What age to start playing tackle football?

[sheppy]

Coaches, administrators, parent give your opinion at which age kids should start playing tackle football.

All opinions matter.

 

[orngnblk]

11 hours ago, sheppy said:

Coaches, administrators, parent give your opinion at which age kids should start playing tackle football.

All opinions matter.

 

Your going to get a wide array of answers on this topic.We (Greenback) start at 4 years but im not a big fan of that not that its bad but just too young.I started mine when THEY wanted to play at 10 years old,i personally think thats about the right age to learn fundamentals and still be relatively safe from HUGE hits.Main thing is find a program that TEACHES  proper techniques and not all about a win.That young its all about learni g how to play.I helped coached our boys and i watched alot of other coaches coach,the kid needs to be having fun and learning.Just my opinion.Good luck its a GREAT game!

Edited February 3, 2018 by orngnblk

[tradertwo]

I think that ONB pretty much nailed it,starting kids too young says more about the parent's wishes than the kid's. I also agree that too much emphasis is on winning at the very young ages that kids are starting organized sports nowadays...if fundamentals, technique, and discipline are taught correctly, winning will come in time. Kids are all put together (mentally) differently...I have seen parents push their children past the point where the kid enjoys it, while living (or reliving) their own lives through them with different results. Very few kids handle that kind of pressure well, while most are anywhere from uncomfortable to downright unhappy to even be playing at all. Keep it about your kid's wishes, and his/her enjoyment...nobody knows your child like you should, so evaluate the timeline to accommodate the amount of interest that they have in practicing and playing. For you to be a part of coachT, and be so involved in sports that you wonder when to "start" teaching your son the game, you must have had a great experience with sports when you were young...just remember to ensure that your son has as much fun as you did, and everything else will fall in place.

[old24eagle]

IMO most of them start too young. I personally feel like they would be better off playing flag until middle school. Coaching is usually poor at best in most youth programs developing bad habits when blocking and tackling. I feel like they should be learning to play with their hands and feet in youth leagues. Big kids in youth league who may be athletic enough to be a skill kid never gets taught anything but run over the guy in front of you, no technique or footwork ,and definitely no ball skills. Fast kids are taught NOTHING! Run to the sideline, cut up the sideline , outrun everybody! If coaching was better and  parents stayed off the field youth leagues would be better.  At least if they were playing flag all of the kids would have to learn some basic fundamentals of footwork and not be taught crappy blocking and tackling!

Edited February 8, 2018 by old24eagle

[old24eagle]

36 minutes ago, tradertwo said:

I think that ONB pretty much nailed it,starting kids too young says more about the parent's wishes than the kid's. I also agree that too much emphasis is on winning at the very young ages that kids are starting organized sports nowadays...if fundamentals, technique, and discipline are taught correctly, winning will come in time. Kids are all put together (mentally) differently...I have seen parents push their children past the point where the kid enjoys it, while living (or reliving) their own lives through them with different results. Very few kids handle that kind of pressure well, while most are anywhere from uncomfortable to downright unhappy to even be playing at all. Keep it about your kid's wishes, and his/her enjoyment...nobody knows your child like you should, so evaluate the timeline to accommodate the amount of interest that they have in practicing and playing. For you to be a part of coachT, and be so involved in sports that you wonder when to "start" teaching your son the game, you must have had a great experience with sports when you were young...just remember to ensure that your son has as much fun as you did, and everything else will fall in place.

I absolutely agree...we make too big of a deal out of winning little league championships instead of teaching kids how to play. 

[uknoit2]

I agree that many youth clubs teach poor techniques due to the fact that many coaches don't have a clue....But, I'm not a fan of flag FB.  It takes FORVER to get them out of all the bad habits flag FB teaches. 

We dropped flag FB  years ago and padded them up. They were better players of the game by ages 8/9. But coaching was also acceptable too! 

[uknoit2]

13 hours ago, old24eagle said:

I absolutely agree...we make too big of a deal out of winning little league championships instead of teaching kids how to play. 

And middle school! I've seen countless Jr high teams loaded with man child after man child...They kill other schools for 2, 3 years, then can't compete in high school when kids from the other programs mature and pass them up. I'd much rather  teach FB early and win in HS later than dominate little league or Jr High

[old24eagle]

8 hours ago, uknoit2 said:

And middle school! I've seen countless Jr high teams loaded with man child after man child...They kill other schools for 2, 3 years, then can't compete in high school when kids from the other programs mature and pass them up. I'd much rather  teach FB early and win in HS later than dominate little league or Jr High

its strange to me what some people hold as high accomplishments...I know coaches who brag about winning 6 year old little league football titles, I know people in their 30's who still think theyre famous because they were on the COUNTY elementary basketball championship team in 1997???? really?? 

[old24eagle]

8 hours ago, uknoit2 said:

I agree that many youth clubs teach poor techniques due to the fact that many coaches don't have a clue....But, I'm not a fan of flag FB.  It takes FORVER to get them out of all the bad habits flag FB teaches. 

We dropped flag FB  years ago and padded them up. They were better players of the game by ages 8/9. But coaching was also acceptable too! 

Im sure they could get bad habits from flag , but i think they get worse habits from poor coaching. We went through a stretch were we had to break o lineman from trying to block with their fists clasped together in front of them...little league coach claimed that prevented them from ever getting flagged for holding?!?!?!? DURNITT i want em to hold ! We also went through a phase of freshmen seperating shoulders cause they were taught to throw their head to the side and lead with their shoulders when they tackle. If they somehow managed to win games like that makes it even worse, then not only do you have to break the kids but you have to convince parents that you cant win highschool games coaching like good ole Coach Bucky coaches 6 and 7 year old youth ball!

[gcapride]

7 hours ago, old24eagle said:

DURNITT i want em to hold !

Now Who's the Cheater????

 

Been waiting years for you to finally admit it. Admitting it is the first step to recovery.......I know, I admitted it in 2010!

[uknoit2]

2 hours ago, gcapride said:

Now Who's the Cheater????

 

Been waiting years for you to finally admit it. Admitting it is the first step to recovery.......I know, I admitted it in 2010!

2010? TWENTY TEN???

What about 2017 when YOUR refs cheated OnB's team and threw his coach outta the stadium? 

2010, SMH 

 

[jimmycrackedthatcorn]

12. Players need qualified coaches teaching them safety and technique not some podunk guy who works at a tire shop that thinks he is an expert.