First off, a big THANK YOU! for participating in sports! I am impressed with how willing you are to give this a try. It can seem more comfortable to shy away from something you are unfamiliar with or don’t feel confident doing but you all step up and give it your effort AND encourage each other. I love it!
Last week’s video proved to be a little challenging, due especially to the narrator’s accent. It also seems that most beginning videos assume some knowledge of American football rules. This one has a better narrator but might still be assuming you have a basic knowledge of football. Please note terms you are unfamiliar with and see if you can learn more. And bring your questions on Thursday!
There also seems to be some disparity on some of the specific rules. Let’s try this version (as taught in the video and including these points) on Thursday:
- No kickoff. Play begins from the offense’s five yard line.
- When on offense, a team has four downs (or tries) to move the ball past the middle of the field. If they are successful, they will get four more downs to get into the end zone. If they are unsuccessful, the other team takes over from their 5 yard line.
- A fumble ends the down. (I.e., the defense cannot pick up a fumbled ball and run it the other direction. This is to prevent collisions between unprotected heads while trying to recover the dropped ball.)
- An interception can be returned. If the player who intercepts the ball steps out of bounds or his or her flag is pulled, play begins from that point.
- The defensive player who plans to rush the quarterback (“blitzer”) starts 7 yards beyond the line of scrimmage (illustrated in the video) and is the only one who can cross the line of scrimmage and go after the quarterback until he/she throws or hands the ball to another player. The quarterback has 7 seconds to pass or hand the ball off to another player.
- As soon as the ball carrier crosses the line of scrimmage (in the case of a hand off) or someone catches a pass, the other offensive players stop running.
The following video contains a more detailed description of how to throw a football.
Spend some time practicing your throwing motion. If you have someone to play catch with, great! If not, try throwing a pair of socks at a specific spot on a wall or fence. The more you practice, the more comfortable and confident you will become!
See you Thursday!
