The route tree

Ten numbers, ten routes. Once you know them, you no longer need a playbook on the sideline, just two digits.

Even numbers run inside, odd ones outside. The higher the number, the deeper the route.

That is the whole trick, and this program did not invent it: the numbering 0 to 9 holds from high school to the NFL. A player who has learned it once understands any other playbook.

1. 0 Hitch

   Short out, stop, back to the ball.

   5.0 yards deep · straight ahead

2. 1 Flat

   Flat to the outside, barely any depth.

   4.0 yards deep · outside

3. 2 Slant

   Angled inside, straight after the snap.

   7.0 yards deep · inside

4. 3 Comeback

   Run deep, then come back to the outside.

   12.0 yards deep · outside

5. 4 Curl

   Run deep, turn, come back to the ball.

   10.0 yards deep · inside

6. 5 Out

   Into the depth, then sharp to the outside.

   10.0 yards deep · outside

7. 6 Dig

   Into the depth, then sharp to the inside.

   10.0 yards deep · inside

8. 7 Corner

   Deep and angled outside, to the corner.

   17.0 yards deep · outside

9. 8 Post

   Deep and angled inside, to the middle.

   17.0 yards deep · inside

10. 9 Go

    Straight ahead, as deep as possible.

    18.0 yards deep · straight ahead

Why the names stay English

Slant, Out, Post, Corner, Go are called that on every field in the world. Rulebooks translate the word “route”, but never the name of a route. A tree with a translated name instead of “Slant” would be wrong in every language, and a player who moves clubs would have to relearn it.

Fewer numbers for the youth, but the same numbers

A U12 does not have to learn all ten. It learns 0 to 5, and its 5 means the same as it does for the seniors. This is where most playbooks fail: they give the youth their own names, and everyone starts over when they move up.

In Routetree the tree belongs to the club, not to the team. Each team only sets how far it reaches for them.