Fast Break Football
O n behalf of Western Maryland
College, I’d like to thank the AFCAfor
asking us to contribute to the Summer
Manual. We’re honored by the request and
hope some of our experience can be of
value to you and your program.
Over the past seven years, we have
enjoyed a great deal of offensive success.
Most of the credit for our team’s success
and three consecutive conference champi-
onships however, belongs to great defen-
sive and special teams play. For example,
in 1997, Western Maryland’s first confer-
ence championship in 37 years, our aver-
age starting offensive field position was our
own 42 yard line. With only 58 yards to
move the ball to score, our defense and
special teams were doing a great job.
Fast Break football has played a major
roll in our offensive production. It is howev-
er, just a small part of our total offensive
package. What is Fast Break? It is a term
we have for multiple (three, four or five)
wide receiver, no-huddle and hurry-up
tempo football. It is one part of a three-part,
no-huddle package. (Each part has its own
distinct tempo.) It is well planned, often
scripted and practiced daily. It is a big play
Tim Keating offense, but ball control and long drives are
not uncommon. It is primarily a shotgun
Head Coach passing offense, but a productive running
attack makes it much more difficult to
Western Maryland College defend. Although Fast Break is hurry-up, it
is seldom necessary to conserve the clock.
Westminster, Md. It also has been a very effective way to
attack most any defense.
Fast Break reflects our offensive philos -
ophy, which is to take advantage of the
skills and ability of our players, get those
players on the field who are capable of
scoring any time they touch the football and
then put the ball in those players’ hands.
[As chance would have it, we first inherited
and have since attracted intelligent and
athletically gifted quarterbacks and wide
receivers. Having skilled players at these
positions was and continues to be one of
the reasons why we are frequently in multi-
ple receiver sets and not huddling.
Certainly talented runningbacks and tena-
cious offensive linemen add to the offenses
dimension and productivity.]
When do we use the Fast Break? The
answer is almost anytime. With just a few
exceptions, most teams seem to use a ver-
sion of it only when they are trailing either
late in the contest or to a lesser extent, at
the end of the first half; the “two-minute
offense.” Although we most frequently go to
• AFCA Summer Manual — 2000 •
our Fast Break after a change of posses-
sion, we have used it the first possession of
the game and the first possession of the
second half, often with positive results. We
have planned to use it for an entire game
but fortunately for us, we never have. Our
use of it varies from opponent to opponent,
but customarily we will use it until we take
a lead. We will always use it when we are
behind, unless we are moving the ball and
have a good opportunity to score before
time expires in the game or in the first half.
In this case we don’t want to allow our
opponent any time to score, so we will still
no-huddle, but in this case we will slow the
tempo.
Why do we use the Fast Break? Simply,
we get positive results, but equally signifi-
cant, it is very similar to the way we prac-
tice. The old cliché, ‘you play like you prac-
tice’ has a real meaning for us. For years,
we have rarely huddled in practice. Initially
we chose not to huddle to find more prac-
tice time. Class schedules prevented us
from starting earlier. Cafeteria schedules
and daylight haven’t allowed us to finish
later. We wanted to get more accom-
plished. We needed to run more plays in a
limited time frame. The best place to find
time was to stop huddling and pick up the
tempo.
By practicing the past few years without
huddling and at increased tempo, we have
become fairly good at it. We have been
able to transfer how we practice to how we
play on Saturdays. The Fast Break has
become an effective part of our attack. In
the future, we will continue to no-huddle in
practice because we will still need the time.
However, most importantly we will continue
to use the Fast Break because our players
like it.
As the no-huddle came to us out of
necessity, so did the multiple wide receiver
attack. Our personnel took us in that direc-
tion. We took over a team with inexperi-
enced offensive linemen and no tight end
or fullback. Accentuating the positive, we
did have a talented quarterback, running-
back and a number of good receivers.
What we needed was an unconventional
way to move the ball. We found it in the
basic run and shoot offense. We had the
personnel to make it work and it worked
well for a number of years. Each succeed-
ing year however, our opponents got better
defending us. So we changed, believing if
we did not we would miss the opportunity
to get better. Over the past four years we
have evolved into a three, four or five-wide
receiver, shotgun, throw-hot team.
Somehow, we have effectively stayed a
half step ahead of our opponents. The Fast
Break is another step in the development of
the attack.
How does Fast Break challenge a
defense? In our experience, when we Fast
Break, we see a limited number of defen-
sive looks. Opponents usually defend us in
one of two ways. They either check to a
base front and coverage or they blitz [usu-
ally constantly]. With our quarterback in the
shotgun a good deal of the time, blitzing or
base looks are easier to read. If defenses
over commit to stopping the pass, which
often happens when we’re in the shotgun,
we can and will run. Some big plays have
come from Fast Break shotgun runs. We
also believe the hurry-up pace tends to
fatigue defensive linemen. This benefit is
most apparent in the fourth quarter. As with
many other styles of offense, if a defensive
coordinator does not see more than once a
season, it becomes difficult to replicate in
practice and therefore difficult to defend. In
short, the Fast Break is just another offen-
sive weapon. This one however, puts addi-
tional pressure on the defense by limiting
their ability to settle-in and react.
When we’re ready to implement the Fast
Break, oddly, we will huddle on the sideline.
We will do this with a mix of all our person-
nel groups. They don’t know who will be on
the field next. After the personnel group
and play is called, we will wait for the offi-
cials to give the ready for play signal before
the team sprints on the field. They will
immediately line up in the appropriate for-
mation. The quarterback will have the ball
snapped quickly after all eleven become
set. When the play is complete, the quar-
terback will move toward and look at the
‘live’ coach for the next play. Meanwhile,
the other players will line up in a default for-
mation. This is a predetermined formation
usually based on lateral field position and
personnel group. Once the quarterback
has the play, he will signal it to the wide
receivers and back(s) and use code words
for the blocking scheme and snap count
with the line and back(s). The wide
receivers usually don’t need to know this
information. As quickly as possible after the
official has signaled ready to play, the ball
will be snapped. And so it goes until we
score or accomplish our goal.
When do we practice Fast Break? We
practice it from the very first day in mid-
Diagram 1: Default Right
Diagram 2: Default Right
Diagram 3: Default Left
August through our last game. Six or more
of our most productive shotgun plays are
installed at our first practice. Many of those
same plays were run in our second round
playoff loss this past November. In addition,
to practicing the components of the Fast
Break (the no-huddle and quick tempo), we
practice the Fast Break purposely every
day during the season with specific drills.
The drill we most often run we simply
call the Fast Break drill. We will take
between five and 15 minutes of practice
time for this drill. This specific drill is run up
to four times a day in preseason and twice
a week in season. The first, second and if
we are lucky and have a complete third unit
all get at least one turn. We will run a script
of personnel group plays (usually one back
and four wides). These plays are run
against air. The drill begins with the quar-
terback moving toward and looking to the
sideline for the play. Once he has it, he will
signal to the wide receivers and back what
he wants. He will use code words for the
back and offensive line for the blocking
scheme and snap count. (The first few
times we do this, all the information is
called aloud and signaled. This helps in
recall and memorization.) The offensive
• AFCA Summer Manual — 2000 •
linemen are expected to make calls based
on an imaginary front. They are also
expected to run down field when the ball is
caught, similar to a defensive pursuit drill.
All wide receivers to whom the pass was
not thrown are also expected to pursue the
ball. The drill requires that two or three
coaches accompany the team down the
field. It is the responsibility of the coaches
to spot the ball usually on alternate hash
marks. The ball is advanced in varying dis-
tances down the field. When a coach spots
the ball (usually very quickly), the team
runs to that yard line and aligns in their
default formation. The quarterback again
moves and looks to the sideline for the
play. The process is then repeated. When a
pass is thrown, whether completed or not,
we advance the ball. When the team
approaches the goal line, the coach will tell
the team to score in which case, the follow-
ing play completes the drill. The coach may
also choose to have the ball placed on the
one-yard line and the quarterback has to
come up with something on his own and
quickly get the play executed.
This has been an all to brief and basic
overview of our Fast Break package. If it
has stimulated any ideas or questions, we
would like to hear from you. Please don’t
hesitate to contact us at Western Maryland
College. Thanks to Tim Landis, chair of the
Summer Manual Committee, for thinking of
Western Maryland. It’s been a pleasure to
prepare this article. Best of luck in 2000.
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