Do You Guys Milk The Clock

[Johnp2 21]

We had our first game today. It was amazing (a little funny) to see how much bigger/faster our opponents were. We were lucky however, to squeak out a win 13-12.

We actually out-played them but in the fourth quarter their coach hit the panic button a little and started giving it to his best player a lot. He scored both their TDs (both the length of the field).

With that, we were up with about two minutes to play, and I milked the clock. Honestly, I don't ever recall doing that, but I did so for two reasons: 1. We will be hard-pressed to win many games this season (I could be wrong), but wanted to at least secure one victory for the boys). 2. It was obvious he would have given it to this player had he one more possession, and all it would take is one break-away and we lose.

I waited until the play clock ran down to about five seconds then we ran the play. We had fourth down with fifteen second left on the clock, so I just let time expire. I can see doing this in a playoff game, but this was the first game of the season.

Just curious what you guys think. Would it have irked you to see an opposing coach milk the clock out for the victory?

[caneincgfl 0]

I absolutely milk the clock and don't feel bad about it for a second. I certainly don't think it is bad sportsmanship. The other team can't score if their offense isn't on the field (unless we throw picks). Our league is 7 on 7 and the defense generally has the upper hand. If I get a lead, I'm trying to limit the other team to as few possessions as possible. Another factor is that my guys play both ways so I try to give them a little breather by controlling the pace. Every once in a while we'll go quickly to catch the other side off guard but we generally take as much time as we can if we are tied or ahead.

We won our last two playoff games by bleeding the clock in the second half against teams with better offenses. They both tried to drive on us at the end of the game but ran out of time...

[Orange 26]

Just curious what you guys think. Would it have irked you to see an opposing coach milk the clock out for the victory?

Frustrate, yes. Irk, no. That's just smart football.

[GeorgeC 1]

There are a lot of factors to consider, but in general, I believe in playing the game to the end. No milking the clock, no taking a knee if there are still seconds on the clock. If you can run plays, the boys deserve to have opportunity for touches.

You've mentioned a few of those factors. If the other team is not playing with such good sportsmanship, then that's an important factor. If you've blown out the game, then use the extra time for your kids to run new plays. If you've got the game won, do some run plays that won't risk interceptions.

Then again, I'm sitting here calmly at a computer. If the game is on the line, I'd probably almost anything necessary to win.

[Johnp2 21]

The funny thing about this is that the opposing coach had TWO time-outs left...but he obviously did not know it. A lot of time an official might say something like, "Coach, you know you have some time-outs left, don't you?" and I was lucky this official did not remind the other coach.

I did not make a big deal out of the play clock (I subtly milked so not to jog the coach's memory about his time-outs). We usually crank out our plays very quickly and have an extremely up-tempo offense, so I was little worried he would notice that we went from calling plays in about five seconds down to 30 seconds. Regardless, we got the win, and the kids were all jumping around for joy after we upset this team.

I'd have to go back and look, but I believe we are 21-2 over the past few seasons. I got a look at the team we are playing next and it will be a miracle if we pull off that upset. My goal this season is to just win two games, so at least we are half-way there after the first week. :-)

[rushbuster70 16]

Smart football.absolutely I do.Luckily with my older kids I make sure the Qb snaps with 1-2 secs left on the play clock

[Texas_D_Coach 14]

I agree with others who say thats just football. The best defense is to have your offense on the field. I did this once last season in a squeaker that we won 7-6.

What age group are you coaching this year? I know your teams usually do really well so wondering if you just moved up to a new division like we have.

[Johnp2 21]

What age group are you coaching this year? I know your teams usually do really well so wondering if you just moved up to a new division like we have.

We did just move up a division (10-12). However, our team is comprised of SIX nine-year olds and five 10-year olds, so I am not sure how well we will do this season. We are 1-0, and will fight like dogs in all of our games...but I imagine we'll take a few spankings.

My players are all prepared for it. They jumped around like they all won the SuperBowl after our first game---which is odd coming from a team that won two of the past three championships...but they know what's going on.

Heck, all I do is hammer into their brains how their only chance is based on how crisp they can execute a complex scheme...which they have done over the years (we are not talented from top to bottom).

[RoyalFlush18 6]

Congrats.

Nothing wrong with what you did. If your league is competitive (Keep Scores)then doing anything else would be a disservice to your kids.

The League we are in (YMCA) doesn't keep score (even thought all the coaches do). We had a similar situation in one of our games this year. We get a stop with 1:30 left in the game up 28-24 against a good team that plays well, difference in the game was 2 XPs. Ref jokes to me "Are you going to take a knee", NO, I'm going to run as many plays as I can (No Passes though). We didn't score but I got some of my kids extra carries. Didn't use TO because if the other team would have been aware they could have used them as well and got the ball back.

I've had other situations where we were up by more than 1 score. The thought occurred to me to use my TO on Defense so that the other teams kids could get more reps. Couldn't get my Defensive Coaches attention and wasn't sure what the other coach would think.

When we are on Offense up more than 1 score I have used my TOs at the end of the game to get in 2 extra carries for my players. I don't care what the other coach/parents think in this case. The number of Offensive reps are so limited in my age group that adding two carries is worth it. Also I am giving the ball to some of my weaker players which allows the other team to get some flag pulls, good for them to.

[Johnp2 21]

When we are on Offense up more than 1 score I have used my TOs at the end of the game to get in 2 extra carries for my players. I don't care what the other coach/parents think in this case. The number of Offensive reps are so limited in my age group that adding two carries is worth it. Also I am giving the ball to some of my weaker players which allows the other team to get some flag pulls, good for them to.

You've made a point about limited reps and your obviously not doing it to show up the other team (which is the REAL reason to dislike it). Do you normally tell the opposing coaches why you are doing that? Honestly, I would probably dislike it if I were the opposing coach---but I do understand your reasoning---I imagine some might not.

In a lot of our games it's kind of odd, as I too give it to my lesser skilled players once we have the game in hand. The reason for this, however, is because I'm always very concerned about running up the score and want to keep the ball out of my best athlete's hands. In fact I'd say in the majority of our games, my lesser-skilled players get MORE carries than the stronger players. Thus I might have a strong player get three carries and score twice, and lesser-skilled player get six carries but not score--it evens itself out, I believe.

I learned my lesson two or three seasons ago. We were up big in final seconds. I was going to take knee. I told the coach "Let's just let the time run out", and he said, "No-no, go ahead and run your play." (I can respect that.) I called the most vanilla play in our playbook--simple hand-off up the middle, and of course my player took it the length of the field.

I felt HORRIBLE after that. I could not apologize enough to him, and even went to the opposing team's parents and assured them I was not trying to run up the score. They were all very gracious about it, and appreciated the fact I took time out to explain what transpired and why---and they knew I was congnizant of displaying sportsmanship.

[GeorgeC 1]

You've made a point about limited reps and your obviously not doing it to show up the other team (which is the REAL reason to dislike it). Do you normally tell the opposing coaches why you are doing that? Honestly, I would probably dislike it if I were the opposing coach---but I do understand your reasoning---I imagine some might not.

I did that last year when it was "Coach QB". We were up 40-0, last game in the season and the other team was completely winless. So, I called the TOs and then intentionally threw possible interceptions to the other team. They didn't catch them, but the other coach knew what I was doing.

On the flip side, in our second game this year, we were winning 18-10. With TOs, I had just enough time to get in a couple of plays. The ref asked if we wanted to take a knee, and I told him, no, within earshot of the opposing coach ... let's get some practice reps in. Well, my QB ran completely the wrong play, put up a floater and the other team took it home. Add 2 points, and the game was over at 18-18. Whoops.

[RoyalFlush18 6]

You've made a point about limited reps and your obviously not doing it to show up the other team (which is the REAL reason to dislike it). Do you normally tell the opposing coaches why you are doing that? Honestly, I would probably dislike it if I were the opposing coach---but I do understand your reasoning---I imagine some might not.

No, unfortunately most of the coaches in the league are not even aware that they have TOs and mostly, I don't care, I'm going to get my kids (and their kids) the max number of reps in a game as long as it preserves a "win" for our team.

I learned my lesson two or three seasons ago. We were up big in final seconds. I was going to take knee. I told the coach "Let's just let the time run out", and he said, "No-no, go ahead and run your play." (I can respect that.) I called the most vanilla play in our playbook--simple hand-off up the middle, and of course my player took it the length of the field.

Was it one of your weaker players? If so & they scored a TD, then this is great. If it was one of your studs, then not so great. But still, by running plays you are giving the other team a chance to make a play and improve.

[RoyalFlush18 6]

On the flip side, in our second game this year, we were winning 18-10. With TOs, I had just enough time to get in a couple of plays. The ref asked if we wanted to take a knee, and I told him, no, within earshot of the opposing coach ... let's get some practice reps in. Well, my QB ran completely the wrong play, put up a floater and the other team took it home. Add 2 points, and the game was over at 18-18. Whoops.

Any reason why you where passing in this situation? I guess it is "Live and Learn". I guess I could understand (a bit) if you had a play you wanted to work on in a "Live" setting.

If the game is within reach, I would not pass since INT can result and fumbles are down at the spot.

[GeorgeC 1]

Any reason why you where passing in this situation? I guess it is "Live and Learn". I guess I could understand (a bit) if you had a play you wanted to work on in a "Live" setting.

It wasn't supposed to be a pass. Kid got scared and threw up a duck for anyone to come down with.

[Johnp2 21]

Was it one of your weaker players? If so & they scored a TD, then this is great. If it was one of your studs, then not so great. But still, by running plays you are giving the other team a chance to make a play and improve.

It was a lesser-skilled player, but as mentioned I give to them in hopes of not running up the score (i.e. I have some that can score most anytime they have the ball so try to keep it out of their hands while up big late). We are equal with our ball touches, so there really is no "make-up" so-to-say to do in the waning minutes of the game. Said differently, my lesser-skilled players get the ball as much as the stronger players throughout the game.

I can think of one time about seven seasons ago where I noticed I did not get one of my players a touch (I felt aweful)--it was one of those games where did not get many offensive plays as we scored easily each time we had the ball. We were up with about 10 seconds to go. I called a time-out so as to get him a touch. I knew there was no way this kid was going to score (and would have been very embarrassed had he). I explained to the coach after the game why I did that--as I could see at first he was a little muffed.

Each coach has his own style of course. I personally do try to be cognizant in showing what I feel is good sportsmanship. I agree game experience is always valuable. This is an interesting topic, as it comes down to of that right balancing act between keeping players sharp, and also dispelling any doubts that we are doing it the "right way."