Posts in category Coaching Defense

The True Meaning of “Winning In Youth Football”

Apr02
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Youth Football Online

With high-quality coaching, youth football can have a positive influence on every player that participates in the sport. When people hear or see the phrase “winning youth football” they automatically think about the win-loss record or the final score of a game. There is so much more to the phrase “winning youth football” than just the score at the end of the game. If you implement the following philosophies you will not only win football games, but you will be a winning youth football coach to the fullest meaning of the phrase.

Coach Jeff’s 2012 Peewees

Have Integrity. Be honest with all parents, coaches, and players. Youth football coaches need to handle themselves with professionalism at all times, win- lose, or draw. Always play and coach within the rules of the game, cheating is just pathetic. I have a saying, real recognizes real. When you are not honest, people will recognize it. Also, running up the score has no place in youth football. Coaches must ALWAYS lead by positive example. I have another saying, and this goes for all players, coaches, and parents, if you have nothing positive to say, then keep your mouth closed.

Be Organized. Practices must be organized and upbeat. All assistant coaches must understand their job/plans and must be able to implement it. In youth football practice time is limited, being organized is crucial for getting the most out of each practice. Have a plan for every practice and game.

Reward hard work. Like many other youth football coaches my staff and I put in a ton of time. My staff and I do scouting, spend hours watching film and planning practices. So when a player is committed and works hard, we will reward them with additional playing time. We reward our hardworking players with playing time, hard worker of the week awards, and weakly captain honors. Preach to your players that in football and in life, when you work hard, good things will happen. Now that is winning youth football.

Resilience and Sudden Change. When something goes wrong, do you tend to bounce back or fall apart? True character will revile itself when things are at their worst. Pride yourself on coaching your best when things are not going well. Always keep a positive attitude and never panic. When the game or practice is not going well winning youth football coaches will keep their cool and keep their players focused. If you cannot handle the pressure, it will rub off on the kids. Winning youth football teams are able to handle adversity and always stay together as a team. Also, when faced with adversity your true leaders will reveal themselves. Resilience is needed to flourish in football and in life. Resilience is a trait needed to succeed in our social society, work places, sports, and all levels of education. Anytime something goes wrong we use the word “reload”, which means we physically and mentally move onto the next play.

Fundamentals. You must be fundamentally sound in every aspect football. It is vital that children play with proper fundamentals when blocking and tackling. This is not just needed for successful football play, but for player safety as well. It is extremely important to rep the basic fundamentals at every practice. A winning youth football team plays with great fundamentals on a consistent basis. Spend less time scheming and more time on fundamentals.

Discipline. Place a high value on discipline. Doing the little things right is the difference between winning and losing and safe and unsafe. Players and parents need to make sure they have a nutritional diet and they stay properly hydrated before every practice and game. Getting enough sleep the night before a practice and game is also vital for overall performance. Coaches need to implement a structured team environment and handle any disciplinary problems right off the bat. Install a team first environment, bulling and negative comments should not be tolerated. Set the tone from day one, if the players do not respect you as a coach they will lose discipline and it will influence every aspect of the game.

Compete. The goal should be to win every single game and get better after every single practice. Football is a very competitive game. Players and coaches should never quit and always coach hard no matter what situation they are in. Implement competition among players in practice and always compete with yourself as a coach to get better. Compete in practice consistently and the players will compete in the game consistently. Always strive to be the best. Always give a 100% effort. But never win at the expense of the kids.

Enthusiasm. Keeping things upbeat and fun is the receipt for success in youth football. If you lose the attention of the players, it is difficult to get it back. To avoid having the kids lose focus, coach with a positive upbeat tempo and have some fun. Kids react to emotions and energy more so than anything. Having a well planned practice will allow the kids to keep busy and focused. Be sure to script practices so that they are organized and move fluently. Have fun, be upbeat! Coach with positive emotion.

Communication. Coaches that are successful have solid communication skills. It is not easy to teach children football plays and fundamentals. When communicating with kids make sure you have a loud tone and you keep things moving fluently and be informed. When coaches are not prepare or do not fully understand what they are teaching, that is when communication becomes a problem. When you fully understand something, it is a heck of a lot easier to teach it.

Communication with parents is vital! You must be able to interact with the parents fluently. Be organization and make sure you and the parents are all on the same page. It will make life a lot easier when you are friendly and get along with the parents. Here is a suggestion, make a letter to the parents, outlining goals, contact information, and write a little about what they can except from the coaches. This will make you look professional and it will make a strong first impression on the parents.

Posted in Coaching Offense, From the Gut, General Coaching Tips, Youth Football Benefits - Tagged coaching youth football successfully, winning youth football

Overload Blitz Play 53 Defense

Feb26
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

This overload blitz play is designed to send more defenders than the offense can block. This blitz is best called to the short side of the field. This will allow the field side outside linebacker to read and cover the field (wide side) flat, which will be attacked often in youth football. This play is out of the 53 defense which features five defensive linemen, three linebackers, and three defensive backs. This is an easy defense to implement and is great for youth football.

Defensive Line

The right defensive end will slant down to C-gap, crossing the face of the tight-end. The defensive tackle will slant down to B-gap and the nose guard will slant to the left A-gap, crossing the face of the center. The left defensive tackle will slant B-gap, and the left defensive end will contain. Defensive linemen must watch the ball and use their hands and feet to defeat blocks.

Linebackers

The left outside linebacker will loop around the tight-end and rush outside, holding outside leverage. The middle linebacker will blitz the right A-gap. The left outside linebacker will have left C-gap and cover the wide side flat. Linebackers must watch the ball and use their hands and feet to defeat blocks.

Defensive Backs

The defensive backs will play a cover 3 zone. Since we are using an overload blitz we do not have enough defenders to cover man to man, so zone coverage is recommended. The left cornerback will have deep 3^rd coverage, middle safety will have deep 3^rd zone coverage, and the boundary cornerback will have deep 3^rd coverage.

When you blitz, make sure you blitz strategically. Try not to blitz your defenders right out of the play. When doing this overload blitz play your players need to get penetration. The blitzing defenders must rush hard, cannot blitz with half effort. Good Luck.

Posted in Defense 53, General Coaching Tips, Youth Football Free Plays - Tagged 53 defense, overload blitz play

Youth Football Practice Philosophy

Oct05
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

1. Organization- Coaches and players have to be on the same page when it comes to youth football practices. Make sure you have a few coaches meetings during the week. There should be a meeting early on in the week to discuss weekly practice plans and weekly changes. To coach youth football successfully you must be organized.

2. Fast!- Change phases of practice fast and with emotion. Everything

Credit Photo: mlive.com

done in a youth football practice should be done fast. Make sure there are no kids walking on the field. Having fast paced practices will also conditioning your players. In order to have fast pace practices coaches must all be on the same page, again organization is vital.

3. Reps- Practice makes perfect! It takes many reps to get fluent with football skills and plays. Make sure you get your back up players plenty of reps also. If a player has to come out of the game, it is important that the player subbing in knows what he is doing.

4. Everyone Busy- Every player needs to be active! Have a youth football practice plan and execute it. When players are standing around doing nothing they are not only getting bored, they are not getting any better. If you have a large team ( a lot of players) instead of doing one youth football drill with the entire team, break the drill into two. This will allow the players to get more reps in football practice.

5. Coaches Coaching- All the coaches should have a job and do it with passion, it rubs off on the players. The head coach needs to assign jobs to all his assistant coaches and make sure they execute it during football practice.

Posted in Coaching Offense, General Coaching Tips - Tagged youth football practices

Defending the Spread Offense

Sep27
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

The Spread Offense is slowly but surely becoming a popular youth football offense.

It’s a dynamic offense because it spreads the defense out horizontally, which creates running lanes inside. Spreading the defense out will also allow you to get your athletes the ball in the open field. There are also many teams that use the no huddle play calling system. Using the no huddle will allow you to call a play that can hurt the defense based on their alignment and it will allow your offensive coordinator to call the right play consistently.

This past weekend the team we faced used the spread offense. They were 4 to 5 wide at a time and called all their plays from the line of scrimmage, based on our defensive alignment. This team was loaded with great athletes, that were well coached. They skillfully used the wrist coach play calling no huddle system. Every player on the field had a wrist coach with colors and numbers. It was the first time this football season that my coaching staff and I had to prepare for such an explosive, legit spread offensive team. We switched from our 53 defense to a 44 youth football defense because this team was so fast vertically and horizontally. Our opponents averaged 30 points a game, with a ton of passing and rushing yards. The result? We held this team to only 2 offensive touchdowns and did a great job with not giving up the big passing play.

Our keys to defending the spread offense:

Do not give up the big play. We did a good job with keeping receivers in front of us. We did not allow them to pop big passing plays. On a negative note, our run defense in space could have been better.
Tackle well in space. It was vital that our defenders got to the football and gang tackled. They had many great athletes, so arm tackles weren’t going to get it done. We did a decent job with our tackling, but it could have been better. I credit some of that to the dominant athletes they had, 12 of which were older but lighters (7 graders playing against my 5 & 6 graders).
Do not get beat by their combination routes. We played our cover 3 zone almost flawlessly. We covered the flats and took away the post and fly patterns that they threw consistently. We spent a lot of practice time with our cornerbacks on pass coverage and defending the deep ball.
Contain the dual threat QB. We did a good job of containing him all game long. We took away their zone read play and stayed disciplined when defending their counter play.
Alignment! Our alignment was great all day long. Our opponent did a great job with shifting into different spread offensive formations. They had multiple formations that they would shift into and we were able to realign quickly and properly, for the most part. Because my staff and I effectively scouted this opponent, we were able to prepare for the spread offense all week. If we did not know what was coming we would of had a problem!
Take away their inside slot receivers. They had two very good slot receivers that they loved to throw the ball to. They also did a great job with their run blocking. We took our outside linebackers and lined them up on the slot receivers outside shoulder and jammed them hard. This disturbed their combination routes and it allowed us to attack them before they attacked us on running plays.
Our opponent made all their play calls based on our defensive alignment. So what did we do to defend this spread offensive attack? We initially showed our cornerbacks in press coverage, then bailed back to 8 yards off with inside leverage. In a nutshell, we showed man to man coverage and then we would bail out of the look and into our cover 3. It worked well for us. We were able to cause 3 delay of game penalties because they would be so concerned with calling the right play.

Here is our alignment vs. their base double wide package.

Our two defensive tackles line up in the A-gaps. The two defensive ends line up on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackles (contain). The two middle linebackers would line up 3 yards off the line and over the B gaps. The outside linebackers will line up on the outside shoulder of the two inside receivers (containment support). The two cornerbacks would be at 8 yards and have deep 3rd coverage. The middle safety lines up 15-18 yards deep playing deep middle 3rd. We had our safety line up really deep because this team was super fast. Having our safety deep will allow him to take better angles to the ball carrier. Proper alignment is a vital aspect of defending the spread offense.

Here is our 44 defense cover 3 coverage alignment.

The defensive tackles will pressure up the A gaps, anchoring and taking away their QB draw and trap. The defensive ends do a hard pass rush from the outside shoulder of the offensive tackles (do not let the QB roll outside the pocket). The outside linebackers line up on the outside shoulder of the inside receivers and get real physical, always holding outside leverage and covering the flat. It is also very important that your defenders get depth on their zone drops, playing the receivers high to low. The middle line backers have the hook zones. What hurt us early on was our opponent would do play action passing plays to bring the middle linebackers up and hit us across the middle about 10-15 yards down the field. Since our outside linebackers played with outside leverage their slot receivers easily ran inside routes across the middle just behind our line backers and in front of our deep safety and cornerbacks. Once we were able to get more physical with the slot receivers this allowed our pass rushers to rush the QB causing a bad throw or sack.

Defending the spread offense is not an easy task, but I feel we did a pretty good job. What are your thoughts? How do you defend the spread offense? Comment below.

Posted in Defense 44, Defense 53, General Coaching Tips, Spread Offense - Tagged 44 defense, cover 3 defense, defending the spread offense

Film Study in Youth Football

Sep13
2012 2 Comments Written by Coach Jeff

One of the most overrated and underused aspects of coaching youth football is the use of game film. I usually recruit a friend to tape all of my
scrimmages, games, and even some of my practices. The game film will allow my coaching staff and I to find mistakes we might have missed during the game.

Why should you tape your scrimmages, games, and practices?

Team Improvement

It is hard to notice everything from the sidelines. Having an overview recording of the game will allow you to evaluate every position.
You can see which players on your team gave a strong effort. We tell our kids that the game will be recorded so any lack of effort will be noticed. If we see a lack of effort on a play I will show that player individually. If a player makes a great effort play, I will use it as an example and show the entire team. All we demand is good effort, the tape will show us who did not give a strong effort. The good old saying is- “the film does not lie!”
You can see how your offense struggled against a certain defense. It will allow you to see the issues and make corrections in practice.
It reveals issues that your defense had against a certain offense. This will allow you to correct the issues in practice.
It will also allow you to notice any adjustments that you need to make in special teams.
It will allow you to evaluate your team’s techniques such as : tackling, block shedding, gap responsibility, pursuit, pass coverage, run blocking, pass blocking, catching, throwing, ball security, and formation alignment.
It will also help your coaching staff. You can recap all your play calls and evaluate your coaching staff’s in game changes and adjustments.

Taping your opponent’s game is another underrated and under used aspect that youth football coaches overlook. I think coaches are absolutely crazy if they do not scout their opposition (as long as your league permits it of course). Since I generally have teams that aren’t in the ‘elite’ category, it makes scouting even more vital.

Check out this detailed article I wrote on Scouting Your Opponents in Youth Football.

Posted in Coaching Offense, General Coaching Tips - Tagged scouting opponent, youth football

4-4 Defense Inside Cross Blitz

Sep03
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

This play is executed out of the 44 defense. This is a great defensive formation for youth football and for blitzing. The 4-4 defense will allow you to blitz any of the 4 linebackers. This defense will allow you to get after offenses with multiple blitzes and stunts.

This play is an inside cross blitz play. This play has the two interior defensive tackles lined up on the inside shoulders of the guards. When the ball is snapped the DTs will slant outside to the B gap, crossing the face of the guards. The two inside linebackers will then force the A gaps. The defensive ends will force C gaps and the outside linebackers will be our contain players.

This blitz play will send two linebackers to the A gaps with the offense only having one blocker (the center). This play will create havoc all game long for the offense. Also, when you blitz make sure your players know that they need to get there. There is no half effort blitzes! You live by the blitz, you die by the blitz. With that said, get after the offense smartly.

Good Luck.

Posted in Defense 44, Youth Football Free Plays - Tagged 4-4 defense, blitz plays, youth football defense

Football Camp Report: Focus on Offensive and Defensive Linemen

Jul16
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Vin

Youth Football Online visited the Junior Rank football camp in Bridgewater, NJ this weekend- it was another memorable camp loaded with the state’s best youth football talent. This report will cover offensive and defensive line play.

The weather could best be described as a scorcher- it was over 90 degrees on the football field- but the kids ignored the conditions and focused on football. Junior Rank camp kicked off with dynamic warmups drills, a grueling set of calisthenics led by the US Marine Corps.

The transition into football drills was seamless. They mixed up the various drills masterfully. The intention was to train these athletes to be able to move in all directions with great accuracy, quickness and coordination.

Assisting with the ladder drills were a skilled group of Junior Rank coaches with a helping hand from the Marine corps-

(Whistle)

‘Go’ !

‘Go’!

Followed by an emphatic ’10! ‘ signaling a costly (10 pushup) misstep while performing the ladder drill. You had to do it right, otherwise you’d be facing the ground, completing 5 pushups. The Marines were very involved in this camp, taking part in all the drills. If a kid struggled to perform his assigned pushups, a Marine would be there to support with solid words of encouragement.

I’ve noticed the spark the Marine Corps tend to provide these football camps, it’s something else! The kids had utmost respect and appreciation for the Marines in attendance.

Following the football drills I had a chance to sit in and watch Coach Garcia teach kids about playing the offensive line. It’s often not considered a glamorous position, but it is one of the most important positions on the football field.

Coach Garcia initially noted that the kids were dragging their feet in that 5 yard space. It’s a tight space to do battle for a lineman, he stressed the importance of good footwork.

“Less dragging!”

Left foot behind, first whistle, kick, followed by punch.

“No getting beat!”

He stressed the violent punch.

Coach recommended offensive linemen develop explosiveness from the upper and lower body. Coach loves the clapping pushups to help build explosive movements.

Back peddle with punch:

Popping up should be eliminating, it’s better to stay low.

Switch stance..

Explosiveness, keeping a low keep center of gravity.

“Don’t just walk backwards, Kick!”

“Kick, head up, punch.!”

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, I went to report on the defensive linemen:

Coach had a unique way of teaching the line. He stressed that the arm really consists a a wrist, forearm, elbow and shoulder and the importance of the each piece of the arm. Why are so important? The ability to freeze and move.

“Hit the elbow, the shoulders turn..”

Work on getting hand off the body, then get to elbow, which controls shoulder, which then freeze lineman.

“Look at your target, see it, See it! knock it down.”

Brilliant.

Posted in Defensive Line, Offensive Linemen, On The Road, Youth Football Camps

Preseason Coaching Meetings

Jun29
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

Each pre-season I hold a few important meetings with my assistant coaches. It is imperative that all coaches are on the same page once the season starts. I am the Head Coach & Offensive Coordinator of my team and here are the topics I cover during my coaching meetings. We usually have three meetings before the season starts.

Meetings Topics

Installing the Offense and Issuing Playbook. Each coach will receive the offensive playbook. Each position coach will meet with me. We will talk about key coaching points, offensive philosophies, and playbook vocabulary. I will develop the individual position practice schedule and go over it with each position coach.
Install Philosophies and Goals for the Season. We will talk about what our keys to victory are and what we want our team’s overall identity to be. We will discuss our team’s philosophy and what is expected from the players and the coaches. We do not really talk too much about our general goal which is to win the league championship-we will talk about our daily goals more so. Before each practice we will set a goal, which is to “get better today“. After practice we want to be able to say we improved as a team, we worked hard, we improved as football players both physically and mentally, and most importantly we want to say we handled ourselves with class and great character today. Youth Football is not all about the X’s & O’s or Wins/Losses, it is about the positive development of children.
Practice Schedule and Operation. I will summit a practice script for the first day of practice. The first day of practice is all about setting the tone and introducing how practices will be operated on a daily basis. I will make an overall practice blueprint and give them to the coaches. I will make practice plans for each practice. The general structure and pace of practice stays the same each day, but may change slightly day to day depending on what we need to commit more time to. Example, if I feel we need to improve more on our run blocking, we will commit more time to it in practice. It is important that all coaches know what they are required to do so that practices are flowing smoothly and are productive. A good coaching staff is organized and operates practices safely and effectively. Remember, championships are won in practice.
Defense. Each coach will be given a defensive playbook. Each position coach will meet with my defensive coordinator and discuss key coaching points, defensive philosophies, and playbook vocabulary. The DC will develop the individual position practice schedule and go over them with each position coach.
Special Teams. All the coaches will receive a special team playbook from my special teams coordinator. We will go over our ST philosophy and the implementation of our entire kicking game. We practice special teams mainly as a team, which means no individual position work. We will have the kickers, long snappers, and holders practice before practice starts- otherwise we practice specials teams as a team.
Safety. I will make sure all my coaches understand Pop Warner’s new national rule changes, regarding practices. We will go over all contact drills and how we will operate them safely. As a coaching staff we will operate all football drills and conditioning drills safely. We will be informed and prepared for anything.

Good Luck!

Posted in Coaching Offense, General Coaching Tips, Special Teams, Youth Football Benefits - Tagged coaching tips, coaching youth football, pop warner, Pop Warner national rule change, youth football coaching tips, youth football practice blueprint, youth football safety

Approaching Youth Football Defense

Jun04
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

Playing great youth football defense is all about playing with attitude. Stress these four defensive goals and you will have great defensive success.

Defense

Play harder than your opponent. The team that gives the best effort will always give themselves a chance to win. Pride your defense on playing with great effort, attitude, and toughness. Have the mentality that no other team will work harder than us in practices and in games.
Stop the run. The entire success of a youth football offense is based entirely on the offense’s ability to run the ball successfully. When implementing or creating a defensive scheme make sure it is designed to stop the run. Stopping the run starts up front. If you control the line of scrimmage you will control the game. So make sure you spend a good amount of time working on solid defensive line play. Also, work in some run blitzes. Have a few blitzes that stop inside runs and have some blitzes that stop outside runs.
Win 3^rd down. You cannot allow the offense to have a consistent offensive attack. Playing solid defense on 3^rd down will limit the time of possession of the opposing offense. If offenses cannot posses the ball they cannot score. Have an in depth scouting report on your opponent’s 3^rd down play calling tendencies. During the practice week we will practice stopping our opponent’s top 4-5 plays. On 3^rd down your opponent will call a play that they are comfortable with. Scout your opponent so that you can prepare your defense during the practice week.
Do not give up the big play. Regardless of what youth football defense you run it is important that your defense does not give up the big play. Have the defensive philosophy to bend but do not break. This means tackle well, swarm to the ball carrier, and do not let anyone get behind your pass coverage. Playing whistle to whistle is vital! Do not assume your fellow defenders are going to tackle the ball carrier, again “swarm” to the ball. Make the offense earn it, give them nothing easy.

Playing strong defense will always give your team a chance to win. EAT offenses up.

Good Luck!

Posted in Defense 3-5-3, Defense 44, Defense 52, Defense 53, Defense 62, Defensive Backs, Defensive Line, General Coaching Tips, Linebackers, Pass Coverage - Tagged coaching defense, stopping the run in youth football, winning defense, winning youth football defense, youth football defense

The 44 Defense- Twist Stunt

May31
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

The 44 defense features 4 defensive linemen, 4 linebackers, and 3 defensive backs. This twist stunt play is a great play because it is very confusing for offensive linemen. Why this play is so successful is because many youth football offenses do not have blocking schemes, or they do not utilize their snap count advantage. This stunt play is called twist because the two defensive linemen are crossing. This play is successful against both outside and inside hitting plays.

Twist Blitz-44 Defense The play-side defensive tackle slants outside ripping through and crossing the face of the offensive tackle. The play-side (red) defensive end slants down ripping through and crossing the face of the offensive guard. The defensive end slants down first, then the defensive tackle slants outside right off the defensive end’s butt. The middle linebacker blitzes the A gap. The play-side outside linebacker holds containment. The back-side DT (opposite side of the twist) forces A gap, the back-side DE forces C gap, and the back-side outside linebacker holds containment. The secondary plays cover 3. This is a great play out of the 44 defense. If executed properly, it will be a nightmare for O-linemen.

It is very important that your defense gets to the football. The trademark of any successful defense is relentless swarm to the ball carrier. When you call this defensive play make sure your players execute it with great energy and force. Remember, do not blitz your youth football defenders out of the play, blitz strategically. Go out and scout your opponent, this will allow you to prepare your defense for what they are going to see come game day.

Good Luck

Coach Jeff

Posted in Defense 44, Youth Football Free Plays - Tagged 44 defense, blitzes and stunts, twist stunt, youth football 44 defense, youth football blitz play, Youth football defenses

3-5-3 Stack Defense- “Indy” Youth Football Blitz Play

Apr16
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

The 3-5-3 stack defense is a very deceptive defense. This defense has the linebackers stacked behind the defensive linemen. This will allow the defense to disguise who will blitz or stunt. This features 3 defensive linemen, 5 linebackers and 3 secondary players. This youth football defense is not very common in youth football, at least not in my league. Because this defense is uncommon, it could illustrate a problem for offenses that have not seen it before.

3-5-3 defense

“Indy” is a blitz play where we have the defensive linemen slant inside and the linebackers blitz outside. In this case we have the defensive linemen slant down and the linebackers blitz outside. This creates a problem with the offenses blocking scheme. It will confuse the offensive linemen because they will have a defender shooting their inside gap and a defender shooting their outside gap. There is an old saying you live by the blitz and die by the blitz- so blitz strategically.

Good Luck!

Posted in Defense 3-5-3, Youth Football Free Plays - Tagged 3-5-3 defense, blitz and stunts, coaching defense, football plays, youth football blitz play, youth football defense

Youth Football 52 Defense

Mar28
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

The 52 defense features 5 defensive linemen, 2 middle linebackers, and 4 defensive backs. There is 1 nose guard, 2 defensive tackles, and 2 defensive ends. There are 2 middle linebackers, a strong safety (also known as a “monster backer”), 2 corners and a free safety.

The 52 generally uses the monster backer (Strong Safety) as the strong side player. This defense will use the monster backer to adjust to any unbalanced offensive formations.

The 52 defense requires disciplined athletes that can follow their keys precisely, and not get tricked by misdirection plays. The pass coverage is usually cover 3 zone-based. This defense also can have success using man to man coverage. When the opposing offense is in a balanced formation the monster backer becomes an outside linebacker. The defense then turns into a 53.

This youth football defense helps protect the strong side of the field. The 52 defense is effective when defending speed teams that love attacking the wide side of the field with sweeps.

Posted in Defense 52, Youth Football Free Plays - Tagged 52 defense, 52 monster defense, coaching youth football, cover 3 zone defense, defense, man to man coverage, winning youth football defense

Youth Football 53 Defense – Balanced With Flexibility

Mar05
2012 1 Comment Written by Coach Jeff

The 53 defense is a widely used youth football defense. I see the 53 about 4-5 times every season. This youth defense is great because it is balanced with flexibility. You are able to do various things out of the 5-3-3 look.

This defense features a nose guard, two defensive tackles, two defensive ends, middle linebacker, strong side linebacker weak side linebacker, two corners and a free safety. The best thing about this defense is that it strong against all types of offensive attacks. It features 8 players in the box which will allow your defense to shut down the inside running game. Most youth football coaches will put their defensive ends in a 9 tech and have them contain the outside. The 53 has 3 linebackers that are ready to run to the football.

This is a good defense because you can do pretty much anything you want out of it. It is a blitz friendly defense. You can blitz your middle backer, or outside linebackers. You can blitz your outside linebackers through the c-gap- which is a commonly attacked gap in youth football. You can bring double a-gap pressure by blitzing the middle linebacker. Another great tactic is to slant your defensive end in and loop the outside linebackers. This is a great way to attack an off tackle or sweep play.

53 defense- blitz

The youth football 53 defense is also great in pass coverage. Both man to man and zone coverage is easy to implement with this defense. It will also allow you to hide some of your minimum play players (MPP). You can put them in at nose guard to get their plays done. Putting a MPP in at nose guard will not hurt your team as much. The only problem with that will be if the offense you are playing runs wedge or inside traps. Wedge is a tough play to stop, regardless how good the players you got in are.

The 53 defense is a great defense for youth football. It has a high success rate and it is easy to implement. Remember, getting off blocks and tackling are vital. Block destruction and solid tackling is the staple mark of any defense, regardless what defense they run. The fundamentals of youth football defense are what solid defense is about.

Posted in Defense 53 - Tagged 5-3 defense, 53 defense, blitz plays, proper tackling technique, youth football blitz plays, youth football defense

Bending But Not Breaking- Do Not Give up the “Big Play”!

Jan17
2012 2 Comments Written by Coach Jeff

There are a few things that your youth football defense has to do well to be successful:

Tackle well
Create turnovers
Get off blocks
Proper alignment vs. the offensive formation
Good pursuit-swarm to the ball
Do not give up the big play

Good defenses tackle well and swarm to the football. Big plays are eliminated with relentless swarm to the football.

Solid Tackling

Credit: westvirginia.scout.com

Tackling is what playing defense is all about. A solid tackling youth football defense will have much success, regardless of the offense you are facing. If you look at any good defense you will see that they tackle well. It is important that proper tackling technique is practiced frequently to ensure the best results on the field. Open field tackling needs to practiced as well. It is important that proper Form Tackling Techniques are taught. Proper technique will help prevent injury.

Quick tip, make sure your players always have their heads up- they need to see what they are hitting. Also, to ensure a solid tackle the tackler needs to get his head across the ball carrier’s body-this is often overlooked and under-practiced technique.

Get off the Blocks

Your team can have all the tackling skills in the world- but if your youth football players cannot get off blocks than tackling skill doesn’t matter. I often notice teams do not put enough time into losing a block. The rip move and swim move are two of the best ways to get off blocks. Your players must develop an attitude and mindset to the effect that we will not allow the offense to block us! The biggest thing we preach to our kids is do not play with the blocker, get off the block. So again, practice getting off blocks because your players cannot tackle if they cannot get off blocks.

Quick Tip, whenever your defense does tackling drills makes sure your players have to lose a block and then go through with the tackle. Make sure when doing defensive youth football drills block destruction and tackling are paired in every drill.

Proper Alignment

Having the proper defensive alignment is vital. As a defensive coordinator you must understand which side of the offensive formation is the strong side of the field. For example, if the offense has 5 blockers to the right and only 4 to the left the strong side is to the right. As a defense you cannot allow the offense to out flank or outnumber you on any side of the field.

Pursuit

Getting into the proper pursuit lanes and taking proper angles to the ball is imperative. Big plays are eliminated when all 11 defenders get to the ball, no make that swarm, to the ball carrier. Having a good defense that runs to the ball will not allow the ball carrier to break tackles and gain extra yardage. We do the pursuit drill every practice. Pride your defense on getting off blocks and getting to the ball carrier

Credit: Bleacherreport.com

Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. Example, the New York Giants played the packers in the Divisional round of the playoffs this past weekend. The Giant’s defense shut down the number 1 team with the number 1 offense in the league. The Giants tackled well, did not give the Packers the big play, and they created turnovers. Make the offense drive the whole field in 10 plays make them earn it.

Posted in General Coaching Tips - Tagged coaching tips, form tackling drills, youth football defense, youth football drills, youth football tackling drill

KEY Coaching Points for Playing Man to Man Coverage

Jan11
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

Man to man coverage is used by 90 percent of youth football teams. Some youth coaches overlook the finer coaching points when they are teaching their defenders to play man to man. And as you know, it’s the details that are most important.

Here are a few techniques and coaching points that are sometimes overlooked:

Players and coaches must have an understanding of down and distance. If it is 3^rd and long, don’t play zero coverage (meaning no safeties). Have your cornerbacks and coverage players give a little cushion on the receiver. Play with at least one deep safety. Yell to the kids from the sideline- “down and distance!”. Understanding down and distances is very important. Have a prevent defense as well.

Play with inside leverage. Time after time I see defenders play their receivers head up. Cornerbacks should always play with inside leverage in youth football. It is a lot harder to complete a pass outside. It is very difficult for a youth football quarterback to throw from the pocket and to the outside. Contain the QB and take away the inside when playing man to man coverage in youth football.

Understand the alignment of the wide receivers. For example, if the split end is lining up really wide it is for a reason. The split end lines up wider because he wants to take the corner out of the play. Teams tend to do that when they are facing an aggressive and good tackling corner (I do that consistently). Also, if a wide receiver is lined up wider than usually it is probably because they are running a slant or some kind of inside route. Make sure your cornerbacks understand playing with leverage- if the WR lines up wide, take away his inside! When a team cheats a receiver in the slot, it’s because the offense wants their slot receiver to get a free release or they want him to run an outside pattern. How receivers line up can really give your team some tells. All coaches will have their receivers cheat their split or alignment one way or another to create room so they can run their given pattern.

Bump and run man to man coverage. Many youth football corners do not get a good enough jam on their receiver. Although we are one of the few teams that play zone coverage we also use man to man. What we have our corners do is line up on the inside shoulder of the receiver, give a step and then jam.

Quick coaching tip, when jamming use outside arm, and watch the hips of the receiver.

Many kids will jam and if the wide receiver gets a good release they will get burnt because their first step is forward. When you give a step (take a back step)-open hips-then jam the receiver while riding his inside hip it will allow your corner to turn and run with WR. This will also take away the inside release and throw off timing at the same time.

Thanks for reading- if you’ve found this article helpful- please share or +1 this in the yellow below.

Posted in Defensive Backs, General Coaching Tips, Pass Coverage - Tagged coaching defense, man to man coverage, man to man coverage in youth football, zone coverage

Youth Football Defense- 4-4 Stack Defense “Storm Blitz”

Oct18
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

One of the Best Youth Football Defenses-44 Stack

The 44 stack defense is one of the great youth football defenses. Because the linebackers are stacked behind the defensive linemen it will create blocking confusion for the offensive linemen. It will keep the offense wondering who is going to attack where? Stack defenses are underrated and under used in youth football.

This youth football blitz play is called to the side you know or think the offense is running to. Like I always say blitz strategically, do not blitz your players out of the play. This play attacks one side of the offensive line with an overload blitz. Defensive tackles have A gaps. The defensive end have C gap. The middle linebacker will have B gap. The outside linebacker will have contain. The backside of the defense will secure gaps then get into pursuit lanes and run to the ball.

This youth football blitz play should be used when teams are running off tackle. If the defense fires out on ball movement, this play should blow the offensive play up. When you are having your linebackers blitz, make sure they blitz with attitude. Meaning, they better go hard, fire out and attack the offense.

Defense Wins Championships! If you have a solid defense you will always have a chance to win!

Good Luck!

Posted in Defense 44, Youth Football Free Plays - Tagged 4-4 stack defense, 44 defense, blitz plays, Youth football defenses

Play calling- Blitzing/Scouting

Sep21
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

There is an old saying “you live by the blitz, you die by the blitz”, that couldn’t be more true. Do not blitz just to blitz. Blitz strategically; attack the offense where they are going to run to. I notice a lot of coaches blitz their players right out of the play. If you are selling out on a blitz to the right and the offense runs the other way then what? You will blitz your players’ right out of the play and out of position to pursuit to the ball. When you call a blitz you can have your players show it, hide it, or creep up as the Quarterback starts the cadence.

Scouting: You are absolutely crazy if you do not scout your opponents. Scouting alone has won me many games throughout my years of coaching. My staff and I get film on every team we play. Knowing what you are going to see every week is half the battle. You can practice your defense against a scout offense in practice so that your alignments and shifts are smooth. You can notice that most coaches have a tendency or a comfort zone. Meaning, they will call certain plays at certain times, or they will move a player to the side they are running and things of that sort. Get out there and film your opponents, prepare your team and yourself for the offense you will face each week.

Good Luck!

Posted in General Coaching Tips - Tagged blitz, scouting reports, youth football blitz plays, youth football coaching tips, youth football defense

Defensive Pursuit to the Football

Sep15
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

How many youth football coaches actually work on pursuit to the football in practice? I have a feeling that many youth football coaches do not work on that in practice. In practice my team works the pursuit drill every day, some days more than others.

Great defenses Swarm to the Football! It helps to avoid giving up big plays because the whole defense is gang tackling the running back. It is also important that defenses does not over pursuit, taking the proper angles to the ball is vital. You must work on getting off blocks and “swarm” to the ball carrier with physicality and enthusiasm. Get all 11 players to the ball, attack!
Great Video on the Pursuit Drill

Gap positioning is also very important, especially with the defensive line. All defensive linemen must hold their gaps. If the defenders do not secure their gap there will be running space inside. Defensive linemen must secure their gaps- then get into their pursuit lanes. Teams that run a lot of misdirection in youth football will often catch defenses playing over aggressive. Misdirection is probably the most effective play in youth football. Defenses must be disciplined with gap assignments. They must penetrate, secure gap, and then pursuit to the ball.

If you do the pursuit drill comment below..

Good Luck!

Posted in General Coaching Tips, Youth Football Drills - Tagged form tackling, pursuit drill, tackling, youth football defense, youth football tackling drills

Youth Football 44 Stack Defense

Aug18
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

The 44 stack is a great defense that will bring confusion to any offensive blocking scheme. Stacking your linebackers will allow the defense to hide gap assignments. The 44 stack makes the offense’s pre-snap read difficult. The 44 defense is blitz and stun friendly. The 44 has 4 linebackers that can blitz at anytime. Slanting of the defensive linemen and looping of the linebackers works really well in this defense. This defense will give your linebackers a chance to pursue to the ball. Having 8 defenders in the box in youth football is a good thing. Youth football defense is all about stopping the run.

There are some negatives about the 44 defense. In youth football, natural linebackers are tough to come by. Trying to find 4 of them, plus backups can be wishful thinking. With the 4-4 you will need 4 solid defensive linemen. This defense only has 4 down linemen which will free up some offensive linemen to get onto the linebackers. All players have to play a required number of plays, in the 44 you really cannot hide any of your weaker players.

Remember, the key to defense is tackling.

Posted in Defense 44 - Tagged 4-4 defense, 44 stack defense, defense youth, youth football defense

Youth Football Play Calling System-Wrist Coach

Aug09
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Coach Jeff

How do you call your offensive plays ? Do you have your QB come to the sidelines? Do you meet him a quarter of the way? Or do you use a wrist coach? The most effective way to call plays is with a wrist coach. The wrist coach will allow for plays to be delivered to your youth football quarterback quickly and easily.

Throughout my coaching years, I have managed the no huddle offense. Each player on the field has a wrist coach on their arm. Each series, or grouping of plays, is highlighted with a color and named with a number. For example, coach yells “RED 2”- the players will look at their wrist and read the play name that is highlighted “red” and is numbered 2.

Game Day Sports Wristband

Having all players utilizing wrist coaches can take your offense to a whole new level. Running a no huddle offense with every player having a wrist coach is a certain nightmare for youth football defenses. You will see opposing coaches burning timeouts and having troubles subbing players in and out. You will notice football youth players and coaches getting tired because of the up-beat no-huddle offense. The no huddle will also help conserve the energy of your quarterback. If the quarterback comes to the side line for every play it will eventually take a toll on him and he’ll tire. Figure this: it is at least 20-30 yards this kid will have to run back and forth from the coach to the huddle every play.

Posted in Coaching Offense, General Coaching Tips, Product Reviews, Youth Football Equipment - Tagged football youth, no huddle offense, play calling system, wrist coach, youth football gear, youth football play calling, youth football quarterback