How do you become a Youth Football Coach? #1 Top Tips for New Coaches!
So, you finally decided that want to coach youth football. Then the big questions are, How do you become a youth football coach? Are you thinking about flag football or tackle youth football? What age group? Will you be coaching your child? Where do I Start? Here are some top youth football coaching tips for prospective new coaches.
For more on free youth football coaching tips for new coaches check out this article, Coaching Youth Football Basics to Win 101- Key Fundamentals by Coach Parker.
How do you become a Youth Football Coach?
- Get Certified to Coach Youth Football
- Coach Other Youth Sports in Your Area
- Find / Research a Local Youth Football Flag League or 7on7 League
- Find / Research a Local Youth Football Tackle League
- Apply with your Local Leagues to Coach
Many youth football leagues will require new coaches to get training and a certification. USA Football and NAYS are two certifications that many leagues will ask you to obtain before allowing you to coach in their youth football tackle leagues. Many will also require a First Aid course too. If you want to be proactive and take some initiative then I would suggest getting this certifications to assist your process in becoming a youth football coach.
Many youth tackle coaches will start coaching other youth sports before tackling tackle youth football. Coaching other youth sports will help prepare you to be a Head Coach in youth football. You will learn how to manage a team, deal with parents, communicate with the league, how to coach younger players and give you needed experience tackle leagues look for in Head Coaches. Plus you can use these teams to find top athletes for your tackle or flag team.
If you can, I highly recommend coaching a youth football flag team before moving into tackle. As I stated above you will learn and gain much needed experience coaching a young football team even if it is Flag. This will transfer nicely into your tackle team. Many coaches use these Flag teams as recruitment opportunities for their tackle teams.
When I started coaching my two young sons in Colorado, I signed up at the YMCA for youth flag football and t-ball. Through the YMCA I met a few friends involved in Arvada Youth Football that hooked me up to coach a new tackle team in 2006. So from my coaching reputation in Dallas and Denver I was recommended to the youth tackle leagues by friends. When I came back to Texas after 15 years, I had to search out a youth football tackle league to coach in the Keller, Texas area.
How do you Find Youth Sports Leagues?
I am a Google Search power user. This search skill has helped me at work and coaching youth sports. Google Search is a great first start. Use this search phrase “youth football tackle league your-town-name-here” which should get your close to what you are looking for when find a youth football tackle league near you.
Finding a good youth football league is a top requirement in coaching a fun and successful youth football season. Three to four months of your life will be tied to a great experience or a nightmare depending on how well your pee wee football league is operated. It seems simple but choosing the right league is a huge factor in your success as a youth football coach.
Here are a few other things that might help you find and research local youth sports leagues in your area.
- Google / Bing Search Engine Search
- Facebook Local Search / Social Media
- School Coaches / Teachers
- Other Sports Coaches – Baseball / Soccer / Basketball
- Friends and Family – Older Siblings
- Church Sports Leagues
- Local Recreation Community Center
- YMCA / I9 / USA Football / Pop Warner / AYFL / NFL Flag Etc.
- Local Sports Stores / Dicks Sporting Goods / Academy Sports
How to Become a youth football Head Coach?
Once you have found the youth football league that you would like to coach in, call or set up an appointment and apply for a coaching position. Many leagues now have coaching applications on their websites. Fill out one of these applications and follow-up with a league rep which you should also be able to find on the league’s website or social media accounts.
Many leagues will require you to become an assistant coach for one season or if they are short coaches you might get lucky and get your own team. Be prepared for either approach so your season and experience is a positive reflection on your skills as a youth football coach. Just as an FYI, many of the youth tackle leagues are very particular about who they choose as coaches. Some may be good old boy leagues and outsiders may take while before becoming a Head Coach. Your goal is to get your foot in the door.
Fast Track and Become an Assistant Coach
Like I said earlier, an easy way to start coaching football is become an assistant coach on a youth football team. Find a friend or associate that already has a youth football team and ask them if you can become an assistant coach. You can also ask the league if they know a few HC looking for assistant coaches and they may hook you up with a few of these coaches. This is a fast track way in becoming a youth football coach. You will gain some experience and also learn the league.
I would recommend becoming an Assistant Coach before taking over a tackle team as Head Coach. You should also do this under a few HCs to find out what you like and do not like about their styles. You can also start coaching other sports before tackle football to get your feet wet before accepting a tackle team Head Coaching role.
More Coaching Tips for New Coaches
For more on free youth football coaching tips for new coaches check out this article, Coaching Youth Football Basics to Win 101- Key Fundamentals by Coach Parker.
Let me know how you liked this article on; How do you become a youth football coach? I would love to hear from you. Do you have some tips on becoming a youth football head coach? Leave me a comments below.
Also make sure to check out my private coaching youth football forum on Facebook. Please answer the membership questions so I know you are not a spammer bot. Or find me on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok. And check out my YouTube videos too.
Contact me anytime. I love to talk coaching youth football.
Remember, Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!
Good Luck this Season,
Coach Parker
Keller, Texas, DFW, Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas
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