When Should You Take A Knee?

We took a knee this morning on a PAT attempt late in the 4th quarter. It would never have occurred to me to kneel down on a PAT, but that’s because I've never seen it before on TV. I certainly would have taken a knee at the end of a game when we are leading and have the ball, but that's because you see that all the time on TV.

Youth football is not TV football.

So that got me thinking, When, if ever, should you take a knee in youth football?

On Tuesday, we were losing 6-0 in the closing seconds of the game, Robertsdale had the ball. They took a knee, we called our last timeout, and they would be able to run the clock out and take home the W. That’s how TV football works, so I guess we figured that was the script they were working off. And we were OK with that, if a little disappointed in the loss. As it was, that was not the script Robertsdale was working off. They were faking us into thinking they were, and then, on the last play of the game, they ran a wedge play that carried 50 yards before the ball carrier was chased down at the 10. As the coach jogged down the field watching his player run down the field, he was heard muttering, “Icing on the cake, baby. Icing on the cake.” In a league where margin of victory can be a tie-breaker in the playoff seedings, a case could be made for always trying to score – for running up the score for that matter. But our league specifically does not use the score as a tie-breaker (says so in bold print on the standings sheet published every week), presumably to avoid teams running up the score. So it would appear that the opposing team’s plan was pointless. Scoring would not have helped his team any, but it would have made our kids feel bad. What was he trying to teach his kids?

You could make various arguments about teaching your players about never giving up, about never showing mercy, or some such, but I do not find those arguments convincing. People are naturally pretty cruel, and I don't think kids need to be taught to rub in their victories. If the kids are gracious winners, it is not because they are naturally that way, but rather that their parents have taught them that way. Who are you, a volunteer youth football coach, to undermine the teachings of a child’s parents?

So if you're leading and victory is yours, should you kneel down in the final seconds and walk away like they do on TV? Or should you keep playing, knowing that the win or loss is less important than the kids getting more experience? And I mean your subs and MPP’s. If all you're going to do is run your best players, then you're no better than that Robertsdale coach we met last week.

If you do decide to run your subs through a few plays, there are a few landmines you need to avoid: you should not give the appearance of running up the score if you are way ahead. This means conservative high-percentage ball-control plays. If the game is close and you choose not to kneel down on it, emphasize to your subs who are going to run the ball to hold onto the ball at all costs. The last thing you want is for a sub taking his chance to impress the coaches (and his friends and parents) and coughing up the ball to the other team, which then scores a winning TD as time runs out. If you choose not to kneel on the ball in this situation: (1) make sure the ball carriers know the importance of holding onto the ball, and know that the enemy will be doing everything they can to strip the ball; (2) if the worst case comes to pass, make sure everyone knows that it was not the fumbler’s loss, it was the coach’s, who made the conscious decision not to take a knee. Take responsibility for your decision.

This is my opinion: you should never take a knee. The only purpose of the kneel-down is to preserve a victory (unless you're that Robertsdale coach and you're using it to lull your opponent into a false sense of security before you try to run up the score), but there are more important things than winning a youth football game: namely, improving your players. Put on your subs and your MPP’s and let them run some plays. It is not only for their enjoyment, but also (and more importantly) for their experience.

Question: Does this policy change during the playoffs? (Answer: Yes, but not because of the importance of the game, but because playoffs are win-or-go-home. If your objective is to get your players more experience, a win is the best/the only way to do it in this case.)