ONE OF THE MOST important plays in any game is the kickoff. A good kickoff and solid coverage can take the steam right out of an opponent.
Your plan should be to cut the width of the field by 1/3. By doing this, you can place a greater number of people in a smaller area to cover.
Line up your cover team, overloading to one side of the field (Diagrams 1 and 2). The ball is kicked from a hash mark to a point between the numbers and the sideline, if not to the end zone.
The kickoff is the easy part, especially if you have a decent kicker. The more difficult part is getting your players to run down the field and execute.
Developing A Scheme
Look for speed when putting together your coverage team. But reckless speed will only have your tacklers running past the return man. Your players must understand the concepts of shoulder convergence and breaking down on the runner. Have them funnel the runner to your best tacklers or toward the sideline. Use the sideline as your “12th man!”
Another option is to kick down the middle of the field with a basic alignment.
The diagrams below illustrate the paths your players should take to stop the return man cold.
Player Responsibilities
PLAYER 1 & 8: Contain opponents. If return man runs toward them, they should either turn him back into the pursuit or stretch him back to the sideline.
PLAYER 2, 3, 6 & 7: Act as wedge busters/lane runners.
PLAYER 4, 10 & 11: “Kamikazes.” They align farther behind the ball, get a run at the line of scrimmage and attack the ball carrier. They have no lane responsibility, they just go!
Try to force the ball carrier between the hash mark and the sideline. You will have 6 players in that small area to make the tackle. Those are good odds!
PLAYER 9: “The Skimmer.” Works his way across the field behind the first wave to handle anything that gets through.
KICKER: Puts the ball where it is supposed to be, then acts as a safety in case of a coverage breakdown.
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Right to Right
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Left to Left
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Middle to Right
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Middle to Left
