Coin Toss?

A coach Asks:

Coin Toss: In the past (at my last HC job) I always wanted the ball to start the 2nd half. Here at Sibley when we win the toss I took the ball first last year. Philosophy of come out and score first......or at least burn up some clock. What is your philosophy/what does experience tell you.

Here's what I have learned:

There have been studies on this, Stats indicate that the team that kickoff generally has better field position to start the game, especially if you have someone who can kickoff to the 5 or inside the 5, best to train someone to make it to the end zone. Then the other team has to drive the length of the field to score – rarely happens in high school ball. There is usually a breakdown or penalty that stalls a drive. The average high school scoring drive is only 8 plays in length.

So, we would defer. Kids seem to play better on D out of the chutes. Got into the flow of the game. Fewer jitters. Rarely, we would receive, very seldom however.

Note: there are more ways for the defense to score than the offense. A defensive score at the beginning of the game is a huge momentum changer. This clip is from early in the first quarter of a rival type game: