By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Sharief Rodriguez, head coach of the CD Panthers 6U team, has been coaching little league football for eight years. He says the opportunity to lead the team came unexpectedly, but he’s incredibly grateful for where it has taken him.
“It started with my son, who was really big into football. His cousins played for CD, so he wanted to play as well, and as soon as he was old enough, I signed him up,” said Rodriguez. “And then probably about a month into practice, the head coach asked me if I wanted to coach, and I have been doing it ever since then.”
Coaching the youngest division in youth football, Rodriguez takes a positive, patient approach to teaching the game. At the 6U level, where players are as young as four, he emphasizes encouragement over criticism, knowing the tone he sets can shape how a child sees the sport.
“At this age level, some kids aren’t made for that kind of hard, tough coaching. For me, I can tell some kids just need to be talked to a bit more and pat them on the back to encourage them, rather than saying you did this or that wrong,” said Rodriguez. “That is the quickest way to have a kid quit on you. Some may say it is handholding, but it is positive reinforcement that works for me because they are not afraid to make mistakes, thinking that I am going to pound on them.”
With such a wide age range on the roster, keeping focus is often the biggest challenge. But Rodriguez says repetition is what helps his players stay on track and grow.
“The kids can be anywhere between 4 and 6 years old, so it is a pretty big range, and the biggest thing for me is getting them to focus enough when I am explaining what I want them to do,” said Rodriguez. “For me, it is just a lot of repetition, because I know my kids know the runs and holes, and through that repetition, my kids learn. A lot of the time, they know what I am asking them to do, but they just don’t want to be wrong.”
To keep practices engaging, Rodriguez incorporates games and activities that feel like play—but build important skills. Whether it’s foot races or “ring of fire,” the competition and energy keep players dialed in.
“You can’t just have them hitting all day, but what I can do is have them calculate and see who the fastest kid is. Or we play this game called the ring of fire, where all the kids get in a big circle, two kids in the middle, and when I say hike, they try to push the other out of the ring,” Rodriguez said. “When it feels like a competition and you get the kids yelling, it’s fun, and I am still teaching them stuff without them even knowing.”
While winning is always a goal, Rodriguez is most focused on setting his players up for success beyond this season. His aim is for them to understand the game, feel confident, and continue playing at the next level.
“I love winning. I know that it’s fun, but what I want most is for my kids to learn the game of football. I want them to go to the next level and have them know what they are doing, and not look like they are lost,” said Rodriguez. “We have a progress report for the kids that we give to them every Tuesday, and it has remarks and things like that. If everybody gets a good report, then there is a prize at the end, but if not, the punishment is extra laps at practice, for either not listening or not participating.”
“The prize is to keep it interesting and ultimately keep it fun for the kids to show them that this is more than just playing football,” he continued.
But for Rodriguez, football is never just football. It’s an opportunity to be there for kids who may need more than just a coach.
“It has always been more than just football. With my experience, there are some kids out there who don’t have father figures, and as a coach, you can see those kids gravitate towards you, and you are there to help build them up. I have kids that I coached who are now in high school, and to see them randomly and for them to acknowledge me shows how much of an impact we have on the kids,” said Rodriguez. “That is one of my biggest things for coaching and one of the things I love most. All of the hugs and high-fives [do it for me].”
