BlueBear

I've messed around with a silent snap and a few other things like that but it never really amounted to much. A season before our team joined I-9 I watched a playoff game and one team had defenders right over the center shouting so as to disrupt his snap count. Personally I would have demanded a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct but they let them get away with it. At that point I began training my players for the silent snap but I never saw that happen again and I didn't see any advantage to it so we stopped.

I've thought about some trick plays using the snap count but never implemented them. Here is an example. Twins right, qb under center, halfback directly behind qb. Qb gets under center and begins down, set... He stops the count and trots towards the left sideline where the coach is at. The center does a silent shotgun snap to the halfback who then throws to the qb.

I combine a silent snap count with coded play calling. My players do not huddle, but look to the sideline for the next play while walking to the new LOS. It was pretty ominous at first as we would run a hurry up offense in complete silence.

A change in league rules this year mandates the silent count go away, but I intend to have my QB yell out "ready" once everyone is in position, and the center hike the ball when ready. The implementation of the silent count has all but eliminated off sides penalties as the team is well trained to fire on ball movement.

Our league (7/8 year olds, 8 on 8) mandates the use of the shotgun.  We rush 3 down linemen who have to line up directly over the offensive line (no gaps).  It becomes apparent quickly which teams do not practice the snap enough.

My plan this year is to implement a direct snap to the ball carrier.  My feeling is that the level of difficulty does not increase much for the center to snap the ball at a slight angle versus directly to the QB. The direct snap will eliminate the awkward handoffs and timing issues that often ensue after a poor snap.

I plan on running a type of option out of this formation where the backfield executes the same running routes whether they have the ball or not.  I feel this will help simplify the responsibilities of each backfield position and enable more players to rotate through.  In fact, even if the center snaps the ball to the wrong back, he will still be aware of his assignment and will have a chance to make a positive play.

Once this system is ingrained, I plan on expanding the offense.  But I think fewer well-executed plays is important with kids this age.