Five Ways To Ensure A Solid Foundation For Your Junior High Program

By Bill Shepard, Assistant Coach, Durand High School (IL) and Darin Davis, Assistant Coach, Dakota High School (IL) If a head coach at the high school level wants to achieve success then he needs to invest time in his junior high program. We believe that there are five essential ingredients that help lay a solid foundation for a football program at the junior high level. It may take time to get all of the ingredients in place but the effects on the high school are immense. 1. Emphasis should be more on fundamentals and less on winning. This doesn’t mean that winning isn’t important, but taking the raw talent and adding solid fundamentals can make players more productive and winning will take care of itself. Drills and game experience will help players to develop the skills necessary to enjoy the game and maintain proper technique. Understanding and performing proper