Football Playbooks

Is the 4 – 4 Stack OR Base 5 – 3 A Better Youth Football Defense?

A recent question we received was  – Is the 4 – 4 Stack OR Base 5 – 3 A Better Youth Football Defense?  The question is repeated below.  There are many different types of defenses to run when coaching a youth football team, however a coach needs to be practical on which one to use.  At the very young ages most teams cannot pass at all so you will want to run a base defense that can stop the run.  Here is the question from our customer.

I coach youth football…….8-10 year olds. Last year we gave up a total of 8 TD’s in 9 games and went 8-1 running the base 5 -3. The good thing about the 5 – 3 is you clog the line but also are able to get your subs into the interior of that line 3 at a time so they can get their minimum plays. I am leaning towards the 4 – 4 this year because we have 2 studs at OLB and 2 studs at ILB. I have both returning starting DE’s and can work the inside of the line with my minimum play kids they just won’t get their plays as quickly as when we ran the 5-3. For anyone that has ever ran the defense or know of it how basic is it as far as gap assignments and all to teach to the boys? Like I said, I have 8 of my returners back on D when the A team takes the field so I have allot to work with. If I go to a 5 – 3 then I am losing talent at one of my LB spots. Sure I could work them into a SS role and bring them up to the strong side with the LB’s but still…….so any help is appreciated.

Our answer is pretty basic, if you went 8-1 why change?  Add a few stunts and rotations, but why would you change the entire defense?  Work on schemes for the team that beat you and solidify the returning player’s positions.  Our youth football playbook on the Base 5-3 is perfect for the 8-10 year old age group.

Is the I Formation Good for Youth Football?

A recent question from one of our readers asked  if the I formation was a good formation to run at the youth football level.  We love the I formation, in fact one of our coaches started 11-0 last year with the exact offense show in the Power I playbook on the site.  Below is the question as presented to us and our answer. 

Is the I Formation Good for Youth Football?

I don’t know if this is what we should run but this is what the head coach wants?

The first question that comes to our mind is regarding the head coach.  How much experience and what are his qualifications for coaching youth football?  Has he been there for years and has a proven track record?  Having a proven track record is important since we have many coaches with many years of experience that do not know how to coach at all.  These type of people have no business being anywhere around kids, yet they continue to coach year after year.  Some of these guy continue to coach for a variety of reasons, like being on the board of director, so first you need to look at the head coaches qualification.

If he has been around awhile, treats the kids right and has success I would be a little more trusting.  I would question anyone who is making a decision on the offense they are going to run without knowing your talent yet, unless this is grade school ball and you know all of the returning players and their ability.

If the head coach has little or no qualification, I would suggest coach elsewhere.  He will not listen to you and you’ll probably butt heads all year, so save yourself the BS and move on.  I have not had many parents help me with the direct coaching decisions due to this reason.  I have enough to do all year and do not have the time to be arguing with someone who is on a different page than our staff.

The I formation is great and we used it to help our team to an 11-0 start last year.  Our playbook is basic, but effective and that’s all you need at the 9-10 year old level.