Book excerpt: You volunteered to coach the football team, but are you ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices, and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football has the answers. Longtime coach Jim Dougherty teams up with Brandon Castel to share experience and advice you can rely on from the first practice to the final game. It’s all here in the drills and the plays: evaluating players’ skills, establishing realistic goals, offering in-game coaching tips, and making the practices fun! Develop your team’s offensive and defensive skills for all positions with the Survival Guide’s collection of the game’s best youth drills. For plays that young players can actually run, flip to the Survival Guide’s offensive playbook and defensive alignments. And to get the most out of every practice, follow the ready-to-use practice plans. Turn to the series that has already guided thousands of first-time coaches in basketball, soccer, and softball to rewarding and productive seasons. With Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football, you’re already well on your way.