6v6 Flag Football Formations
As soon as you start coaching 6v6 flag football, you realize it is different. When you coach 4v4 flag football or 5v5 flag football there is no such thing as a balanced 2×2 flag football formation or a 3×1 formation. Not if you want to have a running back too. The numbers simply do not allow this to happen. As soon as you have six flag football players at your disposal, you can threaten the flag football defense with three-player combinations and have a run game. This also means you can spread your players out or you can bunch them.
Word of caution though. Be careful that this doesn’t throw you into a creative overdrive that confuses your players more than it does the defense. Regardless of if you are coaching a state championship high school tackle football team or a 6v6 flag football offense, keep it simple enough that your players can execute your plan.
The best flag football coaches make sure that their formations fit their players. Stop. Right now look at your quarterback. Everything starts there. Your quarterback might be nine years old with a nine-year-old arm. Choose the 6v6 flag football formations that help your quarterback. Make sure when your flag football team looks down at their FirstDown PlayBook flag football wristband sheet that they see plays they are capable of executing.
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1. Twins Formation
Some of you will play in a 6v6 flag football league where your quarterback can run the football. Others will not have this luxury. This is why we are starting with your 6v6 flag football Twins formation. When you look at this formation you see a lot of powerful things that good offensive coaches look for at any level.
You see a running back. If your quarterback cannot run the ball then you need a run game from somewhere else. This does not necessarily mean that the running back has to carry the ball. There are plenty of good plays where the player who takes the snap tosses the ball to another player who throws it.
Here is what you should really notice. You have both a running back and the two-man route combinations to the strong side. You also have a single receiver backside. Something you never had with your NFL Flag offense. Now, if you force your opponent into man coverage and you have a special receiver, I know where I would line that player up…what about you?
2. Trips Formation
6v6 flag football numbers will not allow you to have a 3×1 formation with a running back in the backfield. However, that does not mean that you can’t line up with three receivers to your strong side and keep a running back next to your quarterback. Some leagues allow it and some don’t. If yours does, take a look.
Three receivers to one side means three-man route combinations. This allows you to create even more confusion for the defense to that side. That young quarterback with a young arm that we mentioned above can now roll to the three-receiver side with a shorter throw and more options.
Why the running back? Well, you could certainly line up with a 3×1 formation and an empty backfield. (That’s coming.) Right now we like that we still have a running game with our back, not to mention the jet sweep attack back to the weak side. Don’t forget the Center is eligible in 6v6 flag football too.
3. Bunch Formation
Flag football defensive coaches have to teach too. Have you ever tried teaching zone defense to 11 year olds? This is why you are going to face man coverage most of the time in your 6v6 flag football league. If you want to beat man coverage in the NFL, your NFL Flag league or in your 6v6 flag football league look at a Bunch formation.
Bunch formation comes off of the Trips formation you just learned about above. As the name implies, you simply bunch your three receivers closer together in this formation. Bunch formations are hard to defend when a defense plays man coverage. Routes not only pop open but they pop open quickly. This allows your young quarterback to get the football out of their hand before they get sacked.
Once again, The difference with a 6v6 flag Bunch formation and a 5v5 flag football formation is that you have a single receiver on the weak side. This receiver can run a man-beater route or get in concert with your center who is also eligible. You will want to align your player at the point of your three-man bunch based on your quarterback’s arm strength. The younger your quarterback the closer your bunch should be to the center.
4. Center Bunch (Crunch) Formation
Everything we just told you about your Bunch formation still holds true for Center Bunch 6v6 flag football formation. However, now the bunch includes your center or your snapper. The Crunch formation is also right square in front of your quarterback. A lot of flag football offenses ignore the center, and that is a big mistake.
Your center is talented enough to snap the ball every play, so our guess is that including them in your pass game is not a bad idea. Those picks and rubs that Bunch formation gave you now make the defense guess which side you will be targeting with your Crunch flag football formation passing game.
This formation provides your quarterback with the bunch core right in front of them. Now when you design crossing routes and rub routes, they happen even closer to your young quarterback. As you can see in this play you can also combine your core bunch with your two receivers in this balanced empty formation.
5. Doubles Formation
The FirstDown PlayBook 6v6 flag football Doubles formation is when you begin to teach core pass plays that show up in 11 man tackle football. When you look at this formation, you see the very same formation you see in any NFL or 7on7 passing attack without the offensive linemen and back. This is significant because quarterbacks can begin learning two-man route combinations to both sides.
There is power in having a balanced formation regardless of what football league you coach in. When you line up in a balanced formation, the defense cannot cheat as long as your personnel is equal in talent on both sides. As a flag football coach, you can dial up your favorite dropback or sprint passes to either side after the snap of the ball.
Once again, we want to point out the value of tightening your splits with this 6v6 flag football Doubles formation like the other formations we have covered. There is added benefit here. When you tighten your splits with this formation you now present a crossing route threat as you release inside and mesh with players from the other side. You can also design very effective jet sweeps with your slot recivers out of this formation.
6. Split Backs Formation
The 6v6 flag football Split Backs formation can be a lifesaver if you coach young players. Why? Because you are going to run the football more than you throw it. We can tell you from personal experience that if you want your six-year-old flag football quarterback to be successful, you will have plenty of plays where the ball is handed off.
There are a lot of things about this formation that make it good for a flag football run game. There are two backs on either side of your quarterback. This allows for misdirection in your run game as well as fakes. If your quarterback is prohibited from running the ball, you can design a handoff to either side. If your quarterback can run then you have a natural bootleg run here as well.
There are still plenty of pass-game options if your quarterback can throw the football. Bootleg and RPO passes that get your quarterback heading towards the target on the throw are especially effective. You can also install a quick passing game to your outside receivers like you see in this drawing.
