Illegal Shift - Need Clarification

[coachd]

Originally Posted by Ed Hickland

Motion in youth leagues seems to be a concept the "coaches" have a hard time mastering, therefore, the kids cannot do it correctly.

What is so difficult about "the offense must come set for one second"? It means nobody moves for one second, period. Shift into a three-point stance, nobody moves for one second; then, a back can go in motion.

Thanks for your reply. I agree with you. The coaches had clearly taught the kids to do the right thing at the wrong time. They got set first in a 2-pt stance, then went in motion... but then shifted into a 3-pt stance without stopping the motion.

It wasn't even a judgment call. The motion was always before the 3-pt stance. So the coaches taught the wrong thing and the Refs missed the call.

I understand and appreciate Refs who let the kids play. I'm sure you could throw a flag on almost every play with younger players. But we saw this in a scouting video and asked the Refs to watch for it before the game. We also brought it up when the game started and we were told that it was legal.

I think both the coaches and Refs were at fault on this one. I even asked some of the more-experienced coaches in our league about the play and while everyone knew about the rules for illegal motion, nobody knew for sure about the illegal shift. I played QB in high school and recognized a problem right away... the play didn't look right, but I thought it was Illegal Motion at first. As it turns out, it was an Illegal Shift.

I hope this Post helps other Coaches and Refs avoid this mistake.