Flag football allows coaches to instruct their
players about the basic essentials of the sport without tackling or
using excessive physical contact. Flag football coaching allows a team
to learn and run plays without risking significant bodily injury. This
can be a daunting task for a coach, but fortunately there are many tips
and strategies which can make flag football coaching run smoothly and
contribute to the overall skill and cohesion of the team.
Keep Everything Simple:
The
most important thing is to try to keep everything simple, and then try
to build complex plays off the simple ones. In order for your players
to understand everything you teach them it is best to keep your offense
and defense simple. It may seem like a wonderful idea to create many
complicated plays which will throw your opponents off guard, but the
truth of the matter is that you will likely only use a small number of
plays 80% of the time. The most important element of successful flag
football coaching is ensuring that your players understand everything
that you are teaching them so that they can easily incorporate their
training during game situations.
Swarming and Blocking:
When
coaching defense you want to emphasis the importance of swarming around
the ball. This is absolutely essential because the more players
swarming around the ball, the greater the opportunities to grab the
flag. Blocking is also integral for both offense and defense, so make
sure that you instruct your players to make sure they maintain their
blocks during the entire play, until they hear the whistle blow.
Teaching the importance of swarming and blocking during flag football
coaching is a necessary and effective method for preparing for game
situations.
Use Your Strengths:
When coaching you
always want to design your game plan, for both offense and defense,
around your team's specific strengths. Use the knowledge you have about
the players and the team as a whole to take advantage of the things
that your players can do best. For instance, if the team is not very
successful at long passes, then don''t focus all your attention on
trying to make something spectacular happen out of the sky. Intelligent
flag football coaching is instead more about focusing on the strengths
of your team and using those strengths to your advantage.
Let Everybody Play and Show Good Sportsmanship:
Flag
football was designed to allow every member of the team to practice and
play an important role in the team's success. The main purpose of flag
football coaching is for the players to unite and come together into a
successful and cohesive team, so don't try to emphasis the importance
of one or two players over the team as a whole. Showing good
sportsmanship is essential to creating a successful football team, so
make sure that your players are not trying to be overly aggressive with
their own teammates during flag football practice and always teach them to shake hands and be good sports with their opponents after the game.
Coach
Tucker is dedicated to seeing his teams succeed in the classroom and on
the football field. Visit his website for instant access to his flag
football drills and practice plans: