What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Shane Sams shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth coach.

Shane Sams is the founder of CoachXO.com, a high-school football defensive coordinator, and the co-founder with his wife of Flippedlifestyle.com. Shane brings a wealth of valuable football experience from coaching at the college and high-school levels. He hosts the podcast ‘The Coach X O Show’ and co-hosts with his wife Jocelyn ‘The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast.’ Alan lives in Kentucky with his wife and 2 kids – daughter Anna and son Isaac.

Website: CoachXO.com and Flippedlifestyle.com

Twitter:@CoachXO and @FlippedLS

Facebook: /CoachXO and /FlippedLifestyle

Youtube: /CoachXO
Listen NOW:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link
Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link
 
Coaching/Leadership Quote
▪   ‘Don’t just tell me about problems. Tell me about some solutions’

click to tweet!
My ‘Cringe’ Moment
▪   Trying to coach high-school kids like they were college kids. Particularly emotionally.
Coaching AH-HA Moment
▪   It does not matter what I know – it only matters what the players know. Be deliberate and define clearly. ‘I stopped using football terms and used words they know’
Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun
HUGE IDEA #1 - SIMPLIFY! Coach Sams identifies 5 skills for each position – then those are the only skills they teach in practice for the entire year. For younger kids maybe only 3 or 4 skills. Repetitions are key – don’t keep changing things up.

Fun games:

The give-up drill – 3 blockers defending a pad vs. 1 player
Defend the box



Best Stolen Idea
▪   ‘Don’t just tell me about problems. Tell me about some solutions’
Great Resources
▪   CoachHuey.com – Great football x’s and o’s

▪   Football-defense.com

▪   Connect with coaching forums – CoachXO.com/forums, facebook, twitter
Discipline
▪   ‘I have no set rules. Every situation demands my research’
Reward, Recognition, and Teambuilding

The biggest reward is: Playing Time

Inspiring Story

Kid with great attitude but not very talented – scored a TD on senior night

Winning

You play to win – but make sure you evaluate where your team is at.
Set mini-goals within the game and emphasize those instead of the winning.

The One that Got Away

Freshman long-snapper – enough said

Coaching/Leadership Motivation
▪   Quote – ‘‘Don’t just tell me about problems. Tell me about some solutions’

▪   Book – ‘Developing a Defensive Gameplan’ – Kenny Ratledge
Parting Advice
HUGE IDEA #2 - ‘Don’t re-invent the wheel – You are not Vince Lombardi’ – go find something that works and copy it – you will put your own signature on it
Coach XO and Flippedlifestyle
▪   Coach XO- Great football info and great forums

▪   Flippedlifestyle – Blog about working from home
Interview Links / Promotional Partners


Who are You - The Life Lessons of Sports

 

HUDL

 
Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: