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Install Plan Coaches only
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Foundation Tackling fundamentals Week 1, and every practice after Shoulder to the gut, head to the butt, wrap and roll. This comes before gap-fit precision is expected to hold at game speed — every youth-specific source ranks it above scheme. Base Defense Base front + gap fits Weeks 1-2 Four down linemen, four linebackers, six gaps covered exactly once. Drill until automatic. No checks, no stunts, no blitzes yet. Cover 3 shell Weeks 1-2 Three deep, single-high safety. Corners on the outside thirds, Free Safety in the middle third with eyes through the QB. Sam/Mike curl-hook, Will/Bandit flats. Will / Bandit outside contain Weeks 2-3, then weekly Budget disproportionate drill time here. Losing outside contain on the sweep is the #1 named failure point across every source. Never get sealed, never get sucked upfield. Checks Wing-T check (ROVER) Week 3 Walk an OLB over the wing. Add the spoken "PULL" call so ILBs fit off a pulling guard instead of freezing. Assign a dedicated backside counter/reverse player. I-Formation check (BASE) Week 3 The smallest adjustment of any check — strength call only. Drill the ILB downhill trigger against Iso so a lead FB can't swallow them. Spread / Trips checks Weeks 4-5 OLBs walk out over the slots and jam. Add the TRIPS apex rule only if opponents actually run it. Install one or two checks at a time, opponent-scouted. HEAVY + NOC rule Week 5 Covers unbalanced, Wildcat and tackle-over in one rule: count from the ball out both directions; more than 2 linemen one side of center = check HEAVY, re-count gaps off the real center. Pressure First one or two stunts Week 6 Twist and Pinch. Teach "dip and rip" once and apply it to both. Only after the base front is genuinely solid — never before. Green Dog rule Week 6 If the back you have in man stays in to block, rush the QB. Free pressure that adds no new call to memorize — the cheapest install on this list. Core 4-blitz pack, one per week Weeks 7-10 Edge Twist, Storm, Overload, Aces. One per week, each opponent-scouted rather than dumped all at once. Teach the one coverage-rotation rule alongside the first one. "BAIL" abort call Week 9 Show pressure pre-snap, then bail everyone back to base coverage against a quick throw. Pairs with Fire. Advanced Combined calls (SAW, Switch) Weeks 11+ Late in the sequence only. And even then: never two calls stacked in the same play. Empty package (COLD / WARM / HOT) Weeks 11+, opponent-dependent Only if opponents actually go empty. COLD stays the default — stunts and line games with 7-8 dropping. Save HOT for known passing downs. Order matters more than volume. A season-long install of roughly 20-22 total named calls is a realistic ceiling documented by experienced youth coordinators — past that, recall breaks down regardless of how simple each individual call is.
