James Landers Saint Petersburg

By James Landers

James Landers (Saint Petersburg, Florida) is a youth football coach in Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Florida responsible for multi conference championships and a leader in off the field youth development programs. Mr. Landers is passionate about building programs that provide opportunity to all children, regardless of economic limitations. His economic outreach program in Saint Petersburg, Florida is responsible for supporting numerous players throughout the city.

Most of the coaches in youth football have players on the team. This presents a difficult challenge for the head coach. Often times, the head coach must deal with the “dad glasses”. Dad glasses are the lenses that make their son the most talented kid ever to walk on the field. The “dad glasses” slant the view of the coach in favor of this own son. Not only is this not fair to the coaches son, but left unchallenged, presents a huge distraction for the team.

I suggest this policy. Let the other coaches coach your son. Kids need fathers much more than another coach. If there are 20 player on the team, coach the 19 and be a father to the one. The other coaches can do the same with their child. Coaches are subconsciously more stringent with their own child, which is unfair to the child.

Be the father your child needs and leave the coaching of your child to the other coaches. And don’t forget, do the same courtesy for the other coaches.

By James Landers of Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Florida. James Landers is a youth football coach with the North East Bandits organization.

Parents and the coach both share a responsibility in making the experience a positive one. Coaches owe the player and the parents a positive experience that focuses player development, fundamentals and fun.

Parents expect their child to learn. Therefore, this should be the coaches focus. There is simply no excuse for not teaching the basic skills of the sport. With today’s access to information, coaches can learn a considerable amount of skills via the internet.

Coaches should expect to manage the team without interference from parents and/or family members. If input is needed, parents should discuss the matter away from the child. Coaches should refrain from interaction with parents immediately following the game. This period of time should be dedicated to setting the stage for the upcoming week rather than discussing playing time and/or opinions from parents.

If a coach is prepared and shows great passion for teaching and focuses on player development, the season is a success regardless of the win-loss record.