1.Lessons Provide Repetition to Enhance Skills and Teach Rules and Strategies

Football

Unit Overview

1.Lessons provide repetition to enhance skills and teach rules and strategies.

2.Teach throwing (grip, stance, arm motion, follow-through) and catching (hand position, eye contact, footwork) from a stationary position and the applicable rules (completed pass, pass interference).

3.Teach football patterns, how to throw ahead of the player, and how to catch on the move (hook, square right and left, post, etc.).

4.Teach offensive optionsquarterback sneak, handoffas well as pass plays and applicable rules.

5.Teach defensive skillshow to legally use flags, break up pass plays, block, and stop the ball-carrying runner.

6.Teach football terminology: line of scrimmage, downs, fumble, rushing the quarterback, dead/downed ball

7.Introduce the strategies appropriate to the skill when the skill is being practiced.

8.Once the games are ready to begin, introduce whatever rules were not introduced during skills lessons. The following should be included: onsides/offsides, how to keep possession, the boundaries, scoring

9.Teach the common penalties for rules violations so students can assist in the games of others or monitor their own games:

 Holdingoffensive/defensive10 yards

 Pass interferencean automatic completed pass

 Unnecessary roughnessdisqualification

 Illegal belts15 yards and loss of down (disqualification)

 Flag guarding10 yards

 Offsides10 yards

1. Teach fundamental game strategies for offense and for defense.

Football

History

Football began when ancient Greeks played harpaston, in which they tried to move a ball across a goal line. England adapted harpaston into a more modern version of football, which it later split into two sports: rugby and football (American soccer). Then, in 1869, the first intercollegiate football game was played, when Rutgers and Princeton played each other. Twenty-six years later, the first professional game was played. Finally, in 1922, the National Football League began.

Fun Facts

John W. Heisman legalized the forward pass in 1906.

The San Francisco 49ers made the “Shotgun” formation popular in 1960.

Super Bowl I was won by the Green Bay Packers in 1967.

The University of Michigan’s football stadium holds more than 100,000 fans.

Today’s Super Bowl reaches an estimated 750 million viewers around the world.

Benefits of Playing

1.Playing football involves a lot of teamwork.

2.There are many different positions that you can play.

3.Depending on the position, football can give you a good workout.

4.You can play many types of footballtouch, flag, and tackle.

5. Football is a lot of fun!

Time to Surf!

Web SiteWeb Site Address

National Football League

Canadian Football League

National Collegiate Athletic Association

Football Unit Extension Project

Name ______

Class #______

Equipment needed to play flag/touch football

ItemWhere you would purchase it (be specific)Cost

Where you would play flag/touch football

Please explain where in the community you would play flag/touch football. Be specific.

Health benefit of playing flag/touch football

Please explain the health benefits of playing flag/touch football. Include how much badminton you would need to play each week to gain these benefits.

Reflection question

Do you think flag or touch football is an activity you would like to play as an adult? Why or why not? If you would like to play, would you rather play in an organized game in a recreation league or just in pick-up games at the park or in your backyard? Why?

Football Teaching Tips

1.Allow sufficient noncompetitive practice time with equipment for students to learn and improve skills without additional performance pressure.

2.Use as much football footwork, specific skill, and terminology as possible during the warm-up phase of the lesson.

3.After several lessons, when you have a feel for the depth of skill of the class, divide it up into equal teams, no more than five or six players per team. Do it on the basis of skill, gender, speed, and prior experience. Encourage working together as a unit. Promote leadership, feelings of belonging, and feelings of being needed.

4.Develop a short tournament that involves all students. Assign each to a team. Give the jobs of officiating, marking the ball, or keeping score to those unable to participate in the regular program.

5.Students clearly will have different amounts of experience with football. Advanced football athletes should be encouraged to help others and to improve their own skills while following class instructions. Those with prior experience should be looking to improve consistency, accuracy, distance, time, and speed.

6.Every effort should be made to assure students that improvement is what is valued, not a predisposition to be a great football player or great athlete.

7.If students are unable to fully participate in class activities, remember that they can be involved by coaching, officiating, keeping score, or conducting a research project.

Unit Setup

Facility

A large space, unencumbered by obstruction, permitting movement 30 yards forward and 10 yards right and left, without running into a wall, a person, or temporary obstructions

Clearly set boundaries for each simultaneous game

Equipment

One football for every two students

One belt for every student and a set of matching flags for every teammate

Two complete sets of flags of different colors for teams to identify themselves

A visual aid and writing implements

Paper for each student

Round-robin tournament schedules and charts

Cones

Unit Timeline

There are three units in this chapter, one for each experience level. There are 12 to 16 lessons for the beginner groups:

6 lessons to develop skill competency in fundamentals and the basic game concept

6 to 10 lessons to compete so they can use the fundamentals in a challenging way

There are 11 lessons in this chapter for students at an intermediate level of play:

4 lessons to review skills, terminology, rules, and elementary football strategy

1 lesson to organize teams for the tournament

6 lessons for a small class tournament

There are 8 lessons for advanced groups that have mastered the basics of the game and its rules:

1 lesson for review, organization, and warming up skills previously learned

1 lesson to meet new teammates and set up starting strategies and responsibilities

6 lessons for a small class tournament

Unit Assessment

A student portfolio checklist is provided here for student use (table 12.1). Encourage students to track their progress as they master new skills. Students will conclude the unit with a written test. Their performance will be assessed on the basis of the performance rubric included at the end of their unit.

Additional Resources

American Football Coaches Association. 1995. Football Coaching Strategies. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

American Sports Education Program. 1996. Coaching Youth Football. Champaign, IL.: Human Kinetics.

Flores, Tom, and Bob O’Connor. 1993. Coaching Football.Indianapolis, IN: Masters Press.

Football Student Portfolio Checklist

Student name______

Is able to throw a football to a person 10 yards away

Is able to catch a football thrown from 10 yards away

Can run one football pattern of the following: hook, square out, square in

Understands the goal of the team in possession of the ball

Understands the goal of the team without the ball

Understands basic football terminology

Understands what offensive contribution can be made by offensive players without the ball

Knows how and can attempt to disrupt the successful play of opponents

Is able to follow basic flag football rules

Is able to exhibit good sporting behavior

Can play without endangering the safety of others

Football Lesson 1
Beginner level

Lesson Setup

Facility

Large, clear space for the entire class to move freely in

Equipment

One football for every two students

Performance Goal

Students will learn how to hold, throw, and catch a football.

Cognitive Goals

Students will learn

how to handle the peculiar shape of a football,

how to throw with reduced wind resistance,

how to direct it where they want it to go, and

what a completed pass is and why it is important.

Lesson Safety

Have practice groups separated by a minimum of five yards per group with a ball.

Throwing and running should take place in the same line of direction.

Warm-Up

Students will

1.Jog around the playing area

2.Practice football throwing mimetics: grip, wrist snap, elbow-level and arm follow-through, shoulder rotation, stepping forward

3.Practice football catching mimetics: lining up behind the path of the ball, the hand position, watching the ball into hands, pulling the ball into body

4.Perform stretches, with particular attention to the shoulder joint

Motivation

American football is different from international games that are called football. What we call soccer is the international game of football. Ask your students how many of them play international football/soccer. Suggest they see if they can learn to enjoy American football. Some people who watch it on TV may think it is just a brutal game of contact. But actually, in this class they are going to play with no contact at all. You will teach them how to stop players with no contact. But first, they’ll begin learning how to throw and catch a football. It is different than throwing anything else because of its shape.

Lesson Sequence

1.Demonstrate a proper football throw. Emphasize stepping forward and the follow-through.

2.Have students get a partner and practice throwing back and forth, as shown in figure 12.1. Emphasize a spiral and reaching the partner “in the numbers.” Begin at close distances, separating partners as students seem proficient in their throws at close distances.

3.Emphasize the catch:

Teach the rules about completed passes.

Teach that to progress to the end zone and score using passes, those passes must be caught.

4.Make a practice contest so students do not get bored while developing skills. Change the goals of the contest to maintain interest. Some examples:

Who can catch 10 passes first?

If you run 10 yards from the thrower before turning to catch the pass are you still able to catch it?

If you move forward each time your partner and you have a completed pass, which partnership can move the farthest down the field after four throws? (See figure 12.2, which shows the progress of four different groups attempting four passes.)

Which group can get to the opposite side of the field first?

Separate partners by five yards to practice throwing and catching.

Advancing the ball by passing.

Review

Ask students how their fingers should be lined up on the ball.

Ask who can show the class a proper follow-through.

Discuss why stepping forward on the opposite foot is so important.

Review what a completed pass is.

Discuss why a completed pass is important.

Assessment

Observe each player throwing and catching, coaching students throughout the lesson. If students are able to reach each other at five yards, they can move on to the next lesson.

Football Lesson 2
Beginner level

Performance Goals

Students will

be able to throw from 5 yards and 10 yards to a stationary partner;

catch while stationary; and

run, catch, and throw to someone running a hook pattern.

Cognitive Goals

Students will

become more confident in their accuracy and ability to catch a football, and

learn a hook pattern.

Warm-Up

Students will

1.Play catch with a friendallow 10 minutes for this today, making sure to coach and seeking out students having difficulty

2.Practice football throwing mimetics: grip, wrist snap, elbow-level and arm follow-through, shoulder rotation, stepping forward

3.Practice catching a football: lining up behind the path of the ball, the hand position, watching the ball into hands, pulling the ball into body

4.Complete large-body agility movements:

Respond to teacher instruction

Respond to directional calls

Plant the foot before a sharp turn

5.Perform stretches

Motivation

Since no one stands still to catch a football (why is that?), in this lesson, students are going to learn how to throw to someone running away from them and to catch while on the run. They’ll learn their first football pattern: the hook.

Lesson Sequence

1.Demonstrate running the hook pattern so that students see how it looks.

2.Emphasize running with the back to the quarterback and then planting the forward foot to turn. Tell students to:

Watch the ball into their hands

Realize that the quarterback must anticipate the need to throw the ball fewer than five yards

1. Have students alternate throwing and receiving. Proceed from five yards first. After a minimum of three successes at five yards, have the students increase the running distance and throwing distance. See figure 12.3 for how the setup can be arranged: the diagram shows the second in line being the quarterback, the first going out for the pass, and the last waiting his turn to become quarterback.

Hook pattern path of 5 yards.

4.After some practice, stop the class to emphasize the need for:

running straight forward without looking at the ball,

turning on a dime,

running back to the ball, and

completing the catch.

5.Assist students whose needs are more individual.

6.Make a practice contest so students do not get bored or drop from exhaustion. Change goals to maintain interest; for example, group two pairs together (teams of four):

One quarterback throws five yards for completions to each of the three players running hook patterns, then becomes the first receiver for the next quarterback, who also throws to everyone on the team. When everyone has been quarterback, and every quarterback has thrown to every receiver, the team is done. Find out who gets done first.

See who can move the line of scrimmage the farthest in four plays.

Ask students if they can catch the ball if they run a 10-yard hook.

Find out what quarterback and receiver can complete at 15 yards.

Ask which group can get to the opposite side of the field first.

Review

Ask the class what makes the hook pattern different from players throwing to someone standing in front of them.

Ask why they should learn how to throw to someone who is moving.

Review what the receiver should concentrate on while running the pattern.

Discuss what the receiver should concentrate on while trying to catch the ball.

Ask what the quarterback needs to do differently.

Assessment

Observe each student, coaching throughout the lesson. Students need to hold on to their catches at 5 and 10 yards and have the stamina to run the plays. More work will be done on this in the next lesson.

Football Lesson 3
Beginner level

Performance Goal

Students will be able to throw from 5 yards and 10 yards to a partner on the run.

Cognitive Goals

Students will

learn to run a squared pattern,

improve their confidence in throwing and catching, and

improve their confidence in running a hook pattern.

Lesson Safety

Before beginning the square left and right patterns and practice, remind students of their left and right. This will avoid collisions of classmates running into each other and someone else’s pass.

Warm-Up

Students will

1.Play catch with a friend

2.Practice football throwing mimetics

3.Practice catching mimetics

4.Jog and turn left on signal, right on signal, and so on

5.Perform stretches

Motivation

Tell the class that if everyone only ran a hook pattern, the defense would not be too confused. In this lesson you will teach another pattern so that students have a few choices once games begin.

Lesson Sequence

1.Demonstrate the square left (figure 12.4):

How the pattern should look to the quarterback

Where and which foot to cut on

When the quarterback should throw

2.Reemphasize

planting the forward foot before the cut,

watching the ball into the hands, and

the quarterback throwing in front of the receiver.

3.Have students alternate throwing and receiving. Start from five yards, and allow repetition and success before increasing the running and throwing distance.

4.After some practice, stop the class to emphasize whatever coaching hints still would help the majority. Go to students whose needs are more individual.

5.Have students practice the square right pattern.