Youth Football Communication at The LOS


By FirstDown PlayBook on Apr 17, 2021

Your youth football communication and the lack of it can make or destroy a lot of things over time. Communicating is hard. When you do it while in a three point stance and sweat is running down your nose it’s even harder.

It is your job as a youth football coach to teach and demand communication with your players. Today we want to give you three things that can help you get that done. Also, before we get started it is important to note that we are talking to defensive coaches too! Here are three tips to help your communication on offense and defense

1. Repeat Your Calls At The Line of Scrimmage

Make your players repeat the calls that they hear at the line of scrimmage. This will help insure that your players are on the same page. If your tackle makes a “Tug” call then your guard needs to repeat that call. This will help your players play error free and it will also allow them to play full speed with confidence.

2. Keep Your Calls To 2 Syllables or Less

Make sure your calls are one or two syllables. Less is more when it comes to making calls. If one of your calls is “Cincinnati then a better call would be “Akron” and an even better call would be “Kent”.

If your calls are big long words then you are asking for mis-communication and that leads to trouble. This is when you get two defenders in the same gap on defense. It can also lead to your running backs heading the wrong direction on pass protection.

3. Make Sure Your Calls Do Not Sound The Same

Finally make sure your calls do not sound the same. As cool as the two words “Ringo” and “Reno” might sound, they are too similar. They might mean completely different things that can lead to confusion. Once again, put yourself in the heat of the moment when you decide what your calls will be.

You have to remember that the defense is coached too. There will be multiple fronts to consider and your calls should allow quick and clear communication. These three tips are a good head start towards accomplishing that.

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