What position should my son play in pee wee football?

Question

My boy is 9. This is his first year in football. The coach is running a Wing-t offense, which I am familiar with from my HS days. My son is the smallest on the team, 4-1 and weighs 75 lbs. Needless to say he's not the fastest kid on the team. The coach asked me what position I would like him to play, but I don't know. Furthermore, what is an easy and efficient way to help him learn the game of football?

Answer 1

Running back, Reciever or cornerback

Answer 2

Yeah QB sounds perfect thats a position u learn fast because they run all the time in pee wee and he just needs to do one thing good luck

Answer 3

Well, if he has a strong enough arm, i would say QB! If not a QB, he should play safety, where you can drop into coverage or blitz to stop the run. I am in sort of a hole like that too, i can't decide what JV position to play.

Answer 4

Funny that a coach would ask you where YOU would like your son to play.

he's 9.

This isn't the position he will play in the pros or college or probably even after his first season. Put him somewhere and let him bang heads.

The Wing T isn't necessarily the offense that will get him anywhere anyways...it's old, outdated, and tends to over cluster the point of attack.

Put him at linebacker so he can use his hands and cream the guy with the ball. As he develops and graduates into pop warner or High school, he can pick something else if he wishes.

At 9 its about having fun.

Answer 5

teach him how to throw and tell the couach to try to play him at qb

Answer 6

As far as position, I would say safety.  He's not in the line of fire and he's not on offense where he has guys coming at him to tackle him.

My son was 9 his first and only year playing because he was paired up with a guy almost twice his size and got wiped out on the first play.  From there on in, he hated it...obviously...

I would watch football with him, your favorite team, and try to get him to enjoy the players and see if he can pick on that's his favorite.  Once he gets to know the players, you can use that with instruction on what position that guy plays and then start breaking football down by the basics... it worked for me when I asked my new husband to teach me the game when I was 18 and I still love the game 30 years later!!

Good luck!

Answer 7

The Great thing about the wing t is that it is designed for teams that have avg athletes. I thin QB might be good. obviously in the wing he wont be passing and his size might let him hide behind the line for a buck sweep or option play which you know are the main plays of the wing. What D are they running? I am a high school Defensive Coordinator, so I am biased to the D.  

Answer 8

QUARTERBACK it will make him a good leader

and dont make him the kicker because kickers are the guys who were to afraid to get hit

or make him A SACK MACHINE!!!!!!!WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Maybe this is a silly question, but is this a tackle league?  I can't imagine it would be, but if it is, the best position might be a defensive position.  I was a small fry when I played JV in high school, and I was much happier doing the hitting than getting splattered by the much bigger folks.  Too bad the coach made me a running back.

If it's a flag or tag league...I would think an offensive position is better suited, maybe a wing/end or receiver.  He might be on the smaller size, but if its a no-tackle league, I doubt the lineman are gonna be allowed to stunt the poor guy to death when he blocks..  He'll also get some chances to run out and get open - and who knows, maybe the little guy will be a good match-up against a bigger, slower linebacker.

Though I recommend him be on defense in a tackle-league, this is mainly because that will protect him from getting battered around when his smaller frame might suit another position better.  However, there's also the chance that, on defense, the other team's receiver will catch that game-winning pass over him or bowl him over for a score.  I know losing is part of the game, and that it's all about learning how to play at this level, but were it me, I'd rather be the guy doing the catching than the giving-up.  Maybe your kid wants that challenge though.

One way to learn the basics of the game would be just to go outside and play a bit.  Having him in the league should be a great starting point - grab a football, go in the back yard, and throw it around a bit too, though.  Even doing something as simple as Googling (or Yahoo!ing) a football dictionary and going over different terminologies can be helpful as well.  Nothing would impress a coach more than a 9-year-old kid who doesn't just know -how- to play cornerback, but knows -why- you do certain things on defense, such as trying to shield the inside, force the receiver outside, etc.

This is all just my personal opinion, though.  Hopefully, others will come up with more advice (that's perhaps more concise, as well).  I hope I've been of some help!

Edit: CowboysFan came up with a good answer - just watching games and teaching him how his favorite players play is also a good way to get started.  And it's much simpler than my idea.  Simple is best, especially when trying to teach something to children!  They're not stupid, but you won't get far throwing "X-Jag 32 Power Sweep" at him, either.  Start small and work up from there.