GRADES 5-8 CLOSING ACTIVITY SHAPE Standards: DPE Outcomes: Equipment: 4 • I can evaluate the role of different skills in • Foam rubber junior football modified football games. • 2 flags per player • I can apply at least one offensive and one • One pinnie per student defensive strategy during a modified game. • 12 cones for boundaries • I can explain how rule modifications may impact strategy selection.

Instructions Flag Football Supplies: Foam rubber junior football, two flags per player (about 3 in. wide and 24 in. long) Skills: All football skills The field is divided into three zones by lines marked off at 20-yd intervals. There also should be two end zones, from 5 to 10 yd in width, defining the area behind the goal in which passes may be caught. Flag Football is played with two flags on each player. The flag is a length of cloth that is hung from the side at the waist of each player. To (stop) a player with the , one of the flags must be pulled. Flag Football should rarely, if ever, be played with 11 players on a side. This results in a crowded field and leaves little room to maneuver. If six or seven are on a team, four players are required to be on the . For eight or nine players, five offensive players must be on the line. The game consists of two halves. A total of 25 plays make up each half. All plays count in the 25, except the try for the point after a and a kickoff out-of-bounds. The game is started with a kickoff. The team winning the coin toss has the option of selecting the goal it wishes to defend or choosing to kick or receive. The loser of the toss takes the option not exercised by the first team. The kickoff is from the goal line, and all players on the kicking team must be onside. The kick must cross the first zone line or it does not count as a play. A kick that is kicked out- of-bounds (and is not touched by the receiving team) must be kicked again. A second consecutive kick out-of-bounds gives the ball to the receiving team in the center of the field. The kicking team may not recover the kickoff unless it is caught and then fumbled by the receivers. 1 of 3 GRADES 5-8 CLOSING ACTIVITY Flag Football

A team has four downs to move the ball into the next zone or they lose the ball. If the ball is legally advanced into the last zone, then the team has four downs to score. A ball on the line between zones is considered in the more forward zone. Time-outs are permitted only for injuries or when called by the officials. Unlimited substitutions are permitted. Each must report to the official. The team in possession of the ball usually to make up the play. After any play, the team has 30 seconds to put the ball into play after the referee gives the signal. Blocking is done with the arms close to the body. Blocking must be done from the front or side, and blockers must stay on their feet. A player is down if one of her flags has been pulled. The ball carrier must make an attempt to avoid the defensive player and is not permitted to run over or through the defensive player. The tackler must play the flags and not the ball carrier. Good officiating is needed, because defensive players may attempt to hold or grasp the ball carrier until they are able to remove one of her flags. All forward passes must be thrown from behind the line of scrimmage. All players on the field are eligible to receive and intercept passes. All are dead at the spot of the . The first player who touches the ball on the ground is ruled to have recovered the fumble. When the ball is centered to a back, she must gain definite possession of it before a fumble can be called. She is allowed to pick up a bad pass from the center when she does not have possession of the ball. All punts must be announced. Neither team can cross the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked. Kick receivers may run or use a lateral pass. They cannot make a after receiving a kick. A pass caught in an scores a touchdown. The player must have control of the ball in the end zone. A ball caught beyond the end zone is out-of-bounds and is considered an . A touchdown scores 6 points, a completed pass or run after touchdown scores 1 point, and a safety scores 2 points. A point after touchdown is made from a distance of 3 ft from the goal line. One play (pass or run) is allowed for the extra point. Any ball kicked over the goal line is ruled a and is brought out to the 20-yd line to be put into play by the receiving team. A pass intercepted behind the goal line can be a touchback if the player does not run it out, even if she is tagged behind her own goal line. A penalty of 5 yd is assessed for the following: 1. Being offside 2. Delay of game (too long in )

3. Failure of substitute to report 2 of 3 GRADES 5-8 CLOSING ACTIVITY Flag Football

4. Passing from a spot not behind line of scrimmage (This also results in loss of down.) 5. Stiff-arming by the ball carrier, or not avoiding a defensive player 6. Failure to announce intention to 7. Shortening the flag in the belt, or playing without flags in proper position 8. Faking the ball by the center, who must center the pass on the first motion The following infractions are assessed a 15-yd loss: 1. Holding, illegal tackling 2. Illegal blocking 3. Unsportsmanlike conduct (This also can result in disqualification.)

Teaching Hints Specifying 25 plays per half eliminates the need for timing and lessens arguments about a team’s taking too much time in the huddle. Using the zone system makes the first-down yardage point definite and eliminates the need for a chain to mark off the 10 yd needed for a first down.

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