[More Cowbell]

I'm of the same opinion somewhat. My thoughts are:

1) TEACH THE BASICS OF FOOTBALL TO ALL THE PLAYERS FROM 3rd/4th GRADE ON.
2) Dont' settle on 11-15 players whom are your best and the heck with the rest of the team, develop 'em all, play 'em all
3) By junior high, they should have strong fundamentals and know base offense and defense of the high school program
4) Junior high starts seperating them a little based on talent, but not always, so keep playing as many as you can, try them on both sides of the ball and at different positions, coaches' job is to win, yes, but also put kids in best position to succeed and contribute
5) MAKE IT FUN while young and develop a camraderie. That's what happened with Pikeville's magical run in the 80's, those kids grew up playing together and having fun.
6) High school, junior high, and elementary/little league coaches should talk and pick each other's brains.

Which is exactly why you have to play 'em all and develop 'em all, not just a select few. I cringe every time I see the same 2 or 3 players in every game get 95% of the carries or catches. Just sets the program up for failure down the road. Nothing wrong with going to your playmakers in big situations, but gotta give others a chance to see how they react in pressure situations, etc.

Two good posts, I agree with you completely. :Thumbs:

I understand that football is a game and you play to win, but in the younger grades, teaching should be the first priority. Kids need to be learning and reinforcing the fundamentals of football, so that they can contribute when they get up to the high school team. Playing the same couple guys may help you win, but it certainly doesn't develop the other guys on the team very well.