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3rd/4th Grade Football Question (1 Viewer)

Chadstroma

Chadstroma

Footballguy
I never played organized football so I don't know and I am confused about something. 

My son is on a team, other than some recreation flag football stuff this is his first ever football. 

He is one of, if not the youngest, on the team as he is on 3rd grade and just barely made the cut off to be in 3rd vesus 2nd grade. 

That being said, size wise he is on the upper end in height and I would say "typical" build for kids. He does appear to be one of the fastest kids too. 

My question is that it appears they are placing him as an offensive guard on the team. I am really confused by this. I would think he would be WR or RB or TE on offense. 

I am wondering if there is an explanation. I am wondering if it is easier to put the 3rd graderd on the line or something but it doesn't appear like positions were grade based. Anyone have any thoughts or insight on what might be the reasons behind it? 

BTW, my son hasn't said anything and seems fine with it though I do think when things really get going he will want the ball as that is how he is. I am not looking to make this into a thing specially at this age. I am just trying to understand better if there are reasons that I may not know about cause my thinking is a kid that is faster would likely be better for a skill position on offense or even on defense. 

 
Roy L Fewks said:
If a kid is big -- tall or wide -- he's playing on the OL.

No point in putting him at WR when kids that age barely throw the ball anyway.
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I wouldn't say he is tall. Maybe a tad on the taller side over the average but that makes sense. Speed doesn't matter much ay WR and TE with not much in the way of passing. I would think you would want him at LB then. I dunno. I knoe football but not little kids football. 🤣

 
first years are tough, my kid played left out his first year (he was 7) and the next year he was starting linebacker once he figured out the game. 

 
I have no experience or reference point other than coaching baseball.  I would think if the coaches are open minded and your boy shows ability I would expect him to possibly be moved around as his performance warrants.  Don’t know though.  Football is probably different than baseball in that regard.

No idea if the above is helpful at all.  🤷🏼‍♂️

 
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CGRdrJoe said:
first years are tough, my kid played left out his first year (he was 7) and the next year he was starting linebacker once he figured out the game. 
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I know this is VERY early and if he is fast as he gets older he certainly will not be on the Oline.... and there is nothing wrong with him playing Oline either. It just seemed odd to me that you would put one of the fastest kids on the team as a guard and trying to understand it. I don't want to ask the coach as I don't want it to seem like I am campaigning to have him in a different position.

 
cheeseypoof said:
I have no experience or reference point other than coaching baseball.  I would think if the coaches are open minded and your boy shows ability I would expect him to possibly be moved around as his performance warrants.  Don’t know though.  Football is probably different the baseball in that regard.
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Yea, my reference point is baseball and basketball. Basketball early one was placed by height basically. Baseball on skill level really. 

They determined the positions after the first practice which was spent with some basic drills half of which were running based. 

 
Cynic in me thinks if you aren’t a coach’s kid, you aren’t sniffing a skill position at that age.

 Sincerely,

        The best infielder ever to exclusively play right field in knothole baseball.

Realistically,: I wouldn’t worry about it. If he’s pretty new to football and the rest have a little more experience (or a coach dad who probably drills them all the time, nepotism aside), the line seems like, the best place to “learn” the game for at least a season. My  non-youth football, didn’t even sleep in a Holiday Inn last night self,  would go as far to venture that being a nine year old WR would be terrible. 

 
Rustoleum said:
Cynic in me thinks if you aren’t a coach’s kid, you aren’t sniffing a skill position at that age.

 Sincerely,

        The best infielder ever to exclusively play right field in knothole baseball.

Realistically,: I wouldn’t worry about it. If he’s pretty new to football and the rest have a little more experience (or a coach dad who probably drills them all the time, nepotism aside), the line seems like, the best place to “learn” the game for at least a season. My  non-youth football, didn’t even sleep in a Holiday Inn last night self,  would go as far to venture that being a nine year old WR would be terrible. 
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I been watching practices and it doesn't look like many kids clearly have more experience but that was the general direction of what I was thinking

 
1st point: newer/younger player = easier to teach line positions. But also mentioned above, I'd be willing to bet the skill guys are coaches kids unfortunately.  The coaches are all buddies probably and spend and inordinate amount of time making sure their kid understands qb or rb etc 

2nd point: when I coached we had a striper rule. Any kid over a certain weight got a stripe on their helmet and were only allowed to play on the line and could not advance the ball at all.  Also could only have 2 stripers on the field at any one time.  If you're league has this rule and your kid even looks like he might be near that weight...lineman it is.

 
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Rustoleum said:
Cynic in me thinks if you aren’t a coach’s kid, you aren’t sniffing a skill position at that age.

 Sincerely,

        The best infielder ever to exclusively play right field in knothole baseball.

Realistically,: I wouldn’t worry about it. If he’s pretty new to football and the rest have a little more experience (or a coach dad who probably drills them all the time, nepotism aside), the line seems like, the best place to “learn” the game for at least a season. My  non-youth football, didn’t even sleep in a Holiday Inn last night self,  would go as far to venture that being a nine year old WR would be terrible. 
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yep! Saw it here too. Coach's kids got the "star" positions. My son, who was probably second (third on a bad day) fastest and strongest on the team, got stuck on the O line. He hated it. He quit a couple years later.  Different but similar situation in basketball. These elementary age school coaches can make a huge impact on a kid, whether they realize it or not. 

 
SpurrierisisGod said:
1st point: newer/younger player = easier to teach line positions. But also mentioned above, I'd be willing to bet the skill guys are coaches kids unfortunately.  The coaches are all buddies probably and spend and inordinate amount of time making sure their kid understands qb or rb etc 

2nd point: when I coached we had a striper rule. Any kid over a certain weight got a stripe on their helmet and were only allowed to play on the line and could not advance the ball at all.  Also could only have 2 stripers on the field at any one time.  If you're league has this rule and your kid even looks like he might be near that weight...lineman it is.
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With number two, I don't think so. He is average weight wise from the kids. Pretty much average for height too with maybe on the taller side if average but not by much... a quarter of an inch or so. 

 
Nathan R. Jessep said:
yep! Saw it here too. Coach's kids got the "star" positions. My son, who was probably second (third on a bad day) fastest and strongest on the team, got stuck on the O line. He hated it. He quit a couple years later.  Different but similar situation in basketball. These elementary age school coaches can make a huge impact on a kid, whether they realize it or not. 
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Basketball I was always one of the best players on the traveling team except the year I was cut from tryouts for "not trying hard enough" which I think was an excuse. I was not the kind of kids that automatically rolled with authority because you were an adult or in a position (like coach) and was sometimes a handful if you were insecure (looking back I think the coach got stuck coaching and was looking for the easiest road than dealing with a kid who would tell him that his kid needed to spend more time on the bench being the least talented bball player on the team 🤣). I was an all-star in the league and a good team mate. Just not the shut up and play when I saw favoritism when we were losing. 

Baseball I was always treated fairly but saw the favoritism on other teams big time. 

If my son wants to play a particular position I will just have to spend time making sure he earns/deserves it along with any "natural" talent. For now, in 3rd grade, whatever. And maybe join the coaching team too (no idea how to coach football though 🤣)

A good friend of mine has a kid that has always been the star QB. He may get a shot at college offers kind of possible future. My buddy was never a coach. But I can see nepotism changing what should be for sure. 

 
It's an S show when they're that young anyway.  I wouldn't get to caught up in  where they are putting him.  Although, when my son played flag at that age the kids rotated around.  I'd try to work with him at home on fundamentals

 
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Manster said:
It's an S show when they're that young anyway.  I wouldn't get to caught up in  where they are putting him.  Although, when my son played flag at that age the kids rotated around.  I'd try to work with him at home on fundamentals
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Yes, agree with this. Talk to the coach and see if he can rotate them a bit. A lot of younger age community leagues will have this as a requirement. The problem is when the coach is thinking he is making a name for himself and this is only the first of many coaching assignments.

 
do not talk to the coach. no offense, but they don't want to hear it. not at this age definitely.

position doesn't matter. 90% of the kids will be successful if they can coordinate arms and legs together to move in the correct direction.

odds are the coach(es) will shuffle kids around and let them play all over. or should. just relax and watch. don't interfere.

 
I would simply ask your son if he wants to try any other positions and go from there. Describe the jobs of the different positions and let him decide which sounds like he would enjoy it. 

Then work with him after practice or at home on these set of skills. YouTube will have a billions drills and explanations to make it fun and not work.

In the end, the only sports kids/people excel at are sports that they love. If it ain’t fun, they’re not gonna put in the work.

 
I'd say the answer to your question depends 100% on the coaches and who they are.  I was around youth football for a long time, coaching several seasons, and on the board for our local association even longer.  I saw all kinds of coaches from those who didn't know anything about football, to those who had headsets and were filming games at the 3rd grade level with a camera on the field (our league had a coach in the huddle at that grade, and one team had that coach film the game).

Some coaches will move kids around and give them a chance at multiple positions.  Other coaches with pidgeon hole kids and put them in a spot they think best serves the team, regardless of the kids enjoyment.  Some coaches will make a determination of what kind of player a kid is day 1 of practice and stick them at a spot and not change their opinion.  Other coaches will watch kids develop and move them around.

The one thing about kids at that age, it is tough for them to learn multiple offensive positions.  In order to be successful at that age, you either need that one kid who is a man among boys and just give him the ball, or you need your offensive line to be able to block and your skill position players to know the play and execute.  The second part is tough when kids are trying to memorize plays for two different positions.

Only about 1 in 100 coaches have I found to be open to talking to parents about playing time.  Most don't care and are in it for the wrong reasons, or are in over their heads and get defensive when challenged. Best to leave it along unless you get a signal from your kids that he isn't enjoying it.

 
It’s probably as simple as the best athletes are QB and RB. The biggest kids go to OL. The kids expected to be too small and too slow go to WR because kids that age generally can’t throw, can’t run routes and can’t catch. 

 
STEADYMOBBIN 22 said:
I would simply ask your son if he wants to try any other positions and go from there. Describe the jobs of the different positions and let him decide which sounds like he would enjoy it. 

Then work with him after practice or at home on these set of skills. YouTube will have a billions drills and explanations to make it fun and not work.

In the end, the only sports kids/people excel at are sports that they love. If it ain’t fun, they’re not gonna put in the work.
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I wouldn't do this.  By asking you could be insinuating that the position he is playing isn't a good one.  I would just ask how he likes being out there and playing and see if he starts complaining on his own.  I wouldn't fill his head with possible complaints if they aren't there.  Just let the year play out and see what he thinks when it's over and then go from there.  

 
My kid signed up for the 5th & 6th grade football team when he was in the 5th grade.  The coaches asked each kid to list the positions they would like to try out for.  I'm sure they had very few say o-line LOL!    Anyway my son wrote TE and Punter on his application.

From the the very first practice he was put at OG and never touched a football in practices.   He was an excellent baseball player so had great hands and strong arm, maybe a little above average size for his age.   I wasn't surprised that he didn't play a skill position over the older kids but I was disappointed that the coaches didn't at least look to see if the kid could catch, kick or throw a ball.  Oh well, that's life.

Anyway as you would expect the QB was the head coach's son and the bulk of the skilled players were assistant coaches kids.  My son got a handful of snaps each game at OG and by the end of the season he was done with football.

 
We had it where I was in youth football (4th to 8th grade).  They put a player at center because of his size.  He quit after 6th grade and played QB for the junior high team.  He eventually played QB in the NFL.

 
Godsbrother said:
My kid signed up for the 5th & 6th grade football team when he was in the 5th grade.  The coaches asked each kid to list the positions they would like to try out for.  I'm sure they had very few say o-line LOL!    Anyway my son wrote TE and Punter on his application.

From the the very first practice he was put at OG and never touched a football in practices.   He was an excellent baseball player so had great hands and strong arm, maybe a little above average size for his age.   I wasn't surprised that he didn't play a skill position over the older kids but I was disappointed that the coaches didn't at least look to see if the kid could catch, kick or throw a ball.  Oh well, that's life.

Anyway as you would expect the QB was the head coach's son and the bulk of the skilled players were assistant coaches kids.  My son got a handful of snaps each game at OG and by the end of the season he was done with football.
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I hate stories like this.  The middle paragraph could have been my story, but that was 40 years ago.  And that after one practice at OG, they knew I was going to be a swinging gate, since I was the smallest kid on the field.  I was moved to safety and didn't play a single snap of offense the whole season.  I had hoped those days are over, but clearly not.

My goal as a youth coach always had the same #1 priority, to get every kid to enjoy playing the game enough to come back and play again the next season.  That definitely meant I was not in the running for many championships, but I always had a high rate of returning players.  Admittedly, football is tough because of the safety issue, drastic difference in sizes and athletic abilities at this age, and learning curve.  But, I strongly feel there is enough opportunity to give a kid a chance at some point during the season no matter what he wants to do (other than maybe if every kid on your team wants to play QB, that just can't happen)

 
Bull Dozier said:
I hate stories like this.  The middle paragraph could have been my story, but that was 40 years ago.  And that after one practice at OG, they knew I was going to be a swinging gate, since I was the smallest kid on the field.  I was moved to safety and didn't play a single snap of offense the whole season.  I had hoped those days are over, but clearly not.

My goal as a youth coach always had the same #1 priority, to get every kid to enjoy playing the game enough to come back and play again the next season.  That definitely meant I was not in the running for many championships, but I always had a high rate of returning players.  Admittedly, football is tough because of the safety issue, drastic difference in sizes and athletic abilities at this age, and learning curve.  But, I strongly feel there is enough opportunity to give a kid a chance at some point during the season no matter what he wants to do (other than maybe if every kid on your team wants to play QB, that just can't happen)
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I should have clarified that my son is in his 30s now but some things never change.   When I was a rec baseball / softball coach I always stressed having fun and teaching the game as priority.  I had some good teams and mediocre teams but I always liked to give younger kids a chance at any position they wanted during the first few practices.   Then you could get a feel for what they could and could not do and position them accordingly in games so they don't get hurt or completely embarrass themselves.

You do less of that as they get older but for rec ball at the grade school level,  move them around a little and make it fun.

 
I do want to temper my earlier comments about nepotism with the glaring truth that neither my dad with me,  nor me with my son, had any inclination to devote the huge swaths of time and mounds of BS asked of youth sports coaches. 

And I bet the only thing worse than a parent roasting you for not giving little Billy carries at RB is your wife ripping you for not giving carries to your own flesh and blood, lol.

But, as a kid, I was all too aware the pecking order wasn’t always based on merit or fairness.

 
Bull Dozier said:
Only about 1 in 100 coaches have I found to be open to talking to parents about playing time.  Most don't care and are in it for the wrong reasons, or are in over their heads and get defensive when challenged. Best to leave it along unless you get a signal from your kids that he isn't enjoying it.
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this is 99% about not opening the gate to every parent thinking they are the coach.

and 1% setting the precedent of teaching kids to listen to other people and take instruction.

i've coached and every season there are multiple parents who think they can crack the door open by offering to "help" when all they're going to do is yell at their own kid and ignore the rest. 

my 2nd year i had a guy offer to "help" and i said yes because it was 15 kids vs. 9 the year before. the only thing that guy did was stand near where his kid was and yell at him the whole time. he even ran on the field to try correcting the kid, mid-game. #### that. 

either volunteer to coach and commit the time, or stay out of the hair of the parents who did volunteer their time. all it does is confuse the kids when coach is trying to instruct but dad is hovering and disagreeing/countering the coach (and dads who "want to be involved" will always try to counter the coach). don't try to do both, imo.

 
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Manster said:
It's an S show when they're that young anyway.  I wouldn't get to caught up in  where they are putting him.  Although, when my son played flag at that age the kids rotated around.  I'd try to work with him at home on fundamentals
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Yea, as the coaches (5 of them) are trying to do drills or install a play (like today) any kid not immediately involved melts away and starts screwing off. I actually just ordered a blocking pad so I can work with him on how to hit, block etc. I told him after practice and he was excited. 

 
Phil Elliott said:
Yes, agree with this. Talk to the coach and see if he can rotate them a bit. A lot of younger age community leagues will have this as a requirement. The problem is when the coach is thinking he is making a name for himself and this is only the first of many coaching assignments.
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He gets plenty of time in the drills etc. 

It is a school team (I didn't know they had school teams this young but then again, we didn't have many Catholic schools back where I am from in So Cal and there is like two on every other corner here in Illinois). I am not even sure if the all coaches have kids on the team or not.

It seems like they split the team up into "linemen" and then everything else.. yesterday they said linebackers today they said running backs. It is clear that the "linebackers" or "runningbacks" are the kids with less meat on their bones. 

My boy has a lean athletic muscular build. Height wise.... it is hard to say... I mean 95% of the kids are within an inch or two of each other with a couple of outliers that are a definitely taller or shorter but he is slightly on the taller end of that spectrum. But he is built more sturdy than the kids in the other group for sure. 

It looked like they were trying to install some offensive plays today and they had my boy at DT and DE. 

 
mr. furley said:
do not talk to the coach. no offense, but they don't want to hear it. not at this age definitely.

position doesn't matter. 90% of the kids will be successful if they can coordinate arms and legs together to move in the correct direction.

odds are the coach(es) will shuffle kids around and let them play all over. or should. just relax and watch. don't interfere.
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Yea, I didn't want to interfere at all... I didn't even want to give the possible wrong impression of interfering by just asking questions. They have their hands full for sure with this age. Like trying to train a group of cats to work together toward the same goal. 

 
STEADYMOBBIN 22 said:
I would simply ask your son if he wants to try any other positions and go from there. Describe the jobs of the different positions and let him decide which sounds like he would enjoy it. 

Then work with him after practice or at home on these set of skills. YouTube will have a billions drills and explanations to make it fun and not work.

In the end, the only sports kids/people excel at are sports that they love. If it ain’t fun, they’re not gonna put in the work.
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Yea, he seems happy right now. He is still learning to understand the game too. 

One a down minute, I pulled him over and was trying to explain that his goal wasn't just to block the offensive lineman the whole play and take him way back (by the end of the play they usually would be 5 yard back behind the scrimmage line) but to shed the blocker and get the QB or RB. He said "How do you know that is what we are doing?" I was kind of like.... "Well, that is the basics of playing football bud"  :lmao:

 
Bull Dozier said:
I'd say the answer to your question depends 100% on the coaches and who they are.  I was around youth football for a long time, coaching several seasons, and on the board for our local association even longer.  I saw all kinds of coaches from those who didn't know anything about football, to those who had headsets and were filming games at the 3rd grade level with a camera on the field (our league had a coach in the huddle at that grade, and one team had that coach film the game).

Some coaches will move kids around and give them a chance at multiple positions.  Other coaches with pidgeon hole kids and put them in a spot they think best serves the team, regardless of the kids enjoyment.  Some coaches will make a determination of what kind of player a kid is day 1 of practice and stick them at a spot and not change their opinion.  Other coaches will watch kids develop and move them around.

The one thing about kids at that age, it is tough for them to learn multiple offensive positions.  In order to be successful at that age, you either need that one kid who is a man among boys and just give him the ball, or you need your offensive line to be able to block and your skill position players to know the play and execute.  The second part is tough when kids are trying to memorize plays for two different positions.

Only about 1 in 100 coaches have I found to be open to talking to parents about playing time.  Most don't care and are in it for the wrong reasons, or are in over their heads and get defensive when challenged. Best to leave it along unless you get a signal from your kids that he isn't enjoying it.
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Yea, I foresee him getting playing time. The coaches seem to like him a lot. I hear them call out his surname with ATTA BOY type of things often. I am not worried about it either way as long as he is enjoying himself and learning. 

 
Ilov80s said:
It’s probably as simple as the best athletes are QB and RB. The biggest kids go to OL. The kids expected to be too small and too slow go to WR because kids that age generally can’t throw, can’t run routes and can’t catch. 
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That seems like it is for the most part except it seems like it started with the biggest kids on OL and then the rest will figure out later.  :lmao:

 
Gally said:
I wouldn't do this.  By asking you could be insinuating that the position he is playing isn't a good one.  I would just ask how he likes being out there and playing and see if he starts complaining on his own.  I wouldn't fill his head with possible complaints if they aren't there.  Just let the year play out and see what he thinks when it's over and then go from there.  
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I have been very careful to not saying anything. I have just checked in with "how was practice" or "have fun" type of things as I am very mindful of this. 

 
Godsbrother said:
My kid signed up for the 5th & 6th grade football team when he was in the 5th grade.  The coaches asked each kid to list the positions they would like to try out for.  I'm sure they had very few say o-line LOL!    Anyway my son wrote TE and Punter on his application.

From the the very first practice he was put at OG and never touched a football in practices.   He was an excellent baseball player so had great hands and strong arm, maybe a little above average size for his age.   I wasn't surprised that he didn't play a skill position over the older kids but I was disappointed that the coaches didn't at least look to see if the kid could catch, kick or throw a ball.  Oh well, that's life.

Anyway as you would expect the QB was the head coach's son and the bulk of the skilled players were assistant coaches kids.  My son got a handful of snaps each game at OG and by the end of the season he was done with football.
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O line does seem like the most 'boring' position on the field. I think it sucks that they asked what position you wanted and didn't even have them try out for it or show if they can run, thrown, catch, or whatever. 

So far, he seems cool with it and hasn't touched a football. He got excited about how he took a 4th grader out in a blocking drill. So, he may not care about it... then again, he may not really grasp what is or isn't happening yet. 

 
brettdj said:
We had it where I was in youth football (4th to 8th grade).  They put a player at center because of his size.  He quit after 6th grade and played QB for the junior high team.  He eventually played QB in the NFL.
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Yea, that is silliness to me. I think very early like this age while teaching the game.... placing them by size makes sense. The skills of these kids or non-existent. It is hard for me to even figure out who are 3rd graders vs 4th graders. 

As he gets older and he develops a skillset and wants to play a position to that skillset and isn't getting the opportunity to try it then I think I would be motivated to get involved. At this point, I am just trying to understand football at this level. 

 
mr. furley said:
this is 99% about not opening the gate to every parent thinking they are the coach.

and 1% setting the precedent of teaching kids to listen to other people and take instruction.

i've coached and every season there are multiple parents who think they can crack the door open by offering to "help" when all they're going to do is yell at their own kid and ignore the rest. 

my 2nd year i had a guy offer to "help" and i said yes because it was 15 kids vs. 9 the year before. the only thing that guy did was stand near where his kid was and yell at him the whole time. he even ran on the field to try correcting the kid, mid-game. #### that. 

either volunteer to coach and commit the time, or stay out of the hair of the parents who did volunteer their time. all it does is confuse the kids when coach is trying to instruct but dad is hovering and disagreeing/countering the coach (and dads who "want to be involved" will always try to counter the coach). don't try to do both, imo.
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I may be hovering a bit. 
I don't know enough to volunteer and I sure as hell don't know enough to counter anything a coach tells them. 

What I have done was actually reinforce what they are teaching him as I am watching/listening to the drills. So, for example, today on a down time, I quickly talked to him about hitting versus pushing. I asked him... what is harder to block if someone does this (just push him back) or someone does this (pop him in the shoulders and then push him back with the same force). He laughed and said the one you hit. I told him that was what the coaches were teaching him. Try to do it more. Also, telling him to try to shed the block and get to the ball carrier rather than just keep blocking the kid 5 yards back when the play has gone well beyond the LOS. Yesterday, it was about getting lower when trying to block/tackle etc. 

 
mr. furley said:
this is 99% about not opening the gate to every parent thinking they are the coach.

and 1% setting the precedent of teaching kids to listen to other people and take instruction.

i've coached and every season there are multiple parents who think they can crack the door open by offering to "help" when all they're going to do is yell at their own kid and ignore the rest. 

my 2nd year i had a guy offer to "help" and i said yes because it was 15 kids vs. 9 the year before. the only thing that guy did was stand near where his kid was and yell at him the whole time. he even ran on the field to try correcting the kid, mid-game. #### that. 

either volunteer to coach and commit the time, or stay out of the hair of the parents who did volunteer their time. all it does is confuse the kids when coach is trying to instruct but dad is hovering and disagreeing/countering the coach (and dads who "want to be involved" will always try to counter the coach). don't try to do both, imo.
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I've coached plenty as well.  I was always open to talking to parents, but learned from a coaching clinic once (probably common sense, but it stuck when I heard a seasoned professional say it) that parent conversations should involve their kids only.  Never compare their PT to another players.  I would let the parent know that, and if they pushed back or kept trying to compare their kids situation to another kid, conversation would be over.

Just like coaches, there are reasonable parents and unreasonable parents.  Once I was able to determine which camp a parent fell in to, I stopped giving them time.  it just wasn't worth it.

 
So, I ordered a blocking pad to work with him. Anything else suggested to get? Keeping in mind he is a 3rd grader... 

 
UPDATE: 

They had a scrimmage against another team. He played Left Tackle and Left Defensive End. I grabbed one of the coaches after and asked if that was going to be his position so I could coach him up towards that and he said he couldn't say for certain as he didn't want to speak for all the coaches but the plan was that they thought they had the kids where they wanted them but were going to talk about it after the scrimmage to see if they wanted to make any adjustments. That being said he wouldn't go from LT to RB all of a sudden type of thing. I can't see them moving him inside on either line so I think defensively he is certainly going to be a DE this year and then on offense, same thing, I don't see them moving him in but I could see them trying him at TE if not at tackle. 

These positions make complete sense to me using his size, strength and speed versus what I see from the other kids on his team. He isn't the tallest but taller than the average, he isn't the strongest but on the stronger side of average, he isn't the fastest but one of the faster kids when comparable against the other kids. 

This was a scrimmage so it wasn't exactly what we will see in a game but it did seem like he was on "1st team" for both sides. I got a blocking bag and we did some drills with it. My biggest issue is getting him to listen to me. He is very much the "I KNOW DAD!" type or "THEY DON'T WANT ME TO DO THAT!"... he seems to be more coachable from others than me. I am not sure if that is par for course or not. Growing up my step Dad didn't know anything about sports so he never gave me any coaching, so I never had that experience from the kid side and my kids are just now getting into sports to the point I can actually teach them things rather than them run on a field with some sort of ball happening to be around them type thing. 

Any suggestions or tips or equipment or resource recommendations is highly appreciated. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Chadstroma said:
UPDATE: 

They had a scrimmage against another team. He played Left Tackle and Left Defensive End. I grabbed one of the coaches after and asked if that was going to be his position so I could coach him up towards that and he said he couldn't say for certain as he didn't want to speak for all the coaches but the plan was that they thought they had the kids where they wanted them but were going to talk about it after the scrimmage to see if they wanted to make any adjustments. That being said he wouldn't go from LT to RB all of a sudden type of thing. I can't see them moving him inside on either line so I think defensively he is certainly going to be a DE this year and then on offense, same thing, I don't see them moving him in but I could see them trying him at TE if not at tackle. 

These positions make complete sense to me using his size, strength and speed versus what I see from the other kids on his team. He isn't the tallest but taller than the average, he isn't the strongest but on the stronger side of average, he isn't the fastest but one of the faster kids when comparable against the other kids. 

This was a scrimmage so it wasn't exactly what we will see in a game but it did seem like he was on "1st team" for both sides. I got a blocking bag and we did some drills with it. My biggest issue is getting him to listen to me. He is very much the "I KNOW DAD!" type or "THEY DON'T WANT ME TO DO THAT!"... he seems to be more coachable from others than me. I am not sure if that is par for course or not. Growing up my step Dad didn't know anything about sports so he never gave me any coaching, so I never had that experience from the kid side and my kids are just now getting into sports to the point I can actually teach them things rather than them run on a field with some sort of ball happening to be around them type thing. 

Any suggestions or tips or equipment or resource recommendations is highly appreciated. 
Click to expand...
Coached youth football for many years.   

Make sure your kid has as much fun as possible.   Take a ton of photos.  Record as much video as you can.  

Most kids respond better to other people coaching them.   Ask your kid to give 100% while at practice.  If at the end of the year you think that your child would like to be a RB, WR, or TE speak with the current coaches.  If the coaches are set with their decision maybe a change of teams is the answer.  Often times coaches kids are the QB, and RB.  Coaches can also get complacent and only see your child as a right guard/tackle for his current team.   We had many kids change positions over the years.  Our best linemen in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade turned out to get offers in high school for several D1 schools at RB.  

Never criticize a coach or referee in front of you kid. 

No one is getting a football scholarship in 3rd grade. 

Get some of his buddies together in the off season and work with an agility ladder, cones and a speed chute.   It will be more fun than doing it by himself.  

 
1st game of the season and they won 12-6. My son played LT with no snaps on defense. He did well considering the kid he was blocking was much taller and bigger. 

Coach told him yo watch football (something I have kept trying to get him to do) and when we got home, I put on NFL Network (for myself) and he sat and watched. 

He seems happy and content with LT and DE but was bummed he didn't get any snaps at DE this game. I was surprised because it seemed to me they had him practicing DE much more than LT. 

 
Chadstroma said:
UPDATE: 

They had a scrimmage against another team. He played Left Tackle and Left Defensive End. I grabbed one of the coaches after and asked if that was going to be his position so I could coach him up towards that and he said he couldn't say for certain as he didn't want to speak for all the coaches but the plan was that they thought they had the kids where they wanted them but were going to talk about it after the scrimmage to see if they wanted to make any adjustments. That being said he wouldn't go from LT to RB all of a sudden type of thing. I can't see them moving him inside on either line so I think defensively he is certainly going to be a DE this year and then on offense, same thing, I don't see them moving him in but I could see them trying him at TE if not at tackle. 

These positions make complete sense to me using his size, strength and speed versus what I see from the other kids on his team. He isn't the tallest but taller than the average, he isn't the strongest but on the stronger side of average, he isn't the fastest but one of the faster kids when comparable against the other kids. 

This was a scrimmage so it wasn't exactly what we will see in a game but it did seem like he was on "1st team" for both sides. I got a blocking bag and we did some drills with it. My biggest issue is getting him to listen to me. He is very much the "I KNOW DAD!" type or "THEY DON'T WANT ME TO DO THAT!"... he seems to be more coachable from others than me. I am not sure if that is par for course or not. Growing up my step Dad didn't know anything about sports so he never gave me any coaching, so I never had that experience from the kid side and my kids are just now getting into sports to the point I can actually teach them things rather than them run on a field with some sort of ball happening to be around them type thing. 

Any suggestions or tips or equipment or resource recommendations is highly appreciated. 
Click to expand...
In my experience the “I know Dad” and “They don’t want me to do that “ and being more coachable from others is most definitely par for the course

 The only advice I would have is don’t burn him out. And encourage him to try other sports 

 
Cowboysfan8 said:
In my experience the “I know Dad” and “They don’t want me to do that “ and being more coachable from others is most definitely par for the course

 The only advice I would have is don’t burn him out. And encourage him to try other sports 
Click to expand...
From the scrimmage, his last practice and his game I took video of him while playing. We have gone over it and I have pointed out things he has done well and things that he started doing that I told him and it has been really good. He got excited when I showed him that one of the touchdowns they had in the game likely wouldn't have happened if he didn't hold his block and basically sealed off pursuit from his guy and another defender. 

He is super interested in pretty much all sports. Soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming, track and field, archery... we was doing stuff all summer with the recreation day camps. The only sport he wasn't interested in was Volleyball because "it's a girl sport" but I explained that wasn't true. I am sure he will want to play that too and whatever other sports he can. I know a lot or a little about everything... except soccer. 

 
arrow1 said:
Breaking down tape in 3rd grade?
Click to expand...
Sure, helping him get better and understand the game more like "you see, you got good push on him because you were low and had leverage" or the opposite "on this play, you were upright and he is bigger than you so it was easy for him to push you down." Plus being able to give him fatherly praise when he did something well. It has been very cool. He asks more questions and gets excited when I show him good things "Can you show Mommy the good play that if it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have got the touchdown?" That was really cool because until we went over it, he didn't understand that that was touchdown was in part due to what he did.

 
Last practice before this weekends game my son was at left DE and kept disrupting the offense. He had a sack and another that possibly was a fumble (I couldn't see from my angle and being practice it wasn't important to figure out). They then moved him to practice at OLB for a bit. 

At the game he started at right tackle and left DE. Later playing a few snaps at WR. No stats as most runs while he was in were up the middle or the other side. 3 went his direction... one he was double teamed, another got caught in the wash and the third was about in position to possibly make a tackle and his team mate came and took him out trying to get to the RB. 

He likes playing defense. And definitely is interested in kicking/punting. We stayed and watched his cousin play (6th grade) and he would run down to the side of the field to watch them attempt XP. I know nadda about kicking. I am sure there are some youtube videos I can watch. I am not going to worry about that for a couple of years though. 

 
We're currently having a terrible experience in 6th grade football.  Small'ish private school here.  21 kids total on the team.  We're new at the school and new to football all together.  I went and introduced myself and my son to the coach at the first practice.  Explained to him that we had never played, but my kid is fast and athletic and you'll have to find him a position, etc.  Coach was super nice, explained to me that 6th grade football is fun, they'll find him a position or two, get plenty of reps cause theres only 21 on the team and just try to have fun, etc.  The perfect answer.   

We attended every "optional" practice this summer.  My kid often pulled double duty cause he runs cross country too.   Just could not have done more to prove he wanted to be there.  He's not the fastest, but hes probably in the best shape overall on the team.  

Game one was last week.  He did not play a single down.  He was so pissed, probably as pissed as I was.  There were 4 kids that didn't step foot on the field.  3 kids got all the touches.  We won 27-6.   When the possession would change 2 kids would run off the field for subs.  

That's ridiculous though, right?  I didn't confront the coach, but others clearly did.  We got a long winded message about some kids not being ready, blah blah blah.  

 
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