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Dear Coach,
Is the Double wing formation too complex for 1st and 2nd grade kids ( 6 and 7 yr olds)? If not, because offensive plays are slow developing at this age, should I try to pull guards or just leave them in place?
Last year I ran the power I formation and because of its single line of attack, it didn't develop into much. I want to try something with more options and misdirection. Is this a good Idea?
Thank you,
Art
Hi Art,
Because of the timing required in the Double Wing offense with all the long and short motion, I would not be inclined to try to use it with the age level players you are presently coaching.
My suggestion would be to use a Wing-T offense where you can still have a great deal of misdirection offense and have options to attack all across the line.
I would start with the following:
30/31 FB Plunge - this gives you a quick hitting midline play to the FB on either side of the offensive center.
Next would be 24/25 Dive - this gives you a quick hitting play to the HB between the offensive guard and tackle. [Good short yardage play]
Follow this with a 25/24 Lead where the FB will lead the HB through the guard-tackle gap on the side of the TE.
Next would be 34/35 Slant - this would give you a FB carry through the guard-tackle gap away from the TE with the HB blocking the outside LB on that side. {This is also a good short yardage and goal line play for your offense}.
For a wide outside to the TE and wing-back side of the formation, I would run 29/28 Sweep - The FB fakes the Plunge play and HB comes across the formation, takes the handoff from the QB and runs to the outside of the formation with the TE and WB blocking the 2 outside defensive players to give the HB the corner.
For your players, you could use straight ahead blocking. Learning to pull is a difficult technique to master and your players may have difficulty executing this skill. Emphasize in your teaching that they always use the shoulder away from the running lane of the ball carrier to make their block, keeping their helmet always to the side of the ball carrier.
On the Plunge, Lead, Slant the QB can drop straight back in position to pass.
On the Dive play, he can continue down the line after making the handoff in position to run the option to the FB. [This is a play you may want to add later in the year where the QB runs wide, cuts up the field with the ball, or pitches the ball (only when you call for the option) to the FB who is running laterally to the sideline on the side of the QB movement.
On the Sweep play, after handing the ball to the HB, the QB should continue running to the sideline on a Bootleg action in the opposite direction of the HB. [Later, if no defensive player is covering him, you can call for a Fake Sweep Keep, where the QB can be taught to fake the handoff and keep the ball and run the naked bootleg to the outside or pull up and pass.
The only passes I would have [if you have a QB who can accurately throw the ball and a receiver who can catch] would be:
Short four yard routes like a Hitch or Slant [both to the inside of the field] that are thrown right away with a three-step drop and require little blocking by the offensive line and a deep route to the outside receiver like an Up with the QB running a bootleg to the outside after faking the Sweep to the HB.
This will give you a good balanced offense where your players will only have to learn two formations, one with the TE and WB to the left of the ball and the HB on the right side of the formation, and one with the TE and WB to the right of the ball and the HB on the left side of the formation. The FB always lines up directly behind the center and QB, even with the HB.
Art, you can find most of these plays with animated diagrams in our Offensive Interactive plays area. There is a long list of plays that will hopefully be very helpful for you in coaching your players.
Remember in our game of football, quality [running plays over and over without errors] is far superior to having a large number of plays that you do not have adequate time to practice and where your players are never sure of their assignments.
Let me know if this helps and good luck this season. Keep it fun, simple, praise effort as well as performance, and always stay positive when speaking to your players.
Coach Tom Bass