You can’t prevent injuries in football. They are a guarantee when you play this game. But, there are things you can do to decrease the risk of injuries.
Tackling
Tackling, especially on special teams, is the most dangerous part of football, especially injuries to the head/neck area. Keeping your head out of the tackle is important, both for your safety, and so there aren’t any flags flying. If you want drills for the technique of tackling, check out USA football. Or, click on this video link for a quick 9 minute watch.
Get in shape
If you’re tired you make mistakes. And this is especially prevalent in tackling. There is a lot of tackling mistakes done wrong in the 4th quarter, leading to injuries and big plays by the other team. Hydration and mobility are often overlooked in youth football, leading to cramps and nagging injuries throughout the season. Try doing a cooldown after practice to try and prevent nagging injuries, and have your athletes hydrate as much as possible.
Being bigger, stronger, faster than the other team is always a plus. So if you can get your players into shape, and get them doing core work and some bodyweight strength stuff, then they are not going to get hurt as easily.
The kids need to care
If you send a bunch of kids who don’t care, and don’t try, then bad things are gonna happen. My coaches have always said, if you don’t wanna play, then we’ll sit you on the bench. It’s to keep the team safe as well as that individual player. If one player misses a block because he gave a half-hearted effort, and then gets his running back killed. Or, the kid not trying gets blown up and his head popped off.
This is the most important thing, that the players care. Both so the team can be successful, and more importantly, not have an insurmountable amount of injuries.
Basically, if the kids want to play, and you coach them to the best of your ablility, then there’s nothing else you can do to prevent injuries.
If you want some more help coaching or just some ideas, buy this youth football spread offense playbook.