Youth football - coach speak
 

"How far behind the line of scrimmage can their (running) back be (prior to the snap)?"

He was stressed because the opposing offense was in a "hurry up" mode so he was fishing for anything to distract the officials in an effort to slow the game down at that moment.

I don't know that I've ever read a rule or case play that addresses formations specifically related to how far off/max distance (behind) the LOS a back can line up.

Didn't find anything in the online rules using key word search function.

Thoughts?

Most often, youth leagues have made-up rules that they've added to the book ... so regardless of the answers here, you'll likely have to go check those too.

That said, there is no rule along these lines in any standard rulebook (NFL, NCAA, NFHS, PopW), and no youth league I've ever worked restricted how far a RB could play off the line, and I can't think of a reason why a local league would want to.

With the amount of crazy local rules made by fools, it's a challenge to say the least. One reason youth leagues pay so well is that in addition to baby sitting grown adults, we're also having to deal with poorly written and ill thought out local rules.

I typically see restrictions that require something like a 6-3-2 or 5-4-2 defense, and each "layer" of the defensive burrito must be 1-2, 3-5, and some other distance from the LOS at the snap. Other leagues aren't so picky. I've never seen a youth league describe how far players have to be, but on-field coaches usually have a 15- or 20- yard minimum distance from the LOS.

If anyone hasn't seen a youth league's rules, or wants to know why the derision is so great among officials for the youth league rules books,this pdf file is one of the better-written ones in my area, and it's still a nightmare. It has violations for which no penalty is prescribed or enforcement recommended, it rules differences for the various divisions written together in paragraph form with no comparison charts or other logical assistance. It makes up "broadcaster terms" that aren't anywhere in the rules books, let alone defined anywhere, uses contradictory language, and has rules placed in the wrong location (check out 10.2 on page 22). And this is one of the BETTER youth rules sets.

I can: to limit how far runs into opponents are. Pop Warner and my club already limit how far apart you can line them up and run them straight into each other in practice.

Football's worse than the other 3 sports. I love rules like "Linebackers cannot blitz". WTF is that? I had one that said, "Holding will be scrutinized by the official." That's a rule? LOL. Yes, coach, I saw the holding ... and I scrutinized it real good. Another said tackles and guards may only shadow-block. With no definition of shadow-blocking and no inclusion of the center or any tight ends, etc. Another in the Linebackers Can't Blitz league said, and I quote, "Ball-carriers may only reverse field if necessary." I kid you not. (And of course ... no proscribed penalty should we decide a ball-carrier reversed field unnecessarily!) Crazy crazy stuff.

I've got one here that says "Blocking is done with palms up and arms extended." Says nothing about which direction you can extend your arms. I'll assume blockers can't clothes-line someone, even if he keeps his palms up.

Another says "Officials will ensure that blockers are not overly aggressive." That's it. No penalty, I've just got to ensure it doesn't happen.

In one that says it goes by NFHS, they have added, "A player may not throw a pass out of bounds or into the ground to avoid being tackled. This will be a 5 yard penalty and a loss of down."

Then, for a flag league, "While carrying the ball, if any receiver or runner who loses his flag, the ball is dead at the spot where the flag is lost." Two pages later, they re-iterate, "If the receiver loses his flag before catching the ball, the ball is dead at the spot where the receiver’s flags fell off." Aside from the botched grammar, I now have the joy of awarding A a catch for no gain if the receiver runs 20 yards down field for a catch but dropped his flag at the LOS. At least it's in the rules twice, so I can give the coach the choice of which rule he wants to complain to the league about.

But my personal favorite: "A punt is declared dead after the ball is touched by a defensive player. The receiving team may pick the ball up and advance if it touches the ground."
W
T
F
!?

But at least according to this league, "Officials have the authority to banish any person(s) who is interfering with the game, displaying unsportsmanlike conduct, or is under the influence of drugs or alcohol."