Why we don't kick in youth league around here!
 

Youth Football Kickoff Takes a Bizarre Turn, Results in TD for Receiving Team | Bleacher Report


The hustle out of the officials is a bit lacking!

A bit? I'd say....Good Lord.

It is mercenary time.

Peace

With the limited amount of practice time they allow for, some youth leagues either allow no kicking or modify the rules for kicks, while in those leagues where kicking is allowed, coaches frequently short the time preparing the players for kicking situations, producing results as seen in the vid.

In our league a few seasons ago, playing from behind, the HC of the team I was coaching on chose to punt from well inside the other team's territory. He knew the other team would goof up. We allow no rush, and the kick is dead when it comes into possession -- in that case, when the opposing player fielded it on their 5 yard line. 2 plays later they gave up a safety, & I never doubted our HC's play calling ability again.

Up here in the youth leagues, it is standard Fed free and scrimmage kick rules for the 5th thru 8th grade, with the exception that there is no rushing the punt or the PAT by B at the 5th grade level. In an effort to try to get teams to kick the PATs, if kicking the PAT is successful, it's 2 points and running the standard 2 point conversion is worth 1 point if not kicked.

Some of the teams in this area (that have been there at the end for years) run their 5th grade teams in flag football format but run the same offense and defensive schemes to let the kids get the feel of the game. They practice a TON up here...some would argue way too much and part of the reason they are losing kids.

These 5th and 6th grade teams also can only have 6 B team players within 5 yards of the ball at the snap during scrimmage plays, unless the ball is at the 5YL or less going in.

These funky rules, like the 150# limit, are why I've quit doing youth football. None of the coaches know the rules. None of the parents know the rules. And certainly none of the kids know the rules. Yet it is the officials who get blasted for enforcing rules that nobody knows. When we had a parent run down on the field screaming at us and pushing me for screwing his kid out of TD when we blew the play dead when a kid with a stripe on his helmet (the marker for 150# or over), that was the last straw. Numerous times we've had parents on the field cussing us out, cussing coaches out, and coaches throwing hissy fits, and getting ZERO support from the league administrators. Finally, several of us in our association told them all to go to hell. They can do it themselves.

And every year our assignor begs the association to get enough volunteers to cover the youth games. And every year we hear the same stories of out of control parents and coaches. Until the league clamps down on the ridiculous behavior, I'm done, and several of my peers are done.

I stopped doing those 3 years ago....came back and did a 4 game set 3 weeks ago, helping out another official I've known for years. He asked how it went afterward and I told him I wouldn't do these again if they paid $150 per game. You are exactly right though...you have dad's coaching their sons (new guys every year for each team for the most part) and you have those same coaches and parents that don't know the NFL rules they watch on Sundays, better yet this league's rules, or how those rules differ. Every kid on the field is named Johnny Imgettingafullridetocollegeplayingfootballsomeday. You have coaches with no respect for anyone or the officials so now you have kids saying stuff that would've got me tossed out of games back in the 80's when I was in school. Good friend of mine was asked to come back and help assist coaching a local 5th grade team...(wait for it .....5th grade.) He told me this last week after they lost again that they have 45 plays on offense. No, that's not a typo. He had 8 - 10 was he was the HC a dozen years ago and they were competing for championships here.

The apocalypse gets closer by the day....

There was a time in my career where I had to do these games. Now I am a point of my career where I never have to work these games. Even when I could have used the money I choose to pass for my sanity. Even getting the money is often a hassle. Other than a brand new official, I do not see the reason to even work these games.

Peace

That's certainly true in our club-league. Our team's defense coach had us basing out of a 5-3 in pre-season. Then we had our scrimmage the week before the season was to start, and the R or the U (not sure which) told him we couldn't have someone on defense lined up on the snapper's nose in our div. (JPW).

I'm the offense coach, but our defense coach being new, I told him that was news to me, and that I doubted its truth. We had had such a rule in the Mites div., but the Mites had been abolished 3 seasons earlier, and when they merged it w half of the JPW div., that rule was not carried over, or I'd've heard, even though I was coaching in the PW div. at the time. We'd had 2 pre-season coaches' meetings this yr. at which playing rules had been discussed, and that was not brought up, nor did it come up at the draft meeting. (They did say prominently that pass interference had been reduced to 10 yds. penalty.)

So I asked our dir. of football ops., who himself is new this season, Joe, & he said he didn't know, saying the dir. of General Motors doesn't have to know which side the gas cap is on on their cars. That might be true in such a large organiz'n, but we can count our admins. on 1 hand, & our game officials on the other. So I asked Jay, who'd been in charge for over 60 yrs. previously, and he said he didn't know, but he'd ask another coach who'd been coaching in the JPWs since the Mites were abolished. Word came back that it was indeed the rule that you couldn't line up on the snapper's nose. Huh. Wonder how they'd kept it a secret.

But then I recalled that in 2014 on the JPW team I'd coached w then, we played a 3-5 w somebody on the snapper's nose practically the entire season! So our defense coach sought further clarif'n from the admins., & the word came back that you could line up on the snapper's nose, but not charge directly into the snapper (like scrimmage kick formation rules). I don't actually believe that's our rule, though, just that some coaches are more persuasive than others in convincing the officials what our rules actually are.

An official reminded us during our last game of another playing rule the club has that I'd forgotten about, which is that only the maker of a fumble (or any opponent) can advance the fumbled ball after recovery. That one hadn't been discussed in a couple yrs., and it'd be easy for a newcomer to not know about. We also have a rule variation that AFAIK has never been discussed, but that you have to infer from the officials' administration of the game, which is that illegal formation kills the play at the snap.

It should be like a cuss jar! You blow one friday night you have to work 2 Peewee games!! :D

I've selected several Saturdays to work youth this fall as my son is on varsity and thus I'm off most Fridays for the next two years. I had cut youth ball entirely out of my schedule a few years back because of much of what is being discussed here. The few I have worked the last few years I quickly began quietly cursing myself for being sucked back into the morass.

Fortunately, in our area, the kids are still pretty well behaved. The coaches are all mostly named Stevebillwalshvince Lombardispurrierbellichick however. We have the occasional fan-parent pop-off but nothing too aggressive so far. All in all, its not been too bad this season BUT tomorrow is another day.

I just about lost soda thru my nose...well played, sir.

Oh...and that stint 3 weeks ago, in 2 of the 4 games we had QB dump ball into bench with no ER within a mile.....had about 4 different instances of "HE WAS OUT OF THE POCKET!!!".

That stuff will likely be "coach officiated" in 5-10 years at the current rate.

In Ohio no one kicks off until Freshman year in high school. Teams start on their 35.

After watching the video, all I can say is that it looked like a typical U of Michigan kickoff. Sorry Rut.

MTD, Sr.

You have to do better than that one.

Peace