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BECOME A BETTER COACH

 

The Football Development Model (FDM) equips you to coach football in new ways to develop better athletes.

 
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A DEEPER APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT

 

Coaching is about helping your players achieve success and making a positive impact on their lives.

 

The principles behind the Football Development Model help coaches become superior teachers that keep the game simpler, safer and more fun for their players. Keep reading to see how USA Football’s new coach curriculum – based on the principles of the model – will help you develop better players next season.


WHAT THE MODEL MEANS FOR COACHES


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SLOWING THE GAME DOWN TO TEACH THE GAME BETTER

 

The Football Development Model introduces a variety of progressions based on athletes’ age, the skills they learn and their game type. These progressions are step-by-step approaches to development, designed to build better skill foundations and grow an athlete’s thinking, feeling and behaving abilities.


NEW RESOURCES TO ENHANCE YOUR COACHING

 

USA Football is developing a new coach curriculum. Coaches who get certified will receive the Coach Planner App, the Player Progression Guide, the Contact Manual and Practice Plans designed to provide an A-to-Z approach to skill development and age and game-type-appropriate teaching methods.

 

COACH RESOURCES


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GET CERTIFIED BEFORE YOU STEP ON THE FIELD

 

This year, certification resources have been revamped to help coaches develop the whole athlete based on their athletes’ age and stage of development. Coaches who finish before they step on the practice field are putting the player first, by investing in their own ability to teach better.

 

CERTIFICATION & EDUCATION

“I wholeheartedly believe in the Football Development Model … Forget the game, forget the fact that we're playing football, this is for their development, for their benefit and that Football Development Model helps that whole process."

MANUEL FRAGA
11-PLAYER CONTACT FOOTBALL COACH, MIAMI XTREME (FLA.)

COACHING PLAYERS IN THE 21st CENTURY

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DEVELOPING THE WHOLE ATHLETE

 

Football is about more than just blocking and tackling. The game offers an athlete so much more in terms of character development, health and wellness and the valuable lessons of working with people of different skillsets.

 

To address this, the principles from the model were added to USA Football’s coach curriculum to provide training and resources to help coaches better connect with and develop the complete person. Below you’ll see a preview of what coaches will learn.


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SKILL TYPE

SKILL PROGRESSIONS

 

Teaching the right aspects of a skill at the right time keeps sports fun and fulfilling. This outlook avoids overwhelming athletes while helping them improve at a steady pace. Coaches who take the certification will get manuals and guides to teach skills in a progression.

 

Starting with a step-by-step approach for each skill helps athletes achieve success before adding complexity. Once the basics of a skill are mastered, the skill progressions add coaching points that help an athlete develop and compete at a higher level to achieve more success.

 

LEARN MORE

 

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ATHLETE HEALTH & WELLNESS

 

It's not enough to make football players better at football. The model builds upon the life-long values and lessons of the sport by going beyond teaching football skills.

 

Football creates opportunities to help athletes advance their thinking, feeling and behaving abilities. USA Football’s coach curriculum provides resources to guide that growth with teaching insights to help coaches meet an athlete’s cognitive, social and emotional needs.


THINKING

Understanding how athletes learn at each age and stage of development is important. Through the FDM, coaches learn to teach their players based on their team's stage of development. The model also helps officials, league leaders and parents/guardians understand where athletes are as they progress through each stage.

 

FEELING

Athletes have emotions and may express their feelings differently depending on their age, especially in competitive environments. Helping athletes understand and manage their emotions is just as important as teaching football-specific skills.

 

BEHAVING

Athletes' behavior may differ based on their age, their surroundings and who they're interacting with. It is important for coaches, parents/guardians, officials, volunteers and league leaders to understand this to help athletes manage and navigate those situations.

 

MOVING

Regardless of game type, football requires physical movement. As athletes grow and mature, providing age-appropriate training, practice and support helps them to learn the game and lays the foundation for an active lifestyle.
 

“The Football Development Model (FDM) is cutting-edge. The depth of content, the quality of the corresponding materials and educational offerings are the new standard for National Governing Bodies.”

CHRIS SNYDER
DIRECTOR OF COACHING EDUCATION, U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

WHAT COACHES ARE SAYING

 

Coach support for the concept of proper skill development can be found every level of the game. Watch what they all have to say about the impact they’ve experienced in their pilot leagues or expect to see in the future.


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SEAN MCVAY ON THE MODEL AND QB COLLECTIVE

 

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PAC-12 COACHES ON SKILL PROGRESSIONS

 

Brian Pitts

BRIAN PRITTS, COACH, WASHINGTON GREENE YOUTH FOOTBALL LEAGUE (PA.)