I would like to thank all of the youth coaches who have made a positive impact on the lives of young people in our community in the past, today and in the future.  You are the first exposure they have into athletics and can make a major impact on our kids. Thank you for your time and effort.

I am happy to announce that this year we will begin playing flag football at the 3rd grade level with MVYF.  11 years ago I became a head football coach and have a vested interest in youth football.  My kids have been and are currently involved in youth sports.

Today more than ever parents and their kids are involved in youth activities.  I love the enthusiasm and the drive by those involved.  However, it has come to a point where all the involvement at the youth level is hurtng us more than helping us at the high school level.

In a recent report from MVYF coordinator we lose on average between 40 and 60 percent of the kids from 3rd grade to seniors in high school.  This is an alarming number to me.  Football is a sport where maximum participation is key to the success of the program.  Every young man I lose before junior high is a young man that could have helped us in some way.

The great thing about the sport of football is that we will have 33 starters every Friday night.  Football is the only sport that can say that.  Each player can and will make a major contribution to the program.  

When I first arrived at a recent school we had a 3rd and 4th grade flag football league and a 5th and 6th grade tackle football league.  The league was well ran with solid coaches at each level.  5 years into the program they wanted to switch the 3rd and 4th grade level to tackle.  They called and asked my opinion.  I was completely against this and told them I would not support it.  They said the kids were getting bored with flag football and went ahead and began the program.  Each year the number of players have gone down.

Here are the reasons why I would prefer flag football over tackle football at the 3rd and 4th grade level.

1. Recess- These kids are playing touch football all the time at recess and when they get home.  If they are bored of the activitiy this would not be taking place.

2.  Physical difference-The difference between the sizes of kids at the 3rd and 4th grade level is huge.  Some kids are growing like weeds at this age and some are still waiting for that growth spurt.  Kids who are still waiting to grow could be undersized and undermatched and could be hurt and or discouraged to play in the future because of a bad experience.  We want to eliminate these bad experiences.  Putting a helmet on this age group could be very troubling.  Some of these kids in my opinion have not developed the neck strength to wear a helmet and this increases the risk of neck and head injury.  I think of a bobble head doll when talking about underdeveloped neck strength.

3. Mental readiness- Some kids are physically ready to play the game at all levels, we must also look at there mental ability to play the game.  Are they ready for the grind of the game of football?  If they are playing flag this is not as big of an issue.

4. Partcipation- Participation is the key to this great sport.  Kids are more likely to stay out and continue to play the game if they are not getting banged up everyday in practice and in games.  

5. Participation part 2-  I have been coaching football for 20 years and have been involved in the sport my entire life.  I am still not smart enough to decide whether a kid at the 3rd grade level will be a super star or not and whether they will be a lineman, a back, or a receiver.  Playing flag football opens up the opportunity for kids to play multiple positions.  Big kids are not limited to just the line and small kids are not going to only play receiver.  They can play all of the positions.  And as they grow physically the positions they will play in high school will become a little clearer.  Let's not pigeon hole a kid at this age.  Give them time to grow!

6. Fundamentals-  This is important for the development of our players but not the most important thing.  Too often I have been to youth practices in the past and heard of coaches emphasize fundamentals and then spend all practice scrimmaging and/or conditioning.  This is not the way to go about teaching fundamentals. At the high school level we have a three part approach. 1. Individual- individual fundamentals 2. Part- A small group for implementing the fundamentals taught 3. Whole or group-  Putting it all together.  We spend a lot more time in the first two groups than we do scrimmaging.  The more individual time the kids have the better they will learn the fundamentals.  One day while at my son's practice a coach was screaming at him to get a block.  I had no problem with him demanding that my son get a block.  The problem was the previous 3 practices they never taught blocking.  We get what we emphasize.  If we want kids to become better blockers we have to teach them how to block.  Seems simple but it is not done often enough.

7. Excitement- The most important part of youth sports.  If they are not having fun they will not be back.  As coaches and parents we have to ensure these kids have a good experience.  Having fun does not mean goofing off.  Having fun means learning new things everyday.  Having fun is to practice with a purpose.  Having fun is being with your friends and classmates.  Having fun involves parents getting together and enjoying time with their sons and not living through their sons.  Having fun is seeing the eyes and the excitement on a kids face when he finally gets it.  Having fun is developing discipline.  Having fun is teaching sportsmanship.  Having fun is to see a child develop his own self-discipline.  Having fun is not about winning and losing, instead enjoying the journey and seeing progress as you go.

8. Exercise-  Youth football gives our kids a chance to get some exercise and learn life long lessons of exercise.  The problem with youth sports is that we spend too much time with conditioning.  Drills and practices ran well will have conditioning within the drill.  Tempo of practice will be enough.  Too often coaches condition at the end because that is what they were taught when they were players.  I believe I am old school in a lot of my approaches but running just to run is not that productive.  Let's face it a 3rd and 4th grader could run all day, they don't need conditioning but they do need exercise.

9.  It's still competition- Whether playing flag football or tackle football it is still competition.  The kids are being active and are having a good time.  So why not error on the side of caution and play flag instead of tackle?

After doing a lot of research, listening to other very successful coaches, I have decided to recommend to the MVYF program to have flag football for 3rd and 4th grade.  This is something I feel is the best thing for the kids and the best thing for our football program.  

It has been decided by the board to play 3rd grade flag football this year and to be playing 4th grade flag football during the 2016 season.  We may be one of the first programs to make the change but wait and see we won't be the last.  The trend is going this way, in fact as far as I am concerned, it is the only way.

I feel that if we can get them to high school, and put great coaches and great men around them, that I have a chance to make them into better football players, better men, better fathers, and better husbands.  And hopefully along the way develop memories that will last a lifetime.

As the head football coach of Mount Vernon high school I believe this is a move in the right direction for our kids and our programs.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this please feel free to give me a call at (319) 895-6254319- or email me at lpedersen@mountvernon.k12.ia.us.

Check out MountVernonFootball.com for the latest football news.

Coach Pedersen

Head Football Coach Mount Vernon Mustangs