And now he’s decided to take his knowledge of the sport a step further.

Webster City’s Hall of Fame football coach — in 45 seasons at multiple schools, Howard has amassed a 358-106 record with three state championships, and he sits in the top five in wins all-time in the state of Iowa — is spearheading a new operation to help teach the next generation of Lynx players the sport he’s so passionate about.

Introducing Webster City Youth Football.

Starting in early September, all fifth and sixth graders in the Webster City school system are invited to take part in the new program. There will be no cost to the players and their families — repeat, no cost to the players and their families — and Howard thinks the two-month long program will be both beneficial and fun.

In 45 seasons as a head football coach Bob Howard (left) has compiled a 358-106 record with three state championships, and he sits fifth on Iowa’s all-time wins leaderboard. He’s now leading the charge for Webster City Youth Football, a program that will begin in September. DFJ file photo/Troy Banning

“I am going to be very heavily involved in this,” Howard, who directed WCHS to an 8-3 record and spot in the Class 4A state quarterfinals last fall, said. “We want to increase participation and we want these kids to have fun, and eliminating the money will help that.”

Howard says he has three main objectives for Webster City Youth Football.

The main priority is safety. Yes, kids will be in pads and helmets and, yes, there will always be some health risks associated with the sport, but Howard says there are ways to mitigate those risks.

“Safety starts with age appropriate drills,” Howard said. “There’s stuff that we did 50 years ago that we don’t do anymore and we shouldn’t do anymore, so we can control the amount of contact. Little kids don’t want to get run over by the bigger kids, and we don’t want to discourage the smaller kids. We’re seeing way too many kids get out (of the sport) before they ever get a chance to find out how good they can become.”

The safety of the sport directly correlates to Howard’s second objective, which is teaching the basic progression of fundaments in football. Teaching the fundamentals — stances, the proper blocking techniques, and on and on they go — is not only essential to the safety of the sport, but also goes toward success.

Kids need to learn to walk before they can run and that translates into football as well. Because of that, Howard stresses that this is not a program that will focus on competitive games. Practices will run two to three times per week and scrimmages will be held on Sunday afternoons, but Webster City Youth Football is not joining a league that will compete against other teams.

“We can talk about fundamentals, but we end up focusing on team stuff because there’s going to be a game and the scoreboard is going to be on,” Howard said. “That puts a lot of pressure on the coaches and the kids. So because we’re not going to play games, we don’t have to focus on running offenses and defenses and strategy. Instead, we can spend team time on doing fundamentals and there can be a progression from the fifth graders to the sixth graders.

“I don’t care about the Xs and Os. But being able to shoulder block, shoulder tackle, getting out of a stance, learning how to run properly … that’s the stuff we can really accomplish when we’re not playing games.”

Howard says the teams will change each week for the Sunday scrimmages so that each player has the chance to compete with different teammates. In other words, there will be no ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams.

“We’re going to mix the teams up so hopefully they can all experience some success,” he said.

Howards also plans on introducing other games, such as a Punt, Pass and Kick competition, which brings us to objective No. 3 for Webster City Youth Football.

Fun.

“The No. 1 reason kids play sports is to have fun and be with their friends,” Howard said. “There’s a way to have fun in football, and part of the way of having fun is to eliminate the pressure of winning and losing at this level. When you get to high school, it’s in the locker room and the weight room and there’s a camaraderie with your teammates.”

In the next month, a Webster City Youth Football Facebook page will go live. There parents will be able to sign up their children for the program, and there will also be information available at the Webster City Middle School. Howard says kids will be allowed to sign up until just prior to the start of the program in September.

Anyone that would like to donate funds to help with the program can also do so. Checks can be made out to Webster City Federal Bank, attention Brad Cheyne, and either dropped off at the bank or mailed.

A group of coaches will be tasked with following Howard’s plan for the program, and Howard says there will be times when he and some of his WCHS players will take part in helping to lead the program as well. Practices will run no longer than 90 minutes.

Learning the game of football the right way and having fun in the process — that’s what Howard wants to see. And over his 45 years of coaching the sport, his results speak for themselves.