Coaches Handbook
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The purpose of this handbook is to provide new coaches with a foundation of knowledge that can help make their early seasons successful and comfortable. The first season as a coach is special and if this handbook can assist you in any way, then it was a success. Even returning coaches may benefit from it as much of the content in this book came from coaches with many seasons of experience.
This handbook will cover a multitude of topics: expectations and responsibilities of a coach, generic practice schedule, drills (both offensive and defensive), offensive plays, and defensive schemes. There will also be a list of resources at the end of this handbook. Another great resource outside of this handbook and any online resources are fellow coaches. This will scratch the service of what is out there and the hope is that you and your child/team will grow as you move forward.
Table of Contents
Expectations – Page 3
Generic Practice Schedule – Pages 4 & 5
Defensive Drills – Pages 6, 7,8 & 9
Offensive Drills – Pages 10, 11, & 12
Offensive Plays – Pages 13, 14, & 15
Defensive Schemes – Pages 16, 17, & 18
Health and Safety – Page 19
Other Resources – Page 20
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Expectations and ResponsibilitiesCoaching is a very rewarding experience. You get to spend time with your child and be a
part of their life. The memories you create with them as a coach are untouchable. In addition to the relationship you strengthen with your own child, the bonds you make with the children on your team are very special and will carry from season to season. On top of that there are friendships to be gained from the parents of the children you coach. We are a community and few things please the league more than to see families coming together around a sport we love. With that said, there are several responsibilities that a coach must meet for the season to be a great experience for everyone involved. All are important and none should be taken lightly.
First and foremost a coach must set the best example of respect and sportsmanship on the field, not just for their players but for their parents as well. This means speaking to referees and other coaches with a calm and controlled demeanor, handling adversity as a mature adult, and coaching their players how to win and lose with class. If you, the coach, start becoming concerned with your own image as the next Bill Belichick then you have missed the mark. Our goal as coaches is to teach these athletes to become respectful and responsible young adults.
Coaches should communicate frequently with their team about upcoming practices, games, events, and schedule changes. Using a sports app like “Team Manager” which allows you to put events into the group calendar or send messages has proven to be very useful. I am a firm believer in over communicating everything. I email the upcoming weekly practice and game schedule every Sunday night and then again on Thursday night of that week to ensure that no parent is unclear of the schedule. Parents will be grateful.
Coaches should be on time to all their team events. This means coaches should be the first member of their team at practice and games and the last one to leave. If you are on time, you are late as the saying goes.
Coaches should come into the season with a set of plays that they plan on running. Making plays up on the spot may work occasionally but should be the exception to the rule. A playbook is expected for all coaches to have once the practices begin. Playbooks vary in size from team to team and age group to age group. I’ve seen teams win the Championship with less than 10 plays and others with over 30. The organization that goes with having a playbook will reap positive results.
Coaches should show maturity in their language and choices. Cursing is prohibited and coaches should not drink before events. This will lead to an immediate termination.
Finally, a coach should have a system in place to ensure that every player is getting the opportunity to play on both offense and defense. There are several different methods to this. One that I am quite fond of is:
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o Our league plays 6 on 6. If you have 9 players on your team you create three groups of three players and label them as groups A, B, and C. On your first possession of the game you will have Group A and B on the field. When the possession changes you will use Group B and C. After the next possession change you will have Groups C and A on the field, and so on. This ensure that everyone is getting on the field and everyone is playing on both sides of the ball.
o Some coaches prefer to split the team into just two groups, A and B. A will play the entire first half while B waits and then then B will play the entire second half while A waits. Many parents and players do not like this method, myself included, as no one wants to sit and wait for 20+ minutes.
Generic Practice ScheduleIn this section I will briefly detail a sample practice schedule. This is not to say that this
schedule is the only way to do it as many coaches will do it differently and changes can be made from day to day based on your team’s most recent game. Some coaches like to spend a majority of their practice time having their quarterbacks (QBs) throwing to their receivers (WRs) while other coaches focus more on defense and flag pulling. I advise starting the season with a focus on every aspect of the game as you learn the strengths and weaknesses of your team. As you get to know them more and games are played you can begin to focus on areas of weakness without forsaking the areas of strength while keeping everyone involved. Much like how all players should receive equal playing time in a game, all players should receive equal reps in practice. The less standing around the better!
Practice Schedule
Stretches (Roughly 5 – 10 Minutes)
o Stationary Arm Circles Arms behind the back Arms crossed in front Leg stretches
o Motion Zombies/Frankenstein’s Lunges Shuffle
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Lunge Jumps Sprints Butt-Kicks/High Knees
Defensive Drills (25 – 30 Minutes)o Will detail several in another section
Offensive Drills (25 – 30 Minutes)o Will detail several in another section
Practice Plays (20 Minutes roughly)o Will provide several in another section. This is just as important as running drills.
Your players should have practiced executing the plays several times before their first game.
Games – Optionalo Scrimmageo Sharks and Minoso King of the Hill o Capture the Flago Etc.
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Defensive DrillsIn this section I will detail several drills that have been either used by myself or referred
to me from experienced coaches. Why do we have our players do drills? It allows us to focus our players skills on one specific aspect of their game at a time. For example the “Oklahoma” drill below allows us to focus on their defensive aggression, footwork, and flag pulling without asking them to play man coverage first.
Oklahoma
Explanation: In this drill you make a rectangle with four cones (the older your players, the larger the box). There are two lines, offense and defense. When you say hike, the active players
have to run around their opposite cone; the ball carrier is trying to get into the TD with both flags on without leaving the box; the defender is attempting to pull the flags before that happens. After
those two players go through the drill they switch lines.
Important items to coach: Teach your defenders to come around the cone and attack the ball carrier (ie. Do not stand and wait for them). Defenders should “break down” by chopping their
feet with a nice wide stance when they get to the ball-carrier and use both hands to pull the flag. If your defender has run by the ball-carrier they did it wrong.
Variations to the drill: 1) Have your players lie on their back at the start of the drill. 2) The coach starts with the football and throws it to the offensive player as they are running towards
their first cone.
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Team Flag Pulling
Explanation: In this drill you will want to make a simulated field (not the full length though) with your cones. Place cones on the ground where I have listed the defensive players positions. You then have six defenders line up on these cones and face away from the line of scrimmage.
You have one ball carrier in this drill and when you say hike the ball carrier must try to score the TD while staying in bounds. As hike is yelled your six defenders will turn around, find the ball-carrier, and pull both of the ball carriers flags. Here is the twist, one defender can only pull one
flag. This trains players to continue to attack the ball-carrier and not trust that a teammate always will pull the flag as both need to be pulled for the defense to win. Any rotation will suffice.
Important items to coach: Coach your Cornerbacks (CBs) to own their sideline. It is of the utmost importance that they do not jump inside and allow the ball-carrier to run down the
sideline. Teach your CBs to force the ball-carrier to either run out of bounds or bounce back inside towards the linebackers who will be in hot-pursuit. The far side CB should not be
concerned with pursuing hard to the sideline but should come flat across the field incase the ball-carrier cuts it back across the field. If the far side CB is too aggressive the ball-carrier will not be
contained and will achieve a large gain.
Variations to the drill: 1) You can add a receiver if you want to keep the defense guessing but this drill is pretty solid as it is.
Coverage
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Explanation: In this drill you will work on a cornerback (CB) covering their WR in man-coverage. Simply set up the three cones as I have done above. The younger your players, the
closer the QB and WR cones should be. The rotation is simple: WR goes to Corner, Corner goes to the back of the WR line. For the QB either use a player or do it yourself. The goal of your CB is to be a shadow of their WR so well that the QB does not even attempt to throw it to that man.
Important items to coach: 1) Coach your CBs to line up within 5 yards of their WR with their outside shoulder in line with the receivers inside shoulder. This line up is my preference as it
gives the CBs the advantage to play the inside routes while using the sideline as their friend on sideline routes. 2) Your corners will need to stay low with their chest above their knees and be able to back-peddle. 3) I teach my corners to keep their eyes on their WR, not the QB, they will know when the ball is coming and can then make a play on it. Far too often a corner looks at the
QB and loses the WR behind them.
Variations to the drill: 1) You can start by having your WRs run the same route repeatedly to give your corners the reps to focus on how to cover those routes and then change to different
routes for each rotation. 2) You can add a safety in the middle of the field.
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Gap Flag Pulling Drill
Explanation: In this drill your defensive players will work on their ability to shadow a ball carrier, their flag pulling, and their angle of pursuits. The offensive player has 7 seconds to
choose a gap to go through in their attempt to reach the touchdown. Once a gap is passed, they may not go back (For example once the ball carrier passes Gap C they only have three choices
left in D, E, & F). The defensive player may not cross over to the offensive side.
Important items to coach: 1) Defenders should not guess what they think the ball-carrier (RB) will do. If the defender gets too far ahead of the RB they (the RB) will cut up field and run right behind the defender. If the defender is trailing behind the RB then he will get burned. 2) Focus
on a defender’s angle of pursuit once the RB crosses over and their ability to stay low and move their feet quickly.
Variations to the drill: 1) Add a Safety to start in the endzone. 2) Allow the ball carrier to go forward and backwards, as long as they cross through within 7 seconds.
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Offensive DrillsSnaps and Handoffs
Explanation: Every play starts with a snap and yet coaches spend so little time on perfecting this aspect of their offense. Take the time to have your players practice snapping the ball with the QB under center and in the shotgun. Once you have the snap down, have the QB hand the ball of to
RB.
Important items to coach: 1) Feet should be shoulder length apart and your center should be able to “air sit” comfortably. 2) If they are snapping under center, they will rotate the ball sideways; if they are snapping shotgun (this is when the QB lines up 3-5 yards behind the
Center) they will snap it with the point to towards the QB. 3) Your QB should be right up on the Center with his palms together and his hands open wide under the butt of the Center. The QBs eyes should be on the defense, not peaking underneath to look at the ball. 4) It is my preference that the RB does not run straight up the middle but runs out wide towards an imaginary point some 5 yards away from the center on either side, this is to avoid the linebacker (LB) that is
usually lined up over the Center. 5) Make sure your RB does not pull away from his straight line to that spot. It is the duty of the QB to get to the RB and deliver the ball, not for the RB to come
to the QB.
Variations to the drill: 1) Have your QB take a 3-step drop after taking the snap. 2) Instead of just doing stretch handoffs add pitches, reverses, or jet sweeps to the mix.
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Routes
Explanation: A simple offensive drill I like to run is to have my players practice running their routes and catching the football, no defense involved. Good routing running will always get a
player open. Above you will see my line-up as well as a route tree. Please note the location of the ball in the route tree image, a “Post” route will always be run towards the middle of the field
regardless of the where the WR lines up. Also please note that all even numbers are inside routes while all odd routes (9 excluded) run to the sideline.
Important items to coach: 1) Your receivers should line up ready to run. While a RB’s stance has their feet shoulder length apart, a WR’s stance has them ready to push off the line of
scrimmage and get to top speed immediately. 2) Routes should have crisp cuts and receivers need to look at the QB as soon as they change direction. A QB cannot throw to a player who is
not looking at them. 3) A WR needs to have his hands at the ready, not down at his waist.
Variations to the drill: 1) Add a defender.
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WR Cone Drill
Explanation: This drill is focused purely on a receivers’ footwork, catching, and ability to identify the football after having their back to the QB. In this drill the coach will have two or
three footballs in their possession and will act as the QB. Upon the start of the drill the receiver will run to Cone B and turn around to catch the first pass. If they catch it, they should instantly
move to C to flick it back to the coach and then proceed to Cone D to keep the drill going. If they drop it they should continue the drill. Players will catch the ball at: B, D, & F. They should not back peddle to the cones but sprint to them and then turn around to identify where the ball is.
Upon tossing the ball back to the coach at G they will round Cone H and go deep for final pass. Rotation is simply to go to the back of the line.
Important items to coach: 1) Coach having their hands ready, not at their waist. 2) They need to have quick footwork and be ready for each pass. Staying low when running will assist in this
change of direction at the cones.
Variations to the drill: 1) None that I have thought of.
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Offensive PlaysBelow are a few offensive plays that coaches have used over the years. Please feel free to
use these to get started but I encourage everyone to practice making their own. Trying creating a formation (where the players line up) and making several plays around that one formation. When
making plays consider where you want to get the football or what defense you expect to be attacking. Every defense has a weakness, as is detailed later, and plays can be designed to attack
these.
You will notice that many of the plays below have many variations. This is to take up less space on a wristband or play sheet but still have many different play options. You can confuse a defense if you show them the same looking play but have your players do something different
than what they were expecting.
“Corners”: Two plays in one. 1) Hand the ball of to your RB. 2) Fake the handoff to your RB. The hope is that the Corners will bite on the fake. If the defense has just one safety, I advise having your QB pump fake to X or Y and then throw to the other. If the defense is sending a
rusher (blitz) then F may be open in the now empty middle.
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“Flood”: A favorite of mine as there are so many options to hit and has always worked well regardless of the defense being played. This attacks all areas of the field except the deep middle.
“Jet Sweep”: Fairly simple. Have your QB send RB in motion (FULL SPEED) and say hike before the RB gets there so he can hand it off to the RB. Once again, we want the RB coming at full speed before he gets the ball and the time of the snap is crucial to the success of this play.
There are two variations of this play: 1) You can add routes and give the RB the option to run or throw it, or 2) Have your QB line up under center have them pitch it to the RB.
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“
“Stacked Left, Y Slant”: X, F, and C are all decoy routes meant to pull the defense downfield. Y is the primary target and can catch the ball at either the star or the arrow. Z’s purpose is to stand there and wait as a check down incase everyone is covered or the QB is under immense
pressure from the rush. The little star and little arrow are usually the best places to hit Y on the slant. Notice my variation with the Center’s route. If a team vacates our right side of the field to cover our stacked formation then your Center can run a corner route and can be hit on the large
Star.
“Goal-line Drag”: X, F, and Y receivers are running crossing routes. They must be able to do this without running into the defenders or they will get penalized (offensive pass interference).
The QB will fake the handoff to the RB and then hit the center who is faking left and then running right. A variation to this play is to actually hand the ball of to the RB.
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Defensive SchemesDefense wins championships. This is true in every sport and flag football is no different.
Below are a few of the more used schemes that coaches use. I will cover their strengths and weaknesses. The talent of the players on your team will determine what you can run or not.
“Cover 2 Base”: The weaknesses of this defense is located 1) Between the two safeties, 2) between the Corners and Safeties on each side, 3) the opposing QB will have a full 7 seconds as
there is no blitz. The strength of this defense is the middle is completely shutdown.
“Cover 2-Blitz”: Here we trade a linebacker for a rusher. Same weaknesses as the base version of this but with more room in the middle of the field. The pro to this defense is that the QB will
have to make a quick decision before he can find the weaknesses.
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“Cover 2-Blitz-6 Wide”: The focus here is the “6-Wide” part, as this variation can be used with any defensive scheme. Your defense will start the play in a solid line of 6 across with any of
them being eligible to rush the QB. Once the ball is snapped they will move to their respective zones. This can be a lot of fun because you can change where the rush is coming from (if at all)
or have players moving around to confuse the offense.
“Cover 3”: This defense is all about giving up nothing deep and leaving the underneath still defended. The main weakness here is that the QB will have a full 7 seconds to find someone to
throw to without a blitz.
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“Man Coverage w/ Safety”: Everyone but the safety mans up on an offensive player and shadows them wherever they go. Advantage of this defense is young QBs have a hard time throwing against man coverage. The deep safety allows the corners/linebackers to be more
aggressive with their coverage as they know they have help deep. Weaknesses of this defense is the QB will have a full 7 seconds to throw the ball and any sort of pick routes by the offense
(routes designed to have defenders run into each other) will leave players wide open.
“Man Coverage with a Blitz”: Only change here is instead of deep safety there is a rusher. This means there will be no deep safety help for the corners/linebacker but the QB will almost
certainly not have a full 7 seconds to find someone and will be forced to throw a perfect pass against man coverage while under pressure. Pick routes are still the kryptonite of this defense.
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Hydration and Player SafetyThe final point of information that is worth noting concerns player safety. First, please
make sure you are stressing the importance of adequate hydration to your players and their parents throughout the seasons. Players should be drinking water leading up to their practice,
during their practice, and again that night. No coach should deny a player the chance to get water during a game or practice.
Second, although flag football is not a collision sport it is still a contact sport and players will bump into or run into each other. While the rates of concussions are far less in flag than they
are in tackle it is important to know the symptoms. If you believe a child may have suffered a concussion, please look for these symptoms: headache or a feeling of pressure in the head,
confusion or lack of memory concerning the event, dizziness, vomiting/nausea, or slurred/delayed speech. Please notify the parents to also be on the lookout for such symptoms. If you believe a player has suffered a concussion you need to take them out of the event, regardless
of what they say and regardless of their talent level. Their health and safety are for more important than a win.
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Other Resources
https://flagcontent.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ADM-Playbook-Flip-Charts- Flag-Spread-Trips-Stack_Flag.pdf - Link to an NFL Flag Playbook
https://flagcontent.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ADM-Playbook-Flip-Charts- Flag-Strong-Split-I-Formation_Flag.pdf - Link to an NFL Flag Playbook
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdOeca_Y049Lt3tR3JZeYmA/featured - A youtube channel that NFL Flag has promoted. He goes through drills, plays, skills, etc.
http://flagfootballacademy.com/youth-flag-football-drills/ - Drills, Plays (note they are 5v5, not our 6v6), etc.
https://coachsoffice.com/ - Coaches Office is a computer program that allows you to create plays. Do not pay. Just download the free trial and create plays in the chalk board. We play 6v6 in the youth divisions and 7v7 in our HS division. I’ve been making plays with this for years. I’ve attached one as evidence (excuse the fact it is 5 players and not 6). To save the play I just use the snipping tool on my computer.
https://www.myfootballplays.com/football-play-designer/ - Another play making website. Several of our coaches use this.
Searching YouTube for football tips is always helpful. There are countless videos on everything from how a specific position should line up and execute their motions to studying defenses.
League managers and fellow coaches
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