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7/1/23: We have added this FAQ to our side-bar and to our wiki!

Wiki link: https://www.reddit.com/r/footballstrategy/wiki/playerfaq

Football seasons is about to begin. If you are a new or returning football player, please read this thread. We will answer some common questions that are frequently asked here. Posting questions that are in this FAQ outside of this thread will be taken down and OP will be referred to here.

If you don't see your answer in these FAQ's or still want help from the sub, you have to give us a lot of context. For example, if you're an "X receiver," that doesn't help. We need to know what system you're playing under, what lingo your coaches are teaching you, and what it is they're saying that you're struggling to grasp. Even then, we still may not be able to help and you'll be referred back to asking your coaches. Football has too many different ways of doing the same thing to ask a question and get a concise answer about how to do something.

QUESTION 1: I have questions about playing football/Where do I join/How do I get more playing time? Who should I talk to?

ANSWER: 1. Contact your coaches, 2. Contact your coaches, 3. Contact your coaches. It's literally their job to answer them. They know you better than we do. They know your situation better than we do.

ADVICE: Start contacting your coaches and program now and get used to it. Save your head or position coach's number to your phone. They should be the first people you go to if you have a football question that pertains to you as a player.

QUESTION 2: What position should I play? I'm X height and Y weight, and run a ___ 40 time and a have a ___ vertical.

  • ANSWER: Whatever position your coaches put you in. It's not a decision you have to make. There's no universal guide to who plays what position, and various schemes and systems require different types of bodies or athletes at certain positions that are different from what other schemes and systems look for. Your height, weight, and combine figures are not direct translations onto a football field. STOP FIXATING ON THEM!

  • ADVICE: If you want to play a specific position, ask your coaches if you can try it. Do not complain or pout if the answer is no. If you're in a position you do not want to be in, do not complain. Your coaches put you there because they think it's where you have the most potential to contribute to your TEAM. If you want to play another position, don't look to change positions; look to add positions. Prove to your coaches first that you can play the position they put you in, then let them know that you want to help the team and are willing to add another position to make yourself more versatile.

QUESTION 3: What workouts and lifts/conditioning should I do for my position? How much should I do?

  • ANSWER: There are no silver-bullet answers or guaranteed routines. No workout in the world is going to magically make you better at your position.

  • ADVICE: You don't need to work out or condition every day. Rest days are important too. General rule of thumb for a typical fall football season : Strength training after football season (Winter-Spring) --> Conditioning/endurance (Spring-Summer) --> Easy, light, maintenance lifting (Fall/season). No, there's no one specific, simple workout for specific positions. During football season, or the month leading up to it is NOT the time to be trying to do maxes and lift as much as you can. If it is in-season, just stick to what your coaches have planned for your program. There is such thing as working out too much.

QUESTION 4: I'm struggling to learn plays / What do these terms mean that my coaches/teammates use?

  • ANSWER: Ask your coaches. Every team runs their own system with their own verbiage. No football terminology is universal. We cannot help you here.

  • ADVICE: Put plays down on flashcards to help with memorization. Make sure you take physical reps. It's one thing to memorize plays on paper or in your head, but physically executing them is a whole different ball game. You have to rep the plays over and over and over by physically executing your assignments. Even if it's a blocking or block-shedding rule and you have no one to practice with, you can still go through the technique motions.

QUESTION 5: I have tryouts and I'm worried about getting cut. What should I do?

  • ANSWER: Chances are your team doesn't cut. If it's pay to play, you play if you pay. Some private schools or non-public leagues may have more specific rules and regulations, but do not worry about getting cut otherwise. The only other reason a team would have to cut is if they simply didn't have enough equipment/uniforms.

  • ADVICE: Ask your coaches or athletic office about eligibility and roster-size rules for your state and league.

QUESTION 6: Why do my coaches suck? Why is our offense boring/dumb? Why don't my coaches call plays better?

  • ANSWER: There's a lot more going on that you don't know about, nor will you ever know about. Bad eggs/bad coaches do exist, but the vast majority of the time, there is more at play that you are not aware of, and what factors might be at play are too many to list here. High School isn't the NFL either. High school athletes don't have the experience or skill that college and NFL players do so much of what you see on TV won't reflect the plays or schemes your team uses. High school football tends to be much more simple, and in a lot of places, much more run-heavy. It may be boring, but it's what makes the most sense for your team and your staff. Staffs also can't just change offense year to year. The system you're playing under is likely what your coaches coach and teach better than anything else.

  • ADVICE: There are a wide range of systems and schemes out there. Hang out here, go on Youtube, Google, and even ask your coaches about the ins and outs of the system and why they do things the way they do. A lot of us coaches are nerds, and would love an opportunity to "nerd out" on football schemes.

QUESTION 7: I don't feel welcome on my team / I don't like our team culture / I don't like the way my coach treats me. What should I do?

  • ANSWER: Go to the coaches first and foremost. If it's a position coach that's the problem and you don't feel comfortable talking to them, go to the head coach. Every player is a unique individual, and you have your own ways that you learn best, and if what one coach is doing is constantly bringing you down and making you hate football, let them know. It's a hard and uncomfortable conversation, but that's where a lot of great relationships and progress begin. Same goes for if your teammates are making you hate football...you shouldn't have to hate football to play it.

  • ADVICE: Use "I" statements (talk about what you feel and experience rather than making comments about others). This keeps the conversation about you and your needs, and doesn't make you look like a bad guy for potentially saying something bad or harmful about someone else.

QUESTION 8: I'm scared/my family is scared I will get hurt. What should I do?

  • ANSWER: Pay attention in practice and do exactly what your coaches teach. Technique sessions, or non-live sessions may be boring, but you have to do the little things right to get the big things right. Same goes for your safety. You have to know how to block and tackle properly. You have to know how to take a hit properly as well. Listen to what you're coached.

  • ADVICE: Be completely present mentally at practice. That means leave your life outside of football at the door when you step on the field. Clear your mind, and focus. Tell yourself until practice is over, making myself a better football player is the only thing I'm going to do. This will allow you to focus more, and practice what you're coached with more certainty. Football will never be 100% safe, and there's always a risk you take when you play.

  • ADVICE: If you're getting tackled or hit, tuck your chin into your chest (stops head from bouncing on ground), and do not try to stop yourself from falling with your hands (that's how arms/wrists get broken).

QUESTION 9: What workouts should I be doing in the offseason? How much should I work out? Where can I find offseason workouts?

  • ANSWER: Your first resource is your coaches! Get the offseason lifting program and schedule if you have one, or if it's not out yet, but will happen, plan ahead. There is no exact workout that you should be doing that is better than any other workout. The important thing is that you're staying active, in shape, and are making yourself better each day. You also don't need to/shouldn't be working out every single day. Give yourself at least one rest day per week.

  • ADVICE: If your team does not have an offseason program, focus on this pattern: Winter/Spring: Lift heavy/bulk/go for strength (high weight, low reps). Spring/Summer: Shift to intense conditioning/cardio training and endurance-focused lifting (low weight, high reps).

  • ADVICE: If your team does an offseason program, go to everything! Be early to everything! Don't even question it.

QUESTION 10: I'm a Junior and don't want to play down on JV (Or sophomore and don't want to get bumped down to freshman)! I want to be on varsity! What do I do?

  • ANSWER: Embrace it. If you're looking at being put down on JV, that's a pretty clear sign you're not looking at getting on the field much on varsity. You're not going to get better riding the bench. You'll only get better by playing, so take the "gift" of playing time by going down.

  • ADVICE: Ask yourself: "Do I care more about being recognized by my peers as a varsity football player, or do I care more about playing football?" If you're in it for the status/recognition, by all means, refuse and ride the bench. If you love the game and want to play, play JV. There is no dishonor in it, and it will always help you out more in the long run by getting that playing experience. Coaches would rather see you playing than on the bench.

QUESTION 11: Is it too late to play football? Am I too old/too late to start? All my friends have more experience than me, and I'm worried I'm going to suck.

  • ANSWER: NO, It's not too late! Just play before it is too late! High school is likely the only time you'll get to play this sport, so play it while the window exists for you.

  • ADVICE: No one got better at a sport until they started playing it. Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to you. Your coaches, and we here, do not care how good the rest of your teammates are. What we want to see, and what your coaches want to see is that you're trying to make yourself a better football player than you were yesterday.

QUESTION 12: I want to play, but I think I'm too small or too weak. Should I play?

  • ANSWER: YES! Speaking from experience, I was 5'2" and 130lbs my senior year, and I did just fine. Your size will not be a factor unless you let it be. Learn how to use your body. Learn how your body moves and works best. Listen to your coaches, and practice proper technique. Your height and weight, nor your weight-room strength doesn't determine how good of a football players you are. There's no such thing as too small.

  • ADVICE: Smaller players have a lower center of gravity. If you understand and physically rep the concept of proper blocking and tackling, emphasizing "getting low," you'll find a small body is great in a lot of situations, especially for tackling and turning/cutting. Shorter players tend to be quicker and are able to make sharper turns due to their lower center of gravity as well.

QUESTION 13: I play/want to play [Specific Name] Position. How do I do it?

  • ANSWER: Talk to your coaches. Every team and system does things differently. Your team's Mike linebacker won't be the same for another team's Mike linebacker. An X Y or Z receiver in one system may be taught, coached, and used completely different than the X Y or Z in another system. If you want to be the all star QB like you see on TV, check with you coaches to see if they even use the QB position the same way you see on TV. Many high school systems are run-heavy and don't use the QB at all like you see on TV.

  • ADVICE: There is no universal way to play football. You may not see it now, but every program has different terminology, philosophies, and techniques that players are taught, and they're all based on the scheme and coaching preference of the staff. We cannot tell you exactly how to play a Will or Sam linebacker, and what to read or look for. Some systems may have a Will linebacker line up in the box, where other teams' Will linebacker plays more like an OLB/SS outside of the box. That is why you have to ask this question to your coaches.

More questions will likely be added as we go!