Mahonz UP / DOWN System....

[mahonz]

A little history…

This is a 5 wide pure passing system that I discovered while coaching on the semi pro circuit. I was the receiver’s coach for a team that ran this as one of their packages. I was also the eye in the sky for all of the games. This was a very talented team that ran many packages.

We never used this system except for extreme emergencies. The OC was rather conservative in his approach, which I respected but when he was in a pinch and looked for my input it was always…Go to Purple…which was our UP/DN system.

This meant all FB’s and TE’s off the field and all WR’s on the field. We would score in 5 plays or less after our offense had completely stalled prior.

So during our weekly coaches meetings I started grinding on the OC a little…so we started using Purple more often and it worked really well for us. The QB was a pro arena vet so he made his own pre snap reads. He was quite the talent but a handful to coach and why he was not NFL material. He certainly had the athletic abilities. He and I had a love hate relationship.

I then ran this system that fall with a 3rd grade team I was coaching only we didn’t teach the full 10 point receivers tree…we coached them up on a 4 point receivers “bush”. They did well but I only had two kids that could catch footballs…one was glue the other was a sticky note that occasionally lost his grip. Still they did it.
By the time this team were 5th graders I had 3 kids that were like glue and a QB that had ice water in his veins. Plus the OL could protect the QB for 3 seconds on a regular basis. We ran the UP/DN more and more over the next few seasons but just as a package while expanding the receiver’s tree and eventually won a championship as 7th graders. Our base O was stalling so the UP/DN system was the key to beating the best defense in the league at the time.

Back to the semi pros. Two years later I became the OC of a team. We did use the UP/DN system but my QB who was a great talent…consummate leader…league veteran…and dummer than a box of rocks when it came to pure passing. He freaked out as a shotgun QB back there all by himself. It took half the season for him to settle down because he had never been an Empty QB before. We finished that season as champions but were now a DW team. I had to take the football away from the QB in order to win it all. Go figure.
 
The next season I had my QB so we rolled over the league running a lot of UP/DN and won two championships in a row. This QB was rather young but the real deal. He could make any throw.

So…that’s a little history for anyone interested in the success stories.

The failures are there as well…but the issues can generally be coached up. Here is a list on my discoveries over the years.

In 2010 I decided to run the UP/DN system as the base with Empty running plays. The team did pretty well with it. These were 8th graders and half had never played football before so this was a mistake on my part. I found it was tough to sustain for an entire game so using this system as a base would probably have to be with a team that you have been coaching this system to in spurts over an entire season or two. We jumped right in with this team but it was streaky at times. If I had another season with them….it would have smoothed out. So I would suggest using this as a package only.

Protection is always a concern. We use pass pro blocking. Its easy to teach this to kids but delay blitzing can be a problem if any of the linemen start chasing. It is critical that they can hold their ground for 2 seconds. Then you will be OK. The QB is trained to be in his throwing motions at 2 seconds. We train him to have that mental clock so all play designs are all about tempo.
 
You really do need three kids that can catch footballs when it counts. Easy to catch anything in practice, much more difficult on game day when the cameras are rolling and grandma is in town to watch for the first time in person.

I have found that most any kid can catch a football while moving…the really good ones can catch footballs while stationary. So we use routes that keep the receivers moving. The only exceptions are Bubbles and Bench routes.

The QB does not need to be fast with his feet or have a cannon arm. That is just not necessary for success. I have seen plenty of QB’s that can launch it a country mile…but couldn’t hit a house if they tried…especially with defenders bearing down on him. . Accuracy is everything. Accuracy builds confidence so they naturally stay cool in the pocket if confident. So it takes a unique individual to become a pure passing QB.

Not a fan of rollouts. It cuts the field in half, then by three quarters then to nothing. If you rollout you give the defense a 50% better chance of defending the play…then 75% then they run the QB out of bounds for probably no gain. . Plus it takes talent for a right-handed QB to throw the football while running to his left or visa versa. 

Throwing a pick six is just about the best thing that can happen to a young QB. Then he knows how catastrophic it is. Now he pays very close attention to the details of practice. I am always hoping this will happen in a pre season game, privately of course.

Receivers have to learn to go get the football and another reason I like using routes that keep the receivers moving. There is a far greater chance the defender gets called for PI instead of drawing the offensive PI when things go bad. So teaching the receiver to go get the football can actually mean playing good defense. That basically means it’s his football so you better go fight for it. This is really important because you will have footballs tipped and you will have defenders that cover real well.

Move the chains is critical because the defense will generally allow the short underneath stuff. The 5 receiver formation will force the defense to play soft somewhere. Use the long balls as the counter in your move the chains philosophy. This takes patience as the play caller. If you get real good at chuck n duck then the weather is non-factor. Rain or snow is not the issue…it’s the wind that will piss in your Cheerios.
Some of the blatant positives even if you are not all that proficient yet.

This style of play neutralizes jamming. This is one thing kids can’t do real well without mauling and drawing the flag especially when the official is watching your offense run empty formations. Easy to see everything and it is assumed that every play will be a pass. Therefore the receivers are allowed a free release after one second. I have found that 80% of all defenses will play a soft man press with one or two high safeties.
 
This style of play obliterates zone coverage’s at the youth level by simply flooding one of the zones. It is rare that we will see zone coverage’s. When we do it’s the better teams on the schedule that run zone coverage’s. Against the UP?DN system they would be better off in a man under zone over type thing because of the design and tempo of the plays.

Your opponent will most likely have to trash their base defense and do something else. This is really hard to accomplish in one week. We play common teams over many years so they learn what to expect from us. With the younger kids, if you can protect and complete passes you will rock. As the kids get older I have seen defenses learn how to defend us a whole lot better so we have to become a whole lot better. 
 
Blitzing is futile. It’s the knee jerk reaction. Bringing more than 5 becomes a mismatch advantage for the offense but you as the coach had better pay attention or your QB will get sacked.

You can score quickly. Against the poorly coached teams you can score on every possession and no one will complain to the Talking Heads…because you were throwing the football. Throwing the football never seems to be looked at as intentionally running up the score because it’s not supposed to work at the youth level.

The fans dig it because they understand it. Ball is snapped…ball is thrown…ball is caught….tackle is made…then repeat. They understand a sack and why that happens…they understand a pick and why that happens. So if things are not going smoothly and they grumble…they are usually right.

Attached is the manual. Enjoy.

Coach Mike

***Blocking footwork for the OG's corrected on 2-11 at 10pm MST. Thanks Coach Bradley !

[mahonz]

Attached is the Receivers Tree and Route Descriptions.

Coach Mike     

[JB]

Good stuff Mike. Thank you for sharing.

Questions/clarifications...

1) YOU (the coach) reads the defense (pre snap) and yells in which player to throw to? I.e., you yell in "Yellow!!"? [You have already yelled in the call...say "O Up L". Correct?]

2) If yes, would a team that scouts well or has a smart DB not begin to figure out who is getting ball? They keep hearing yellow and the Y keeps getting ball.

3) Again, if the receiver is identified presnap ("Yellow!"), then, on say, "0, Up L", the QB is saying to himself, "0, 1, 2, 3...yup...yellow is running a 3 route". So, that's all of his pre-snap thinking?

4) At older levels, is QB supposed to check/confirm your read of dense? Adjust receiver if needed?

5) What does the QB do on "0 Up L...Yellow", if yellow is completely covered?

6) How often do you go..."Oh sh!^! I called the wrong guy!"   

This is really cool, if I have it right...

[mahonz]

JB

If we use this a ton….like last year we add in more tags.

YELLOW, YASGAR, YETI

If I see a problem….like a defense that likes to bounce around I quickly yell

CHECK CHECK CHECK HENRY. HENRY is now the primary.

Or

CHECK CHECK CHECK COLORADO. Bail…we are in trouble.

The beauty part is the tempo. Even though its no huddle it is a medium to slow pace no huddle and I can usually tell where my QB is in his mental progression. So I have interrupted him many times.

I will also yell out

CHECK CHECK CHECK NEY YORK NEW YORK. Means nothing.

I have also tagged them ABCDF left to right on occasion. I skip E because E is too hard to yell out name wise. Had a QB tell me I sound like Im sneezing when I use E names. 

APPLE, BOAT, CAT, DOG, FREAK

I did this for one of the semi pros teams. We had a young stud of a QB but being young I did help him out every game. He just felt comfortable with me making the decisions and him executing the play…which he did wonderfully. So I had to use a couple of tagging systems since these were adults. You being HS may have to as well. With youths I never felt it was an issue.

Even in our base there is a ton of chatter from me to the QB. I have learned how to have a conversation with the team while the team is on the LOS. Its all done via code words by State. Anything west of the Mississippi River is real, anything east is fake and MAGIC always means run the same play.

So when we are in light speed mode….

Im yelling….

MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC

QB is yelling 0 UP 0 UP 0 UP LEFT LEFT LEFT

Then as they are getting set and I yell out the tag because I am the one reading the defense always. QB throws it to that receiver or runs the football. Those are his only choices. 

When we go team and its Scout D day this is when I teach the team how to pace themselves so that I can “talk” to them. I am constantly creating chatter from the sideline. Obviously a 2nd  grader isn’t going to be listening to you like an 8th grader will so the chatter is a progression per the age group.

Therefore, it would be really tough for the defenders or the DC to pick up on things because 50% of everything I am saying from the sideline is pure garbage.

I will add this for the coaches that want to give it a go with 4 point tree and use a MAX protect back. If you call a pass to your QB’s left have the back on the right. If you call a pass to the QB’s right have the back on his left. The play call can be predicated on the protection. If you see a problem with the protection on the left side call a pass rot he right and put the MAX protect back on the left.

I have found that a MAX protect back can just as easily get the way of the QB rather than help protect him. I have seen too many football hit the back in the back of the head.

If you want to use a MAX protect back with a 7 or 10 point tree that works as well. You can run this system out of 2x2 formations no problem. You simple UP/DN thru 4 routes instead of 5. Just get that back out of the way. If you have the back aligned left and want to throw left, teach the QB to move the back to the right….or train the back to pay attention to what you are saying on the sideline since the QB is really the only one listening.

Anyway….properly training up a MAX protect back is a whole other thread so if you can avoid it with the UP /DN system…do so. But as mentioned with the little guys running 4 point trees…call you plays per the protection first and get that back on the proper side.

So to review the play call.

UP/DN starts when the team is in a full huddle.

I yell in 4 UP RIGHT. The UP/DN system is automatically on first sound.

QB repeats the play call and they break the huddle.

At any reasonable time I yell out YELLOW.

QB DOES NOT REPEAT THIS or the C will snap the football. O-line is set and ready for the snap once they see receivers lining up around them.

QB goes thru his tree progress form left to right WITHOUT POINTING. Many will want to point as they count in their head. Have to get that out of their head in practice.

During this period is when I may interrupt with a real of fake CHECK.

Still the QB never repeats what I say. During this time I am looking for the ref to start chopping so I know if its go time or not. QB is trained after the first Tag if I am silent for 3-4 seconds call out HIT…or COLORADO.

We practice this tempo a lot.

Thereafter the team never huddles again until they hear the special keyword from the QB. In muddle huddle mode I simply yell out the play call to the QB. The DC’s will know what we are doing but have no idea what the play calls mean.

Last season we used this system as our base so I created plays calls the meshed in with this system that were runs….some with motions. That worked out well. We would muddle huddle 75% of the time and the QB would call out keywords as the receivers lined up that gave the O-line their blocking assignments.   

Hope that helps Brother ! It really is an ingenious little system but you have to take the time to practice the trees. I wish I had learned who invented this because this system was in place when I showed up for the semi pros but was a system that had been held over from a previous coaching staff....so its roots are unknown. I like this system because I can play TRUE minimum players full time. Works great.

Coach Mike
 

[JB]

JB

If we use this a ton….like last year we add in more tags.

I like it. Gives me ideas! Thank you.

What about just calling with team aligned loosely at LOS?

YELLOW, YASGAR, YETI

Yeah, Yoda, Yankee...

If I see a problem….like a defense that likes to bounce around I quickly yell

CHECK CHECK CHECK HENRY. HENRY is now the primary.

Or

CHECK CHECK CHECK COLORADO. Bail…we are in trouble.

We do something similar in no play.

The beauty part is the tempo. Even though its no huddle it is a medium to slow pace no huddle and I can usually tell where my QB is in his mental progression. So I have interrupted him many times.

I will also yell out

CHECK CHECK CHECK NEY YORK NEW YORK. Means nothing.

Yup. We are on same page.

I have also tagged them ABCDF left to right on occasion. I skip E because E is too hard to yell out name wise. Had a QB tell me I sound like Im sneezing when I use E names. 

APPLE, BOAT, CAT, DOG, FREAK

I did this for one of the semi pros teams. We had a young stud of a QB but being young I did help him out every game. He just felt comfortable with me making the decisions and him executing the play…which he did wonderfully. So I had to use a couple of tagging systems since these were adults. You being HS may have to as well. With youths I never felt it was an issue.

We had a team that knew our calls this past year (had a former coach on staff), I was chatting with team in hurry up, calling play, and I heard the CB yell to FS..."you hear that..." and they nodded at each other, FS rolled over a bit to CB side. We still ran the play, a T series sweep right at that punk CB for a TD.   Sometimes it doesn't matter!

So, like to hear what others do in hurry up "calling in from sideline mode". Please share some more...

Even in our base there is a ton of chatter from me to the QB. I have learned how to have a conversation with the team while the team is on the LOS. Its all done via code words by State. Anything west of the Mississippi River is real, anything east is fake and MAGIC always means run the same play.

So when we are in light speed mode….

Im yelling….

MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC

QB is yelling 0 UP 0 UP 0 UP LEFT LEFT LEFT

Then as they are getting set and I yell out the tag because I am the one reading the defense always. QB throws it to that receiver or runs the football. Those are his only choices. 

OK. You DO the reading. And, if need to check out, based on the D.

When we go team and its Scout D day this is when I teach the team how to pace themselves so that I can “talk” to them. I am constantly creating chatter from the sideline. Obviously a 2nd  grader isn’t going to be listening to you like an 8th grader will so the chatter is a progression per the age group.

Therefore, it would be really tough for the defenders or the DC to pick up on things because 50% of everything I am saying from the sideline is pure garbage.

What was it like with semi pro defenses? How did those players react to chatter?

If you want to use a MAX protect back with a 7 or 10 point tree that works as well. You can run this system out of 2x2 formations no problem. You simple UP/DN thru 4 routes instead of 5. Just get that back out of the way. If you have the back aligned left and want to throw left, teach the QB to move the back to the right….or train the back to pay attention to what you are saying on the sideline since the QB is really the only one listening.

Roger, at our level, the backs would be smart enough to make adjustment based on call (for the most part).

Anyway….properly training up a MAX protect back is a whole other thread so if you can avoid it with the UP /DN system…do so.

Yes, as well as pass pro, something I'm not good at teaching. That is my weakness. Need to get much better at coaching that part of o-line game.

So to review the play call.

UP/DN starts when the team is in a full huddle.

I yell in 4 UP RIGHT. The UP/DN system is automatically on first sound.

QB repeats the play call and they break the huddle.

At any reasonable time I yell out YELLOW.

QB DOES NOT REPEAT THIS or the C will snap the football. O-line is set and ready for the snap once they see receivers lining up around them.

QB goes thru his tree progress form left to right WITHOUT POINTING. Many will want to point as they count in their head. Have to get that out of their head in practice.

During this period is when I may interrupt with a real of fake CHECK.

Still the QB never repeats what I say. During this time I am looking for the ref to start chopping so I know if its go time or not. QB is trained after the first Tag if I am silent for 3-4 seconds call out HIT…or COLORADO.

We practice this tempo a lot.

Thereafter the team never huddles again until they hear the special keyword from the QB. In muddle huddle mode I simply yell out the play call to the QB. The DC’s will know what we are doing but have no idea what the play calls mean.

So after first up down call, they come back and align on ball thereafter? Everything is based on your calls from sideline?

You ever go super hurry up? With older kids...I mean super quick...going right after ball is spotted by umpire?

Point is, to get as many possessions as possible. I.e., we score every x.x possessions—so the more we get, the more we score.

Last season we used this system as our base so I created plays calls the meshed in with this system that were runs….some with motions.

Motion...ok...so you did not go on first sound w/ motion...correct?

I'm sorry, I get you call the play when in huddle, and then QB's first sound is for snap of ball. But, when in hurry up, no huddle, you yell in play and QB does what...I'm slow 

Hope that helps Brother ! It really is an ingenious little system but you have to take the time to practice the trees. I wish I had learned who invented this because this system was in place when I showed up for the semi pros but was a system that had been held over from a previous coaching staff....so its roots are unknown. I like this system because I can play TRUE minimum players full time. Works great.

Coach Mike

I do like it. Want to tweak it for us. I'm really tired of the wrist bands. With HS kids, those things  get nasty sweaty and dirty like you would not believe...

[JB]

BTW, there's a coach in my area that is hyper hurry up pass first guy. Even when you talk to him it seems like he's had 4 large double doubles from Dunkin Donuts. Everything they do is done FAST. Their practices are at a crazy quick pace. He wants his kids used to their tempo. Like its second nature. They even work out/condition this way. Coach has a super ADD personality  But, he gets it done, scores a ton of points, wins a boatload of games, and has produced monster numbers with his QBs. He has my respect-big time.

[mahonz]

JB

The problem with calling the plays at the LOS as the norm is that I will call the same play 6 or 7 times in a row…but may change it from RIGHT to LEFT....still they D is hearing the same call...and the DC.

So I believe a smart player would dial in. I have had a few real good defenders dial into a couple of my audible calls before.

At the semi pro level I have a real good time with chatter because its semi pro ball. Player do a lot of talking themselves. Plus many of the players on some of the opposing teams you have coached before. They tend to move around a lot from team to team. One LB’r in particular played for 5 different teams in 7 seasons.

Many of the teams in this league are within 60 miles of Denver and Denver always has 4 teams. So you get to know the players pretty well.

So what did I do? Included their last names in our fake audible system. Now they think they are important enough to be included in the system when really Im just Jacking with them.

Funny story. One of the DT’s that played for the same team for 15 seasons and was very chatty himself came over to me during the Championship game. This is when we were running the DW about 70% of the time. He is also a youth coach that runs the DW. He tells me to please stop running that damn DW because he is way too old to be on the field that long. The sweat was pouring off him and his eyes were glazed over !

So I respond…OK Orlando Im running Afton right at you for the rest of this series so get ready. Afton was the fastest tailback in the league who was one of our wingbacks in the DW. So I did and we scored in three plays from their 30 yard line…I think Orlando gave up. We ran right at him 3 plays in a row.

Anyway...the only issue I had at the semi pro level was crowd noise at times. We still managed…I had to go out to the numbers and the QB had to come over to me a little…then his primaries were on his wrist coach numbers 1-5 so it was a quick look type thing. I just held up the fingers to match the primary and off he went.

Since the UP /DN snap count is on first sound….what ever I say… the QB will not repeat it. If he did the C would snap the football right into his chest. Or if the C was smart enough to squeeze the football if he heard the QB accidentally yell out NEY YORK…then for sure one of the receivers will go.

We used leg lifts to cue motion. When calling running plays in the muddle huddle the QB would yell codes to the line as the receivers broke the huddle and went to line up. These codes told the O-line what the blocking scheme was.

I call everything from the sideline. I also read everything from the sideline. As the ref is gathering up the football and the linemen are getting into position I am calling a play just about the time the ready for play whistle goes off. So we have 25 seconds or so to snap the ball and will use 20 of them most times.

Super hurry up mode is something I have never bought into. With the O-line on the LOS right there with the ref spotting the football... seems to keep the DC from subbing unless the football is pretty close to midfield and he can get that done quickly. I have also discovered that if you are in super hurry mode at the youth level and the DC needs to sub….the ref will put one foot on the football and allow the kids to change out…claiming if the kids need a blow then it’s a safety issue.

I never argue anything when the word "saftey" comes up. I doubt you would have this issue at the HS level.

So in super hurry up mode I am yelling out either MAGIC…run the same play as before…or I am yelling out the play call I want. Either way the QB is calling the play to both sides of the formation as the players get set and ready for play. Then I call the primary and the QB then asks for the football as soon as he is ready. So that all may still take 5-7 seconds after the ready for play whistle. Nothing is immediate unless I keep calling COLORADO.

Coach Mike

[CoachChuck]

would you use the same blocking rules for a qb under center?thanks

[mahonz]

would you use the same blocking rules for a qb under center?thanks

Chuck

You bet.

Coach Mike

[coachbradley]

First off, I love this site.  I just found it while browsing Huey's youth section the other day and it's good to see a similar site more tailored to the kids I coach! 

Back to the point...Mahonz, I've got a few questions/comments/concerns for you:

1) On your pass blocking slides, I think you meant to say inside foot on the guard's first step assignments.  Right now, it says first step should be with the OUTSIDE foot in an effort almost hip-check the center.  I'm thinking that should say INSIDE, right?

2) If you only run a 4 route bush at the really young player level, without carryover can you tell me how so many routes are possible?  If you run 1 up or 4 down, isn't that limiting each receiver (since Sam is involved in pass protection) to just two routes?  I'm quite certain I could be missing something...

3) When you run 0 up with the 7 and 10 route trees, do you ever have issues with one guy covering two with 0 being a bubble route and 1 being an arrow?

I'm about halfway through and I really like the fact that it's empty set, yet somewhat simplistic on the surface.  I'm hoping I'm not coming off too critical...those were the items I just had questions on in digesting the first several pages.  I plan to go through it again several more times!  Nice work!

Thanks!

[mahonz]

First off, I love this site.  I just found it while browsing Huey's youth section the other day and it's good to see a similar site more tailored to the kids I coach! 

Back to the point...Mahonz, I've got a few questions/comments/concerns for you:

1) On your pass blocking slides, I think you meant to say inside foot on the guard's first step assignments.  Right now, it says first step should be with the OUTSIDE foot in an effort almost hip-check the center.  I'm thinking that should say INSIDE, right?

2) If you only run a 4 route bush at the really young player level, without carryover can you tell me how so many routes are possible?  If you run 1 up or 4 down, isn't that limiting each receiver (since Sam is involved in pass protection) to just two routes?  I'm quite certain I could be missing something...

3) When you run 0 up with the 7 and 10 route trees, do you ever have issues with one guy covering two with 0 being a bubble route and 1 being an arrow?

I'm about halfway through and I really like the fact that it's empty set, yet somewhat simplistic on the surface.  I'm hoping I'm not coming off too critical...those were the items I just had questions on in digesting the first several pages.  I plan to go through it again several more times!  Nice work!

Thanks!

Coach

Welcome. This is a great site.

Thanks for the keen eye as well. You are correct. OG's step with their inside foot first. I updated the manual and noted this on that post. Thank you for that. HUGE error.

The 4 point tree is limiting but since they are Smurfs it seems 4 routes each is enough. I have only ran this once with the really little guys. What I did was watch the defenders as we played our base. Then when I called for this formation I would tell my stud to align at a particular position that created the mismatch I had found in the defense. With the little gusy its pretty easy to find that player or two. My stud would typically align at one of the slot positions. Then I would throw him 4 footballs in a row and huddle up and run our base. He would catch three of the four most times.

Then I would run the base watching the defenders again and looking for another mismatch for my other stud who would get a case of the drops on occasion but I had to get him some game day reps so he could get better.

Hopefully I could run them both on the same side of the formation since our QB liked to throw to his left. So after the first quarter I could call this formation and have my two studs on the same side…our left…and I could stay in this formation for a while…in theory. If you complete a post route at this age group it’s a TD. So its not move the chains football really. It all comes down to keeping the QB upright at this level so the post is a rare call but the FS still has that route coming at him from somewhere.

I remember if I couldn’t get a mismatch going on one side or even the other they would both play the slot position. Then the 1 routes…down and outs.... were not such a long throw and the 2 routes were right at a Mike linebacker who had no clue…being a Smurf trained to tackle running backs and all. The little guys did really well. I remember being very proud of them.

BTW that kid that had a case of the drops became the #1 receiver by the time he was an 8th graders and is now going to be a Junior in HS. He started Varsity as a Sophomore at the receiver position and lead all 4A receivers in catches, yards and TD’s.

0’ 1’s and 2’s for the 7 or 10 point trees is for soft zone coverage’s or even man that is playing ratrher deep so I like the interference a 1 route creates when throwing the bubbles since….when in trips….there is also a 2 route right there as well.

Since this is youth ball the reality is that the defenders will 8 out of 10 times be more concerned with keeping things in front of them and playing down hill. They are not used to seeing this stuff. Many vets on this forum have never had to defend a 5 wide formation that is throwing the football. I have seen 5 defenders align straight across the field at a depth of 8-10 yards before….throw the quick stuff because now its just a long handoff ….and let the receivers fight for some yards. Five yards a pop works because the D is saying…you will not be going over the top today.  Then when you get into the red zone….Beast it down their throats of course.   

Hope that answers your questions.

Caoch Mike

[coachbradley]

Thanks coach, that does help!

I did want to elaborate a little more on this question I asked:

2) If you only run a 4 route bush at the really young player level, without carryover can you tell me how so many routes are possible?  If you run 1 up or 4 down, isn't that limiting each receiver (since Sam is involved in pass protection) to just two routes?  I'm quite certain I could be missing something...

That question was in reference to this text in your powerpoint:

Running a 4 point tree you only have two play calls out of two formations but the formation change will not effect how the routes mesh.

ACE 4 DOWN RIGHT – ACE 4 DOWN LEFT – ACE 1 UP RIGHT – ACE 1 UP LEFT.

So the number of possible routes run is

4 receivers multiplied 4 routes each = 16 possibilities multiplied by 2 for the UP / DOWN choice = 32 possible routes runs that you can chose from. The beautiful part is the kids are not learning 32 plays. They are learning a 4 point receivers tree.

What I was getting at was this...how does Henery run anything other than a 2 or a 3 from the 4 point tree?  If the call is 4 Down Left/Right, he'd be running a 3, correct?  And if the call was 1 Up Left/Right, he'd be running a 2, correct?  If that's the case, how do you ever get Henery running a 1 or 4 route?  Sorry if I wasn't clear before...

The more I think about this, the more I like it!

[mahonz]

Coach

You would have to use carryovers in order to have the slots run a 1 or 4. Sorry I should have been clearer on that. It’s the same as being able to run a Seam route or a Bubble route with a slot for the 7 or 10 point trees. 

I have found that the kids do fine with carryovers but if you introduce motions it tends to get messy. For the little guys I would play it straight up at first. Then after a few practice sessions and maybe even a game or two…teach them to carryover.

With the ability to carryover, you as the coach get 32 choices…if my math is correct.

It gets pretty simple once you get your brain around it. How I coach this stuff in practice after they all learn their trees is I stand with the QB and call out a play. The receivers are all aligned at their positions. We do this without the o-line.

I have a coach or a dad or a backup player standing at each position with a drawing of our tree. I also have a tree for the QB to look at. I call a play and we all as a group go over the counting Up or Down with each position showing them what they are running and what their buddy next to them is running. Its amazing how fast everyone picks things up if they are visualizing as an entire group. The get it in one practice as long as they learn….

X run the play call….H is the play call plus or minus one and so on. Then Z who has the toughest assignment is never counting off  4 or 5 routes…he just thinks…the play call plus or minus 5 for the big trees….plus or minus 4 for the 4 point tree. Simple. 

Then we run the play on air.

It is important to run most of your reps on air. They need to see how it all looks / works before you introduce any defenders.

Then you can introduce the carryovers. You simply introduce them to some of the scenarios as they are all aligned on air and go thru some play calls. Making sure they get it before you run anything of the play calls. Take it slow and then it all makes sense.

I do not suggest carryovers for the little guys but if you are all in on the teaching and have a good group of coaches…do it. We did.

Later on I will introduce the super advanced UP /DN and explain the why’s. I have used this with one youth team that had two seasons of UP /DN experience.

4 UP LEFT ODD….means X runs a 4…. H a 5…S a 7…Y a 9 and Z a 1. Start witht eh play call and progress ODD.

4 UP RIGHT EVEN….progress with the even routes.
4 UP RIGHT MIRROR….X runs a 4….H a 5… S a 6…..then mirror….Y runs a 5 ….Z a 4.

Then you have stack routes that you can introduce. A 29 route  is a SLUGGO…slant…2 route…into a 9…go route….SLUGGO….slant and go. 

So you can call something simple like ALL 29 or

4 UP LEFT SAM 29. Everyone runs their Up routes but SAM runs a tagged route.

One of my favorites… 09 route. BUGGO.  I first saw this route when a 10-year-old team we were playing burned us so bad on a simple bubble go route. Pretty play…really good route.

So there is a lot more to this as you progress. I was going to put together the UP / DN advanced manual next weekend.

Hope this is all making sense. Thanks

Coach Mike

[coachbradley]

Makes perfect sense.  Thanks for the clarification.

[jholley]

Tell me what MOFO & MOFC means on some of the pages with the route configurations.  I was guessing MO=Man On but I am not sure what the other two letters stand for in the combinations?