Youth Football- HS and Younger (6 Viewers)

[Chadstroma]

Ugghh - got MRI results yesterday. Most likely a torn ACL. Weird thing is he passes all the normal stability/physical checks that our doctor, who is a sports specialist and is an Olympic team doctor, was very shocked by the MRI results. Getting in for a second opinion with a pediatric orthopedic specialist to review it all and figure out the next steps, but it is not looking good.

That is disheartening. Maybe a partial tear if he has stability in the leg?

Holding out some hope but two radiologists have now looked at the imaging and diagnosed as a full thickness ACL tear. So, we move on to the next step.

Any updates?

Met with surgeon yesterday. We know several kids, including my nephews, that have seen him. All were pleased with his work. Some said he was a little blunt/too straight forward, but I appreciated it and my wife, son and I really liked him.

So, in addition to the ACL tear, there is also a lateral meniscus tear. They will repair that when doing the ACL surgery. Surgery is scheduled for November 27th. He'll be using a graft from the hamstring tendon to rebuild the ACL, then, in what is a fairly newer step in the procedure, because he is still young and thus the growth plates are still very open, and especially because my son wants to continue playing football, they also take a piece from the IT band, detach it from where it normally goes, and attach it to the outer screw they put in the knee, and anchor it there, wrapping it around the MCL I believe. This adds an extra layer of stability/protection while the knee is still growing.

Unfortunately as it is a complete tear, probably looking at at least a 9 month recovery period before being cleared for sports, possibly a little longer than that to be cleared for full contact football. Then it's getting past the mental hurdle of trusting the knee. My son is determined to come back bigger, stronger and faster and beat those time frames.

All in all though my son is still in positive spirits, though I'm sure as the reality of not being able to do sports for the better part of a year really sets in, he may have some down days.

It is crazy he has so much damage but was passing the stability tests etc.

Hoping all goes well on the 27th!

 

[ChiefD]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

 

[Chadstroma]

My sons seventh grade postseason team had our first tournament this past weekend. My goodness we were terrible. It’s shocking to me that this group of kids were a very strong team last year in sixth grade. This year it’s like a completely different set of kids. And it’s not like the kids haven’t grown, as we have some really big kids. I honestly think, as I complained earlier in the thread, that the two middle school football programs in seventh grade are horrible. The other coaches I’m working with who helped on last year’s all-star team, as well as some of the parents, have commented that it seems some of the kids have actually regressed. My wife had lunch today with a couple other moms, and they mentioned several of the boys told their parents they learn more in the couple weeks of postseason football than they learned the entire year of the regular middle school season. It really just pisses me off.

My son is really learning a lot of life lessons. All the issues from the regular season, and now he’s really struggling with competing at a completely different position. He’s played linebacker exclusively, but in the postseason we have them at cornerback. I believe he is better suited for linebacker, but 87 pounds in seventh grade is really tough. He’s come to recognize that he’s just too small to play that position now. Unfortunately for him, all three teams we played this weekend had very tall receivers. The last team receivers were legit 6 foot. My son is probably 4 foot 10. He made some good plays, but got scored on a couple of times. Some were his fault, some he was doing his job, but the safety wasn’t providing help over the top like he should. He was really discouraged after the first game. He’s really having to learn sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, sometimes spectacularly, but you have to forget it, and just keep playing. I told him he was learning good coverage skills, and that if he ever got back to his favorite position of linebacker, they would come in handy. He was pretty pumped for practice last night, and seems to be in good spirits. It didn’t help that he also got somewhat banged up. One kid put his helmet into my son’s groin and practice last week. He aggravated this week when he was contesting a jump ball. Also on the kickoff return team, he was diving to cover a ball and a opponent dove and landed funny on the back of his ankle, so it was pretty sore/swollen. Thank goodness for YouTube, so I got to learn how to tape his ankle Sunday morning so he could play.

We have one more tournament down in the Knoxville area. Hopefully we can end the season on a high note.

In youth sports there are a lot of coaches out there that aren't very good or absolute trash even.

It seems to range from someone trying their best but just doesn't have the knowledge or skillset to those that think they know everything and don't work to better themselves to be better coaches or those that don't care because it is 'just' 6th grade football (or insert the level sport).

I am driven by this when I coach basketball. Looking back, I had very poor coaching as a kid in a club team and it absolutely impacted my development. The scariest thought I can have about coaching is being the coach that holds a kid back from reaching his individual fullness in the sport, whatever that may be for that kid.

 

[dgreen]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

That's awesome. Congrats to your son.

I've wondered how good you have to be to play at the lower levels of college football. It seems like only a handful of my kid's school's senior class each year goes on to play somewhere, and they've had a really good program with talented players for a while until this year.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

If you don't mind me asking which school in Wisconsin? There is some very good D3 football here in Wisconsin. By the way big congratulations to your son.

 

[belljr]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

That's awesome. Congrats to your son.

I've wondered how good you have to be to play at the lower levels of college football. It seems like only a handful of my kid's school's senior class each year goes on to play somewhere, and they've had a really good program with talented players for a while until this year.

This varies imo ....... just like there are low level D1s there are "high level D3s" etc...... one softball program around here that is D3 has beaten 2 local D1s pretty handedly.. That being said you have to be better than some people think - but there is also a place for almost everyone that has the desire and some talent (if that makes any sense)

 

[ChiefD]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

If you don't mind me asking which school in Wisconsin? There is some very good D3 football here in Wisconsin. By the way big congratulations to your son.

It's not one of the big dogs. Yeah, that conference is solid up there.

It's at Concordia University in Mequon. About 2500 students. They are a pretty good team in their own right and their coaching staff are fantastic. Campus is gorgeous as well.

 

[ChiefD]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

That's awesome. Congrats to your son.

I've wondered how good you have to be to play at the lower levels of college football. It seems like only a handful of my kid's school's senior class each year goes on to play somewhere, and they've had a really good program with talented players for a while until this year.

This varies imo ....... just like there are low level D1s there are "high level D3s" etc...... one softball program around here that is D3 has beaten 2 local D1s pretty handedly.. That being said you have to be better than some people think - but there is also a place for almost everyone that has the desire and some talent (if that makes any sense)

Yeah, agree. There are a lot of programs that will take a lot of kids - especially D3 and NAIA. One of the schools we looked at had 140 kids. So a kid would have a chance to be on a program but may not ever see the field. And for some kids that's ok - and they can work their way up to playing time if they improve.

The college my son is going to has about 100 kids. They also have a varsity AND a junior varsity team so their philosophy is that your son will get to play college football. And every one will have the opportunity to play varsity if they make that team. But at worst your child will get to play college football. And be part of the program.

Our son is a big kid for a kicker: 6'2" and 165 lbs. And he's still growing. So in a college weight program with some good coaching he has a ton of potential. My guess is he ends up 6'3" or so. He could easily add another 30 pounds of muscle on his frame.

It's pretty cool.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

If you don't mind me asking which school in Wisconsin? There is some very good D3 football here in Wisconsin. By the way big congratulations to your son.

It's not one of the big dogs. Yeah, that conference is solid up there.

It's at Concordia University in Mequon. About 2500 students. They are a pretty good team in their own right and their coaching staff are fantastic. Campus is gorgeous as well.

Agreed they are a good team, Concordia is about 45 minutes north of me, north Milwaukee suburbs are a nice area. I hope he enjoys it at Concordia. If he has any desire to practice field goals tell him to head down to Whitefish Bay and kick balls at Craig Counsell's house (sorry the disgruntled Brewer fan in me). Best of luck.

 

[Chadstroma]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

That's awesome. Congrats to your son.

I've wondered how good you have to be to play at the lower levels of college football. It seems like only a handful of my kid's school's senior class each year goes on to play somewhere, and they've had a really good program with talented players for a while until this year.

This varies imo ....... just like there are low level D1s there are "high level D3s" etc...... one softball program around here that is D3 has beaten 2 local D1s pretty handedly.. That being said you have to be better than some people think - but there is also a place for almost everyone that has the desire and some talent (if that makes any sense)

I would think that this is really dependent on sport too. It is hard to see a D3 school beat up on a D1 in football or basketball but could see it happen more in sports that don't have the professional funnel that those sports tend to have. This is and educated guess though as I have no data to back it up. Just would make sense to me.

 

[Chadstroma]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

That's awesome. Congrats to your son.

I've wondered how good you have to be to play at the lower levels of college football. It seems like only a handful of my kid's school's senior class each year goes on to play somewhere, and they've had a really good program with talented players for a while until this year.

This varies imo ....... just like there are low level D1s there are "high level D3s" etc...... one softball program around here that is D3 has beaten 2 local D1s pretty handedly.. That being said you have to be better than some people think - but there is also a place for almost everyone that has the desire and some talent (if that makes any sense)

Yeah, agree. There are a lot of programs that will take a lot of kids - especially D3 and NAIA. One of the schools we looked at had 140 kids. So a kid would have a chance to be on a program but may not ever see the field. And for some kids that's ok - and they can work their way up to playing time if they improve.

The college my son is going to has about 100 kids. They also have a varsity AND a junior varsity team so their philosophy is that your son will get to play college football. And every one will have the opportunity to play varsity if they make that team. But at worst your child will get to play college football. And be part of the program.

Our son is a big kid for a kicker: 6'2" and 165 lbs. And he's still growing. So in a college weight program with some good coaching he has a ton of potential. My guess is he ends up 6'3" or so. He could easily add another 30 pounds of muscle on his frame.

It's pretty cool.

That is getting to NFL size for kickers. I was surprised... in my mind, always thought of kickers as smaller guys and then I met Pat O'Donnell (P-Bears... or use to be) and I am looking up to the guy. I am 6'1''.... so he had to be 6'4"

 

[ChiefD]

That is getting to NFL size for kickers. I was surprised... in my mind, always thought of kickers as smaller guys and then I met Pat O'Donnell (P-Bears... or use to be) and I am looking up to the guy. I am 6'1''.... so he had to be 6'4"

Yeah, my son met Butker last year - he was up at the high school kicking while my son was working out. At the time my son was 6'1" at the time and took a pic with Butker. Dude was huge. 6'4" and 200 lbs.

 

[Andrew74]

My sons seventh grade postseason team had our first tournament this past weekend. My goodness we were terrible. It’s shocking to me that this group of kids were a very strong team last year in sixth grade. This year it’s like a completely different set of kids. And it’s not like the kids haven’t grown, as we have some really big kids. I honestly think, as I complained earlier in the thread, that the two middle school football programs in seventh grade are horrible. The other coaches I’m working with who helped on last year’s all-star team, as well as some of the parents, have commented that it seems some of the kids have actually regressed. My wife had lunch today with a couple other moms, and they mentioned several of the boys told their parents they learn more in the couple weeks of postseason football than they learned the entire year of the regular middle school season. It really just pisses me off.

My son is really learning a lot of life lessons. All the issues from the regular season, and now he’s really struggling with competing at a completely different position. He’s played linebacker exclusively, but in the postseason we have them at cornerback. I believe he is better suited for linebacker, but 87 pounds in seventh grade is really tough. He’s come to recognize that he’s just too small to play that position now. Unfortunately for him, all three teams we played this weekend had very tall receivers. The last team receivers were legit 6 foot. My son is probably 4 foot 10. He made some good plays, but got scored on a couple of times. Some were his fault, some he was doing his job, but the safety wasn’t providing help over the top like he should. He was really discouraged after the first game. He’s really having to learn sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, sometimes spectacularly, but you have to forget it, and just keep playing. I told him he was learning good coverage skills, and that if he ever got back to his favorite position of linebacker, they would come in handy. He was pretty pumped for practice last night, and seems to be in good spirits. It didn’t help that he also got somewhat banged up. One kid put his helmet into my son’s groin and practice last week. He aggravated this week when he was contesting a jump ball. Also on the kickoff return team, he was diving to cover a ball and a opponent dove and landed funny on the back of his ankle, so it was pretty sore/swollen. Thank goodness for YouTube, so I got to learn how to tape his ankle Sunday morning so he could play.

We have one more tournament down in the Knoxville area. Hopefully we can end the season on a high note.

Is the tournament the Rocky Top tournament next weekend? My son got contacted to play in the Rocky Top by some other 9th graders that are trying to put together a city "all-star" 9th grade team to play in the Rocky Top, we declined. I told my son we are not committing to anything until I know details about the team and tournament, but no one got back to me. Two years ago my son played on an 8th grade team as a 7th grader and his team went to the Rocky Top, again we didn't attend, my sons hockey already started. Good luck in your next tournament

Yeah it’s Rocky Top. My son’s grade has never been, so we will see how it goes. I know several of the other grades have gone for years now and speak highly of it.

 

[belljr]

Serious question.....how do you do a tackle football tournament? Isn't a bunch of games on the weekend excessive for football?

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

My sons seventh grade postseason team had our first tournament this past weekend. My goodness we were terrible. It’s shocking to me that this group of kids were a very strong team last year in sixth grade. This year it’s like a completely different set of kids. And it’s not like the kids haven’t grown, as we have some really big kids. I honestly think, as I complained earlier in the thread, that the two middle school football programs in seventh grade are horrible. The other coaches I’m working with who helped on last year’s all-star team, as well as some of the parents, have commented that it seems some of the kids have actually regressed. My wife had lunch today with a couple other moms, and they mentioned several of the boys told their parents they learn more in the couple weeks of postseason football than they learned the entire year of the regular middle school season. It really just pisses me off.

My son is really learning a lot of life lessons. All the issues from the regular season, and now he’s really struggling with competing at a completely different position. He’s played linebacker exclusively, but in the postseason we have them at cornerback. I believe he is better suited for linebacker, but 87 pounds in seventh grade is really tough. He’s come to recognize that he’s just too small to play that position now. Unfortunately for him, all three teams we played this weekend had very tall receivers. The last team receivers were legit 6 foot. My son is probably 4 foot 10. He made some good plays, but got scored on a couple of times. Some were his fault, some he was doing his job, but the safety wasn’t providing help over the top like he should. He was really discouraged after the first game. He’s really having to learn sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, sometimes spectacularly, but you have to forget it, and just keep playing. I told him he was learning good coverage skills, and that if he ever got back to his favorite position of linebacker, they would come in handy. He was pretty pumped for practice last night, and seems to be in good spirits. It didn’t help that he also got somewhat banged up. One kid put his helmet into my son’s groin and practice last week. He aggravated this week when he was contesting a jump ball. Also on the kickoff return team, he was diving to cover a ball and a opponent dove and landed funny on the back of his ankle, so it was pretty sore/swollen. Thank goodness for YouTube, so I got to learn how to tape his ankle Sunday morning so he could play.

We have one more tournament down in the Knoxville area. Hopefully we can end the season on a high note.

Is the tournament the Rocky Top tournament next weekend? My son got contacted to play in the Rocky Top by some other 9th graders that are trying to put together a city "all-star" 9th grade team to play in the Rocky Top, we declined. I told my son we are not committing to anything until I know details about the team and tournament, but no one got back to me. Two years ago my son played on an 8th grade team as a 7th grader and his team went to the Rocky Top, again we didn't attend, my sons hockey already started. Good luck in your next tournament

Yeah it’s Rocky Top. My son’s grade has never been, so we will see how it goes. I know several of the other grades have gone for years now and speak highly of it.

My sons team played there a couple years ago but he didn't play, for us the drive was 9 hours there and 9 back. The feedback we heard was it was a very good tournament, unfortunately they ran into some questionable refereeing, but this was 8th grade football and mistakes happen. The only problem is sitting in a car driving back 9 hours seething on some of those calls. Best of luck and Rocky Top, definitely interested to hear how it goes.

 

[Jayrod]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

That's awesome. Congrats to your son.

I've wondered how good you have to be to play at the lower levels of college football. It seems like only a handful of my kid's school's senior class each year goes on to play somewhere, and they've had a really good program with talented players for a while until this year.

This varies imo ....... just like there are low level D1s there are "high level D3s" etc...... one softball program around here that is D3 has beaten 2 local D1s pretty handedly.. That being said you have to be better than some people think - but there is also a place for almost everyone that has the desire and some talent (if that makes any sense)

I would think that this is really dependent on sport too. It is hard to see a D3 school beat up on a D1 in football or basketball but could see it happen more in sports that don't have the professional funnel that those sports tend to have. This is and educated guess though as I have no data to back it up. Just would make sense to me.

Basketball and Football are scouted so well, that there are truly some significant changes from level to level.

I can really only speak intelligently to the football side of things, but I've officiated some NAIA, Juco, D-2 and FCS D-1 football.

All college players at every level were the stars of the HS team for the most part. The biggest difference as you move up is the size/speed combo. There are big kids at the lower levels of college, but they aren't as athletic and there are really athletic kids at the lower levels, but they aren't as big. As you move up the ladder the fast kids are bigger and the big kids are faster (if that makes sense). Also the team discipline grows the higher up you go. Juco and NAIA ball can be really really sloppy and kids do a lot more stupid things that surprise you. It is much harder to officiate than a good D-2 or FCS level game, where the players more or less move and act like you'd expect. Juco ball is a nightmare to ref.

ETA: Juco skill level is an odd mix between guys that weren't quite good enough to make D1 and guys that are absolutely D1 talent but are complete idiots.

 

[northern exposure]

Serious question.....how do you do a tackle football tournament? Isn't a bunch of games on the weekend excessive for football?

The tournaments my son has participated in have featured shorter times for a quarter or a running clock that only stops for injuries or time outs.
When he was younger he was in
tournaments where they shortened and/or narrowed the field. Other tournaments had entire games that were like OT play in NCAA. So the Offense got the ball at the 35 yard line and the teams alternated possessions.
There was no special teams in these tournaments either.

The players were really tired at the end of the tournament, but they managed to survive them.

ETA- I should add my son started playing tackle football when he was 7 and he's currently a high school Senior. So, I have seen a lot of variations in tournaments.

 

[Andrew74]

Serious question.....how do you do a tackle football tournament? Isn't a bunch of games on the weekend excessive for football?

Usually 2 games a day, with 3-4 games on a weekend. We did have one tournament last year (6 grade) where we played 6 games over 5 days since we made the title game. Usually 3 hours between games. In my three years of coaching all stars, we’ve never had shortened fields. But all of the tournaments I have been in have a running clock. Quarters are 8 to 10 minutes.

Yes it is excessive. The kids are pretty tired at the end. But it seems doable for 10 to 12-year-olds and their energy levels.

 

[Chadstroma]

My high school senior is having his signing ceremony at school today to play football as a kicker in college. It's a small NCAA D3 school in Wisconsin.

Very proud of him and some things he went through this year. I will share more of this story at a later time.

Suffice it to say high school football coaches are a mystery sometimes. But my boy earned this all on his own. From a kid who didn't start kicking until the spring before his junior year to having three offers to kick in college.

All because of his hard work and determination to make it happen. I'm so proud of him I could cry.

And for all you dads out there who's kids want to play post-high school - there are opportunities out there.

That's awesome. Congrats to your son.

I've wondered how good you have to be to play at the lower levels of college football. It seems like only a handful of my kid's school's senior class each year goes on to play somewhere, and they've had a really good program with talented players for a while until this year.

This varies imo ....... just like there are low level D1s there are "high level D3s" etc...... one softball program around here that is D3 has beaten 2 local D1s pretty handedly.. That being said you have to be better than some people think - but there is also a place for almost everyone that has the desire and some talent (if that makes any sense)

I would think that this is really dependent on sport too. It is hard to see a D3 school beat up on a D1 in football or basketball but could see it happen more in sports that don't have the professional funnel that those sports tend to have. This is and educated guess though as I have no data to back it up. Just would make sense to me.

Basketball and Football are scouted so well, that there are truly some significant changes from level to level.

I can really only speak intelligently to the football side of things, but I've officiated some NAIA, Juco, D-2 and FCS D-1 football.

All college players at every level were the stars of the HS team for the most part. The biggest difference as you move up is the size/speed combo. There are big kids at the lower levels of college, but they aren't as athletic and there are really athletic kids at the lower levels, but they aren't as big. As you move up the ladder the fast kids are bigger and the big kids are faster (if that makes sense). Also the team discipline grows the higher up you go. Juco and NAIA ball can be really really sloppy and kids do a lot more stupid things that surprise you. It is much harder to officiate than a good D-2 or FCS level game, where the players more or less move and act like you'd expect. Juco ball is a nightmare to ref.

ETA: Juco skill level is an odd mix between guys that weren't quite good enough to make D1 and guys that are absolutely D1 talent but are complete idiots.

Exactly what I was thinking... the money teams (basketball and football) have to have serious differences level to level but I can see other sports being much closer with a great D3 being better than a D1 not unusual. But again, big guess work on that.

 

[Andrew74]

Football is finally over. Rocky Top tournament was fun. We played in Gatlinburg, which I heard is a different experience than Knoxville. Overall the refs were good, which is unusual to say about youth football.

We went 1-1-1. Should have been 2-1 but a failure in offensive play calling and our QB playing horrible ended the last game in a tie (consolation bracket). We really played one half of terrible football in the first game then pretty solid after that.

It’s been a tumultuous year for my son and I’m not sad to see it end. He played CB in the postseason for the first time in his life. Honestly his skill set is LB not CB. As a former OL/LB I have no idea how to really help him much outside of basics. He has good football fundamentals so he held his own and didn’t have any big breakdowns.

We did end the year on a good note, which after the bad taste he had from the school year, I was very thankful for. In the second game he had probably the best tackle of his “career”. The RB tried the get the edge on him but my son pressed him to the sideline, executed a beautiful form tackle that lifted the kid off the ground. He planted him right in front of his coaches. The RB wasn’t a monster, but with my son being 87lbs, most everyone is bigger. It got his teammates fired up and was a nice way to end the year.

 

[acarey50]

Ugghh - got MRI results yesterday. Most likely a torn ACL. Weird thing is he passes all the normal stability/physical checks that our doctor, who is a sports specialist and is an Olympic team doctor, was very shocked by the MRI results. Getting in for a second opinion with a pediatric orthopedic specialist to review it all and figure out the next steps, but it is not looking good.

That is disheartening. Maybe a partial tear if he has stability in the leg?

Holding out some hope but two radiologists have now looked at the imaging and diagnosed as a full thickness ACL tear. So, we move on to the next step.

Any updates?

Met with surgeon yesterday. We know several kids, including my nephews, that have seen him. All were pleased with his work. Some said he was a little blunt/too straight forward, but I appreciated it and my wife, son and I really liked him.

So, in addition to the ACL tear, there is also a lateral meniscus tear. They will repair that when doing the ACL surgery. Surgery is scheduled for November 27th. He'll be using a graft from the hamstring tendon to rebuild the ACL, then, in what is a fairly newer step in the procedure, because he is still young and thus the growth plates are still very open, and especially because my son wants to continue playing football, they also take a piece from the IT band, detach it from where it normally goes, and attach it to the outer screw they put in the knee, and anchor it there, wrapping it around the MCL I believe. This adds an extra layer of stability/protection while the knee is still growing.

Unfortunately as it is a complete tear, probably looking at at least a 9 month recovery period before being cleared for sports, possibly a little longer than that to be cleared for full contact football. Then it's getting past the mental hurdle of trusting the knee. My son is determined to come back bigger, stronger and faster and beat those time frames.

All in all though my son is still in positive spirits, though I'm sure as the reality of not being able to do sports for the better part of a year really sets in, he may have some down days.

It is crazy he has so much damage but was passing the stability tests etc.

Hoping all goes well on the 27th!

Surgery yesterday went well. Took about 3 hours. All told, doc said everything went as smooth as possible. Now for recovery and rehab. Has the machine to move the knee that he will use for 4-6 hours per day, has the ice machine pumping and all told he's in good spirits. Will be back in physical therapy later this week. So for now, he gets spoiled.

 

[Chadstroma]

Rather than starting another thread... I thought this fits nicely here. Some of you might have seen me post about my son before in other threads and this one. He is a multi-sport athlete that has performed above average or better in all the sports he has played (football, basketball, soccer, track and swim). Up to this point when it came to football I didn't worry about getting him specific position coaching as just have got him to camps and we did do a private coach for a bit (it got too hard with the location and our schedule to continue) but that was more on general physical performance like speed and agility training.

Looking for feedback, thoughts, direction and guidance...
My son is 10 years old, will be turning 11 in August going into 6th grade. He has three years of tackle football behind him going into his 4th this fall. He does not play flag football in the off season but instead plays basketball, soccer and track (school) and swim (club, both seasons).

He has a good mix of height (95 percentile), strength, quickness, and speed. The way that I explain it to most is that he isn't the fastest on his team but he is one of the fastest, not the strongest but one of the strongest, not the tallest but one of the tallest, etc. I told him last season that I didn't know where he would play but it might be more about the other players than him as he can pretty much play any position on the field. Indeed, over the three years whether in practice or game, he has played at every position except for QB. Which brings me to my main point...

Last year they had him throw because it was evident he has a strong arm. When they did, I think he got nervous and started trying to aim his throws rather than just throwing- losing velocity and accuracy, so he was not considered at QB. From my observations previously, he has a stronger than normal arm than other kids but struggled in accuracy.

I just picked him up from a summer football camp which today was the last day of. He was throwing around and I was actually shocked. I don't know where the improvement came from but he was throwing hard and accurately, consistently, a good 30 yards downfield. The HC pulled him back while all other kids went home and talked to him in length about his throwing motion being very good in a very natural way with easy power. As we were leaving, I asked if he did private coaching which he said he did and that he donates all the money to a charity.

I had previously projected him at likely DE or TE in HS based on his athleticism, size and my size trying to judge what he would be then. I asked him what position he would like to play and he basically said "QB, RB, WR.... any skill position.... linebacker or DB" Well.... that narrowed it down. I tried to have a conversation about it more with him but he was more concerned with getting back to playing video games than talking more about it.

Now, I am wondering if we should really invest in him working as a QB. I know it is a very specialized position and very competitive (doesn't everyone want to be QB?!). What should I do or shouldn't do at this point for my son as his father?

 

[Gally]

Now, I am wondering if we should really invest in him working as a QB. I know it is a very specialized position and very competitive (doesn't everyone want to be QB?!). What should I do or shouldn't do at this point for my son as his father?

He is 11. Don't push anything. Let him play and see what happens. There is plenty of time to start position coach work or specialized stuff if it leads to that. No need to rush now.

 

[Chadstroma]

Now, I am wondering if we should really invest in him working as a QB. I know it is a very specialized position and very competitive (doesn't everyone want to be QB?!). What should I do or shouldn't do at this point for my son as his father?

He is 11. Don't push anything. Let him play and see what happens. There is plenty of time to start position coach work or specialized stuff if it leads to that. No need to rush now.

Not rushing or pushing anything. With him playing all over the field on offense and defense and having the ability to play any of the positions, I had just taken the 'it will figure itself out in time' approach. At the start of last season the HC asked me what position I thought he should play at and my answer was "that is your decision". He said no, he wants my feedback and pressed me on it, so I told him that I was thinking DE might be his best spot. My one thought with the QB position though is if he wants to do that then it is a position that you need to start working on it as soon as you can. It is a very competitive position because so many kids want to be the QB and there is only one starting QB on each team. The QB position is unlike any other in sports really. So.... if that is what he wants to do then I want to help him.

That being said.... he is really on the fence of what he wants to do. As I said before his reply was "any skill position or LB or DB". If QB isn't what he wants to do then there is no point in getting him private coaching etc. Someone sent me a couple of QB/WR private coaching organizations in the not too far from me area. I reached out to both. I presented the situation and basically asked if they could do an evaluation of him for both QB and WR and then give the feedback etc. I am wondering if him hearing from other experts might help him get some more direction. Then, if he decides QB or WR maybe working with them with him and if he decides LB or still on the fence, not to worry about it, and carry on as I have been which is getting him to some camps in the summer and letting it play out however it plays out.

 

[Gally]

That being said.... he is really on the fence of what he wants to do. As I said before his reply was "any skill position or LB or DB". If QB isn't what he wants to do then there is no point in getting him private coaching etc. Someone sent me a couple of QB/WR private coaching organizations in the not too far from me area. I reached out to both. I presented the situation and basically asked if they could do an evaluation of him for both QB and WR and then give the feedback etc. I am wondering if him hearing from other experts might help him get some more direction. Then, if he decides QB or WR maybe working with them with him and if he decides LB or still on the fence, not to worry about it, and carry on as I have been which is getting him to some camps in the summer and letting it play out however it plays out.

As I am sure you are well aware, many of these "expert" evaluation outfits are money grabs and will tell you what you need to here to get you to sign up. You have plenty of time (yes even for QB).....he is only 11. I wouldn't even really be asking him about a position to specialize in at this point and his coach asking for your opinion is kind of weird. Your initial answer was exactly what it should have been. It's up to you coach to use him how you think it is best for the team and player.

I see too many kids at this age getting extra coaching etc and it really does more harm than good for many of the kids (and the parents bank accounts).

 

[Chadstroma]

That being said.... he is really on the fence of what he wants to do. As I said before his reply was "any skill position or LB or DB". If QB isn't what he wants to do then there is no point in getting him private coaching etc. Someone sent me a couple of QB/WR private coaching organizations in the not too far from me area. I reached out to both. I presented the situation and basically asked if they could do an evaluation of him for both QB and WR and then give the feedback etc. I am wondering if him hearing from other experts might help him get some more direction. Then, if he decides QB or WR maybe working with them with him and if he decides LB or still on the fence, not to worry about it, and carry on as I have been which is getting him to some camps in the summer and letting it play out however it plays out.

As I am sure you are well aware, many of these "expert" evaluation outfits are money grabs and will tell you what you need to here to get you to sign up. You have plenty of time (yes even for QB).....he is only 11. I wouldn't even really be asking him about a position to specialize in at this point and his coach asking for your opinion is kind of weird. Your initial answer was exactly what it should have been. It's up to you coach to use him how you think it is best for the team and player.

I see too many kids at this age getting extra coaching etc and it really does more harm than good for many of the kids (and the parents bank accounts).

Yea, many are money grabs and I won't go in blind. The initial feedback from the coach at the camp, I am very confident had nothing to do with money. He never brought up him doing anything for my son at all.... and I purposefully waited until I was leaving to ask to see if there was a sales pitch. Also, this is the third year of my son going to this camp and each year the coach would ask to hold my son back to work with him one on one.... just for the fun of it. Last year, he did make a comment about wanting my son to come play for his team and that he would waive all the fees and pay for everything and even take me out for steak dinners every Thursday. I took it as an over the top way of giving a compliment to my son. I talked about that before where it made me wonder if there really was some opportunity what would it take for me to move him from his current school team to that opportunity as I have no intention of moving him from his friends but eventually, there has to be an opportunity that just makes too much sense.... like going to IMG for example. But anyways, again, never has he pitched private coaching or anything else and over the last three years has spent.... I am going to say at least 8 hours of his time, adding up all the time over the years, for free, to just work with my son after all the kids went home from camp where he asked if he could. Plus, he did say that all the money he gets in private coaching goes to an under privileged non-profit org. With him, I am very comfortable with it not being a money grab for him.

For these two outfits that I reached out to, I don't see the harm in taking him to them to evaluate him and give feedback. I see it as something that will either be a positive for my son or nothing for my son. I don't see the negative side of it.

In regards to the extra coaching. I do have to disagree at this point in general a little bit and then also in the case of my son. I will agree that there is a very big danger for kids getting extra coaching in many instances/situations. I think the danger comes into play in two major areas. First, if the driver for getting the coaching is not from the kid but from the parents, that is a Titanic heading for the iceberg. It really does have to be driven by the child in something that they want to do. Second, what is the frequency of the coaching and their time in the sport? I see with baseball kids all the time that they are playing several season of baseball all year long. That has tons of practice time and tons of games. Then, on top of that, putting more coaching time into it. It is a recipe for burnout even if the kid WANTS to do it. It is just too much time in that sport and can lead to burnout.

I have seen, as a basketball coach, the extra work in working with coaching outside of the team paying off. This last year, I had my starting 5 and one player, who was new to our team, was easily the weakest of the 5. There were two things that he lacked in which were being aggressive (would retreat every time and never pressure defense- if he got a rebound down loan, would immediately dribble out to the perimeter etc) and his shooting was not very good. I worked with him in practices on the aggressiveness which was easily flowed within normal practices but it just wasn't possible for me to spend the time with him to help his shot improve. His father got him extra coaching and time to work on his shot and some clinics as well. By the end of the season, he could hold his own against my best shooters. That along with being more aggressive, he ended up really helping the team including having the high score in the championship game that we won. I see shooting like I do QB. It is something that takes time and focus with good, knowledgeable direction to improve on. If my son wants to try to play QB, then he will not only not get any exposure to QB (he will not be QB for this team at least this year and maybe not likely the next two years with it as well) let alone being able to work on it to have a shot later on in HS.

For my son, as a multi-sport athlete, he doesn't spend a ton of time in any one sport. The nearest to it being swim which is roughly 8 months of the year. For the rest, it is football season, then basketball season and then soccer/track season and then in the summer doing various sports camps. So, the extra time working on football (his favorite sport) isn't something that I have much worry about in burn out. Also, last fall in between football and basketball season and before swim season started, he went to a private coach. It was not exactly sport specific though they did work on football a little bit but more centered around speed and agility. The only reason why he did this was because he had previously asked for a private coach to work on speed. I got a package with a private coach for him for Christmas (we didn't use it for a while because schedule wise it was pretty hard). He loved it and looked forward to going each session. If I were to get him extra coaching, in this aspect, it would be because there was a particular position he wanted to play and he wanted the extra coaching to strive for it. It will not because I want it for him or I am pushing it on him.... if anything, if it was up to me, he would focus more on swim but that isn't what he has a passion for so he is the driver of where his interests go. I am just here to help him and offer guidance/wisdom/perspective as his father with age appropriate must/want balance.

If not for seeing him throw the other day where it really was impressive (throw after throw I was thinking to myself, damn- that was a good throw), the feedback from that coach and the position of QB being, in my view, a unique one. This would not be something I would explore at all.

 

[The Z Machine]

For anything after HS, I would think that unless the kids has elite speed (like top 1% in his age group), RB, CB and WR would be very very tough . Safety, LB, DE, TE, QB would be better routes for a bigish, tallish, strongish, fastish kid. But if he really wants to go after those other positions, I would support him in that. Let the boy have fun and explore all positions where he can have fun.

 

[Gally]

Second, what is the frequency of the coaching and their time in the sport? I see with baseball kids all the time that they are playing several season of baseball all year long. That has tons of practice time and tons of games. Then, on top of that, putting more coaching time into it. It is a recipe for burnout even if the kid WANTS to do it. It is just too much time in that sport and can lead to burnout.

This happens for all sports. Not sure why baseball was the focus. If you only do one thing and do it 100% of the time burnout is a possibility. I think you misunderstood my meaning regarding the frequency of extra coaching etc. My caution was more about overwhelming the kid with instruction. Not necessarily the duration of the extra work. For right now at 11 years old you can overwhelm a kid with information overload........especially with something as complicated and nuanced as QB. Getting some fine tuning with regards to throwing mechanics is more than enough at this age and that likely would take place during the coarse of the season if he was indeed working to be a QB.

I have seen many kids just get overwhelmed by the technical aspects of something like QB or pitching or choose your sport to the point that it hurts their enjoyment becuase they go from just using their abilities to over thinking and getting overwhelmed. I am not saying you would allow this to happen but at 11 yrs old there is plenty of time to get additional instruction as he gets older and is able to handle it better.

It's not a one size fits all for sure but for a general FFA post it covers a lot of situations.

 

[acarey50]

For anything after HS, I would think that unless the kids has elite speed (like top 1% in his age group), RB, CB and WR would be very very tough . Safety, LB, DE, TE, QB would be better routes for a bigish, tallish, strongish, fastish kid. But if he really wants to go after those other positions, I would support him in that. Let the boy have fun and explore all positions where he can have fun.

Just remember, often times, the kid that is big, tall, strong in 5th/6th/7th grade is not the kid that is big/tall/strong in high school.

Skill development, skill development, skill development is key so that he learns how to actually do the sports and not just rely on being bigger, faster and stronger, so that when he is not bigger, stronger, faster he can out skill those that are.

Working with the strength/conditioning person is also a good idea if you're going to be investing in private coaching - kids learning how to use their body properly is so often overlooked - proper squat, lunge, hinge mechanics, etc. will pay more dividends across a wider spectrum of sports (and life in general) than specialized coaching at that age.

 

[Chadstroma]

For anything after HS, I would think that unless the kids has elite speed (like top 1% in his age group), RB, CB and WR would be very very tough . Safety, LB, DE, TE, QB would be better routes for a bigish, tallish, strongish, fastish kid. But if he really wants to go after those other positions, I would support him in that. Let the boy have fun and explore all positions where he can have fun.

Part of the reason why I was projecting him to be DE or TE is exactly your point here. (let me point out that those projections were for my own entertainment and I have never communicated to him about any of that) Of course, there are several more years of a drastic development for a boy from 11 on to HS and potentially above but I use my size and his current and then height estimators to try to gauge his future height (I am thinking 6'2''-6'3'' area is most likely). We have a couple of the fastest kids in the league on our team, he can keep up with them but they do have the edge on him in speed though he has a significant height/size/strength advantage over them. So, now he is fast but not the fastest and the pond is only going to get bigger from here. I think there is a good chance this year that he will remain at MLB for this season and then a very good chance he will get moved to somewhere else the next two seasons after. The chances of him going to QB on this team are extremely limited- which is fine, even if QB ended up being what he wants to do. I am absolutely going to support him in whatever position he decides to focus on.... just like I will support him once he gets older and has to make choices on which sports he continues and which he drops which either Basketball or Swim will end up being one of them which both would hurt my heart a bit as basketball is my sport as a kid and I really love swim for him but it is what it is.

 

[Chadstroma]

Second, what is the frequency of the coaching and their time in the sport? I see with baseball kids all the time that they are playing several season of baseball all year long. That has tons of practice time and tons of games. Then, on top of that, putting more coaching time into it. It is a recipe for burnout even if the kid WANTS to do it. It is just too much time in that sport and can lead to burnout.

This happens for all sports. Not sure why baseball was the focus. If you only do one thing and do it 100% of the time burnout is a possibility. I think you misunderstood my meaning regarding the frequency of extra coaching etc. My caution was more about overwhelming the kid with instruction. Not necessarily the duration of the extra work. For right now at 11 years old you can overwhelm a kid with information overload........especially with something as complicated and nuanced as QB. Getting some fine tuning with regards to throwing mechanics is more than enough at this age and that likely would take place during the coarse of the season if he was indeed working to be a QB.

I have seen many kids just get overwhelmed by the technical aspects of something like QB or pitching or choose your sport to the point that it hurts their enjoyment becuase they go from just using their abilities to over thinking and getting overwhelmed. I am not saying you would allow this to happen but at 11 yrs old there is plenty of time to get additional instruction as he gets older and is able to handle it better.

It's not a one size fits all for sure but for a general FFA post it covers a lot of situations.

Baseball was the focus because it is the sport I see it the most in among kids these days. I have had a lot of in depth conversations about this with my kids schools AD. It is a topic he likes to discuss as he did his masters thesis on essentially multi-sport athletes being able to thrive and avoid injury and burnout. We have talked a lot about how we both see baseball being the worst offender in terms of specialization, over use, injury and burn out. I don't have anything against baseball. It was my first love. My boys do not play but that was really by accident and certainly not a plan. I very much wanted to get them more exposure to baseball.

Yes, I agree, if there were too many cooks in the kitchen it can certainly be an issue but the thing is that HE WILL NOT be QB for this team for 100% fact this year and very doubtful after. He will be a striper this year and not eligible to be a skill position player. Thus, if he wanted to work towards being a QB, getting him coaching for it makes sense because he won't get any otherwise. I am certainly not qualified to assist him other than throwing the ball around with him.

The one coach that this all originated from was really cautioning my son that as he continues to throw and try to throw further down field to basically not lose his throwing motion and try to over get more power by doing things he isn't doing in his natural throwing motion now. For example, my son naturally tucks his non throwing arm low and tight to his body versus the usual more common arm going up. He pointed out a few other things and was just asking my son to not lose those while he starts to throw deeper and deeper as that is the common thing to happen.

 

[nirad3]

As I've mentioned in some of the other related threads here, my son is 2+ years into flag football. He really enjoys it, but I think he likes the "social" aspect of it more than anything. He doesn't really like practice and often looks bored. Anyways...

He's signed up for another season that starts in September, but he's been hanging out with a kid from his 5th grade class (they just finished up a few weeks ago), and I was talking to his dad last night (my son spent the night with his buddy and another kid at their house) and we were talking about sports and he mentioned that his kid (he's fairly large for 11) has been playing tackle football for a couple years now and loves it.

I've asked my son in the past if he'd ever want to play tackle and he's enthusiastically said YES, so I'm not sure what to do here. I am not sure his mom would go for it, first of all. My kid's average height, weight and has a slightly-below-average athletic profile.

They moved him from linebacker to corner late last season in flag, but if he moved to tackle I would think that he'd probably be best as a linebacker as I don't think he'd have the footspeed to keep up with the faster receivers.

Not sure what I'm asking here, unless there's anyone out there that have done the transition from flag to tackle. I'm thinking he plays out this fall season in flag (already paid for it) and then see what he thinks about doing tackle starting later in 6th grade.

 

[Chadstroma]

As I've mentioned in some of the other related threads here, my son is 2+ years into flag football. He really enjoys it, but I think he likes the "social" aspect of it more than anything. He doesn't really like practice and often looks bored. Anyways...

He's signed up for another season that starts in September, but he's been hanging out with a kid from his 5th grade class (they just finished up a few weeks ago), and I was talking to his dad last night (my son spent the night with his buddy and another kid at their house) and we were talking about sports and he mentioned that his kid (he's fairly large for 11) has been playing tackle football for a couple years now and loves it.

I've asked my son in the past if he'd ever want to play tackle and he's enthusiastically said YES, so I'm not sure what to do here. I am not sure his mom would go for it, first of all. My kid's average height, weight and has a slightly-below-average athletic profile.

They moved him from linebacker to corner late last season in flag, but if he moved to tackle I would think that he'd probably be best as a linebacker as I don't think he'd have the footspeed to keep up with the faster receivers.

Not sure what I'm asking here, unless there's anyone out there that have done the transition from flag to tackle. I'm thinking he plays out this fall season in flag (already paid for it) and then see what he thinks about doing tackle starting later in 6th grade.

First, it is pretty much par for course that kids don't like going to practice and social aspect makes a huge difference (either positive or not). So, I wouldn't let the lack of enthusiasm for practice to be a big factor. Kids are often screwing around because they are bored unless they are active in a drill. It is just the age. As a basketball coach, I clamp down on it pretty hard so some of it is how much coaches let them get away with it and some is just age. My son, who loves football, has ran more than a couple of laps because he was screwing off.

On a similar note, the relationships gained in team sports (even sometimes in individual sports) is something that you could highlight as a positive for your son playing. Of course he can get that from flag football too but the relationships in tackle may go longer and deeper if he continues through with them for HS football.

My older son is going into his 4th year of tackle (6th grade) He didn't play any flag but that largely was because of the lost covid years. My younger son is going into his 1st year of tackle (3rd grade) after playing one year of flag football last year. They both play school football so all the relationships are built in with all their classmates.

If your son already has a strong yes to playing tackle that pretty much tells me you have the green light and the big challenge from here is convincing Mom. For anything similar with me, I have told them they needed to get their Mother to say yes. My wife will easily say no to me but have a much harder time telling the kids no on something they want to do. Then she may or may not come to me to talk about it and I present the case for why it is good.

Injury wise, over the last three years there have not been much other than contusions. There was one scare of a broken ankle but it turned out to be a light sprain and the kid was back playing the next week (our starting QB). Our teams play 3/4, 5/6 and then 7/8 grades together. My observation is that there are very few and very light injuries to at least that 7/8 level where over the 3 years I have seen two broken bones. Yes, we all know tackle football has a higher degree of risk to injury but almost all sports have some degree of risk for injury.

I wouldn't worry about him being average height, weight and athleticism or where he might play. Over the last three years, my son has played either in a game or practice every position except QB (and with how much his throwing has improved that might be in the future). You just get him on the team and let the coaches figure that out while he learns the game. Later, if he wants to play a particular position he can work towards it.

I see nothing wrong with playing flag this year. He will get older and be able to drive whether he wants to stay in flag or move to tackle and make that case to Mom.

Just my thoughts to help you chew through it.

 

[Gally]

First, it is pretty much par for course that kids don't like going to practice

Football practice is the worst of all practices. So much standing around as there is a lot of repetition (especially at younger ages) so they can learn the plays. If your kid is on the smart side that picks up the plays quickly it can become mind numbingly boring doing the same thing over and over and over again.

 

[Chadstroma]

First, it is pretty much par for course that kids don't like going to practice

Football practice is the worst of all practices. So much standing around as there is a lot of repetition (especially at younger ages) so they can learn the plays. If your kid is on the smart side that picks up the plays quickly it can become mind numbingly boring doing the same thing over and over and over again.

Absolutely.

I would challenge my son to not just learn his job but learn everyone's job to help keep him engaged. It seemed to help, he didn't run anymore laps after that (that was the year before last) and I saw him often in both practices and games putting kids in the right place last season. Plus it helps with him that they can plug him anywhere pretty much so if he knows what any position does he can go in if needed.

The other thing I challenged him on was when they are standing waiting for their turn in line for a drill, watch the other players and listen to the coaches that are coaching them to try to work on your own technique rather than go brain dead and play grab rear.

In basketball, it is a lot easier. First, because they are usually more active more of the time but also I get them committed by their own choice to work hard and then when they are messing around or whatever, they run laps. My basketball practices are much higher tempo and my players are much more locked in than our sister teams that I have seen.

 

[The Z Machine]

Remembering all the plays and what everyone should be doing on each play was how I got the starting position on JV my sophomore year of HS. I couldn't believe that my teammates couldn't remember the plays or routes. I used to diagram the entire playbook while bored in English class.

 

[Jayrod]

HS football teams don't really start forming until 10th grade (VERY rare occasions a Freshman can be ready).

Until then, you have almost no idea what a kid will be. 6-8th grade studs get passed and smaller, weaker kids hit puberty and become good players.

Football above all other team sports is almost entirely about physical attributes and boys mature at very different rates.

I wouldn't even attempt to slot a boy into his final varsity position until after 9th grade.

 

[Chadstroma]

Remembering all the plays and what everyone should be doing on each play was how I got the starting position on JV my sophomore year of HS. I couldn't believe that my teammates couldn't remember the plays or routes. I used to diagram the entire playbook while bored in English class.

My nephew is the same really.... he says that no one studies the playbook or puts any time into it so he is always having to move them in the right position and tell them what the play is. Must be maddening as a coach.

 

[Chadstroma]

HS football teams don't really start forming until 10th grade (VERY rare occasions a Freshman can be ready).

Until then, you have almost no idea what a kid will be. 6-8th grade studs get passed and smaller, weaker kids hit puberty and become good players.

Football above all other team sports is almost entirely about physical attributes and boys mature at very different rates.

I wouldn't even attempt to slot a boy into his final varsity position until after 9th grade.

If this is directed at me and my son....

I am not trying to slot him into anything. I do want to make sure he has the best opportunity to do whatever it is he wants to do as he ages up- whether that is which sport or position. For every other position in football, you can pretty easily move from LB to TE or whatever going into HS. QB is different and if you are talking about having a shot at being a ranked QB then that is something that needs to be worked on. Up until seeing him throw recently and then the feedback from the coach at the camp, I really just had him try to focus on speed/agility as that translates to all positions (pretty much all the sports he does as well). When asked by his HC last season "what position do you think is best for him?" my answer was "that is your call as the coach." and that was my approach- let it work itself out.

Playing QB at a high level is not something most can just roll on to the field in HS and start doing. If he wants a shot at playing QB then I will do what I can as a parent to help him meet that goal and be the best he can at it. If he doesn't want that then it doesn't matter.

Our local HS (not sure about the private schools) has two Freshman teams, a sophomore team and then varsity.

 

[Jayrod]

HS football teams don't really start forming until 10th grade (VERY rare occasions a Freshman can be ready).

Until then, you have almost no idea what a kid will be. 6-8th grade studs get passed and smaller, weaker kids hit puberty and become good players.

Football above all other team sports is almost entirely about physical attributes and boys mature at very different rates.

I wouldn't even attempt to slot a boy into his final varsity position until after 9th grade.

If this is directed at me and my son....

I am not trying to slot him into anything. I do want to make sure he has the best opportunity to do whatever it is he wants to do as he ages up- whether that is which sport or position. For every other position in football, you can pretty easily move from LB to TE or whatever going into HS. QB is different and if you are talking about having a shot at being a ranked QB then that is something that needs to be worked on. Up until seeing him throw recently and then the feedback from the coach at the camp, I really just had him try to focus on speed/agility as that translates to all positions (pretty much all the sports he does as well). When asked by his HC last season "what position do you think is best for him?" my answer was "that is your call as the coach." and that was my approach- let it work itself out.

Playing QB at a high level is not something most can just roll on to the field in HS and start doing. If he wants a shot at playing QB then I will do what I can as a parent to help him meet that goal and be the best he can at it. If he doesn't want that then it doesn't matter.

Our local HS (not sure about the private schools) has two Freshman teams, a sophomore team and then varsity.

No it was just a general observation from my past experiences; both personally and with my son's teams.

Great athletes are going to play all the way through, bit a kid that plays D-end in 6th grade may end up as a wide out, or an offensive lineman in 7th grade becomes an all-state RB. Also, a starting middle LB in middle school may be full grown then and doesn't get any bigger and doesn’t play a down of varsity or a kid that's a runt early on, grows a ton and is a starting OLB his Jr & Sr year. These are all actual examples I've seen play out.

Boys' sports teams in general can change quite a bit from year to year, but especially FB.

 

[Chadstroma]

HS football teams don't really start forming until 10th grade (VERY rare occasions a Freshman can be ready).

Until then, you have almost no idea what a kid will be. 6-8th grade studs get passed and smaller, weaker kids hit puberty and become good players.

Football above all other team sports is almost entirely about physical attributes and boys mature at very different rates.

I wouldn't even attempt to slot a boy into his final varsity position until after 9th grade.

If this is directed at me and my son....

I am not trying to slot him into anything. I do want to make sure he has the best opportunity to do whatever it is he wants to do as he ages up- whether that is which sport or position. For every other position in football, you can pretty easily move from LB to TE or whatever going into HS. QB is different and if you are talking about having a shot at being a ranked QB then that is something that needs to be worked on. Up until seeing him throw recently and then the feedback from the coach at the camp, I really just had him try to focus on speed/agility as that translates to all positions (pretty much all the sports he does as well). When asked by his HC last season "what position do you think is best for him?" my answer was "that is your call as the coach." and that was my approach- let it work itself out.

Playing QB at a high level is not something most can just roll on to the field in HS and start doing. If he wants a shot at playing QB then I will do what I can as a parent to help him meet that goal and be the best he can at it. If he doesn't want that then it doesn't matter.

Our local HS (not sure about the private schools) has two Freshman teams, a sophomore team and then varsity.

No it was just a general observation from my past experiences; both personally and with my son's teams.

Great athletes are going to play all the way through, bit a kid that plays D-end in 6th grade may end up as a wide out, or an offensive lineman in 7th grade becomes an all-state RB. Also, a starting middle LB in middle school may be full grown then and doesn't get any bigger and doesn’t play a down of varsity or a kid that's a runt early on, grows a ton and is a starting OLB his Jr & Sr year. These are all actual examples I've seen play out.

Boys' sports teams in general can change quite a bit from year to year, but especially FB.

Yea, I absolutely agree from my own experience. I was always literally (with the actual word meaning not overused kids use today) off the growth chart as a kid. Growing up playing basketball, I always played Center. I was 6'1'' in 7th grade...... and I am 6'1'' today. I went from Center to Power Forward to Small Forward when my knee blew out and stopped playing competitive basketball. That experience always sat with me.

Based on my sons current height, my height and my wife's height... I think he is likely to end up between 6'1''-6'3'' which is good football and swim height. A bit short for basketball though unless he really developed good guard skills which he hasn't as much. As his coach in basketball, he is a beast as a defender and a good rebounder. I honestly believe he was the best defender in the entire league (20 teams) and I would match him up against whoever the other team's best offensive threat was.... whether they were a quick, little guard or a big center. He pretty much shut down everyone with one exception- which was against the best offensive player in the league which quickly got him into foul trouble and didn't have a chance to really defend him.

With football, like I said, I have pretty much let it fall where it may but the potential for QB is something that I believe if he wants to pursue, he needs extra help on it now as he will likely not get the chance on his team anytime soon.... though they did give him a shot at throwing last year early on in practices. But his improvement from then to now is really nothing short of amazing. So... if he is not a stripper, maybe they do give him a shot.

ETA: How do you write stripe er and not come out like he is working the pole?

 

[Kanil]

So... if he is not a stripper, maybe they do give him a shot.

ETA: How do you write stripe er and not come out like he is working the pole?

I would tell you but ... it's better this way.

 

[Andrew74]

Remembering all the plays and what everyone should be doing on each play was how I got the starting position on JV my sophomore year of HS. I couldn't believe that my teammates couldn't remember the plays or routes. I used to diagram the entire playbook while bored in English class.

Same. I remember playing center back in HS and telling the guards every other play who they were supposed to block. I’ve tried to tell my son (now a rising 8th grader) that learning the mental part of the game can be a big differentiator.

 

[The Z Machine]

Remembering all the plays and what everyone should be doing on each play was how I got the starting position on JV my sophomore year of HS. I couldn't believe that my teammates couldn't remember the plays or routes. I used to diagram the entire playbook while bored in English class.

Same. I remember playing center back in HS and telling the guards every other play who they were supposed to block. I’ve tried to tell my son (now a rising 8th grader) that learning the mental part of the game can be a big differentiator.

LOL, I also played center. Very undersized, but learned to use leverage and quickness and always know where to go, what to do.

 

[Andrew74]

Remembering all the plays and what everyone should be doing on each play was how I got the starting position on JV my sophomore year of HS. I couldn't believe that my teammates couldn't remember the plays or routes. I used to diagram the entire playbook while bored in English class.

Same. I remember playing center back in HS and telling the guards every other play who they were supposed to block. I’ve tried to tell my son (now a rising 8th grader) that learning the mental part of the game can be a big differentiator.

LOL, I also played center. Very undersized, but learned to use leverage and quickness and always know where to go, what to do.

We all know Centers are the smartest players on the field.

 

[Chadstroma]

Equipment for both boys picked up today. Practice starts Aug 5th. It sounds like I will be helping out with the 3/4 grade team. Getting excited.

 

[Chadstroma]

Our school got a transfer kid in (actually two but I haven't seen the other kid).... he is basically a clone of my son but a taller, bigger, stronger version and I heard he was very fast too but I didn't see him doing any straight line running so hard to tell but he is quick for his size. I am guessing he is closer to the cut off for his birthday but on the higher end for the grade where my son is the low end. I was watching him at basketball camp for the school and he is obviously very athletic but also basketball is not his primary sport and football is supposed to his top sport. He is over the striper limit so no skill positions this year but I can see him tear up offenses as a DE for us, at least that is where I would put him... then move him around the line at DT too. Huge addition for us.

My son is about 104 right now. Striper limit is 100. He wants to lose a couple of pounds to weigh in under so he is eligible for a skill position.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

This week was the first week of high school contact days, a week off next week, then practices start Aug.5th.

The offseason has been huge for my son, he is heading into his sophomore year, the coach has him penciled in at starting right tackle, he can be beaten out if he struggles in the preseason. My son put in a ton of work this offseason, worked with an offensive lineman coach with a few other kids and we had him working with a personal trainer to get his lifting improved. At the end of last season, PrepRedzone had him ranked 42 overall in the state for his graduation year, last week they bumped him up to 21 overall, he ended up being the highest riser in the state. In the offseason he was contacted by a number of Division 1 colleges (Northwestern, Iowa, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Purdue, Illinois, Memphis, Ohio State, Syracuse, and more smaller schools) to come to their camps. In my opinion these are sued for coaches to see players in person as opposed to videos as well, it allows coaches from the school to talk to players. Problem is these camps happen over a two week period plus the travel expanses can add up. He went to one camp (northwestern) and some showcases. Next year will be key, he will likely need to decide on which college camps he will want to attend.

So far he has been invited to two colleges for gameday visits, Illinois and Purdue, we plan on visiting those schools in September. He is hoping to get more invites this season, but we will see where it goes. His team has some Division 1 talent so schools have stated to the players they intend to visit and watch a game or two this season. More opportunities exist for him to be seen by other schools as well.

For me this is something I never experienced, all new to me and exciting. Looking forward to the season starting and see where things go for my son. Also looking forward to my chauffer duties this fall.

 

[Kanil]

This week was the first week of high school contact days, a week off next week, then practices start Aug.5th.

The offseason has been huge for my son, he is heading into his sophomore year, the coach has him penciled in at starting right tackle, he can be beaten out if he struggles in the preseason. My son put in a ton of work this offseason, worked with an offensive lineman coach with a few other kids and we had him working with a personal trainer to get his lifting improved. At the end of last season, PrepRedzone had him ranked 42 overall in the state for his graduation year, last week they bumped him up to 21 overall, he ended up being the highest riser in the state. In the offseason he was contacted by a number of Division 1 colleges (Northwestern, Iowa, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Purdue, Illinois, Memphis, Ohio State, Syracuse, and more smaller schools) to come to their camps. In my opinion these are sued for coaches to see players in person as opposed to videos as well, it allows coaches from the school to talk to players. Problem is these camps happen over a two week period plus the travel expanses can add up. He went to one camp (northwestern) and some showcases. Next year will be key, he will likely need to decide on which college camps he will want to attend.

So far he has been invited to two colleges for gameday visits, Illinois and Purdue, we plan on visiting those schools in September. He is hoping to get more invites this season, but we will see where it goes. His team has some Division 1 talent so schools have stated to the players they intend to visit and watch a game or two this season. More opportunities exist for him to be seen by other schools as well.

For me this is something I never experienced, all new to me and exciting. Looking forward to the season starting and see where things go for my son. Also looking forward to my chauffer duties this fall.

Listen, get him down here to play for coach Prime at CU. You can use our spare bedroom when you come and visit.

 

[Chadstroma]

Our school got a transfer kid in (actually two but I haven't seen the other kid).... he is basically a clone of my son but a taller, bigger, stronger version and I heard he was very fast too but I didn't see him doing any straight line running so hard to tell but he is quick for his size. I am guessing he is closer to the cut off for his birthday but on the higher end for the grade where my son is the low end. I was watching him at basketball camp for the school and he is obviously very athletic but also basketball is not his primary sport and football is supposed to his top sport. He is over the striper limit so no skill positions this year but I can see him tear up offenses as a DE for us, at least that is where I would put him... then move him around the line at DT too. Huge addition for us.

My son is about 104 right now. Striper limit is 100. He wants to lose a couple of pounds to weigh in under so he is eligible for a skill position.

I talked to the parents of the transfer kid at length today as they were at the basketball camp too.

I was right that the kid has about a year in age over my son. So, he basically is my son a year from now. He is a super hard worker though and does a lot of work outside of practice to get better where my son does not- so I am hoping that my son learns that from him.

And my son weighed himself today... 102.