Darlington’s 7 on 7 camp provides insight into 2016 season
Running a pass play against another football team without an offensive line may sound concerning, but the practice proved productive on a recent afternoon.
Darlington’s annual 7-on-7 passing camp began Thursday with the Tigers’ football team hosting a number of area programs, desperate to get in some competitive reps during the summer.
“Doing 7-on-7 has grown, almost every team does it now,” Darlington coach Tommy Atha said. “Even if you don’t throw the ball you still need a good pass defense, so it’s an essential part of the process.”
The concept has seven players on offense face seven players on defense and run pass plays in an attempt to get the ball in the end zone. There are no pads, no tackling and no pass rush.
Model and Armuchee took part in Thursday’s sessions, as did nearby squads from Calhoun and Sonoraville. While the hosts will compete in Class A this season, teams from 6A, 5A, 3A and 2A could all be found battling each other.
Thursday was nothing new to Darlington. The Tigers got the opportunity to travel to Athens last week and participate in the Kirby Smart 7-on-7 Championship Tournament.
The tournament featured Atlanta-based teams like Grady as well as local teams.
Atha said the experience provided his team’s first reps while on a clock, forcing his players to make quicker decisions and get in and out of the huddle. He sees it as a huge step in the learning process for the team as a new season gets closer.
This week, Atha just hopes his team gains more understanding of the Tigers’ offense and some common fundamentals.
“First of all I want to see our kids compete, that is very important to me,” Atha said. “And No. 2, for us it’s about understanding our scheme, understanding our concepts, getting better at route-running and coverage recognition from our quarterbacks.”
The camp is also unlike last week’s trip to Athens in that it isn’t a tournament, giv- ing coaches the chance to teach the kids against good competition. With so many teams of so many sizes, it helps to settle down and get a chance to compete against each one.
It is clear that 7-on-7 training has grown, with camps like Darlington’s going on around the state. Atha points out the type of activity found at passing camps has become ingrained in the way teams train, almost becoming part of the offseason conditioning.
The growth of this kind of play is evident to Model coach Gordon Powers as well, who estimates some squads can 7-on-7 two or three times a week during training.
For Powers, the benefit is getting to see who on his team can be a playmaker. Skills like speed and quick decision-making are always on display in 7-on-7, and it gives coaches an early sign of what some players can do.
Like Atha, Powers implied that he wants his team to grow. But he’s also excited to see his team get to compete against larger teams it may not see in the fall.
Just on Thursday, the Blue Devils played Cambridge from Milton, Alexander from Douglasville and Calhoun.
“For us to go up against teams with great athletes, hopefully it can help (our players) rise to that level,” Powers said. “We are playing some guys with some speed, and that is the level that we want to play at.”