You must learn how to serve first to be a great leader. I’ve always heard that philosophy but I was not a true believer until this football season in Keller Tx just North of Ft Worth. I moved to Keller this past summer and was too late for a Head Coaching spot. The HC of my oldest son’s team asked me to assist with the offensive line after 3 games of poor blocking. I also helped a bit with my youngest son’s Keller Select football team. Since I was not a Head Coach this season, I told myself to watch, listen and learn this season, and that’s what I did.
Here are a few quick points I learned as a parent and an assisted coach to be a better Head Coach:
- Over Communicate and then communicate again
- Organize practice before practice
- Assistant coaches can not read the head coach’s mind
- Adjust coaching staff if it’s not working
- Each player has a different motivation
- You can’t coach everyone the same
- Head Coaches can not be late to practice or games on a regular basis
- Different coaches see different player skills
- Parents want feedback on their children – report card
- If you don’t practice that situation, you will not perform that situation well in a game
- Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
- Head coach is not perfect and neither am I
What have you learned from serving as an assistant coach that you will implement as a head coach in youth football?
Thanks
Coach Parker
Keller, TX
1 Comment
November 18, 2009 at 7:43 am
#7 Surprises me. Coach P was always the first to practice and the games.
#2 has been an issue for every head coach I have worked with. In fact, I actually had someone criticize how detailed I planned out my portion of the practice. Thing is, I always got in what I wanted to cover in the amount of time that i had
No ‘padding’ for me unless the other coaches were still flailing around trying to finish their drills.
#5 – I wish so many of them werent playing to please their overbearing parents. It kills me to see a kid who is not really having fun but is being pushed by their parent.
#10 – PREACH! Special Teams and hurry up offense are not something that kids will just know how to do if you dont practice it!!!
#11 – I started getting less and less indie time with my line as the season went on and the little things that we did very well at the beginning of the season started getting sloppier and sloppier. Stance, start, fit….all that stuff has to be in EVERY practice for the line or they just start freelancing.
Great notes coach! Good luck in the spring! I am buried in DW sites trying to see how I need to change my drills for that offense.