Coaches Notebook

When you begin to build your offense you will see things that are working and things that are not working. 

Work on the simple things first.  The snap count is a very difficult part of the game to get right. 

You will spend countless hours as a team trying to make an improvement. 

Some days your players will look good and some days they will not look so good. 

At some point before you start to play, in the actual games, you as a coach will have to make a decision. 

Remember if you do not like the results in practice, you really will not like the results in the game. 

If your offense struggles with the snap count, you may need to go on "1" until they improve.

Coaches too often get caught up trying to do too much before the snap.

Having a complicated snap count with a very young, or inexperienced team can only lead to avoidable problems, such as:

• False Start penalties
• Fumbled snap
• Player Confusion

False start penalties are common at the professional level, and will happen at the youth level, but you can avoid them by using a simple snap count:

• "Ready" - "Set" - "Go" (Simple)
• "Ready" - "Go" (Simpler)
• "Go" (Simplest)

Now the drawback here is the defense can key on the snap count and get a better jump on the ball, and it is a problem, but if your team struggles with the snap count it may be better to simply go on one, and avoid the 5-yard penalties, rather than constantly changing the count and giving away 5 free yards of field position on a regular basis.

A fumbled snap can end a drive and stop your offensive production in its tracks.  There are fundamental technique reasons that snaps are mishandled, such as:

•   QB not being close enough and fully under the center.
• Quarterback not fully opening hands and locking thumbs
• Center not snapping ball far enough back

These are physical problems that you as a coach can drill and drill during practice, creating a sense of muscle memory and creating a comfort zone for your players.

However, if the QB or center are overly concerned with the snap count they could lose mental focus on the important things, such as getting a clean snap.

A complicated snap count can also confuse the other offensive players and could distract them from remembering proper blocking assignments, etc..

Over time you will be able to work with your team and add to your snap count, but in the beginning it's best to keep it simple and focus on other areas first.