EVERY TEAM NEEDS a few gimmick plays in their arsenal that they can pull out from time to time to surprise an opponent and keep their offense from getting into predictable patterns. In order to execute trick plays properly, your team will need to practice them.
But practice time is precious and many coaches are reluctant to spend a lot of time on a play they may use only once or twice in an entire season. Yet using them in the right practice situations can turn trick plays into an energizing, motivational tool. Such plays can add a little spice to the mundane rigors of practice.
Bag Of Tricks
“Gimmick plays must be rehearsed every week in order to make them a viable part of your offense,” says Tom Taylor, head coach at Thomasville High School in Thomasville, Ga. “Even though you may use them pretty infrequently, two or three times a year they can win a big game for your team.”
This doesn’t mean that you should overload your offense with tricks or unconventional sets, but having a few gimmick plays at your disposal that your players can execute flawlessly can be a valuable weapon.
Choose Your Spots
According to Taylor, picking and choosing the right time to run gimmick-play repetitions is the key to maximizing your practice time.
“Pick three good gimmick plays and work on those. Open practice with one. Then, when the pace of your practice needs to pick up, run another one,” he says. “A good time to quicken the tempo of practice is right after a water break.
“The best time is the last play of a workout. You’ll be surprised at how players become energized when they know that this will be the last task of the day.”
Check out a great gimmick play that coach Taylor has run with a lot of success for many years in “Tackle-Eligible Pass Stands Test Of Time” on page 8 of this issue.