Book for a Middle Schooler to help him understand Football better

[dcbc 14,644]

My son is a seventh grader and is interested in playing football.  He has been to two camps this summer and is working his ass off to be in shape for it.  He wants to play receiver and has good hand eye coordination, is reasonably fast, and tough, especially for his size. 

I think it would do him a lot of good to get him a book to read so he can have a better overall understanding of the game, offense and defensive formations, strategy, etc.  I played when I was his age through my sophomore year.  I understood my responsibilities, but feel like I could have been better had I had a greater understanding of the game as well as the particulars.

I mentioned it to him and he was very interested.  Any suggestions?

[Chet Steadman 940]

Send him to the Football board.  

Everyone over there is either a former OC or offensive savant.  

[RowdyVic 106]

The coaches will probably decide what position he plays based on his skills and physique.

Speed/agility/skills is what will set him apart from everyone else. If you are good, then you will enjoy the game. So many kids quit because they are not skilled or they dont want to work hard to improve what skills they have. In turn, their peers pass them up on the depth chart. They are not having fun anymore. Winning is fun. Being a star is fun.

Youtube training videos and understanding football videos.






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[BigDHornfan 6,630]

[midtown 3,354]

Madden

[RDCanecutter 26,879]

[luke duke 6,449]

[orange dream 1,295]

 

https://www.amazon.com/Watching-Football-Discovering-Game-Within/dp/0762739061

really is a good book for explaining things like you describe.  It is NOT going to have tips for how to tackle, etc.

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by orange dream

[deadshank 24,654]

Have him hang out with your husband. Maybe he knows a few things ornuswd to play the game. 

[dcbc 14,644]

5 hours ago, midtown said:

Madden

I already told him that.  But he just picks defenses that sound good.  His 9 year old brother will run the same offensive play against him ad nauseum and win. 

The recommendations here do not disappoint.

He went from being a little heavy to way light.  With that came speed, and with practice, pretty good hands.  Despite being light, he doesn't mind being hit or delivering one.  He has been trying to put on some good weight, but is at that age where the metabolism is getting the best of him.  He's super focused on this from a physical perspective and works out a lot, but I always have felt the better players had a deeper understanding of the game. 

Sadly, from a perspective of being able to pass on wisdom, I wasn't one of the better players in that respect. 

Edited August 1, 2018 by dcbc

[Dr Fear 1,290]

Take your eye off the ball

This is written for the average NFL fan, so It should work great for a kid in middle school.

[dcbc 14,644]

Thanks, all.  Will take a look at these books, close my eyes, and make a decision. 

I never have encouraged him to play football, but feel like he can survive middle school, after which the size of the grown ass men in high school may make future decisions for him. 

Who knows.  Perhaps this is what barbecues are going to be like for me some day.

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by dcbc

[freyguy 4,368]

10 hours ago, BigDHornfan said:

One of the most influential books of all time....

[Apep 645]

[dcbc 14,644]

1 hour ago, Apep said:

My Google result for that did not disappoint.

 

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

Whatever position he finds himself in, find videos on how to cheat at that position.   How to hold as an OL, how to grab as a db.  Etc. You know, all those things makes  us pissed off on Saturdays.   Because as bad as the big 12 refs are, just think how bad (I guess inexperienced is a fairer thing to say) a local middle school  ref is.  And there might only be 3 refs on the field.  

[WhatTheBuck 28,928]

It's probably not what you're looking for but I own a copy of this:

It's very interesting. 

[deadshank 24,654]

8 hours ago, dcbc said:

My Google result for that did not disappoint.

 

Vic looks a whole lot like Burt Reynolds. Who knew?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,726]

Is this a troll?  A mid schooler reading a book?  Find him some YouTube videos to watch that can explain and demo what you’re looking to teach him.  

[dcbc 14,644]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Is this a troll?  A mid schooler reading a book?  Find him some YouTube videos to watch that can explain and demo what you’re looking to teach him.  

I want to control the message.  If he start's surfing youtube videos, there's a chance he could come across something uploaded by aggy. 

[Jkwellborn 7,034]

Why isn’t this here?
Or this

[dcbc 14,644]

I'll make sure he watches this, too.  That "ice cold, half time Coca Cola to get that energy back" is key.

 

Edited August 5, 2018 by dcbc

[Nolacycling 893]

sorry, but you are overly involved. your intentions are great. keep providing options in case f'ball does not work out. Choir, band, swim, xc... I hope I'm wrong, please keep us updated as to how his ms coaches placed him.

[deft 7,059]

[dcbc 14,644]

12 hours ago, Nolacycling said:

sorry, but you are overly involved. your intentions are great. keep providing options in case f'ball does not work out. Choir, band, swim, xc... I hope I'm wrong, please keep us updated as to how his ms coaches placed him.

Not really, but if I have given that impression here, so be it.  I just bought him a $3 used book, which he seems pretty excited to read.  

He's involved with plenty of other things other than football.  He's in band, he's talking about cross country, student council, theater, etc.

I'd be perfectly happy if he was one and done in football.  But I figured if he was this interested in it, I might as well give him an opportunity to understand it. 

Edited August 6, 2018 by dcbc

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3,873]

[dcbc 14,644]

Maybe I should wait for Sumlin to write a book. 

[Jkwellborn 7,034]

It would probably read good with pretzels.