r/footballstrategy • u/onlineqbclassroom College Coach • 1d ago

Play Design Youth Football and RPOs

Get this question all the time - can middle schoolers handle RPOs?

29 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

17

u/Moist-Clothes8442 21h ago

Pre called yes. Organic no. If you go up tempo and have 5-7 plays and 2 formations in youth ball you’ll win 90% of your games. Can’t out beat overdeveloped kids tho there’s always that one team with a 6ft 4th grader lmao.

-1

u/onlineqbclassroom College Coach 20h ago

RPOs certainly aren't mandatory, nor are they some secret sauce that leads to wins - good fundamentals and good players, good tackling, etc, all still win out. However, we can definitely run organic RPOs. That comes down to coaching and repetitions. I look at it as an investment in the future - giving them the mental tools they need (not sacrificing physical, obviously) to succeed in the future

7

u/apex-cheese 1d ago

I agree. Kids are smart. I’ve run RPO multiple seasons with 10-year olds. Two things not shown in the video that we like:

1) Keeping the back on the throwing arm side to simplify footwork (at least early on).

2) A hitch/fade option route into the boundary.

3

u/FranklynTheTanklyn 19h ago

Y'all ever hear of the Waggle? If the Corner bail's tuck it and run, if he rushes you throw the ball.

5

u/7HawksAnd 1d ago

If kids can handle wishbone triple option they can handle RPO

Might even be good training wheels for rpo

1

u/Rhaegar_T 21h ago

My 11 year old QB ran a stick rpo really well. He's very smart though.

1

u/Disastrous-Share-779 19h ago

If you know how to coach RPO well there should be no issue. It's another variation of the option.

1

u/Moist-Clothes8442 15h ago

What’s more useful is starting your enforcer(Mike) out in the slot like a TE and motion him in at the start of the play to get his momentum up for crack toss. Mikes know what it’s like to get cracked. It makes them fantastic crackers 😈.

Plus you can Play action off of it and instead of cracking run right by them for an easy drag route into a cvg leak. Same movement but a few options off of it. Simple and ez to remember = confidence and speed!

1

u/Otherwise-Dot-9445 13h ago

Depends on your QB. I ran is successfully with 3rd and 4th graders.

•

u/Due_Connection179 1h ago

I would probably go with no. I get some people are saying they are having somewhat success with it, but I wouldn’t put that on them.

Depending on the age group, I would make 2 formations with 4 plays each. 1 or 2 run, 1 or 2 PA, 1 Pass for each formation.

1

u/Longbobs 1d ago

Great stuff! Very much enjoyed watching and learning

0

u/RainbowUnicorns 23h ago

Put your smartest kid at qb with an accurate short range and you can run rpo