Touch Football - A Game Of Action

Touch football is an exciting game to play. It is based on many elements of regular football. The number of players will vary from six to nine. Each boy wears a regulation gym  suit, tennis shoes, and a shirt. His shirt may vary in color to designate a team. The line will have a center, interior  lineman, right and left ends. In the backfield, the other boys will  line up according to the play called. The other elements of regular football have  been retained, and these, running, passing, and kicking, give the game of touch football  action, and the players plenty of thrills. To assure safety during play, tackling  and hard blocking have been eliminated, and touching has been substituted for tackling. In the game situation we just saw,Did you see how important it is to know how  to handle the ball properly? Let's look at the same play in slow  motion and watch how the ball is handled. Did you see five different ways  of ball handling in that play? Here they are, one at a time. The ball is centered. Two, the ball is received. Three, the ball is handed off. Four, the ball is passed. And five, The pass is received. The purpose of this drill is to allow  each boy to get the feel of the ball and develop the proper method of  passing and receiving the ball. Small groups of boys can be  taught to handle the ball and pass more effectively when they are able  to feel and pass the ball back and forth. Ball handling in every position is important. The center, and knowing how to receive it,  may prevent unnecessary fumbles during a game. This is a drill for center passing. For passing the ball, the hand is placed toward the rear half of the ball so that the  last three fingers are on the laces. The ball is gripped firmly with the passing  hand and lightly with the balance hand. Bring the ball up with both hands  and cock the ball behind the rear of the shoulder about on line with the ear. The ball is passed with a free overhand motion. Here is a simple drill for receiving short passes. The drills may vary to  increase the passing distance. A hook pass can be used when  an end runs straight out, makes a quick stop to deceive his  opponent, and then receives the pass. In this hook and break, the boy hooks, then  runs out past his opponent to receive the pass. Still another passing pattern is a run  straight out and an angle left or right. A fake and break pattern allows  a faster runner an opportunity to fake out his opponent before receiving the pass. In learning to pass for distance and accuracy, the boy at the head of the line  has two tries for each distance. Points can be added up, for example. One point for the 30-foot distance,  two points for the 60-foot distance, and three points for the 90-foot distance. A perfect score would be 12 points. Punting is as important as passing in a game. Proper punting of the ball can  assure you of distance and accuracy. Let's look at this boy as he punts in slow motion. The ball is held in both hands, about  waist high, and parallel with the ground. The leases should be up. To punt, take a short step with the kicking  foot, Then a full step with the other foot. Lay, don't toss, the ball to the kicking  foot and kick the ball with the kicking foot. Meet the ball on the instep and not the toe. Let the foot follow through and  return to starting position. Don't jump into the air. Before any man in the backfield can execute  his part of the play,He must have protection. Touch football is primarily a passing game,  so good blocking or protection is necessary. Blocking is mostly a checking  process in touch football, since the use of hands or feet will cause a  foul to be called and a penalty to be assessed. First downs may be earned by a number of methods. Depending upon the size of the playing  field,Zones or first down areas may be indicated, or when the ball has been  moved ten or twenty yards in four downs. Scoring in touch football is  similar to regular football. A touchdown is six points. Point after TD, one point. Safety, two points, and a  field goal, three points. On turf fields, such as we see now, a fumble is  a free ball and may be picked up by any player. In touch football, a player  is downed and the ball dead when an opponent touches him with both  hands simultaneously below the belt. In flag football, a variation of touch,  fabric strips are tucked into a player's belt, or flags are worn, which  are pulled out for a down. It is a foul to tackle, push,  trip, or rough up another player. When penalties are called, the referee will use three steps for a five-yard call and  nine steps for a 15-yard penalty. It's a touchdown. Accuracy and proper ball handling, knowledge of the rules and regulations of  the game, all helped make this touchdown. Your skill in doing your job for the team  makes touch football a game where strength, speed, stamina, agility, awareness, and  anticipation are all a part of the game. The things necessary to play touch  football are available in every school. First of all, it takes you,  a football, a playing field, ball handling, good passing,  good punting, and good teamwork. Knowing the game and being secure in  your knowledge of the fundamentals makes playing touch football a game of action.