Youth Football- HS and Younger (1 Viewer)

[Chadstroma]

Perhaps the coaches don't have faith in the 2nd strong to execute without making mental or physical mistakes? Risking a fumble or forgetting who has outside contain could cost them the game. Keeping in the players that were executing without errors but physically gassed might have been less risk.

Obviously the coach has his reason(s). Your guess is a good one but I find it hard to believe that no one on the team is close enough to the starter that a snap or two to get the starter a breather would collapse the entire team.

Using my son as an example, as I know one of the RB's very well and his abilities. Really, if you matched them up there is very little overall skill difference and it is more about what do you- a small, quick RB that is a little faster or a bigger one cut power runner. Or to replace the other RB who is same type of RB but bigger and slower. There is a lot of practice I don't see even though up to last week we were on the same field practicing but the couple of times I caught my son get a snap, he had long runs (really didn't see long runs from others), at the jamboree- the only time we effectively ran was with my son (caveat on that being that that was 2nd string against 2nd string) but the most important was twice I caught my son explaining the play or moving someone into the right place. I use my son as the example since obviously my attention is mostly on him so my observations are largely based around him.

Also, the starters are all 8th graders with one exception other than a couple of 7th graders on ST.

It is what it is. But man... we got lucky last night. If their kicker didn't shank the extra point and then later the FG which he had plenty of leg for.... it would have been a loss. If we they made that extra point and we went to OT, it would have been a loss. The more the game went on the more that they were dominating.

I just think you really got to find a way to get some subs in there. If you have almos the same 11 on the field the whole game like that, we are going to lose some winnable games for sure. I mean, on our munchkin team where we have 18 players total and played with 16 in our first game (one boy is still out with a broken arm he suffered before football and the other was sick) with some big difference in ability/skill/understanding and we still got most of the boys a breather.

This is the reason my son quit football in 10th grade.. They had 8 or 9 kids play both ways like your son's team did & lost every game that year. They were always winning or close in the 1st half then the kids got smoked in the 2nd.. Coach kept playing the same kids & they were all gassed.. It was really frustrating

It is hard. And it is always easier to coach from the stands. My son has been on both ends of this... last year in the championship game he was starting as RB and OLB (though moved around a little to WR and DE too) as well as all ST formations. He had over a 100 yard rushing in the game and they spelled him but every time they did the offense faltered and stopped. We lost 6-0. There is a huge preference to play upperclass players and not play underclass players for this and it makes sense as that one year difference can be huge. Our munchkin team, we don't have much of an option as we have a small team so the underclass players are getting plenty of playing time. The JV has 50 kids and I don't know if any underclass players played last night. Varsity has about 35ish with one player starting offense and defense from 7th grade and one player playing on a ST. The rest of the JV didn't play. If they don't figure out a way to get some subs in though, no doubt we are going to lose games late as the players have nothing left.

 

[nirad3]

Son's official first game (even though it's technically called a "scrimmage") is Saturday. They've been practicing hard. He's been getting time at end on defense and TE and tackle on offense. He actually got split out wide on a few plays the other night, and last night he ran a pretty deep route (for a TE) and made a great diving catch. He got on himself, though, saying he shouldn't have fallen and ran through instead. But it looked like a great catch.

 

[acarey50]

Game 2 in the books, and they won 24-0. We had some fumbling issues early on, luckily recovered all but one, but it looked shaky at first. But then our defense had a very strong stand stopping them on 4 downs in the red zone which hyped the team up. We beat them primarily with the ground game, with all 3 scores coming on the ground, including one where we bullied it in from the 2 yard line after our line got a huge push from the 7 to get us down to the 2. Definitely more of an old school grind it out game. We completed 3 or 4 passes, so up a little from the last game, but when the other team was not making any adjustments and was just sitting in a cover 3 while we were just running it on them, there was no need to pass. The one time they brough a couple guys up we caught them with a nice play action pass to my son for a nice 7-8 yard gain.



But, the more fun, exciting news is that my son was told today that he is one of 4 freshman being brought up to varsity for tomorrow's game. Zero expectation they actually get in the game, but the game is being played at SoFi, so they get to dress out with the team, travel with them and be on the field, etc. for the game. He's really excited even though he knows the only chance he sniffs the field is if it is a blow out.

 

[Chadstroma]

Game 2 in the books, and they won 24-0. We had some fumbling issues early on, luckily recovered all but one, but it looked shaky at first. But then our defense had a very strong stand stopping them on 4 downs in the red zone which hyped the team up. We beat them primarily with the ground game, with all 3 scores coming on the ground, including one where we bullied it in from the 2 yard line after our line got a huge push from the 7 to get us down to the 2. Definitely more of an old school grind it out game. We completed 3 or 4 passes, so up a little from the last game, but when the other team was not making any adjustments and was just sitting in a cover 3 while we were just running it on them, there was no need to pass. The one time they brough a couple guys up we caught them with a nice play action pass to my son for a nice 7-8 yard gain.



But, the more fun, exciting news is that my son was told today that he is one of 4 freshman being brought up to varsity for tomorrow's game. Zero expectation they actually get in the game, but the game is being played at SoFi, so they get to dress out with the team, travel with them and be on the field, etc. for the game. He's really excited even though he knows the only chance he sniffs the field is if it is a blow out.

That is cool experience for him! Good for him!

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

Tough game tonight for my son, their team plays the #3 ranked team in the state. Great experience for him to go head to head with talent. Their game tonight features some of the better junior class offensive line talent in the state in one game. The opponent has a set of twins, juniors, that have offers from 5 BigTen schools, they are ranked 4 and 5 for o-line in the state my son is at 13, a teammate at 21 and another around 30, all juniors. I told my son and his teammate play as if a coach is watching from one of the schools and make them regret picking those boys over yourselves.

Off to Purdue at 4 am for a game day visit against Ball State in the morning. Even though we have been to Purdue twice in the past year, I am doubting much delivers on this recruiting expedition. Good experience for my son and maybe something develops.

 

[acarey50]

I told my son and his teammate play as if a coach is watching

This is always great advice. My older nephew (who ended up choosing to play in the Ivy League) received a full offer from an ACC school very late in the recruiting cycle, largely because the coaches saw him in a few plays on the tape from another kid they were looking at. It truly is a case where you never know who is watching.

 

[Chadstroma]

I told my son and his teammate play as if a coach is watching

This is always great advice. My older nephew (who ended up choosing to play in the Ivy League) received a full offer from an ACC school very late in the recruiting cycle, largely because the coaches saw him in a few plays on the tape from another kid they were looking at. It truly is a case where you never know who is watching.

Yes, one of the big reasons why I am leaning towards one of the private schools that are consistently top programs over our local HS as there will be more eyes on the team from college coaches. Maxpreps has the school we are leaning towards now at 15 and that is the lowest I recall them over the last few years. Their schedule plays the 7th, 10th, 23rd, and 9th ranked schools in their first 4 games before playing teams not ranked in the top 25 to finish their regular season year (though two of those games are not 'easy' going against 27th and 37th ranked teams). Whether it is a teammate or looking at players of the opponent it is a higher level of exposure and as you said, you never know who is watching.

 

[acarey50]

I told my son and his teammate play as if a coach is watching

This is always great advice. My older nephew (who ended up choosing to play in the Ivy League) received a full offer from an ACC school very late in the recruiting cycle, largely because the coaches saw him in a few plays on the tape from another kid they were looking at. It truly is a case where you never know who is watching.

Yes, one of the big reasons why I am leaning towards one of the private schools that are consistently top programs over our local HS as there will be more eyes on the team from college coaches. Maxpreps has the school we are leaning towards now at 15 and that is the lowest I recall them over the last few years. Their schedule plays the 7th, 10th, 23rd, and 9th ranked schools in their first 4 games before playing teams not ranked in the top 25 to finish their regular season year (though two of those games are not 'easy' going against 27th and 37th ranked teams). Whether it is a teammate or looking at players of the opponent it is a higher level of exposure and as you said, you never know who is watching.

The caveat to that is that you also need to be on the field to be seen. Have to consider if it is more advantageous to be one of the better players at a slightly lower level team, but in a position to showcase your ability and build up plenty of game film for coaches to see, or go to a bigger program where you may not sniff the field until your junior or senior season, and even then, the school will be looking to recruit over you if they can.

And of course you have to consider the academics of the high schools, and I'd also say the social aspects, such as where friends are going to school. All three are important aspects to the entire high school experience.

And to be clear, this is generic advice that everyone should be considering if they have a student athlete with aspirations of playing in college (regardless of sport), and you live in an area with multiple options for high school. Just went through this decision making process with our youngest, as he was the only one where we really entertained the option of enrolling in a high school other than our local public high school.

 

[Chadstroma]

I told my son and his teammate play as if a coach is watching

This is always great advice. My older nephew (who ended up choosing to play in the Ivy League) received a full offer from an ACC school very late in the recruiting cycle, largely because the coaches saw him in a few plays on the tape from another kid they were looking at. It truly is a case where you never know who is watching.

Yes, one of the big reasons why I am leaning towards one of the private schools that are consistently top programs over our local HS as there will be more eyes on the team from college coaches. Maxpreps has the school we are leaning towards now at 15 and that is the lowest I recall them over the last few years. Their schedule plays the 7th, 10th, 23rd, and 9th ranked schools in their first 4 games before playing teams not ranked in the top 25 to finish their regular season year (though two of those games are not 'easy' going against 27th and 37th ranked teams). Whether it is a teammate or looking at players of the opponent it is a higher level of exposure and as you said, you never know who is watching.

The caveat to that is that you also need to be on the field to be seen. Have to consider if it is more advantageous to be one of the better players at a slightly lower level team, but in a position to showcase your ability and build up plenty of game film for coaches to see, or go to a bigger program where you may not sniff the field until your junior or senior season, and even then, the school will be looking to recruit over you if they can.

And of course you have to consider the academics of the high schools, and I'd also say the social aspects, such as where friends are going to school. All three are important aspects to the entire high school experience.

And to be clear, this is generic advice that everyone should be considering if they have a student athlete with aspirations of playing in college (regardless of sport), and you live in an area with multiple options for high school. Just went through this decision making process with our youngest, as he was the only one where we really entertained the option of enrolling in a high school other than our local public high school.

Yea, I got you. A lot of factors to consider. We are lucky first because we have a ton of options. The local public HS is a good school that my daughter is going there as a freshman along with my niece and my nephew is a senior there as well. The football program isn't bad for sure. They have two 3 stars on the team, a senior going to Indiana and a junior committed to WV. The JV and Varsity teams both beat the crap out of their cross town rival last night (went to the football game last night to see my nephew though he didn't get in the game). We have numerous good Catholic HS within commuting distance though my son does not want to go to an all boys school... plus, the jamboree was at Mt. Carmel which we went through one of the lesser areas of the Chicago area to get to... I could tell he was nervous. After that, he is 100% not interested in going even though he wasn't really interested to begin with. It also take out Brother Rice which also has a good football program as they are both all boys schools.

For the school I am leaning towards for him it is THE school he wants to go to. Many of the Catholic HS programs were at the jamboree. Pretty much all the top programs in the South/Soutwest of Chicago. Afterwards, each school is giving out tshirts. Most boys got shirts from more than one school. My son only went to this school. I saw some other boys get one of each of the colors from the school and asked if he got both- he said he assumed he couldn't. I told him "they are much more happy to give you an extra shirt and have you interested in going to the school than not giving two shirts" so he went back and got the other one. A significant portion of the kids form his school tend to go to this HS and many of the boys in his class are expecting to go there. Academics wise it is not the best private school in the area but it is up there for sure and over the public HS even though that is still considered a very good school.

As for playing time, obviously it will be more competitive being a higher ranked team and most likely he would get more opportunities at a lesser program. Obviously, it is super early to say but the Catholic league that my son is in is where the school (along with all the other Catholic HS's in the area) gets the bulk of their kids from and for his grade my son is one of the best in the league. On top of that, I spoke with the HC early summer and he knew exactly who my son was and in his words was "impressed" and his thing was he wanted to make sure that he got coached up by his staff at their camps etc. He definitely wanted my son to take a visit and be their guest on gameday this season (which I have to reach back out and arrange). So, as much as you can tell for 7th grade in terms of playing time at the school- it looks like he could make his way there. Of course, more time would be available going to the public school time so I get that point for sure.

There are two things that are big negatives for the school in my eyes. First, unless my son puts more time into basketball, I don't think he will make it past freshman team. This school also does not have a boys swim team. For swim, the easy alternative would be for him to swim for a club team. For basketball, it would most likely mean the end of his playing days outside pick up. Then again, if he spent more time on basketball then I do think he could make the team though it certainly would be more of a bench/role player than star. He likely would have more of a playing roll at the local HS though for basketball and they do have a swim team.

We got basically a year plus to really figure it out.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

Well, we lost a tough one, my sons team hung with the umber 3 team in the state. Unfortunately, QB play did us in with 4 interceptions, lost 20-12. My son and the line had a very good game, rushed for 250 yards. The team ripped off some big yards behind the holes the offensive lines was giving them.

Saturday brought my son and his teammate to a gameday visit to Purdue. We had a great time. I can see where my son stands based on the interaction with coaches. A lot of the coaches spent time with the recruits they already have offers with, which is totally understandable. I am not sure how much my son is in their vision as far as a recruit, but totally appreciate how they spent the time and energy with the boys Saturday. I came away highly impressed with the team, they are going to make some noise in the the BigTen.

This Friday my sons team plays the #4 team in the state, another difficult game. More than likely this team will not respect our passing game and will put several in the box to stop the run. This could be a very difficult game for my son and his line mates trying to run through a clogged mess. Saturday morning he and I travel to Minnesota State for a gameday visit. This school has made my son an offer already so this will give him an opportunity to see the gameday experience. I will hopefully get to meet a coach or two. Looking forward to this saturday.

 

[Kuz]

Well, we lost a tough one, my sons team hung with the umber 3 team in the state. Unfortunately, QB play did us in with 4 interceptions, lost 20-12. My son and the line had a very good game, rushed for 250 yards. The team ripped off some big yards behind the holes the offensive lines was giving them.

Saturday brought my son and his teammate to a gameday visit to Purdue. We had a great time. I can see where my son stands based on the interaction with coaches. A lot of the coaches spent time with the recruits they already have offers with, which is totally understandable. I am not sure how much my son is in their vision as far as a recruit, but totally appreciate how they spent the time and energy with the boys Saturday. I came away highly impressed with the team, they are going to make some noise in the the BigTen.

This Friday my sons team plays the #4 team in the state, another difficult game. More than likely this team will not respect our passing game and will put several in the box to stop the run. This could be a very difficult game for my son and his line mates trying to run through a clogged mess. Saturday morning he and I travel to Minnesota State for a gameday visit. This school has made my son an offer already so this will give him an opportunity to see the gameday experience. I will hopefully get to meet a coach or two. Looking forward to this saturday.

Enjoy Mankato...

 

[Chadstroma]

Scrimmage today with the munchkins.

It wasn't pretty. We got beat in every aspect of the scrimmage. It was raining and the kids looked lethargic, no violence of action or explosiveness across the board. They were playing upright on both offense and defense, not blocking on offense or getting off blocks and penetrating on defense. The team were scrimmaging were a better team that the other team we scrimmaged and the team we played with some size but we didn't play anywhere near as well as we have been. Practice yesterday was similar. The boys seemed to come back from the three day weekend and just didn't have any interest in being there. Better to get their butts kicked in a scrimmage than a real game.

One thing that I am not getting but it is the one thing I really don't want to inject myself into much is that my son is the starting QB but in both scrimmages, the HC which is also the OC has played the second string QB in more snaps. In the game we played, it was about 50/50 time. I have voiced in the past that we should 'protect the time between the starting QB and C' as a way to improve the snap as that has been an issue getting consistent good snaps off. It isn't like the second string QB is playing better either. Each have their positives and negatives. One negative is the second string is a 3rd grader and smaller sized boy. He has really small hands and it was very evident that he should not be playing QB with a wet ball like we had.... he dropped the ball running without being hit, dropped the ball when he went back to pass, and has several muffed snaps (but my son had some too). I put my son in at Tackle because he is the best overall skilled player that can play decently well wherever you put him and shouldn't be on the sidelines much considering how little of a roster we have and so many of the boys still learning. The best play I saw, not because I was the father but as a coach, was the very last play. My son is at right tackle. The TE goes in motion to the other side. He has a DE lined up in front of him and a OLB outside of him. Snap goes, he hits the DE and then shuffles out quickly and hit the OLB as he was moving in. It was a HS level play for pass protection and the best blocking I have seen in the last several years at this level. I asked if the HC saw it and he said he didn't, I explained what happened and he immediately asked if he wanted to play tackle (which I know my son doesn't want to do). The second string QB is faster than my son but there are a ton of negatives... overall not understanding the game, a lot of broken plays, doesn't apply things he was told (practice yesterday, he kept doing a 360 to hand off and did it twice after being told what to do). Again, I have kept myself out of the conversation which is why I don't understand his thinking. If it was any two other boys, I would be more vocal and solicit their thinking but I really don't want to look like 'Daddy ball' so I focus on the line. Now, we are playing this team later in the season so we focused on moving kids in and out and trying different positions rather than really aiming to win the scrimmage but this was more of the continuation of the trend than it was abnormal so it is still a little confusing to me.

 

[Instinctive]

Scrimmage today with the munchkins.

It wasn't pretty. We got beat in every aspect of the scrimmage. It was raining and the kids looked lethargic, no violence of action or explosiveness across the board. They were playing upright on both offense and defense, not blocking on offense or getting off blocks and penetrating on defense. The team were scrimmaging were a better team that the other team we scrimmaged and the team we played with some size but we didn't play anywhere near as well as we have been. Practice yesterday was similar. The boys seemed to come back from the three day weekend and just didn't have any interest in being there. Better to get their butts kicked in a scrimmage than a real game.

One thing that I am not getting but it is the one thing I really don't want to inject myself into much is that my son is the starting QB but in both scrimmages, the HC which is also the OC has played the second string QB in more snaps. In the game we played, it was about 50/50 time. I have voiced in the past that we should 'protect the time between the starting QB and C' as a way to improve the snap as that has been an issue getting consistent good snaps off. It isn't like the second string QB is playing better either. Each have their positives and negatives. One negative is the second string is a 3rd grader and smaller sized boy. He has really small hands and it was very evident that he should not be playing QB with a wet ball like we had.... he dropped the ball running without being hit, dropped the ball when he went back to pass, and has several muffed snaps (but my son had some too). I put my son in at Tackle because he is the best overall skilled player that can play decently well wherever you put him and shouldn't be on the sidelines much considering how little of a roster we have and so many of the boys still learning. The best play I saw, not because I was the father but as a coach, was the very last play. My son is at right tackle. The TE goes in motion to the other side. He has a DE lined up in front of him and a OLB outside of him. Snap goes, he hits the DE and then shuffles out quickly and hit the OLB as he was moving in. It was a HS level play for pass protection and the best blocking I have seen in the last several years at this level. I asked if the HC saw it and he said he didn't, I explained what happened and he immediately asked if he wanted to play tackle (which I know my son doesn't want to do). The second string QB is faster than my son but there are a ton of negatives... overall not understanding the game, a lot of broken plays, doesn't apply things he was told (practice yesterday, he kept doing a 360 to hand off and did it twice after being told what to do). Again, I have kept myself out of the conversation which is why I don't understand his thinking. If it was any two other boys, I would be more vocal and solicit their thinking but I really don't want to look like 'Daddy ball' so I focus on the line. Now, we are playing this team later in the season so we focused on moving kids in and out and trying different positions rather than really aiming to win the scrimmage but this was more of the continuation of the trend than it was abnormal so it is still a little confusing to me.

At a certain point, it's worth a "I know I'm his dad but thought I'd share. Been trying to stay out of it." And then move on.