Route tree
Why it works
Six routes off one stem is the only way a receiver learns that the stem is not part of the route. Calling it late takes away the thing that ruins a route tree in practice, which is a kid who has already decided before he leaves the line.
Run it
12 MINTwo of each route per receiver, called at random rather than in order. Twelve minutes. If they start guessing correctly, you are calling in a pattern.
Say this
“Same ten yards every time.”
A stem that changes with the route tells the defender the route.
“The call is late, so your feet stay honest.”
He cannot lean into a route he has not heard yet.
“Speed through the break, not into it.”
Decelerating before the cut is the tell a defender reads.
Good looks like
- The first eight yards look identical on all six routes.
- The break happens inside one step of the call, not two.
- Nothing rounds. Every cut has a corner in it.
- A coach watching only the stem cannot name the route before the break.
The mistakes
Drifting wide on anything that breaks outside. Stand on the cone and watch the stem, not the break.
Say: “Same ten yards every time.”
Coaches calling it early to be kind, which quietly removes the entire point of the drill.
Say: “The call is late, so your feet stay honest.”
Slowing down at nine yards to get ready, which is visible from the far hash.
Say: “Speed through the break, not into it.”
Three routes only, and call it before he runs. Add the late call once the three shapes are right.
Put a defender in trail. Now the stem being identical is worth something he can feel.