My son's Football Practice

Watching my son's football practice was so amazing to me. He is 5 and this is his first time playing. He has been involved in soccer and Karate, but this is the first team sport I have seen him show so much excitement for. The kids are all so tiny, of course from a mom's view. They are all little sponges, looking to their coaches to show them the way. The coaches are patient and work with their ages. I did notice that the coaches were trying to get to know the kids by watching them. They observed the kids actions as they went through different drills, seeming like they were watching for strengths and weaknesses. After a child would do a drill and get it wrong, the coaches encourage him to get back in line to try again. When a child got it right, out side of their own congratulatory dances and excitement, the coaches patted the boys on the back and clapped but not too much as to encourage the next child to try as well. My son jumped up and down for about a minute after a passing drill where he was quarterback. LOL! It was a nice balance. Motivation is vital for this age, it would seem, as well as knowing the players. With children that young, it is easy to break their spirits or make the kids feel like they are not good enough, but the coaches experience with the age group must make them very aware of how to handle these little ones. The older kids were not as lucky. The coaches were harder on them, expecting them to do and know certain things. The push on these kids were harder, but I could still identify that the coaches knew their players. One kid didn't get it and he was told to come on a little harsher than the other child may have been. This kid responded well to it and did the drill perfectly the next time. The child that needed more coddling was pulled to the side to work with another coach to get it right. I think at the age level these kids are, beginner and ones that played before, the key is knowing the type of player you have and how they respond to different types of motivation.