Coach Tom Bass brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to USA Football. Along with answering youth coaching questions, he also receives emails from young players. You can email the coach at NFLAskTheCoach@aol.com.
Anders from Portland sent the following question:
How long should a high school kicker be able to kick?
Hi Anders,
A lot will depend on the year that you are in high school. As a junior or senior, I would think that you would be accurate in the 35-yard range and have the leg for attempting kicks above 40 yards.
Of equal importance will be your ability to kick off. You want a good hang time and have the ability to kick deep to the end zone or at least inside the 5-yard line.
Range and distance are nice and important, but the most important thing is accuracy on all short- and middle-distance kicks, especially from both hash marks, as these will be the kicks that you are asked to make the most during the season.
Good luck, stay positive and keep your head down.
Coach Tom Bass
Freddy sent the following question:
I am 15 years old and play QB. I'm transferring schools, and my new school is coming off a 3-6 season. I know a lot about my new school's offense and how they run it. I go to football combines and have a QB coach, but I still feel like there is something missing. I know that there are a lot of things demanded from the QB, but I have a feeling that my confidence is low. I want to go to my new school being ready for everything. Do you have any advice to boost my confidence level?
Hi Freddy,
Confidence at anything you do in life - especially playing a sport - comes first from having the knowledge that you have done everything possible to prepare yourself for the activity.
For sports that would include being both in shape and in good condition to be able to handle the fall workouts without being exhausted, becoming as strong as possible for your position, throwing enough so that your passing arm is in shape and making sure that you're eating properly and getting enough rest.
Working with a QB coach should be helping you to make progress in many of these areas.
Next, you need to start working on the mental side of playing quarterback. All the great quarterbacks that I have been fortunate enough to be around, like Dan Fouts and Doug Williams, had the mental toughness that is needed to play the position. Every time they ran on the field they had one thought in mind - that they were going to score.
This positive winning attitude comes with hours of practice and study time away from the field. When you know the offense completely, are sure of each and every read, understand the assignments for you and the other 10 offensive players on every play and have a knowledge of what the defense is trying to do, then you will know you are ready and you will be confident in your ability to play the position.
Will all this happen over night? Of course not. Your confidence will grow and continue to develop just like your speed, strength, passing accuracy and knowledge of the game develops with every camp you attend, each session with your coach and every practice with your team. As you increase your confidence in playing the position, it is important that you take that attitude into the huddle with you so that your teammates can feed off of your positive attitude toward the game and the play being called.
Spend as much time possible working at getting better and way less time worrying about being confident, and I am sure you will be OK.
Coach Tom Bass
Chris from Homestead sent the following question:
I'll be going into tenth grade, and I'm looking to play receiver. How do I get rid of my fear of getting hit?
Hi Chris,
You are going through the same thing that many football players go through when they first start playing the game. It is very normal. One important thing is to begin concentrating on making the catch every time you go out for a pass and not allow yourself to think about the hit.
Great receivers will tell you that they finally realized one day that they were going to get hit even if they dropped the pass so they accepted that contact as part of the game. It was more important to really focus all their energy on making the catch.
As you come off the line, try to only think about running your pattern correctly, focusing on the quarterback, picking up the flight of the ball, reaching out to make the catch, securing the ball immediately and then running after the catch.
Accept the fact that you will have contact somewhere during the play, but do not dwell on this phase of football. It also helps to learn to jump up right away after being tackled and hustling back to the huddle. Nothing discourages a defensive player more than having a receiver make the catch, hold on to the ball and then jump right up after the tackle.
The more you play, the less you will worry about contact after a catch.
Coach Tom Bass
Peter from William Floyd sent the following question:
I'm 5-foot-6 and 210 pounds going into ninth grade and my first year of high school football. I'm looking for a weight lifting trainer and partner, but no one meets my standards. I bench 195, and most kids aren't as strong as me. I'm currently working out with a TE who is the same strength. All he does is goof off in the weight room, and I'm looking for a new partner. Should I stick with him or shop around for a new training buddy?
Hi Peter,
Ideally it would be good if you could get your present partner to start working harder since he is going to be a teammate in the fall. Sometimes other players will become motivated by seeing your work ethic, and other times they will need real encouragement from you to start pushing themselves in the right direction.
You might start keeping a good written record of the workouts the two of you do so that he can see that he needs to put more into the time in the weight room.
If this style of working starts to hurt your development, then I would begin to look around for another potential partner. Sometimes it takes players longer than others to get serious about the time in the weight room and there is not much you can do to change their approach.
Stick to your program, give your partner some encouragement and stay positive.
Coach Tom Bass
Cantel from N.Y. sent the following question:
I have been told to play quarterback and wide receiver during different times of my life, and I have good leadership skills and I love throwing the football. Should I play QB or WR?
Hi Cantel,
To be a successful quarterback you need leadership skills, the ability to pass accurately, the ability to make good decisions and the mental toughness to play the position under all the pressure that the position generates.
Right now it seems like you feel you have two of the necessary components that are needed at the quarterback position. If you feel that you also have the other two or feel that you can develop these two, then I would suggest that you try the quarterback position.
If it does not work out, the knowledge you have learned working at quarterback will carry over if at a later date you decide to switch to wide receiver. In making your decision, follow your gut and your heart and give it everything you can.
Coach Tom Bass
Coach Tom Bass, the technical writer and advisor for USA Football, is a 30-year NFL coach who has also authored several books, including "Play Football the NFL Way" - the first "how to" book ever authorized and published by the NFL. Coach Bass is happy to personally autograph his books to you. Book ordering information can be found on http://www.coachbass.com/.
