There are many different blocking styles and schemes that the offense will use to try to gain an advantage over the defense. By advantage, I mean get a numbers advantage. By that I mean having a situation where you send more blockers to an area you want to run the ball than the defense has defenders. One of the more complicated, but most effective ways of getting this goal accomplished is to use the counter gap blocking technique.

Now before you rush and try this with your seven year olds, understand this is a very advanced scheme that should only be attempted by experienced players. To have total success you will need to refer to your scouting report to make sure all defenders are accounted for. When you pull two linemen, there are going to be uncovered defensive lineman and you need to make sure th running backs, slot and other offensive linemen will fill the gap.

This system of plays, the counter gap, will devestate defenses at every level. The NFL Washington Redskins ran this play to perfection, winning Super Bowls in the early 1980's under hall of fame head coach Joe Gibbs. If you are coaching a gifted, ripened offensive line, you can integrate a variation of this forceful play.

I must notify you that if you dedicate your team to attempting to use this difficult style, you must demand a one hundred percent effort from the players and coaches during practice and especially during stations. The kids will require many reps both in stations and with the whole squad. The execution must be exact during your practice sessions, and then attempted in many unique practice games before you can even aspire of trying this during a game.

The have the best results use offensive line calls to confirm every blocker knows his assignment. Nothing appears as bad from the sidelines than a screwed up counter gap play where the defensive linemen run straight into your backfield unblocked, screwing up the play.

Using the counter trey we will pull anywhere from 1 to 3 offensive linemen to the opposite side of the line. This blocking plan can be used to exploit a monster inside run, but it is most devastating when implemented while running to the outside, like a sweep play. If coached correctly, the half back will jog step the reverse way of the play direction and travel along behind a group of offensive linemen pulling to the area we want to run the play towards. The design of each counter trey play must be practiced quite a few times to make sure everyone on offense knows who to block.

Counter gap, or counter trey techniques should only be implemented by squads that possess most of the undermentioned attributes:

Extremely gifted total depth Extremely athletic players Experienced kids Older age level children Intelligent participants Kids who can block introductory and advanced blocking schemes well

In conclusion, if your team has most of the above attributes then by all means feel free to give this devastating technique a try.