What are the best flag football plays for 5 and 6 year olds?
Send every receiver five yards and have them stop. At five and six years old, most incompletions happen because a quarterback cannot lead a moving target, so the fix is to remove the movement rather than teach the timing. Three receivers standing still at the same depth gives a young quarterback three stationary targets and no decision to make.
Six plays, from no decisions to one
- Play 1
Triple Hitch
Start here. Everyone runs, everyone stops, everyone turns around.
Three receivers run to different spots, stop, and face the quarterback. There is no timing, no tracking and no decision. The only thing being taught is that a receiver turns around and looks, which is the whole job at this age.
- Play 2
All Stop
One rule for the entire team: five yards, then turn.
Every receiver runs the same distance and stops. It is the easiest play in this set to call in a huddle because there is one instruction rather than three, and a five year old can repeat it back to you.
- Play 3
Staircase
Three depths, so two children are never standing in one spot.
Same stop-and-turn rule, but at three, six and nine yards. The single most common broken play at this age is two receivers ending up in the same place, and giving each one a different number fixes it without teaching anything new.
- Play 4
Everybody Out
The sideline throw. Nothing behind it to intercept.
Both outside receivers break toward the sideline at four yards. The ball travels away from every defender on the field, which makes it the safest call you have when the other team has one child who catches everything.
- Play 5
One Deep
One child runs as far as he can. Somebody always forgets to follow.
Z runs straight downfield and the other two stop short. At this age defenders chase the ball, not their assignment, so a receiver who simply keeps running is unguarded more often than any concept would predict. Worth one call a game.
- Play 6
First Crosser
The only moving catch at this age. Save it for late in the season.
Z runs across the field at three yards while the other two stand still. This is the bridge to the 7 and 8 year old playbook and the one play here that asks a child to catch while running. Do not call it until the five stop-and-turn plays are automatic.
Why it works
A stationary target is a catchable target
Leading a receiver is a skill that arrives years later. Throwing at a child who is standing still and facing you is a skill a six year old already has.
Every player has the same job
One instruction for the whole huddle: run five steps and turn around. You can teach this in a single practice and it will not fall apart when a substitute lines up in the wrong spot.
It teaches the habit you actually want
Turning back to look for the ball is the foundation of every route they will run later. This play drills that one habit twenty times a game.
How to run it
- 1
Spread them out
Two receivers on one side, one on the other, with plenty of space between them. At this age crowding is what causes collisions and tears.
- 2
Give one instruction
Run five big steps, stop, and turn around to face the quarterback. Do not say 'hitch' or 'curl' yet, just say five steps and turn.
- 3
Have the quarterback pick before the snap
Tell him which receiver to throw to before the play starts. Reading a defense is not the skill you are building today.
- 4
Count out loud
Have a coach count one to five so the receivers stop at the same time. Rhythm from an adult voice works far better than asking them to count themselves.
- 5
Throw it soft and underhand if you need to
Most leagues at this age allow it and it triples the completion rate. Nobody is scouting your quarterback's release.
Adjustments
If they keep drifting downfield
Put a cone five yards out in front of each receiver. Children run to landmarks far more reliably than they run to counts.
If one player is clearly the athlete
Give that one a go route and keep the other two on hitches. You still have two stationary targets and now you have a big play available.
Once they master it
Change one receiver's hitch to a five yard out. Adding a single break to a play they already know is much easier than teaching a whole new play.
If the rush gets home too fast
Move the receivers to three yards instead of five. At this age the rush count is often the real clock, not the coverage.
When not to call it
When you need yards in a hurry
This is a five yard play that gains five yards. If you are down two scores with a minute left, you need a go route and some luck, not this.
Once they turn eight
By then they can handle breaks and timing, and a playbook of nothing but hitches becomes easy to defend. Start layering in crossing routes and outs.
Build your first youth playbook
Diagram this play, print it for the parents, and add the next four when your team is ready.
Open the designerRelated questions
How many plays should a 5 and 6 year old team have?
Should 5 and 6 year olds run or pass?
How long should a practice be at this age?
What is the best formation for young kids?
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Coach Gary Anderson
Fourteen seasons in youth flag football, most of it kindergarten through third grade, and the coach who trains new parent-volunteers for his league. He writes about teaching the game to young players.