How to Coach High School Football

The popularity of high school football is a testament to the talents of young football players. These players possess physical prowess that allows them to make improbable plays look ordinary. In order to coach high school football, you need to understand how to cultivate this raw athleticism into useful football skills.

Things You'll Need

  • Tackling dummies
  • Blocking sled
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Instructions

  1. Teach Young Players the Fundamentals of Football

    • 1

      Test high school football players for strength and speed before tryouts. The standard testing tools for physical prowess in football are the 40-yard dash and the bench press. You can use the results to determine potential positions for each player.

    • 2

      Use tackling dummies and blocking sleds to determine the skill level of high school football players. Before you coach your final roster, you need to find athletes who are willing to hit hard and endure 60 minutes of physical contact. Every player should be asked to tackle a dummy and hit the tackling sled to assess areas of weakness.

    • 3

      Set up an annual exhibition with a local school before your season begins. After 2 weeks of daily practices and scrimmages, your players need to play against another team. You should look to teams outside of your conference that are within an hour's drive of your school.

    • 4

      Reinforce proper technique and adherence to football rules by punishing the entire team for individual errors. Football is a team game, and sprints or push-ups for the entire team can help you to coach players on the group discipline needed during a game.

    • 5

      Scout out the next week's opponent to implement the correct game plan. Many high school football teams use unique offenses, like the option, the spread or the wishbone to accentuate the available talent. You should send an assistant to these games because they may be scheduled at the same time as your games.

    • 6

      Expand your high school football program by searching for creative funding sources. If your school is small, you may need to approach college or professional teams for donations of equipment to get your team out on the field. The National Football League's Grassroots program, at NFLHS.com, provides funding to small and disadvantaged schools, helping to supply student athletes with the proper football gear (see Resources below).