Coaching Flag Football Principles Online Course

This package includes the following:

• Coaching Flag Football ebook
• Online Coaching Aids documents (PDFs)
• Online test

This course features sport-specific content based on the ebook Coaching Flag Football, plus essential subject matter from Human Kinetics’ texts Successful Coaching, Fifth Edition, and Sport First Aid, Sixth Edition.

The course text, Coaching Flag Football, was written by two of the nation’s premier coaches in the sport: Joshua Saunders and Matt Hernandez. These two authors provide instruction, insights, and engaging anecdotes throughout this comprehensive guide as they explain how to build a successful program and direct a winning team.

After completing the course units, you’ll take a 50-question online test. Upon successfully passing the test, you will be entered into the National Coaches Registry, an online listing of coaches who’ve completed Human Kinetics Coach Education courses. Sport administrators have access to the registry, allowing them to track coaches’ course completion.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to do the following:

• Recognize the leadership responsibilities of a flag football coach in creating positive athletic experiences and advancing the sport.
• Develop a personal coaching philosophy that guides decision-making, player development, and program leadership.
• Promote athlete growth by creating opportunities to build life skills, resilience, and positive experiences through sport.
• Demonstrate effective communication strategies that strengthen relationships, enhance learning, and support team success.
• Identify the three primary coaching objectives—winning, athlete enjoyment, and athlete development—and explain how they influence coaching decisions.
• Apply the philosophy of “Athletes First, Winning Second” when making coaching decisions that affect athlete welfare and performance.
• Identify the personnel, facilities, equipment, and community resources necessary to support a successful flag football program.
• Establish and communicate clear expectations for players, coaches, parents, and supporters that promote accountability, commitment, and program success.
• Design a seasonal plan that aligns practice, competition, and player development goals throughout the year.
• Organize phase-specific practices that support skill development, team culture, and competitive readiness.
• Implement athlete-protection practices, communication guidelines, and professional boundaries that help create a safe and respectful sport environment.
• Teach and develop fundamental offensive skills, including receiving, route running, running back and quarterback play.
• Develop defensive fundamentals, including aggression, flag-pulling technique, and position-specific skills.
• Apply the four-step process for teaching technical skills: introducing the skill, demonstrating and explaining it, providing practice opportunities, and correcting errors through feedback.
• Develop procedures that protect athletes from harm, including those for injury prevention, concussion management, bullying prevention, and emergency preparedness.
• Promote respectful interactions with officials, opponents, coaches, and the game to enhance sportsmanship and program culture and reputation.
• Describe the coach’s role in injury prevention, athlete supervision, emergency response, and communication with athletes, parents, and health care providers.
• Create and implement an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) using the Assess–Alert–Attend framework.

The estimated time to complete Coaching Flag Football Principles Online Course, which includes reading the accompanying ebook Coaching Flag Football and completing the open-book online exam, is 60 hours. The time required to complete the course will vary based on the individual coach’s reading speed and study habits.

Audience

Interscholastic coaches, club coaches, college and university undergraduate students, and advanced coaches at the youth level.

Establishing Your Coaching Approach

Unit 1. Learning and Leading in Flag Football

Unit 2. Coaching Philosophy and Priorities

Unit 3. Communication and Motivation

Building and Maintaining a Program

Unit 4. Coach a Team, Construct a Program

Unit 5. A Culture of Caring

Unit 6. Program Support and Resources

Unit 7. Program Organization and Expectations

Unit 8. Season and Practice Scheduling

Teaching the Game to the Team

Unit 9. Developing Offensive Skills

Unit 10. Playing Offense

Unit 11. Developing Defensive Skills

Unit 12. Playing Defense

Unit 13. Coaching Special Teams

Preparing for and Coaching Games

Unit 14. Off-Season Goals and Competitions

Unit 15. Game Planning and Preparation

Unit 16. Sportsmanship

Unit 17. In-Game Adjustments

Unit 18. Postgame Review

Established in 1981 and rooted in an athlete-centered philosophy that places the developmental needs of athletes ahead of winning at all costs, Human Kinetics Coach Education courses and resources are customized and widely used by youth sport organizations, state high school associations, school districts, state departments of education, colleges and universities, and national governing bodies of Olympic sports to teach, train, and certify coaches.