6’2" at 13…you’re not going to want to hear this but…
You need to sit him down infront of a Tom Brady reel and make him watch it until his hair is as long as Tom’s.
Seriously though, get him to play as many skill positions as possible. Let him decide what he likes best…with of course guidance. People might say keep him at one position so he gets really good at it, or keep him on one side of the ball, but if the kid can get a chance to play all the skills (QB,RB,WR,DB,SAFETY,AND LINEBACKER) then he will have a better chance at understanding the whole game.
Also someone up top mentioned getting him into football camps. This is a great idea, but one piece of advice don’t get caught up in the high profile professional athlete camps. There are a lot of good college camps that have good scouts, trainers, and coaches that will teach the kid better fundabmentals and help him work on his skills. My experience with the pro athlete camps is that people get enamored with the athlete running the camp and 1.Don’t worry as much about what they’re getting out of it, and 2. It brings in a shitload more of useless players because they just want to see their favorite athlete or whatnot.
And never make it seem like he’s playing for you…I played football from grade school all the way through my soph year at college, and you wouldn’t believe the many of promising players that gave up because it became a chor for them to play.
Teach him to regularly do prolonged ankle rolls. And teach him how to fall, plant, and dive. Make sure he always keeps his head up.
The ankle rolls will help keep his legs fresher as he plays, I think 5 or 10 mins of continuous contractions (its kinda isometric because you only rotate the ankle, so you should get a pump)
Falling, planting, and diving are essential and all go together. Repetition is the father of learning.
Head up, head on a swivel, awareness, that’s how you hang onto your sanity.
[quote]Jeffro_88 wrote:
Whatever position your son decides to play, have a catch with him every day. He should be comfortable holding and securing a football.
Makes for a good time to talk about shit too. Ask how he’s doing with the girls, what he wants to do in life, how school is going…makes for good times. I did this with my father growing up, for hours on end, and they are some of my fondest memories of him.
It’s a good way to unwind in general. I toss a football around with my brother at least twice a week.[/quote]
So true bud, my son and I still do this, even in winter if it’s not too shitty outside. We’ve worked out alot of stuff over the years tossing a football around as well. A few years ago one of my neighbors had some relatives in town. My son and I were out front throwing the football around and the guy walks up to us and say’s “treasure these moments, my son and I don’t do this anymore, don’t take it for granted” kind of thing and go’s on his merry way( he was drunk lol) but he had a catch in his throught that’s for sure.
Sounds like a cheesy moment in a movie but it feels good, like you know what you’re doing as a parent…sometimes lol.
AC, the biggest influence of my football career is my old man. Why? Because he is always, always, there for me and team. Be it mixing the Gatorade, peeling the oranges, washing the jumpers. Whatever it was for me and team he there to help out in what ever way possible.
Leave the teaching to the coaches, just be there for your son. Volunteer your time to helping out as best you can.
Most of football is learning how to quickly read the situation. At the level he will play at linemen will always give away what they are going to do. If its a running play, there will be more pressure on the hands, pass there will be none. Football can be a very mental game, most playing at high school level are dumb jocks, however a smart player can easily make a killing.
