Pretty Sneaky

[Johnp2 21]

Full disclosure: while I do not believe in implementing dubious plays, I DO teach my players how to execute a few so that in the event a team tries to embarrass we can fight back. A LOT of the coaches in our league love to take the gloves off and come up with all sorts of bush-league plays like this.

We had a LOT of teams try this sort of stuff last season on us, as they were in a panic due to how we shocked them.

One coach has a play where he calls time out in the middle of the play. It's completely legit, and goes as follows:

1. He tells the officials ahead of time what he is doing so they don't blow their whistle.

2. Once the ball is snapped (i.e. the play has "started") he screams and motions to the official, "TIME OUT!! TIME OUT!!" At that point, his QB stops and walks toward the coach, and of course hands it off to a player.

3. This is legal because a): You cannot call a time-out after the play starts--and there are no penalties in doing so; b): You cannot talk to your players after the play starts, which he didn't. He only talked to the official.

We fell victim to this last season. We were beating a team we should not have and they ran this. We stopped the TD, but gave up a long run. Of course a few plays later we came back with something equally tricky that scored a TD for us. I went to the coach after that play and said, "We're equal now, right?”, then we "man-hugged". ;-) He was a good guy and was not trying to be malicious--he was just embarrassed were beating them (I assume he did not do that in every game).

What are some of the trickiest plays you've ever seen/executed? Do you guys keep any in your back-pocket in the event a coach tries to show your team up? Obviously, tit-for-tat is not a good message for the kids, but at the same time it's good for their confidence to display their savvy and simply show the opponents "We can do that too. Now let's get back to football."

[TeeDub23 0]

I think that is terrible. If a coach did that to me, I would lose it. I respect trick plays and like them, but that is flat out wrong and beyond sneaky. I am glad you stopped it. Honestly, I am not sure how I would react to that. Kids at this age do not know the rules much less when coaches can call time out.

[Coach Rob 26]

We've never really tried sneaky plays, a few trick plays (e.g. Boise State play), but nothing that could be construed as "underhanded". The one you described is more along the lines of a "Wrong Ball Coach" play.

I'm more in the camp of playing straight up football and letting your skills speak, leaving everything out on the field win or lose. If you win, leave no doubt it was because the kids played harder, executed, and wanted it more.

[caneincgfl 0]

I wouldn't respond with a bush league payback, even though I'm sure it is effective as you have proved. To me, this is a sportsmanship issue. I would just get my players off to the side and explain to them that the other team obviously can't beat us straight up playing football and that we will just have to execute even better to make sure they don't win on something like this. I would reinforce certain points regarding not stopping until the whistle so they continue to pull flags and pursue the ball regardless of whether it looks like the play is dead. I would say something to the league director afterward with regard to the kind of sportsmanship they want to encourage or discourage. I would tell the team parents I'm trying to teach the kids good football and good sportsmanship and that loser tactics like that play are neither. We don't play that way.

[Johnp2 21]

Yeah, it's pretty amazing. As mentioned, I saw it a lot in our first season in 10-12. I guess part of it is because the kids are smarter and able to pick up things like this.

I also think it's because we do win with quite a few "trick plays". I LOVES me some trickery (and am well-known for it), but there is a line between smart-football and flat out dubious plays.

I really hope we don't run into much of it this season. We've seen most of it anyway (and can do it ourselves) but it always makes me look down at a coach when he resorts to that.

[Coach Rob 26]

Here's when a "sneaky play" can go wrong. The play they were trying to run is called "Wrong ball coach", where the QB takes the snap and holds the ball up yelling, "Wrong ball coach!". The QB jogs over to the sideline to supposedly exchange the ball and takes off down the field.

[Orange 26]

I had a coach telling me that he'd run a reverse play. Then a few plays later he'd run a fake reverse, but as the initial ball carrier came around he'd hold the ball out really obviously. At that point the coach (the guy telling me the story) said he or his assistant would yell "reverse!" really loud so as to further sell the fake reverse. I thought that was a punky move on his part.

[patandsu 3]

About the only "trick play" I run is the center sneak, where the QB places the ball on the centers back after the snap and then proceeds to roll out and pass, while the center holds the ball behind him and runs. We have one kid who just can't catch and a run play would usually net him minus yardage, but this play gets him some yards and makes him feel like he contributes.