When my son Bradley stepped onto a football field for the first time at the age of four, it would not be a stretch to say that he had a bit of an edge over some of the other kids. Given my job as a sports reporter and my wife Sheryl’s love for football, Bradley was exposed to the sport at a very young age...like as soon as he was born. He knew the basic object of the game, but just like all of the other kids you have to have a starting point when it comes to learning about football.

As outlined in USA Football’s Football Development Model, getting everyone on the same page at the very beginning is part of the Physical Literacy & Skill Development pillar of focus.  A sport like baseball begins with tee ball and then the coaches soft-tossing the ball to the batter. In football, you’re not teaching the 3-4 defense or the shotgun on day one. It has to start with the basics and that really means keeping things simple.

When Bradley started playing football, he was in what our local program called “Peanut Football.” It was four teams of kids in our community playing scrimmages each week using the simplest of terminology. In fact, Bradley’s coach gave each child a red wristband for the left wrist and a white wristband for the right wrist because not every kid knew right from left. If the coach wanted to run the ball to the left, the play in the huddle was “run red.” If the run had to go to the right, the play was “run white.”

It’s with really basic stuff that a child’s football journey should begin with.  Football can, at times, feature some complicated terminology, so it’s best to find a program for your child to start out in one that has a developmental level to introduce your son or daughter to the sport. From there, a child moves up to higher levels like travel teams that play against teams from other communities. Our program played in a league where a child played two years at a level before moving up to the next rung on the ladder. 

Once the child learns the basics in developmental football, they should be ready to take the next step and understand the game better. As the levels increase, a passing game is added and then kicking and punting. On the defensive side of the ball, players can pick up different things like blitzes and zone defense as they get older. These complex aspects of the game should not be introduced that early. Football is a process that has to managed carefully.

The key is to understand this process and find a youth football program that will guide your child through each level of football appropriately. You have to “run red” or “white” before you can run left or right. You have to lineup defensively where the coach basically plants you before you know when you can do it yourself.  You also have to go for it on a fourth-down before there’s a child in town that can kick the ball.

Football is a great game, but the lessons come one step at a time. 

Peter is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network and WFAN Radio in New York.  His son Bradley is entering his first year of high school football and is a participant in the U.S. National Team program while his younger son Jared plays flag football.   Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field.