Play designer tutorial
How to design a flag football sweep and time the handoff
The runner’s route starts before they have the ball. Make the exchange clear so your players can see where to meet and what happens next.
By FlagPlays ·
Add a run to one familiar formation
A sweep can be a small change to a system your players already know. Keep the Strong Right alignment: a quarterback, a center, one receiver on the weak side and two on the strong side. Give the outside strong-side receiver one clear job: move after the snap, take the handoff behind the quarterback and carry the ball toward the opposite sideline.
The slot runs a go on the formation side. The other players run routes away from the running side to clear space. Walk through those assignments together; the drawing is a teaching aid, and the players still need to rehearse the exchange.
Try it in the play designer
Build a sweep play: draw the run, then place the handoff
In this Strong Right example, Z is the wide receiver on the right. After the snap, Z sweeps behind the quarterback, takes the handoff, and runs wide to the left. The other receivers clear the running side with routes away from it.
Read the drawing: dashed white shows the runner before the exchange. H marks the handoff. Gold shows the route with the ball.
Coach it slowly first: move without the ball, secure the handoff, then follow the run. Rotate players through the jobs. Use handoffs only where your competition permits them.
- Choose the runner. Open the example below, select Z, and choose Sweep left for a broad arc behind the quarterback. Sweep right mirrors the direction.
- Keep the route you drew. To use your own path, draw it and switch the route dropdown from Pass to Run. Its shape stays intact. Undo restores the previous type.
- Choose who receives the handoff. Select QB and choose Handoff. Check Handoff to shows Z; the quarterback stays selected. Use the dropdown to choose a different runner.
- Place the exchange. Select Z, choose Set handoff point, then tap the runner’s route. Drag the H marker or adjust Handoff along route to fine-tune it.
- Bring the quarterback to the ball exchange. Select QB and choose Add arrow to handoff. The approach is timed to meet the runner. Nearby marker moves adjust the arrow; a larger move needs you to review the approach.
- Check it, then save. Choose Run play, then Pause at handoff. Choose Resume from handoff to follow the rest of the run. Reset clears the pause request. Name and save the play when the exchange looks right.
If the handoff needs attention: keep the exchange on the runner’s route and bring the quarterback close enough to meet them. An invalid exchange keeps the ball with the quarterback in the preview.
Build your sweep in the editor →Use the pause to teach one moment
Pause at the handoff and ask the runner where the ball comes from. Ask the quarterback where they need to be. Then resume so everyone sees that receiving the ball is one moment in a continuous run. Start at walking pace before asking players to carry that timing into a faster play.
Rotate the jobs so the exchange belongs to the whole team. If the timing breaks down, shorten the explanation and rehearse the same familiar call again. A smooth diagram gives you a shared picture; practice helps players make it their own.
For the broader approach, read a simple flag football system every player can learn. Find more foundations in the Learn guide.