Remember the kids are out for football or any sport because they want to play and move. One of the biggest mistakes coaches make is spending way too much time talking, explaining, and repeating themselves. Give a short, pinpoint description of what you want to be accomplished in the drill and get the kids moving. Use a keyword or 2-3 words to get the kids to understand what you are teaching. The goal is to get the kids the maximum number of quality repetitions, and they get zero reps while standing or sitting listening to a coach.
Start your drill out slow, so the kids use the proper footwork or technique that you are trying to teach. Consider breaking down your drill into 2-3 phases to get the desired outcome. Never stop the entire drill to explain to the group when correcting one player – there is no need to stop the drill so the kids hear about something they are doing correctly. If every player or the majority of the players make the same mistake, stop the drill and make the correction for all of the kids in that drill.
Make coaching points to players as the drill is in action. If the verbal explanation doesn’t work, pull that player out, showing that player the correction and letting the other players continue to get reps in the drill.
The organization’s goal of every drill should be to have no more than 3 kids in a line. If you have 6 kids in your drill, then have 2 lines of 3 kids. Have the first kid in line “A” go, and then the first kid in line “B” goes. While one group is going, the other group gets ready to go, so the coach doesn’t have to wait. I have seen a line of 6 or more kids running a pass route against a defender, where the offensive player goes to defense immediately after running the route. The player gets two reps in a row, and they wait for the other 5-6 kids to go before s/he gets a rep. The coach has to wait for the offensive player to transition to defense after running full speed and then hurries or loafs to play defense.
If you have 3 kids in the offensive line and 3 kids in a defensive and the players rotate from offense to defense and then defense to offense after they get a rep, the kids are moving every 3rd repetition rather than 2 reps in a row and standing in line. There are times when the number of players in your drill is more than 6, so keep in mind that the goal is 3 in a line and do the best you can.
As a coach, you have to keep the kids moving, use proper technique, and understand how the drill fits into the big picture. When talking to your kids, you have about 3 minutes to get your point across and hold their attention. Know what you want to say, get to the point, and get moving. If you have 3-4 points to communicate to your kids, spread out the messages between drills or before or after practice, keeping in mind that you have 3 minutes.
If practice ends at 6:30, that means the kids are leaving the field at 6:30. Parents have busy schedules, and it’s disrespectful to everyone’s time when you keep kids longer than scheduled. Too often, I have seen coaches end the practice, and then spend 10 or more minutes talking to the kids. Make a schedule and stick to it. If you go over the time allotted, it’s because of poor planning by the coach.
