Rules of the Game- Case Studies Archives:

BE PROACTIVE As a youth football coach, the first thing that we need to do is to do no harm. The second thing is to coach up our players so they don’t beat themselves. I heard a story this week about a heartbreaking loss that could have easily been avoided with some good proactive coaching. [...]

This year the NFHS changed it’s rule concerning onside kicks. NFHS sets the rules in 48 of our 50 states- excluding Texas and Massachusetts. Youth football leagues in those 48 states abide by NFHS with a few minor exceptions. NFHS Rule 9-3-8 now prohibits members of the kicking team from initiating contact (blocking) against members [...]

Many youth football teams relegate the job of Special Teams coach to one of their least experienced coaches. While we all need to find real coaching duties for everyone on our coaching staff, Special Teams Coach is NOT the place you want to put the rookie coach. Against top flight competition, Special Teams is often [...]

There seems to be some confusion either real or contrived as to what is and isn’t defensive holding. It seems some coaches seem to feel you and hold an offensive player as long as he isn’t in space and obviously on a passing pattern. Some coaches even have their Defensive Ends hold or even tackle [...]

 While the NFHS Rule book is fairly thick and covers almost anything you can think of, referees are given some freedom in applying certain rules. NFHS rules are used as the base rule book in 48 of our 50 states. One situation that seems to get some leeway is interfering with communication. In an attempt [...]

What Can You Do Prior to the Snap on Youth Football Plays? Many youth football coaches don’t really know the leeway their centers are allowed before the snap. Unfortunately sometimes the referees don’t seem to know either. I will never forget a Division Championship game we had a few years back. Before the game started [...]

Playing to the Whistle “Play to the whistle” is the mantra of many youth football coaches, including yours truly. We want our players to effort and finish off plays, a concept many players struggle to grasp. We teach and reinforce that standard by making all of our drills a bit longer than the typical youth [...]

Most youth football leagues use the base NFHS High School rules as their base rule book and then amend those rules with a handful of special league rules such as weight limits, minimum play rules and special teams accommodations. In all but Texas and Massachusetts, the NFHS base rules apply. This year the NFHS made [...]

                     The Hideout Play in Youth Football   The Hideout Play is an old standard “trick” play that seems to get dusted off the back shelf and recycled every few years. Sometimes called the “2 out and 1 in” or “sleeper” play, the common name is “hideout”. The goal of the play is to get [...]

Face Tackling   Had a question come to me via e-mail this week from a first year youth coach: Is face tackling legal in youth football?   The current NFHS Rule book defines Face Tackling under NFHS 2-20-1.b (Illegal Helmet Contact) as, “Face Tackling is an act by a defensive player who initiates contact with [...]