If you watch The Today Show occasionally, you may be familiar with Alison Rhodes, the “Safety Mom.” She appears on this program frequently as a national child safety expert. Alison recently wrote about USA Football’s concussion awareness work in her blog too.

USA Football’s members are youth football coaches, players, commissioners and game officials who live in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This past August, the NFL, the NFLPA and each of the league’s 32 teams named USA Football as their official youth football development partner. Grassroots football had a great year in 2009 and USA Football is working to make 2010 even better. Stay in touch with me and www.usafootball.com to keep up with the latest in our game.

With 2010 just kicking off, we all have some type of resolution that we may or may not keep. I will be keeping mine this year for the first time in a while mainly because it is football-related. My resolution is to travel far and wide to find out all I can about the Wildcat Offense. It has become a pain in my backside, and I have had enough. As a defensive guy, I find it very helpful to go and learn about the offense that gives me problems. I find that the more I know about the scheme, the more comfortable I become in defending it.

Feel free to share your New Year’s resolutions with me. If you are anything like me, the New Year’s resolution becomes a vague memory very soon after the beginning of the New Year.

I hope everyone has wrapped up their season on a good note.

A topic was mentioned, from Kevin Davis, on my last entry that I wanted to address. He spoke about the importance of a good stance in youth football. I can’t tell you enough how important it is to have your players in fundamentally-sound football stances.

The first thing I will mention that will help you with this is USA Football’s online education course at www.usafootball.com. We have built a comprehensive learning tool that will steer you in the right direction as it pertains to all of the fundamentals of youth football. The proper stance for all positions can determine if your player will be successful or not on any given play. The correct balance and hand and foot placement in the stance allows the player to have a “chance” to succeed once the ball is snapped.

One of the tools that I use to help my players learn a proper three- or four-point stance is our bleachers. I start by having four players at a time take a seat on the first level of the bleacher. Then I have them reach their hand out in front of them until their fingertips touch the ground. Make sure that their heads are up and their backs are flat once their fingertips touch the ground. From that position, I have them lean forward without putting their head down or arching their backs. You will be amazed at how fast and easy this will help you to get your kids in a good three- or four-point stance.

Write me here with any questions or comments you have regarding youth football.

My high school team participated in our championship game this past weekend.  The outcome wasn’t the best for us.  We lost a bid for our seventh consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship to Our Lady of Good Counsel.  I would like to congratulate them on their first league title and a job well done. Our kids played their hearts out but we came up short, 14-7. You would think it would hurt less after winning six championships in a row, but no, it’s still tough losing that last game.

I am sure that some of you have some great stories about the end-of-season games you are participating in. Chime in and share your exhilarating victories and your heartbreaking losses. As we all know, for the little guys, it shouldn’t all be about winning. I want the kids that come to my program from youth leagues that focus on the fundamentals of the game. Teaching young players proper stances and the correct way to block and tackle will help you win more games than a playbook with 200 pages. To learn more about USA Football’s online coaching education program, click here. Whether you’re already a coach or are considering becoming one, I encourage you to check it out.

I’m Deno Campbell of USA Football. I will be joining you here regularly to discuss all things youth football. I have been with USA Football, the Official Youth Football Development Partner of the NFL, its 32 teams, and the NFL Players Association, for three years. During this time, I have traveled all over the country observing youth football leagues and meeting the selfless people who power them. You would be surprised to know that the game’s hot topics are very similar wherever you go: finances, coaching education, field space, and background checks are usually at the top of everyone’s list.

Before I go any further, let me tell you a little bit about me. I am a former football player. I played my high school ball at DeMatha Catholic. I then went on to play at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. After college, my former high school coach had an opening at DeMatha and I started out as an assistant linebackers coach back in 1985. Twenty-some odd years later, I’m proud to say that I remain at DeMatha and serve as our team’s Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator under our head coach and my dear friend, Bill McGregor.

I’ll be here online to help you with X’s and O’s, health and safety issues, coaching education direction, clinics, and other topics that will make your job easier as a volunteer youth football junkie. Youth football is the backbone of America’s favorite sport – your involvement is critical to nourish our young people’s character and to teach them the right way to play this game. When a youngster knows how to block and tackle, it makes the game more fun and minimizes the risk of injury. We’re going to get into all of this.

Shoot me your comments here as I plan to post about three entries per week. Like football, let’s make this fun and something we can all learn from.