building a team...fresman

RUN EXACTLY WHAT THE VARSITY RUNS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DO YOUR JOB CORRECTLY!

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

First off, I have to say that it's great that you live in a state where freshman ball is real football and not modified rules that limit the offensive and defensive formations you can use and you would have the option of using the Varsity offense. Secondly, our program has experience with a situation like yours due to NYS rules. We run the flexbone with motion from a back on almost every play on the Varsity and JV levels. Motion isn't allowed in modified football in New York, which I believe hampers the overall quality of football in the state. But, that's a discussion for another time. Getting back to topic, we have found that we can run mideline and veer out of the wishbone. The QB still has to make his reads, the backs are in the right spots. An old fashioned Straight T may work as well. This may be an option for you. The QB won't be in the same spots as in shotgun, but he will get into the habit of looking at a read and making a decision, which is always the most difficult part of teaching a QB how to play in a system like that. The OL blocking schemes should be able to work out to being the same as on the Varsity level as well. See what the HC thinks of the Wishbone or Straight T as an alternative to the Shotgun while still being able to run the option stuff.

Coaches,

Your all familiar with the saying: EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER, I'm sure. The reason that old adage is true is simply because experience breeds CONFIDENCE. Once a team has been battle tested, won a real hard fought game by coming from behind, etc. the next time they find themselves in the same situation they say: HEY, WE HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE AND WON AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN RIGHT NOW! The CONFIDENCE that has been generated by EXPERIENCE kicks in and they go out armed with the knowledge to really believe in each other.

My point and how it pertains to this discussion is the simple fact that if they run the same offense/defense that the varsity runs, when it comes their time to step up they find thmselves armed with the CONFIDENCE that the EXPERIENCE of having run the same thing for previous years has built within them.

That is my case for runnig exactly what the varsity runs.

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

Thank you for your insight. The idea was brought up by the HC that if we use the straight T at the freshman level that it will be carried throught the program as a goal line offense and or change of pase type of thing.

I've never been involved in a high school program where the freshman coach had the choice of what to run scheme-wise. It would not be a true PROGRAM if this was the case.