Has Recruiting Ruined Youth Football?

Recruiting Has Gone Mad in Youth Football

The private coaches/team clinics I do all across the country for youth football teams are interesting to say the least. Many of the coaches share thought provoking stories of their teams, leagues and opponents. While I always enjoy working with the coaches and kids, what I enjoy most is going out to dinner with the coaches after we get done and just listening to these stories, sharing a few laughs and learning about the nuances of how things are done in their neck of the woods. The trip I’m speaking of and the story you are about to hear made me laugh so hard I think the waitress and patrons thought I was having some kind of attack or maybe had choked on some food and needed the Hymlich Maneuver.

A fairly recent trip showed me the extent youth football coaches will go to put a winner on the football field. I’ve been coaching youth football for about 15 years and coached in 3 different organizations in 3 different towns in 7 different leagues. I’ve been to football clinics from California to Florida and talked with literally thousands of youth football coaches, I thought I had heard it all, but this story takes the cake. During a very tasty dinner at a local restaurant, coach shared with me a rather amazing story about the extent one youth football coach in his league went to so his team could maintain their dominance in the league. Many competitive youth football teams have to recruit players every year to get enough kids to put together a team or teams. While it is a necessity for most, it is a year-round obsession for others and for some they go off the deep end.

This story starts out with a very big and fast running back that moves from the local area his team is in, to a town right at an hour away. This new town mind you is a hotbed for youth football and has plenty of quality teams the boy can play for. But instead of playing for a team in his new home and making new friends, the player continues to play for his old team over an hour away. In addition to this wackiness, the coach drives the hour to pick him up every Friday, has him sleep at his home and then drives him back home after the game on Saturday. This coach logs 4 hours of drive time every weekend so this player can play on his youth football team. Is it just me or does this sound lame to anyone?

To have such little confidence in your team and coaching abilities that you would spend 4 hours driving every weekend to pick up a kid to “carry” your team is just weak in my mind. This kid only came to games, he did not practice with his team during the week. Why not play a local kid, coach everyone up and make due with the team you have? What kind of message is this sending to this teams players and to this “superstar”? You guys can’t win without the star, football is a one man game, you don’t have to practice to play, teamwork counts for nothing etc etc. A good coach adapts and will figure out a way to compete with the hand that was dealt him, not rely on one superstar to carry his youth football team. This came from an organization that dominates this youth football league. But a coach this desperate for wins is vulnerable, obviously he doesn’t think much of his coaching ability and thinks talent is all that matters in youth football. What’s next, flying kids in for games?

This same "coach" often tries to pull the rug out from under the teams in his league. My friend learned this the hard way, this opposing coach actually showed up at the homes of several of his players to convince their mothers to come play football for his team. This coach actually drives by my friends practice field, goes into the neighborhood to ask where the kids live and shows up on their doorsteps with his song and dance about playing football for him. Fortunately for my friend, his players and parents just adore him so the only thing generated from these escapades in an immediate phone call from mom to my friend to report the shenannigans. This "coach" even had the audacity to "be in the neighborhood" when my friend put on his team barbeque, he even stopped by to say hello and talk some football. My friend is more patient with this person than I might have been.

While recruiting is necessary in youth football, it can be overemphasized to the detriment of the program. Many youth football coaches mistakenly think they HAVE to have the best players to win championships. When their teams lose games they often look at personnel as the reason they lost rather than looking at schemes to counter the other teams personnel or improving their own team. Good coaches concentrate their effrots on working on the aspects of the game they can control. Blaming losses on personnel mismatches frees the youth coach of personal blame, (he can't control the talent levels of the other team) while in reality no youth football team should allow one player to beat them. Recruiting star players or driving 4 hours to pick one up every weekend are shortcuts to success, it is the easy way out. Good coaches put the time in to become better coaches so they don't need star players to win or have to cut corners and make accomodations for "star" players.

In youth football I see less talented teams competing and beating much better teams every week. I see this in our league as well as in every league I’ve ever coached in and in the regional and national tournaments I’ve gone to. I see it in the tapes and DVDs people send me every week. Good coaching nearly every time trumps talent in youth football. Now I’m not saying the weakest team can win it all, But the weakest of teams if coached well can compete and finish .500. The average talent team can vie for and even win league titles with good coaching. Meanwhile the best talented teams and poorly coached teams don’t always win it all and can in fact end up to be a .500 team.

If recruiting is allowed in your youth football league, most often you need to recruit. But don’t obsess over it and don’t get down if you don’t recruit the monsters of the midway. My most satisfying seasons were by far the ones we clearly had very little size or talent, yet came together and played very well. Nearly all well coached youth football teams can compete if they have the right priorities, scheme and well defined vision for success and if you have average talent you can even win championships.

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Dave Cisar-With over 15 years of hands-on experience as a youth coach, Dave has developed a detailed systematic approach to developing youth players and teams that has enabled his personal teams to win 97% of their games in 5 Different Leagues.rnrn Dave is a trainer of youth football coaches nationwide. He has a passion for developing youth coaches so they can in turn develop teams that are competitive and well organized, while having fun and retaining players. His book “Winning Youth Football a Step by Step Plan” was endorsed by Tom Osborne and Dave Rimington. His DVDs and book have been used by teams nationwide to run integrity based programs that win championships. His web site is: Football Plays

Football Recruiting 101 - Dream Team

You are a high school football player who practices and works out year around to improve your game. You spend about six hours in the classroom per day and another two hours doing homework after football practice during the school year. You may have a personal trainer and go to camps/combines in the summer. Where is the time and energy going to come from when it comes to the recruiting process? You do know that you have to be pro-active making phone calls, sending e-mails, sending out player profiles and DVD's. OMG!

Sit down and develop a game plan with your coach and your parents. Form your very own dream of recruiting personal. Your coach can write a letter of recommendation and furnish you with game tape.

You can hire someone to edit your promo DVD and make several copies for mail out. Your parent or parents can be there to encourage you, get you registered with the Clearinghouse and research colleges, coaches e-mails etc. Your personal trainer can give you tips and write a letter of recommendation as well. Your school counselor can keep you posted on SAT testing dates and help keep you on track with core class requirements. Talk to other athletes at your school that are a year or two ahead of you for pointers.

You may want to consider a recruiting service to do the majority of your promotions. I highly recommend a recruiting service as they can take on a big portion of what needs to done as far as getting the necessary exposure. After all if a recruiter does not know about you they can't recruit you. A recruiting service can get you in front of hundreds of college coaches very quickly. They will most likely have an expert on staff to advise and answer any questions for you. Do your research when it comes to hiring a recruiting service. Recruiting services have fees that range from no fee to include your player profile on a public web-site to $3000 or more. You can get great exposure and the results you want for under $1,000 with the right company.

Authored by: Tony Passarella - Sports Recruiting Coach

I am a very experienced recruiting coach and have matched countless athletes to colleges getting them thousands of dollars toward their education. You need a system that will give you massive exposure presenting you to college coaches in a professional manner. We have that system in place for you. I invite you to take a tour my sports recruiting page.

http://www.sportsrecruitingcoach.com

College Football - Forward Passes and Recruiting

In college sports, players in various sports are tested and trained to be included in college teams. Among these sports is college football. College football is one of the most popular sports in the USA. The goal is to score points by getting the ball into the opposing team's court, or end zone. Over the years, players and coaches have developed various plays for getting the ball to the goal. One of these is known as the forward pass.

E. B. Cochems was a coach at Saint Louis University from 1906 through 1908. He was the first to utilize a proper, legal forward pass in his plays. The forward pass became a central feature of Cochems' offensive scheme, ground-breaking in its time. In that first season his team completed a perfect 11-0 season wherein they outscored their opponents 407-11. The highlight of this football campaign was St. Louis' 31-0 triumph over Iowa. It is reported that there were eight passes which were completed in ten attempts for a total of four touchdowns in the Iowa game. The average flight distance of the passes made was twenty yards, and these plays demonstrated the crucial impact that the forward pass was having on the game.

However, because the dominating teams and the major sports media at the time were all centered and focused on the East. And since St. Louis was geographically distant from both, Cochems' revolutionary offensive strategy was not picked up by any of the major teams. Pass-oriented plays would not be recognized by the Eastern football clubs until the next decade. Other teams in the Midwest did pick it up, however. The quarterback for the College of Emporia in Kansas, Arthur Schabinger, was reported to utilize the forward pass in matches during his stint in 1910.

American professional football, indeed, has its origins in college football. It remains extremely popular today among students, alumni, and other fans of the sport. As there are many students who are gifted in football eagerly pursuing a college degree, college football recruiting remains a significant activity for students and colleges alike. Some exceptional students have enough talent to attract the attention of scouts and coaches while still in high school. Others, however, need to make extra effort in order to get ahead in the process.

The Internet has proven to be an important and indispensable venue for both athletes and coaches in the college football recruiting process. There are many websites and online forums wherein students and scouts can interact and share information college football and college football recruiting. D1Athletes is an online community wherein athletes and coaches alike can share and exchange information they need. D1Athletes offers them a place to build an online presence and gain important public exposure.

To learn more, visit http://www.D1Athletes.com or simply click college football recruiting

Football Recruiting 101 - Academics

You have all the ability in the world to play football in college. Your coach has given you his vote of confidence. Your trainer has given you his vote of confidence. You have it made, right. Hold on a minute. If you think you are so good that your grades don't matter, then think again. Your grades matter BIG TIME. First off you have to be cleared by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse if you are to play D1 or D11 football in college. See the guide for the College Bound Student-athlete for academic guidelines.

To make sure you are on track meet with your school counselor on a regular basis, and make it very clear to him or her that you intend to play college football. Don't think that you can slack off on your studies and then turn it on in your senior year. If that is your stance then you will find yourself in community college like it or not.

If you don't test well and are concerned about doing well on the SAT then you will need a high GPA. If your GPA is low then you will need to do well on the SAT just to be considered academically qualified. Remember your grades are going to get you accepted into the college and are going to keep you qualified to play.

Scholarships are year to year so you can't afford to get complacent. Your career as a football player is at stake here as well as a lot of money to be had to help get your college paid for. Good study habits will follow you and set you up for the future if you discipline yourself and take academics very serious.

Authored by: Tony Passarella - Sports Recruiting Coach

I am a very experienced recruiting coach and have matched countless athletes to colleges getting them thousands of dollars toward their education. You need a system that will give you massive exposure presenting you to college coaches in a professional manner. We have that system in place for you. I invite you to take a tour of my sports recruiting page.

http://www.sportsrecruitingcoach.com