Tailgating, ice cold beer, hot dogs grilling, hamburgers cooking, Sunday afternoons at the stadium, friendly rivalry between friends, family, and co-workers, and hot cheerleaders only means one thing...football season is here. Football has emerged from a game that used to kill players which not many people watched to a game that has a following of millions of fans, millions of television sets turned in to various games specific to the favorite National Football League (NFL) team that is playing that weekend and hundreds of thousands of dollars spend on tickets, merchandise, and stadium foods every year. Not only that, but millions of children every year find a new role model to idolize in football players.

For the player playing the role of the "patsy", the player providing zero resistance to the block or tackle and is getting slammed into a soft landing matt on every rep, the job doesn't sound like much fun. But what I'm hearing from coaches all across the country is that their kids love to be the one holding the shield and getting slammed onto the landing pad every play. I thought our kids were weird, they all want to play the pasty, but I guess everyones kids are as odd as mine.

While many people might not view "Jerry Maguire" as much of a football movie, it does reveal much of what the business side of the game has become. It stars Hollywood heavyweights such as Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Renee Zellweger. The story follows Jerry Maguire, a successful agent representing NFL players. One day he has an epiphany and loses his job when he expresses it, but he proceeds to continue his career with the only player who remains loyal to him. There is not a great deal of football action in the film, but the slight look into what goes on behind the scenes in the NFL is fascinating.

Football coaches design football coaching drills for their players to make up the numbers and go through a series of motions. As a player, are you doing the same thing? Practicing hard in order to improve their own skills is one of the most common perspectives for football players. Setting up goals for the next game and call up for a training program determines how advance you wish to achieve victory and do whatever it takes to win that.

I remember losing a championship football game as a young player and I still experience what that felt like. I remember ending the game and being beaten up, bruised and emotionally drained. I gave it everything and we still lost and it didn't make sense. I believe situations like that put people in spots that change them for good or bad. It's those moments where you have 2 choices. Do you keep going and fight or do you give in and quit? The best athletes use those moments for motivation and do whatever they can to never feel that way again. This really begs the question...what can youth coaches do to develop mental toughness in players?

Not many fans know the history of the game of football, however short it is. The first game that was played by a college or university in America was on November 6, 1869 between the universities of Rutgers and Princeton. Each team had 20 players on the field at one time, which, as any modern day fan knows, are too many players. This sort of play resembled more of a Rugby game than what is known today as a football game. The rules for college football play were how to play the best football established in 1873 and limited the number of players on the field to 15 instead of 20. A major concern, and a big reason for the lowering of players on the field, was the safety of the players and this concern has not ended today.

Make sure that you will be doing this in a properly sized area so the guests will not feel congested in a small area. The area should fit big men as players or enthusiasts are usually well-built. Provide snacks that will really make your guests tune in with the theme of your football party. A couple of beers, cheese fries, corndogs and chips are some of the foods that are usually eaten when watching a football game. The food should be perfectly coordinated with the theme of the party. Also, why not play some of the best games of Football in your TV while the guests come in. Maybe you can also hang some pictures of their favorite football players as well.