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The A-11 Offense In
2009
The A-11 Offense, one of the most exciting and popular football offenses in 2008, has been "reborn & retooled” for 2009, as wide-open offense operating within traditional football jersey- numbering rules, with at least (5) ineligible numbered players (#50-79) on the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped.
The updated A-11 still allows for "all-eleven players to have an impact on any given play,” explains Co-Creator Steve Humphries. "The concepts and designs of the A-11 are sound but the A-11 no longer operates out of the scrimmage kick formation, therefore the 2009 NFHS rules change does not apply to the A-11. The A-11 has gone mainstream."
In 2009, the A-11 will take maximum advantage of all players' full capabilities by rule, regardless of a player's jersey- number on the field, and A-11 will continue to evolve for the better.
According to Co-Creator Kurt Bryan, "The A-11 will spread teams out with receivers, tight ends and running backs, and sometimes use two quarterbacks in the shotgun. But now, we will have a few Game Breaker type athletes wearing jersey number 50-79, numbers traditionally used for offensive lineman. Instead these few players (#50-79) will be dangerous threats once the football is in their hands. A-11 teams will have those particular athletes in space across the field and use them to advance the football. Imagine #55 lined up wide and catching a negative Bubble Screen for a 20-yard gain, and then a different player #79 taking an Option Pitch, or a negative Hitch 60-yards for a Touchdown, or #59 throwing a Touchdown pass. The game continues to evolve to suit the talents, skills and needs of today’s incredible athletes.”
How can the new A-11 Offense be successful? It's a continuation of knowledge based on the first two seasons developing the system explains Humphries. "The last two years of running the A-11 Offense with all players in "eligible" numbers, allowed us to perfect the terminology and strategy that makes integrating the "ineligibles" into the new version seamless. We are starting this season right where we left off left last year."
“The groundbreaking systems crafted by hardworking and innovative A-11 coaches and players nationwide had an incubation effect,” Bryan explains. "The concepts put significant pressure on the defense to account for every player on the field – regardless of jersey number. For now, the A-11 operates in the realm of traditional football jersey numbering, and it will continue to push the game forward each and every year. Someday in the near future, the outdated jersey-numbering requirement rule will be done away with, and the irrelevant hullabaloo about jersey number restrictions will become a thing of the past. A-11 coaches, players and the Referees have already proven that to be true, it’s going to happen for the kids and for the advancement of the game."
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History:
The A-11 Offense was created in 2007 by two high school football coaches in Piedmont, CA in the San Francisco Bay area. The offense was initially created to help level the playing field for a public school with an enrollment of about 800 students competing against schools up to twice its size.
The A-11 Offense, a new high school football offense has taken the country by storm. A-11 stands for (all 11 players potentially eligible to receive a pass), which creates havoc for the defense. Teams across the country have adapted the offense, using speed, athleticism and deceptiveness to create a fast-paced game in which any player might touch the football on any given play. A high school in Illinois set state records with 597 yards passing and 9 touchdown passes in a single game during the 2008 season.
During the 2008 season, the A-11 spread across the country, with the Piedmont Highlanders and many other schools featuring the offense making a run into the playoffs. According to the Washington Post, the A-11 has become the hottest topic in high school sports. Carl Bialek of the Wall Street Journal called the A-11 Offense, "the story of the fall in football" in 2008.
The A-11 has been featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine (December 29, 2008), the front page of the New York Times (October 17, 2008), and appeared on the home page of Yahoo! twice, NBC, ESPN.com, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times Play Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Scientific American, among many other countless regional media outlets. The A-11 was also highlighted as one of the best ideas of 2008 by the New York Times special Annual IDEAS section in December 2008. Japan & Germany high schools also played in A-11.
* Scientific American compared traditional football - there are 36 ways to advance the football, but in the A-11 that number skyrockets to over 16,600 because the players are interchangeable!
The A-11 is designed to maximize speedy athletic players, and helps to reduce injuries because the players are super spread out across the field of play. The A-11 provides an opportunity for a more diverse group of athletes to play football and the A-11 is also growing the sport on the youth level. Teams running the A-11 can feature smaller athletes that might not normally make a football team, however, the A-11 also gives players the opportunity to succeed on the field by creating lots of one-on-one match ups.
Despite the remarkable success of teams using the offense around the country, the positive media coverage; great feedback from football referees, players, coaches and fans, and the opportunity to help grow football on the youth level by increasing the amount of children that can play the sport, the NFHS changed the jersey numbering and scrimmage kick formation rules in February, 2009.
However, high school and collegiate coaches nationwide have requested information from A-11 creators Kurt Bryan and Stave Humphries, regarding how to implement the offense under the new guidelines. Bryan and Humphries provided a genesis of the new A-11, which will be featured as the cover story of ESPN RISE Magazine in September 2009 – as the future of football. The A-11 will be used throughout high school football and some collegiate football during the 2009 season, creating more highlight plays, innovative story lines and other dramatic exposure. Simply put, the A-11 has changed football forever.
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For media Inquiries Contact:
Kurt Bryan
Co-Creator A-11 Offense
(C) 510-410-4717
(E) kurt@a11offense.com
Steve Humphries
Co-Creator A-11 Offense
(C) 415-370-7280
(E) steve@a11offense.com
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