Just For Kids Flag Football Rules

At no time should any team feel that since a rule is not fully enforced that they may get away with breaking that rule or feel that since a rule isn’t fully enforced during the season it will not or cannot be enforced late in the season. Rules are rules and that is why we have them, do not get upset when and where they are enforced. Follow them and you will have not problems.

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE RULES HERE

Just For Kids Flag Football Rules

- Football Rules

- Game Commencement

- Scoring

- Penalties

- Equipment

- Other

FLAG FOOTBALL RULES

The game will consist of four, ten-minute quarters, with a five-minute halftime and two minutes between quarters. Each team is allowed two, Thirty-five second time outs per half. The only time the clock will stop will be in between quarters, half time, team time outs, official time outs and for kick offs. Other than those instances, time continues to run during all games.

The playing field will be thirty-five yards wide and sixty yards long. Each end zone will be ten yards deep. The field will consist of six, ten-yard zones. Total field size will be 80 yards.

Each game will begin with a coin toss. The team listed first on the schedule is considered the home team and will call heads or tails. The winner of the coin toss will then choose which team will kickoff. Team must be clear on whether they will Differ or Receive. Any team stating they will kick the ball will automatically give up the ball the second half. If stated correctly after halftime the teams will switch roles. We suggest coaches practice this with the kids.

The game will be played eight on eight. Each team will not be allowed more than 14 players on their roster. Every child must play at least half of every game. When a team has only 6 players, the game will go on so long as both coaches agree. The team with all its players may elect to continue to play with its 8 players vs. the other teams 6 players. Games may not be played with less than 6 players, any game played with less than 6 players is an automatic forfeit and will only be counted as a fun game for the kids not affecting the complete team’s standings.

Teams must have a minimum of 6 players ready to play no later than 5 minutes after the officials flipped the coin toss. If a team does not have more than 6 players ready to play after this time, the game will be forfeited and a fun game may be played.

The head coach has the authority to limit game playing time of any player on their team who continually misses practices without a valid excuse, or that may have caused disciplinary problems during a prior practice or a particular game.

One coach for teams ages 5-7 and under, may stay on the field to call plays and adjust their players. But the coach must stay away from any play in motion. Any interference by any coach on the field will automatically be a penalty and be an automatic first down; if the coach on the offense/defense interferes it will be an automatic 10 yards penalty. Any coach knowingly interfering in a play or constantly interfering in plays will be ejected from the game. They will be contacted by the Just For Kids Sports League staff and disciplinary actions will be taken (if need be criminal and legal actions).

Games Commencement:

Every play may be a sweep, hand off or a pass.

All eight players on offense are eligible receivers, including the center. There can only be one forward pass per play.

The offense will have five seconds from the snap of the ball to run a play. If a sweep, hand off or pass is not completed before the five second time allowed, the defense may rush in to pull the quarterbacks flags. The quarterback may not run across the line of scrimmage with the ball until the five seconds are up. It is up to the players and coaches to keep track of these five seconds, do not depend of the referee to keep track for you. The Defense may not cross the line of scrimmage before the 5 seconds are up for any reason. They must make sure there is a clear exchange of the ball in any play before the 5 seconds if they are crossing the line prior.

The quarter back must have clear possession of the ball before he/she can hand it off or pass it to anyone crossing the line of scrimmage. The officials will determine if there was clear possession of the ball.

All offensive plays must begin with a clear center and quarterback exchange. Traditional or side snaps will be accepted.

If the snap is dropped during the exchange from the center to the quarter back, the ball is automatically whistled dead where it fell (Officials discretion on whether to allow teams to try again in the beginning of the season, this will be discussed at coaches meeting). Any hand off or exchange of the ball between the quarterback and any of his offensive players that is dropped/muffed is dead where the ball falls. The ball cannot be picked up and advanced.

Players on Defense must be lined up 1 yard to the side of the center or at least 3 yards away from over the top of any center using a traditional snap. If you are side snapping, the Defense is allowed to line up over the center.

A first down will be earned every time that a team advances the ball into a new zone. If your team has been penalized you must make up the lost yardage and enter the original zone to earn the first down.

There is a thirty second time limit between plays. If you need to set up your players on the line prior to each play, remember you are only allowed 30 seconds and no extra time is allotted for setting up your kids. (Play starts with the official’s whistle.)

Huddles are optional.

One man allowed in motion at snap of the football. Players may line up in the backfield.

Catches must be made with a minimum of one foot clearly in bounds.

Interceptions are allowed and may be run back for a touchdown.

There are no fumbles, if the ball comes out of a receivers hand during play; the ball is dead where it lands.

Offense may screen block (hands must be behind their backs). No arm extension allowed. Any arm extension is an automatic penalty. Offensive may not intentionally physically block a defender or physically alter a defenders route.

Punting is allowed on fourth down only. No rushing the punter. There are no fake punts. The offense must declare their intent to punt or their intent to attempt the first down . If the Offense changes its mind, it must take one of its time outs to make the change and allow the Defense to adjust accordingly. Offense must wait until the ball is kicked until they can cross the line of scrimmage. The receiving team may 3 players down field to catch the punt. If punt is not caught from the air the receiving team may pick it up and run. If the receiving team drops the punt or touches the punt on the ground, they are allowed to pick it up and run it once control has been established.

Kicking

Place kicking takes place from the fifteen-yard line for 10, 12, 14 and under teams and at the twenty-yard line for ages 5-7. The receiving team is at midfield.

Only 3 players allowed on the field to receive the kickoff.

No onside kicks.

If place kicked ball is kicked through the end zone, it is a touchback and the offense takes possession at their own fifteen-yard line.

If the kickoff goes out of bounds the kicking team will be penallized 5 yards and the receiving team can have the kicking team re-kick or take the ball where it went out of bounds. If the ball goes out of bounds after the second kickoff attempt, the receiving team will get the ball at mid-field.

If the receiving team drops the kick off or touches the kick off on the ground, they are allowed to pick it up and run it once control has been established. If the ball is dropped in the end zone a touchback is called. The ball can be advanced if it is caught on the bounce.

SCORING AND PLAYERS

The methods of scoring and their value:

Touchdown: 6 points

Extra Point: 1 point (from the 5 yd line)

2 Point Convert: 2 points (from the 10 yd line)

Safety: 2 points

There are no ties. If a game ends with a tie, the game will go into overtime. In overtime each team will have 4 downs. The first team will try and get as many yards/touch downs as possible with its 4 downs. On the change of possession, the second team will need to beat whatever yardage/touch downs the first team was able to get. The team with the most yardage/touch downs after all downs wins. If the team with the first set of downs has a ball intercepted during their 4 downs, the remaining downs are negated and the second team takes over. The second team will only need to beat whatever the first team did up into the point of the interception. If the second team throws an interception during its 4 downs, the game is called do to all other downs are negated and they cannot beat the first team’s yardage or touch downs do to the negated downs. Team that wins on yardage will have 6 points added to their score.

If a team forfeits a game the game will be scored 7 – 0 against the forfeiting team.

Penalties:

GENERAL PENALTIES

* Illegal Ball 10 yard penalty

* Delay of Game 5 yard penalty

* Unsportsmanlike Conduct 15 yard penalty (possible ejection from game/ officials discretion)

* Faking Excessive Contact 15 yard penalty

* Begging A Call 5 yard penalty

* Illegal Participation Forfeit of Game

* Sideline Interference 15 yard penalty

OFFENSIVE PENALTIES

* Clothing covering flags 10 yard penalty (officials’ discretion)

* Illegal Flags (Non Triple Threat) 15 yard penalty (carries a disqualification as well)

* Illegal Snap 5 yard penalty

* Illegal Down field blocking 10 yard penalty from LOS & Loss of Down(from the line of scrimmage). Any contact causing the alteration of the defender will be considered illegal down field blocking or an illegal block. (This will be referees discretion)

* Illegal Forward pass 10yard penalty from LOS and Loss of Down

* Charging into Defense 10 yard penalty from LOS

* Flag Guarding 10 yard penalty spot foul and Loss of Down

* Stiff Arm 5 yard penalty from LOS

DEFENSIVE PENALTIES

* Illegal Rush (after warning or on refs. discretion) 5 yard penalty

* Roughing the Passer 10 yard penalty (automatic first down)

* Pass Interference 10 yard penalty (automatic first down)

* Receiver Stripping 10 yard penalty (automatic first down)

* Bump and Run 10 yard penalty

* Defensive Holding 10 yard penalty spot foul added to run

* Tackling 15 yard penalty (automatic first down from the point of the infraction, possible ejection from game and league, this is referees discretion)

* Illegal Deflagging 10 yard penalty

* Pushing Ball Carrier out of Bounds 10/15 yard penalty (from point of infraction, automatic first down, possible ejection from game and league, this is referees discretion)

* Rough Play 10/15 yard penalty (from point of infraction, possible ejection from game and league, this is referees discretion)

No physical contact may be used to stop the ball carrier to remove their flag. Absolutely no physical contact with receivers with the intent of altering their route will be allowed. No pass interference.

EQUIPMENT

The size of the football is:

Pee Wee - 5-7 and 8 & under

Junior- 9 yr olds and above

A numbered jersey or shirt, flags and an approved mouthpiece are required to be worn in order to participate. Each jersey/shirt must be tucked in and no jewelry, hats, open toed shoes, or metal cleats may be worn. It is the coach’s responsibility to make sure all his players have an approved mouth piece before each and every game. Jerseys/Shirts must have at least a 6’ number in the back. Teams must look uniformed.

All footballs on game day must be provided by individual teams and the officials will examine the balls and approve or decline the footballs being used.. No other footballs may be used during the course of a game by any team. If an agreement cannot be made a Just For Kids Sports League football will be used

OTHER

Schedules: All schedules are computer generated. No team will be granted a request to play a certain team at a certain time or to not play a team at all. The only request that will be reviewed will be scheduling certain dates for byes. If your request is granted, the team will need to make up their bye game during the regular season. This is most likely set up as a double game on a specified date. All requests must be submitted prior to the schedules being distributed. It is at the commissioner’s discretion to honor any request, just because a request has been submitted, does not mean it will be met. If your request is honored you must understand that your schedule may not be as fair as other teams and you may face certain teams sooner than you would have normally done so with the original schedule. Also do to time constraints on the way our schedules lay out, you may be short the game that you requested off and no makeup game will be provided.

Playoffs: All teams are automatically in the playoffs. Playoffs are a single elimination bracket, unless other wised specified by Just For Kids Sports League staff. All playoff brackets are computer generated with the following information:

Wins vs. Losses

Points Scored

Head to Head

The team with the best standings (wins vs. losses) will get top bracket and the team with the second best standings will get the bottom bracket. All other teams will fall in either or bracket depending on their standings. No Championship game will be won by forefiet. The Super Bowl is not won by forfeit, the world series is not won by forfeit and the Championships in our league will not be won by forfeit. The Staff of Just For Kids Sports League will make arrangements to make sure a game is played, in the circumstances that one of the Championship teams is unable to make the Championship game. The playoffs are in addition to the regular season that you have paid to participate in. We are not obligated to any team after the regular season has ended. At the same time, teams are not obligated to participate in the Playoff Style Tournament we have at the end of the seasons. Playoffs are for teams wanting to continue with extra games from their regular season and that are willing to play under the tournament rules that we have.

At no time may any coach, team, parent or spectator stop a game to address any staff member of Just For Kids Sports League. The officials are paid to take care of each game and they are the responsible party of each game. No Just For Kids Sports League staff member will alter or change the outcome of a game; this is the officials’ responsibility. Any coach, team, parent or spectator stopping their game or any other game will automatically be cause for forfeit of that game and possible ejection from our league and season. Just For Kids Sports League staff may address the officials before a game, during a time out or half time or after a game. No Just For Kids Sports League staff member can address certain play questions if that staff member was not attending the game to see it first hand and even then it will be the officials’ discretion on the call. It is the coach’s responsibility to know the rules thoroughly and be ready for game day(s). Officials will also not tolerate badgering or begging of any call(s), officials may stop a game or eject a player or individual(s) and have a team forfeit if they cannot conduct themselves in a good sportsmanlike manner, this goes for coach's, parents, spectators and players. Coaches, it is up to you to control your sidelines, if you can't control them, how can anyone else be expected to.

Any threats to staff of Just For Kids Sports League, officials, coaches or parents will be taken literally and the authorities will be contacted for full prosecution. We do not take any threat lightly and will seek prosecution. No team will be allowed to continue in our league if parents on that team or coaches on that team are ejected from our league. Also at no time are parents allowed to step onto the field of play or disrupt a game by stepping onto the field of play. Any parent caught doing so will be automatically ejected from the game(s). It is up to the parents to set a good example for their team, as well as for the other teams. At no time will we allow any child in our league to be subject to intentional injury from another team or player. We will also not tolerate verbal abuse of any child in our league. Once again these instances will be reported to the authorities for full prosecution by the law. Just For Kids Sports League has reserved parks and allocated times for park use with the city of El Paso. At no time may any spectator, player, parent or coach be anywhere around the parks being used by Just For Kids Sports League, if they have been ejected from our league. Failure to comply will be cause for notification of authorities and we will seek full prosecution of this individual(s).

Just For Kids Sports League verifies all ages to children playing in our league thru birth certificates provided by parents and player cards supplied by the city. This is the sole responsibility of Just For Kids Sports League, not the parents of any team. Any questions may be brought up to the Commissioner during the week and will be answered accordingly.

It is the responsibility of all coaches to make sure that you control the parents on your team and sideline. If you cannot do so, any game that you are participating in where parents or the sideline is acting in an unsportsmanlike manner will be forfeited (Officials Discretion). Teams can and will be ejected from the season and league for this type of behavior. We will not allow unruly parents or sidelines ruin games or the season for other teams. Once again, there are no refunds of any kind once the season has started. Just For Kids Sports League will have no obligation to any player, parent, coach or team ejected from our league.

***Ultimately this is a kids game.*** We have a lot of rules set, but they are set to keep this fun for the kids, which it always should be. If you cannot allow your child to play for fun, experience the game of football and develop into a player then this is not the league for you. Our kids come first and no parent, coach or player will be allowed to disrupt that. Teams win and lose, that is the nature of every game. It is up to you as coaches and parents to teach your players how to handle wins and losses in the proper manner. To teach a child that another team is cheating and that must be why they are winning will never show a child how to win or deal with a loss. It will give them a reason to justify a loss. Even at the end of games, if the score does not show that your team won, there is a win. Look at the overall picture! Did your player(s) run the ball well, catch the ball well, score more than they usually do? Did a player that does not usually catch, catch a ball during the game, no matter what, there is always some type of production which is a plus. Little things such as those are big triumphs for players and should not be tossed away by parents or coaches, because the game was not won. Help build your players and children with positivity of the game and not the negativity of a game.