Coaching Flag Football

To Coach or Not To Coach 

Coaching flag football can be a rewarding, valuable experience, both for the players and the coach.  The smiles on the faces of their players following a major victory is in itself reason enough for most coaches to devote countless hours to flag football practices, running drill after drill in an effort to improve his team’s skills.  In this day and age, children need role models wherever they can find them and a coach can be an excellent source of encouragement and positive reinforcement.    

A Little Motivation Goes a Long Way 

First and foremost, it’s a coach’s job to keep his players motivated, especially during the rough patches of the season.  One of the most effective ways of motivating your team is to set a series of augmenting, attainable goals.  This should include both individual goals for each player and team goals.  When players reach their goals, make sure to reward them with positive feedback from both yourself and other players.  

When setting goals for your team and your players, make sure to keep the goals within reason.  While unattainable goals, such as NFL stardom, may push your players to work hard in the short run, once they realize the futility of their actions they will develop a resentment for the one who perpetrated the lies.  Instead, try setting goals at first that you know your players can achieve and work from there to push them further than they had initially imagined. 

Another way for a coach to keep his players motivated is to treat his players with respect and admiration.  If children are competing in a positive environment where they are being treated fairly, they will want to perform well in order to maintain that level of respect as well as to impress the coach.  There’s no better feeling than knowing your team is out there, giving its all in an effort to win it for both themselves and for you, the coach.  

When coaching flag football, as with any sport, organization is crucial.  If a coach wastes the first ten minutes getting his act together, that’s ten minutes of time that could be spent running drills or building skills.  During practice, players should never be idle, and this includes the coaches.    

Delegation of Responsibility 

While coaching a flag football team may seem overwhelming at first, especially for the first time coach, having a strong team of assistant coaches will make the task more manageable.  As much as some coaches desire full control over every aspect of their team, delegating responsibilities amongst a coaching staff is essential to a team’s success.  You’d be surprised how a second opinion is sometimes the only way to solve the challenges you’ll face when coaching a youth sporting team.      

Plus an amicable, cooperative coaching staff helps reinforce the spirit of teamwork.  When players watch coaches work together, they will hopefully start applying those positive aspect of teamwork to their interactions with teammates.  

Youth Flag Football Video

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