As preseason practice gets underway, signaling the start of another season of youth football, I thought I should get some advice from an expert to pass along. One coach I enjoy reading is Dave Cisar, who runs winningyouthfootball.com, a website … Continue reading →

I recall having a quarterback one year at the pee-wee level who could run like crazy and was a natural leader, but he had trouble with handoffs and pitches. Maybe it was a concentration issue because despite a lot of … Continue reading →

With preseason practice beginning in the next few weeks for youth football teams across America, the media is chronicling parental worries about letting their sons play. It will be interesting to see if signups drop this season, as they’ve done … Continue reading →

At any level of football, defense wins games, but it might be even more important at the youth level, where broken plays are so common, leading to easy touchdowns. The team that prevents big plays likely will win. That’s why … Continue reading →

Turnovers kill drives and lose games. At the youth level – and even at the pro level – the team that makes fewer mistakes usually wins, and turnovers are pretty much the biggest mistakes a team can make. One of … Continue reading →

A few years ago I coached a kid who might have been the best defender I’ve ever had on a team. He was a gifted athlete and played well on offense as well, but he had a natural instinct for … Continue reading →

To win at the youth level, you need to have a strong running game. Building an offense around passing is, well, silly. Your team won’t be able to complete passes with enough consistency to move the ball effectively. That approach … Continue reading →

Cornerback is a key position on defense and one that sometimes is overlooked. At the younger levels, where passing is not a significant part of the offense, the cornerback primarily is a run stopper. Since he’s posted wide, his main … Continue reading →

Your quarterback probably is one of your best runners, which is why you put him in that position. At the youth level, quarterbacks do a lot more running than passing so no doubt you use him frequently as a runner. … Continue reading →

Some football coaches tend to look for big kids during tryouts, believing that having a size advantage in a physical sport is always a good thing. Other coaches have learned that at the youth level (and maybe at all levels), … Continue reading →