My twins (10) love watching football and said they wanted to maybe start playing flag football this year. Before we threw them into an actual team, we figured we’d have them do a “beginner” camp to learn some basics. So we registered them for this camp at Sport City in Draper.
They’re currently on week 3 of 6 and the only thing they’ve done is…run. Literally, that’s it. They do a few different variations of cone or ladder drills (run forward, run backward, cut laterally, etc.) but so far the entire camp consists of putting 20 kids in a big line, and having them run one by one through a 10 second running drill. Repeat for an hour.
Both boys were super excited to start football, but are now bored to tears. And honestly, I don’t blame them. I get that quick movements are part of the game, but maybe let them do something fun to keep them interested or get them excited??
It’d be one thing if the two coaches were actually coaching them, demonstrating technique, or literally doing anything other than just standing and blowing the whistle for the next kid to go. Frankly, I’m a little annoyed that I paid for this (X2).
I never played football, so its entirely possible that’s just what youth football camps are all about. Maybe someone who has played or coached can let me know.
By now they at least should have been learning stance and start, and ball handling skills. Ball handling skills like how to give and receive a handoff, pitching the ball, passing the ball, and catching the ball (e.g. thumbs in when it’s coming right at you, thumbs out when it’s over your shoulder). Also, in the “running” part, they should be learning at least elementary pass patterns (down and out, hook and go, crossing patterns, etc). In addition, I would think they would teach what various positions do.
From your descriptions, it sounds like these guys are just collecting money.
Maybe sign them up for Ute Conference football. It’s full contact, but it can be fun. If they are 10, and they want to play, I would suggest having them play now rather than wait until they are older. I hear parents say things like, “I want to wait until he’s 12 or 13 so he won’t get hurt”. Wrong. They are far less likely to get hurt the younger they are.
I take a huge interest in training and coaching philosophy. The best teams and players have always come from a coaching/training emphasis on actually playing the game. Obviously, there needs to be base of the basics of the game. That base can be built upon over time. But the majority of the training should focus on playing the game - sport specificity training put into practice.
Sorry you and your kids have had to endure something that as far as it appears has just taken your money - disappointing and frustrating.