Kick-Off Youth Football Special Teams

The kick-off in youth football can be a make it or break it special team. If you are not prepared for kick-off coverage, or receiving you can be in big trouble. Once again, the younger the players are the more simple you need to keep special teams.

Scouting becomes especially important, as you will want to see alignments and tendencies of your opponents. Many teams will only kick-off to a certain area or onside kick after a score, and by scouting the opponent, you will have an advantage.

The kick-off in youth football should be as boring an uneventful as possible. I truly live by making this special team as un-special as possible. You need to make sure not to kick the ball out of bounds (penalty), but also not to kick it to any dangerous return man. To solve this issue, I use a squib kick. I will turn the tee upside down, or not even use a tee, and teach the kick to boot the ball right in the middle. We try to get a good rotation, and aim for the second row of players. I do everything in my power to avoid a return, and many times this method gives the ball a strange bounce giving us an opportunity for the recovery.

The kick-off receiving team must be good at falling on the ball. We will review the scouting report for any trends, which include

 

The main objective is to not turn the ball over. I gave up the dream of kick-off returns for touchdowns many years ago.

When coaching youth football special teams, make sure that the team understands the importance of not being a hero, and the goal is to not turn the ball over.


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