Video: Big time kickoff return
Watch what happens when a kick cover team doesn't handle its responsibilities.Check out these important standards when it comes to covering the kickoff, and make sure to follow them like they are commandments!
10 commandments of the kickoff
1. Take advantage of what the return team is giving you. Do a critical analysis of the kick return team. Find the weakness of their formation, and try hard to exploit that. For instance, if they are simply a middle return team, or have just one returner deep, get the ball to the corners.
2. The kickoff team must have great tacklers, not just fast guys! The greatest myth of the kickoff team is speed. Take sure tacklers over speed every day of the week.
3. Be careful not to overrun the kickoff. Stay focused on how deep the ball has been kicked, and stay in front of the returner. You never want to chase the ballcarrier from behind. This is how you give up touchdowns. If too many kids are chasing the ball, it's going for six.
4. Come to balance upon tackling the ballcarrier. This might be the hardest job of the kickoff team member. It takes significant practice to do a great job of slowing down at just the right time. Just like a car going downhill, kickoff team members must gear down as they get closer to the ballcarrier, but also not stop their feet.
5. Gang tackle that returner. Every man on the kickoff team needs to be in on the tackle until the whistle blows. Never, ever assume that the tackle is being made just because there are two guys there. Get there yourself!
6. Stay "lane consistent" down the field. Lane consistency is going to vary from team to team depending on their formation, and philosophy. Having said that, the general principle here is not to ever follow the same colored jersey down the field. Doing so will open up lanes for the returner. Lane consistency must be practiced over and over during the week. The coach responsible for coaching the kickoff team will best serve the team by standing downfield, where the returners are, to watch the kickoff team approach the ball. Coaches really miss the boat by standing behind the kickoff team while trying to coach it. Another coach can fill this purpose of making sure that nobody crosses the line too early.
7. Make sure your contain men are "football smart." The most important thing about your contain men is that they understand football. If they have never played before, find another place on another unit. These contain men are the most important players on your kickoff team.
8. If you're blocked and knocked down, get up! You never know what is going to happen on the play. Perhaps there is going to be a reverse, or a throwback. Perhaps a fumble. Don't ever quit on the play. I have seen kids get knocked over on the 42-yard line, get up, and end up being in on the tackle.
Make sure your kicker and the other 10 members of the kickoff team are in sync.
Photo by Darin Sicurello
9. Do not be offsides! Practice this a lot. You should do "get-offs" about 10-12 times per day that you practice with your kickoff team. Get-offs consist of just the first 10 yards. Make sure the whole unit takes off at the same time, and that their timing with the kicker is impeccable. If the kicker is kicking the ball, and the kickoff team is 3 yards behind him, this will affect the coverage of the kick in a negative way.
10. Be organized, and fresh. Try hard to arrange your kickoff team so that nobody from your field goal unit is on it. It just takes a little organization. I started doing this a few years ago, and players were very appreciative of it. The only kid on both my field goal unit and kickoff is the kicker.
Chris Fore is a veteran Head Football Coach and Athletic Director from Southern California. He consults coaches and programs nationwide through his business Eight Laces Consulting.
