Characteristics of a Good Youth Football Coach?

Read the article again, this time slower. No where does it mention "coaching for fun" or say that coaching to win is a bad thing. It's a good thing, after all nobody likes to loose. It's "winning at all costs" that's the problem.

"For the first seven years I coached, I ran the most boring, non-fun football on the planet. Yet in those 7 years I made the playoffs 6 times and the league championship 5 times. In year eight I decided to coach "fun" football and got my butt kicked big time. I mean I got pasted. That's when I learned something about myself. I DON'T LIKE TO LOSE. I'm guilty of the charge. It's because I don't like to lose that I invented the DC-46. But I still wanted the kids to have fun and so I invented the DC Wing T which, IMO, ranks as one of the most "fun" offenses available. It also took me YEARS to develop it and those were LOSING years and not WINNING years. Statistically speaking, I see about one in forty coaches who coach "fun", win. But about 8 in 40 coaches who have no concern at all about "fun", will WIN. This tells me that if you want to coach FUN and still WIN, you need to put in 8 times the effort (Which is what I had to do) or, otherwise, find idiots for opponents."

Not for us adults eh?

"I DON'T LIKE TO LOSE."

See above comment.

"Statistically speaking, I see about one in forty coaches who coach "fun", win. But about 8 in 40 coaches who have no concern at all about "fun", will WIN. This tells me that if you want to coach FUN and still WIN, you need to put in 8 times the effort (Which is what I had to do) or, otherwise, find idiots for opponents."

Where did you get those statistics? I'd like to see that.

"If you coach "for fun", odds are you will lose."

Who said anything about coaching for fun?
What exactly is "coaching for fun" anyway? Playing football is fun.

"Here I disagree. This only works if I give good football instruction and my opponents don't."

Obviously you can't win them all and there are other factors involved, but the great thing about football is a team with good fundamentals can beat a more talented team with poor fundamentals in many cases. The point is, instruction is a component that you as the coach have some control over. So "knowing that winning is a direct result of good football instruction" is the correct approach.

"And the game is for the kids, not us adults."

Not really sure where that came from. Why, do adults try to run on the field and play where you coach? Perhaps you should keep them off the sidelines during games. ;)

coachd