Comments on: Youth Football Defenses

By: Steve Parker

Steve Parker — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:51:29 +0000

I personally believe in the 6-2 Wide Tackle, 70 Eagle and 5-2 with a Rover that blitzes. If a team passes a ton you may want to move to a 5-3. Take a look at the defense survey results here http://coachparker.org/defense/ see the survey link at bottom for results.

Remember, Speed Kills. If they have a faster back than your fastest player then they probably can sweep all day unless you adjust to deal with the speed in a Spy Key, blitz or overload, etc.

Thanks
Coach Parker

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:09:05 +0000

How about the 3-4 defense? Anyone have any luck with that defense? We played a speedy team and got murdered this week! Any suggestions?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:04:52 +0000

6-2 is best. Pinching NG’s in gap blitz linebackers behind center or lead blocker

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:34:15 +0000

Don’t run a 4-4 that leaves your best players (linebackers) to get blocked by linemen. Off tackle plays will kill you.

By: stevep264

stevep264 — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:29:09 +0000

stop the sweep first

By: stevep264

stevep264 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:28:17 +0000

To be honest, fit your talent to the defense. Ive seen many defenses run well. I personally like the 6-2 for the youth level, but I have about 30 different blitz / stunt calls for my 6-2 so the 6-2 turns into a 4-4. 5-3, and Gap 8.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:36:20 +0000

We are going up against a Power I that likes to sweep. We run 4 lineman, 2 in the A gaps and 2 outside the tackles. We have 4 LB’s and two corners with a safety. This has worked for us so far. I was thinking of moving the NG’s to the B gaps to help the outside lineman get good penetration. I know the FB dive might get us but I’d rather them try up the middle versus sweeping us to death – any thoughts?

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:31:47 +0000

The 6-2 defense seems pretty solid as long as the kids are quick to pick up on what the offense is running. If they can pick up the pass or a well orchestrated run play, it works. If you have a less solid bunch, you could consider the 33-stack that I employed last year. We stopped a lot of offenses, but only won 2 games. Our offense itself had its own problems that weren’t remedied. We had a coach start the offense last season but he didn’t stick around, so the next one had to pick it up where he left off. Didn’t work so well. Anyway, I use 3 linemen with 3 linebackers 2 yards directly behind them. I only used one safety, who should be fast and observant so he can figure out the play quick. Of course I use two cornerbacks, lined up a little wider than usual. Then I use two “wingbacks” who line up like a cornerback but not as wide. On the start of the play the DT hit the outside gap, NT hits gap to his right, OLB go to gap inside of the DT, MLB hits center left gap. Hard to run the middle against this. Wingbacks can cover a receiver or sweep, or blitz. Cornerbacks cover sweep and pass. Safety has to cover backfield and let other players know if they need to cover elsewhere. There are many variations you could use, depending on the kids you are coaching. Let me know what you think…

By: Keith

Keith — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:03:07 +0000

How did the GAM work out for you? I tried it one year with 10 year olds and got beat pretty bad, shifting back to a 6-2, dropping the SLB over the TE. Seemed to work better. This season with 11 year olds, I have been running a 4-4 primarily playing the OLBs tight to the line with a cover 3 behind it. We have done well with that giving up just under 6 PPG, 14 in one game. Thanks for the great site.

By: AJ

AJ — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:16:45 +0000

Coach,

I coach a football team for 10-11 yrs old and our teams are now 27-4 using the GAM exclusively. I caution the use of multiple schemes on either side of the ball – it usually leads to paralysis of analysis and prevents the kids from being great at any one of them. I was going to use the 5-2 defense when I started coaching, mainly because that is what we ran in high school and college, but I do not like a zone defense for youth – too complicated for many kids at that age. Unless you are facing a good option team or a great passing team, the GAM is more than what you need. 80% of our wins are shutouts and the pressure applied with the right personnel in this system is dynamite.