Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Middle School Tries a Trick Play

E courage? Some of you here are a real hoot.! Do you really want to fight on the internet?

The kids are in middle school... A time where fundamentals are a huge part of learning(remember when I said a coach is a teacher?)... The fact that the coach yelled to move the ball to confuse the other team even more,is amazing... That coach isn't about anything but winning and sports just aren't about that.... Doing the right thing might not be the most popular thing sometimes... Coaches should be better than that...

I guess I think of it as "innovative", not "bush league" ...

again, within the rules is within the rules. The only "tricky" thing about it is that you don't see it very often, if at all ... but at some point in time, any "new" play is a "trick play", and you have to be prepared for it... and obviously, the defense was not prepared.

I think about this as well ... you're coached, from day one at the earliest age, on two fundamentals of defense.

1. Once the offense is set, when the ball moves is when you move ... you don't listen to or watch the QB or other players ... you watch the ball ... when it moves, the play is ON

2. Once the ball is in play, you go until the whistle blows, period.


From what I saw, the defense didn't 'remember' either of those fundamentals ... they were simply "out played" in this instance ... yah, it was a 'brain play' and not a 'muscle play', but still legal and one that could have EASILY been stopped by the defense ...

Your posts in this thread are here for folks to read. And you trying to act like I'm the one starting schit? You won't last long here. Your trolling is real low level.

Bart ...

I understand what you're saying, but even at that level of football the players should KNOW that the ONLY person allowed to move the ball to correct it's position on the field is one of the officials...

again, the defense didn't follow two of the most basic rules of defense ... that's not the fault of the offense.

I will take note, your advice is very important to me.

Bart ...

In the interest of fairness, I'll admit that I'd hate to have been beaten on such play, or to win on such a play ... because I'd rather know I could beat the team "straight up", or at least that I lost playing as hard as I could while I got the best of the other team on every play ...

but in the end, eliminating my emotions from the equation, I would also hope I was smart enough to realize what was going on, and stop it from happening to me.

I just can't seem to get past how easily the defense was fooled on that play ... which is why I don't get as upset about it as you seem to be...

I disagree, but it's too much to type for this subject. I won't be coaching my kids to do this. Personal preference. I guess I'll cover it for the defense though.

See, that's part of your problem. You don't know when someone is simply stating fact or giving advice. I have no advice for you. You'll fix yourself here.

As a former little league coach, I don't like it and I wouldn't run it, but if another team ran it against me I would take responsibility and say nothing. But I think the other coach is little prick who never played the game at a high level.

Blah blah blah, I lost my cool with bart. At what point should we get back to the subject of coaching and sportsmanship?

You can't do that Trey... These kids are 13-15 years old and run on emotion as well as early brewing testosterone... It was a crappy call from a stupid coach...

You lose credibility when you call the coach "stupid" after he scores and wins the game.

there's a big difference between legal and moral rules for adults too.

I try to follow the moral rules even if it means ignoring the legal rules on occassion.


sports especially involving kids are the same for me, I'd rather err to the side of above board than sneaky pete, if nothing else for the example it sets for the kids.

it was perfectly legal for us to play against shorthanded teams this summer, but I wouldn't allow it.

tis the great thing about this life we all get to make choices and if you're not revulsed by the man you see in the mirror I reckon it's all good. but I try and hold that guy to a pretty high standard


I don't know many folks that are as insanely stupidly competitive as I am, tis why I've avoided coaching my kids, kids are supposed to have fun, not get yelled at, after all a man has to know his limitations.

This^^^

Bart ... let me ask you this...

At what age or level do you think that it becomes ok to incorporate "brain plays" into the game?

While football (at any level) involves a LOT of "muscle" and "reaction" to compete, it also involves strategy and thinking. Just because you typically line it up and go at it to see who can push who out of the way doesn't mean that using your brain isn't a part of the game, or that using your brain to beat someone is "bush league" ...

I know we disagree, and aren't going to change each other's minds on this ... I'm not saying you have to like it either. I respect all that say they don't think football should involve such plays - at least at that age/level ...

but I tend to think that at whatever age/level it is, when they start putting real officials on the field ... and keeping real score ... and giving away real championships, that anything and everything within the rules is fair game, and the players and coaches on any team that's decided to compete for the title should be prepared to deal with anything legal that comes their way ...

And, if I know little league and little league referees (and I do), if I had a middle line backer smart enough to nail the little smarmy bastid, the refs would have flagged him for some kind of a sportsmanship violation that they won't be able to find in the rule book.

Just my opinion, but there's a HUGE difference between playing with a full team against a short-handed team, vs. the trick play in question here.

The very nature of playing 11 vs. 9 creates an advantage for the team that can field enough players to put 11 out there ...

However ...

Once you pull 2 players to make it 9 vs. 9, the playing field is again perfectly level, and both teams can now compete, fairly and ethically within the rules ...

and that "trick play" gave the offense NO advantage over the defense that simply let the QB walk past them and then run for a score ...

again, the two scenarios are COMPLETELY different ...

Yep. And if you had covered this with your kids, and had a savvy tough kid that smoked that QB after getting a good running start and the QB got hurt...I bet the other coach wouldn't seem so smart then. Doubt the parents would like it much either.

I don't know about brain levels Trey because my 13 year old son is a constant brain fart... That play was all about sneaky coaches,not about good execution and play calling... Lombardi and Landry would be as thrilled as I am about those kids running that play as I am...