First off, this website has been addictive. I found it a few weeks ago and I feel like I hit the jackpot. Thank you to everyone who contributes here.
This is certainly the jackpot of youth football knowledge, seriously. There's coaches on here that've forgotten more about football than I'll know.
I am the OC for what will be s 7 y.o. team next summer/fall. We want to move to the spread, and Big Coco's offense seems to be what I am going to choose to implement. It has the run game and short passing game that fits our needs. Since we ran the 'Gun as six y.o.'s, the only real question I have about this offense is can a 7 y.o. OT effectively get out in front of the FB on Trap plays?
Yes, absolutely they can. You have to get rid of the "big bubba linemen" concept, and look for tackles that are more athletic, and somewhat aggressive. Kids that would normally be a great fullback in a DW or I formation offense, are the kids you want at tackle in this offense. When I ran double wing with 8-9 year olds we were pulling the backside guard AND tackle; didn't have too many difficulties.
Especially with a crashing DE who may make it to the FB before the OT can block? We play against teams that run a boxing DE, but without a TE on them, I believe they will crash into the backfield. Usually teams are in a 6-3. Thanks in advance...
It's all about the snap, timing is everything, and timing starts with the center snap. My recommendation is to find that kid who can deliver the ball consistently and get into his track, and place him there. However I would work to develop all of your linemen for the snap with daily snapping drills where they spend 10 minutes snapping to each other. Sounds like you already have experience with shotgun, and maybe you already know all of this, but I just wanted to stress how important this is.
I don't think we had a backside DE crash the play more than a few times all year, and those occurred in practices against other kids on our team playing scout defense against our offense who really knew what what to do. If the DE is crashing, then you need to make him pay by having your mobile QB (who should be one of the best runners on the team) keep to the backside and run by him. Of course if they box then your tackle should have a decent kick out on him. You have to watch the DE's, know what they're doing, and punish them accordingly.
With a QB who can catch, turn, and throw, you should be able to find some level of success with bubble screens, quick screens, or maybe even a simple QB sweep. If you're going to run spread, then go all in and really spread out. Spread your X and Y receivers as far as your QB can make that throw, or as far out as the other team will cover them. If your SE's line up on the numbers to each side and the corners move with them, then so be it, move 'em out there and take their corners out of the play. Also, I just can't emphasize enough that your slots and receivers have to be able to block out in the open. Without this critical skill, you'll struggle with your perimeter attack all year, trust me on this.
I ran this system last year; had some highs and some definite lows, but I love running spread. I've posted some videos of my gang running this from last year in the youth spread thread. There's tons of great advice on this site from lots of guys who know alot more about spread than me, but I definitely learned alot last year and would be glad to help you any way I can. Loves me some spread football. LOL
