Explanation and Outline of Junior Player Development

 Player Development Building the Feeder System to High School Football

As a first step in rebuilding youth tackle football as an effective feeder system for high school, Junior Player Development has been successful in assisting amateur and high school programs recruit new players.

Concept:

A readapted youth tackle football instructional and developmental playing method for youths aged 11-14.  Every participant will receive a full range of training in a number of positions, in order to receive a full experience and understanding of the game.

NFL/Football Canada Junior Player Development Instructional & Competitive Concept Outline

All basic fundamentals, such as tackling and blocking, are taught and reviewed every practice under the philosophy that fundamentals are best taught through a progression of “crawling, walking, jogging and then running”.  Fundamentals of form tackling and the six point progression of blocking are first introduced six inches apart and slowly separated by distance to provide proper instruction and a comfort level for all participants to learn under a structured and controlled environment

• All practices are broken into instructional segments lasting no more than 15 minutes.  The particular assigned position of the day is taught in an upbeat tempo that holds a child’s interest throughout the entire practice.
• Every practice ends with a review of skills and a competition pitting two adjacent teams on the field that have learned complimentary positions through one on one individual competition, based on weight.  This emphasizes the skills learned that day.
• The objective of competitive play will focus on execution of basic skills learned, not necessarily the end result of a play.  Participants compete for points awarded by a referee for proper set up, stance, and proper execution of the skill learned that day in a controlled, structured environment.
• The head coach applies the incorporation of life skill messages throughout all on-field skill training.  Coaches follow a specifically designed curriculum created by a sports psychologist.  Each week a different life skill is integrated throughout the on-field curriculum.

Why was the NFL/Football Canada Junior Player Development Program started?

• To develop a template for high school football programs to incorporate into their communities to provide additional access to youth tackle football through proper and structured skill instruction and competition.
• To provide a youth coach’s development program that provides 30+ hours of practical training in how to properly teach all the games fundamentals, and how to creatively and effectively apply life skill messages
• To provide youths, ages 11-14, as they plan their future high school interscholastic activities, the proper instructional and competitive introduction to full contact football

TACKLE FOOTBALL

Tackle Football in Canada can trace its roots to the early 1860s. The first documented football game was played at the University of Toronto on the present site of University College (400 yards west of Queen's Park) on November 9, 1861.

Canada can legitimately claim to be a founder of the game of football which is currently played in North America and now around the world.

This great game has now expanded to over 50 countries on 6 continents.  The first national Football federation outside of North America was in Japan, 1936 and then followed by Europe in 1976. Since then the sport has experienced a significant expansion with the founding of the European Federation of American Football (1996) followed by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). Football Canada, in 2004, became a full member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), which is a full member with the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

Currently, 45 associations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania are organized in the IFAF.