Dive Play And Dive Fake

[spider 0]

I coach 9-11 year olds I9 rules 5 on 5. Most of my players will likely be 9 year olds. I was thinking of utilizing the dive play more this year. In the past in the 6-8 year old range I mostly just used the dive for a fake. Most defenses play a 2-1-2 zone and blitz the middle man. I have a couple of players that are fast and have nice moves. I coached in the spring and our defense was beat on the dive play for some touchdowns by fast kids. I also think it will give us some more room on the end around after the dive fake.

Is anyone having much success with the dive play? Do you think its worth dedicating much practice time to? Does it take much time to get the timing down and the back running full speed at the handoff point? Is it setting up any good play action passes for your team? Any luck with a boot leg after the fake?

[Coach Rob 26]

Is anyone having much success with the dive play? Do you think its worth dedicating much practice time to? Does it take much time to get the timing down and the back running full speed at the handoff point? Is it setting up any good play action passes for your team? Any luck with a boot leg after the fake?

I had some success with the dive play on crunching out yards, especially if I used one of my more athletic players. Since there's no blocking allowed though, the dive play loses some of its punch. If your RB can get a head of steam before the handoff, it works a lot better.

With regards to play action, I tended to go with more misdirection in the backfield like an end around. My intention was to get someone free opposite of the direction our runner was headed. A lot of times, all you need is their DB to turn towards the fake and you've got him beat.

I think it's invaluable to teach your kids what a good fake looks like and what the QB's role is on handoffs and play action plays. If our RB took the handoff, we taught our QB to always roll the opposite way and act like they still had the ball. We wanted them to act like they were doing a bootleg or roll their shoulder to hide like they had the ball. If we executed a fake end around, we taught our QB to take a second to watch the runner as if he had the ball. This was a bit trickier because they had to turn their back to the los after the fake and hide the ball but still turn to watch the runner. You'd be amazed how those small tweaks make a big difference in gaining extra yards or getting someone open down field.

[pfjerbek 0]

We had good success running a modified dive. League is 5v.5 8-10 yr olds. We would run shotgun with the QB about 2 yds back. Send a man in "jet motion" down the line to take the handoff as soon as the QB gets it. Takes a little practice to get the timing right but when you do, a fast athlete with some moves can get yards quick. The key is the jet man HAS to be full speed when he reaches the QB. A nose guard has little shot at gatting a flag. Great to run out of trips and leave on side of field empty. If the D gets wise and leaves a man to the weak side, you now have numbers to pass. If you players can get the timing down you can base an entire season running plays of that one play.