No Huddle Central: No Huddle Communication 101

The biggest obstacle that teams run in to when go no huddle is the communication barrier. They must find a way to send in the same information to all 11 players without confusion. In addition, there is an expectation of increased speed that comes with this change. Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at the different communication options and discuss the pros and cons of each of these systems. But before we can talk about the methods of communication, we must first address the different types of information that can be sent in to the offense. Most coaches uses one of the two following systems:

Coded Play Calling
Card Location Calling

Those who use the "coded play calling" system teach their players signals, numbers, or words that are used to convey the play that is being called. This requires all players and coaches to have an in depth understanding of the plays, their codes, and the way they are being sent in. A premium is placed on memorization and all 11 getting the codes at the same time. Once they are up to speed these team can move at a very high rate of speed and have much play-calling flexibility. Drawbacks include the possibility that teams will be able to decipher the signals and catch some of the plays that are being sent in. It is for this reason that you see most teams that use this have multiple signal callers (as seen on the sidelines of most college teams huddle and no huddle alike).

The "card location calling" system is more reliant on the wrist card approach. Coaches use signals, numbers, or words to alert the players of the play on their card that they are going to run. This decreases the amount of memorization, but also greatly cuts back the number of plays that can be called. Coaches are limited to what can be contained on the cards that their players have. At the same time, this approach allows the coach to give each player only the information that he needs to succeed without dealing with the information that is geared toward the other players. This approach has been made popular by Tony Franklin and has been adapted by high school coaches across the country.

Further discussions of these methods will occur within the larger discussion of how plays are sent in to the team. Here are the methods that we will be looking at over the next few weeks. Please let me know if there is anything that you would like to see expanded upon.