High School Football Website - How to Choose a Website Designer

Every High School should have a website for their Football Team. Some of the benefits include:

1) Increased exposure for the team. Parents, fans and alumni will be able to stay updated on the team.

2) Raise money for team. You can use the website to sell advertising for the team. Local business like to advertise on a Team website because they know the money goes towards the sports team and they get exposure at an affordable rate.

3) Saves money on printing costs. Instead of printing schedules and waiver forms you can upload the document to a website and have the parent print it off at their home.

There are 4 options you should analyze when deciding on a Team Website.

1) Develop the website yourself.

PROS: You choose the options you want on the site

CONS: Time intensive - you have to design. You have to know how to build a website from scratch.

2) Use a company that provides templates.

PROS: Quick and easy to implement

CONS: Limited flexibility - you have to design the site based on the template and it might not have all of the features that you want.

3) Get a custom designed website.

PROS: Professional look and feel with advanced features

CONS: Can be very expensive

4) Get Combination of Template and Custom designed website.

PROS: Professional look and feel but is also affordable

CONS: Not as much flexibility as a Custom designed website but if you choose the right company they will provide majority of the features you will need.

A website for your High School Football team can be very useful if designed properly. You want people to continue to visit the website so it has to be user friendly.

Article written by Clint Steiner. His company Team Isportz, LLC provides High School Football Websites to schools across the country. Each team website has been designed to help the team raise $3000+ for their program. The website is: Team Websites with a Custom Feel

Should Youth Football Teams Run the High School Offense? Heck No

High Schools that Want You to Run "Their System" at the Youth Level.

A small number of Youth Football coaches get pressure from the local High School to run their offense. The High School coach in these situations often think that by teaching 8 year old kids to run his system, by the time the players are 18 years old, they should be very proficient at running said system.

I am 100% opposed to the High School coach imposing his will on the Youth Program.

For many reasons I am 100% opposed to the coaches imposing this will upon the youth coach and kids. My first reason has to do with basic control and effort. The often handsomely paid for his time, High School coach is telling a non-paid volunteer of a program not run or paid for by the School, to run his High School system. Part of the "benefit" of spending money out of your own pocket to coach youth football, is you get to choose what you are going to run and how you are going to run it. If I fail as a coach, I'm going to fail running something I did the research on and believe in, not something shoved down my throat by someone not even involved in my youth football program or by someone that probably never coached a down of Youth Football.

Who is to say this School coach will even be at the school 10 years from now, or better yet that he will be running the same offense? One of the local teams we feed into has run 3 different Offenses in the last 5 years and had 2 different Head Coaches. So which of the 3 offenses should my teams be running now? Yes lets train 70+ youth coaches a very difficult offense every year or two, when almost half of them have no football coaching experience. Most of these offenses had we decided to run them, had zero youth materials or support system available for our coaches. I'm sure we would have failed miserably and lost lots of players had we adopted these systems.

I've even seen on some coaching forums where some coaches say it doesn't matter at all if any team wins or loses below the varsity level. The "varsity" is all that matters, even their Junior High, Freshman and JV teams don't matter. Well, it matters to the kids and parents playing on these teams and isn't that why we are supposed to be coaching football in the first place? I wonder how that High School coach would feel if a college coach came up to him and said that it didn't matter if the High School won or lost, all that matters is what happens at the college level and that the High School should run the Colleges offense? Never mind the fact that few of the kids will ever play College ball, just as just 25% of youth players will play High School ball. Sound enough reasoning for you? Let's take it a step further, shouldn't the pro coaches be telling the College coaches their wins and losses mean nothing, all that matters is that the College kids are running the Pro Offense? This "next level" baloney is just that, baloney. Any coach with even fair coaching skills can develop players for whatever system he choses to run.

Such arrogance is disappointing to see from anyone involved in coaching youth football.

This type of attitude is rarely found among successful coaches, it is most readily seen from excuse making oaches that are doing poorly and are looking to lay the blame of their poor performance at someone else's feet. I've actually seen High School coaches blame Jr High coaches for their varsity teams woes, that's someone desperate to keep a job he probably shouldn't have had to begin with.

At the big clinics I do for Glazier and Nike, I always sit in on a session or two. In addition to a Darrin Slack session, I like to see what the best High School coaches in the country are doing, teams like Southlake Carrol, Jenks, Union, Hoover, Colton, De LaSalle etc. The guys that coach these teams care little about whether the kid coming into their program can read a 3 technique and can run their offense. They just want a chance to coach the kid, that he goes out for football. They want the youth coach to teach safe basic blocking and tackling and NOT to run the kid off. The good coaches are hoping to get a player that has a love for the game and is coachable. These successful coaches tell me they are pretty confident they have the coaching ability to teach a player about anything over a 4 year time frame with nearly 4 months of 6 day a week contact along with year round, strength, agility and skills training. On the other hand we youth coaches get the kids for a few months of very abbreviated 2-3 day a week practices, a mere fraction of what the High Schools get and we are supposed to have the biggest technical impact on them?

As stated in other articles, we know that 75% of youth players will never play High School football to begin with. So we are supposed to run the High School system that only a tiny fraction of our players will be using? Remember my study of the main reasons most youth football players quit playing: #1) Poor Coaching #2) Playing on consistently losing teams. Running a system that is often not age appropriate (High School) and losing will often lead to the High School coach getting fewer players than he would otherwise. Most of the great High School coaches could CARE LESS what the youth player runs as long as he's having fun, playing safely and developing a passion for the game. Developing that passion is hard to do if his youth football team is getting blown out every week or not scoring many points.

What really gets to me are a few of the simply preposterous e-mails I get from a few youth football coaches. One youth coach went 10-1 in 2006 and 11-1 in 2005 and was retaining right at 95% of his players. In that very same time frame, the local High School went 0-9 and 1-8. The High School coach was demanding the youth football program run his offense in spite of the fact the High School offensive football plays never worked at the High School level. Maybe the High School coach should have run the Youth coaches offense, he couldn't have done any worse. I make it a habit to support the High School programs, by encouraging the kids to go to the High School games and to play High School football. But I have not coached School ball, so I do not critique the High Schools practice methods or systems, no matter how often I'm asked to offer my opinion. I don't have the time or expertise to do an in-depth study of the situation and would hope they wouldn't do the same of my team.

Here are some other reasons the youth program should not run the High School offense:

Not age appropriate

Doesn't fit the talent level

Doesn't fit the size level

Does not work well with limited practice time

Does not work with small team sizes where you are not allowed to cut or send players to a JV squad

Does not accommodate minimum play players (I Formation, Spread)

Is beyond the physical abilities of youth players (Spread passing)

Is beyond the mental abilities of youth players (Triple or Midline Option or multiple read passing)

Most High Schools will not take the time to teach the youth coaching staff how to coach their system "correctly" anyway

School Offenses Change

School Coaches Change

Techniques Change

Very few youth coaching materials, books, DVDs available for most High School offenses

Many kids change positions as they go through puberty

Youth football players rightfully care about what's happening to them in the season they are playing in. They want to win and have fun, they are not concerned with developing the knowledge of football plays that 25% of them may or may not use 10 years into the future. They could care less about some technique he won't remember in the 9th grade or will be taught differently or changed by the time he gets to High School. If you can incorporate some of the High Schools numbering into your system without a big hassle, great, but resist the meddling of the High School into your program if your program is headed in the right direction.

The best coaches in the Nation could care less what offense or football plays the youth teams run. You should care that whatever offense you choose fits your kids, scores points, and wins ballgames. Until the High School starts buying your equipment, paying your fees and paying your salary (yeah right), run what makes sense for your kids so they have fun now and make it to play High School football.

In the Single Wing our kids are better prepared to play "at the next level" than kids from nearly any other type of system. Our linemen know how to pull, trap, double team, fold, crab block, drive block, rule block, pass block and work as a team. Our "QB" knows how to ball handle,give handoffs, take shotgun snaps, roll out, drop back,throw, boot,lead a team and run with the ball. Our recievers and backs all know how to take handoffs, block,read holes, read blocks, catch the ball etc, everything any other back or reciever would learn in any other type of offense. Most importantly, the kids have fun and do well, which is what keeps them coming back to play.

Winning and losing are both habits. I've seen very average teams with a history of winning win games they have no business competing in. These kids just feel somehow, someway they are going to win the game, even when they are down by 2-3 TDs and time is running out. I've seen the most improbable of comebacks and bizzarre plays in the last moments of games where the team of destiny beats the better team. On the other side of the fence, I see teams that expect to lose. Even when these teams are ahead they expect to get snake bit and lose the game, these negative expectations are usually met. I would think the High School teams would want kids that have a winning attitude, it's contagious.

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.

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 Youth Football

The Joe Show: High School Prom

Joe Staley talks with his teammates about their High School Prom.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYJhLUZgZ3w&hl=en

Should Youth Football Teams Run the High School Offense? Heck No

High Schools that Want You to Run "Their System" at the Youth Level.

A small number of Youth Football coaches get pressure from the local High School to run their offense. The High School coach in these situations often think that by teaching 8 year old kids to run his system, by the time the players are 18 years old, they should be very proficient at running said system.

I am 100% opposed to the High School coach imposing his will on the Youth Program.

For many reasons I am 100% opposed to the coaches imposing this will upon the youth coach and kids. My first reason has to do with basic control and effort. The often handsomely paid for his time, High School coach is telling a non-paid volunteer of a program not run or paid for by the School, to run his High School system. Part of the "benefit" of spending money out of your own pocket to coach youth football, is you get to choose what you are going to run and how you are going to run it. If I fail as a coach, I'm going to fail running something I did the research on and believe in, not something shoved down my throat by someone not even involved in my youth football program or by someone that probably never coached a down of Youth Football.

Who is to say this School coach will even be at the school 10 years from now, or better yet that he will be running the same offense? One of the local teams we feed into has run 3 different Offenses in the last 5 years and had 2 different Head Coaches. So which of the 3 offenses should my teams be running now? Yes lets train 70+ youth coaches a very difficult offense every year or two, when almost half of them have no football coaching experience. Most of these offenses had we decided to run them, had zero youth materials or support system available for our coaches. I'm sure we would have failed miserably and lost lots of players had we adopted these systems.

I've even seen on some coaching forums where some coaches say it doesn't matter at all if any team wins or loses below the varsity level. The "varsity" is all that matters, even their Junior High, Freshman and JV teams don't matter. Well, it matters to the kids and parents playing on these teams and isn't that why we are supposed to be coaching football in the first place? I wonder how that High School coach would feel if a college coach came up to him and said that it didn't matter if the High School won or lost, all that matters is what happens at the college level and that the High School should run the Colleges offense? Never mind the fact that few of the kids will ever play College ball, just as just 25% of youth players will play High School ball. Sound enough reasoning for you? Let's take it a step further, shouldn't the pro coaches be telling the College coaches their wins and losses mean nothing, all that matters is that the College kids are running the Pro Offense? This "next level" baloney is just that, baloney. Any coach with even fair coaching skills can develop players for whatever system he choses to run.

Such arrogance is disappointing to see from anyone involved in coaching youth football.

This type of attitude is rarely found among successful coaches, it is most readily seen from excuse making oaches that are doing poorly and are looking to lay the blame of their poor performance at someone else's feet. I've actually seen High School coaches blame Jr High coaches for their varsity teams woes, that's someone desperate to keep a job he probably shouldn't have had to begin with.

At the big clinics I do for Glazier and Nike, I always sit in on a session or two. In addition to a Darrin Slack session, I like to see what the best High School coaches in the country are doing, teams like Southlake Carrol, Jenks, Union, Hoover, Colton, De LaSalle etc. The guys that coach these teams care little about whether the kid coming into their program can read a 3 technique and can run their offense. They just want a chance to coach the kid, that he goes out for football. They want the youth coach to teach safe basic blocking and tackling and NOT to run the kid off. The good coaches are hoping to get a player that has a love for the game and is coachable. These successful coaches tell me they are pretty confident they have the coaching ability to teach a player about anything over a 4 year time frame with nearly 4 months of 6 day a week contact along with year round, strength, agility and skills training. On the other hand we youth coaches get the kids for a few months of very abbreviated 2-3 day a week practices, a mere fraction of what the High Schools get and we are supposed to have the biggest technical impact on them?

As stated in other articles, we know that 75% of youth players will never play High School football to begin with. So we are supposed to run the High School system that only a tiny fraction of our players will be using? Remember my study of the main reasons most youth football players quit playing: #1) Poor Coaching #2) Playing on consistently losing teams. Running a system that is often not age appropriate (High School) and losing will often lead to the High School coach getting fewer players than he would otherwise. Most of the great High School coaches could CARE LESS what the youth player runs as long as he's having fun, playing safely and developing a passion for the game. Developing that passion is hard to do if his youth football team is getting blown out every week or not scoring many points.

What really gets to me are a few of the simply preposterous e-mails I get from a few youth football coaches. One youth coach went 10-1 in 2006 and 11-1 in 2005 and was retaining right at 95% of his players. In that very same time frame, the local High School went 0-9 and 1-8. The High School coach was demanding the youth football program run his offense in spite of the fact the High School offensive football plays never worked at the High School level. Maybe the High School coach should have run the Youth coaches offense, he couldn't have done any worse. I make it a habit to support the High School programs, by encouraging the kids to go to the High School games and to play High School football. But I have not coached School ball, so I do not critique the High Schools practice methods or systems, no matter how often I'm asked to offer my opinion. I don't have the time or expertise to do an in-depth study of the situation and would hope they wouldn't do the same of my team.

Here are some other reasons the youth program should not run the High School offense:

Not age appropriate

Doesn't fit the talent level

Doesn't fit the size level

Does not work well with limited practice time

Does not work with small team sizes where you are not allowed to cut or send players to a JV squad

Does not accommodate minimum play players (I Formation, Spread)

Is beyond the physical abilities of youth players (Spread passing)

Is beyond the mental abilities of youth players (Triple or Midline Option or multiple read passing)

Most High Schools will not take the time to teach the youth coaching staff how to coach their system "correctly" anyway

School Offenses Change

School Coaches Change

Techniques Change

Very few youth coaching materials, books, DVDs available for most High School offenses

Many kids change positions as they go through puberty

Youth football players rightfully care about what's happening to them in the season they are playing in. They want to win and have fun, they are not concerned with developing the knowledge of football plays that 25% of them may or may not use 10 years into the future. They could care less about some technique he won't remember in the 9th grade or will be taught differently or changed by the time he gets to High School. If you can incorporate some of the High Schools numbering into your system without a big hassle, great, but resist the meddling of the High School into your program if your program is headed in the right direction.

The best coaches in the Nation could care less what offense or football plays the youth teams run. You should care that whatever offense you choose fits your kids, scores points, and wins ballgames. Until the High School starts buying your equipment, paying your fees and paying your salary (yeah right), run what makes sense for your kids so they have fun now and make it to play High School football.

In the Single Wing our kids are better prepared to play "at the next level" than kids from nearly any other type of system. Our linemen know how to pull, trap, double team, fold, crab block, drive block, rule block, pass block and work as a team. Our "QB" knows how to ball handle,give handoffs, take shotgun snaps, roll out, drop back,throw, boot,lead a team and run with the ball. Our recievers and backs all know how to take handoffs, block,read holes, read blocks, catch the ball etc, everything any other back or reciever would learn in any other type of offense. Most importantly, the kids have fun and do well, which is what keeps them coming back to play.

Winning and losing are both habits. I've seen very average teams with a history of winning win games they have no business competing in. These kids just feel somehow, someway they are going to win the game, even when they are down by 2-3 TDs and time is running out. I've seen the most improbable of comebacks and bizzarre plays in the last moments of games where the team of destiny beats the better team. On the other side of the fence, I see teams that expect to lose. Even when these teams are ahead they expect to get snake bit and lose the game, these negative expectations are usually met. I would think the High School teams would want kids that have a winning attitude, it's contagious.

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.

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 Youth Football

Texas High School Football

Bringing the best of all high school football players is the Txprepsfootball All Texas Team. These are elite members of Texas high school football teams. One of the players is Garrett Gilbert from Lake Travis. Garrett has hit the records with 4,826 yards in a single season. He is the son of former National Football League Gale Gilbert, who played for the Chargers, Seahawks and the Bills. Not to mention this quarterback has made 52 touch downs in 2007 and he is responsible for leading his team to the Class 4A Division II State Championship.

Some of the state records were placed years ago. Kenneth Hall set the record for most career rushing yards at 11,232. That was in Sugar Land 1950-53. Earlier in the century was another phenomenal player, Samuel Baugh. He was named the first best professional football quarterback. He later went on to play for the Washington, Redskins.

Earl Campbell is a Pro football Hall of Fame member. Nicknamed The Tyler Rose (after the place he is from, Tyler, Texas). In 1978 he went on to play for the Houston, Oilers and named the Offensive Rookie of the year and the Most Valuable Player, by the Associated Press. He also went on to play for the New Orleans Saints.

Doak Walker, born in Dallas, Texas, was crowned All American football player with the Heisman Trophy. That was back in 1948. Then he went on to play for the Detroit Lions and helped to pave the way to the National Football League Championships. He too, is a member is the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There are a total of thirteen outstanding football players from the Texas state history books. All of which have went on to become phenomenal athletes, thus making Texas well known for their talented National Football League players of all time.

Currently, sitting at number four in the nation is the Katy, Texas Tigers. Some former Katy, Texas high school football players include Jorge Diaz, who is offensive lineman went on to play for the National Football League. He played for the Tigers in 1991 and is now with the Tampa Bay, Buccaneers. Eric Heitman is also a offensive lineman playing for the San Francisco 49Er's. He played for the Katy Tigers in 1997.

The Tigers are a great team setting state records. James Aston, a rushing back set the record at 34 rushing carried in a Championship game and that was back in 2003. In 1999, Jamel branch, who is also a rushing back set the record with 249 rushing yards in a Championship game.

Over the years, the state of Texas has brought us some of the most phenomenal athletes. Many of them were branded the best of NFL in some way or another.Also, because Texas has brought the NFL some of the greatest all time players, I believe that is the main reason why Texas high school football is so popular today. They have certainly paved the way for some of the National Football League's finest of all time.

Get Recruited Now! Learn how to gain the most exposure to the top college athletic organizations in the nation. Learn everything you need to know from a scouts perspective and earn the athletic scholarship you've dreamed of.

Athlete Guru

The athlete expert!

More Reasons Why Youth Football Teams Should Never Run the High School System

More Stats for NOT Running the High School Offense in Youth Football:

Here are a few stats for you youth football coaches feeling the pressure to run the local High School offense:

Let’s say you have a team size of 25 kids. National studies from Michigan State University and the National Youth Sports Alliance say less than 30% of your players will play High School football. So now, out of 25 kids you have 7 players that according to the studies go on to play High School ball. Of those 7, not all will play at the local Public High School, they may move, play for a different local High School, or they may play for a Private School, let’s say you lose 1 player there. Of the 6 remaining, after they go through puberty some will grow and others won’t. That skinny wingback that fills out to a slow 250 pounds is no longer a wingback in High School, kids change. The big hulking center you have doesn't gain a pound and ends up playing fullback. At least half of your players will play a position different than what they did in Youth Ball.

With the weight rules in place for most leagues that restrict large players to the interior line positions, your big players are usually not allowed to touch the ball. So forget about the big players getting any training at receiver, tight end or running back, positions they may very well play in High School. In 2006 two of my former Omaha players, offensive guards James D and Ronnie C both played fullback for Omaha North High varsity as freshmen.Ronnie even ran for a TD in one big game. North has over 2500 students, made it to the state semi-finals, had two DI scholarship players and a parade all-american (Niles Paul) on their team. Neither of these former offensive guards ever got to touch the football for my teams, as both were over the running back weight limits. Neither had played in the backfield or ran this schools offense, yet they did very well at their new positions in a brand new offense. I doubt Omaha Norths head coach cared one iota that these kids had never run his offense. He gets paid to coach football and train football players, not sit back and call football plays from a tower with kids that are already trained for him by a bunch of youth coach volunteers.

So now we are at 3 kids of the 25 that would be playing High School ball and playing the very same position on the High School team as they did at the Youth Football level. If you decided to make the choice for the High School offense for the benefit of just 3 players at the expense of the 22 others on your team, it would not benefit anywhere near the majority of your players.

Add in the slim chances that your 8 year old youth football player will be playing High School ball 10 years down the road and that the High School will even have the same head coach or be running the same offense 10 years into the future. It seems darn right ridiculous to even consider trying to run the same system as the local High School, the odds are very long it would help even a tiny fraction of your youth football players.

The numbers just don’t add up to make a decision to run an offense that in most cases will have little success for your team and in the end will most likely result in fewer players deciding to go on to play High School ball. Because as you will read in subsequent posts, most youth football players quit playing because of poor coaching, their teams are not competitive and they aren’t having fun, all are symptoms of running a system that doesn’t work at the Youth Level.

While the Single Wing Offense has proven itself at the Youth Level all across the country, it is also seeing a rebirth of sorts at the High School and even College levels. Last year 3 Single Wing teams played for State High School Titles in Virginia alone, with 2 teams winning, Giles and Osborne. Menominee High School a perennial Single Wing powerhouse in Michigan won its second State Title in 7 years and blew out the Defending State Champions in the largest class in Minnesota as well. Colton High in California finished in the USA Today Top 20 running the Single Wing Offense. Those are just a few teams I know of off the top of my head that are having success running the Single Wing in High School.

If you watched Urban "The Mad Scientist" Meyers Florida team last year, you would have seen lots of Single Wing football, especially when they went into their “Tebow” formation. Other College teams running lots of Single Wing included West Virginia, Arkansas and Utah to name just a few. My guess is we will see more of it everywhere this coming season.

For those of you that get static for running what you run:
There are many high schools that run the Wing T, Flexbone, Wishbone, Straight T, Veer and Double Wing Offenses and virtually no Colleges at the Division I level or Pro teams run these offenses. Are the thousands of High Schools that run these offenses doing something wrong? How about De LaSalle and its 170 game win streak running the Veer or Bellevue Washingtons National Championship team running the Wing T? Shouldn't they be running what the College and Pro teams are running? No, they dont have the players needed to run those Pro and College offenses and neither do you.

Don't let that weak High School coach sell you on the snake oil that the most important football coach in his program is the youth or Junior High coach, what silliness. The most important coach in the High School system is the High School Head Coach, only responsibility shirking weaklings would put it off on someone other than themselves. This isn't the language I hear at the clinics from the top High School coaches in the nation, they rightfully think they are the coach that has the most to do with their teams success or failure. They wouldn't dream of trying to blame someone else for their failure or success.

Did Lou Holtz blame poor High School coaches for his last South Carolina teams failure to reach a bowl game? How about Bill Parcells, should he be blaming the college coaches for his Dallas Cowboys not making the Super Bowl? It never happenned, it would be silly, but I hear it from a handfull of perrennial losing High School coaches from accross the country on football coaching forums. Great coaches aren't excuse makers, they take and teach responsibility, it's the right thing to do. Don't teach your players by your excuse making example to be excuse making dog ate the homework kids.

Another article brought to you by http://winningyouthfootball.com Copyright 2007 Cisar Management. Republishing allowed if links are kept intact.

For more great youth football ideas and football plays, sign up for Dave’s free youth football coaching tips newsletter, please click here:
Football Practice [http://winningyouthfootball.com/author]

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.

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 Coaching Youth Football

More Reasons Why Youth Football Teams Should Never Run the High School System

More Stats for NOT Running the High School Offense in Youth Football:

Here are a few stats for you youth football coaches feeling the pressure to run the local High School offense:

Let’s say you have a team size of 25 kids. National studies from Michigan State University and the National Youth Sports Alliance say less than 30% of your players will play High School football. So now, out of 25 kids you have 7 players that according to the studies go on to play High School ball. Of those 7, not all will play at the local Public High School, they may move, play for a different local High School, or they may play for a Private School, let’s say you lose 1 player there. Of the 6 remaining, after they go through puberty some will grow and others won’t. That skinny wingback that fills out to a slow 250 pounds is no longer a wingback in High School, kids change. The big hulking center you have doesn't gain a pound and ends up playing fullback. At least half of your players will play a position different than what they did in Youth Ball.

With the weight rules in place for most leagues that restrict large players to the interior line positions, your big players are usually not allowed to touch the ball. So forget about the big players getting any training at receiver, tight end or running back, positions they may very well play in High School. In 2006 two of my former Omaha players, offensive guards James D and Ronnie C both played fullback for Omaha North High varsity as freshmen.Ronnie even ran for a TD in one big game. North has over 2500 students, made it to the state semi-finals, had two DI scholarship players and a parade all-american (Niles Paul) on their team. Neither of these former offensive guards ever got to touch the football for my teams, as both were over the running back weight limits. Neither had played in the backfield or ran this schools offense, yet they did very well at their new positions in a brand new offense. I doubt Omaha Norths head coach cared one iota that these kids had never run his offense. He gets paid to coach football and train football players, not sit back and call football plays from a tower with kids that are already trained for him by a bunch of youth coach volunteers.

So now we are at 3 kids of the 25 that would be playing High School ball and playing the very same position on the High School team as they did at the Youth Football level. If you decided to make the choice for the High School offense for the benefit of just 3 players at the expense of the 22 others on your team, it would not benefit anywhere near the majority of your players.

Add in the slim chances that your 8 year old youth football player will be playing High School ball 10 years down the road and that the High School will even have the same head coach or be running the same offense 10 years into the future. It seems darn right ridiculous to even consider trying to run the same system as the local High School, the odds are very long it would help even a tiny fraction of your youth football players.

The numbers just don’t add up to make a decision to run an offense that in most cases will have little success for your team and in the end will most likely result in fewer players deciding to go on to play High School ball. Because as you will read in subsequent posts, most youth football players quit playing because of poor coaching, their teams are not competitive and they aren’t having fun, all are symptoms of running a system that doesn’t work at the Youth Level.

While the Single Wing Offense has proven itself at the Youth Level all across the country, it is also seeing a rebirth of sorts at the High School and even College levels. Last year 3 Single Wing teams played for State High School Titles in Virginia alone, with 2 teams winning, Giles and Osborne. Menominee High School a perennial Single Wing powerhouse in Michigan won its second State Title in 7 years and blew out the Defending State Champions in the largest class in Minnesota as well. Colton High in California finished in the USA Today Top 20 running the Single Wing Offense. Those are just a few teams I know of off the top of my head that are having success running the Single Wing in High School.

If you watched Urban "The Mad Scientist" Meyers Florida team last year, you would have seen lots of Single Wing football, especially when they went into their “Tebow” formation. Other College teams running lots of Single Wing included West Virginia, Arkansas and Utah to name just a few. My guess is we will see more of it everywhere this coming season.

For those of you that get static for running what you run:
There are many high schools that run the Wing T, Flexbone, Wishbone, Straight T, Veer and Double Wing Offenses and virtually no Colleges at the Division I level or Pro teams run these offenses. Are the thousands of High Schools that run these offenses doing something wrong? How about De LaSalle and its 170 game win streak running the Veer or Bellevue Washingtons National Championship team running the Wing T? Shouldn't they be running what the College and Pro teams are running? No, they dont have the players needed to run those Pro and College offenses and neither do you.

Don't let that weak High School coach sell you on the snake oil that the most important football coach in his program is the youth or Junior High coach, what silliness. The most important coach in the High School system is the High School Head Coach, only responsibility shirking weaklings would put it off on someone other than themselves. This isn't the language I hear at the clinics from the top High School coaches in the nation, they rightfully think they are the coach that has the most to do with their teams success or failure. They wouldn't dream of trying to blame someone else for their failure or success.

Did Lou Holtz blame poor High School coaches for his last South Carolina teams failure to reach a bowl game? How about Bill Parcells, should he be blaming the college coaches for his Dallas Cowboys not making the Super Bowl? It never happenned, it would be silly, but I hear it from a handfull of perrennial losing High School coaches from accross the country on football coaching forums. Great coaches aren't excuse makers, they take and teach responsibility, it's the right thing to do. Don't teach your players by your excuse making example to be excuse making dog ate the homework kids.

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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.

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 Coaching Youth Football