Squirt (Ages 8-9)
Revised October 20, 2011
Philosophy:
The purpose of our flag (touch) football program is to
introduce children aged 6-9 to the game with a minimum of body contact taking place.
Players will learn the fundamentals ,i.e. passing, running, blocking and kicking in a fun
environment.
Equipment:
Each player will be supplied with a T-shirt that is to be worn as
the team uniform. Children are permitted to keep these shirts at the end of the season.
Each player is also given a football to keep.
All players will wear a belt to which a "flag" is
attached to each hip by Velcro. Players are tackled by having one of these flags pulled
off.
It is recommended that each child wear football or soccer cleats to
improve their maneuverability and prevent injuries. Cleats with metal tips are not
permitted.
The league will use the Martin 401 rubber
footballs. These
smaller balls will provide a better grip for our young players.
Game fields will be 80 yards between the goalposts with 10
yard end zones. Fields will be 25 yards wide.
Game Length:
All games will be preceded by a practice/warm-up of about 30
minutes. Games should consist of four 20 minute
quarters straight time. The half time
break will be about 5 minutes. Evening games in October will consist of four 15 minute
quarters.
Number of Players:
Each team will have 6 players on the field at any time.
Teams will have a maximum of 12 players.
Suggested offensive and defensive formations are shown below. The
offense must always have two ends and a center on the line of scrimmage:
|
RB
QB SB
E
C
E
----------------------------------------
CB
NG
CB
DB
FS DB
All offensive players are eligible receivers. |
Kickoff:
Suggested setup:
Receiving Team:
|
O
O
O
O
O
O
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X
X X
X
X
X
|
Kicking Team:
The ball will be kicked off from mid-field using a kicking
tee. Kicking team players cannot cross mid-field before the ball is kicked. On side
kickoffs are permitted. However, the ball must travel at least 10 yards in order for the
kicking team to recover.
Officiating:
We will have officials for most of our regular season
games. When
officials are not available, the coaches will officiate their own games.
Penalty rulings during the regular season will be made by the
on-field coaches, hopefully by consensus. Each coach will be supplied with a whistle. The
defensive team coach will blow his whistle to signify the end of each play. The defensive
coach will be responsible for placing the ball and changing the down marker. Either coach
may call penalties. In the event of a dispute, the opinion of the defensive team coach
will prevail.
Orange pylons will be placed at the goal line corners, back end zone
corners, and at mid-field. Coaches should attempt to recruit parents to rule on out of
bounds on each side line. These parents will supplied with whistles.
Offensive Plays:
Teams will attempt both running and passing plays. A team
will have 5 downs to score. The offence must throw a legal forward pass on at least
one of the first four downs in each series of downs. Failure
to do so will result in an "Illegal Procedure" penalty. Officials will
not stop play until the ball is dead. Attempting to pass and getting sacked will
not satisfy this rule. The ball must be thrown as legal forward pass. Forward
passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage and towards the sideline area must
travel at least 10 yards to satisfy this rule.
A lateral pass will not satisfy
this rule. Officials should point this out to a team that has just thrown a
lateral pass. A 5 yard penalty will be applied and the down repeated. The
offensive team will still be obligated to pass the ball again after the penalty
has been applied.
The defensive team has the option to decline the penalty, let the play stand and
bring up fifth down. The offensive team can run the ball on fifth down.
On each of the first 4 downs a different
player must carry the ball or be the target of a pass. On 5th down any player
can carry the ball or be the target of a pass.
Blocking is permitted but only above the waist and not in the
head area. No pushing with the palms of the hands is allowed. No holding is permitted.
Blockers should grasp the wrist of one hand and close the fist of the held hand. From this
position blockers may push defenders away from the ball carrier. Blockers are not allowed
to deliberately knock or push defenders to the ground.
Because the players are not wearing any protective equipment,
coaches must be on guard to keep this body contact under control. Penalties should be
called quickly when unnecessary roughness occurs.
From the time the referee blows time in a team will
have 40 seconds to put the ball in play. This rule will not be enforced until
the second half of the regular season.
Defence:
On all plays the defence cannot cross the line of scrimmage until
the referee has counted three "steamboats". The referee will yell "Go" to unleash
the defensive line.
Defenders are not permitted to physically tackle ball carriers. They
are not allowed to deliberately throw or push offensive blockers to the ground. They are
permitted to use their hands to push blockers out of the way. At no time are defenders
allowed to have physical contact with pass receivers.
Because the players are not wearing any protective equipment,
coaches must be on guard to keep body contact to a minimum. Penalties should be called
quickly when unnecessary roughness occurs. Players who continually practice rough play may
be ejected from the game.
Punts:
A team may punt the ball if it is unable to score. No rush on the
punter is permitted. The punter may stand at the line of scrimmage. Fake punts are
permitted. The 5 yard restraining zone violation rule applies to all players on the
kicking team including the kicker.
Converts, Field Goals:
Teams may attempt a convert either by running, passing or
kicking.
A running or passing convert shall start from the 5 yard line and
if successful will be worth 1 point.
A kicking convert shall be attempted by kicking the ball from
5 yards out. Field goals will be attempted from the point where the ball was
last scrimmaged. A successful kicked convert is worth 2
points.
A team shall be allowed 3 attempts to kick a convert or field goal.
Three different kickers must be used during an attempt. The defending team must go into
the end zone during the attempt.
Tackling:
Ball carriers are tackled by having one flag pulled off either hip.
Ball carriers are not permitted to shield flags with their hands or to bat away defenders
hands from their flags. If they do they will be ruled to have been tackled at the point
where the infraction occurred.
Tacklers cannot grab the ball carrier's shirt to slow him down
before pulling off his flags. They are not permitted to grab his belt or arms. If a ball
carrier is deliberately tripped or knocked down in the course of being tackled a 10 yard
unnecessary roughness penalty will automatically be applied. Tacklers are permitted to
use reasonable force to push a ball carrier out of bounds.
Ball carriers are not permitted to push tacklers away or to contact
them with their hands. Ball carriers are not allowed to swat away tacklers hands
reaching for their flags. If they do the Referee will blow the play dead where
the infraction occurred. Tacklers are not permitted to make physical contact with ball
carriers other than attempting to pull off flags.
Players who physically tackle ball carriers rather than making a
reasonable attempt to pull the flag may be subject to ejection from the game.
Players are not considered tackled until a flag has been pulled.
Falling down or being knocked down does not constitute a tackle and play should continue
until a flag is removed.
Fumbles:
When a ball is fumbled due to physical contact with the ball carrier
by a defensive player the ball will be considered
dead and possession retained by the offensive team. Defensive players are
not permitted to strip the ball from ball carriers.
Equal Play Rule::
Each player will play one half
of the game on offence and one half on defence. The switch will take place at
half time. Where a team has less than 12 players one or more players will
have to remain on the field when possession of the ball changes. This should be
done through a rotation that maintains equal play for all. No players are
permitted to play the entire game.
Penalties:
Unnecessary Roughness- Anything that results in a player being
deliberately knocked to the ground. 10 yards. Use normal paces of the coach of the
benefiting team. If the penalty results from a deliberate physical tackle that prevented a
certain touchdown from being scored the referee may award the score to the offensive team.
Rough Play- Where a player has more than one deliberate Unnecessary
Roughness penalty in a game a 25 yard penalty will be applied and the offending player
ejected from the game.
Illegal Procedure- Offense must have a center and two
ends on the line of scrimmage. Players cannot move before ball is snapped. 5 yards. Repeat
down. Defense may decline penalty.
Offside- Defence cannot cross line of scrimmage before ball is
snapped. 5 yards. Repeat down. Offense may decline penalty.
Holding- Blockers cannot hold defenders or push them with an
open hand. Ball carrier is deemed tackled where the infraction occurred. 10 yards back
from point of infraction or line of scrimmage if infraction occurred behind line of
scrimmage. Repeat down if infraction behind line of scrimmage. Defence may decline
penalty.
No Yards- Punt team defenders must give punt returner a 5 yard
cushion until he touches the ball. 10 yards from point where tackled..
Clipping- Blockers cannot block defenders from behind. Ball carrier
is deemed tackled where infraction occurred. 10 yards back from point of infraction or
line of scrimmage if infraction occurred behind line of scrimmage. Repeat down if
infraction behind line of scrimmage. Defence may decline penalty.
Pass Interference- Neither pass receivers nor defenders can push one
another on pass routes. Pass will be deemed complete where infraction occurred if defender
interfered. Pass will be deemed incomplete if receiver interfered. 10 yards added on to
completion if defensive interference. 10 yards back from line of scrimmage if offensive
player interfered. Repeat down on offensive interference. Defence may decline penalty.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct- Taunting opposing players or using foul
language. 10 yard penalty.
Overall Rules: Where an aspect of the game has not been addressed in
the preceding text the "Canadian Rulebook for Touch Football" shall apply.
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