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To Punt or not to Punt Special Teams

By on May 12, 2015

A diagram of a football play on a chalkboard with a football,

I read an article the other day about a High School team that has decided not to Punt on Special Teams.  Based on their stats, they conclude that they have a better opportunity to make a first down vs the gains made by punting.  Since I coach youth football pre-teens, this seems like a pretty good idea, especially since punting at this age group is very risky; snap, blocking, kick / punt, and return coverage.

Based on our Punt stats from our last season, not punting might be a good option for us.  We only netted about 10 yards from our punt team.  Our net yards per play were 5+ for the regular season.  I sent the Punting article to my other coaches, and they agree.  Not punting is a legitimate strategy for our team.

I’ve been strategizing if not punting within the 10 makes sense.  Should you take the safety and kick-off or should you go for it and hope your defense can hold within the 10 if you do not make the 1st down?  I am thinking that within the 5 and 5+ yards to go maybe we take the safety.  We are consistent making two point conversions so we could make up the difference for a saftey.  If we are outside the 5 and less then 7+ to go we should go for it on 4th down.   Within the 10 is my only sticking point with not punting for an entire game. Read more…

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