Youth Football Online

The Promotion & Instruction of Youth Football
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The Promotion & Instruction of Youth Football
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Youth Football Online

Friday Night Tykes Season 2- (Episode 1) Coaches Recap

Friday Night Tykes Recap Episode 1

I want to make one thing clear the coaches shown on the show Friday Night Tykes do not represent the vast majority of youth football coaches across the United States.

Last season we had a lot to say about the show Friday Night Tykes as most of the coaching observed from the youth football documentary series was atrocious.  We confronted and debated with the show’s coaches via twitter about their unsafe, sometimes unruly practices. Specifically, we had an issue with the coach of the Jr. Broncos, Coach Charles, who is currently serving a suspension for his despicable antics where he encouraged helmet to helmet contact.

Out with the old, in with the new– the new Jr. Broncos coach- Joseph Onofre gets it. Coach Joe is not a daddy coach (no kid on the team) and he’s there because he passionate about teaching the sport to kids. According to his philosophy, having fun is priority. During the premier episode, coach immediately gets into the USA Football Heads Up program. ‘At the end of the day, no one cares about state titles, they care about the safety of their kid’. We could not agree more. You always want to compete and do everything to win, but it is always awesome to hear positive things from these coaches.

The Colts, runner ups in the championship game last season, are back to make another run at the title.  The coaches last year were in trouble (Spring suspension) for encouraging cursing amongst the kids. This season, Coach talked about how he needed to stop cursing so much and be a better man. Undoubtedly, he cares about his players, but he still used profanity around the kids. F-bombs wildly flew from him during his practices and games. Coaches are leaders and are to be examples for all of their players. There isn’t anything much worse than men cursing around 1o year old kids.

Here is something I have a real problem with- Colt’s coach said to his player “what the F is wrong with you?” in game, takes the kid out because he is over-snapping. That is not the way to encourage the kid. Ironically, it is probably the coaches fault for not  having the centers rep enough snaps during the practice week.  

Aside from the Jr Broncos practice, I did not see any proper tackling or blocking instruction whatsoever. TYFA, are you paying attention? Last year’s TYFA Champions, the Outlaws, were also featured on this premier episode. I heard Outlaw coaches saying keep your head up. Keep your head up! But I didn’t see further instruction. Once again,  I am seeing tackling drills that are operated too far apart. The drills have the kids line up 15 yards apart and run full speed into in a straight line. These drills do nothing but get kids hurt.

The Spartans are a new team now playing in the TYFA division 1. The Spartans have a head coach that is a military veteran that has served our country. He does do a stellar job of implementing a team first environment. I also like the fact that he did not run up the score and put the minimum play kids in. Every player got to play. In this, the second season of Friday Night Tykes, I do not see much improvement. Coaches are still in the old school “win at all costs” mindset. They are still executing drills that do nothing but get kids hurt. Coaches are cursing in front of 10-11 year olds. Share your thoughts on the premier episode of Friday Night Tykes in the comments below.

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