My Season So Far (5-7 Yo, 6 On 6)

[KWILSON512 1]

Just thought i'd give rundown of my season to this point, most everything i've learned from coaching has come from this site.

I coach 6 man flag football , 5-7 year olds.

Game 1 - W - 25-12 - Good close game until a late pick 6 sealed the deal.

Game 2 - W - 14-12 - We played a tough team minus our 2 stud players (brothers on a fishing trip), were losing 12-0 at halftime, played great defense and pulled it with 30 secnds left in the game.

Game 3 - L - 25-20 - Again we played without the brothers, lost but had a little conflict with the coach (also league commissioner) not knowing the rules he wrote. Like most flag leagues we have pass only zones, we also require a forward pass across the line of scrimmage in passing zones, lets just say commissioners team is allowed to lateral. I called him out on it and told him it was illegal in a passing zone after the first lateral...he ran 5 more throughout the game, 2 resulting in TD's. Still proud of my boys and we'll see this team in the playoffs and we'll have a full roster.

Game 4 - W - 24-0 - Total blowout, felt bad for the other team. They had the athletes but only ran 1 play (2 if you count flipping that one play). Either way, my kids caught on quick and beat them to the edge every play.

Game 5 - W - 24-0 - Another blowout, felt bad for these kids too, they maybe have the best athlete in the league but the coaches passed on 14 of 17 offensive plays. Combine the fact that they have a 5-7 year olds passing the ball and that we play pretty good pass defense and you have terrible completion rate...1 completed pass for 5 or 6 yards.

Game 6 - W - 24-8 - I was really nervous about this game, it was a showdown of the 2 top teams in the division, we won it pretty easily. I'll be playing this team in 2 weeks in opening round of the playoffs, pretty sure we'll beat them but still concerned because we played in some pretty bad field conditions the first time we met.

All in all we are 6-1 with our only loss comming with 2 studs being out of state. We are also getting another stud back this week (sprained ankle , missed the last 3 games)....one more regular season and then its playoff time.

[Coach Rob 26]

That is an awesome season so far, congrats! Be sure to follow-up when you guys win the tourney.

lost but had a little conflict with the coach (also league commissioner) not knowing the rules he wrote.

Seems like a conflict of interest. I wouldn't want to be the team that's beating the league commissioner's team.

[Orange 26]

Game 3 - L - 25-20 - Again we played without the brothers, lost but had a little conflict with the coach (also league commissioner) not knowing the rules he wrote. Like most flag leagues we have pass only zones, we also require a forward pass across the line of scrimmage in passing zones, lets just say commissioners team is allowed to lateral. I called him out on it and told him it was illegal in a passing zone after the first lateral...he ran 5 more throughout the game, 2 resulting in TD's. Still proud of my boys and we'll see this team in the playoffs and we'll have a full roster.

I'm kind of curious as to what that lateral looked like. As you mentioned, most leagues have "no-run" zones within 5 yards of mid-field and the endzone. You have to have a forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage in order to advance the ball. The way I'm interpreting your description, they were allowed to do a sideways or backwards lateral and then advance the ball beyond the los. Am I reading that correctly?

Here is something I pulled quickly off the Internet. May want to check this against your league rulebook:

"No Run Zone"

The "No Run Zone" is designated to avoid short yardage power running. It is located five-yards from the mid-field first down marking and the end zone.

In the "No Run Zone" the offense may only advance the ball by throwing the ball beyond the line of scrimmage.

Handoffs are allowed in the "No Run Zone" however the player receiving the handoff may not run. He must pass the ball.

[KWILSON512 1]

We have the same rules and the same "no run zones" , a pass in a "no run" zone has to be a forward pass across the line of scrimmage and has to be an overhand pass.

In this case the the coach/commissioner literally had the rb take 3 or 4 steps toward the sideline (not towards the los) turn and catch the ball which makes it a lateral at best, possibly a backwards pass then runs up field......I dont even know why the play is in his playbook.

What really got me heated about it was the fact that he is a commissioner a read the same rules I read, he coached the year before and it was a rule then. Like I said, I told him after the first one that it wasnt legal, he responded with "Did the refs call it?" then I responded with " I dont know, you're the commissioner, do the refs know to call it?"...he ended up running it 5 times total, 2 of which went for scores.

I didnt make a scene because I didnt want to be "that guy" but I walked up to him after the game with the rule highlighted in bright pink and told him to read his own rules. I told him I was pissed because he ran it after I let him know it was illegal, we all make mistakes but I felt it was cheap for this guy to run it over and over in passing situations. I must point out that this guy is commissioner of our 5-7 year old league, we have another commissioner that started the entire program and oversees everything, I contacted him and he sent out a league wide email to all coaches explaining the rule and why its in place.

I'm still mad about it but i'm kinda glad it happened, I think my guys are motivated to get their hands on this team in the semifinals.

[Orange 26]

The lateral is not illegal, however the team should not be able to advance the ball past the los in the no-run zone like that. He should be called immediately down at the los.

Suggestion: Bring a copy of the rulebook to your games. Do not engage or discuss the rules with the other team's coaches. When you see a rule being wrongly interpreted, ask the ref for a rule clarification.

Our league had a written procedure that went something like this: You had to ask for a discussion with the ref (if you lost you'd be charged a timeout). If the rules were still not clear or there was a disagreement after speaking with the ref, you could request a rule interpretation from the league director or senior league representative on the field at that time. I imagine since the league director in your case was also the other coach, he'd recuse himself and allow someone else to make the decision.

Another suggestion would be to discuss the rule with the league director in the middle of the week between games. Make sure you are both on the same page before the game.

[KWILSON512 1]

I was talking to the head of the league earlier today and there seems to be alot of complaints about the way the 5-7 flag commissioner is handling things, he assured me that the same guy wont be in charge next year. In my talk with the head of the league I volunteered to be in charge of a rules committee. I figure I would spend an evening with coaches and referees to review rules, field questions and whatever else is need to make sure everyone is on the same page. I think alot of the issues this year are a result of the current flag commission not going over rules with the referees, one ref told me that he had never even recieved a rulebook.

All in all this league is great, just feel like the 5-7 flag commissoner bit off a bit more than he could chew, he is an engineer and works out of town 3-4 nights a week. While upset about the nature of our lone loss, I realize this guy has a full plate and is doing his best, it's also worth mentioning that he does NOT have a kid in the league, he just has a passion for football. Plus, I think the loss really grabbed the attention of my kids, they have been playing lights out on defense since then, allowing only 8 points in the past 3 games.

[KWILSON512 1]

- UPDATE 10/9/11-

We went out after a 2 week layoff (weather) and pulled out a close one, 22-20. We entered the 2nd half down 14-0 (2 td's and a saftey) and fought our way back to lead the game 22-14 with about a minute left in the game, our opponent then scored and it came down to their 2pt converion attempt at the end of regulation , we knocked the pass down, won and ended the regular season 7-1 with the best record in the league (18 teams).

Playoffs begin next Sat...Pumped!

[KWILSON512 1]

Another update - We won our 1st playoff game saturday 14-0, went into half up 14-0 and ran my slower / less skilled players the entire second half.

[KWILSON512 1]

Update - We played our semifinal game at 11am this morning and won 22-20. We scored the game tying TD at the end of regulation and converted a 2 pt conversion to win it.

We then went on to play in our championship game at 6pm and lost 18-8, we ran into a pee wee flag version of the steel curtain.