The flag football route tree, explained

A route is the path a receiver runs so the quarterback knows where she'll be. Every route starts the same way: the receiver runs straight up the field. That straight part is called the stem, and it's the trunk of the tree. Then she breaks off in a different direction. Those breaks are the branches.

The routes are numbered 1 through 9, and as the numbers go up, the routes get deeper. Draw all nine from one spot and they look like a tree.

One note before the routes. Teams number their routes differently, so your daughter's coach might call a route by another number. The routes themselves are the same everywhere. The depths below are starting points for a high school girls' team too. If the coach says a different number, go with the coach.

For each route: how deep to run the stem, which way to cut, and the mistake that ruins it. As you read, watch which way each one breaks. There's a pattern, and it's in the next section.

1. 1

   Flat

   Depth

   1–2 yards

   Cut

   Turn and run flat toward the sideline. The quickest throw in football.

   Mistake

   Drifting up the field. Stay flat, and turn your head back to the quarterback early. This ball comes fast.

2. 2

   Slant

   Depth

   3 hard steps

   Cut

   Sharp 45° cut to the inside, across the defender's face.

   Mistake

   Rounding the cut. A round slant gives the defender time to catch up. Plant the outside foot and snap it.

3. 3

   Comeback

   Depth

   10–12 yards

   Cut

   Run like you're going long, then stop, turn toward the sideline and come back toward the ball.

   Mistake

   Stopping and waiting. Keep moving back to the ball after the turn, or the defender jumps in front of you.

4. 4

   Curl

   Depth

   8–10 yards

   Cut

   The comeback, flipped. Stop and turn back to the inside, facing the quarterback.

   Mistake

   Stopping right next to a defender. Find the open space between defenders, sit in it, and give the quarterback a big target.

5. 5

   Out

   Depth

   5–7 yards

   Cut

   Square 90° cut straight to the sideline.

   Mistake

   Drifting up the field during the cut. The quarterback throws to a spot. Drift, and you're not there when the ball is.

6. 6

   Dig

   Also called an in

   Depth

   8–10 yards

   Cut

   The out, flipped and a little deeper. Square 90° cut across the middle.

   Mistake

   Rounding it. Make the cut sharp, then keep running across the field. Don't slow down in traffic.

7. 7

   Corner

   Depth

   10–12 yards

   Cut

   45° break toward the back corner of the end zone. That's where the name comes from.

   Mistake

   Leaning early. Run the stem straight, like a post or a go, so the defender can't guess. Then plant hard and break out.

8. 8

   Post

   Depth

   10–12 yards

   Cut

   The corner, flipped. 45° break toward the middle of the field, toward the goal post. Coaches may want it skinnier or wider depending on where the safety is.

   Mistake

   Looking for the ball too soon. Win the break first, then look.

9. 9

   Go

   Also called a fly or a fade

   Depth

   All the way

   Cut

   No cut. Straight up the field as fast as you can.

   Mistake

   Slowing down to look for the ball. Get past the defender first, then look up and find it.

Look at the whole tree again. Every odd number breaks toward the sideline: the flat, the comeback, the out, the corner and the go. Every even number breaks toward the middle: the slant, the curl, the dig and the post.

So if your daughter forgets what a 7 is, she only needs two questions. Odd or even? Seven is odd, so it breaks out. Big number or small? Seven is big, so it's deep. A deep route that breaks out: that's the corner.

You make the call

↻

What's an 8?Coach calls an 8. Which way does she break, and how deep?Tap to flip

The post.

Eight is even, so it breaks in, toward the middle. Eight is big, so it's deep. A deep route that breaks in is the post.

Most route tree guides are written for tackle football. Flag football has its own rules, and four of them change how your daughter runs routes.

• 1Nobody can jam you at the line. A defender can't start contact with a receiver, so she gets a clean start on every play. Use it: explode off the line. Rule 9-2-3
• 2Everyone is an eligible receiver. All seven players can catch a pass, so any player on the field might run any of these routes. 7-5-6
• 3There's only one forward pass, and it has to be thrown from behind the line. No second throw down the field. The route she runs is the play. 7-5-1
• 4The field may only be marked every 20 yards. On a lot of flag fields, there's no line at 5 or 10 yards to tell her when to cut. Counting steps in practice teaches her where 5 yards is without looking down. 1-2-3

And one more: pass interference goes both ways. If a receiver pushes off a defender to get open, that's a foul on her team. 7-5-10

Signal 28

Pass interference

Both arms pushed forward, palms out. It applies to receivers too.

10YARDS

The numbered route tree is usually credited to Don Coryell, who coached at San Diego State and then the San Diego Chargers. Numbering the routes made the playbook easier to learn. Players learn nine routes once, and every pass play is just those routes put together: one receiver runs a 6, another runs a 2, another runs a 9.

So when your daughter learns the route tree, she isn't memorizing one play. She's learning the pieces of every play in the playbook.

Here's a five-minute way to help her study before Friday:

• 1Say a number. She says the route's name, then which way it breaks.
• 2Say a route name. She gives you the number, using the odd-out, even-in trick to check herself.
• 3Ask for the mistake. “What ruins a slant?” Rounding the cut.
• 4Last, ask her to draw the whole tree on a napkin, from the 1 to the 9.

If her coach uses different numbers, swap in the coach's. The routes, and the mistakes, stay the same.