On passing the football at the high school and lower levels
Posted by John Reed on
I have coached football, both tackle and flag and both youth and high school for about 18 seasons.
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Coaches at those levels pass too much.
I have been saying that since 1990, my first year in youth coaching. On the field, in the post-game film sessions, and in my books.
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Since I understood this, my teams have passed relatively little, although not a little as my critics would have had you believe. For example, in my one 11-year-old flag season, we passed 31 times and averaged slightly more yards per pass than our per running play average.
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So I DID pass, but my pass plays were very carefully planned, generally short distances and not likely to be intercepted. We also had six interceptions that season.
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Same was true for my boys tackle teams in youth and high school. We used the forward pass sparingly. We were generally successful specializing in the run game while observing the opposing defense for indications they were ignoring the pass and thereby opening an opportunity for us.
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Generally, they never dared. I actually DID assume one team was utterly unable to pass. I was wrong. They did for a TD. So I never again abandoned all pass defense. But we emphasized mainly pressure on the passer, not covering receivers. We were always in man pass coverage.
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A pass play requires a chain of events to go right:
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protect the passer from the pass rush + find an open receiver + throw the ball accurately to that receiver + catch the ball
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If any link in that chain is broken, you get an incompletion or worse, an interception. As a general rule, a series (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th downs) with an incompletion is a series where you do not get a first down. My youth teams could get the ball on our own five-yard line and methodically march down the field for a TD. Probably without attempting a single pass.
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Protection was not do hard in youth for me because I had zero line splits. That is, the feet of each lineman were touching the foot of the lineman next to him.
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Finding the open receiver is extremely difficult and takes years of experience. Selecting the routes where it is easiest, like waggle and a bench route by a running back can greatly help. But again, years of experience. You have to see order in the midst of all hell breaking loose as it does on every snap.
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Then you need an accurate throw. That requires athletic ability and many reps of experience. To some extent younger players CAN master this during their youth season.
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Finally, the receiver needs to catch the ball. This is a big problem. I think all can benefit from practice and concentration. But there is also an element I saw in baseball infielding. The ability to catch hard-hit grounders at third, short, or second is more born than created.
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I do not think pass catching is quite the same. Many players seem to get better. But if you want to pass, you need competent pass catchers and trying to turn incompetent pass catchers into competent catchers, if it works ever, may take years. Until your “receivers” can catch, you simply cannot call pass plays.
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Generally, the problem is the percentage of passes they catch in practice. They typically catch 50% or fewer.
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Let me compare to the NFL. I know it’s true that they have years of experience and great athletic ability, but that is not relevant to this discussion. For one reason, yes the passers are extremely athletic and experienced. But youth and high school athletes are generally MATCHED about as well as NFL passers and defensive backs. The young are roughly equally lousy and the NFL guys are roughly equally expert.
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My point is, if the NFL coaches had similar catching percentages, they would cut the “receivers” and stop passing as much.
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Let’s look at the NFL stats. Google AI Overview
The league-wide average for dropped passes in the NFL is around 6.7%, though this can vary by team, individual player, and even stadium conditions.
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Interceptions?
AI Overview
The percentage of NFL passes that are intercepted is relatively low, hovering around 2% to 3% in recent years, but it has fluctuated over time and varies by team and player. For example, in the 2017-2024 seasons, the interception rate across the entire league was 2.3%, with individual team rates ranging from around 2.8% to 5.7%.
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Again, the issue is not whether youth or high school kids pass footballs as well as NFL players. They obviously do not.
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But the main rules and the field and so on ARE the same as the NFL. And the same tactical rule applies, if you cannot complete passes successfully, you generally need to cut back throwing them to a level where they are helping you win, not preventing you from winning.
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NFL completion rates
Google AI Overview
The percentage of completed NFL passes varies over time but was around 64.1% for the 10-year period between September 12, 2015, and September 12, 2025. Historically, the average completion percentage has been lower, with a 58% average about 30 years ago, but the trend has been increasing.
Another issue is yards gained. If it’s an average of one, why bother?
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The average yards gained per pass attempt in the NFL in 2024 ranged from 5.9 for the Browns to 8.8 for the Ravens. Note that is not per pass completed. It is per pass ATTEMPTED.
Youth and high school freshmen and JV coaches in my observation and experience feel you have to pass about 40% of the time. “You have to mix it up,” they say.
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A. No, you do not.
B. Whether you “have to” mix it up is irrelevant if you CANNOT pass 40% of the time and avoid killing drives with incompetent passes.
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And indeed, that is what happens. They call a pass. If they are lucky, it is incomplete rather than intercepted. As I said, an incomplete pass typically prevents the team from getting a first down in that series. They are forced to punt.
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I am not aware of any reliable passing stats on youth or high school football.
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But you can probably see when you are passing too much or throwing too many long-distance passes by comparing your run game stats with your passing-game stats. Be sure to use passes ATTEMPTED, not just those completed.
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If your run game gains more yards per play, run. Some coaches or parents will object to that saying if you always run, they will stop trying to defend the pass and load up to stop your run game. Bull! They may try that, but if they cannot stop your run they cannot stop your run.
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In theory, if you always run, they can move all their pass defenders to the line of scrimmage and just tackle your runners. But, in the event, I have never seen that happen.
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If anyone on your staff or parents says you must pass because they will sell out to stop the run, tell them to call you when that happens. Do not stop what’s working to replace what’s working with something that has not yet worked.
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Let me tell you about how the longest win streak in US football ended. That team was De La Salle Catholic High School. It is 12 miles from my house. I spent much time there trying to learn from them.
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Their win streak ended at 151. I was on the sideline for their 150th win against the school where I was coaching freshmen: Monte Vista. They then won their next CA game ending that season.
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Google AI: De La Salle High School holds the national record for the longest winning streak in high school football, with 151 consecutive wins from 1992 to 2004 under coach Bob Ladouceur. The streak was ended on September 4, 2004, by Bellevue High School in Washington. De La Salle also maintains a current streak of 31 straight North Coast Section (NCS) Championship wins, the most recent being in November 2023.
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How did Bellevue defeat DeLa Salle?
Bellevue's Wing-T offense proved unstoppable, and they executed it with near-perfect precision.
• Dominant run game: The Wolverines ran the ball 54 times for 463 yards. They never punted and did not attempt a single pass throughout the game.
• Star running back: Senior J.R. Hasty, son of former NFL player James Hasty, led the offensive onslaught with 271 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
• A young quarterback: With only a 14-year-old sophomore quarterback making his first varsity start, Bellevue focused on what it did best: its physical, quick-hitting running attack.
Note the phrase “[Bellevue] did not attempt a single pass throughout the game.” Also, that they had a 14-year-old rookie quarterback.
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Google AI: During their 151-game win streak, De La Salle's offense was heavily centered on running the ball, so their passing percentage was very low.
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So not only did a team with a 14-year-old QB who never passed end DLS’s win streak, DLS GOT that win streak by rarely passing.
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You do NOT “gotta mix it up” at the youth and high school level. If your pass game is advancing the ball as much as your run game, pass If not, run. Do not be stupid. You do NOT gotta mix it up. Only coaches who have not looked at the stats with a willingness to see what they tell you think you gotta pass. I also think there is an element of proving your manhood involved. REAL men pass. And lose to me on many occasions.
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