a freshman new to football

Question
QUESTION: Hi Coach
My son is 14, about 6' tall and growing -around 165# or so.  He plays hockey so never could juggle schedules to play Pop Warner as they occurred simultaneously and school requires a lot of his time.  He is now in a high school where football may be the only sport he has a reasonable chance to actually play at some point.  It's very competitive in our town and there are lots of very talented athletes.  He's very unsure of himself because he doesn't know how to go onto the field with the confidence that he will know what to do.  Where can a kid at this age learn how to basically make the moves he needs to make to be at least on the right track play- wise?  There's no instruction available that I know of and the freshman coach at his public high school says he wants to win which leaves no time to teach the new-to-the-sport-9th graders what they need to know to later play JV and Varsity with any degree of skill and confidence. So--how to and where to learn is the question?  Any ideas?  He really needs your help and expert advice. Thanks for being there and listening....

ANSWER: Hi Joanna,

Thanks for your question, I understand your dilemma. Personally I believe that 9th grade programs should be heavy on teaching on less emphasis on game outcomes but I realize that is not the case in many schools.

In your sons case he needs to try to absorb as much as he can on technique on practice. When he gets the opportunity to work in a drill he needs to go full speed all the time. I tell my players if you have a question ask me before we break the huddle, but if you are unsure on the line and make a mistake, make the mistake full speed and hit someone. Effort counts alot with me.

Your son is only a 9th grader with nice size and probably pretty athletic if he plays multi sports. What I would suggest is that he work hard and get through the season as best he can and then look at the option of having him attend camps where he can get some good instruction. There are also coaches like myself who offer private instruction. What positions does your son play, and what part of the country do you live in. I could possibly reccomend some camps for you.

Mark

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QUESTION: Hi Mark
thanks for your quick reply!  Wow!  We live about 25 miles west of Boston and my son will probably play tackle or some non -running back position -( hopefully I worded this correctly.)  I totally agree on that "ideal" philosophy for training 9th grade football players and the school rulebook also clearly states that the coach is to make "every good effort to use all players both offensively and defensively" regularly before their upperclassmen years.  So much for the school rulebook.  I am afraid to speak up for several reasons - and I wish the kid would speak up himself, but he's shy and it's very difficult for him to be so assertive when he feels he knows almost nothing.  He did a 21 hour camp(3 day intensive) this summer in Wayland Mass -but it was basically conditioning and not actually playing ball and learning moves, plays, techniques, etc. It was all 4 grade levels as well.It didn't help him to know the game.  What to do next?

Answer
Hi Joanna,

I think some quality camp instruction can help your son get a head start for next year. The is a high quality camp run by a company called Sportslink that will have New England locations next spring and summer. Feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will give you the details.

Thanks!
Mark