One of the things I am happiest that coaching has brought me is the close friendships I've managed to build with some of the best men in the business. John Torres is one of those men. As a law enforcement agent, Coach Torres has earned my respect for being on the front lines defending this country. No one would blame him if he went home after a hard day at work, but instead he goes to football practice, where he teaches a team of young men the same core values that made this country great: Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Hard Work.

I'm damn proud to have Coach Torres as a friend, and I'd think his kickoff return will help your team.

This article is reprinted by permission of Coach Torres. The copyright on this article is held by Coach Wade in Coach Torres' name. You may only make copies of this article for personal or team use without express written permission of the original author.

~D.

The Star Burst Kick Return is a play I saw run several times successfully at the high school level, most notably by Hart High School in Newhall, CA. Over the last few years I have tinkered with this play and finally had the cojones and opportunity to run it this past season. Please take note that this is a TRICK PLAY and something that you need to use appropriately, as in the RIGHT TIME, i.e. the right time for me is to change momentum. The beginning of the second half or to use to start a "big" game. To run this play you would have to have done your homework, i.e. scouting, and determined that the opposing teams kicker is exceptionally good. That he can kick it at least 25-40 yards in the air. When I ran it this past season, believe it or not, a 10 year old was able to kick it about 35 yards deep and also kicked it high. A perfect scenario for the starburst play!

Goal/Objective:

The object of this play is to form a very quick huddle and with anywhere from 4-6 players, make an exchange of the football, inside the huddle. Though only two players are "actively involved" in the play, every person has a significant role to play. Either blocking or carrying out the fakes.

Set-up

I set this play up like I do all my other normal returns. Five men up front (at the 49 yard line), four in the middle (standing on the 38) and 2 deep (standing on or near the 25 yard line. Their exact location depends on what your scouting report gives you.)

Front Five

The center (or middle man) and the the guards (players on each side of the middle man) will, after insuring that the kick off is not an on-side, run quickly back and form a wall, not a wedge, but a wall. They will retreat approximately 7 yards. They will "pick off" any rapidly approaching defenders (probably R5 and L5) as they come charging down on coverage. The Center of the line will block the kicker if he is coming down on coverage, if not, he will look to "pick off" the first man that gets to the wall. Could end up being a double team with a guard. The remaining tackles will block R4 and L4 respectively. COACHING POINT: Stress that the defenders closest to the kicker, within 8 yards of each side of the kicker, are the most dangerous pursuers during this play and MUST be blocked.

Second Four

First designate a "huddle captain" for this play. Usually one of the inside four returners. This player, on the second line, is mandated to be the focal point for the Starburst huddle. Upon kick off, and seeing that the kick is long and over his head, will run quickly to within 3-8 yards of the ball receiver and be the the focal point for all other players to form a huddle. The other 3 from the second line will form a huddle where the Huddle captain designates, the huddle will start to look like an oval shape, with only the huddle captain's back actually to the defenders. Coaching point: Stress that their first responsibility is to check on-side kick!

Last Two Receivers

Whichever deep receiver catches the ball will move immediately to the huddle. The receiver that does not catch the ball will position himself RIGHT NEXT TO THE BALL CARRIER in the huddle. The ball carrier will hand off the ball to the second receiver/deep man. At that point, the huddle captain says "GO" and each man in the huddle spins towards his closest sideline, acting like they have the ball and "rocking the baby" as they run towards the sidelines. Each huddle player needs to spin with his back towards the kick off team. This would include the new ball carrier, who is instructed to keep the ball on his hip as soon as he makes his spin.

Results

The end result should be that the kick off team momentarily freezes and gives your new ball carrier time to find a crease in the return and head for the sidelines, FULL SPEED. Coaching point: Instruct your new ball carrier to head straight for the sideline. Lastly, make sure you discuss this play with the head official before the game and then again right before you run it. Tell him that you are basically performing a handoff in the huddle, a legal handoff.

Biography:

Biography - Coach Torres just completed his 15th year of coaching youth football. He has coached football in Las Vegas, NV., Arizona, Virginia and the Los Angeles area. He is currently coaching in Lathrop, CA. where his first year ball club in the Novice Division (9-11) finished the season at 6-4 and missed the playoffs by a flip of the coin.