One of the most important aspects of any youth football team is the coaching staff. 

In most leagues, the head coach is responsible for selecting his coaching staff. It is absolutely critical that the head coach surrounds himself with quality coaches. It will be a long year for everyone involved if the coaching staff doesn’t get along. 

Selecting a coaching staff

I can’t stress enough how important it is for coaches to select the right coaching staff.

As a head coach, you must surround yourself with coaches that you can trust and coaches that have the best interest of the kids at heart. I recommend bringing in some coaches that do not have any kids on the team. I know that is difficult, but having all parent coaches isn’t always a good thing.

If there is any bias, the players, assistant coaches and the parents will sense it. When selecting a coaching staff, make sure you bring in high-energy coaches. Kids have short attention spans so it’s important that coaches are upbeat and enthusiastic. Kids respond very well to high-tempo and enthusiasm.  

It is also vital that you select coaches that understand the game of football. All coaching staffs need to be educated on how to tackle and block properly and strive to make the game better and safer for the players.

I would also recommend that you bring in a "junior coach". Every season we have a junior coach who plays at the local high school. Kids respond really well to the younger high school players.

If you want a quality football environment, you will need to surround yourself with quality football coaches. Just as you would for the players, set guidelines and expectations for the coaching staff.

Coaches' meetings

When developing your coaching staff it is important to have a couple of coaches meetings before the season gets underway.

All coaches need to be on the same page and they need to understand the scheme. Coaches should meet at least two or three times before the season begins. There should be a meeting that is focused on assigning coaching responsibilities. Every single coach on the coaching staff needs a defined role. Coaching staffs need structure. Coaches need to have a clear understanding of their assigned roles and they must be able to execute it well.

If you assign one of your assistants to coach the offensive line, then he needs to coach the offensive line. The offensive line coach should not worry about anything outside of his offensive line. During practice and games, each position coach needs to be focused entirely on their position.

During a game, your running back coach shouldn’t be going to the offensive coordinator or head coach complaining or giving suggestions about a position they aren’t responsible for. The key to youth football staff management is clearly defining roles and holding all coaches accountable for executing those duties. 

Jeff Hemhauser is the co-founder of YouthFootballOnline.