Terms and Things You Take for Granted

Here are some things from a handout I made(years ago) for our frosh. Hope this helps...

RECEIVER IDENTIFICATION
Tight End-receiver on LOS who aligns within 3yds of OT
Slot-receiver aligned in backfield (off LOS) between the OT and the SE
Flanker-receiver aligned in the backfield (off LOS) wide outside the TE
Wing-receiver (or running back) aligned in the backfield (off LOS) but next to the TE
Split End-receiver aligned on the LOS, wide outside the OT
NUMBERING RECEIVERS
In order to quickly identify receivers, they are numbered from outside in; running backs are included in the count
IMPORTANT TERMS
IN- toward the center of the formation
OUT-away from the center of the formation
PLAYSIDE-the side of the formation where the ball goes
BACKSIDE or AWAYSIDE-the side opposite the direction of the ball
POA-point of attack-the actual gap the offense is attacking
LEVERAGE-inside/out or outside in (depends where the defender is aligned)-inside defenders want to stay on
the ball carrier’s backside hip-outside defenders want to keep the ball in front and inside
FIT-each defender’s leverage on the ball so that the ball can not get outside the defense or cut back-proper fit
seams or creases from occurring
PURSUIT-running to the ball as fast as one can while maintaining proper leverage
PURSUIT ANGLE-the angle defenders take to run to the ball-backside defenders take a deeper angle-no defender should
be directly behind one of his teammates
FORCE-the defender who forces the ball (into the core of the defense) from outside in
CONTAIN-the defender who keeps the QB in front and inside of the defense

THAT'S A HUGE CAN OF WORMS you just opened. I have just begun to understand kids today don't know JACK and we have to teach them everything including basic terminology. Honestly 15-20 years ago YOUTH coaches were pretty solid. Today I am sure there are still some solid guys coaching youth but its a higher percentage of DAD coaches.

I just put together on HUDL basic OLINE terminology for the kids.

I also think with the internet and availability of so much more information now days some guys think they need to talk like they are on an NFL staff when teaching 15 year olds.

Had a LB who asked me about week 5 who the Full back was. LB coach kept telling him to key the FB and he had no idea...


Changed my whole perspective.

He started playing a lot better after that......

This topic makes me wonder why we all don't just use the madden playbook.

Not knowing the difference between a wing and a slot is one of my pet peeves.

Shades/techniques, gap responsibilities, run fits, and leverage all come to mind. Not just what they mean, but the concepts of them all. How many offensive players must be on the line of scrimmage (what the line of scrimmage is), how to determine who is an eligible receiver (and to point them out to help out the officials), onside kicks (when to recover/when not to), punts (what Peter actually means and why we scream it on punt return), what a cadence is (and why it's important), that the defense doesn't go on a cadence, and let's not forget pursuit angles.

Imagine having players on your team that have never seen a football game before stepping on the field for the first time.
This does effectively happen in Europe and we have players on our team like that.

New things for them:
- Touchdown
- 4 downs to gain 10 yards
- All positions on the field
- The concept of not moving prior to the snap
- Fumbles/backward passes/live balls
- Drive block/Reachblock/Downblock
- Each different kick, rules, regulations and reasons to use them. (and yes, we score by kicking OVER the crossbar)
- Holding
- Hashmarks (they will not see hashmarks until gameday, because we have to temporarily line a soccer field on gamedays)
- A flag, signaling a penalty.
True story: at some point during a game couple years back, after a flag was thrown, player saw the flag, picked it up and gave it to the ref, stating "sir, you've dropped your handkerchief, here you go".
- Playside/Backside

I could go on and on.

I call them the tick marks. The hashs or every yard little marks that are on the sideline. I use them as the landmark for the cover 2 hole.

What do you call them?

I used to get frustrated with these kinds of things. My solution was to assume as little as possible. I don't see much risk in insulting the intelligence of a HS kid so I just explain it even if I "shouldn't" have to. Conversely, assuming a kid knows something, when he doesn't, can obviously have negative consequences. 

If I were going to do something like this for my players I would focus on the stuff they need to know for what we do. This game has WAY too much jargon and not all of it is universal. Some coaches have their own terms for certain things....you call the yard lines "ticks"... that's your deal. I have never heard that term used before so I would be confused by that myself. Define all the stuff that has to be known for your team to function; especially if it's unique to you.

Great Points and I appreciate the input.

I use the term ticks as a tag, when I want the fade to attack the sideline hole vs hard cover 2. So this would be a term that they would need to know.