By Coach Tom Bass

Is There Going to be Great Competition?

Every time you move up the ladder in football, the level of competition will increase. This is something that is a natural part of our game and it should not be something that concerns you.

If this is your first year playing organized football, you may find that you are behind players that have played on youth teams. They may seem much more comfortable with their equipment, have an understanding of how the practice is going and may even have developed skills that you are just being exposed to for the first time by your coaches.

They may be ahead of you initially, but with hard work in practice and study off the field, you will find that you are catching up and are even passing some of these experienced players. The key for you is to stay positive, listen intently, ask questions and learn what your coaches are teaching you as soon as you can. If you are unsure of a technique or an assignment, make sure that you visit with your coaches before or after practice and get it straightened out immediately.

If you are a player who has played in a youth program, you need to expect greater competition for your position. The plays will be more complex, the techniques more sophisticated and the skill level of your teammates much greater than you faced on your youth team.

Regardless of your background, the one thing to try to remember is you have to compete against yourself. For every practice, your goal should always be to improve as a player and to know when you walk off the field that you have done everything that you can to be a better player than when you took the field.

Every year the competition level will increase. Fewer players will make high school teams than played youth football mainly because there are fewer teams. Less than 2 % of all high school players will go on to play in college, again fewer teams and better players. Less than 1 % of all college players will go on to play in the pros.

Accept and embrace the fact that at each level the challenge of competition for positions on the team will increase, accept this fact and do not fear it. Do your best and try to really enjoy the experience of playing one of the greatest sports played in the USA.

How to Handle Contact and Playing Bigger Players?

Going out for football may cause you apprehension when it comes to contact.

This is a very normal feeling and is not something to worry about. Every player, when he puts on his equipment and walks on the practice field for the first time, has had the very same feeling.

When I first started playing football in the 9th grade in Pennsylvania, I had the very same feeling. I was trying out for a HB position on the freshman team. The feeling really increased when the coaches told me after a few practices that I was being moved up to the varsity team. The players on the varsity seemed huge to me.

The coaches then told me they wanted me to learn to return punts and kickoffs. I was fast and soon found that I had success as a return man. What many people did not understand was that I ran the way I did because I was afraid of being hit by the guys coming down on the coverage team.

After I learned the skills needed to be a good return man and experienced getting hit a few times, the fear left me and I was able to concentrate on doing my job. This is the very same thing that will happen to you.

As you learn how to tackle and block properly, as you experience making a hit and being hit, you will find that any fear you may have brought onto the field will slowly disappear.

Every player who has ever played the game has faced someone who is bigger than him. What you have to do is use your speed and agility to offset the opponent's size. You will develop techniques that will allow you to go around bigger players and learn how to make them miss. You will learn to tackle bigger players below the knees where their size is really not an advantage. You will experience the feeling of hitting with more power than your slower and bigger opponent.

When this first year is over, you will know what it is like to face your fears and to prove to yourself that you can do the job needed to play the game. I really hope that all of you have fun as you learn how to play the game of football. I know that the experience really changed my life and gave me the ability to face adversity, competition and the many challenges that the game brings to everyone of us.

Remember to stay positive, enjoy the moment and keep in mind that every player has experienced walking on to the practice field for that very first practice of a new football season. Good luck to every one of you as you begin your football career.

Copyright © Thomas L. Bass 2006. All rights reserved.