7 Reasons Why The Wing T Offense is Great for Youth Football

The Wing-T offense is one of the best systems for youth football because it emphasizes deception, misdirection, and execution over size and athleticism. It’s an offense that can be executed on any age level of football. You’ll see Wing T concepts being execution from the youth football level, all the way up to the NFL. Here are 7 Reasons Why The Wing T Offense is Great for Youth Football:

7 Reasons Why The Wing T Offense is Great for Youth Football

Misdirection Creates Confusion

Youth defenses struggle with reading plays, and the Wing-T thrives on fakes, counters, play-action, and other misdirection. This makes it hard for defenders to locate the ball, leading to big plays. There are a lot of moving parts in the backfield which will draw defenders eyes. The Wing T is a series of plays that all complement each other- all the plays look the same for the first few steps. You can also add a variety of different motions, formation shifts, and  key breakers to enhance misdirection.

Simplifies Blocking for Linemen

Instead of relying on overpowering blocks, the Wing-T focuses on angle blocking. The Wing T Offense utilizes several different down and kick-out blocks (angle blocks). This allows smaller, less experienced linemen to be successful against bigger defenders. Down blocking is great because the defensive linemen will have his head looking in at the ball and won’t even see the down block coming. If you have smaller offensive linemen, down blocking is an equalizer. It’s much easier to wash a defender down, rather than drive them vertically.

Maximizes Team Speed Over Size

You don’t need elite athletes—just disciplined players who can execute fakes and hit their assignments. The system allows multiple players to contribute to the running game. This offense makes the defense have defend multiple running threats. The best thing about this offense is that it’s fast hitting. All the plays in this offense hit fast! The Trap play in particular hits extremely fast. We just released a really good clinic- “Winning with the Trap Play”. Be sure to check that out.

Keeps Defenses Honest

Defenses can’t key in on one player because the ball can go to multiple runners (wingbacks, fullback, or quarterback). Play-action passes also become deadly when defenses overcommit to stopping the run. The defense can’t sell out to stop one player or play. If they do, they will get beat by the beat by complement plays. This offense is a true system of plays that features a multiprong attack.

Diverse Set of Plays & Formations

The Wing T Offense has a good balance of power running plays, edge plays, fast hitting interior plays, and an explosive play-action passing attack. Once the defense starts selling out to stop the run, that’s when the play-action passing game hits big. You will be able to attack all areas of the field! This offense can be utilized from under center (traditional) or from the shotgun. Many teams will actually utilize both.

Download our Best Selling Wing T Playbook: Gun Jet Wing T Playbook 

Easy to Install and Expand

The base plays (Buck Sweep, Power, Belly, Trap, Belly / Iso, Counter, Boot, and Waggle) are simple but effective. Once mastered, variations and adjustments can be added for more complexity. You can easily add different Wing T Formations, tags, motions, and other run & pass concepts off of the these core plays. When your kids get the core plays down, that’s when you add formations and other adjustments.

Coaching Tip: it’s much easier to add formations than it is to add plays. Get really good at a couple plays, then run those same plays different ways and out of different formations. This will allow you to be multiple, while keeping things simple for your kids.

Great for Clock Control

Youth football is often about controlling possession and limiting turnovers. The Wing-T allows teams to sustain long, methodical drives, keeping the opposing offense off the field. With that said, since the Wing T is so structed in it’s attack, it leads to big plays. The play-action passing plays usually hit big. The Wing T can also be very explosive, not just a time control offense.

Conclusion 

The Wing T Offense is great for all age levels of football. It will give your offense an identity and a system of plays that will allow you to attack all areas of the field. This offense will give you an explosive play-action passing attack. It’s fast hitting and will make blocking easier for your players- because the offense utilizes blocking angles. It’s a great system that features a core set of plays that you can build around.

Wing T Resources

We have several resources on our website. We have a couple different playbooks, plays, and coaching tips. Here are links to some of those.

See Also: The Wing Offense Overview 

See Also: Pistol Wing T Jet Series