Articles on coaching football by John T. Reed

Articles on youth football OFFENSE:

• What is the main key to youth-football offense?
• What blocking works best in youth football?

• John T. Reed's comments on different youth-football offenses
• John T. Reed's comments on various youth football offensive plays
• John T. Reed’ comments on the youth-freshman-J.V. passing game

• The Single-Wing offense
• The Double-Wing offense
• The sweep play in youth football
• The San Ramon Valley T-Bird "Crunch" series
• Reader Comments and success stories
• Return of the drop kick
• Be more hash-conscious
• Get clock management reps with video games

Articles on youth football DEFENSE:

• What are the main keys to youth-football defense?
• John T. Reed's comments on different youth-football defenses
• Should you use man or zone pass coverage?

• The gap-8 and 10-1 defenses
• Myths about the gap-air-mirror defense
• The gap-8i and 10-1i defenses for youth leagues that prohibit gap alignment
• Stopping the off-tackle play in the gap-air-mirror defense
• The sweep play in youth football
• Analysis of one team's 7-3-1 defense
• Defending against the shotgun
• Reader comments and success stories

• The "off-tackle" kickoff return
• The outlawing of the A-11 offense starting in 2009
• How football can get you into college without a scholarship
• Dictionary of American football terminology
• Suggestions for turning around the Army football team
• Coaching jobs John T. Reed would be willing to take

• Clock management mistakes in the 2008 Super Bowl
• Clock management mistakes in the 2006 Super Bowl
• Why no football player older than 12 should ever punt except as a quick kick
• Rules that are not enforced
• Preventing exertional heat illness
• Coaching various age groups
• What are the most common mistakes youth football coaches make? 
• Should your youth football team use the same offense and defense as your local high school?
• Help your high-school football team with a youth feeder program.
• What drills should youth football coaches use?
• How coaches are misinterpretting my books
• Troubleshooting your team
• Grade each player at least one play per game
• Differences between youth football and higher levels
• Coaching is parenting
• What to do with extremely weak youth-football players
• What size youth coaching staff is best?
• All youth sports drafts should be blind
• Rules that youth football programs should use
• Observations about youth games watched in December, 1999
• Rookie coaches
• Comments by John T. Reed on football coaching books, articles, clinics, and videos produced by other authors
• Can you top this?
• Who are the best youth coaches in the world?
• Ideas from other coaches
• Embezzlement by youth football leaders
• Why I don’t offer coaching videos
• Where are they now?
• What equipment should youth football teams buy?
• Book review: Season for Life
• Lessons learned from going through college football recruiting
• What’s the best sport for the small child? Would you believe youth football?
• First-time football parent introduction to football injuries
• The nature of football
• Position assignments and playing time
• Observations at some youth football games

1. If it was not already tested and proven by me and/or other coaches, I generally would not have put it in the book to begin with.
2. There are many testimonials at my Web site from coaches who implemented what I advocated and had success. Many of those testimonials tell of coaches who originally thought something wouldn’t work, then changed their minds as the season wore on.
3. The notion that youth coaches with little or no training in coaching football are qualified to critique, on the basis of theory alone, no on-field experience with the technique in question, is a bit nutty. If an experiened high school or higher level coach asked me such a question, I would be glad to take his call. Generally, they do not because they can see that it might work.
4. If you implement what I advocate and find that it is not working, THEN, I will be glad to talk to you about it and how to correct the problem. In other words, I give free “tech support” on my coaching books. But you must first implement it exactly as I told you in my books before you call.
5. 95 times out of 100, those who thought it would not work in theory will find that it did work in practice and they will never make the call for “tech support.”

Thanks, John T. Reed