A park or a ground with a grown-up

Flag football at home

A football or any ball you can throw, flags or a sock in the waistband, cones or shoes as markers, a parent and one or two friends.

3 cards at home 6 for a park or court 1 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?

Who is playing?

Start a session

New to flag football? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.

The sport in short: American football without tackling. Each player wears a belt with two flags hanging at the hips. Instead of tackling the player with the ball, a defender pulls off one of their flags, and the play stops there. A common game is 5 players a side.
How points are scored: The attacking team moves the ball toward the other end by running with it or throwing it to a team-mate. Carrying or catching the ball in the end zone, the area at the far end, is a touchdown and scores 6 points. After a touchdown the team gets one more play from close to the line to score 1 or 2 extra points.
How a game is won: The attacking team has a set number of tries, called downs, to move the ball forward; if they do not, the other team gets the ball. The team with more points at the end wins.
Rules children break first: No contact: no tackling, pushing, holding or blocking.
Do not guard your own flags with your hands.
The flag puller holds the flag up high so everyone sees the play is over.
Shirts tucked in so the flags hang free.
At home you practise the skills: Catching, throwing with a spin, pulling flags and quick feet, then snaps, handoffs and routes with a friend or two.

Words you will hear (33, in plain language)

Flag: A belt with two strips of cloth hanging at the hips. Pulling one off stops the ball carrier.
Flag pull: Taking a flag off the ball carrier; it takes the place of a tackle.
Flag guarding: Blocking a defender from your flags with a hand or arm; not allowed.
End zone: The marked area at each end of the field. Getting the ball there scores.
Touchdown: Carrying or catching the ball in the end zone; 6 points.
Line of scrimmage: The line across the field where each play starts.
Down: One play, from the snap until the ball carrier's flag is pulled or the pass falls.
Huddle: The team standing close together before a play to agree what to do.
Down, set, hut!: The call that starts a play.
Centre: The centre passes the ball back between the legs or from the hands to start a play; that pass is the snap.
Quarterback: The player who takes the snap and throws or hands off the ball.
Running back: A player who takes the ball from the quarterback and runs with it.
Receiver: A player who runs to catch a pass.
Handoff: The quarterback giving the ball straight into a running player's arms.
Fake handoff: Pretending to hand off, then keeping the ball.
Blitz: A defender who runs straight at the quarterback after the snap to pull a flag. Nobody may block the blitzer.
Laces: The stitched strip on top of a football where the fingers go.
Spiral: A throw where the ball spins neatly round its long point.
Route: The path a receiver runs to get free for a pass.
Slant: Route names. Slant: a few steps, then a sharp diagonal cut. Hitch: run forward, stop and turn back. Out: run forward, then cut straight to the sideline. Post: run forward, then cut toward the middle of the goal end. Corner: run forward, then cut toward the far corner. Fly: run straight and fast.
Stop-and-go: Harder routes with two cuts, such as stopping as if for a hitch, then sprinting deep.
Plant: Pushing hard off one foot to change direction sharply.
Drop: The quarterback stepping back after the snap before throwing.
Roll-out: The quarterback running sideways to throw on the move.
Man defence: Each defender stays with one attacker.
Zone defence: Each defender guards an area of the field.
Interception: A defender catching a pass meant for an attacker.
Backpedal: Running backwards with small steps while watching the play.
Formation: Where players line up before the snap.
Playbook: A team's set of drawn plays.
Pre-snap read: Looking at the defence before the snap to choose the best play.
Scrimmage: A practice game.
Agility ladder: A row of boxes on the ground for quick-feet steps.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.

A suggested first ten sessions (optional)

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.

Basic 4 cards · show· hide The child catches with the right hand shape, throws side on with a step, pulls flags cleanly, and plays small games.

Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b3.

Intermediate 4 cards · show· hide Snap and handoff, routes, quarterback drops, play calling and marking a receiver.

Move on when the child runs a few plays with a team.

Advanced 2 cards · show· hide Harder routes, reading the defence before the snap, and a team playbook for 5 against 5. This level depends on the league's rules.

Teaching this at home

More space and a second person. A grown-up can run every card.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.