The Miami Wildcat Formation in Junior Football

Any readers of my previous articles know how I feel about coaches using offensive systems, or playbooks too complicated for little kids. I believe it is the number one mistake made by youth football coaches today.

So what is one supposed to do as he sits on the couch on a Sunday afternoon and gazes blankly into the TV as he hears the announcers go on and on about this new Wildcat Offense? Most yahoos watch a play or two, jot what they can remember from the boob tube, and head on out to the field to teach the "unstoppable" system to their 8 year old players.

There are all kinds of problems with the above scenario, yet sadly it is a common occurrence across this great country of ours. Let's keep this post Wildcat specific and I'll explain the way I handle it.

Let's start with a few misconceptions regarding the "wildcat",. This so called "new breed" offense is a variation of the classic single wing offense, used by Glen "Pop" Warner back in 1895 at the university of Georgia. The formation has evolved, but the basic premise has remained the same.

First off, there is no quarterback and the ball is snapped directly from the center to the running back of choice. Depending on the formation type of the single wing you are teaching, there can be as few as one and as many as three running backs ready to receive the direct snap from the center.

The next familiar concept is the strong running game. This is accomplished by using more blockers to the part of the field where the running back is designed to go to. This is most commonly achieved by pulling lineman, double team blocking or using an unbalanced formation. Many times, two or three of the above mentioned will be used at the same time.

Third, there is a huge amount of protection done hiding the football, making it impossible for the defense to see who has the football, until it is too late. It is easy to view videos on the internet where the complete defensive squad chases after a ball carrier and the real ball carrier is running untouched for a TD.

I use the same knowledge that has allowed me to have a great winning percentage over the years, by making sure I tweak any play, system or formation for the specific AGE and TALENT level of the kids I'm instructing in the current year. I have designed "tried and trued" set of blocking styles, as well as specific blocking schemes that we have designed and taught with outstanding results over the 24 years.

I combine the base philosophy of the formation and merge one of my blocking rules and "whamo" I have a organized formation I can teach at the correct age and skill level. Naturally, any play designed on paper is useless, at least until we get a chance to test it in practice. We them make the necessary adjustments, before I would ever consider using it in a game situation.

In summary, I believe that an offense as "sexy" as the Wildcat can be used at just about all levels of football, but it must be modified first.


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Jim Oddo has won over 80% of his games as a 24 year youth football coach. TheWildcat Formation has taken the football world by storm, and Jim has found a way to modify this powerful formation for the pee wee level. Check it out at his Wildcat Formation website!