Sports

Wristband brigades: CIC teams embrace no-huddle offense

Across the Cook Inlet Conference, quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and linemen routinely stare at their wrist between offensive plays, as if each wears a watch and is under strict instructions to check the time before every snap.

It's like obsessive compulsive disorder has swept through the league.

A clock is ticking -- the one on the scoreboard.

Teams truly are concerned about time -- they want to run plays in rapid succession to establish offensive rhythm, keep defenders on the run and give opposing coaches little time to make defensive adjustments.

And what is on an offensive player's wrist -- more precisely, what is printed on his wristband -- is worthy of obsession: The information there tells him what play his team will run next and what his assignment entails.

CIC teams are increasingly joining the no-huddle herd that has become commonplace in college and pro football, using shorthand signals sent from the sidelines or short phrases barked by coaches stationed there to communicate the next play and run it as quickly as possible.

The information relayed from the sideline -- and it can be something as simple as "Blue 22'' -- corresponds to a play on the players' wristband. And that information on the wristband will, for instance, tell a receiver to run a certain route or an offensive lineman to employ a particular blocking technique.

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"The biggest thing it's used for is tempo,'' said West coach Tim Davis. "You can get more plays, which means you get more opportunities. We're trying to out-tempo, out-physical the other team, and now I can communicate a play faster.''

The majority of teams in the eight-team CIC use some system of signals and wristbands to eliminate the need to huddle. That saves time because players do not have to retreat to the huddle after a play and then return to the line of scrimmage for the ensuing play.

The no-huddle, hurry-up offense can allow a team to run substantially more plays in a game. For instance, Chugiak, which employs a wristband system, last week ran off an astounding 85 plays in a victory over East.

West uses a flash-card and wristband-based system of five elements to signal the play from the sideline, with five individuals each holding a card high so players on the field can see them clearly. Davis, who doubles as offensive coordinator, tells his signal crew the play, and each crew member in turn flips to the correct card in a ringed binder and holds it high.

The card an on-field West player sees on his far left features a picture. The next card to the on-field players' right features a color. And the next three cards, from left to right, each contain a single number.

But only three of those cards mean something – those are considered "hot.'' The other two are merely decoys. Which cards are "hot'' changes each game, sometimes even each half.

"Once they understand how to decode everything, it's easy to be fast,'' Davis said.

Eagles receiver Turek Taylor said that once he reads the cards and determines the call -- say, Blue 22 -- he repeats the phrase to himself a time or two as he finds the play on his wristband.

"It just takes a lot of focus,'' Taylor said.

"It's actually pretty easy,'' said West quarterback Sean Duffy. "And it's kind of cool.''

If Davis sees something in the defense that might disrupt the play called, he yells, "Check! Check!'' from the sideline to get the attention of his players and then yells an audible to change the play.

At Service, the Cougars send in plays by voice. Offensive coordinator Jason Caldarera calls the play down to the sideline via a radio headset. A couple of Cougar coaches on the sideline yell the coded play -- say, Blue 22 -- to the players on the field. Each player checks his wristband to decode which play to run.

"Our biggest thing is we feel we condition as hard as any team out there,'' said Service coach Kevin Kern. "So, by going no-huddle, we run more plays, and we feel we'll have more gas in the tank (than the defense) in the fourth quarter.''

Service's players have responded well to the no-huddle offense, Kern said, because it is becoming more commonplace at all levels of football and because it speeds the offense. And just like at West, the Cougars can change their code whenever they want.

"Blue 29 might mean orange in the second half,'' Kern said.

Davis said adjusting his team's "hot'' signals can keep opponents from deciphering West's plays.

"And even if they could decode it, then they still have to communicate that to their players,'' Davis said.

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With so much information listed on players' wristbands, teams keep tight control of the wristbands.

"We count them at the end of practice every day,'' Kern said.

At West, Taylor and Duffy are in charge of collecting wrist bands at the end of every practice and storing them in a bag.

"We're pretty much the keepers of the wristbands,'' Taylor said.

"We put those in a special place,'' Duffy added.

Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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