Defending the Onside Kick

Your opponent has just scored and is now behind by 8 points or less. They do not have enough time left in the game to kick off, stop your offense and force a punt. They must get the ball back immediately, so they decide to use an onside kick, in which they kick the ball only the 10 yards it needs to go

to become a live ball and then try to recover it. You must have a plan to defend the onside kick using a specialized kickoff return unit called the hands team. The hands team consists of a select group of players whose ability to catch the football and excellent eye-hand coordination should enable them to react to a bouncing football and cover it. They also must be tenacious and tough, because the other team will be sending 10 of their best athletes charging at them to knock them out of the way and get the football back for themselves!

Note: The onside kick is likely at two other times other than in the very late stages of the game. First, when the kicking team is behind by 9 to 16 points with six minutes or less left in the game, they may try the onside kick because they have to score twice to win. Second, when the receiving team has been penalized 15 yards on the previous scoring play, the kicking team might try the onside kick because they are now kicking off from the 50-yard line instead of the 35-yard line and will not place the receiving team in great field position if the onside kick is unsuccessful.

WATCH OUT!
The following circumstances may distract your players:

• Watching the kicking team instead of the ball. After the kicker starts his approach to the ball, every hands team player must focus on the ball, not on the coverage players who are moving toward the kickoff line. The ball will take strange bounces, and the hands team has to be ready to react.

• Thinking about the score of the game or the crucial nature of the play. Although the onside kick is a vital play in the game and could determine which team wins and which team loses, the hands team must block those thoughts from their minds and focus solely on the football and the task at hand–recovering it!

1. Being too anxious and therefore playing the ball too aggressively. After the onside kick is on its way, the hands team must not let the excitement of the situation and the impending collisions cause them to become too anxious. The hands team must stay in position, read the first or second bounce of the ball and then react to the ball instead of charging at the ball as it approaches, a technique that is likely to cause a misplay.

ACQUIRING THE APPROPRIATE KNOWLEDGE
When defending the onside kick, you and your players should understand the following:

Rules
You and your athletes need to know several main rules when defending the onside kick:

• All players on the hands team must stay behind the 10-yard restraining line until the ball is kicked; otherwise an offside penalty could be called, giving the kicking team a second opportunity to recover the kick. (The kicking team also must stay behind the kickoff line until the ball is kicked.)
• The ball does not become live and legal for the kicking team to recover until it travels 10 yards downfield from the kickoff line or until it touches someone on the receiving team. Hands team members should not touch onside kick attempts that are short and clearly are not going to travel the required 10 yards.
• The kicking team cannot block members of the receiving team (the hands team) until the ball is live, so hands team players are safe from contact until the ball goes 10 yards or until a teammate touches it.
• If one or more players on either team touches the ball but no one gains possession of it and it then goes out of bounds, by rule the ball goes to the receiving team.

Physical Playing Conditions
The physical playing conditions significantly affect the game. Thus, you and your players must pay attention to the following physical conditions when defending the onside kick:

• If the field is wet or slippery, this play becomes even more unpredictable. Players on the hands team must take short, choppy steps as they move into position to recover the kick, being sure not to lose their footing.
• If the ball is wet, the hands team players must be certain to secure the ball against the body immediately after making a play on it so that it does not slip away.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Opponents
You and your players must account for your opponent's strengths and weaknesses to know how to defend the onside kick properly. Consider the following about your opponents:

• How talented is the opposing team's kicker? If the kicker kicks the ball too softly, so that it doesn't go 10 yards, or too hard, so that it quickly goes out of bounds, the job of the hands team is easy. But if the kicker has the ability to kick the ball just past the 10-yard line, putting a high bounce on the ball as it crosses that line, the catch will be difficult and either team could recover the kick.
• What kind of scheme do they use? The hands team is usually not able to scout the opponent's onside kick because they will not use this kick in most games. Therefore, the hands team must be ready for the opponent to line up in any number of sets, using a variety of kicks. An unusual scheme by the kicking team may create confusion.
• How fast are the opponent's coverage players? If the opponent has several very fast players and they use them on the onside kick team, the hands team will have little time to react to the kick and make the recovery.
• How disciplined are the opponent's coverage players? If the athletes on the onside kick team all converge on the hands team player who initially tries to catch or recover the ball, they won't be in position to recover deflections. The hands team must take advantage of this mistake and be in position for the recovery if the ball gets loose.

Self-Knowledge
Besides being aware of your opponent's strengths and weaknesses, you and your players need to know about your own team's ability. Teach your players to be aware of the following when defending the onside kick:

• Who has the best hands on your football team? The players on the hands team may play any position but they must have the ability to catch the ball high, low, hard or soft.
• Who is likely to come out of a pile of players with a loose ball? If the ball rolls on the ground, a wild pack of players will converge on it. Some athletes are more tenacious than others in these situations, and their determination helps them make a play at a critical time. Those athletes need to be on the hands team.
• Who can make quick, accurate decisions? Hands team members have just a fraction of a second to decide whether the ball is going to travel 10 yards, whether it is going to go out of bounds, whether they should allow it through to the back line and so on. The athletes on this team need to be quick-thinking, heady players who can react appropriately under pressure.

Decision-Making Guidelines
When deciding how to gain the best advantage when defending the onside kick, you and your players should consider the previous information as well as the following guidelines:

• If the ball is kicked in the air for some reason, the hands team player nearest the ball should fair catch it, using the waving-arm signal before the catch.
• The front line should recover a slow, soft kick, but they must be sure that the ball is going to go 10 yards before they attempt to recover it. If it is definitely going to go 10 yards and is rolling, the nearest hands team member should fall on it at 9 yards, because at that distance, no kicking team member is allowed to touch it (or the hands team player!) yet and he will have an opportunity to recover it before being touched by the kicking team.
• The front line should let all hard, low kicks go through to the second line. These kicks will be easier to field after they have slowed down a bit and have taken at least one big bounce. Also, the kicking team has farther to run to collide with the second-row players, so the hands team should have a chance to make a play before being hit.
• If the front-line players on the hands team let the ball go through to the second line, they each should block a player on the kicking team to stop his progress toward the ball.
• All players on the hands team who are not making a play on the ball should position themselves near the teammate who is about to catch the ball, looking for a deflection that they can recover.
• If the ball is unexpectedly kicked deep, the back-line safety player should secure it properly, then take a knee or go out of bounds to avoid being tackled by the kicking team.