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Post by bobgoodman on Aug 1, 2009 13:57:50 GMT -6
Do any of you allow a player in the huddle to routinely pick the play? It must seem strange to ask these days when even adult players have most of their plays sent in, and would at most call audibles. However, it seems to me that if the object is to teach children about the game, the logical end to that would be to wind up with the kids calling their own offensive and defensive plays -- probably not at the beginning of the season, but by the end. Not with 8U players, but with 9 YOs & up.
I would want the play caller on offense to be at a position that has no designed carries. On defense I would want the play selector to be at a position that doesn't blitz. However, would "politics" still interfere with the choice of plays?
A disadvantage I see is that if they're supposed to learn from your own play calling at the beginning of the season, then you still need to install a method to send plays in. I guess you could eliminate that and have them call plays all along, sink or swim, analyzing their mistakes afterward.
If none of you have players on the field call plays, how about a long term injured player on the sideline as game day offensive and/or defensive coordinator picking plays?
Would any of you have long term injured players be scouts? Or would it add insult to injury, literally, to separate them from their teammates, assuming the games are played at more or less the same time in different locations?
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binny
Sophomore Member
Posts: 110
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Post by binny on Aug 1, 2009 20:02:03 GMT -6
This is a great idea to encourage kids to learn more than just their assignments. I love the idea, but may struggle when they make poor decisions.
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Post by los on Aug 1, 2009 20:57:04 GMT -6
Believe it or not Bob, this was always my ultimate goal with our QB's....at least with the older group (11-12's)......I mean, we didn't have that many plays to begin with, so they didn't need much of a memory....I wanted them to learn some strategy, game management skills, etc...and many times during the 3rd or 4th qtr, with only a small lead would try to "turn the offense over to them".......I gotta say....there weren't many young Johnny U's or Terry Bradshaws in our bunch over the years.......most of them didn't want the responsibility.....would freeze up.....call plays we didn't have....call their own number too much.....maybe 2 kids in 12 years could do it....and as it turned out, only one of them continued to play QB or even football thru HS.....so thats 1 kid, (who started out as a QB from 8 yrs old and played thru his senior year of HS as a QB)= never played any other position on offense his entire football career....for the entire time I coached youth football, that could call "some" of his own plays effectively......I never stopped trying....just never had much success....at least at my level...whether or not it helped them later= who knows?.....its a noble effort though Bob, and I wish you the best of luck.
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Post by bobgoodman on Aug 1, 2009 23:39:40 GMT -6
Believe it or not Bob, this was always my ultimate goal with our QB's....at least with the older group (11-12's)......I mean, we didn't have that many plays to begin with, so they didn't need much of a memory....I wanted them to learn some strategy, game management skills, etc...and many times during the 3rd or 4th qtr, with only a small lead would try to "turn the offense over to them".......I gotta say....there weren't many young Johnny U's or Terry Bradshaws in our bunch over the years. IIRC Unitas didn't usually call his own plays, or at least wasn't allowed to until he'd been with the Colts for some time; and Bradshaw was not known for his cool head under pressure! (One sports writer at the time -- maybe Paul Zimmerman -- said of the Steelers that they had one QB who could run, another who could pass, and a third who could think. Readers knew he meant Bradshaw, Hanratty, and Gilliam, respectively. Then again, Bradshaw got so many concussions one could excuse him -- at least later in his career!) But why should it be the QB who calls the plays on offense? I was thinking this would be part of spreading the responsibility around (one of the things I like about single wing); FAIK a center or guard might have the best game sense on offense. I also thought kids might be selfish and want to call their own number, which is why I'd prefer a player who has no designed carries to do it. |
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Post by justryn2 on Aug 2, 2009 7:06:21 GMT -6
The reason I call all the plays when I am the OC has nothing to do with the ability of the players to call plays. I call the plays so I know which defender, or at least which area of the defense, I need to watch on that play. Our series based offense relies on seeing how the defense reacts to various keys and then calling the compliment to the base play to exploit the defensive reaction. The QB on the field has a responsibility to look at a different area of the defense and so he cannot look at the same defender I'm tracking.
If I don't know what the call is I cannot be sure I'm watching the right defender or defensive key.
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Post by los on Aug 2, 2009 8:11:36 GMT -6
Sure.....might work.....a singlewing center probably handles/distributes the ball more than any of the backs.....in our offense "under center I"....the "QB" was the ball distributor, handing it off, passing it(most of the time) or keeping it himself, so learning to call his own plays would really be a natural extension of his job description.....far as calling their own number too often or the other inexperienced mistakes they'll make.....thats really part of the learning process for anyone who calls plays and distributes the ball(whether on the field, on the sidelines, or up in the booth) and shouldn't be avoided to me.....let them work thru it and learn = don't be selfish or stubborn.....use the best man for the job at hand, depending on what the defense gives you(if thats you as the QB, go for it).....remember which plays worked in a given situation, earlier in the game......as long as the QB's kept our "overall offensive philosophy" in mind, they could call what they wanted = get 1st downs and move the chains.....take your homerun shots as they present themselves.....I'm not sure how well any of my linemen would handle calling plays, (based on the big picture),even if they were the most "football smart" guy on the field, as they were more concerned with blocking the guy, right in front of their nose, lol.....we had "ball carrier weight limits" to deal with, but otherwise, if we had a kid that was that football savvy = "he'd be the QB".....like I said though Bob...its a noble effort and best of luck to you.
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Post by bobgoodman on Aug 2, 2009 14:07:35 GMT -6
Sure.....might work.....a singlewing center probably handles/distributes the ball more than any of the backs.....in our offense "under center I"....the "QB" was the ball distributor, handing it off, passing it(most of the time) or keeping it himself, so learning to call his own plays would really be a natural extension of his job description. What does handling the ball have to do with it? Are they going to do it any differently if someone else tells them to pass the ball, whether that person is an adult coach, a teammate on the sideline, or a teammate on the field? That makes sense in the pros, where after handing the ball off, the QB basically watches and cheers, giving them the best look at the field -- or where the QB passes a great deal, also giving them the best look at the defense. But I bet in your youth I formation, your QB is always threatening bootleg and winds up facing away from the play after he gets rid of the ball, so he has no better look at the play than your OL. This is one of those things where what develops with the players over the years among those few who get to high levels of play is not necessarily the pattern the kids start out with. It's just like you wouldn't assume a youth baseball pitcher will bat at the bottom of the order just because that's how it winds up in the pros. So if, for instance, you have a receiver who reports in the huddle where the coverage is leaving him free, does it matter whether it's the passer who makes the choice to act on that info, or some other player who calls the play, informed the same way? And by the same token, what if the most football-smart player in your offensive huddle has none of the physical skills that would make him a QB? |
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Post by los on Aug 2, 2009 22:53:58 GMT -6
Well....Bob....the main physical thing they needed to play QB, was to be 120 pounds or less at the pre-season jamboree/weigh in.....other than that.....no other special physical requirements? Your idea may work fine.....I just prefer the guy thats distributing the ball, be the one who calls the plays = not arguing thats the only way to do it, just my own preference......probably developed in my youth, playing sandlot football = if you were gonna play QB, you best know how, to not only call the plays, but draw them up properly in the dirt. ;D
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Post by jhanawa on Aug 3, 2009 20:50:52 GMT -6
Our kids don't call plays, but they do call direction of the plays based on the front and also can audible out of plays.
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Post by bobgoodman on Aug 4, 2009 12:42:15 GMT -6
Our kids don't call plays, but they do call direction of the plays based on the front and also can audible out of plays. I have trouble keeping track of these things, so you've probably posted before, but could you give me an idea of your offense and how it makes sense for a coach to be calling plays but not the side the play is going to? |
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Post by captainpp on Aug 6, 2009 8:29:15 GMT -6
I have in years past but not always... For myself it's always been the QB... Looking at this thread I guess I could have used a different player and didn't... Thinking that it had to be the QB. to do this... Several reasons pop up, with why I do and why I don't do this... The don't... 1. Sometimes I just didn't have the take charge player to do so ... 2. The time that this does require... 3. Not Understanding the full benefit that this does have ... 4. Getting knocked down a few pegs by mostly you guy's, that I'm not the Supreme Being of football and for goodness sake it's only a youth football game, let them experience and have fun... For that this coach does thank you all, now it's fun for me... NOTE -- 4 years now the QB. have been calling plays but not the whole game but a good amount... Why I do 1. It helps with a coaching style I now use putting the athletes first... 2. The flow of practice and games seem alive and fresh... 3. It helps me to get upstairs to take a peek during a game , first series if we can keep it going for a bit... 4. It seems like we communicate better now as to coach / player... It's not just a my team thing, it's a our team because they have a say on what's going on... Heck we even have them summit 3 plays that they come up with and we as coaches will select 1 to put into the book... 5. Many players won't go past H/S playing football but I hope that they gain some knowledge of X's and o's and carry that over to become coaches themselves or in the sport industry... Lord knows there's a need... Now all this being said, this is a different team and area and H/C... He knows nothing about this style because of HIS other commitment's at the present, we haven't talked much YET... It's going to be all OK. right guy's?  In closing (stop clapping) some things that were ironed out... 1. To much talking in the huddle... Nipped early... QB. doesn't send anyone out but will inform me at a break and well this is where I get un-glued a bit but I do this at the right time and place... The jaw- jacker mite as well just sit down and start un-lacing................ 2. I must always be ready to follow the flow and have a play ready to send in when he needs my surport... It's just a simple jester of 2 hands on the helmet and the play is sent in... 3. THE HEAT of doing this which at times come's... I'll take it all... If they want the job and the pay that goes with it I guess it's all their's... Plus they are all informed of how things are done to the point of even having a half hour chalk talk once a week for the parent's... Not a b$tch session but a better understanding of what we our trying to do... Really geared more to the Mom's but all are welcomed... |
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Post by tiger46 on Aug 10, 2009 15:24:11 GMT -6
I coach 9>10's. I've never let a player call a play in a game. Although, once my TB made one up in the huddle. And, he scored on it, too.
Late in the season, I let designated players call plays in a scrimmage. Of course the backs were mostly calling their own numbers. So, I designated our RG as the play caller. Our RG was our pulling guard and I felt that he had a better feel for what plays were working and what plays weren't. The other o-linemen were throwing suggestions at him even though they weren't supposed to be. I let it slide. But, I made the backs shut up. They had no input.
It didn't surprise me that the plays the o-line picked- and, when to call them- were netting more yards. During the course of the season, I had spent time with them during water breaks, etc... explaining some of the reasons when and why that we call certain plays because my AC's seemed indifferent to the information. And, sometimes the O-linemen would clue me in on something I'd missed.
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