Meeting with a friend of mine (himself a football player and fellow winner of the Gatorade "Will to Win Athelete" award), we started to work on some court football plays. I would set up offenses, since I am more of an offensive expert, while he would set up defense, since he's more familiar with defensive situations, having been a linebacker and strong safety.
After scrutinizing over each play, here are the conclusions that we have come to:
#1: Court football CAN work!
#2: The best strategy for a defense is to use a three-man line most of the time, with three linebackers. When it comes to a short-yardage situation, switching to a five-man line is a good idea. Stick with man-on-man coverage on receivers to start off with.
#3: Always stick with having your three players required to be on the line of scrimmage set up like a three-man offensive line. You can set up a five-man line as well, the "tackles" and "guards" can still catch passes, as per the WCFF rules.
#4: Court football is definatly more of a "one-on-one" sport than other styles of football. Zones aren't effective; they'd be too small! However, good one-on-one matchups also make the game more exciting.
#5: The running game can be utilized in court football. While the plays like options or sweeps might not be present, counters, powers, and dives would work. Ways to incerase efficency would be to draw attention away from the middle of the field with lots of motion. Also, utilize forward motion before the snap by the running back to give the back a "head start" of sorts. Two other options: Lots of quarterback keepers, and the court football-exclusive center sneak.
That's all for now. Keep checking back!
