help im a new oc

What age group is this? How much good ,dependable help will you have? If its young kids, like 12 and under, and you'll be doing the offense pretty much by yourself.......you may wanna just rip one page out of the running game part and a half a page out of the passing game section or vice versa....and go with that....lol.......when we got to the point of actually learning "how" to execute a play.....it was a lot of walk thru stuff....asking and answering questions, about blocking......aiming points....routes.....ball handling/fakes....steps.....rules.....etc...really dissecting each play, into 11 job descriptions vs the common defenses we played against, and stressing the importance of each job, to the positive outcome of the play(and whats more, you'll probably be doing this all season long, till they all understand it)......calling plays in each series was fairly easy, since we didn't have many....and used basically 2 formations......you could substitute by position....by skill groups, i.e. different sets of backs, TE's, recievers, etc.....just whatever is easiest to get the most kids into the game, while still being able to function on offense......add = locating a football or kicking tee, when you need one....constant equipment repair......nursing hurt feelings and little bumps and bruises.....answering questions, while you're trying to think ahead......counting players on the field.....and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember....to the "other duties" during the game, part.....and you're in business, as a youth ball coach

Wow - that's a pretty broad question, and a lot will depend the age group you are coaching, their talent level, what minimum play requirements, if any, you have, etc. I'll assume you have 11-12 yr olds, and about a 10-play minimum play req, so here are a few ideas:

Implementing the Offense

First of all, as los suggested, pare down the playbook to something manageable like 2-3 run series with play action off each, and 1 or 2 pass series. By series, I mean a grouping a plays that have similar action, and play off each other (do a search on this subject if you want a better definition - it has been discussed at length in other threads). That should give you a maximum of about 15 plays. Of those, just start with about 5-6 (1 run series and a couple pass plays). You can add from there over the course of the season and maybe put in all 15 plays by the end of the regular season. You are far better off running fewer plays really well than a bunch of plays mediocre. Putting in too many plays is a classic first year coach mistake - don't do it.

As ufpena said, start with a base play and build from there. You said you would be running spread, so let's assume you want to run zone read. Depending on your kids' age, experience level and talent, you may not want to actually run a zone blocking scheme or have the QB make real option reads - that's okay, you can still run the same basic series with simplied blocking and pre-called action for the QB. So, your first play is zone read (or something similar but simplified). Make sure all the kids know who to block and how to adjust depending on every variation of what the defense might do (i.e. alignment, stunts, blitzes, etc.) Then add, one at a time, Dart, Power-G, Counter-Trey, Sweep, and a play action pass off the same action. All these plays will look similar (at least in terms of backfield action). Another possble series from spread would be the fly sweep series, which has been discussed at lenght in other threads. Other plays in this series include Trap, G, Counter, and PA passes.

With regard to passes, run mostly PA off your runs, but make sure you put in a bubble screen to your slot receiver and a tunnel screen to your wideouts. These are really easy to complete, and are highly effective, especially if you have some decent athletes.

One other thing - spend the majority of your practice time in individual skills sessions. A common rookie coaching mistake is to practice team offense and scrimmage too much. Ten - fifteen minutes of scrimmage per night is more than enough. You'll get a lot more reps in and see a lot more improvement in skills if you work the line and backs separately for most of practice.

Play Calling

First of all, script your first 10 plays. Do this before your main offensive practice each week, so your players can practice the script in order, with substitutions. When scripting, keep a few things in mind: 1) Down & Distance - you can only really do this for the first 2-3 plays, then try to use plays that will be appropriate in any situation. Try to stay on script unless something really unusual comes up - like you have 1st and Goal on the 2 and the next play on the script is a deep fade. Have a few situational plays prepared for those unusual situations (backed up on our own goalline, inside their 10, 4th & short, etc.), but otherwise stay on script. 2) Horizontal Position. Try to have some idea of whether the ball will be on the right hash, the left hash or somewhere in the middle and script your play accordingly - for instance, don't script a rollout pass right immediately after a sweep right. 3) Put in enough variety to test most of their defense - run off-tackle to both sides, run wide to both sides, run up the middle, and test both corners with passes.

The whole reason you are running series is to make play calling easier and more effective. Run your base play often as long as it is effective. Eventually the defense will adjust, and when they do watch for where they leave themselves vulerable and attack there. For instance, let's assume you are running zone read (or some youth modification of it). You are consistently getting 5-7 yards because your QB is making good reads on the DE, and everyone else in the box is blocked so either the OLB comes crashing in from the outside or the safety comes up to make the tackle. If the OLB starts cheating in, run the bubble (or tunnel) screen - if the wideout makes any block at all on the corner, the slot will have a lot of room to run. Burn 'em once or twice and that OLB will stay out on the slot. If the safety starts cheating up, you can run Dart or Sweep, which should catch the safety out of position, or PA with a deep post or fade to one of your slots - no OLB should be able to cover your slots without safety help anyway, and if the OLB is also cheating to help with the zone read - TD!

Substitutions

Again, I'm assuming you have a minimum play rule (MPR). If you don't, take this with a grain of salt. Not taking the MPR seriously is a common rookie coach mistake. You must start running your minimum play players (MPPs) immediately (I start subbing on the second play of the game) and continue running as many as you can every play until they are done. The goal should be to have the MPR done by halftime. In our league, any players that don't have their plays done by the beginning of the 4th quarter must enter the game and stay in until their plays are done. I can't tell you how many games I've seen lost because some inexperienced coach had to put 5-6 MPPs in the game together at the beginning of the 4th quarter. This is one of the main reasons for scripting, as I described above. Look at each scripted play and sub for every non-essential position (for instance, on a sweep, you can probable sub the backside G & T and both backside receivers). When you practice the script during the week, practice with those subs coming in and going out so they know exactly when they'll be in and out of the game. Also, give the script to whatever parent is assigned to keep track of plays so he knows who to look for on each play. If you do this, you should be able to get 50-70% done with the MPR in the first 10 plays.

If you don't remember anything else - just keep it simple!!

I hope that helps. Good luck to you.

if you are linked to the local high school check with the head coach if you run his plays he should help with a clinic and help with alot of your Q,evrything i would tell you is in the above post "great site" good luck

Hi Coach... sent you an email... hope you are getting what you need. Good luck.