Hand signals are a great and necessary play calling compliment to our board system and procedure for our no huddle offense, but what a lot of programs have trouble with is finding ways to help their players easily memorize the concept names associated with the signals.

That’s why today we’re going to talk about how we use word association with our hand signals and concept names to help our players remember concepts and recall information faster while they’re on the field!

Learn how to create hand signals that are easy for your players to remember in our latest release: The Complete No Huddle Playbook

Above is a variation of our offense’s “Clemson” concept. In simple terms, this is an H-Cross concept with the slot crossing the middle of the field and a man beater into the boundary.

The secret of how we’re able to operate and get to the line so quickly on offense is due to a combination of two factors.

The first is that as often as possible, we have one word names for concepts that require minimal thought for the players to recall. For example, “Clemson” is a one-word call that immediately brings your mind to the University.

This leads directly into the second factor which is the hand signal. Our signals are always intended to be something that allows our players to quickly make the mental connection between the hand signal action and the concept name that they’re supposed to think of.

For Clemson, the school mascot is the Tigers. To call for our Clemson concept, we simply use both hands to make a “tiger claw” which helps our quickly recall the mental connection of the Clemson Tigers.

From here, the only additional information that the offense needs is the formation and cadence calls to get the play off, and these are things that are being repped and worked on every day. 

It’s really important that all of the concept signaling information and the “why” behind it is communicated to your players as clearly as possible. Even if it’s obvious to you, making the mental connections for the players is extremely important to help them recall the information faster in real time. 

Once everyone is on the same page, understands the “why” behind the signals, and what the significance of the concept name is, all they have to do is memorize their job for each concept.

Having an organized and simplistic hand signaling system will significantly speed up your offense and ensure high-level execution on the field with everyone having a full understanding of their job! 

In The Complete No Huddle Playbook we go into more detail about how we use boards and hand signals to quickly communicate the play call with the offense!

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