Clint Lamb
Videos by OutKick
Football is a contact sport. Always has been, always will be. But there are limits, including the age at which participants should start experiencing the full violence of the game. Youth football is way too young for that exposure.
Still, that doesn’t stop some youth football coaches from forcing their players to participate in overly physical drills. On Tuesday, a video of two young boys doing a one-on-one collision drill went viral on social media, resulting in a lot of visceral outrage.
The ball-carrier put the crown of his helmet directly into the facemask of the would-be tackler, creating a huge hit that left the defender struggling to get up. You can see the video below.
Are they too young to be doing this drill? pic.twitter.com/lA8G9U86Wx
— Young Black Jesus (@Zeekncashe) May 11, 2021
Violent, right?
Since the video was shared, the backlash has been swift. Several prominent football players and media members have come out criticizing the coaches for allowing young boys to participate in that sort of drill.
This isn't funny at all. This culture at the youth level needs to change https://t.co/coO65QZlPY
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) May 11, 2021
This is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen in youth sports.
1-they look to be like 7-8 years old. There’s not need to be doing anything close to this
2-one if OBVIOUSLY outmatched and that’s on the coach
3-whoever put this drill together should face consequences— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) May 11, 2021
There are many people that should not be allowed to be associated with the game of football, at any level. People responsible for this are doing nothing good for the game, and especially nothing good for these children. F’ing joke.
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) May 12, 2021
Words cannot begin to express my anger watching this clip…this is not football & whoever put this idiotic drill together & allowed an obvious mismatch should never be allowed near a football field or youth sports forever! This is child abuse disguised as competition https://t.co/hxFmECY2fS
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) May 12, 2021
Whoever is responsible for this 💩 should be put in jail. Immediately https://t.co/Sz7f2Ei6ej
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) May 12, 2021
If you truly loved football, let alone these BOYS, you would never allow this to happen.
These coaches should be fired yesterday. https://t.co/rs65RBvngt
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) May 12, 2021
Dummies gone Dumb (Coaches) https://t.co/ocjbOrpmyP
— Marcus Spears (@mspears96) May 12, 2021
Idk what organization or program this is but they all should be banned until they get proper coaching. Ridiculous https://t.co/TKeCGDkBOv
— Shawne Merriman (@shawnemerriman) May 12, 2021
Every coach associated with this – or who conducts drills like this – should be banned from coaching youth football. Despicable. https://t.co/LaTCtO5MYr
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) May 12, 2021
This is awful. Who are these coaches ? Get rid of them! https://t.co/QueCdFQRjj
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) May 12, 2021
Makes me sad watching this. If you truly love the game, this crap should anger you as well. Youth football coaching is about protecting the kids, coaching proper technique and having fun. None of that is in this drill. Protect the future of the game! https://t.co/rKcltlzyPY
— Chad Brown (@chadbrown94) May 12, 2021
Anyone who's teaching kids—especially kids that age—to lead with their heads when they hit should not be coaching football. https://t.co/4B046hTvjv
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 11, 2021
I can remember doing a few of these drills back in high school — and some even in middle school. Still, things were way different back then. That was almost 20 years ago, and I wasn’t as young as these boys. What are your thoughts?
Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
This is black and white. Everybody knows it. One of the few times I agree with certain ESPN football personalities. They are right. This is horrible and not funny at all. Glad you didn’t argue backwards just for the sake of disagreeing with some people who are considered “Woke Left”, Clint.
I’ve coached youth football for over ten years at the 10-12 year old range. Over that time, USA Football has come out with very clear guidelines on how to avoid this exact type of scenario. My league also requires training and certification from USA Football so coaches understand how to avoid this kind of contact, especially when doing drills/teaching skills. This is 100% on the coaches and the league for letting them run a practice like this. The parents in this league need to demand better! Hopefully that little guy hasn’t suffered ongoing effects.
Ok, there’s a lot wrong here. The coaches laughing for starters, the obvious physical mismatch between the two kids, and the drill itself. I’ve never seen such, one kid has a full on running start, the other kid is basically just standing there. This by all means looks like an intentional set up to get that poor kid clobbered.
Yep. I remember a drill like this, but it was the ball carrier that was running forward while the LB backpedaled on a 45 then broke to the ball, simulating a draw or screen. It was awful for both. This is way worse.
That kid just joined soccer.
Maybe if the coaches were charged with criminal child abuse, this would stop.
wow!! I’m speechless.
My coaches in high school would have had me running laps until the end of time. “YOU CAN’T TACKLE WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE!!” And “WRAP UP AND DRIVE THROUGH THE BALL CARRIER!!”
Dude, we used to do this drill in Pop Warner but it was a little more on a slant to make contact between the cones. These kids are kinda circling for more head on contact.
Either way I def got concussed a few times but you gotta just shake that shit off lol
I remember doing these drill also in Pop Warner. Bull in the Ring was another coaches favorite. Or the one where both ball carrier and tackler are laying on their backs about 10yds apart. When the whistle is blown, both jump up, and smash into each other between two cones. Yep… the hazy memories.
the hazy memories lmao
Nothing wrong with the drill per se, but…
Kids that age should not be engaging in that kind of contact. Aside from being unhealthy, in general at that age they do not have the coordination or skill level necessary to protect themselves. It’s even worse in a situation like in this video where one kid is not only physically superior, but has obviously had much more training than the kid that got decked.
Not sure what the coaches were trying to prove here other than that one 8 year old can knock down another physically inferior 8 year old. Neither kid got anything out of it. In this case, even the ball carrier was learning bad habits that might get him paralyzed one of these days.
That’s irresponsible coaching that borders on child abuse.
In a game, the ball carrier would be penalized for making initial contact head to head.
That any adult would find that drill oiutcome entertaining has mental issues.
Not cool.
I agree with the general consensus that this drill was absurd on so many levels. I will disagree that football is a contact sport. Basketball is a contact sport. Footballis a collision sport.
Yep that is unacceptable for young kids like that fire the coach that allows this shit to happen
I Disagree with straight backlash here…typical sm response! People BE SPECIFIC!
The coaches reaction is a bit sadistic/perverse
The drill is what should be in question… THE ONLY OPTION here is a direct hit and the way the defender (and likely his age/inexperience) has to “round” the bag he’s going to be upright… the better FB move would to be lower and “angle” tackle at the legs
WATCH the contact – the runner doesn’t “lower his head”… WTF is he supposed to do, run upright? NO – he’s trying to run the guy over as that is the only option…bad setup by coaches and don’t tackle high – especially the kid that looks like pee wee league Derrick Henry!
Oh yea BTW this contact is exactly what will happen in a youth football game when a kid runs up the middle; it will happen every game. If that’s not your style, play flag football or soccer. FWIW I’d not let my child play tackle at that age and I had a daughter play high school FB and earn a letter.