on the front line knows to catch the ball and fall on
it, while our returners will catch the ball as cleanly as possible and follow our blocking
wedge. On punt returns, if our returner cannot catch it cleanly, he will just let it bounce.
On punts, our punter will kick the ball towards the sidelines, out of bounds. Special
teams is a big part of the game and the smallest mistake can result in a big play and all
the momentum switching sides.
COACHING
When it comes to coaching, I will begin the season with mainly the Traditional approach
to coaching. This involves teaching the athletes the required technical skills to play their
positions and successfully play the game of football. Once the games start, I will switch
to a combination of the Traditional approach and the Games approach. The games
approach is used to teach the athletes the tactical skills required to perform in a live
game. This approach teaches the athletes to react on the fly. You have to be able to make
adjustment in the game while on the field. This approach helps the athletes get a better
grasp of this. This approach also puts the technical skills the athletes learned during the
traditional approach to use.
PRACTICES
We will have our practices broken down every day. We expect all of our athletes to
attend our two mini camps as a refresher course. Our first week of practice will be with
helmets only for the first two days, and helmets and pants the last three days. These five
practices will also be a refresher course plus conditioning. This will ensure all the
athletes are physically ready to participate in the heavy practices starting week two. At
this age level, I try to keep the practice plan as simple as possible. Practice starts at 6pm,
we ask everyone to arrive at 5:45pm. From 5:45-6pm, the athletes will make sure the
field is set-up with all required equipment. Practice will start immediately at 6pm with
stretches and warm-ups ending at 6:15. 6:15 to 6:40 athletes will perform desired
offensive drills. 6:40-6:45 athletes will take a water break. From 6:45-7:20 athletes will
perform desired defensive drills. From 7:20-7:35 athletes will perform desired special
team drills. From 7:35-7:40 athletes will take a water break. From 7:40-8pm athletes
will perform the skills in live game scenarios. From 8pm-8:15 athletes will perform a

cool down, and have the team meeting. This practice schedule will be in effect until the
games start. Once the game start this will be the schedule. 6pm-6:15 athletes will
perform stretches and warm-up. From 6:15-6:55 athletes will perform refresher drills for
offense and defense. 6:55-7pm athletes will take a water break. From 7pm-7:30 athletes
will perform live game scenarios to include special teams and learn the game plan. From
7:30-7:35 athletes will take a water break. From 7:35-8pm athletes will perform live
game scenarios to include special teams and learn the game plan. From 8pm-8:20 athletes
will perform a cool down, go over the game plan, and have the team meeting. Once the
season starts, we finalize the practice schedule and stick to it through the season. We
might make minor changes if we see areas that might need extra or major work, but
usually this has been a successful practice schedule in past season.
EVALUATION/DEPTH CHART
When it comes to evaluating athletes at this level, it is a little harder than evaluating
athletes at the older levels. What I normally do now, is I have all of my athletes perform
the 40 yard dash, shuttle run, the standing broad jump, the push up, the sit and reach, 2
laps around the football field non-stop, and a leadership test. I have them perform these
drills without pads and then with full pads. Need to see how fast they are with all their
equipment on, I need to know how they can perform in a game environment. The 40 yard
dash is to evaluate the speed. The shuttle run is to evaluate agility. The standing broad
jump and the push up is to evaluate power. The sit and reach is to evaluate flexibility.
The laps around the field is to evaluate their cardio. The leadership test, which consists
of the athletes running a mini practice, like stretches, keeping the players in line, helping
the other athletes when they need it, motivating the team, and ensuring practice is set-up
and policed up, this is to evaluate their character and their leadership skills. The 40 yard
dash, the shuttle, the push up, the laps, and the sit and reach helps me determine who my
running backs, receivers, linebackers, and secondary will be. The sit and reach, the push
up, the laps, and the standing broad jump help me determine my offensive and defensive
lineman. We have kicking drills to determine who our kickers will be. Special team
drills to determine our who our return men will be. At the level I coach, every player will
play. Each player needs that live game experience to develop and become better athletes
while gaining a better understanding of the game. The one factor I always go by when
determining who will be my starters is character and heart. You have to want to be here,
you have to want to be a football player, you have to LOVE this game of football. If you
dont you usually will be my back-ups. I believe you can teach most of these skills
needed to play the game of football, the one thing you cannot teach is heart, the desire to
want to be here and be that dominate athlete. Heart and character goes a long way in
Football.
VITAL FUNDAMENTALS
There are specific skills I require for every position on the field. For our kickers I require
the skill of onside kicks. The way we develop this is. fifteen minutes twice a week during
practice, that is all the kickers will work on. At this level I have four running backs in the
back field, none of them are the quarterback. The skills I develop in them are, ball

security, catching the ball, throwing, running routes, and lead blocking. Ball security and
lead blocking are the two most important skills. When it comes to the single wing
offense, your three running backs not carrying the ball must be able to block, their blocks
are actually more important than any other blocks. They must be able to lead block in the
open field. The way I develop this is, first they are taught the proper way to block,
keeping their hands inside and their hands balled up into a fist to help avoid holding
calls. Once we have mastered this, I then have a defensive end, linebacker, and a
cornerback in a single line. I have one blocker and a ball carrier behind him. Once the
whistle is blown, the lead blocker will make contact with the first defender, holding the
block until the back goes by, then he must break off and make contact with the next
defender, doing the same, all the way down field to the end zone. The must block, block,
and still block some more. Ball security, we teach the backs the proper way to carry the
ball with the six points. Once they master the proper way to carry the ball they go
through the stripping line and then live game scenarios. The skills required for my
offensive line are the proper blocking techniques. We teach them the pulling block, run
block, and pass block. We focus more on the run blocking at this young age. The first
skill we teach to our defense is, the proper and safe way to tackle and proper stance for
all the positions. We have them perform this drill on a dummy first. We take a dummy,
and place tape around a low are on the dummy. In the middle of that tape we place an
X, signifying this is where you will drive your shoulder and wrap up, keeping your
head up the whole time. Once we feel the athletes have safely mastered this skill when
then take it to the next level of one on one tackling. Then lastly we move it in to live
game scenarios, also pushing safety first. On defensive lineman, the skills we teach them
is the rip, swim, push-shove, spin and bulls rush. When we are teaching the players these
moves, we have them perform it on dummies, keeping their heads up and finishing it off
wrapping up another dummy with the proper way to tackle. Our linebackers we teach to
spy and recognize the run or pass. Our secondary we teach to cover the receivers on man
coverage and some zone coverage. When we are teaching all of these skills, we first tell
the athletes what the skill is and why it is important to learn and why its significant to the
game of football. Next we demonstrate to the athletes how to properly perform the
drills. At this point we usually get the athletes to ask as many questions as possible so
have a better understanding of the skill. The next step we have them perform the drill at a
slow pace first, and slowly speeding it up as they better understand the skill. Next we
incorporate the skills into several drills, and even mix them in with other skills. The last
step is the live game scenarios. I can say we have always been very successful and happy
with our athletes mastering theses required skills at this age level. When coaching these
skills, we start with the traditional approach, until we feel they have mastered these
required skills. Once this occurs we move on to the games approach which helps them
use these technical skills and start developing the required tactical skills you need for the
games. Some of these skills we teach are pass-run option, running to the gap,
scrambling, picking up blitzes(rushers), combination blocks(double teams), and running
for daylight on offense. On defense, linebackers read, defending the play action,
controlling or filling the gaps, and reading if a pass or run play. All of these are best
taught in live game scenarios.
MOTIVATION

When it comes to motivation, there are many ways to motivate. What I have been doing,
is I will post the 40 yard dash, the shuttle run time, and the standing broad jump. I
challenge the athletes as a team, if every single one improves their scores, the coaches
will treat them to a pizza party. This not only motivates them to improve these skills, but
it gets them to work together as a team and push each other to become better athletes. I
also use special teams as a motivational tool. Special teams is a reward which translates
into more playing time. If you practice your heart out, if you show improvement, and if
you want it, you will be on special teams for the next game. But each and every week
you have to earn these positions. The best of the best will play special teams. Motivation
is a big tool in how hard and how successful your practices and game day performances
will be. Most of my players now are motivated by winning, they understand it feels so
much better to win than it does to lose, but they do understand to win you need to go out
and have fun and enjoy yourself also.
DISCIPLINE/ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS
When it comes to discipline and expected conduct of our players, we have certain rules.
Education will always come first. If your grades drop below a certain grade point
average, you will be given a certain amount of time to bring the grade up, before you can
return participate in a game. If you are unable to bring the grades up, you will no longer
be allowed to participate in practice or games. Education is the most important thing in a
young childs life. This is my biggest pet peeve, with an education you can never
develop into a great athlete. All athlete need to understand, to play football you must be
very smart to understand any fully appreciate this sport. We also expect every athlete do
display strong character and show respect to each other and all adults and coaches. If any
athlete is caught showing disrespect or exhibiting poor sportsmanship, depending on how
severe, the athlete will be benched anywhere from one quarter to one to two games.
Discipline is a characteristic all athletes must have.
COACHING STAFF
When it comes to choosing my coaching staff, I look for several thing. My coaches must
have strong characters and be educated. At this age level, most of the players want to
mimic and impress the coaches. So I want my players to have great role models and
great examples of strong characters. I also look for coaches who have a good grasp on
offense, defense, and special teams. I also require my coaches to have a strong grasp and
understanding of every skill we teach and why we teach them. My coaches must believe
in my philosophy and defend it no matter what. My coaches do not always have to get
along, but they will show each other the proper respect. The last thing I look for, is my
coaches must be able to interact with the players very well and their parents. They must
be able to keep their cool. I have been very blessed for my entire coaching career, to
have some of the best coaches and best friends you can find.
PARENTS

I do not expect much from my parents, but I do expect some. I expect my parents to be
professionals, they must understand they are here for their children, not themselves.
They will check their egos at the door when the season begins. I expect my parents to
ask questions whenever they are unsure of something or have questions on why we are
doing certain things. I will ask my parents to watch for signs of injuries or players
misbehaving or acting up. The reason I do this, most of the time, during games, the
coaches are preoccupied with what is going on in the game. This way we can ensure the
safest environment for our athletes. I will give my parents a Parents Code of Conduct
they must sign and obey to be allowed at the practices and the games. My parents must
also understand that education comes before sports.

2) Coaching Philosophy

I have been a youth football head coach for the past seven seasons, and have developed
my coaching philosophy through trial and error, from diligent research on the internet,
and from discussions with fellow coaches both on the web and in my league. My overall
philosophy is to take an aggressive approach with all facets of the game, offense, defense,
and special teams. As a head coach, it is my responsibility not only to develop a program
that will achieve success on the football field, but will also develop young men who have
a strong sense of citizenship, scholarship, and sportsmanship. Every facet of our program
will emphasize these three essential elements. Our goal is to instill in our players a great
love for the game based on sound fundamentals that they will carry with them throughout
their football careers. We cannot achieve any of our goals if the kids are not having fun.
As the head coach, it is my responsibility to ensure that our program priorities do not
overshadow the fact that children should be allowed to enjoy the game, while still
learning the fundamental skills necessary for success on the football field.
Offensive Philosophy
Offensively, I prefer to utilize a ball control, grind it out type of game that also includes a
big play misdirection and passing game. I utilize two different offensive schemes, the
double wing, which was developed by Coach Don Markham and has set national scoring
records, and the Single Wing, which is one of the oldest and most successful offenses in
the history of football. The two offenses are very similar but give me the flexibility to
utilize the natural talents of my players from season to season rather than insist on
running a certain system or play sets that do not fit their natural talents. We can do more
with less talent with these offensive systems because they emphasize the importance of
the team unit, rather than depending on a few superstar players in order to be successful.
Our emphasis will be on execution of a small number of plays, executed perfectly.
Defensive Philosophy

My defensive philosophy is equally aggressive and is based on the philosophy of

stopping the running game by attacking every gap and putting tremendous pressure on
the quarterback in the passing game. Our base defense is a 33 Stack alignment, but we
will shift into different defensive fronts, based on down and distance, and in response to
what our opponents offense is doing both formation and scheme wise. Our base 33
alignment utilizes a tap and go blitzing system between the three stacked linebackers
and the three defensive down lineman. This allows us to attack every gap on every play,
while confusing the offensive line by removing their pre-snap blocking reads because we
will send different players through each gap on any given play. The risk to this type of
pressure defense is that there are few second level defenders, so if the offense is
successful, we will give up some yardage. The rewards greatly outweigh the risk
however, because we create many more turnovers and tackles for losses than in a more
passive defensive scheme due to the fact that we usually have more than one defensive
player unblocked on any given play. This system also allows us to utilize less talented, or
younger players in any of the six stacked positions because these players do not
necessarily have to be great athletes in order to be successful.
Special Teams Philosophy
My special teams philosophy is probably the most aggressive aspect of my coaching
philosophy. My contrarian approach to special teams has the dual purpose of keeping the
ball away from my opponents returners, while attempting to keep the ball in the hands of
our offensive unit as much as possible. I have utilized several different kinds of on-side
kicks and have used them with very good results.
The Importance of Parents
Our youth program cannot be successful without the help of dedicated and involved
parents. We stress the importance of parents in our program by inviting them to be
involved with our team in any way they can. The following parents letter was developed
in whole by Derek Wade, and I have modified it over the years to suit our specific needs.
You can download the original parents letter from Dereks web-site at:
http://www.fbforyouth.com/downloads.html
Program Overview
We are happy to welcome all players and parents to the Warriors Youth Football program.
We are hopeful that this will be the most exciting and rewarding football season youve
ever experienced. Our goal is to develop well-rounded young men and women who learn
not only the fundamentals of football, but also the importance of education and
teamwork, in an atmosphere conductive to developing sound mind, body and character
and having a good time along the way. We practice the ideals of sportsmanship,
scholarship and Citizenship. Our program stresses learning lessons of value far beyond
the playing days, such as self-discipline, teamwork, concentration, friendship, leadership,
and, good sportsmanship.

We, as coaches, will do our very best to ensure that each player is utilized to his utmost
potential and their talents are used for the teams best advantage. The team comes before
individuals. Safety is our top concern. Many of the exercises, drills, and team rules are
there to ensure your child is prepared to play the game of football, both physically and
mentally. Football, even at the youth level, requires a unique commitment from both
players and parents. Our football season begins in late August and ends in December,
and it is essential that players attend every practice throughout the season. Football is a
violent sport, and the chances of a catastrophic injury are much greater than most other
sports. Our program is committed to teaching our players the skills and techniques
needed in order to play the game safely, thus greatly reducing the chance of a major
injury. Even with all of the precautions we take, there is still a chance that your child
could suffer a major injury playing football, or possibly death. This may sound dramatic
and over-serious, but I cannot stress these points enough to parents. It is for this reason
that players who miss practice during any given week will see a reduction in playing
time, and chronic absences, regardless of the reason, will result in your child being
removed from our program. Please take these factors into considerations when deciding
if our program is right for you.
TEAM RULES

Finish all homework prior to practices and maintain passing grades in school.
Practices are mandatory. If a player misses a practice during the week, he will
lose one quarter of playing time. If a player misses more than one practice during
the week, the player will not play that Saturday. There are no excused absences,
but as a courtesy, parents are asked to notify us ahead of time if their children will
not be able to attend practice. Chronic absences from practice, regardless of the
reason, can result in the player being removed from the team at the discretion of
the head coach.
Respect coaches, teammates, parents, and opponents. Respect goes both ways,
coaches will lead by example and are held to the same standards.
Maintain all assigned equipment and always come to practice in the right uniform,
ready to play. Any equipment issues should be dealt with prior to practice, there
will always be a coach there 15 minutes early to help players deal with equipment
issues..
Arrive on time for practices and games. Six pm means you are on the field and in
position at six pm, so you must be a few minutes early. A six pm practice begins
at 5:55pm.

REWARDS
Coaching youth players requires a different mind-set than coaching at the upper levels of
football. We will reward our players by offering them encouragement during practices
and games, and we strive to keep a positive attitude and praise players whenever
possible. We keep criticism to a minimum, and always use some form of constructive
criticism. One of the best ways that we have found to reward our players is by allowing
them to play a fun game at the end of practice. We use these rewards as a motivational

tool, but players must earn these rewards by achieving a pre-determined goal. One of the
lessons we want our players to learn is that they will not be rewarded if they do not put
forth the effort to earn that reward.
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS
Traditionally we have had very few issues with disciplinary problems. We keep our
players involved and interested by having fast paced, lively practices. By virtually
eliminating the amount of time players spend standing in line, or listening to a coach give
speeches, we have also virtually eliminated discipline issues. On the rare occasions that
we do have a disciplinary problem, we will generally have the team re-focus by doing
some form of exercise; a few up downs usually do the trick. If a players behavior
becomes too much of a distraction, he will be sent to the sideline for the remainder of
practice, and will lose 1 quarter of playing time the following Saturday. Chronic
behavior issues can result in the player being removed from the team, at the discretion of
the head coach.
PLAYER POSITIONS
Player positions can be a touchy subject for some players and parents. It is important for
both parents and players to understand that football is the ultimate team game, and there
are no bad positions. It is the responsibility of the coaching staff to ensure that players
are placed in positions that will ultimately lead to the overall success of the team. Players
will be assigned a position after a careful evaluation process. We want our players to
play in a position that allows them to have personal success, while adding to the overall
success of the team. On offense, we utilize pulling lineman on the majority of our plays,
so some of our best athletes will play these positions. Please keep in mind that just
because a player is a guard or tackle as a youth player, they will not necessarily be
playing that position in junior high or high school. If parents have any questions as to
why their child is playing a specific position, the head coach will be happy to discuss the
issue either before or after practice, or over the phone. However, the coaching staff will
not discuss any other players position. We want our players to have fun and be
successful, and we will work on general football skills for all of our players in order to
familiarize them with other positions. For example, we will teach all of our players how
to block, tackle, and hold a football, etc., regardless of their set position.
PLAYING TIME
It is the policy of our program to ensure that every player has a starting position on either
offense or defense. Not only is this our policy, it is also a league rule, and we strictly
enforce it. In the event that we have more than 22 players, which has never happened, a
few players will rotate every few plays, but not for more than 1 quarter. Every player on
our team will learn an offensive and defensive position, and we strive to get each player
as much playing time on offense and defense as possible, though considerations are made
by the coaching staff based on players ability to play each position safely. A situation
could arise where a player is not prepared to participate in a game because he is not

prepared either mentally or physically. We have encountered this situation only a handful
of times, and we will discuss any playing time/safety concerns with the player and his
parents before the game. League rules state that a child must either play on offense or
defense however, we reserve the right to withhold playing time due to either missing
practice, discipline problems, or if a player is physically not able to safely participate.
Football is a collision sport, and can be dangerous, especially if the correct techniques of
blocking and tackling are not learned and adhered to. There have only been a handful of
instances over the last six seasons where we have limited a childs playing time due to a
safety concern. In each instance, the player eventually mastered the required techniques
and received their required playing time. It is the responsibility of the head coach to
discuss any limitations of a players playing time before the game in question. We will
not approach you on game day and inform you that your child is not going to play due to
a discipline/safety issue. That wouldnt be fair to you or your child. Some coaches will
use this excuse to limit the playing time of a less skilled player; we will never do this
here. It is our job as coaches to teach the techniques and position each player to ensure
that they will be successful.
WINNING
Nothing in life, including football, is worthwhile unless you enjoy it and gain something
from the experience. We stress winning and losing in everything we do. Our teams
thrive on competition and our players learn that there is a winner and a loser, and there is
no shame in losing. Sure, were trying to win football games and we are going to set our
goals high, but it shouldnt ruin our lives if we lose. Our football team should not believe
that a football loss is a tragedy. All you can ask of our kids is to do their best. If we win,
Great! If we lose, its not the end of the world. There will be another game along in a few
days. Coaches that think only of winning dont belong in football. Try this: Ask your
child if he had a good time instead of whether he won or lost.
COACHES
We can only do our best. We view coaching as an awesome responsibility. Your coaches
will:

Get the players in shape

Understand each players potential
Work on individual skills for each position
Work on team execution of plays
Motivate, communicate, lead
Perform the behind the scenes work that will give the players the maximum
chance of success; like researching our opponents and doing necessary scouting.
Teach the players the skills they need to play football safely

Coaches must have the freedom to develop three things in their athletes: pride, poise, and
self-confidence. We use the following steps to instruct the game of football.

3)

Explain what is required

Demonstrate the technique
Have the player perform the technique
Explain the consequences of not performing the technique properly
If necessary, execute the consequences