7 Guiding Principles of the Bergen County Broncos Football Program

 The Bergen County Broncos Football Program was developed to help kids  and their families have an enjoyable experience every time they step on a football field.

 The Broncos promote family, sportsmanship, team work and the ability to grow not only physically but mentally. We are a diverse Football Organization. We do not discriminate against Race, Color, Creed,
 ethnic background, economic status or gender.

 Our goal is to be better then the ordinary run-of-the mill football program. We strive to raise the standards and produce better all around student athletes.

 As part of this, the Broncos asked kids, parents, and coaches about  their likes, dislikes, and concerns, not only with playing football,  but with the overall youth sports experience.

 As a result of this research, we have developed seven guiding principles that make up the overall philosophy that we apply to our
 Pop Warner Football team.

 1. Keep It Fun – Keep them safe!

 This is the primary objective and cornerstone of the entire philosophy. Regardless of whether it's a game or a practice, football  at the youth level should always be fun and safe. This doesn't mean
 you won't work hard. You can work hard and still make it fun. This requires a little creativity on the part of the coach to offer and adopt fun methods throughout all aspects of their program.
 Incorporate games and low-key competitions to teach fundamentals rather than just running traditional drills.  We have eliminated from our program those "old school" methods that have been proven to be dangerous and put children in harms way.   Football is a contact sport, we try our best to minimize injuries with state of the art conditioning and training. Our goal is to promote a fun safe environment where the children can learn and excel.

2. Keep Them Moving!

 This is a common problem with youth sports that ultimately turns kids off. Whether it's a game, practice, clinic, or camp, we have designed
 all of our programs to engage every participant consistently. Kids don't attend practice to watch others play. Kids enjoy practices when they have fun and they experience an improvement in their overall skills. Many professional coaches put a major emphasis on fast paced and interactive practices that eliminate downtime. We have incorporated this philosophy into the Broncos program, eliminating downtime.  Our findings are that the attention and energy levels of both players and coaches alike improve immediately when you engage the entire team in a variety of short duration drills. You will see your team's attention and energy levels improve immediately when you engage  the entire team in drills of short duration. The same hold true for  our coaches. You'll also notice that our coaches do not stand around having coffee! They themselves are engaged and motivated as well. The coaching staff believes in leading by example.

3. Everyone Plays

 Pop Warner mandates that all kids have significant play time in every game. Football at the youth level should be an inclusive experience. It is never fun at any level of play to sit and watch others participate, anticipating the opportunity to play if the situation arises. The youth level of football should be an equal learning experience for everyone, whether  it's a game or a practice.

 A coach is a teacher. A teacher/coach's job is to raise the level of learning and skills of not only the most talented, but for everyone on the team, starting with the least talented. The Bergen County Broncos philosophy eliminates first, second, and third strings in both games and at practice.

4. Exposure to multiple disciplines

 Don't pigeonhole kids in one particular position because of their physical size and/or ability. In order to provide each participant a full experience and appreciation for the game that will last a
 lifetime, the Broncos program exposes everyone to every position.

 As we all know, kids grow at various rates. A smaller child may develop late and become much larger than his/her present size indicates and vice versa. How many athletes has football lost
 throughout the years because of coaches taking the largest kids and making them play the line? These kids often experienced an entire football season without touching the football.

 Don't turn them off to anything. We teach them that they may not be the best on the team today but with hard work, focus and dedication they can become better and rise to the occasion. This is only one of the "life lessons" that we instill.

 A youth coach's job is to introduce and teach every position to every kid. Broncos coaches never make judgments based on someone's size alone; we teach every player every position and they will naturally gravitate to the position that matches their attributes.

5. Focus on the Fundamentals

 Start from the ground up. Build a foundation that will never crack by properly teaching the basics. Learning the fundamentals and effecting  the same basics at every level of play is essential to having any chance of success.

 We have all heard of the "KISS" (Keep It Simple ….) method of teaching. If one player does not execute the fundamentals of his position correctly, the most complex scheme in the world will not
 work. It is unfair and not fun to focus on running plays that will fail 9 out of 10 times. Youth programs that focus on scheming plays versus executing fundamentals are cheating every player out  of  the chance to learn the game properly.

 6. Every Player is not born a natural athlete: Skill Development for Every Participant

 Regardless of a player's skill level, it is our responsibility as a youth football coaches to teach every kid on our team. It is no secret that if kids experience improvement in their skills, no matter what their athletic ability may be; they will continue to participate and return to learn more.

 Because all children develop at different rates it is possible that one season because of size, weight and ability that a player start out as a lineman. Over time they could develop the skills necessary to
 play in the backfield (and visa versa…).  We make every effort to get the child in the right position for them to excel.

 We focus on the development of the player's skills and abilities. Starting from the Mite level, all the way through the Midget level.

 7. Right Place - Right Time: Encouragement and Constructive Criticism

 Keep it positive. As a youth football coach you should never tolerate negative comments from your players, parents, coaching staff, and more over: yourself. Players realize when they've made a mistake. What they don't need is to have that mistake compounded by negative feedback  and criticism. Most children shut down mentally, the message is never delivered and the opportunity for the lesson is lost. What they do need is positive feedback on how to correct the mistake supported by additional positive encouragement.

 The Bergen County Broncos Football Program was developed to help kids and their families have an enjoyable experience every time they step on a football field.

The Broncos promote family, sportsmanship, team work and the ability to grow not only physically but mentally. We are a diverse Football Organization. We do not discriminate against Race, Color, Creed,
ethnic background, economic status or gender.

Our goal is to be better then the ordinary run-of-the mill football program. We strive to raise the standards and produce better all around athletes.  Yell encouragement and whisper constructive criticism from our program.

Passion, Commitment, & Dedication.

We are the Bergen County Broncos !