Coaches Notebook

When it comes to having a successful passing game in youth football many factors are involved.

The primary factor is the passing scheme and plays that will be used.  There are countless passing route trees and diagrams and every coach has their own unique system, but I wanted to share with you my 60 series passing tree.

While nothing fancy and very basic it is very effective for youth football if you have a decent quarterback and wide receivers.

The concept of the 60 series is very simple:

• 3-step drop by Quarterback
• Short / Medium Routes
• Timing is crucial, the ball should be in the air before receiver finishes the route.
• Short pass rush window for the defense

One of the reasons we choose to utilize this passing scheme is it doesn't require extensive pass blocking as the Quarterback should be making a 3-step drop and releasing the ball quickly.

The most important aspect for your offensive line is getting off the snap quickly and forcing the defense to rush outside them rather than between the gaps.

A good technique to address this would be to have your guards and tackles make their first step inwards to close the gap and form a wall.  The second responsibility of the offensive line is to prevent the defenders from getting hands in the air to deflect a pass.

The aspects that will take the most practice and repetition will be the 3-step drop and quickly releasing the pass.

The quarterback cannot be indecisive in the pocket as the passing lanes will close and the pressure will get to him.

As you look at the routes above all of them are "single-cut" routes, meaning the receiver makes one cut before moving in the intended direction.

The goal is to have the ball in the air when the receiver makes this cut, so the quarterback will have to throw the ball where the receiver is going, rather than where he is.

This makes timing very difficult, but with enough practice and reps it can be accomplished.