I’ve Got Flag Football Plays. Now What?

Question from Coach:

Thank you for your response! I just bought the 7on7 flag football playbooks from www.FlagFootballNinja.com. You mentioned that I should pick out five or six flag football plays to start off with.  What plays you would suggest. My flag football team has players ranging from fifth grade to twelfth grade, about 13-14 boys. I was also wondering where I could find some good drills to use for practice. Thanks for the help!
Deterimined to win.

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“Without a sound strategy, an army corrodes; its warriors flutter like moths drawn to the flame.”

- Elder of Tsan

THE NINJA SPEAKS

Having purchased the Ninja Package, you have already made a wise decision.  With it are over 100 plays that you now have at your fingertips, ready to deploy against an unwary opponent.  But you are right: keep it simple.  For your first game with plays, limit it to a handful.  First assess your team’s strengths (as always, depending on league rules).  But leave the Tricky Playbook out of the equation for now.  You want short passes and quick plays to work on your fundamentals and develop a rhythm on the field.

For your first game, assuming your league lets you run the ball, and you have the personnel to do it, try loading up with 4 passing plays and two running plays.   Try, “Ins and Outs”, “Hitching Post”. “Bullz Eye”, “Banana Split” and “Counter” and “Quick Pitch.”

Hitching Post is a great place to start. It is a timing play with four different levels of routes that develop as the play progresses.  The quarterback’s first look is to the hitch (that’s the short curl by the green “Y” receiver.  He should run full speed for about 3-5 steps and then slam on the brakes and spin in towards the QB.  If run perfectly, the football leaves the hands of the QB before the receiver makes his cut, so by the time the defender knows what’s happening, it’s too late, and you’ve made a completion.  After the hitch, the QB’s  next receiver looks are: the releasing center in the left flat (the area 5-10 yards from the line of scrimmage on either side of the field), the left wideout (the receiver lined up farthest right or left of the quaterback, in this case the orange “X” receiver), and finally, the QB can always go up top if the right wideout is able to break free on the deep post route (straight and then angle towards the center of the field). Remember, like many of these plays, success will depend on practice.

As far as drills, check the Ultimate Strategy Guide you received with your purchase of theNinja Package to consider which of the fundamentals your team most needs to work on. Is it catching? Pursuing the ball and defender? Position?  For catching, a great football drill is to have a line of receivers facing the coach.  The first man in the line has to chop his feet and move towards his coach (at about jog speed).  The coach then throws the ball at the approaching player (a basketball-style chest pass is a good close-quarters delivery that sends the ball out quickly and can be aimed high, low or to either side.   Make the receivers watch the ball into their hands. A drop and they do pushups.

Another good catching drill is to have the receiver lie on his back with the coach standing over him. Coach has a football and drops it at receiver.  You can try variations on this depending on the receiver’s skill – have him close his eyes until you have let go; have him start with his hands palms down on the ground; try exerting a little force downwards on the ball.  The point of both of these flag football drills is to work on hand-eye coordination and to get the guys comfortable with catching whatever is thrown at them.

Footwork is also hugely important. Practice. Practice Practice.

I hope this helps.  Keep the Ninja informed of your progress with updates, pictures and messages.

How Do I Build a Youth Flag Football Team From the Ground Up?

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Nathan Lipscomb writes:

I am beginning to coach a 7-7 flag football team for a small Christian school. We don’t have a lot of natural talent to pull from, and they don’t have much background in flagfootball. We started last year and lost every game to teams who had been playing together for a long time. Where do I start with these guys to build an efficient unit.

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The Ninja Speaks:

Fundamentals First

“From among the huddled and fearful children I will pick my few and mold my warriors.” – Blademaster of Red Mountain

 

Nathan,
Already you have taken important steps. You have formed the team, you have played and the players have experienced loss. These are important. But now it is time to take them to the next level of flag football.

To answer you fully, I will make assumptions. I will assume this is a junior high or middle school team and that you have repeat players for a couple of years at a time (rather than a new slate every season). I assume also, that you hold practices, but probably no more than 2-3 per week, and that you play weekly games (up to 8 or 10 in the regular season). Please correct any of the above.

Here are simple steps to start building a solid team:

1. Instill pride and a sense of ownership in the players. If the players don’t want it, it won’t happen. If the guys are going to be successful, this has to be their team. You are a rudder, not the sail and not the wind. A rudder is useless on a still ship. Consider a pre-season team event (an inspirational football movie, for instance) and periodic (weekly if possible) team dinners or other off-the-field activities. Don’t let them use the excuse that they can’t be successful because they are new to the game and their school is just a “small Christian school”. They most likely want to be part of a real team as much as anyone. It is largely your job to show them that the game is important, the team is important and that they can build strength together. Make each flag footbaall game feel like an NFL playoff game. Target leaders in the group, preferably leaders on and off the field, and encourage them to lead this effort.

2. Fundamentals. Stepping on the field in a game is a privilege. First, the players need to earn their stripes. Hammer the fundamentals into the players. Throwing. Catching. Running. Flag pulling. Do drills again and again. Try to make them fun or competitive drills, but (with a fresh season) before you go anywhere near plays, get them used to running around and trying the different aspects of the game. Make sure every person who is going to catch a pass knows what a route is and how to run a good one. Eyes on the ball when you catch. You’d be amazed at how much better a defense plays when everyone swarms the ball, and you don’t give up nearly as many big plays when one guy misses the flag – this is just a matter of practice and discipline, not a talent issue. These are the basics. If you’re shaky on these yourself, review the Ninja’s Ultimate Strategy Guide again.

3. Keep it simple. Especially if they don’t have much of a background in the sport or a lot of innate talent, don’t overwhelm them with scores of plays and schemes and jargon. For the first game in a season with new players, you don’t need more than 4-6 plays. You can always flip the plays and get different looks, but a team like yours with a few well-rehearsed plays will do significantly better than the same team with two dozen plays. The same thing goes for defense. Find one or two simple formations and then you can spend time giving the players reps and practicing drills so when game time arrives, they are not so frazzled by which play they are running and where they have to be.

4. Targeted Attacks A quarterback with John Elway’s arm always helps, but it sounds like the long ball may not be your best weapon. Instead, hone your short, timing routes. If run correctly, these can be absolutely devastating. The next time you watch an NFL game, pay special attention to how open the receivers are when they catch a pass. With a few exceptions, the routes they run often create just a few feet of space for the QB to deliver the ball. If your quarterback can time some hitch routes or quick slants or outs, you’ll start building momentum and rhythm that can take the team far.

5. Great Flag Football Plays. As mentioned before, there don’t have to be many weapons in the arsenal to start with, but make sure they are good. These Flag Football Plays offer a number of options for tearing down your opponent. Use them well.

Those are a few tips to get you started. If you have more questions, the doors to the Ninja’s dojo are always open. Tell your players that they can ask questions themselves as well.

Victory is yours.

 

Ninja.

Help with my 7-man team!

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Hi. I bought your 7-man package yesterday and wondered what you would suggest. I am coaching 5th/6th graders who have athletic ability but have not played together. How many plays would you suggest I introduce to the team and from what book would you suggest I pick the plays? What defense would you suggest to run? Thank you.
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The Ninja Speaks:

You’re off to a good start. For your first game, I would suggest you have no more than 4-6 plays that the team knows very well. You can always add motion or flip the play to add variety, but the opponent will most likely have trouble with even 5 well executed plays. Each successive week add 2-3 plays, while reviewing the existing ones. If you can come up with a creative way to get them to learn the plays off the field, that will help (competitions can be useful in this regard).

On defense, keep it simple. A cover 2 zone defense is a good start. You keep two men deep, one linebacker plays the middle of the field, two men rush (if permitted), and two men play the flats (5-10 yards deep on the flanks). The biggest challenge you will have is to get the players to stay in their zone. Work on this in drills during practice.

You can try man defense if you think you have an athletic edge over the other team, but zone may serve you better for now.

The Ninja hopes you are helped.

Ten Ways to Dominate in Flag Football

By Max Moyer, special to Sports Illustrated On Campus

Reprinted with permission from the author
 

Fall is here, and with it the long awaited return of football. But before you stumble blindly into another mediocre flag football experience, check out ten ways to dominate the league this year:

1. The Pitch

If your league calls the ball dead when it hits the ground (and most do), you absolutely must take advantage of the lateral — it can turn a loss of yards into a touchdown. Every play, your players should be thinking pitch.

2. A Powerful Rush

Don’t make the mistake of using “leftover” players as rushers. Instead, use your best athletes to rush — it will pay off. A nasty rush can completely neutralize a quarterback and demoralize the opposing offense.

3. Adjustments

A flexible team is a winning team. Spend time planning so you’re not trying to invent your strategy on the field. Here are some things to develop:

• A plan for an overwhelming rush (releasing blockers, quick passes, pitches).

• A plan for a team that doesn’t rush (QB sneaks, two-move routes).

• A dominant defense (zone or man, blitzes, audibles).

• A plan to handle a fast, shifty QB (extra rushers, etc.).

4. A Good Playbook

Nine times out of ten a good scheme will beat raw athleticism. You need organization and plays. If you’re not inclined (or simply don’t have time) to create an entire playbook, try a site like Flag Football Ninja that sells them cheap.

5. Simple Rotations

If you have a big team, game-time rotation can become utter chaos. Figure out an efficient, organized way to substitute players through. Avoid team politics by spreading the talent around the rotation instead of having your “starters” out first. A backup squad with no playmakers is useless to put out on the field at almost any point in the game.

6. Defense

Defense wins championships. Generally, teams of five or fewer should be playing a man-to-man defense unless the field is small. A zone can work with a bigger team. Every defense will have its weak spots, but giving the quarterback too much time is unacceptable. So send your rushers as often as you can, and use the blitz aggressively to keep the QB on the run. Also, a zone will completely fall apart if your defenders don’t stick to their spots.

7. Timing

This, unfortunately, requires practice. But if your QB can master a handful of routes (or even a couple), throwing just as the receiver cuts, you can build a championship offense. A QB who can pair accuracy and timing can’t be stopped.

8. Rhythm

Everyone wants to huck it deep. While there is much to be said for having some long plays in your arsenal, by and large, you will fare much better with shorter, consistent plays. A relentless short game will wear down the defense much more effectively than a few long plays, and successive completions batter the opponents psyche as well.

9. Experiment Early

Regardless of how good your scheme is entering the season, you will be better if you adjust after each game. Each team has its own chemistry. Building on the concept of flexibility, try as many plays and schemes as you can early in the season, but by playoff time you should have distilled down what works best for your team. After a few weeks of regular season play, you should know what works and what looked better on paper than on the field.

10. Flag Pulling

Nothing is more important in flag football than being able to pull the flag. Again, nothing is more important in flag football than being able to pull the flag. This sounds dumb, but time and time again, short dump passes turn into touchdowns because of missed pulls.

Try the following:

• Don’t wait flat-footed: If you wait for the ball carrier to pass at full speed while you flail and swipe at the flags, you are setting yourself up for disaster. Instead, meet the ball carrier as early as possible, and move with the ball carrier while you pull the flags.

• Get in the way: Most flag leagues do not allow (much) contact. That is why it can be especially helpful to stand in the way of the ball carrier while trying to pull the flag. They can’t bull you over; they have to go around. This slows them down and gives you more time to pull the flag.

• Pursuit: If everyone on your team pursues the play, you will win more games. You’ll have fewer breakaways because if one guy misses the flag, another is right there.

Follow these tips, and you’ll be on your way to your own championships.